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Category Archives: animal rights
Some good news for animals! Thanks to Animalisch Untamed for this sharing this great news with us:
via Norway to Ban the Farming of Fur
Norway to Ban the Farming of Fur
Apes Much Cleverer than We’ve Been Told – And Other Monkey Business
Such an insightful blog post by Animalista Untamed, please read:
I doubt I’m alone in thinking that when it comes to scientific studies, researchers do have a tendency to find what they’re looking for. And if you believe as a human that you sit astride the topmost rung of the evolutionary ladder, your ‘scientific’ view of other animals’ abilities is already skewed out of true.
This is exactly what has happened over two decades’ worth of studies into apes. Yes, the scientists did say apes are clever – just not as clever as us. But conducting a new analysis of all those studies, Dr Leaven¹ discovered that “what we think we know about apes’ social intelligence is based on wishful thinking and flawed science.”
“The fault underlying decades of research and our understanding of apes’ abilities is due to such a strongly-held belief in our own superiority, that scientists have come to believe that human babies are more socially…
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Good News: The Chimpanzees in Liberia Will be Receiving the Care They Need and Deserve
The Humane Society of the United States has agreed with the New York Blood Center to provide the chimpanzees with the care needed:
The crux of the agreement announced today stipulates that the NYBC and The HSUS are effectively splitting costs for long-term care of the chimpanzees, which will include day-to-day care and also the construction of improved sanctuary facilities. Photo by Carol Guzy/For The HSUS
Breaking news: The HSUS, New York Blood Center announce landmark agreement for care of Liberian chimpanzees
Today, The HSUS announces a major, multi-million-dollar agreement with the New York Blood Center (NYBC) concerning more than 60 chimpanzees formerly used by the NYBC in medical experiments in Liberia. The New York-based medical charity has committed $6 million to The HSUS to help with the decades-long task of providing long-term care for the animals. This morning’s joint announcement signals a critical turnaround in The HSUS’s relationship with the NYBC. Most importantly, it provides financial resources for the careful stewardship of these chimpanzees, who deserve every measure of human mercy after the travails they’ve endured.
In 2015, The HSUS and Humane Society International responded to an emergent crisis and began to care for the chimpanzees on a set of estuarine islands in Liberia with insufficient natural food and water resources. Dedicated individuals took it upon themselves to provide enough food and water for the chimpanzees to survive in the first days, but the circumstance required the intervention of a party that had the staying power to provide daily care to the animals. With the support of the Liberian government and more than 35 animal protection and conservation organizations worldwide, The HSUS stepped in, bringing on many of the chimps’ long-term caregivers to provide boots on the ground for the animals. We’ve been there ever since, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars a month. We have a staff of more than 30 people operating the facility, led by great ape specialists Dr. Jim Desmond and Jenny Desmond, as well as John Zeonyuway and Joseph Thomas, who have worked with the chimpanzees in Liberia for decades.
To care for these animals, we had to confront some extreme logistical, security, and personnel challenges, in addition to shouldering responsibility for the immense financial liabilities that this intervention required. In the broadest sense, we were mindful that chimpanzees are long-lived, and our response to this crisis essentially obligated us to a 40-year commitment and millions of dollars to provide proper housing, enrichment, and veterinary care for them.
The crux of the agreement announced today stipulates that the NYBC and The HSUS are effectively splitting costs for long-term care of the chimpanzees, which will include day-to-day care and also the construction of improved sanctuary facilities. The HSUS and HSI will take on responsibility for the lifetime care of the chimpanzees and will seek support from our supporters and others to help raise the remainder of the needed funds.
I am pleased to express my thanks to the NYBC for making this very generous and important commitment. I’d be remiss, too, if I did not offer our sincerest expression of gratitude to thousands of individuals and dozens of organizations whose generosity and kindness allowed us to help the chimps for the past two years, providing a bridge to an even more secure future with the new facilities we intend to build. This project has required an ensemble cast, and I offer additional earnest appreciation to the government of Liberia, the Arcus Foundation, Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute, Duke University scientist Brian Hare, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, actors and animal advocates Kate and Rooney Mara, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, and the Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society. And the most important thanks are reserved for our incredible chimpanzee care team on the ground.
The HSUS and HSI plan to work hand in hand with the government of Liberia in the years ahead, and that partnership will be critical given that the chimps have been through very difficult circumstances and need round-the-clock care.
The additional millions we must raise are still a very substantial financial burden we must bear, but we do so knowing of the steadfast resolve and commitment of our supporters. We intend to start building an endowment for the care of these chimps today, rather than leaving the task to future generations of leaders and other supporters of The HSUS. I hope you’ll join us in celebrating the HSUS-NYBC agreement and adding to the $6 million endowment by making a donation to this Liberian chimp fund online at: www.humanesociety.org/liberiasanctuary or www.humanesociety.org/liberiachimps.
