Fighting for Animals Lives in China

Dogs being transported to slaughterhouse
so they can be inhumanely killed for human consumption

"I believe China is going through a Chinese animal liberation movement, a bottom-up movement, gaining huge momentum in the past year, very much with the help of the Internet and [Chinese social networking site] Weibo, together with the younger generation growing up with cats and dogs as family pets," Deborah Cao, a professor at Griffith University in Australia who studies animal rights law,
told The New York Times last year."

Every dog has it's day and in China this is has never been so true.

As we've been reporting for the past year and a half, activists in China are WINNING what seemed a hopeless battle for animal rights there.

Time and time again in 2011, transport trucks like the one pictured above have been stopped in their tracks on roads all over China by quick thinking activists who have bartered for the dogs right in the street. The dogs have been SOLD to the activists for cash on the spot, rather than taken and sold for slaughter.

In the past, Chinese government and military would have stopped the citizens from showing signs of democracy, but that trend has stopped as more and more people have stepped up to show support for the animals. No arrests have ever been made in these street trades and greedy truck drivers have been okay taking cash instead of making the "fulfillment" at the slaughterhouses.

Baby steps, but steps forward indeed. China's record of human rights abuses have paled in comparison to what the animals go through. Things are changing though! And maybe through love of the animals, the people (government) will change towards humans too.

The dogs pictured above, all 800 of them, were rescued, taken from the cages and have been brought to a donated warehouse to be nursed back to health and adopted out. Read the article at the link below for more.


WARNING: Extreme images of the mistreatment of dog transports. The overall message is positive though. You must see it and understand what is happening in the world. And you can help!



News Article


ANIMAL ASIA.ORG Click to learn how to help save the animals of Asia, including dogs and cats.

Support the Great Ape Protection Act!

Actors James Franco and Kevin Nealon have teamed up to end the use of primates in medical research. Please visit PCRM.ORG, one of our favorite charities, to learn how you can help by supporting a crucial piece of legislation that would finally limit or end this ridiculous research.

Cruel conditions and relentless intrusive procedures on chimps and apes DO NOT SAVE LIVES. You will, not ever, find groups of children or anyone that are alive today because of these atrocious acts perpetrated on animals. The ends do not justify the means.

To argue that this will endanger people because we need the animals to do live experiments and vivisections on is ludicrous, uninformed and really just plain ignorant. Do the research yourselves if you don't want to believe us. But we will ask you now, where are the cured people, the saved children from all these years of research? Nowhere.

PCRM.org James Franco video plea.

Small Dog and Really Really Small Frogs

Lucy weighs 2 and 1/2 pounds

Lucy, a tiny Yorkshire Terrier from New Jersey, was crowned by the folks at Guinness World Records as the world's smallest working dog. Yes, Lucy has a job!

She is a therapy dog working with the Leashes of Love program and every week she's "visiting hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. She also works with children with disabilities, and troubled youth."

Lucy's News Article

Leashes of Love website

From Papua New Guinea, "the smallest frogs known to man"

This little guy is one of the new frogs discovered recently to be one of the "smallest vertebrates on Earth". Is it any wonder they were never seen before? Look how tiny! You could fit 5 of them on that one dime.

Frog Discovery News Article

Ireland Bans Puppy Farms!

A mistreated factory farmed Irish puppy

What a great day for all the unborn pups in Ireland!

No longer will unscrupulous greedy people be allowed to breed puppies in cruel and horrid conditions.

Apparently, Ireland was once the puppy farm capital of Europe and was shamed into legislation by undercover videos showing the shocking conditions of the farms.

The good people of Ireland have won and now the animals are protected by not one but TWO new laws that went into effect New Years Day.

They are the Welfare of Greyhounds Act and the Dogs Breeding Establishments Act.

"Local authority vets also have the right and obligation to inspect all breeding locations.

They can immediately shut down any kennels where animals are not being properly cared for.

All Irish puppies will be micro-chipped and can now be traced back to the breeder."

News Article

Sea Shepherd News!

The Sea Shepard's are reporting that one of their crew rescuing dolphins in Taiji, Japan has been arrested and the others have had their rooms searched and all kinds of items confiscated, including "computers, phones, hard drives, photos, cameras and anything they deemed suspicious."

