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A farmer who'd been raising lambs for slaughter for over 47 years decided to bring his latest group of lambs to an animal sanctuary instead of the slaughterhouse costing him in upwards of 10, 000 pounds. He states, "“It was approaching autumn, the time I would usually take my lambs to market. I realized this year, I couldn’t do it. For many years, the issue of killing the animals played on my mind. I used to unload sheep at the abattoir and witnessed first-hand how they would huddle in terror at the back of the lorry. They knew what was going to happen.” Sivalingam Vasanthakumar He has since gone vegetarian and plans to sell plant based cuisine at local farmers markets and pending his success, hopes to open a plant based restaurant in his hometown in the near future. What an inspiring and wonderful story of compassion. You know, it's never too late to make the right choice and as he said, the knowledge of bringing his animals to slaughter and witnessing them huddle in terror knowing what was coming was eating away at him. As someone who has never witnessed that sort of life, I can't even begin to imagine what that feeling must do to you over so many years of raising animals and delivering them to their deaths.
As he states, he witnessed the lambs huddled in terror because they knew what was coming and that speaks to me. These animals most definitely feel fear and they can always tell when the fee;ling of the atmosphere has changed. They can sense when things are about to get bad and this causes them immense fear and emotional distress. It's indisputable the fear they must fear as they are lead to their deaths and to be able to do that on a daily basis is simply too difficult a thought for me to bear.
The good news is, stories like this are not as unique as you might think. I've reported before on situations like this where farmers have a change of heart after years of leading animals to their deaths and frankly, it needs to happen more often. If you spend enough time with these animals, you cannot deny their sentience. They feel fear, love, distress, sadness, happiness etc., so once we recognize on a global level these things about animals, we will hopefully see more and more farmers turning away from raising livestock for slaughter. Kudos to this man for his change of heart and I hope these lambs enjoy their new lives on a sanctuary where they will live out their remaining years being happy and well taken care of. HAPPY VEG
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It looks like Hawaii might be the next place around the world to put an end to the production and sale of fur. Fur Free Society has been working with Senator Mike Gabbard to put together and introduce a bill that will ban fur entirely within the state. Hawaii would join a growing list of people / places that are abandoning fur due to its extreme cruelty to animals. Despite the temperatures suggesting that fur wouldn't be sold there, there are plenty of higher end designers in the state that offer fur products to travelers and this bill would see that put to an end. Fur is still seen by some as a luxurious product despite the common knowledge that it is obtained cruelly in every case and is the result of immense cruelty to animals. This feeling of luxury is what continues to drive the sales of fur and bills like the one being introduced are completely necessary to put an end to fur altogether. As I've stated several hundred times before, I can't think of any other product derived from animals that is more abhorrent and unnecessary than fur. The animals used for fur are not utilized in any other manner which means after their fur is ripped from their bodies, they are useless and disregarded. Minks, foxes, and coyotes most recognizably suffer at the hands of the fur industry and as I stated, they serve no other purpose to the industry which means that their corpses are discarded in vain. There is absolutely no place for fur in today's society considering the plentiful alternatives available to us.
The world is shifting its attitudes towards animals and we are seeing animal rights take center stage which means that fur is probably going to be one of the first "products" stolen from animals to be abolished from our planet. As I said, there are plenty of luxury fashion brands that have recently banned fur from their future collections and places around the world that have banned its production / sale entirely. It's only a matter of time before the millions of animals that continue to suffer for fur products are spared a life of cruelty at the hands of fashion.
Kudos Hawaii for your recognition of the cruelty of fur and here's to a complete ban on all fur products :) HAPPY VEG Activists were met with aggressive bullying at a rodeo event in New Zealand while filming the horrors that happen within the walls of a rodeo event. Although most activists protested peacefully outside, a few decided to purchase tickets and take it upon themselves to film within the event where they were met with aggressive bullying and harassment. This aggression is not surprising when you consider that the rodeo is literally a sport centered around the abuse of animals.
Most recently, a horse escaped a chute at an event at the Gisborne Rodeo and was killed while a bull had to be shot and killed after dislocating its leg at a bull riding event. Rodeo organizers would have you believe that these are "freak accidents" and don't reflect general happenings but in the same token won't allow you to film within the walls of the events because the videos can be taken out of context...Interesting.
