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When an image surfaces of a horse that has collapsed in the street from exhaustion pulling a carriage, it draws attention and outcries for an end to horse drawn carriages but then just as quickly the issue is swept under the rug. Unfortunately, horses are still seen as service animals and therefore these events don't trigger enough of a response from our governments who still allow this method of transportation but the fact is, horse drawn carriages NEED to be banned on a global level.  Photo taken from WAN These images are saddening and depict a sad reality for many horses across the globe who are forced to pull carriages for hours on end a day. For every picture like the one above you see, there are several more that go undocumented and that is extremely concerning. Historically, horses were used to help carry loads and as a means of transportation before vehicles became mainstream. As cars and public transit became more mainstream, places around the world continued to use horse drawn carriages as more of a nostalgic means of travel without considering the problems that arise with this.
These horses now work as though they are on shifts and are often forced to work for hours upon hours a day regardless of the weather whereas before they may not have been tasked with pulling carriages all day and night. These horses now continue to work throughout the day without any consideration for their well being not to mention the additional dangers they face in today's times. They are often weaving in and out of traffic which certainly causes them stress, they are breathing in toxic emissions from the vehicles that surround them, and they face the possibility of vehicle collisions. It is not safe for horse drawn carriages on the roads today and yet we continue to employ them to do so because people find it nostalgic to pay money to be pulled around by them. This must stop. There is absolutely no need for horse drawn carriages any longer and we must realize that these horses suffer tremendously for our pleasure. They're collapsing to the ground because they can no longer physically do their jobs and often times people rally around in an attempt to pull the horse up off of the ground fearing for its well being but have absolutely no regard for them unless they've hit the pavement. This will continue to happen unless we collectively agree that they belong on farms and stables, free from the chains of employment that we have forced upon them. This weekend, a peaceful protest will occur in downtown Savannah Georgia asking for an end to horse drawn carriages in the downtown core the city. The protest aims to bring attention to the danger the horses face as well as those who ride in the carriages after a horse collapsed from exhaustion trapping everyone inside the carriage and sending 4 people to the hospital. These sorts of frightening events are commonplace and as I said, we must come together and recognize that this means of transportation has no place in today's society. We must forget the past and leave horse drawn carriages in our history and move forward without them for the sake of these beautiful animals. What do you guys think> Is it time to put an end to the horse drawn carriage? HAPPY VEG
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4 Poachers were arrested in Kruger National Park in South Africa including a South African National Parks employee. The four men were found to be in possession of freshly cut rhino horns, rifles and ammunition attempting to flee the park before being caught. Rangers were tipped off and managed to block the perpetrators from leaving essentially arresting them and confiscating their vehicles and possessions. A representative for SANpark said that they are always upset when an employee is involved in these sorts of poaching activities but it is unfortunately commonplace. Rhino horns are worth a significant amount of money and poachers will often risk their lives to obtain these horns in hopes of financial gain. What's especially disturbing is that employees of the SANpark organization will attempt to get hired solely for the purpose of slipping under the radar and gaining access to these beautiful animals.
Greed is such a horrible trait attributed to humans because it will push us to do awful things without thinking. Obviously, the idea of wiping a species off of the planet is not enough of a deterrence so you have to wonder, what other things are these awful people capable of? I've had a lot of personal experience with greed and I know for a fact that it always leads to negative outcomes. Don't get me wrong, I've also always been very giving and eager to help my friends or family when they needed it but I know first hand the dangers of greed and the poisonous effect it has on us. Always longing for more despite having what we need will cause us to go out of our way to do things that are almost always wrong and will have negative outcomes. Greed is such a big motivating factor when it comes to poaching because the dream of getting rich trumps any common sense or logic about a situation making it one of the most dangerous of the seven deadly sins.
As I said, rhino poaching has seen a decline thanks to the hard work of everyone who fights daily to protect them but this fight is far from over. What I think we need to see is countries that are sourcing this ivory taking a stand and banning it entirely. These places that are taking in the ivory are just as guilty as those who go out and poach the rhinos because without demand there would be no need for poaching. As I said, this greed is a continuous loop of problems that will only end when either ivory is banned globally or when there are absolutely no rhinos left and we inevitably go to synthetics to create the goods we currently use ivory for. Knowing this, why are these countries not swapping out ivory now in place of synthetics because if they continue down this path, that will be the inevitable outcome. Anyways, I hope these 4 men get exactly what they deserve and end up in prison for what they're done but I also hope that the people and places who are searching for ivory will get their heads out of their asses and realize that ivory is for rhinos and elephants and not for stupid trinkets, statues, and jewelry. HAPPY VEG California is once again demonstrating its commitment to animals and a dedication to tackling climate change by introducing a bill that gives plant based options to students from kindergarten to grades 12 across the board. What this means is that plant based foods including veggie burgers, beans and lentils, and plant based milks will be readily available and dished out to students in place of meat / dairy in an effort to combat global warming and reduce their carbon footprint.