The Japanese are claiming that Cove Guardian Erwin Vermeulen assaulted someone. No witnesses saw anything yet they took him into custody. Classic tactic. Trumped up charges.

"Erwin was attempting to film the transfer of dolphins from the sea to holding pens at the resort."...and so they got mad and arrested him.

The Cove Guardians are now without means to document the atrocities being committed at Taiji.

Here is a plea for help:

UPDATE 12/20/2011:

This year's killing season in Taiji will go on through the end of March, 2012. Sea Shepherd is encouraging the public to send emails, letters, phone calls, and other communications to local Taiji government offices, the Fishermen's Union (FU), Taiji Whale Museum, Dolphin Base, the Dolphin Resort hotel, and Japanese embassies and consulates around the world. They are also requesting donations to cover immediate replacement of at least one laptop and several SD cards for the volunteers' cameras, so that their documentation work can continue immediately. Addresses for public input include the following:

Mr. Yoshiki Kimura, Governor of Wakayama prefecture
(Mr. Kimura's office issues the drive fishery permit, thus granting permission for the annual dolphin slaughter.)
E-mail: e0001003@pref.wakayama.lg.jp
Public comment lines: +81-73-441-2028
Phone: 81-73-441-2034
Fax: 81-73-423-9500

Tourism Bureau, Wakayama Prefecture
E-Mail : e0625001@pref.wakayama.lg.jp
URL : http://kanko.wiwi.co.jp/world/english/index.html
Phone 81-73-441-2789
FAX : 81-73-427-1523

Japanese Embassies Worldwide
http://www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/mofaserv.html

Also breaking in Sea Shepherd news today is that the ship Brigitte Bardot was incapacitated by a rogue wave and is real danger. It will take the Steve Irwin over 20 hours to reach the crew. They think the ship will stay afloat that long and hopefully withstand a tow back to port. This is a MAJOR setback in Operation Divine Wind as all ships are in the Southern Ocean stopping the annual whale hunt there.

“This is disappointing but these are hostile seas and we have always been prepared for situations like this,” Said Captain Paul Watson from the Steve Irwin. “Right now the safety of my crew on the Brigitte Bardot is our priority and we intend to reach the crew and then do what we can to save our ship.”


News Article on Arrest

News Article on Raid

News Article on Rogue Wave

Sea Shepard News Feed

R.I.P - Cheetah

Cheetah, "Boy", Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O' Sullivan (1930's)

Cheetah, Johnny Weissmuller's co-star in the 1930's Tarzan films, passed away at age 80 on Christmas Eve.

He had been living at a sanctuary since before we were born!

"Cheetah came to the sanctuary from Weissmuller's estate sometime around 1960."

Wow! Good job to the people at the sanctuary! It's obvious that they must've taken good care of him all these years.

News Article

U.S.to Finally Catch Up With the Rest of the World? - Major Primate News!

Brett, 35, "has never met another chimpanzee he doesn't consider a friend." Brett is well-known for his paintings - one of his pieces is in the permanent collection at the NOVA Art Museum in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. - CBSnews.com
No word on what procedures were used to torture Brett for the 35 years he was held captive and used for "research". But he is FREE now and in a sanctuary enjoying life and retirement. Look at his gorgeous face! We Love him!

The practice of using primates (chimps and apes) for medical research is finally, POSSIBLY, reaching an end in this country!

"Chimpanzee research is rarely necessary for medical studies and should be on its way out", says the Institute of Medicine.

Hallelujah!

Proposed criteria says that studies that test new drugs or give animals diseases can only be conducted on chimps only if other animals or people can't be used first, and if foregoing the chimp studies would hinder progress against life-threatening or debilitating diseases.

The panel also advised the government to limit use of chimps in behavioral research, saying such studies must provide insights into the brain and behavior that otherwise are unattainable. If behavioral research requires chimps, researchers must use techniques that minimize any pain or distress.

Still not a total ban. And it's sad. The United States of America, who should be setting the gold standard for moral, ethical, logical, humane and decent conduct for the world is still one of only TWO COUNTRIES IN THE ENTIRE WORLD that continue utilize and torture primates for science. It's embarrassing how medieval we are.

