I love this story!

All too often, animals are labeled "dumb" and written off before being given the opportunity to prove us wrong. Chickens for example have a reputation for being quite unintelligent that is not deserved. The story above is the experiences of someone who worked closely with chickens over several years. She details some of the things she discovered about the birds involving their ability to learn, speak, and crave affection. The story is quite touching and certainly proves that there is much more to these birds than what we've allowed ourselves to think.

When I initially heard about the truck of skittles crashing in Wisconsin I was a bit curious as to what the hay it was doing there but never really thought about it again. I now know where that truck was headed and it is such an unfortunate and frustrating story.

Turns out, there was a farmer using the skittles as cheap carbohydrates for the cows. They were feeding them skittles in an effort to reduce costs associated with their feed. Basically, their already unnatural diet is even more so than what we thought. These poor cows are forced to eat soy, corn, and skittles; all of which are unnatural to their diet.

What this basically demonstrates is the lack of supposed respect for the animals. Farmers claim their animals are treated so well and respected, but yet we hear of stories like this where they're using cheaper, unnatural methods to feed their animals.  There's no respect or care there, all there is is greed. Looking for disgusting and abusive ways to save money with no regards to the animals' welfare whatsoever.

There is no such thing as "humane meat". The facts are, no matter how great they're treated prior to being slaughtered, they're still being slaughtered. You can sugar coat it however you would like but it's pretty black and white. Animals don't want to die, don't deserve to die, and certainly don't deserve to be demeaned or disrespected prior to slaughter.

It's time that people (The government for the most part) wake up to the injustices that animals endure everyday and recognize the problem. Inspect and demand better treatment for animals. Every farm should be inspected regularly to ensure certain quality standards. How does something like this go unnoticed? There needs to be stricter inspections and that's it. 

What do y'all think?

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First off, I would like to make it clear that I was EXTREMELY excited to see this movie when it came out later this month. The whole concept of the film really spoke to me and I was prepared to watch, cry, and repeat. This was all before the reports emerged of possible animal abuse on set.

The videos taken show a terrified German Shepherd being forced into the water to film. You can see the dog resisting the trainers attempts to get it into the water and the fear of the animal is quite evident by the video. This is absolutely unacceptable behaviour by the trainer and should not have happened in this manner. Clearly the dog was hesitant and forcing it to perform that way is so wrong.

The director of the film has spoken out claiming he was not aware of this and that he is working to investigate and punish anyone involved should it be deemed animal abuse. Good on him for taking responsibility and investigating to get to the bottom of this. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done as the movies' premiere was cancelled amidst these allegations.

When animals are involved in films, there is an illusion that they are happily involved but this is not always the case. I hope that after this investigation the truth comes out fully and those responsible will be punished for their actions. Until then, I will be refusing to see the movie simply based on being unable to support a film that may have contributed to animal cruelty.

I'll keep y'all posted on any updates to this story!

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INDIA BANS IMPORT OF EXOTIC FUR

Wowzers! This is seriously monumental! India has taken a major step forward for animals and banned the import of exotic furs. What's exotic? Foxes, Minks, Chinchillas, and Reptiles are all deemed exotic animals under this law. Hundreds of thousands of these animals are slaughtered inhumanely every year for ridiculous things like scarves, bags, coats, and shoes. The entire fur fashion industry sickens me to the core. 
A) How do you kill an animal? How do you work in a place where you physically kill animals all day? It's repulsive. 
B) How do you enjoy WEARING animals? When synthetics and fauxs are equally as fabulous, what is it about the skinned remains of an animal that are so enticing?
Good on India for taking charge and three cheers for all the animals that will hopefully be spared as a result of this law.

SWITZERLAND BANS THE SALE OF ANIMAL TESTED COSMETICS

Another win for animals. Switzerland has stepped up and officially banned the sale of any cosmetics tested on animals. This is seriously great news for all of the rabbits and mice that are confined, painted, and tortured their whole lives in the name of cosmetics. There are so many other ways  to go about learning about your own products without forcing animals to endure all of the harassment and frankly, I'm surprised the whole world hasn't jumped on this bandwagon. There's no need for cosmetics and animals to have anything to do with one another so here's to hoping this inspired other countries to take note!