Read more here:
Good News: India Passes New Rules for the Protection of Animals
These new rules are not perfect for the animals, but one step closer to a better life for animals living in India. PeTA India published this positive information:
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has released three new Gazette notifications under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to regulate dog breeders , animal markets, aquariums, and pet shops that sell fish. This progress has included a joint effort by animal protection groups including PETA India. PETA India was involved in the public consultation process for these rules and had provided useful comment to strengthen protections.
The rules are the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rules, 2017; Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017; the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Aquarium and Fish Tank Animals Shop) Rules, 2017; and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017.
In a perfect world, laws to protect animals would eliminate all cruelty, because dogs shouldn’t be bred and sold, cattle and other animals shouldn’t be sent to slaughter, and fish shouldn’t be kept in tanks. But sometimes change occurs in stages, and for now, the government has passed certain additional protections for dogs and fish as well as for cows, buffaloes, camels, and other animals who end up at animal markets. We also commend the government for helping remove animals from abusers through the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017.
Some points to be noted include the following:
• The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017 says, “If the accused is convicted, or pleads guilty, the magistrate shall deprive him of the ownership of animal and forfeit the seized animal to the infirmary, pinjrapole, SPCA, Animal Welfare Organisation or Gaushala already having custody for proper adoption or other disposition.”
• According to these new rules, dog breeders and owners of aquariums and pet shops that sell fish must register with the animal-welfare board of their respective states.
• No aquarium can keep, house, or display “any cetaceans, penguins, otters, manatees, sea turtles and marine turtles, artificially coloured fish, any species of fish tank animals listed in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972), or any species listed under the Appendix I of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species”.
• The sale of camels and all types of cattle, including buffaloes, for slaughter via animal markets isn’t allowed. The sale of cattle and camels can be made only to a person who carries valid documents proving that he or she is an “agriculturist”.
• Certain types of cruelty that commonly take place at markets will no longer be allowed, including hot branding and cold branding, mutilating animals’ ears, and force-feeding animals fluid to make them appear fatter in order to fetch a better price.
Unfortunately, the new rules don’t prevent the dairy industry from continuing to supply animals to the beef industry. India’s beef industry is massive because its supplier, the dairy industry, is massive. Read more about the link between beef and dairy foods here.
Good News: U.S. Coast Guard to End Use of Animals in Deadly Trauma Training
PeTA states:
There is monumental news to share! The U.S. Coast Guard has just committed to a permanent end to the use of animals in its trauma training drills known as “live tissue training”!
The head of the U.S. Coast Guard, Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft, told members of Congress that cutting apart and killing animals in trauma training drills is “abhorrent” and that the Coast Guard “will move to a simulation [training model]. … [F]or us, it will be the right thing to do to prepare our Coast Guard members who may be deployed to theaters where they may encounter traumatic injuries.”
This makes the Coast Guard the first branch of the military to end these atrocities!
The Coast Guard’s decision follows years of pressure from PETA and bipartisan members of Congress, especially Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Rep. Tom Marino (R-Penn.), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
It’s time for the entire Pentagon to follow the Coast Guard’s lead on this issue.
Please ask your members of Congress to cosponsor the bipartisan BEST Practices Act (H.R. 1243/S. 498), which, if enacted, would end the military’s mutilation of thousands of animals each year in cruel trauma drills and instead require the use of superior human-simulation models.
Eight Women Changing the World for Animals 1 — Animalista Untamed
Here is a truly inspiring piece put together by Animalista Untamed. I will post all following seven posts on the same topic in the next few days.
Some of these women are almost completely unkown to the general public, even though their work has led to some important changes in animal welfate.
This week in the run-up to International Animal Rights Day on Dec 10th, I hope to feature eight remarkable women spearheading the battle for Animal Rights in their varied fields of science, art, law and politics. Maybe it’s not so surprising then that every single one of them has ties with a 9th, world renowned […]
via Eight Women Changing the World for Animals 1 — Animalista Untamed
Good News: TripAdvisor Will Stop Selling Tickets to Some of the Cruelest Tourist Activities
There was a time when it was believed that dolphins enjoyed swimming with humans. That might have been true when the animals were able to swim with someone by choice but being held captive to perform this kind of action is cruel and inhumane.
There also might have been a time when elephants would have helped a human by letting this person sit on their back. But being forced to carry tourists around has nothing to do with choice or pleasure or freedom.
And to believe that baby tigers would willingly leave their mothers to sit on a tourist’s lap is either very naive or worse.
Trip Advisor has listened. The company will stop supporting this kind of cruelty.
You can read more here:
You can write to Trip Advisor and tell them how much you appreciate their decision:
https://www.tripadvisorsupport.com/hc/en-us
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