New Zealand became the first country in the world to give primates civil rights and ban procedures on them. THE ENTIRE WORLD followed with the "European Union banning such research last year."

Why is the United States so backward?

We NEVER thought we'd be able to say this but....Kudos to Glaxosmithkline - "GlaxoSmithKline recently adopted a policy ending its use of apes and chimps in research."

Fucking A and Amen!

Not all is good: "This report was triggered by backlash over the fate of 186 semi-retired research chimps that the NIH planned to move to an active research lab in Texas to save money."

We must fight for them. Live animals used in research is ethically and morally despicable. THE ENDS DO NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS. What is the point of using the "saving children" excuse when we've lost our souls and humanity in the process? Animal research is passe and obsolete. The United States needs to get with the program.

Daily Mail News Article

CBS News Article

Help those already rescued:

Jungle Friends.org

Oregon Primate Rescue.com

Strange Little Red Seal Gets New Home and Webcam!

"Nafanya" has a new home!

Remember our post on the Strange, Sad and Cute Red Seal?

When we last left her, she was on the beach abandoned by the other seals and waiting for her mom to come and feed her.

Well, she's been picked up for good by the nice scientists in Russia who have given her a new home complete with a webcam so we can all see her.

This is what the Russians have to say:

"She now has a special enclosure with a pool, and two weeks after her arrival, people are already coming to see her," Yulia Frolova, head of the dolphinarium, told the Daily Mail. "She has a good appetite, and always seems in a happy mood. She is such an unusual seal with very beautiful bright blue eyes."

Awww!

News Article

Ginger's Webcam- In Russian, you won't be able to read a goddamnned thing. ;)

Lynn Jones is a HERO

What airport worker Lynn Jones saw a few weeks ago made her take a stand for justice and lost her her job. And for it we consider her a BONAFIDE HERO.

Lynn's job was baggage handler at the Reno-Taho Airport and when she saw the dog crate with an obviously abused dog inside she told her supervisor. He insisted she load the crate anyway telling her it's not her job to question the baggage, just load it.

She took another look at the dog this time noticing it wasn't just emaciated and starving, it had open "sores and its paws were worn raw." She was heartbroken and yet resolved to try to save it.

She battled with her supervisor yelling and crying so loudly that the airport police were called in. They in turn called an animal welfare agency, Washoe County Regional Animal Services, who took control of the dog and Lynn got sent home.

Then she got fired for abandoning her job. Yes, the job that she was sent home for!

The poor dog was nursed back to health by the rescue agency only to be sent back to the abusive owner. The owner is a hunter that regularly ships the dog around the world for his hunts.

Lynn spoke up and she got fired for it. She's a hero in every sense of the word. She refused to stand by and do nothing. SHE STOOD UP FOR AN ABUSED ANIMAL THAT COULDN'T SPEAK FOR ITSELF. GREAT WORK, LYNN!

We're absolutely sure that when this bad PR get digested by your boss's supervisor, he'll be the one without a job and you'll get reinstated.

We must always be looking out for the "little guy" especially when it's an animal that needs help.

Two things need to be taken away from this:

1) Lynn Jones needs to be reinstated and reimbursed for lost time.
2) Animal welfare laws need to be adhered to or written in this case. ABUSED ANIMALS SHOULD NEVER GO BACK TO THE ABUSERS. This dog in question was sent back to the same owner to be starved and neglected again. This is a crime. Lynn herself wanted to adopt the dog. We think she should have it.

Read more:
News Article

News Article with video of Lynn

Baby Elephants are Cool

Check out this little guy playing in the mud at a zoo in England - Whipsnade Zoo, Bedfordshire.

SO CUTE!!!




News Article

Kudos to Trent Reznor - Greyhound Defender

Academy Award winner and Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor, is auctioning off some rare NIN goods to raise money for greyhounds.

A long time animal lover, Trent used to bring his dog to all the shows back in the day.

"Trent is an animal lover and longtime supporter of rescuing greyhounds and has created this auction specifically to help his friends continue their work in saving these animals’ lives."

Click the link and bid high!

