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Animal Rights Information and News Resource Blog - Companion Blog for www.geari.org
GEARI (the Group for the Education of Animal - Related Issues) is a non-profit educational group dedicated to assisting you in your search for information on animal rights-related issues, the environment and human health. Your reference source for animal rights information. Visit us at our web site at http://www.geari.orgSyndicate us via RSS. Add us to your favorite blog or RSS feeds via the address: http://geari.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Tight End - Ninth Consecutive Pro Bowl - Tony Gonzalez, Promotes Vegetarian Diet: Smashes Stereotype of Vegetarians
I wrote about Tony a few months back -http://geari.blogspot.com/2008/05/strong-fit-tough-guys-mac-danzig-and.html As I said before, I’m so glad this stuff is coming out in the open. I too break the stereotype of the skinny, wimpy vegan, as I work out and am nearing 200 lbs while in shape. I love it when people hear that I’m vegan, as they’re pretty surprised. Yes, not all vegans have long hair, a long beard and are hippies. And, even more, as you’ll read below, a vegetarian diet WILL increase your performance and longevity. Just check out this quote from the article below: “A year-and-a-half after swearing off most dairy products and meat, the 6-foot-5, 251-pounder is laying waste to the stereotype of the scrawny, wimpy herbivore.” Very nice. Unfortunately, they should have used the real term – vegetarian. The story goes on to show that his performance actually increased after his move to a vegan diet: “Coming off a stellar campaign that included 99 receptions for 1,172 yards(leaving him 179 yards behind Shannon Sharpe for the NFL's all time leadamong tight ends) and earned him a ninth consecutive Pro Bowl invitation,the 32-year-old Gonzalez insists he's at his physical peak, with no signof a decline.” "It's unbelievable how good I feel," Gonzalez said. "Seriously, myrecovery is so much better than it's ever been, and my endurance istremendous. The best part is that during games I really don't get tired.I have more focus, too. I'm even staying awake in meetings." Finally the truth of vegetarianism and vegetarians is acknowledged all because a man with courage, intelligence, compassion and fame dove right into a diet that most would never even consider. Because of this, stereotypes are crushed and the “haters” and detractors lose their ammunition. The same can be said of another hero of mine, Mac Danzig. He also stands out, as he actually won Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter." Everyone counted him out due to his diet, but he proved them wrong. As you’ll see below, “[l]ast month, on a diet of brown-rice protein, beans, soy, nuts and vegetables, Mr. Danzig defeated the last of his challengers in Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter."” As you’ll read on his website at http://www.macdanzig.net/ “Mac is featured in the new July issue of Men's Fitness magazine (in stores now) as one of the "25 fittest men in America".” Also, stated – “[a] vegan, naturalist, animal lover and serious photographer, Danzig transcends the typical stereotype of a combat athlete.” So, Tony and Mac, you both are real heroes to me and an inspiration to men everywhere to break the mold and prove that vegan doesn’t equal wimp.Article: Gonzalez gives Chiefs steady diet of lectures http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-thegameface081508&prov=yhoo&type=lgnsBy Michael Silver, Yahoo! SportsAugust 15, 2008RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Tony Gonzalez heard thefrantic screams – "He can't breathe! He can't breathe!" a woman sittingbehind him in a Southern California restaurant was yelling last month –and whisked around to see a man turning blue. Within seconds, the KansasCity Chiefs' perennial All-Pro tight end was standing behind the strickendiner and administering the Heimlich maneuver, a lifesaving technique forwhich he'd never received any formal training.As a chunk of filet mignon shot out of 45-year-old shipping companymanager Ken Hunter's mouth and onto the restaurant floor, the firstthought Gonzalez had was, "Thank God he's alive."His second thought?I'll bet that beef is full of antibiotics.An exaggeration? If so it's only a slight stretch. Of all the NFL starswho could've saved a man from choking, he may have been the only onewho'd be quite so grossed out by the food he managed to dislodge. Justask Gonzalez's teammates, who've grown so accustomed to his neo-vegandiet and the accompanying lectures that they sometimes shy away from himduring meals."Eating with Tony is a great way to ruin your appetite," veteranquarterback Damon Huard said last Saturday from the team's training camp."You'll be biting into a piece of meat, and he'll say, 'You know that cowwas probably corn-fed. And because of that, they had to give itantibiotics, and that probably gave it ulcers. I don't even want to thinkabout what might be in there.' By then you're pretty much ready to clearyour plate."An hour later, as he sat in the cafeteria at the team's University ofWisconsin-River Falls