Canada’s Seal Hunt – Bloody Business

If you happen to come upon this blog, you already know the seal hunt is WRONG. Here are some pictures from Rebecca Aldworth (HSI/Canada) who has been writing and documenting the atrocity on the ice. It is simply heartbreaking. Read her full entries here.

An excerpt:

“So often the suffering of the seals during this slaughter is viewed at a distance.

	“It takes a special kind of person to club and shoot helpless baby seals.” © HSI/Sanchez, 04-03-09

From the air, from thousands of feet, somehow the pain of the animals does not transmit properly.

You see them wriggling across the ice, blood trailing behind them. You see their mouths open in a silent scream through the camera lens.

But from the ice it is different. You hear their cries, you see them try to escape, you smell the blood and you feel their terror.

Yesterday, the ProtectSeals team travelled to the seal killing area by our boat (a small, rigid, inflatable vessel), documenting the slaughter from 30 meters away. We witnessed so many seals dying a horrible death, as sealers shot at the terrified babies, and then descended on the wounded, struggling animals with wooden bats.

I will never be able to forget the agonizing assault on one seal. The pup was in front of our boat, and a nearby sealing vessel approached. The pup sniffed the air as if sensing danger.

He looked around, and then the first bullet slammed into him. His scream could be heard all across the water. He tried to crawl away but another bullet ripped through his flesh.

His outraged cries echoed as a third and fourth and fifth bullet hit him. Finally, he dove into the water. He did not come back up. The sealers shrugged nonchalantly and moved on.

We looked around frantically for him but he did not surface. Likely, this baby seal would have bled to death slowly and painfully under the water, like tens of thousands of other seals that are “struck and lost” each year in this cruel slaughter.

I want the world to remember this brave seal. His cries of protest are echoing in my mind and I want them to sound across the world. I want everyone to hear as I did the mortal cries of a wounded baby seal who doesn’t understand why he is being hurt.

And hearing those cries, know as I do that this slaughter simply has to stop.”

Images of the bloody business (via Humane Society of the United States):

Filed under: animal cruelty, hunting, international issues, ocean, seal hunt , animal cruelty, canada, canadian seal hunt, Humane Society of the United States, rebecca aldworth, harp seals, seal slaughter

Puppy Mill Heartbreak

When I see an image like this, my heart breaks a little. Because like the words on this poster say, “her (dog shown) only hope of escaping a lifetime of forced breeding is to die from abuse first”, there is simply no other way to say it more accurately.  In puppy mills across the country, and in this particular case in Wisconsin, animals are forced to breed without concern for their physical and emotional needs, and then killed at the end of their reproductive lives.

Spread the word about this atrocity, and support your local animal welfare organizations in helping to end the puppy mill industry.

This poster via The Wisconsin Humane Society.

Filed under: animal cruelty, dogs and cats, humane organizations, puppy mills , animal cruelty, forced breeding, puppy mills

Animal Control – Out of Control

According the the WSPA, in some countries, armed dog control officers randomly shoot dogs in crowded streets. If not killed instantly, the dogs end up wounded and left to die. They are shot at, drowned, hung, and electrocuted and there are far more cruel ways to exterminate unwanted animals. In countries ravaged by war, famine and olitical upheaval, animal suffer equally if not worse. This is not the way to control animal population; it is ineffective and the numbers increase around the world, prompting more unnecessarily killings in the first place.

Please help stop the bloodshed. With your help, animal welfare organizations will provide mobile clinics and medical attention to homeless dogs and cats in rural communites. Please do your part and make a donation and spread the world. Thank you!

Filed under: Take Action, animal cruelty, dogs and cats, humane organizations, international issues , animal advocacy, animal cruelty, animal protection, dog and cat fur, dog rescue, Take Action

Happy 2009

This year marks a significant chapter in American history, as President Obama takes over our country, we hope that he will bring positive change in so many critical issues we are facing today. On my wishlist, of course, is global warming and its impact on our environment and the wildlife that live within. It will not be an easy feat, however, I am hopeful. This year, I will continue to fulfill my duty to bring the most pressing issues about animals, both local and international to my blog. I’d like to do my part in bringing more awareness about animal cruelty to the world.