NIN Ebay site

Kudos to Ke$ha, HSI Global Ambassador

Recording artist Ke$ha is using her celebrity to help homeless street dogs.

Ke$ha wants to have hands-on involvement in HSI’s efforts to protect animals. “I am honored to be the first HSI Global Ambassador because my music is inspired by the freedom and primal beauty of animals and the natural world," she says. "I take this opportunity incredibly seriously because we are ALL animals. One of the main underlying sentiments of my music is to respect all living creatures just as they are. I believe that together, we can change laws that allow innocent animals to be unjustly mistreated and abused all over the world."

Watch the sad video and then visit the link and donate to this desperate cause.



Humane Society International - Street Dog Defenders

And in More British News...Fenton the Dog

Ahhh, the calm tranquility of London's Richmond Park. The deer are plenty and are grazing peacefully. The traffic on the boundary road is light and the day is just clear and perfect. What a nice day to walk the dog.

Once you watch this video you'll see why it's gone viral. And if you've ever owned a dog that tends to chase things, you can feel this guys embarrassing pain.

Care to bet on who can run faster - a herd of deer, a dog named Fenton or a man? Hint: It is SO not the man.

And since the deer were not hurt, we find it hilarious.

Another Reason Why Our Soldiers are Awesome

Shelia Schaffer with Charlie, Penny Herald with her dog Liberty and
Adam John Riniker with his dog Freedom

American soldiers are returning from Afghanistan and bringing war torn dogs home with them.

As any animal lover will tell you, you form more than just a bond with a pet. And when that pet has suffered along with you that bond becomes unbreakable.

The dogs go through a grueling process of travel and quarantine. It takes months for them to reunite with the soldiers who love them. But when the reunion process happens it's MAGIC.

These soldiers are spending their own money to have the dogs they bonded with flown to the US to live a happy life here. A life filled with food, love and hugs.

Awesome!

Read the article to see even more pictures and to read this heartwarming story.
Daily Mail News Article

Cats That Answer Phones

Cats are hilarious!

Here's are the latest viral vids featuring our favorite pet answering phones:

The Bob Barker Kicks Ass and Takes Names

Sea Shepherds tweeted this pic earlier today -
titled: ready for action

Follow The Sea Shepherds on Twitter for up-to-date, pulse- pounding action. @SeaShepherd

These guys and gals, God Bless 'Em, are FIGHTING AS WE SPEAK to SAVE THE DOLPHINS OF Japan from the sadistic and evil hunt that is taking place there.

Go to Sea Shepherd.org and donate generously. These people are on the front line protecting ocean life everyday!

Check out their new logo.

Do not fuck with the Sea Shepherds

ANOTHER Horse Falls in NYC - NEW Controversy

Lea Michele's PETA campaign

Friday night another horse made the NYC news wire. This time, the horse is still alive and seems to be okay, but ultimately what happened is just indicitive of the horse-drwn carriage issue.

This horse got caught up in the carriage mechanism and fell to the ground in front of a crowd of people in Central Park.

These unfortunately are NOT isolated incidents. Just two weeks ago, Charlie the beautiful white horse, dropped dead on the street. Things like this used to just be swept under the rug, but in this media age of camera phones everything is being captured on "film".

More controversy surrounds Charlie's incident. From Daily Mail News Article:

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) paid for Charlie's initial autopsy, and released a statement saying that the horse suffered from a stomach ulcer and a fractured tooth.

Dr. Pamela Corey, speaking on behalf of the ASPCA, then released a statement saying that that they were 'very concerned that Charlie was forced to work in spite of painful maladies'.

Ms. Corey has since been fired from her job because she later released a correction, lessening the severity of the ASPCA's first statement, creating another drama amid the debate.

All of this is just dancing around the real issue.

Do you feel that horse-drawn carriage rides are romantic? Necessary? Vital to NYC's economy? Normal? The way it's always been?

We don't.






News Article

His Name was Charlie...Update on NYC Carriage Horse Death

The only known picture of Charlie
The horse that will never be forgotten and may yet
be vindicated. His death may change the world...for horses.

The Blogosphere is blowing itself up over the death of poor Charlie the New York carriage horse. AND FOR GOOD REASON.

