Pigs Genetically Engineered for Cystic Fibrosis Research
Researchers from the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri have genetically engineered pigs to have cystic fibrosis. They plan to use the pigs to study the progression of the disease because the symptoms appear to mimic the symptoms experienced by human patients with CF.
Vivisection is probably the most controversial animal rights topic. While proponents sometimes try to frame the issue as choosing between children and mice, this ignores the moral issue: whether we have the right to experiment on animals.
The Guide to Cystic Fibrosis currently has a poll asking whether pigs should be used for CF research.
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Pennsylvania Puppy Mill Raid
A raid on a puppy mill in Pennsylvania has turned up approximately 800 animals living in dirty, over-crowded conditions. Elaine Skypala of the Pennsylvania SPCA described the scene:
There are dogs that are just piled on top of each other, running loose in kennels that are not secured. They're wet. We saw no food and water in most of the kennels. It's hard to breathe in some of the rooms. The smell is so bad.
The quote from the puppy mill's neighbor is particularly insightful:
People keep coming to these places and buying these animals or going to pet stores and buying these animals. They're just as much to blame as this man and this woman in this house
Some argue that the solution is to avoid pet stores and to buy animals from "responsible" breeders. Squalor and neglect aside, whenever someone buys an animal from a breeder or a store, that's another animal who will die in a shelter. No matter how lovingly the breeder cares for the animals, it doesn't change the fact that millions of unwanted animals are being put to sleep in shelters every year.
Link: What is a Puppy Mill?
Support the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008
Rescued Horses at Denkai Animal Sanctuary in Colorado. If these horses hadn't been rescued by the sanctuary, they may have gone to foreign slaughterhouses.
Photo by Chris Hondros / Getty Images.
There are no more horse slaughterhouses operating in the United States, but that doesn't mean that American horses are safe from slaughter. Live horses are still being transported to Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered for meat, but the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 (H.R. 6598) will end this practice. The bill has already passed out of the House Judiciary Committee, and will hopefully be voted on soon.
You can call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to ask your U.S. Representative to support H.R. 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008, and fill out a form online to send an email to your representative.
This is not to say that horse slaughter is any worse than cow slaughter or chicken slaughter, but if we can take steps to protect certain animals with whom the public feels a special connection, we owe it to those animals.
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Big, Black Dogs Hardest to Adopt Out
This big black dog won Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show, but don't get me started on dog shows!
Photo by Stephen Chernin / Getty Images.
Anyone who's involved with a shelter or a dog rescue group can tell you that big, black dogs are the most difficult to adopt out. A recent article in the Dallas News explores a variety of reasons behind the preference for smaller, lighter colored dogs, ranging from the trendiness of smaller dogs, to the challenges of photographing black dogs, to the media's negative portrayal of big black dogs in movies such as Harry Potter.
I'm saddened that pop culture has so much sway over people's companion animal decisions, especially when you think about the number of people who have decided to buy or breed tiny dogs in response to the latest celebrity dog trend. Smaller dogs can live to be 15 or 20 years old, and we all know what happens to animals who are acquired impulsively, after they are no longer trendy.
This preference for smaller non-black dogs also spells death for the many big black dogs in shelters around the country. I wish the dog overpopulation problem could be solved if there were no prejudice against big black dogs, but there are so many animals in shelters, the problem would be far from solved. The solution is, of course, is to spay and neuter your companion animals, always adopt, and never buy or breed.
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Preventing Wild Birds From Flying into Windows
Robins are known for attacking their own reflections in windows.
Photo by Phil Cole / Getty Images.
Many years ago, I once saw a wild bird attack his own reflection in one of my windows. The attack only lasted a couple of minutes, and further attacks were prevented by moving the bird feeder away from the window. Actually, a squirrel destroyed the bird feeder and I threw it away, so I can't take credit for the solution. There is now another bird in the neighborhood who has attacked his own reflection in one of my windows for several minutes at a time, two days in a row. There was no bird feeder to blame this time, so this means I'm long overdue for making my windows bird-friendly.
Also, it's estimated that up to one billion wild birds are killed when they fly into windows every year, because they see a reflection of the sky.