headquarters, Gonzalez expanded upon the carefullycrafted dietary approach that has fueled his second decade of excellence.A year-and-a-half after swearing off most dairy products and meat, the6-foot-5, 251-pounder is laying waste to the stereotype of the scrawny,wimpy herbivore.Coming off a stellar campaign that included 99 receptions for 1,172 yards(leaving him 179 yards behind Shannon Sharpe for the NFL's all time leadamong tight ends) and earned him a ninth consecutive Pro Bowl invitation,the 32-year-old Gonzalez insists he's at his physical peak, with no signof a decline.AccuScore on the ChiefsThe Chiefs defense allowed 20.9 points per game last season and isforecasted for an identical 20.9 points allowed this season. The teamlost Jared Allen, but added Glenn Dorsey to the defensive line. The goodnews offensively is the Chiefs are forecasted for 25 percent more pointsin 2008 with the combo of Larry Johnson and rookie Jamaal Charlesgenerating more than 120 rushing yards and 16 rushing TDs this season.However, a 25-percent increase only results in a 17 point per gameaverage (up from 14 last season) and an average margin of victory ofnearly negative 4 points per game. The Chiefs are winning an average of6.5 games per season simulation, up from 4 last year, but it is stillonly good enough for third in the AFC West.The big question in fantasy football is what kind of year can Johnsonhave. AccuScore expects Johnson to average nearly 4.5 ypc in 2008, whichis significantly higher than his 3.5 in eight games in 2007. If Johnsonstruggles and averages under 3.8 ypc, the Chiefs average season win totalfalls to 4 and their chances of making the playoffs plummet to 2 percent.Projected Record: 6-10Playoff Probability: 12%– AccuScore"It's unbelievable how good I feel," Gonzalez said. "Seriously, myrecovery is so much better than it's ever been, and my endurance istremendous. The best part is that during games I really don't get tired.I have more focus, too. I'm even staying awake in meetings."There were times last season when Gonzalez felt like closing his eyesduring film sessions, especially during Kansas City's nine-game losingstreak to complete a 4-12 campaign. Frustrated by the motion-laden yetinflexible schemes of offensive coordinator Mike Solari, Gonzalez chafedas opponents such as Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga correctly calledout his routes before they were run."Sometimes we'd do all that shifting and defenses wouldn't move,"Gonzalez recalled. "They'd just sit there and wait, and we'd run the ballinto an eight-man front and get stuffed. Even when we had a mismatch, thequarterback didn't have the freedom to change the play at the line. It'sdumbfounding that we didn't do that."With Chan Gailey having replaced the fired Solari and an influx of youngplayers that includes rookie left tackle Branden Albert, the 15th overallpick in the 2008 NFL draft, the rebuilding Chiefs have reason foroptimism. If star halfback Johnson comes back strong from the foot injurythat short-circuited his '07 season, wideout Dwayne Bowe builds upon thebreakout flashes he showed as a rookie and third-year quarterback BrodieCroyle justifies the faith coach Herm Edwards has shown in him, Chiefsfans could at least experience some offensive excitement.It's a given that Gonzalez, fresh off his fifth consecutive season withat least 900 receiving yards, will do his part. "He's not slowing down atall," Vikings safety Darren Sharper says of Gonzalez. "Plus he's such acrafty tight end – he knows all the little push-off moves, and how to usehis body and post you up."Another standout Vikings defender, recently acquired All-Pro defensiveend Jared Allen, says his former Chiefs teammate is "one of my biggestrole models in the NFL, because of his work ethic. A lot of people don'tsee that – they see Tony Gonzalez, superstar pretty boy, the guy who hasto be dressed just right and have his hair done before he does anything.But the guy works – he's out there catching 100 balls a day; he neverdrops a ball in practice and never lets up. He's an absolute machine."For Gonzalez, it all goes back to nutrition. When he decided to eliminatedairy and red meat from his largely organic diet – he still eats fish andthe occasional chicken dish – Gonzalez's peers were highly skeptical."They'd tell me, 'You're gonna get crushed. You're gonna get your asskicked,'" Gonzalez recalled. "They still think that, too, because I lookso skinny, but I weigh what I've always weighed."Gonzalez is currently collaborating with a nutritionist on a bookdetailing his dietary philosophies, though not necessarily from a veganperspective, that will tentatively be published toward the end of '08.Gonzalez, who was so moved by scientific tome "The China Study" that hemet with author T. Colin Campbell, has spoken to children about thebenefits of maintaining proper nutritional habits, something on which hewants to expand in the coming years.In the meantime he is more than willing to lecture his teammates."Anything I eat, he'll tell me what's in it," Croyle said. "I tell him,'Man, I'm from Alabama. I just eat. Leave me alone.' When I hear him ask,'Could you cook that in olive oil instead of