Necropsy results are sort of in...no cause of death yet...but plenty to be upset about. The necropsy was conducted at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and reported that Charlie, the gorgeous white horse, had been "suffering from a pronounced, chronic ulceration of the stomach and a fractured tooth."

Poor Charlie was in undeniable severe pain for God knows how long before he just collapsed and died on the street 10/23/11.

Animal rights activists are up-in-arms over this needless death. Especially in light of how poor his health had been. And rightly so!

Carriage horse owners have vehemently denied they mistreat their horses BUT THE PROOF IS IN THE AUTOPSY RESULTS! When was the last time Charlie had his teeth looked at? The one tooth was cracked open and the horse had a bit in his mouth. Undeniable cruelty.

We're calling for the neglectful owner(s) to be charged with cruelty, neglect and be shut down. We will not abide.

Huff Post News Article

Read Mayor Bloomberg's updated response at globalanimal.com! Hint: It's just as insensitive and outrageously stupid as his other comments.
GlobalAnimal.com

DNAinfo.com News Article

Humane Society's 21st Century Solution to "Horseless Carriages!"

Daily Mail (UK) News Article

COALITION TO BAN HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGES

If you care at all about these poor defenseless horses PLEASE visit the ASPCA against horse drawn carriages petition page! It only takes a second to add your voice to the growing chorus. Mayor Bloomberg needs to hear us!
ASPCA Petition Against HDCs

A candlelit vigil was held for Charlie on 10/27/11

TAKE IT TO THE SUPREME COURT

What does this look like to you?
Rhymes with...ABUSE, maybe?

In a devastating setback to Animal Rights, yet ANOTHER court, the Appeals Court, has dismissed a case against Ringling Brothers for abusing its elephants.

This is ridiculously sad and tragic.

Obviously the 3-person appeals panel is ABSOLUTELY CLUELESS and/or hiding behind minutiae detail that in another day and age would be looked over. In an age when OJ and Casey Anthony were set free on society and Troy Davis executed, it's extremely difficult to get justice at all.

This lawsuit was brought by 2 independent animal rights groups that came together for the cause. Both the The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the Animal Protection Institute (API), we think, were in the rights here to make this case.

AND WE URGE THEM TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL,
THE SUPREME COURT.

"Never give up. Never surrender."

Elephants are highly social, emotional and smart animals. Beating them as babies to make them perform for the next 50 years is as unconscionable, cruel and disgusting as it gets. Ringling Brothers is a fucking nightmare. NEVER TAKE YOUR KIDS TO A CIRCUS. NEVER.

HuffPost News Article

CNN News Article

View Cloris Leachman's video PSA to stop circus elephant abuse

PETA - Circus action site

Mayor Bloomberg's Response to Carriage Horse Death

Is infuriating! According to Gothamist.com the Mayor of New York in response to a ban on carriage horses, said...drum roll please..." (they) probably wouldn't be alive if they didn't have a job".

Crickets...

Un.freaking.believable.

Oh, and "(they're) part of New York's heritage".

Ok. Let us reply to that, Mr. Mayor.

1) To imply the horses wouldn't be alive if they weren't pulling carriages is ludicrous at best and downright ignorant at worst. He clearly thinks this incident is a joke and part and parcel of being a horse in NYC.

2) To say horse drawn carriages are part of New York's heritage is totally correct, HOWEVER, to quote New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio from this Huff Post News Article:

London, Paris, Las Vegas, Toronto and Beijing -- New York City's chief rivals for tourism -- have all banned horse-drawn carriages in recent years, and with good reason. Our city's carriage horses work strenuous hours throughout the week and unlike the horses that plied the park a hundred years ago, today's horses travel on hard asphalt roads that wear down and damage their feet.

Horse drawn carriages are more of a London heritgage don't you think, Mayor? And yet, they had the mercy and compassion to see that it doesn't belong in a modern urban city. AND BEIJING (!) banned it?! I guess NY isn't as progressive as Beijing.

Get with the program, Mayor Bloomberg.

Necropsy results on the beautiful white horse that died Monday are still unavailable at this time. We WILL be posting an update as soon as its released.

BANHDC.org