Botswana has come to the decision that they are going to lift a nearly 5 year ban on hunting elephants citing issues with farmers and elephants interrupting their livelihoods. On top of the farming industry, Botswana aims to promote and increase their Safari Hunting industry while maintaining the elephant population within its historic range. Basically, they are concerned more with profit than the livelihood of an entire species' survival, shocking.
What I can see here is once again, profits trump survival of an entire species. Africa has seen some of its most recognized and respected wildlife end up on the endangered species act because of poaching and illegal hunting. In fact, animal like leopards, lions, elephants, and rhinos, are all in danger of going extinct if proper conservation efforts are not put in to place. It's bad enough that illegal poaching is wiping these animals out, but then to allow regulated hunting of elephants on top of it? It sickens me to the core to try and understand the logic or lack thereof behind this decision.
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When you think of animal exploitation, it's easy to look at any organization that takes money on behalf of animals being the attraction which in essence, is not incorrect. However, I truly think there are some seriously big differences between the exploitation that occurs in places like Sea World or the Circus, versus accredited zoos. Allow me to dive into this further; THE CIRCUS
SEA WORLD
ROADSIDE ZOOS
In every instance of the above mentioned establishments, they profit at the expense of the animals. In every case, the animals are living sad existences suffering immensely for the profit of a human led organization that could care less about the damage they are causing to these animals. It's important to note that all of these organizations are currently embroiled in various bans, boycotts, and investigations leading to charges of animal cruelty. Now, I'd like to dive into what makes accredited and licences zoos different although not entirely without exploitation. ACCREDITED ZOOS I have fond memories of being brought to the zoo as a child and have visited a few times since my youth. In the case of accredited zoos, there are some major things that set them apart from the organizations I've mentioned prior, let's take a look at some of the differences.
Ultimately, the zoo still profits off of animals which essentially is wrong, but the money they make goes towards a variety of good causes along with profiting. As mentioned, they work to educate people about the animals and the perils they face in the wild, they work towards repopulating these animals and working with conservationists to aid in their efforts to conserve these species, and they provide appropriate care to the animals.
Zoos are not without scandal, there have been multiple reports of zoo employees being attacked or killed by animals, animal escapes resulting in euthanasia, and children falling into enclosures. All of these situations shed a truly negative light on the operations of zoos but as I said, if you are going to put your money towards any of the organizations mentioned, accredited zoos are the ONLY of these organizations the have a purpose outside of profit and exploitation. I'm not telling you to ignore what's wrong with the zoo, I'm telling you to recognize the difference between accredited zoos and what they aim to achieve versus organizations like circus' or marine parks where animals are performing unnaturally and living horrendous lives outside of the public eye. There is a difference and we should recognize that although the zoo is NOT perfect by any means, they still make attempts to help in areas where animals are suffering and at risk in the wild and I think that should be recognized. HAPPY VEG The owner of the Zoo St-Edouard in Quebec is charged with neglect and cruelty to animals under Canadian Criminal Code after the Montreal SPCA and other animal welfare groups seized over 100 wild & exotic animals from the property.
Roadside zoos often slip under the radar because they lack proper registration and licences to operate or be in possession of exotic or wild animals. These zoos typically lack veterinary care or the education on how to properly care for these animals which leads to them being in states of distress constantly. It also leads to the animals being kept in adequate enclosures, alone, and without proper access to food or water. These zoos exploit and profit off of these animals without any of the money going towards real initiatives like conservation of a species which is the worst kind of operation. Without the accreditation to operate legally and with general concern for conservation or other charitable intentions, these zoos are no different than the circus or places like Sea World where animals are forced to perform for our entertainment and are often kept in horrid conditions.
I implore each and every one of you to take note of these sorts of attractions should you pass them on your travels and notify the local Humane Society. There is a very good chance that animal welfare groups simply are unaware of them and chances are, should they investigate them, they would likely discover animal cruelty and neglect. It's so important to expose these places so that these animals can be sent to sanctuaries where they will be taken care of. As I said, make note of where you spot these places and always notify your local animal welfare groups so that they may take it upon themselves to further investigate.
