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Onlookers were horrified as a horse collapsed to the ground pulling a carriage in Central Park, New York City. The horse then tried desperately to regain its footing only to collapse for the last time immediately after. What's worse? The handlers of the horse did not even try to get the horse the help it required, instead, they tossed ropes around it and dragged it into the back of a trailer where it was eventually euthanized.
As I mentioned, this is not the first horse witnessed to have collapsed due to exhaustion / injury nor will it be the last unless we take immediate action. We must recognize that this novelty experience is putting horses' lives at risk and we should be ashamed of ourselves for contributing to their struggles. We should be ashamed that instead of relying on public transit, we choose to employ a horse to drag us around all day regardless of what elements they are up against. It's beyond exploitative and wholly disgraceful.
It's time for us to end the horse drawn carriage. Retire these beautiful animals and allow them the opportunity to live the remainder of their lives in sanctuaries, free from their imposed slavery. How many horrific images / videos must we witness of horses collapsing on busy streets before we recognize our errors? How many carriages must topple over putting both the horse and riders in danger of serious injury? These instances act as an opportunity to educate us on what we are doing wrong, not something to continue to sweep under the rug. Ban the fucking carriages. If you're interested, follow the link at the top of the page to the original story from World Animal News and follow their links to add your signature to a ban on horse drawn carriages. HAPPY VEG
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A bill to ban exotic animals in travelling circus' has swiftly passed senate and has now moved to the House of Representatives for a final decision. Considering the wealth of information we have on the damage done to exptic animals in travelling circus', it is my hope that we will see this ban immediately enacted.
In this day and age, I feel that it goes without saying that using wild animals in circus' is cruel, exploitative, and wholly unnatural. More and more cities and countries across the globe are banning the use of wild animals in circus' and it should move through the House of Representatives without much hesitation. There is simply no justification for it any longer with the plethora of available entertainment options available to these travelling circus'. Holograms, acrobatics, performances etc., there are so many options that don't involve cruelty to animals that there is no excuse for continuing to allow animals to perform.
I expect to report back to you guys soon with an update that Colorado has enacted the ban which will hopefully see these animals live the remainder of their lives in sanctuaries as opposed to zoos or other entertainment establishments. It's time to stop exploiting animals for fucking entertainment, we're so much better than that. Ditch this archaic form of entertainment and stop abusing animals! HAPPY VEG The annual seal hunt in Canada runs from November to May with the bloodiest and most slaughters occurring in April and May. This means, the worst of this event is still to come and that's why advocacy group In Defense of Animals is calling for help in urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end the brutal hunt once and for all.
To make matters worse, reports have repeatedly shown that sea ice is melting and the harp seals are losing their habitat and breeding grounds. In fact, a 2007 report claimed that at the rate it is disappearing, their habitat will be decimated in less than 75 years. Knowing this, we shouldn't be allowing off season fishermen to bombard their habitat and slaughter them. It's absolutely sickening and frankly, embarrassing that we feel the need / privilege to destroy these beautiful animals the way that we have for 100's of years.
Ask anyone you know on the streets how they feel about the seal hunt and I can guarantee that they do not support it. Support and participation in the seal hunt are dropping every year and yet we continue to use taxpayer dollars to fund these expeditions. I for one do not want any of my tax dollars allocated to something so barbaric and I don't believe I'm alone in feeling this. Stop the brutality, stop the bloodshed, end the fucking seal hunt. HAPPY VEG While the world awaits its next move regarding the coronavirus, quarantines across the globe have worked towards stalling the progression of the virus. One of the most interesting and frankly, magical takeaways from this period of isolation, is how quickly mother nature rebounded from years of human related abuse. There have been various reports of air pollution dropping across the globe with the lack of air travel and industries polluting the air. What triggered this post was the photos of Italy where nature has reclaimed its place throughout the nation. Photos emerged of the canals of Venice completely crystal clear, abundant with fish, blue and beautiful once again. Swans returned to the canals, floating above the clear, sparkling blue water. Ducks returned to some of the fountains across the nation where they would normally avoid because of the crowds. Wild boars have been photographed roaming the streets, dolphins have returned to the docks on the nation's coasts, etc., what exactly does this implicate?