butter?' I say, 'Dude, ifyou went to Alabama and said that stuff, they'd ask you to leave.'"Said Edwards, the Chiefs' third-year coach: "Tony and (veteran linebackerDonnie Edwards), they both get on each other. They're each on diets, butdifferent kind of diets, and they argue about which one is better. I walkby and go, 'You guys are like two women.' "Bowe, who caught 70 passes for 995 yards as a rookie in '07, iswell-acquainted with The Lecture. "At least twice a week he'll be like,'Man, what are you eating?' " Bowe said. "I'll look down and say, 'Friedchicken? Cheese?' and then he'll stop eating his big ol' salad and giveme the talk. He'll say, '1 or 13? You can eat like that and play one yearor eat like this play 13.' And you know what – I listen."Perhaps, but Gonzalez isn't close to satisfied. As he paused to inspect apiece of tortellini to ensure that no cheese was inside, the tight endnoted that two nights earlier in a preseason victory over the Bears, theChiefs had moved 81 yards in 16 plays in the game's first 8:45."I wasn't tired at all," Gonzalez said, "but Dwayne Bowe is out theretapping his helmet saying, 'Come get me.' And he's in his second year! Iwas like, 'Bowe, you're killing me.'"Spoken like a true lifesaver.Take it to the ATM Labels: benefits of vegetarianism, famous vegetarians, mac danzig famous vegan, strength and vegan vegetarian diet, Tony Gonzalez Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Tight End vegetarian vegan, vegetarian athletes
posted by GEARI.ORG at 9:12 AM
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Poignant Article and Accompanying Heartbreaking Photo Speak to the Truth of Diet and Famine: Meat Production and World Hunger
If you view the photo in the story and you don’t feel absolute sadness and sickness then there’s no hope for you anyway. If you view the photo with shock and an internal question of “what can I do to prevent this?” then there is hope for you.I’ll let the article speak for it’s self, but it comes down to this: “Nutritious plant-based food that could feed humans instead goes to feed animals in a very inefficient use of resources…. The USDA and the United Nations state that using an acre of land to raise cattle yields 20 pounds of usable protein. If soybeans were grown instead, that same acre would yield 356 pounds of protein. Animal agriculture also wastes valuable water resources. Population biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich note that a pound of wheat can be grown with 60 gallons of water, whereas a pound of meat requires 2,500 to 6,000 gallons.”So, again, it comes down to selfish motives trumping a truly real problem. If one cares about other humans going hungry, then the reality exposed below should be taken to heart.Before you read this, please see the photo at http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/71230Article:Feast or Famine: Meat Production and World HungerMark HawthorneAugust 12, 2008Hanging in the Newseum in Washington, DC, is a photo that is about as heart-rending an image as you´re likely to find anywhere. Taken by Kevin Carter for The New York Times in 1993, the photo depicts a starving Sudanese toddler crumpled on the ground, as if her stick-like legs could no longer bear the weight of her large head and swollen stomach, bloated from the malnourishment disease called kwashiorkor. While that alone is disturbing, what makes the tableau truly haunting is the vulture patiently waiting just a few feet behind the emaciated child. This photograph earned Carter a Pulitzer Prize and epitomized the toll famine is taking on developing countries around the world.Tragically, of course, hunger has only become an even graver issue in the last 15 years -- a point made clear in a report released July 29 from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Recommending urgent action for long-term relief, the CSIS report calls for "a strategic U.S. approach to the global food crisis.""Food crisis," however, implies some recent, short-term cause and effect, when in fact the "perfect storm" of rising energy costs, grain hoarding, government subsidies, drought and the demand for biofuels diverts attention from an entrenched industry and a remedy neither the CSIS nor many social activists want to contemplate: eliminating meat production."Whoa!" you say. "Don´t take away my steaks and cheeseburgers." Meat-eating is such an ingrained aspect of Western culture that proposing its demise, even to save the world, deserves some discussion. Fair enough.The United Nations estimates that 854 million people -- nearly 13 percent of the world´s human population -- go hungry every day. And the problem is only getting worse. Josette Sheeran, executive director of the UN´s World Food Program, says, "The world´s misery index is rising."So is our hunger for meat. As Gene Baur observes in "Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food," in 1950, 50,000 farms produced 630 million "meat" chickens in the United States. By 2005, the U.S. had 20,000 fewer farms -- but they were producing 8.7 billion chickens for meat. That´s a lot of chicken feed. In fact, every year industrial animal factories in the U.S. feed 157 million metric tons of legumes, cereal and vegetable protein to livestock, resulting in 28 million metric tons of animal protein for human consumption. Nutritious plant-based food that could feed humans instead goes to feed animals in a very inefficient use of resources.Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends in Washington, DC, states it succinctly: "People go hungry because much of arable land is used to grow feed grain for animals rather than people." He offers as one example the Ethiopian famine of 1984, which was fueled by the meat industry. "While people starved, Ethiopia was growing linseed cake, cottonseed cake and rapeseed meal for European livestock," he says. "Millions of acres of land in the developing world are used for this purpose. Tragically, 80 percent of the world´s hungry children live in countries with food surpluses which are fed to animals for consumption by the affluent."The demand for meat has been especially dramatic in developing countries. "China´s meat consumption is increasing rapidly with income growth and urbanization, and it has more than doubled in the past generation," says Rosamond Naylor, an associate professor of economics at Stanford University. As a result, land once used to provide grains for humans now provides feed for chickens and pigs.The USDA and the United Nations state that using an acre of land to raise cattle yields 20 pounds of usable protein. If soybeans were grown instead, that same acre would yield 356 pounds of protein. Animal agriculture also wastes valuable water resources. Population biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich note that a pound of wheat can be grown with 60 gallons of water, whereas a pound of meat requires 2,500 to 6,000 gallons.Here´s another way to look at it. According to the aid group Vegfam, a ten-acre farm can support 60 people growing soybeans, 24 people growing wheat, ten people growing corn and only two people producing cattle. Reducing meat production by just ten percent in the U.S. would free enough grain to feed 60 million people, estimates Harvard nutritionist Jean Mayer. Sixty million people -- that´s the population of Great Britain, which, by the way, could support 250 million people on an all-vegetable diet.Not surprisingly, the meat industry has a beef with these statistics. They say, for example, that the grains and soybeans fed to farmed animals are not of the high quality that humans would expect to eat (tell that to a starving child). Yet it´s difficult to dispute the fact that animal agribusiness uses land and water that could be used to grow plant foods for human consumption.As Rifkin observes, it is ironic that millions of consumers in developed countries are dying from diseases of affluence such as heart attacks, diabetes and cancer, brought on by eating animal products, while the poor in the Third World are dying of diseases of poverty caused by being denied access to land to grow food grain for their families."We are long overdue for a global discussion on how to promote a diversified, high-protein, vegetarian diet for the human race," says Rifkin, whose book "Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture" addresses the moral paradoxes of eating meat.Are those steaks and cheeseburgers really worth all the lives they take -- human and non-human? It would be naïve to think the world will go vegetarian overnight, or even in a few decades. But looking at Carter´s powerful photograph, I can´t help but believe we have been woefully mistaken in how we treat those with whom we share this planet. If we hope to bequeath a sustainable world to future generations, we´ll have to shake loose this meat-produced disaster and embrace a kinder way of living.Mark Hawthorne is the author of "Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism" (www.strikingattheroots.com).Labels: benefits of vegetarianism, eating meat and the environment, solutions to hunger, vegetarianism and veganism and famine, vegetarianism as solution to hunger famine
posted by GEARI.ORG at 2:46 PM
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Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer Amanda Beard Shows Courage and Raises Awareness to the Cruelty of Fur via Photo Shoot in China
I’ve always said that the people I respect the most are those that use their status to actually do something good, even in the face of controversy. This is especially the case with Amanda Beard. In an amazing move, she actually went against the draconian Chinese police and literally avoided their intervention by moving the shoot to a different location. In a time such as now, and in a place such as China, where control of every movement is the norm, I fully applaud Amanda Beard for her courage in exposing the horrors of fur. As stated in another article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/7704052, she is aware of the horrible cruelty of fur. "What happens with animals when their skin is ripped from their bodies when they are still alive, it's heartbreaking for me," she said. The Olympics provided a great platform for making those views known, she added. For more on the horrors of fur, please visit www.furisdead.comPlease