The fact is, rodeos are horrendously cruel events that exploit animals for the sake of human entertainment. As we see more and more circus' banned around the world that use wild animals for entertainment, it's curious to me that rodeos have not yet met that same fate. Both exploit animals for entertainment except at the rodeo, that cruelty and abuse is on full display for all to see. How can someone watch as a baby cow runs for its life while people on horses chase it down and rope it aggressively to the ground? It's a sickening display of cruelty that needs to be put to an end! The fact is, a lot of these types of things are rooted in tradition and that's why despite people turning against these types of events, they are harder to shut down. Organizers and traditionalists will claim that this is their heritage and it is an integral part of their history. Much is the case with horse drawn carriages you know? We can get around now much more easily with vehicles, bikes, electronic scooters / bikes, public transit etc., but because horse drawn carriages are a part of our supposed heritage, they remain on the streets. It's time to accept that the world is ever-changing and some parts of our heritage need to buried and become part of our history. Any kind of sport or entertainment that exploits animals for our benefit needs to be put to rest permanently. Times are changing and we need to move forward, reflective of the changes in attitude towards animal cruelty. Enough with using tradition or heritage as an excuse to abuse animals for entertainment! HAPPY VEG A roadside zoo in Pennsylvania is facing animal cruelty ;lawsuits after the discovery of several of its animals living in horrid conditions, some of which fall under the ESA (Endangered Species Act). The Farmers Inn roadside zoo was discovered to have several animals that appeared to be in desperate condition on its property and now they face cruelty lawsuits from the Animal Legal Defense Fund who exposed some of the conditions of the animals. These animals were found to be living in cramped cages and appeared to be poorly cared for by the roadside zoo. A ring tailed lemur found on the property was found to be in solitary confinement despite the fact that they are extremely social animals which undoubtedly causes the animal unnecessary mental and emotional distress. Black bears were found to be dehydrated, foxes appeared to be suffering from untreated mange, a goat suffered from malnutrition, and one of their rain forest mammals was suffering from an untreated infection of the eye.
I've reported on the problem with roadside zoos before but the fact is, these places rarely get their animals in a legal manner and almost always poorly care for them. Roadside zoos are often monitored poorly and that's why they are able to operate under the radar for so many years before being exposed. Although recognized and licensed zoos have their share of problems, they often operate with proper intentions when it comes to their animals. They will have appropriate space for their animals to live and veterinary services readily available in the case of a sick or injured animal. Roadside zoos simply do not have these services at their disposal and solely operate to exploit animals and make money off of unsuspecting tourists are passing through.
Please guys, never ever stop at a roadside zoo. In fact, let me take this one step further, should you spot a roadside zoo on your travels, notify your local animal rescue organization of their operation so that they may take the opportunity to visit and determine whether their animals are properly cared for. As I said, these zoos often operate under the radar and without someone to expose them, they will continue to exploit animals for profit. HAPPY VEG I can't think of more tragic news than this to report on but it is important to share it because it shows the true dangers of animal activism. A prominent and renowned conservationist named Wayne Lotter was shot and killed in Tanzania on the way back to his hotel. Wayne was heavily involved with conservation groups and also helped initiate the PAMS foundation which is a group that aims to offer conservation and anti-poaching support to governments in Africa. His loss is one that is felt within the international animal conservation community. The PAMS foundation has worked tirelessly to support governments in catching, charging, and convicting poachers in Africa boasting an 80% conviction rate. The work of this group is so important in Africa where animals like rhinos, elephants, and lions face relentless poaching from money hungry poachers who sell their parts for loads of money. These poachers quite literally risk their lives for money without ever thinking about the fact that they could eventually push these animals to extinction and be left with absolutely no source of income because of their actions.
Poaching is a serious problem in Africa and groups like the PAMS foundation work relentlessly to help eradicate poaching. Mr. Lotter was a prominent face in the African anti-poaching community and his work put him in danger repeatedly. In fact, he received death threats on multiple occasions, likely from angry poachers who wanted him out of the way. Unfortunately, not everyone can see that poaching is leading these animals to extinction and frankly, they simply don't care because the financial gain is too great. What this story teaches us is that animal activism is much more than protesting outside of factory farms. It's much more than debating vegetarianism on the internet or standing downtown in a cube of truth displaying gruesome images of animals being slaughtered. Animal activism is what Mr. Lotter did everyday, literally putting his life at risk to prevent the slaughter of endangered animals. Animal activism is caring so greatly for animals that you willingly put yourself at risk to defend them. I commend and respect the work he has done individually and through the work of his PAMS foundation and I only hope to be as effective and renowned as he was one day. For more information, check out the original story from World Animal News at the top of the page and if you can, donate to the PAMS foundation on Wayne's behalf. R.I.P HAPPY VEG Newly appointed New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard recently signed into law a ban that prevents coyote hunting contests on over 9 million acres of state land. This order makes it illegal to organize, sponsor, or participate in any kind of contest designed to kill unprotected animals for sport resulting in cash or prizes. Although this order does nothing to prevent what is described as, "ethical hunting", it is a step in the right direction when it comes to sport hunting. These contests often encourage participants to go out and kill as many animals as they can earning points for the different type of animal they kill. Coyotes are specifically targeted as they are considered nuisance animals but fox, bobcats, and other small predators are often included. These contests promote needless slaughter in the name of fun and quite literally encourage people to kill for money. They're absolutely despicable contests and do nothing but give people the opportunity to satisfy a salacious need to kill. Photos and videos I've seen in the past of these types of contests often show piles of corpses and sick people smiling in hopes of winning the prize of top hunter / predator.