HAPPY VEG CALIFORNIA ADVANCES BAN ON WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUS' The California Senate has advanced a bill banning the use of wild animals in circuses with a unanimous vote of 34-0. The bill will ban the use of any wild animal in a circus for performance and entertainment purposes.
This is great news but also an indicator that we have so much more work to do when it comes to animal welfare. Circus' that use wild animals in their shows should be banned across the globe and this process is taking much longer than I think any animal lover would hope. Big thanks to California for taking the steps to put an end to wild animals in circus'. PRADA GOING FUR FREE Prada is the next big name fashion label to go fur free announcing that beginning with its Spring/Summer 2020 line, they will cease using fur altogether. Prada joins a growing list of big name labels that have made the commitment to ditch fur in their fashion recognizing that fur is despicable and unnecessary.
Prada will join other big name labels like Ralph Lauren, Victoria Beckham, Calvin Klein, and Phillip Lim in banning fur. As more big name labels come out in support of banning fur, I believe this will continue to have a trickling effect on other labels, pressuring them to ditch fur as well. Here's to a fur free planet where animals are the only ones using their fur!
HAPPY VEG The new Prime Minister of Australia is being urged to enact the Koala Protection Act (KPA) after concerns have been raised that koalas have become functionally extinct in the wild. "Functionally Extinct" is a label given to a species that has gotten to the point that it may be too late to help them from going extinct. There are approximately 80, 000 koalas left in the wild and it is imperative that the KPA become active to protect the remaining koalas and work towards a conservation goal that would see them better protected and work towards increasing their numbers. Koala forests cover approximately 20% of Australia's landscape and of the 128 electorates, koalas are currently extinct in 41 of them. The Australia Koala Foundation has determined that current programs in place to protect the environment and koalas are simply inadequate which is why the KPA must be enacted to protect them before it's too late.
Along with koalas, animals like giraffes, elephants, rhinos, lions, and leopards are in serious danger of going extinct in the wild unless we stand up and take serious action to help them. It sickens me the lax approach to conservation our governments are taking. Do they not realize that extinction is permanent?
My hope is that the Australian government gets on board and enacts the KPA to save koalas before it is too late for them. For more information regarding the KPA and what you can do to help, follow the link at the top of the page to the World Animal News page and head to the bottom of the article. HAPPY VEG SANPark employees in Kruger National Park have made the desperate decision to begin selectively dehorning rhinos in an effort to prevent illegal poaching. Rhinos are one of the most endangered land animals on the planet and illegal poaching continues to be the biggest threat to their existence with the black market ivory trade still rampant. As the article suggests, this demonstrates just how dire the situation really is when it comes to rhino conservation. Along with extremely stiff penalties for anyone caught trespassing with rifles or with the intention to poach these rhinos, there is the realization that losing the rhino bulls comes with a slew of problems relating to future populations. Poaching of rhino bulls will immediately lead to lower populations of rhinos but also often leaves baby rhinos destitute without parents to protect them. Ultimately, this leaves the babies in danger of death as well and will lead to future reproduction suffering.
Along with rhinos, elephants, lions, giraffes, tigers, and leopards all face serious dangers in the wild and these dangers will ultimately lead to extinction if wildlife poaching is not stopped and quickly. Africa's wildlife is crucial to its ecosystem and their wildlife are also the most poached in the world. Trophy hunting continues to be permitted despite these animals suffering in the wild along with illegal poaching. We are making great strides when it comes to illegal poaching but we need also to address trophy hunting and call it out for the hypocrisy that it is. Trophy hunting acts under the guise of conservation because these arseholes pay tens of thousands of dollars to shoot one of these animals and the money supposedly goes towards conservation efforts which sounds fine on paper but the fact is there simply aren't enough of these animals left in the wild for this to be effective. These people should simply donate their money to REAL conservation efforts and trophy hunting of endangered species should be banned across the globe.
Here's to hoping the dehorning of selected rhinos will be the much needed solution to a serious poaching problem and we will see the number of rhino kills decrease. HAPPY VEG Anonymous photos of lions suffering in some gruesome conditions prompted an investigation and charges from the NSPCA. A lion breeding facility in South Africa was exposed for having hundreds of lions living in less than ideal conditions. Along with the lions, they also had tigers, leopards, and caracal, likely enduring poor conditions as well. The lion breeding industry is one rampant with cruelty from start to finish and this investigation certainly shines a light on some of the atrocities these lions are forced to endure on top of the awful lives simply being bred provides them.