also check out her website, amandabeard.net, for her thoughts and a link to a petition. You can see the photo at http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/08/06/bears-adds-animal-rights-to-olympic-agenda/ Article: Amanda Beard Adds Animal Rights to Olympic Agenda http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/08/06/bears-adds-animal-rights-to-olympic-agenda/ Just when you thought that the Olympics couldn’t handle any more controversies, here comes one that we can all get behind. Despite security concerns, US Swimmer Amanda Beard debuted her brand new PETA ad at the Athlete’s Village in Beijing. “I have seen a lot of the videos, and (it) brings me to tears,” the four-time Olympian was quoted saying in a PETA statement. “What (some people) think is pretty is actually something that’s very gruesome and gross.” The photo was scheduled to be unveiled at an indoor press conference but officials feared for Beard’s safety. Undaunted, she just took the whole thing outside. I’d be happy to tell you more about her anti-fur resume, but you’re probably just looking at the picture anyway, Check out her website, amandabeard.net, for her thoughts and a link to an animal rights petition.Labels: celebrities who support animal rights, fur, Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer Amanda Beard fur protest
posted by GEARI.ORG at 10:53 AM
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Update: Ridiculous and Unnecessary Live Animal Pig Lab by Covidien to Take Place: How You Can Help Stop It
A couple updates. For one, it SEEMS that the event was not to take place at the hotel. I'm still not fully certain of this, but that's the information I received.Also, I have been told that the event was canceled. Again, not sure if we can trust a group like Covidien that has been cited with past animal cruelty, but that's the news. I've left the information about the event below.NOTE: I've added more information below in addition to what was posted yesterday. You'll see new names to contact in addition to the hotel. Very easy actions that should take no more than 10 minutes.Yes, I’m telling you the truth. This will actually take place in a hotel! The ridiculousness and cruelty never end. Please read below and see how you can easily speak up abut this issue. Turns out that the group sponsoring the event, is Covidien Electrosurgery, a company known for controversy in regard to vivisection. Action Alerts & Updates Stop Cruel Pig LabAugust 4, 2008 On August 7, the Omni Interlocken Resort is hosting an event in which pigs will be killed and sacrificed in a "Hands-On Pig Lab" to demonstrate electrosurgical tools. The Pig Lab is being devised by Covidien Electrosurgery, a company that performs laboratory tests on animals in order to market its surgical tools. Formerly known as ValleyLab, Covidien has a history of controversy, including an incident that prompted the University of Colorado at Denver to ban all non-research vivisection in 2007. The August 7 event advertises, "Procedures that will be performed include: ureteral dissection, pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, repair of simulated bowel and bladder injury, bowel resection, ureteral re-anasomosis, and liver resection." In other words, pigs will be mutilated and cut apart at the August 7 so that Covidien can hawk its wares to buyers. You Can HelpPlease contact Covidien Electosurgery, the Pig Lab organizers, and urge them to remove live animals from their demonstration. Bryan HansonPresident, Covidien Electrosurgeryph: 303-530-2300fax: 303-530-6285e-mail: bryan.hanson@covidien.com 2. Politely contact the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and urge them to not promote such live animal labs.ph: 312-235-4060fax: 312-235-4059e-mail: sgo@sgo.org and jenna.cummins@sgo.org3. Please contact your federal representative and urge him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 2193– legislation that will amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the use of animals for marketing medical devices. You can find out who represents you by going to http://action.farmsanctuary.org/legislatorlookup. The sponsors of this bill are Reps. Steve Israel (D-NY) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and if your member of Congress has already become a cosponsor, please thank them! Labels: Covidien Electrosurgery vivisection cruelty, live animal labs covidien electrosurgery, pig killing live animal labs, pigs vivisection, vivisection
posted by GEARI.ORG at 9:25 AM
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Web Page from Group Shows Video and Photo Proof of Torture Primates Endure in a Variety of Settings: Can’t Argue with Images
I’ve always been a firm believer in the power of images. Well, this page - http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/monkey.html#abuse is no different. In it, you’ll be introduced to the proof of the horrors primates endure in a variety of settings. This includes in vivisection / animal testing facilities and bush meat. Don’t be afraid to face the truth. View the videos and pictures that serve as proof to what occurs on a daily basis. Again, that page is http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/monkey.html#abuse Labels: eating primates, primate abuse bush meat, primate abuse vivisection, videos and pictures animal testing, videos pictures vivisection primates monkeys
