When is it deemed animal cruelty?

Of course I'm glad about this story. The BCSPCA (British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals) raided two places in Surrey that were keeping roosters for the sole purpose of cockfighting. On one location they found several cock pits that is proof that this illegal and inhumane activity was actually happening. The birds were tethered to confine their movement and many had injuries incurred from fights.

Unfortunately all of the birds had to be killed after their rescue because of an outdated animal cruelty law that does not permit the birds to be kept alive. The BCSPCA was quite upset at having to euthanize the birds. The animal cruelty laws seriously need to be updated.

Now what is really bothering me is that through all this media coverage not once does anyone mention the appalling conditions that egg laying hens live through when living in battery cages that are so small they can't even fully stand up or spread their wings. This is their whole life. Suffering is suffering is it not? So why do battery cages still exist?

the video

I chose not to watch the video of the death of Robert Dziekanski that was so heavily advertised on the radio today. The half hour and hourly news kept mentioning that the video would be broadcast for the first time on the 6 o'clock news. Every time I heard it it made me angrier because it clearly did seem like an advertisement inviting people to watch this man's death.

Should the video be made public? I suppose it should as long as there is an investigation taking place. The need to make the video public was only heightened by the fact that the police kept it to themselves for so long saying that they needed it as part of their inquiry into how this happened and if the taser was used unnecessarily. The need to make the video public was also heightened by the video owner coming forward to the media to let them know that the police had yet to return his property. With this in mind it was only a matter of time before some version of the video would be seen. In a way it had to be made public since by now we were all wondering what happened to this man and how could it all go so wrong?

The questions will continue to be asked as they should. Will the video help clarify? I would guess somewhat. However, keep in mind that like the Rodney King video we need remember how the police used that particular video to show that they weren't using excessive force and in fact King was fighting back. In other words depending on who is doing the viewing and thus drawing the conclusions, events that happened separate from the reality of what actually happened can be interpreted. I guess the advantage of making the video public works to help clear the police of any sort of cover-up, but with the King video setting a kind of precedent, it is hard to imagine that they can be cleared of using excessive force (tasering unnecessarily).

Of course I haven't seen the video so I can't draw conclusions based on video evidence, but I can say that it would seem that an unarmed man who spoke no English was frustrated and confused at the Vancouver airport. Police swept in and tasered the man more than once that caused his death. What do I see? That there is something very wrong with this picture.

Bad Cop Good Cop

The cover story of the "westcoast" section of today's Sun reported on a family of 6 in North Van who had been victims of a robbery. The same front page included an update story on the man gunned down by police this past week, who as it turns out was bipolar and "going through a manic episode" when police shot him.

I continue reading a few pages in. Each story is continued on a separate page. On the right side is Story 1 ("Mother had a feeling 'something unsettled') which turns out to be a detailed account of the events on the night the family was robbed and once they realized that someone was in the house they called police just as the robber was driving away in their vehicle. The story then details the movements of the RCMP, municpal police and the coastguard all working together to comfort the family, catch the thief, thus displaying their ability to communicate efficiently and effectively to react to a situation promptly and professionally.

The left page has the rest of Story 2 ("Animator shot dead by police suffered bipolar disorder") which says that the man may have viewed the police as "part of the conspiracy" and also quotes someone who says that the police are trained to deal with "people with mental illness because they deal with them all the time." I understand this to mean that I'm being set up to be later told that this was purely an accident because after all the police deal with this type of thing "all the time" and therefore it could only be a grave misunderstanding that would cause the police to shoot. The rest of the story is really about the man killed and that he was no threat to anyone but himself.

While I'm completely saddened by the story of this man and the loss for the family, I can't help but wonder about these two stories coupled together. My inclination was to read the headlining story, but I wanted an update of the police shooting and read the left hand story when I opened the paper. By the time I get to the end of the "Mother had a feeling" report I am reassured that the police are an efficient force that deals with problems quickly and professionally. I can't help but think that there is no coincidence in the pairing of these two stories.

Bad news for vegetarian candy bar people

Red forwarded this story in my comments so I thought I should bring it to the fore here so all can read. Another good reason not to eat chocolate bars. Being vegan I haven't had one of these dairy laden treats in a while.
Don't worry though I get my vegan chocolate fixes from these people:
Denman Island Chocolate
Chimp Mints
Cocoa Camino
and whatever else I come across that is rich, dark chocolate and vegan.

Okay, I've got to get out in the garden while the weather is good.