As WAN discussed, there are currently more lions in captivity than in the wild which is nothing short of alarming especially considering these lions are not being bred and released for conservation. They are being bred solely for the purpose of exploiting / profiting off of them. Lions are listed as a threatened species under the endangered species act so it is especially repulsive that these facilities aren't even trying to breed for the purpose of repopulating.
The lions in this specific case were all found to be suffering extensive hair loss because of Mange. They were in some cases found to be living in filth, in over cramped cages, and there were cubs found to have neurological disorders. So as if it isn't atrocious enough that these lions live this kind of despicable life of exploitation, they're also being kept in ungodly condition while they wait for their use to be up. It's a disgusting trade that profits off of the suffering of endangered animals and now that the NSPCA has investigated and charged this specific farm, it is my hope that they take it upon themselves to investigate the as many as 260 facilities operating. The fact is, it's never just one out of all of them that is doing things wrong, there are likely half or more of them that have these beautiful animals living in squalor until being slaughtered and something needs to be done. Get the full story by visiting the link at the top of the page from World Animal News HAPPY VEG The CEO of popular sub spot Jimmy John's is proof that money doesn't buy you class after a series of despicable hunting photos made the rounds on Twitter. In the most recent photo, the CEO is seen smiling proudly in front of an adult elephant he likely spent tens of thousands of dollars to shoot dead. When the photos hit the internet, they immediately went viral with a boycott trending on twitter of the chain.
When it comes to protecting and conserving an entire species, there is no justification in shooting them dead and posing in front of their corpses' proudly. One cannot argue that they are helping to save a species while also shooting them dead for fun, it simply couldn't be further from the truth. The money paid to hunt these animals hardly compensates for the fact that these animals are facing grave danger in the wild and every single one of them remaining in the wild is crucial to their survival. Trophy hunting hides behind conservation as some sort of sick justification for shooting endangered animals and shames organizations that are actually out there working tirelessly to protect these animals from extinction.
If you're on twitter, join me and the countless others by sharing this story or any of them mentioning this jackass and make sure to use the hashtag #boycottjimmyjohns to keep this trending. I hope his business suffers or he does at the very least for his actions and perhaps he smartens up and contributes to a conservation fund or even decides to abandon trophy hunting in favour of the millions of other things we can do to have fun.
HAPPY VEG A billboard from In Defense of Animals calls for the end of calf roping in lieu of the upcoming calf roping event taking place May 18th / 19th during the Castro Valley Rowell Ranch Rodeo. The billboard which shows the image of a calf that has been slammed to the ground in agony with a rope around its neck will be displayed for on month n an effort to draw attention to the needless suffering of baby cows for entertainment. Rodeos are notoriously cruel events hiding behind the guise of tradition and have been operating for decades under this idea. Much like bullfighting, animal cruelty is overlooked because of the historical factor of these events but this is not acceptable nor an excuse to continue to allow animals to suffer for the purposes of entertainment.
The fact is, every animal used in the rodeo is tortured to some degree to appear more aggressive than they are. Electric prodding and other abuses take place backstage so that when the animals break through their fences, they appear angry and aggressive because frankly, a cow that slowly walks out of a fence or a horse that trots versus runs simply doesn't provide the amusement the rodeo is after. The fact is, the rodeo is the perfect example of animal cruelty & exploitation and people who attend literally pay for the abuse of animals for entertainment. It needs to be put to an end for good.
Here's to hoping this billboard draws attention to the plight of these animals and even if it turns one person away who planned to attend, that's one more person who recognizes the needlessness of these activities. HAPPY VEG The U.K. has announced a bill that will ban the use of wild animals in circus' traveling through England joining Scotland in banning them from performing. The long awaited bill is wholly supported by the people of the U.K. who have shown overwhelming support for the ban. The U.K. would join nearly half the world's country's in making wild animal circus' a thing of the past which is long overdue according to Animal Defenders International.
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Stay educated and remain involved in animal welfare. Together, we can all make a difference!
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