The major takeaway from all of this is that we need to make a change, collectively as a global community. We need to review what we are doing to this planet and look at ways to reduce our impact. How can we do this?
These are just some of the suggestions I've either come up with or adapted from already proposed suggestions available. There's so much at stake when it comes to our planet and if this quarantining has shown us anything, it's that mother nature wants to heal. It wants us to take action and wants to regrow and replenish itself. It's up to us to do the right thing to ensure every generation after us has a clean and most of all, inhabitable planet. HAPPY VEG Conservation and Elephant advocacy groups called on Canada to ban the sale, import, and export of ivory after it was discovered that there were 3 vendors at the Toronto Sportsmen's Show selling off elephant hunts. The groups are calling on the show to drop these vendors immediately and also calling on the Canadian government to take action and ban the sale, import, and export of ivory which would include hunting trophies. Elephants face extinction in the wild within 20 years unless illegal poaching is curbed which is why it is especially frustrating that vendors continue to sell opportunities to participate in trophy hunts. Trophy hunting may not be the only reason elephants face extinction, but allowing legal hunts of endangered animals is probably the dumbest thing humanity can continue to allow.
Shooting elephants disrupts their hierarchy and social groups which is incredibly stressful for them. Elephants have been witnessed to mourn their loved ones, circling around them somberly in a show of sadness and loss. In some cases, mothers can be shot which leaves babies in serious trouble of becoming prey to animals like cheetahs, lions, and other predators in the area. There is absolutely no benefit to shooting and killing elephants aside from the perversions of the wealthy folk who participate in these hunts.
Trophy hunting is abhorrent and needs to stop. We are witnessing hundreds of thousands of animals facing extinction and yet we continue to allow people to slaughter endangered animals for the right price. We are at a crucial time in history where our actions will undoubtedly change the future for animals on this planet and we must start making the right decisions. It's time to fucking ban trophy hunting once and for all. It's time to take a stand for Africa's wildlife and put an end to our contributions to their plummeting population. We are decimating the species on this planet, it's time to do the right thing. Canada, wake up! HAPPY VEG Conservation groups finalized an agreement that will effectively ban the use of cyanide bombs, snares to trap wolves on public lands, and restrict where a federal agency can kill wolves in Idaho. The agreement is monumental for wildlife in Idaho, specifically wolves in the state that have been subject to snares and cyanide bombs leading up to this agreement. Cyanide bombs are absolutely disgusting and indiscriminate in their targets. There's no way to ensure the targeted animal is the one to interact with the cyanide bomb leading to unintended targets being injured or killed from the poison bombs. In fact, this agreement regarding cyanide bombs stems from an incident in the state 3 years prior where an unauthorized cyanide bomb was activated by a young boy whose dog was killed and he himself was injured. This triggered a debate on the necessity / effectiveness of the cyanide bombs and reinforced the notion that cyanide bombs are unsafe and simply ineffective in curbing wildlife populations.
Wolves have lost a significant amount of their habitat throughout the years and their numbers have been decimated by hunting. Grey wolves for example, are on the endangered species list and face an incredibly uncertain future at the hands of human interference. Wolves are seen as problems in most cases due to their conflict with the livestock industry which is heavily protected by the government. Where livestock is concerned, wolves are seen as nuisances and can be killed for their involvement but no one cares to discuss the fact that we are continuing to take away their habitat to produce more livestock leaving the wolves with less space to hunt. This makes livestock especially tempting because the animals are confined and easy to access by the hungry wolves who have lost their habitat to livestock. We have imposed difficulties on them only to kill them when they inconvenience us. It's despicable.