posted by GEARI.ORG at 4:16 PM
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Army Turns to Outdated and Cruel Practice: Will Shoot Live Pigs in Gunshot Wound Exercise
Need I really comment on just how ridiculous this is? And, of course, overly cruel. Article: Army to shoot live pigs for medical drill http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080718/ap_on_re_us/army_pigs By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer Fri Jul 18, 4:27 AM ET HONOLULU - The Army says it's critical to saving the lives of wounded soldiers. Animal-rights activists call the training cruel and outdated. Despite opposition by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Army is moving forward with its plan to shoot live pigs and treat their gunshot wounds in a medical trauma exercise Friday at Schofield Barracks for soldiers headed to Iraq. Maj. Derrick Cheng, spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, said the training is being conducted under a U.S. Department of Agriculture license and the careful supervision of veterinarians and a military Animal Care and Use Committee. "It's to teach Army personnel how to manage critically injured patients within the first few hours of their injury," Cheng said. The soldiers are learning emergency lifesaving skills needed on the battlefield when there are no medics, doctors or facility nearby, he said. PETA, however, said there are more advanced and humane options available, including high-tech human simulators. In a letter, PETA urged the Army to end all use of animals, "as the overwhelming majority of North American medical schools have already done." "Shooting and maiming pigs is outdated as Civil War rifles," said Kathy Guillermo, director of PETA's Laboratory Investigations Department. The Norfolk, Va.-based group demanded the exercise be halted after it was notified by a "distraught" soldier from the unit, who disclosed a plan to shoot the animals with M4 carbines and M16 rifles. "There's absolutely no reason why they have to shoot live pigs," PETA spokeswoman Holly Beal said. The bloody exercise, she said, is difficult for soldiers because they sometimes associate the animals with their own pet dogs. Cheng said the exercise is conducted in a controlled environment with the pigs anesthetized the entire time. He had "no doubt whatsoever" in the effectiveness of the instruction, which he called the best option available at the base. "Those alternative methods just can't replicate what the troops are going to face when we use live-tissue training," he said. "What we're doing is unique to what the soldiers are going to actually experience." Cheng didn't have details about the number of pigs, how they were acquired or the weapons involved in the training. The soldiers being trained are with the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, which is deploying to Iraq this year. "We understand (PETA's) concerns and point of view. At the same, the Army is committed to providing the soldiers with the best training possible," Cheng said. Disappointed at the Army's decision, PETA on Thursday instructed its 2 million members to inundate the Army with calls and e-mails. "We're hoping at the 11th hour here that we can have this stopped. We have to hang on to hope," Beal said. PETA believes the U.S. military has conducted similar training at other bases using pigs and goats.Labels: army animal cruelty, army shoots pigs, united states military animal abuse, us military killing live animals
posted by GEARI.ORG at 8:06 AM
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The European Commission, the Executive Branch of the European Union, will Meet to Discuss Prohibiting the Import of Seal Products
It’s not hard to see what such a monumental move would lead to. In short – the significant decrease in the horrible practice of baby seal slaughter from Canada and Namibia. So, let’s hope compassion rules over the meeting. But, as with anything in which money is involved, don’t hope too much.The group that is tireless in fighting this unfortunate spectacle of human cruelty is Sea Shepherd.To follow their campaign and to support them in ending this ridiculously cruel and unnecessary annual slaughter fest, visit their site at: http://www.seashepherd.org/seals2008/Article:Sealers brace for impact on industry as EU discusses import banhttp://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iAnsH8B0TqDnJX7r6yiPhPnmN8PAST. JOHN'S, N.L. — For animal welfare activists, this week could mark the first step to ending the largest marine mammal slaughter in the world.For Canada's commercial seal hunters, it could represent the triumph of emotion over reason.The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is expected to discuss legislation Wednesday that aims to prohibit the import of seal products.What's decided in the Berlaymont, an ornate 14-storey office tower in Brussels, Belgium, could have a far-reaching impact on outports throughout