To prevent these tragedies, you can purchase window decals that look nearly invisible to people but in the eyes of birds, break up the reflection. Are you more the DIY type? If you don't mind obstructing the view, you can tape ribbons, paper or anything opaque to your windows, no more than 4 inches apart. It helps if the objects in the window move, so you might want to suspend the objects on thread so that they move slightly. Some also swear by silhouettes of predators to repel birds from windows. You can find patterns for a hawk, an owl and a falcon on pages 6-7 of this free booklet. Just cut them out of black construction paper and tape them to your windows.
Got Artificial Growth Hormones?
Last month, Monsanto sold off its division that manufactures the artificial growth hormone, rBST, to Eli Lilly. This sale comes just a few months after an announcement from Wal-Mart that their own private label milk will no longer come from cows who have been given artificial growth hormones. The hormones are given to cows because they increase milk production, and are legal in the U.S. But consumer pressure has convinced Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger, and Starbucks to offer milk from rBST-free cows.
Eli Lilly acknowledges that their newly-acquired venture comes with some baggage, but most of the controversy centers around human health concerns. If a vegan diet protects one from the some of the unknown risks of new frontiers in biochemistry, that's just a fringe benefit. Instead of demanding hormone-free milk, how about going vegan and demanding that cows are no longer abused and slaughtered for human consumption?
Speaking at the Mid-Atlantic Animal Rights Coalition Symposium
Bodies of two bears killed in New Jersey's illegal bear hunt in 2005.
Photo by Colin Archer / Getty Images.
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USDA Ordered to Stay Out of California's Proposition 2
A federal judge has ruled that the USDA must stop funding advertisements aimed at California voters. Proposition 2 will be decided by California voters on November 4, 2008, and would require larger cages for egg-laying hens, breeding sows, and calves raised for veal. As a government agency, the USDA is not permitted to get involved in political campaigns. The USDA claimed its ads were "neutral and educational," but the judge sided with the Humane Society of the US, which argued that the ads were too similar to the agribusiness campaign against Proposition 2.
The involvement of a government agency in a ballot initiative demonstrates the close ties between the USDA and the agribusiness interests they are supposed to oversee and regulate. Kudos to Judge Marilyn Hall Patel for putting an end to their illegal and unethical interference with this issue!
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Hormel Tolerates Animal Cruelty
Animal advocates who email Hormel regarding PETA's undercover video are receiving a reply that states, "the farm in the video is not a Hormel Foods' farm and the people are not Hormel Foods' employees." However, the farm in the video is a Hormel supplier. The PETA video shows workers at the factory farm beating the pigs and castrating piglets without anesthesia, and also shows how breeding sows are kept in extreme confinement in row after row of gestation crates. Hormel also says "we are working with our supplier to ensure this activity is no longer taking place" and claims that they have a "zero tolerance policy for the inhumane treatment of animals."
Even assuming that humane meat is possible (it's not) and that Hormel's definition of "inhumane treatment" refers only to the beatings, Hormel obviously doesn't understand what "zero tolerance" means. If they really had a zero tolerance policy, they would cut ties with this supplier immediately. Maybe finding another supplier would be too time-consuming or costly for Hormel. And some might argue that demanding change from this supplier would do more for the animals than switching suppliers. Or maybe, Hormel recognizes that there is no such thing as humane meat and it wouldn't matter which supplier they chose. Whatever their reason, the fact remains that they are continuing to purchase slaughtered pigs from this supplier.
This is not to say that other companies that mass-produce canned meat products have better animal welfare policies than Hormel. Or that other pig farms are better than the one in the video. But Hormel's claims about a "zero tolerance policy" sound like a load of Spam to me.
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Iditarod TV Series Features Injuries, Illness, and Sarah Palin
A musher being pulled by a team of dogs in the 1999 Iditarod.
Photo by Ezra O. Shaw / Allsports.
A new documentary series on the Discovery Channel that follows several teams in the Iditarod sled dog race premiers on October 14. Arguably the only socially acceptable form of dog cruelty in the United States, the Iditarod is a race in which teams of dogs pull human mushers who whip them as they run more than 1,000 miles over ice and snow in Alaska. Filmed in March, the series includes Gov. Sarah Palin introducing the race.
At least 136 dogs have died in the Iditarod.
The program highlights on the Discovery Channel website is disappointing. Not once are the cruelty or the controversy mentioned. The highlights do mention at least two teams that suffer setbacks due to illness or injury to the dogs.
What can you do about the Iditarod? Boycott the the sponsors of the race.