What we can hope from this is that other states in the United States take notice and move towards banning this awful sport as well. As I've said before, human interference is the leading cause of ecosystem decline yet we will continue to blame the animals. We allow people to hunt all of the coyotes, wolves, and bobcats, and then complain that there are too many deer which ultimately leads us to kill them as well. We are the ONLY REASON ecosystems suffer because of our constant interference. You know, these areas function just fine without us getting involved and it's only because of our constant growth and demolishing of their forests / land that leads them to move elsewhere. It's because of our constant hunting that other species overpopulate. If we just kept our bloody noses out of things the animals could thrive as we do.
Thank you New Mexico for being one of the first states to ban this awful sport and here's to hoping more states follow suit. HAPPY VEG The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit attempting to expose the Trump admins emails regarding their action plan for the critically endangered red wolf. As it stands, there are currently only 24 known red wolves scattered among their known habitat which is a frighteningly low number of these beautiful animals left in the wild. A proposed action plan was left unanswered and now the Center for Biological Diversity is filing this lawsuit to better find out what exactly is being done to protect them. Listing these animals under the Endangered Species Act would force the Fish and Wildlife Services to formulate a plan to properly protect and conserve this species but the emails that should be available to the public have been hidden which indicates a potential lack of action on the Trump admins part. With their lack of transparency, it leaves room to believe that absolutely nothing is being done to help the red wolves survive and thrive once again. This is wholly unacceptable on the part of the Trump administration. This in my opinion is hardly surprising given his administrations lack of effort when it comes to animals as made evident by his repeated lack of effort when it comes to animals like the giraffe or his approval of the import of lion and elephant trophies despite these animals desperately needing protection.
Losing another predatory species is detrimental to the ecosystem in that animals like deer will start to flourish. Although this doesn't seem like an actual problem, it is an excuse for the government to start culling them in an effort to "protect" the nature and fauna of the specific area. Their lack of protection in the case of the red wolves will assuredly lead to more damage done to other animals that are undeserving of their fate.
I will update on this story as new information comes in. Head to the link at the top of the page for more information on this story. HAPPY VEG
We blame coyotes for moving into our cities but fail to acknowledge our consistent tearing down of forests and wildlife areas where they inhabit to fuel our own growth. We blame skunks or rats for infiltrating our yards and garbage but fail to properly protect our trash when we dispose of it at the curb. We choose to label these animals as problems when in fact, they are only problems to us because of what we have done to them. The human race consistently shifts blame to animals to justify our actions in dealing with them without ever trying to look at the bigger picture. Like in the case of culling as I've discussed before, when an animal becomes too abundant in our opinion in a certain ecological area, we start shooting them dead to balance out the ecosystem. For example, deer are often culled in an effort to rectify a supposed overabundance and damage to plant life in a certain area. What happened to the natural predators in those areas? Wolves, coyotes, bobcats etc., these animals are all hunted for trophy purposes or in the case of coyotes, are shot because they are deemed a nuisance but then we start shooting deer as well because they have become overabundant. Somehow, we have given ourselves the right to be the only overabundant species on this planet and continuously destroy ecosystems by interfering which trickles down and we feel the need to interfere again and again without ever acknowledging that we in fact, are the actual problem.
Humans are the biggest pestilence of all. We are fatally destroying our planet day by day. We have world leaders (cough Trump cough cough) who choose to deny climate change and refuse to do anything about it. We have world leaders who agree to reducing carbon emissions in 10 or 15 years when in fact, it is crucial for us to do more and quickly. The fact is, we are the biggest pestilence in existence. Until we accept that we are solely responsible for all of the problems on this planet, the animals will be the ones who suffer the most. We will continue to shoot and kill deer, coyote, and foxes, we will continue to poison rats and drown skunks etc., and nothing will ever change. The only thing changing is our planet and it is changing for the worse.
Pestilence - A fatal epidemic disease. HAPPY VEG As you all know, I recently reached out to Scotland's parliament urging them to ban trophy hunting after photos of U.S. television huntress Larysa Switlyk surfaced on social media. The photos showed her proudly smiling behind various animals she shot for fun which not only angered animal activists but even had one SNP minister outraged. The fact is, trophy hunting is disgusting and should be outlawed especially in a vegetarian and vegan haven like Scotland. Scotland has a reputation as one of the most vegan / vegetarian friendly places in the world and to allow trophy hunting simply does not sit in line with the morals and ethics of a vegetarian / vegan. It is crucial for Scotland to step up and ban trophy hunting immediately and there are a few petitions online where you can sign and lend your voice to the cause. I have already done so and would love if you guys could take a minute to sign them as well! Together, we can put an end to trophy hunting in Scotland :) CHANGE . ORG search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=tightropetb&p=scotland+trophy+hunting&type=121165_112217 ANIMAL PETITIONS animalpetitions.org/690352/ban-trophy-hunting-in-scotland/ HAPPY VEG
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