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Australia has passed a landmark bill finally recognizing animal sentience. The bill, passed on the 26th will recognize the sentience of animals for the first time in Australia's history. This recognition implies Australia's acknowledgement that animals feel pain and emotions and should be held to a certain standard when it comes to their treatment. This recognition will also allow for penalties, fines, and imprisonments pertaining to poor animal treatment. “Modern animal welfare is about considering how an animal is coping both mentally and physically with the conditions in which it lives.” Minister for City Service Chris Steel Recognizing animal sentience is the first step to properly tackling animal cruelty and cracking down on those who commit cruelty to animals in various manners. Sentience is something that is still being recognized across the globe despite years and years of evidence suggesting its validity. Arguing whether an animal feels pain, emotion, or mental instability is comical to me at this point. Animals have brains correct? Much like we do, these brains are capable of many of the same pain receptors, mental turmoils, bonds, and emotions that we experience. Perhaps one could argue to what degree they experience these similarities, but to deny the validity of sentience is ridiculous in this day and age.
With this new laws passed and coming into effect in 6 months, law enforcement can enforce penalties for animal cruelty they were unable to properly enforce before. In the instance of recognized animal cruelty, law enforcement can impose bans on animal ownership of 6 months, seize, retain, sell, or rehome animals when applicable. Not providing animals adequate food, shelter, or water will come with a $4, 000 penalty. This fine will also be imposed on those who keep pets enclosed for long periods of time or restrict their movement. Those who engage in violence involving animals such as dog fighting face a possible $48, 000 fine along with a potential 3 year prison sentence. Unfortunately, despite livestock being mentioned by Chris Steel, these new laws pertain mostly to domestic animals leaving farm animals in continued danger of abuse. One cannot deny the importance of this bill coming into effect to better protect animals but it's super unfortunate that livestock will continue to be overlooked. A considerable amount of abuse to animals occurs to farm animals because they are viewed more as products and less as living beings. It's not only Australia that is failing livestock however. Across the globe we are still struggling to figure out how to properly protect farm animals in the factory farming industry. The fact is, these animals often live in squalor, are regularly subjected to beatings and cruelty at the hands of handlers, and suffer immeasurable emotional and mental stress during their very short lives. We must continue to move forward globally in advancing animal rights for farm animals the same way we are moving forward in protecting exotic and domestic animals to truly demonstrate a commitment to animal welfare. Congratulations Australia on recognizing sentience and here's to a more compassionate future! HAPPY VEG
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House Democrats in the United States have advanced a bill that would better protect African elephants and lions from trophy hunting. The bill would prohibit the entry of trophies into the US from African lions and elephants helping to curb a disgusting industry that caters to wealthy people at the expense of endangered, majestic animals. Trophy hunting continues to be a prevalent industry that allows those who pretend to be concerned about conservation and happen to have tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to spare to participate in the slaughter of innocent and often endangered animals. The money spent on these hunts allegedly goes towards other conservation efforts but as I've always said, there is no bigger hypocrisy on this planet then the one that says slaughtering endangered animals will help better protect them. These pigs hide behind conservation to justify their actions that are widely recognized by Americans and frankly, the rest of the globe as despicable and unnecessary.
Also introduced was a bill banning the ownership of big cats as pets. Sadly, this too happens across the US with these animals often being stripped from their parents in the wild and either sold immediately or bred to continue to exploit and sell future babies. The bill would protect big cats like lions, tigers, and cougars, from becoming pets freeing them from the often awful conditions they are housed in during private ownership. These wild animals live in massive amounts of space in the wild but when kept as pets, often have very little space to live and live inexcusably shitty lives.