California is widely recognized as a leader in animal rights but it's their commitment to tackling global warming that's also deserving of recognition. After a year of devastating wild fires directly linked to global warming, they are determined to reduce their carbon footprint 40% pre 19999 by the year 2030 which is ambitious to say the least. As an area that has suffered exponentially because of a warming climate, they are breaking away from the United States overall denial of climate change thanks to President Trump and committing to reducing their impact significantly. This bill will put plant based meals in cafeterias across California and also educate staff on the importance of plant based foods and their lesser impact on emissions. They intend to swap out beef burgers for veggie burgers and also offer plant based foods in place of other meat / dairy foods. Recognizing not only that plant based foods are less damaging to produce than their meat / dairy counterparts, they also recognize the health benefits of eating more plant based foods. These benefits include more fiber and nutrients and significantly less fat and cholesterol. What I especially love about this is that it will allow students to make the choice more often to go plant based and by doing so, perhaps that will be brought home and parents too will get on board with more plant based meals in place of meat / dairy forward dishes. Our choices directly influence the course of global warming and with a government that is choosing to deny the existence of global warming, it's amazing that California remains steadfast in their commitment to tackling their emissions and doing their part to reduce their impact. Congrats California! <3 HAPPY VEG A rare goat was hunted by a trophy hunter in Pakistan after the hunter paid over 100, 000 dollars to obtain the very limited permit. This money is reportedly to be put into future conservation which as you all know, I think is complete and total bullshit. To say that you are helping to conserve a species while shooting it dead is as hypocritical a statement as any I've ever heard. As there are only reportedly 6, 000 or less of these goats left in the wild, Pakistan officials monitor the hunts to make sure that no laws are broken regarding the hunt. It's interesting to me that they acknowledge that there are minimal amounts of these beautiful goats left in the wild but still allow these sickos to come and shoot them dead if they pay the right price. It seems to work against the protection of a species when that species is already suffering in numbers. The worst part of this story is that the goat that was shot was sitting right next to a young goat, likely its offspring, when it was shot dead. Can you imagine the fear that little baby experienced as the adult next to it dropped to the ground from being fatally shot?  Photo taken from World Animal News It saddens me to think that there is a price associated with shooting rare or exotic animals dead. Like we somehow own these animals and have a right to decide how much their lives are worth. I think that's what bothers me most of all about trophy hunting is that we as humans have given ourselves the ownership of wild species and allow such despicable acts to occur if someone is willing to pay the right amount of money. Think of all the good you could do with over one hundred thousand dollars like, how many charities could benefit from that money and yet some pervert douche bag spends it on stalking and shooting a wild animal dead. It's so twisted.
Until these places accept that trophy hunting is the opposite of conservation, then we will continue to see these awful stories and pictures. Pictures of jackasses smiling behind corpses they for some reason are super proud of slaughtering, like the one above for example. There ARE some places however that are coming around to trophy hunting being abhorrent and Columbia is one of them. Columbia has introduced a bill that will come into effect in 2020 that effectively bans sport hunting. They stated that it was contradictory to their efforts to protect their diverse wildlife and could no longer allow people to come and pay money to shoot animals. They said that they recognize that animals are alive, feel emotions, and have a will to live, one that cannot be bought and this couldn't be any more true. Finally, a place that recognizes the hypocrisy in conserving a species through shooting them. My hope is that other countries / places will follow suit and recognize that trophy hunting is unnecessary and simply allows people to get their perverted fantasies fulfilled. There's nothing redeemable about hunting animals and it's time for the world to join together and ban trophy hunting entirely. HAPPY VEG A small Russian town has declared a state of emergency after over 50 polar bears have wandered into town infiltrating housing areas, apartment buildings, and school yards. The authorities are unsure of what to do because it is illegal to hunt polar bears as they are classified as a protected species so precautionary measures have been put in place. School yards have had fences erected in an effort to keep the bears out and people are being shuttled to and from their jobs in military trucks. Previous attempts to scare the bears away like warning / alarm shots have been unsuccessful and residents are now reportedly scared to leave their houses.
We know for a fact that there are parts of the world where humans are already feeling the effects of global warming. Whether you're a believer or not, hurricanes are getting stronger. Whether you believe it or not, weather patterns are changing. Whether you believe it or not, low lying villages in third world countries are subject to constant flooding because of rising sea water. Places like Venice Italy are speculated to be fully submerged in however many years at this alarming rate. The fact is, everyone and everything is suffering and will continue to unless we take some seriously drastic measures to start countering these ill effects.