Let me be clear, cyanide bombs are horrendous and should be banned across the globe. They leave too many opportunities for innocent / non-target animals & humans to come into contact with them. Secondly, wolves are important to our planet and we must stop treating them as pestilence. Without wolves, we will see an increase in other species that will undoubtedly alter the balance of the ecosystem and promote continued human interference. Can we just stop fucking with everything around us and let nature maintain its balance? HAPPY VEG The world is mourning after the discovery of two rare white giraffes shot dead on a Kenyan wildlife sanctuary. The mother and calf were found in a skeletal state on the sanctuary's property believing to have been shot dead by illegal poachers. This is especially sad news because there were only 3 of the white giraffes in all of Kenya, leaving a male giraffe as the lone remaining white giraffe.
African wildlife face hurdles every day simply to survive in a world where they're valued more as commodities rather than sentient beings. Not only do they face habitat loss as human populations continue to grow but this growth puts them in the position to come into unintended conflict with humans which further jeopardizes their survival. To top things off, they face the threat of being shot dead by poachers who hope to capitalize off of their deaths for profit. Anti-poaching rangers put their lives on the line every day to intercept illegal poaching and put these people behind bars but this is proof that the efforts must continue to save Africa's most imperilled wildlife.
It's sometimes easy to focus on one specific species when discussing endangerment or extinction but we must not forget that there are several species in Africa that are in danger of going extinct almost entirely due to human interference. Leopards, lions, tigers, rhinos, and giraffes all reputably face an uncertain future due to the continued poaching problem Africa faces. Although we are hearing some positive news in terms of a reduction in the amount of rhinos and elephants poached thanks to the efforts of anti-poaching rangers, there is evidently a continued problem that will undoubtedly continue to put these animals' futures in jeopardy. Humans are the biggest pestilence on the planet and this story proves that statement wholeheartedly. We take and take and take without regard. We have put value on the parts of animals and then hypocritically called it out when the populations of these animals have been decimated. We call animals like foxes and rats pestilence for finding ways to survive in a world that we have imposed upon them but ignore what we ourselves have done to this planet and the animals that inhabit it with us. While we continue to wake up to the damage we have caused, there will always be more work to do. I hope these poachers are brought to justice for their heinous crimes. HAPPY VEG A bill that will end the import, export, and sale of shark fins in Florida is heading to Senate for a final vote on whether it will become law. Florida is the largest hub for shark fins in all of the United States which is why this bill is crucial in saving sharks from being slaughtered solely for their fins. There are approximately 70 millions sharks killed every year for their fins which is pushing some species of shark closer and closer to extinction. What's especially frustrating about the shark fin industry is the novelty of it all in that there's absolutely no argument for the necessity of shark fins. Shark fin soup for example, is considered a delicacy, not a necessity, not something that benefits us wholly, a stupid novelty that is contributing to 70 million sharks being slaughtered every year. Whenever it comes to novelty products, I can't find anything positive to say to justify the slaughter of animals which is why it can be frustrating that the rest of the world cannot see the faults in procuring these products. We are decimating the ocean for nothing more than a bunch of hoity toity delicacies, it's abhorrent.
Shark fins are not a necessity. There is nothing valuable about them outside of our own perception of the fins. Sharks are valuable. Underwater ecosystems are valuable. Animals are valuable. Our utilization of them for our own salacious desires is NOT VALUABLE. It is imperative that we end the shark fin trade and stop destroying the underwater ecosystems before we cross over the line of irreversible damage that we are quickly approaching. There's no excuse for what we're doing outside of our own greed.