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What better way than a massive animal victory to get 2017 kicked off?!

The Nertherlands has passed a motion in parliament to completely ban animal testing by the year 2025. This is seriously monumental news with The Netherlands being the FIRST country in the world to set a time frame for the complete ban on non-human testing.

Several men and women who have previously worked in animal testing have come forward to state that they did not believe animal testing was accurate. Animal testing is conducted in various forms and for various reasons. Cosmetics companies, shampoos, cleaning products, and most notably, disease research. With a complete ban on all of these, hundreds of thousands of animals will be spared a life of torture including being infected by diseases such as cancer. 

Although it is slightly hard to fathom why it will take 8 years to fully phase out animal testing, what's truly important is that it is being phased out. It is hoped that other countries will follow The Netherland's lead and work towards banning animal testing altogether. 

I think that this further proves Canada needs to step up in the animal rights department. We now have countries working towards banning animal testing yet I can't seem to convince anyone in my own country that having sexual attraction to animals is wrong. Cripes! 

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NETHERLANDS FOR BEING TRAIL BLAZERS IN THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS AND AN INSPIRATION TO ACTIVISTS ACROSS THE GLOBE!


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This is the email I recently sent to the city's mayor urging him to keep our city's spay / neuter program going. This program has spared hundreds of cats from euthanasia and helped reduce the amount of feral cats on the streets. It is such an important program that MUST be retained especially considering the measly amount of money that goes in to it.

If you're from WINDSOR ON, send the mayor an email  urging him to keep the program going!
[email protected]


Good morning Mr. Dilkens, 


I am writing to you in regards to the city's decision to potentially cancel the spay / neuter program in Windsor Essex. This is an extremely bad decision that will result in the lives of hundreds of cats in the coming years. The program has been successful in spaying / neutering over 3000 cats since its inception and this is nothing to balk at. Growing up, it was commonplace to see feral cats everywhere including dead on the road and I can confidently say that in my experience, this is not happening as much anymore. This is directly related to the spay / neuter program currently being offered.


It is so important to retain this program for the sake of feral cats and for the sake of our community. I beg of you to reconsider this as the money that would be saved is so insignificant and it would be saved from a program with proven results. Our country is already sorely lacking in the animal rights department and by canceling this program, you are nailing another nail in the coffin of animal rights. A program with such proven results should not even be considered for a budget cut when I could easily find other things our city has spent money on that frankly, aren't as important.


Mr. Dilkens, please keep the program going. By vetoing this program, hundreds to thousands of cats will end up euthanized all for a measly budget savings. No life is worth saving pocket change but when it comes to hundreds of lives, I would hope the choice was a simple one.


Thank you,


Jonathan Charbonneau

For those of you who are unaware, China has the largest market for ivory in the world so this kind of news is nothing to scoff at! 

Year after year, elephant populations have been dwindling almost entirely due to poaching. Demand for ivory was outweighing the potential threats to the elephant population and poachers have been relentlessly slaughtering them trying to make money. In fact, elephant populations are down significantly even compared to as early as twenty years ago and it's mostly due to the ivory trade business.

China has taken a major step in the right direction by banning ivory trade by the end of 2017. This is monumental when we talk about the elephants. With the largest market for ivory shutting down, it is estimated that the population of elephants will likely begin to see growth. This is fantastic news!

Elephants are such precious, loving creatures and when you think that they are being slaughtered for such trivial things it is so anger inducing. It's saddening that it took this long to realize the damage the ivory trade was doing to the elephants' population but I'm glad it was finally recognized. Ivory is not a NECESSARY product for survival. This is especially frustrating when you think of the amount of poaching that happens for such a novelty item.

Here's to hoping we start seeing an increase in elephant populations as soon as possible! Click the link to get the full story!


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