Great News for Great Apes

The Spanish Parliament has announced its support for the Great Ape Project's mission to attain legal rights for non-human great apes. This means there will be no animal testing allowed on chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos.

Using apes in circuses, television commercials or filming will also be banned. Unfortunately, they can still be kept in zoos, however their living conditions will need to improve.

Lets hope this leads the way for all countries to follow suit and expand on it to include all animals.

Link to article in Guardian.

Link to the Great Ape Project website.

Please Help Farm Animals

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I do not live in California, but if I did, I would definitely vote YES on the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. So if you live in CA, vote on November 4th to pass this act!

Even if you don't live in CA, you can help. It seems big factory farms in CA are opposing this act. Big surprise, right? But the real kicker is the name they have chosen to use for their group effort: Californians for Safe Food ! Can you believe the audacity? Of course, it is the animal abusers with no conscience we are talking about here after all.

And of course they have raised a bucket load of money to support their "cause." So the people supporting the initiative need to raise as much as possible to help the animals. So, please, click the banner above to help if you can.

Link to HSUS blog about this.

Ole! Poetic Justice Bull Style.

This story is too good. Seems a matador, who is thought to be one of the best bullfighter of all time, was gored in the gonads. He was actually gored twice by 2 separate bulls during a bullfight in Madrid.

Now, I am by no means a person who likes to see other people get hurt, however, I do make exceptions in some instances. And this is one such instance.

People justify killing other people in the name of self defense, so why shouldn't it be ok for an animal to kill or maim a person in its own defense?

Here is the article complete with pictures including the one of the goring of the gonads. (I like that phrase better than the running of the bulls!)

Did you want fries with that?

Hmmm, I have heard of many things accompanying the main portion of the meal, but this story is just too nasty! A "chef" irritated by a request to redo a steak added a little something extra- his pubic hair. Article link.

Gives a whole new meaning to food porn!

I'm Not Dead, Just Crazy

I haven't posted for a bit. It has been a little wild on the home front. I was sick, the kids are out of school, D and I celebrated our wedding anniversary, etc.
I have also been a bit depressed over the state of things. It seems like every time you turn around, something else is happening that shows the state of things in a negative light. I still don't understand how people eat animals, and some days it gets overwhelming. I really shouldn't let things get to me, but they drain the life out of me and I have a hard time functioning. I take it all so very personally.
So some of the things of which I am referring (and forgive me as this is bordering on old news because I haven't posted):

• MRSA is showing up in pigs that are being consumed by humans, article 1 article 2.
• The bird flu is spreading and China is killing poultry article link.
• A dozen pigs lucky enough to escape death by drowning are instead shot and killed by idiot humans article link.
• There are actually people out there willing to pay $185 for a hamburger made from massaged beef! article link
• Then there are the instances of floods, earthquakes, cyclones, starvation, homelessness, etc. that are just driving me to the brink of despair.

This is hardly a full listing, but I can only post so much misery at the moment.

Sorry for the bummer post.

ABC News Says to Cut Down on Meat Consumption!

Ok, so it doesn't say to stop all meat consumption, but cutting down is better than nothing right? The article is about the environment and greenhouse gas emissions. Read the article here.

Is Oprah Abandoning her Vegan Diet?

Uh, oh. Looks like the great O is falling out of love with her new vegan life. She hasn't posted in awhile and her last post talks about how sad she is now that her borrowed vegan chef is no longer cooking for her.

Link to article.

New Bently Car No Friend to Animals or Environment

Boston is soon to be the new headquarters of Bently North America, so they decided to unveil the new Continental Flying Spur Speed here. It is expected to hit the showroom floor in the fall for about $200,000.00.

This car is a disaster for the environment, it gets 11 miles per gallon in the city!

And it is a crisis for animals, the leather interior reportly uses the hides of at least 11 cows per car!

So, here's hoping that this car has very poor sales.

Totally Off Topic, But Too Stupid to Ignore

This has nothing to do with veganism, but this guy was just too stupid for me to not comment about. It's 3 a.m. and you decide to break into a store, what kind of store do you decide to break into? Hmmmm, let me think, how about a home security store that specializes in internet based monitoring systems? If that isn't bad enough, after stealing something, you decide you really don't want it and then toss it to the side of the road? Oh boy, it takes a special kind of someone. Link to news article.

As if the above weren't stupid enough, let's add scumbag to moron with this other story. Some jackass decides to buy drugs, while carrying a loaded gun and felt the need to bring his kid with him. When the police approach, he pushes his kid to the side! Wow. Stupid and a bad parent, what a sad state of affairs. Link to Boston Police Department incident log.

New York City Horse Carriage Rides

This cartoon is from Dan Piraro, I have mentioned him before, he is one of my heroes! Anyway, he made me aware of this online petition we can sign to show we would like to see the horse carriage rides in NYC banned.

I know it is a favorite tourist attraction and movie scene, but if people were truly aware of the cruelty involved in this horrific example of animal abuse, I like to think most people would not want to contribute to the cruelty.

Please, do your part, Sign the petition here.

Thanking the Monkey

I have been hearing great things about this book, Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals and am definitley planning on picking up a copy!

The author, Karen Dawn was honored with the outstanding activist award at the Farm Sanctuary Gala on May 18.

Her goal is “to tell you everything you wanted to know about animal rights—but were afraid to get into a fight about—and to let you weigh that information against your own values.”