Atlantic Canada."It's the epitome of hypocrisy," said Jim Winter, a long-time advocate of the sealing industry."It just goes to prove that the European parliamentarians and the European bureaucracy are owned by the animal rights groups, multimillion-dollar, American-based organizations that have been spreading propaganda in Europe now for decades."His views are echoed by many sealers who accuse both levels of government of lacking the political will to defend their centuries-old industry and way of life."Our own governments have let us down immensely," said Jack Troake, who has hunted seals off the coast of Twillingate, N.L., since 1951."If the ban goes in place, it's going to be interesting to see what Canada is going to do, to see what kind of a stand they'll take. I suspect it's not going to be nothing."A spokesman for federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said the minister would not comment until the EU votes on the proposed ban.Trevor Taylor, acting fisheries minister in Newfoundland and Labrador, has called on the federal government to launch trade sanctions against Europe if the EU approves of a ban. He has complained that Ottawa has remained silent while animal rights activists in Europe rallied support for a ban."At the end of the day, the buck stops at the federal government level," Taylor said.Premier Danny Williams and Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik wrote the prime minister in April, calling on him to ban the use of the hakapik from the annual hunt in the interests of defending its image.Taylor, himself a sealer before entering politics, said his province has yet to hear a response.In a brief statement on Friday after the federal government was criticized by Newfoundland and Labrador for not speaking up, Hearn said the federal government has shown its commitment to sealers on the international stage."We will continue to lead with a strong voice and strong actions on behalf of the sealers and the sealing industry," he said.Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper also said he raised the seal hunt with European Commission president Jose Barroso, and told him that EU member nations should carefully consider any measure that would restrict the sale of seal products within their borders.Over the past two years, the federal and provincial governments have joined forces to lobby the EU in the hope of thwarting any legislation that would close its borders to Canadian seal products."Big deal," retorts Winter. "What did you achieve?"In January 2007, the province hailed the European Commission for refusing to draft a prohibition on seal products. But since then momentum has shifted in favour of animal rights organizations that have waged a decades-long fight to end the commercial seal trade.The seal hunt, arguably the most politically and emotionally charged issue in Newfoundland and Labrador, did not always arouse such public interest.Its roots run deep in the province, where the seal was once second only to cod as the most economically vital species to catch.Fishermen have caught seals on the heaving ice floes of the North Atlantic since the 16th century. After the advent of the steam vessel in the 1800s - an era nostalgically known as "the Great Days of Sealing" - the seal hunt accounted for about a third of the province's exports, with an annual harvest often exceeding 500,000 seals.But by the 1970s, animal rights groups focused their attention on ending the hunt, gaining celebrity support in the process.In 1983, after public pressure grew, Europe banned the import of products from harp seals up to two weeks old - known as whitecoats - and hooded seals up to 16 months of age - called bluebacks.Ottawa prohibited the hunt of those animals four years later, delivering a blow to some sealers for several years. But the industry rebounded in the 1990s, and with it so did the annual quota.In the past three years, the total allowable catch has hovered between 270,000 and 335,000 seals."The seal hunt was a part of our history and I think it needs to be put in the history books where it belongs," said Rebecca Aldworth, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States.For 15 years, Aldworth, a Newfoundlander, has campaigned for the end of the commercial seal hunt.With a ban possibly in sight, the federal government should offer sealers a compensation package to ease their transition out of a dying industry, Aldworth said."It's a tremendous feeling to know that a solution is finally within reach and there may be hope for the seals next year," she said.Some fishermen say they depend on the seal hunt for up to 35 per cent of their annual income, but that can fluctuate from year to year depending on a host of factors including quota allocation, the market for seals and the price of other fish stocks.But according to a survey conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in 2004, considered to be a typical year for seal pelt prices, 17 per cent of sealing enterprises earned more than 20 per cent of their revenue from the hunt.Troake puts it another way. He says during peak seasons, some crew members can take in $10,000 to $12,000 for 10 days of work."I