Starting right now, please do your part of good by helping to  bring an end to the Canadian annual baby seal hunt. Each year, hundreds of thousands of baby harp seals are slaughtered on the ice fields off Canada’s east coast for their pelts. Over 95% of the seals killed during this hunt are just days or weeks old.

Visit StoptheSealHunt.org to learn more, watch the video, and join the cause. It is a heartbreaking thing and if you already know what this is all about, you are not alone in feeling like you must do something about it.

Filed under: Take Action, animal cruelty, international issues, seal hunt , animal cruelty, canadian seal hunt, seal hunt, Take Action

Chinese Fur

A dog near death about to be bashed on the head by a bat.

If you know what they do to poor dogs and cats in China (and Korea) to get the fur onto the trims of your winter coat, you might rethink what to buy this year. Many people are already sickened by the fur industry, however, when you think about companion animals as these victims, your heart would just break. CauseCast is featuring a video on the this page showing how they kill these animals, and I could not watch pass the first dog or puppy being head-bashed into cement and hit on its head by a Chinese dog killer at this fur farm. Animal groups say that these poor animals sometimes are not completely dead and die slowly in so much pain, until they strip the fur off their back, often still alive.

Watch the video on this page, click on the right “latest videos” module – “PETA2: Chinese Fur” (sorry the site did not let me embed this video.

Filed under: animal cruelty, dogs and cats, international issues, local issues , animal cruelty, chinese dogs and cats, chinese fur farms, fashion

Polar Bear Heads On Your Wall

Just as Polar Bears got listed on the Endangered Species list, the Safari Club International has filed a lawsuit against the Federal government and the Dept. of Interior. No longer allowed to hunt polar bears in Alaska, they now are fighting to go to Canada to hunt and bring them back as trophies. This is absurd.

I never understood the allure of having some animal’s head pinned onto a wall. Does it make those who hunt feel and appear more masculine or admired, at the expense of some poor animal who is doing nothing but fighting to survive? Polar bears are already at risk of extinction, thanks to global warming. There are so many things wrong with what we people do to this beautiful planet. And while the subject of global warming heats up everyday, hunters still have the audacity to fight for this entitlement. Help end this now by sharing this fact with friends, and/or make a donation to Defenders of Wildlife here.

In Alaska, people are trying to raise $600,000 of campaign funds to defeat a ballot measure by the Safari Club. Please make a contribution so no more polar bears are lost in needless cruelty.

Filed under: Global Warming, Take Action, animal cruelty, hunting, international issues , animal cruelty, defenders of wildlife, hunting, polar bears, safari club international

Whales Under Serious Threat

For centuries, whaling had been a tradition for many countries in Europe, particular Norway and Iceland, as well as Japan and some native American tribes. Whales are under threat and decreasing by numbers quickly by global warming, pollution and overfishing. Whale meat are also not as popular as it once were so there is no longer a need to hunt and kill these magnificent creatures.

Right now, Japan and Iceland hold the largest record of whaling for meat. While it is an outcry by many thousands of people around the world, the whaling ban is under threat. It is unfortunately, not yet strong enough to get these countries to stop this barbaric practice.

Even as many several species of whales are listed as endangered, there seems yet to be loopholes for whalers to get around. In 2007, Icelandic whalers have killed 7 endangered fin whales and a minke whale, and reported killed another 69 minkes for their fins, for profit. “Iceland, like Norway, claim whales must be culled because they eat fish. This is nonsense. Human over-fishing is destroying fish stocks, not whales.” reports Campaign-Whale.org. Since 1986, Japan has killed over 6,000 whales for food and research, and this winter, it plans to start killing the magnificent humpback whales for the first time, sold to research labs in Anarctica and the North Pacific.