The book is getting amazing reviews from Hollywood stars and others. Some endorsments:

“Vegetarianism was a source of Gandhi’s successful non-violence, and cruelty to animals is a predictor of everything from domestic violence to serial killing. With wisdom and insight, Karen Dawn introduces readers to the fact that animal rights are an organic part of social justice movements everywhere. Her book is a bridge between worlds for both the committed and the curious.”— Gloria Steinem

“I am sick of being ignorant! This book is education with a smile, information with a kiss from a dog who just drank out of a toilet, and should be required reading for all college students.”— Anthony Kiedis – Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Karen Dawn’s work is powerful — compelling and well-argued, intellectually sound and passionate.”— Paul Haggis, Oscar-winning writer/director of Crash

“Thanking the Monkey is fun, and it will give people information they wish they had all their lives. I can’t wait to give one to everybody I know. It is going to change the world.”— Rory Freedman, co-author of New York Times number one bestseller Skinny Bitch

"This is a book that brings up a view of animals that should be part of mainstream thought. I applaud its publication.”— Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher

“Charming and thoughtful, witty yet engaged, it would be a hard heart that could put this book down without having old prejudices seriously shaken. Thanking the Monkey will make you sit up and take notice and probably, too, drop your fork and reach for the fruit.”-Jeffrey Masson, best-selling author of When Elephants Weep and Dogs Never Lie About Love

“I am so excited about Thanking the Monkey because I have loved Karen Dawn’s approach to animal rights for a long time. I love her way of taking it and making it fresh, making it young and making it interesting.”— Persia White, star of Girlfriends

“Karen Dawn's book made me realize I know little about animal rights and I would like to know more. It is the kind of book you can pick up and get something of value out of without reading chapter one first and chapter two second. You can flip it open virtually anywhere and find something you didn’t know.”— Bruce Greenwood –John From Cincinnati, National Treasure: Book of Secrets

“Thanking the Monkey is a fun way to talk about animal rights and the interconnectivity of humans and other beings. It will appeal to the younger generation and people who have a harsher idea about animal rights books. I am so excited it is coming out!”— Daniela Sea, Max on The L Word

“Give this book to somebody you know who doesn’t know.”— David Duchovny

From Booklist

BYLINE: Nancy Bent
A fun book about the animal-rights movement? Dawn, an activist and author (online and print), has produced an easily digested, sound-bite-laden primer to all sides and gradations of the crusade for animal rights. In short, easy sections, Dawn works through all of the arenas in which animals are used or exploited as well as the differences in philosophy within the movement itself. She covers essential topics, such as the owning of pets (in the chapter “Slaves to Love”), and doesn’t stop with the more numerous dogs and cats but also questions keeping birds, fish, and reptiles in cages. She also acknowledges the positive sides of pet keeping, using the abandonment of pets by aid workers and the consequent stress on their owners as an example. The author takes a similarly nuanced look at zoos and circuses, the fashion industry, animals as food, and animal testing, finishing with a look at the similarities and differences betweenenvironmentalists and animal activists with examples of animal activism in action. Well illustrated with numerous drawings and cartoons. An excellent introduction.

So if you have read it, let me know what you think. I am planning on getting it and will post more about it later.

What About the Poor Lobsters?

Considered a Boston institution, James Hook & Co., which is a lobster wholesaler, burned to the ground Friday morning in a seven alarm fire. James Hook & Co. has been a family owned business since 1925. It's currently owned by the fourth generation of Hooks. So, many people feel sad about this loss for the family and the city, no one seems to feel bad about the 60,000 lbs. of lobster destroyed in the fire! (Unless, of course, they are feeling sad that the price just went up due to this loss.)

The owners insist they will still do business and rebuild and the city intends to help them. Our tax dollars helping fund lobster genocide.

The business now ships 50,000 pounds of lobsters a day, according to its website. Can you even imagine? How many lobsters must die to generate 50,000 lbs? And this is just one company. This just blows my mind.

I think I'll go cry now.

Link to the wild and wonderful blog of Dan Piraro.

PETA...Good or Bad?

Ok, so it seems most people view PETA as basically a terrorist organization and that view is also shared by many vegans. As many vegans feel PETA gives us a bad name because they do silly things such as having naked people in the streets protesting fur or wearing lettuce bikinis, etc.

I, however, think they are fabulous for doing such things. What better way to get attention for your cause than having naked women in NYC streets? I don't hear carnivores complaining about naked women when they are not doing it for animal rights. And dressing in a lettuce bikini sounds like a fun way to get people talking about an issue. It's better than screaming our views in their faces.

Regardless of how PETA goes about doing what they do, no one can deny they do good work and get stuff done. Look at the recent victory in the KFC case.

As far as I can tell, change does not happen when people choose to be quiet or not make waves. I do believe we should be nice about how we approach enlightening others about the cruelty involved in eating animal flesh, however, remaining quiet is not the answer. If women just sat back and didn't try to gain rights, we still wouldn't be able to vote or get jobs.

Change comes from making others aware. And if some think it silly, I find it refreshing. I am an intelligent person, but I believe in having fun. Even in school, if a teacher or professor just spews truths at you, you are not very interested and the class seems mundane, but if s/he makes the learning fun, it attracts attention from students and makes them want to learn.

This is my opinion, now what's yours?