doubt you're making that kind of money," Troake said in an interview.But he said the hunt is also significant because it is the first harvest of the year, offering fishermen an opportunity to earn much-needed income after months of unemployment in the winter.The proposal to ban seal products has not been made public, but EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas has indicated its general thrust is to prohibit the import of products from seals that the EU determines have been killed inhumanely.Any legislation would have to be unanimously approved by the EU's 27 commissioners. It would then go to the European Parliament and the EU presidency, France, to decide how to proceed with the matter.It's difficult to determine the precise parameters of any ban the EU could adopt.Rob Cahill, executive director of the Canadian Fur Institute, said the impact of a ban depends on the precise wording of the legislation. But he acknowledged that any ban would have a detrimental effect on the industry."Any ban, any sort of tainting of a product anywhere in the world, especially in a market the size and influence of Europe, is a negative influence," Cahill said."Many of the trends that are established and are in demand in Russia are established in Europe and if Europe is not allowing the seal products to come in, it could influence fashion in a negative way."Another major concern for the sealing industry is that a ban would close critical shipment points such as Rotterdam, Holland and Hamburg, Germany, thereby forcing the seal trade to extend shipping routes to the bigger markets of Norway, Russia and China."If Europe is going to be able to pass legislation that is not based on good, sound science or good fact, then that is setting a bad precedent that we will fight right to the end," Cahill said. Labels: baby seal slaughter, canadian baby seal slaughter, eu banning seal products, european countries animal rights legislation seal products, namibia seal slaughter
posted by GEARI.ORG at 11:21 AM
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eBay Finally Does Good Move: Bans Sale of Cat and Dog Pelts in Austria, Germany, Switzerland: Soon May Extend to France, Italy and Spain: Why Not US?
It’s about time! Can you imagine that it took this long to do such an obvious move? Yet, it stops short, as is stated below, “a move to do the same in the U.S., where eBay was founded, is being considered…” So why would you not also extend the ban to the US? No sense at all.Article:eBay bans sale of cat and dog pelts in Germany, other European countrieshttp://news.smh.com.au/technology/ebay-bans-sale-of-cat-and-dog-pelts-in-germany-other-european-countries-20080715-3f6y.htmlThe online marketplace eBay plans to ban the sale of dog and cat pelts on its German-language Web sites starting Tuesday.Alexander Witt, a spokesman for eBay in Germany, said the ban was in response to protests from animal rights groups that believe clothing and other goods claiming to contain rabbit or mink fur are actually made illegally from cats and dogs."We want to forbid these dealers from our marketplace," he said, adding that the ban would encompass eBay's sites in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.Witt said the ban would be extended to France, Italy and Spain, with more European countries to follow. A previous ban is already in place in the United Kingdom, Witt said.A move to do the same in the U.S., where eBay was founded, is being considered, he said."That is a conversation, but no decision has been made yet," Witt said.Peter Pueschel, a program leader with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said in a statement that he welcomed eBay's decision as an important step in animal protection."We hope that others will follow worldwide, and that such products will be taken off the market," Pueschel said.The online marketplace does not allow the sale of live animals on its Web site. Rules governing the sale of plants vary widely from country to country, Witt said, often depending on customs regulations. Labels: cat pelt sales, cruelty to cats, cruelty to dogs, dog pelt sales, ebay animal rights, ebay dog cat pelt
posted by GEARI.ORG at 11:18 AM
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Profile: Purpose and Goals
Name: GEARI.ORG Location: CO In essence, and briefly, the goal of this blog and of the main site - www.geari.org is to assist individuals in conducting research on issues related to animal rights. Over the years this has meant many things. Very commonly, it is with questions students have when putting together a research paper. Also, quite commonly, it is an individual just diving into trying to figure out what companies test on animals. Regardless of the question, my goal is to help you find the answer. Again, my background is in libraries and library science, and so I am professionally and personally committed to delivering timely, relevant and legitimate information. This is my only agenda.So, with this said, please enjoy http://geari.blogspot.com/ and our main site www.geari.org and as always, let us know how we can be of assistance.View my complete profile
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