In 2008, Iceland announced that it would allow 40 minke whales to be killed over the next six months. This is completely against the ban by the International Whaling Commission. Please let your voice be heard now and sign the petition here, or to read more about the subject, visit Campaign-Whale.org

Filed under: Global Warming, Take Action, animal cruelty, hunting, international issues, local issues , animal cruelty, humpback whales, Iceland, International Whaling Commission, Japan, minke whales, Norway, Take Action, whaling

Sharks Awareness Cartoon by Jim Toomey

Artist Jim Toomey illustrates cartoon strip highlighting sharks’ vulnerability in our oceans. A great series is being showcased on Humane Society of the United States‘ website.

Sharks of all kinds all over the world are at great risk of extinction. Overfishing, poaching by Asian countries have reduced their numbers in the thousands. Caught in fishing nets, sharks drown since they are unable to move through water over their gills. Captured and killed for ONLY their fins, which is believed by some to have healing effects, most sharks are often thrown back into the oceans after their fins are cut off, then they drown and bleed to death in the water, leaving corpses everywhere. They are magnificent predators that keep the balance of ocean life in check and they are “vital part of nature”. Write to the National Marine Fisheries Service at 1315 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Check out the wonderful cartoon strips here.. You can’t also print out the cartoon image above and mail it easily!

Filed under: Take Action, animal cruelty, hunting, international issues , animal cruelty, cartoons, HSUS, jim toomey, shark finning, sherman's lagoon, Take Action

The Cruelty of Horse-Drawn Carriages

On one hot summer day a few years ago, my husband and I were driving along the West Side Highway in New York City. There was this dinky corner garage with horses standing outside in the sun, looking exhausted, dehydrated and rundown. That’s when I realized that it was one of few city stables that held horses that pull carriages around the city, and that’s where they go when a hard day ends.

It may seem all wonderful and romantic, especially when you see these carriages in Central Park, waiting for tourists to mount a ride around the city for a small expense. But this practice is outdated. Afterall, we have cars now, and it is no longer a necessity to subject such an animal to urban streets.

Carriage horses endure loud noise, car fumes, traffic dodging, hard pavement pounding for most of their lives. The busyness and polluted environment of city streets are extremely stressful for horses. They haul heavy carriages all day, and it has been reported that they receive very little care and good nutrition. Over the past few years, a rising number of horse-and-car related accidents for both animals and humans. Horses could suffer respiratory ailments and even drop dead on the streets from heat strokes in the summer. At the end of of a hard day, they retire to sad little stables (more like garages)–and before they could recover, before the sun rises, another hard day begins again. When they get old and become useless to the business, they do not necessarily retire to green pastures, they get sent to the slaughterhouse.

This practice is dangerous to both horses and humans. Accidents are waiting to happen, and if you are unlucky, you could be the victim of horses gone wild, taxis crashing into pedestrian walkways, etc. Please spread the word to your friends and family who are visiting cities planning on horse-drawn rides. Sign the petition today and let our government know that this is cruel. (The U.S. does not have any strict provisions in the protection of horses). Major cities like Paris, London, and even our own cities like Key West have already banned carriage rides. Let’s help make New York a more humane place to visit.

Filed under: Take Action, animal cruelty, local issues , animal cruelty, horse-drawn carriages, horses, New York City, Take Action, tourism

On My Mind

I’ve been on vacation so running a bit behind on posts. While on vacation I thought about my top animal issues that I’d like to write about. Stay tuned for these subjects: Yellowstone Wolves, Whaling, Fur, Veal Factories, Circus Animals, Dogs and Cats as food in Asia, and more…. please write me if there are any issues you feel strongly about and I will do my best to highlight! Thanks for reading!

Filed under: Global Warming, animal cruelty, circus, dogs and cats, humane farming, international issues , animal cruelty