The polar bear is the most widely recognized creature that has suffered at the hands of global warming. Pictures emerged last year of an emaciated polar bear supposedly looking for food, suffering from starvation. Now, there were reports the bear was actually sick but regardless, they depicted a grim scene. What we saw was a once thriving species dying off before our very eyes. All of their hunting ground is disappearing and they are left to rifle through garbage or find somewhere else to look for food. This won't stop either if the arctic continues to warm up at this rate, it will become worse and worse until they have completely disappeared. Habitat loss is among the top predecessors to an animal going extinct aside from poaching. What will they do about the bears? Well, what can they do? It is illegal to hunt them, expensive to relocate them, and we've kind of left them with absolutely no options. So, what can we do? HAPPY VEG This article I found from World Animal News really does beg the question, when do we abandon traditions when we know they are wrong? This question is brought to you by Wisconsin United States where the annual Ridgeland Pioneer Days is celebrating its annual Free Chicken Fly where over 200 chickens are thrown from rooftops to a crowd that gathers below. Animal advocates and the Wisconsin Animal Law Associates have asserted that the chicken toss is a violation of the animal cruelty law, past district attorneys have stated that the chickens do not suffer unnecessary pain or suffering nor do they incur unjustifiable death. Now, is this coming from factual evidence or is this solely based on the protection of a tradition that is extremely questionable? I can tell you from an outside perspective that there is something seriously wrong with this. How can anyone argue that the chickens don't experience unnecessary suffering when they're being thrown from the rooftops of buildings to a cheering crowd below? These chickens are likely suffering emotional and mental distress from the moment they are brought up to the tops of these buildings as people scream and cheer below. They likely suffer emotional and mental distress as they are wound up to be thrown off the building and if they're not caught by the people below who participate, they likely suffer immense physical distress if they hit the ground. Anyone in a right state of mind could not argue that these chickens don't suffer so it's my belief that whoever is defending this is only defending the tradition and neglecting the actual distress of the birds who are forced to participate.
As animal advocacy, veganism, and a general concern for animals continues to become more prevalent in our society, I don't see these activities continuing forever but there is no better time than the present to put an end to them. There is something so disturbing about wanting to see chickens thrown from rooftops. There is something so disturbing about watching a terrified calf flee for its life as someone riding a horse chases it down and ropes it aggressively pulling it to the ground. There is something disturbing about watching a bull fight for its life as it is repeatedly jabbed and prodded risking its life for our entertainment. We cannot continue to argue for tradition when our traditions are rooted in evil. There has to come a point where we evaluate what we are doing and look for less cruel options you know?
If you want to lend your voice to the end of the chicken toss, you can head to the original link at the top of this post from World Animal News and follow their instructions to help put an end to this atrocious tradition. They neglected to post the date for this event likely to avoid animal advocates knowing in advance to protest but it's reported it will take place mid February. Even if it commences, the more people who speak out against it the better! HAPPY VEG When you think about what animal activism means, it's hard not to think of a traditional idea. Protests, vigils, cubes of truth, word of mouth etc., these types of everyday activism are what we're using to reading about or seeing and although they most definitely classify as activism, there's a whole world of activism out there and some of it is incredibly dangerous. Africa has some of the most beautiful and unfortunately, most at risk animals on the planet. Animals like rhinos, elephants, and big cats are poached regularly and there's an all female, vegan anti-poaching group in Africa that is risking their lives everyday to help protect and conserve these animals. The group, Akashinga which means "The Brave Ones" were most recently featured on CBS news and in the past year alone, have arrested 80 poachers and likely saved hundreds of animals.
What's especially great about this group of hard-working women is that they have a solid plan for their growth and for putting an end to trophy hunting and poaching. By 2030, they expect to have a working group of over 2000 women and hope to completely eradicate trophy hunting altogether.
As we know, trophy hunting is often disguised as conservation because the money these assholes pay to hunt these endangered animals is claimed to go towards conserving them but there couldn't be any more of a hypocritical statement then that. There is absolutely no logic behind this and frankly, trophy hunting needs to be banned completely. What kind of a sick person would spend tens of thousands of dollars just to stalk and shoot a living creature? It's sick and is driving beautiful animals to extinction regardless of these claims of conservation. Kudos to these amazing women who risk their lives to protect some of the most endangered animals on the planet. This is what true activism looks like and I can only hope to one day be as valuable to the animal kingdom as these amazing women are. HAPPY VEG |
Stay educated and remain involved in animal welfare. Together, we can all make a difference!
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