Head to the link at the top of the page which will direct you to the original story through WORLD ANIMAL NEWS where they share links on how you can lend your voice to the banning of the shark fin industry in Florida! HAPPY VEG Throughout my years as a vegetarian / animal welfare advocate, I've come up against nearly every "explanation" you could ever think of for why people eat meat. People will vigorously defend their meat consumption regardless of the facts presented to them. In fact, this whole article centers around the one explanation I'm often handed that has absolutely no merit whatsoever. You might hear it in a variety of ways, but it all means the same thing from a meat eater's perspective. "Eating meat is natural for humans." "We're carnivores by nature" "Animals are meant for us to eat." "Humans have always eaten meat." All of these statements mean exactly the same thing when you're trying to discuss whether humans are meant to eat animals with someone who clearly eats meat. This is usually what you're hit with when the person you're discussing this topic with wants to end the conversation because they truly believe that this response is the be all end all of this discussion. Unfortunately for them, there's so many reasons why these statements are not factual. Let's dive into this!
When you think of something that comes naturally to us, you think of something that we instinctively as human beings participate in. Eating, the need for water, breathing, reproduction, forming relationships etc., these are all things that come naturally to us and are programmed in our existence. The argument that eating meat comes naturally to us is completely unfounded and can easily be disproved. I would like to ask these people if when they see an animal like a cow or pig that is traditionally slaughtered for meat, do they feel an overwhelming urge to capture and eat that animal in its raw state? Do we as humans have a salacious natural urge to chase, kill, and consume an animal? The answer to that question is quite simple, no. You see, what a meat eater might be able to argue is that when they see these animals, they might think about the meat that is produced from said animal, but they are not in fact instinctively interested in consuming the animal from a live state. For us as human beings to consume meat, we must first manipulate it to ensure it is safe for us to consume. We cannot just chase down a pig and begin consuming it while it screams to escape us. We cannot slather barbecue sauce on a chicken that is still alive and expect to be able to begin consuming it. The reason for this is because it would make us incredibly ill and could pose life-threatening problems. Consuming raw meat is reputably one of the easiest ways to get a slew of food related illnesses like salmonella for example. So if it comes so naturally to us, why is it that we must take precautions before eating it?
This need to manipulate animals to make them safe for consumption kind of disproves the natural or instinctive aspects of meat consumption. Something that comes natural to a mammal should be as simple as catch and consume but as I've already proven, consuming animals comes at a cost. Consuming meat is unsafe for us unless we cook it to a safe internal temperature to kill off bacteria that could make us incredibly sick. There is nothing natural about the need to manipulate our food to make it safe for us to eat.
Meat eater's don't want to hear what we have to say when it comes to using the "it comes naturally to us" explanation but I hope this post reassures you all that there is in fact nothing natural to us about consuming meat. I implore any of those people who want to use this argument on me to demonstrate their ability to catch and eat an animal live without falling seriously ill. As I'm sure they won't be doing that to prove their point, I think this case is closed. HAPPY VEG Kenya has effectively banned the slaughter and export of donkeys after a petition caught officials' attention. The petition, brought forward by donkey owners called on the government to end the slaughter and export of donkeys which saw in upwards of 1, 000 donkeys slaughtered every day. The ban will take place immediately meaning that the four donkey abattoirs must shut down within the month.
China is notorious for the utilization of wild animals for medicine sourcing everything from donkeys to tigers from various countries. The medicine is non-traditional and not scientifically backed as being effective which is why the sourcing of animals like tigers for example, has sparked outrage in the global community. Sourcing endangered animals for "medicine" is completely irresponsible and a blatant disregard for the welfare of endangered animals. In the case of donkeys, it's clear that China has absolutely no regard for the donkey population as made evident by the decimation of donkeys in their own country, forcing them to source elsewhere. Unfortunately, these non-traditional medicines aren't going anywhere but if countries like Kenya recognize the lack of necessity and damage it does to animal populations, then we can hopefully see China abandon some of these operations in favour of traditional medicines.
Congratulations goes out to Kenya for taking a stand for donkeys and banning their slaughter. HAPPY VEG |
Stay educated and remain involved in animal welfare. Together, we can all make a difference!
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