These bills are in my opinion, a direct message to President Trump that the House, along with millions of Americans despise trophy hunting and want to see these majestic animals better protected. His administration has repeatedly made evident their lack of concern for the well being of endangered species and I truly hope these bills pass the senate and become active immediately. The future of elephants and lions depends on tackling trophy hunting! I will update when I hear more. HAPPY VEG Zimbabwe is home to some of the most imperiled and endangered species on the planet and poaching remains these animals greatest threat. Poaching of animal like elephants, lions, rhinos, and leopards, had lead some of these beautiful animals down a dangerous path towards extinction. Efforts to curtail poaching have been in place for years but the black market is strong and people continue to poach in hopes of making big money off the sale of parts from these wild and endangered animals and that's where Akashinga come in. In 2017, a story emerged about Zimbabwe's very first all female, vegan anti-poaching group. Originally a 16 woman group, the success of the movement has been astronomical and the numbers have continued to swell with more and more women dedicating themselves to protecting their land and the animals that live in harmony with them. The women's troop was special because they were easily able to build relationships with local communities and form bonds relaying the necessity of conservation and working with locals to strengthen the efforts.
The increase in interest and desired participation has now led to a new training program for 240 new women who wish to dedicate themselves to this amazing cause. These women; all of which are vegan, are the next round of recruits which will allow for more area to be monitored and more poachers to be targeted leading to an even further decline in elephant and other animals being poached. Damien Mander, the organizer of the group can't speak enough praises about the women and the hard work they do. Originally when creating this team, he trained both men and women but found the women to be more dedicated and willing to push themselves to help with conservation. He says that a woman's natural instincts to protect are what make them such fierce anti-poaching allies. Simply put, women are natural nurturers meaning they are naturally inclined to protect. These instincts make them the ideal candidates for such difficult work because they understand the importance of protecting and conserving the species that are poached here. With such a strong force of dedicated, amazing women, I imagine we will see a continued decline in poaching and an increase in arrests as the group spreads out and takes on more wildlife game reserves. These women deserve the praise for doing some of the most dangerous work on the planet. Their dedication to protecting endangered animals is quite magnificent. Head to the link at the top of the page for the full story on this group of amazing women! HAPPY VEG  Heartbreaking news as the 31st horse has died following a complication from a fractured pelvis at the Santa Anita race track in California. The horse sustained the injury during training and although initially seemed fine, by nightfall it was evident the horse was getting worse and eventually succumbed to its injuries. The track put out a statement claiming to be heartbroken and investigating what could have led to the horse's injury. Although we must expect the track to put out a statement claiming to be devastated by the loss of this beautiful horse, it seems a touch clueless and ignorant when you consider this has happened 31 times in less than a year. When one animal dies under your care, you should already be on alert for problems and such but 31? When do you recognize that perhaps the sport in itself is what's killing the horses? The answer is they won't because despite being "heartbroken", they need these horses to continue making profits.
Horse racing is simply another example of humans profiting off of animals disregarding their well being for our own entertainment. It amazes me that we are on one hand crying foul with the circus but endorsing horse racing. There is no difference between these things aside from our perception. With the circus, we see wild animals forced to perform which seems wholly unnatural but with horse racing, we know horses can run fast and therefore it doesn't seem as unnatural or cruel. The fact is, any form of exploitation of animals for our entertainment is wrong, plain and simple and this latest death is evidence that horse racing is dangerous for horses.
Horses are beautiful animals that have been with us as civilization has continued to grow. Prior to vehicular travel, horses were seen as a means of travel and carrying goods between villages or towns however as time went on and we developed other means of travel, we moved away from using horses in this manner. There is no place in today's society for the use of horses in any capacity aside from allowing them to live their lives in peace without us forcing them into these ridiculous situations endangering them. Horse drawn carriages and horse racing are abominations that should be completely banned across the globe. Horses have served us well in history so it's time we repayed them appropriately by releasing them from their destiny of servitude to us. Enough is enough, it's time to ban horse racing! HAPPY VEG Last week the United States House of Representatives passed the Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act that will block the Trump Administrations efforts to proceed with oil drilling in the arctic. This is the very first stand alone bill passed by the House to protect the Arctic habitat and animals like the polar bear that are endangered. Recognizing that animals like the polar bear are endangered and facing significant perils in the wild as it is, this bill will prevent unnecessary oil drilling in the arctic. Polar bears are under intense pressure in the wild as their habitats have come under siege from a changing climate. This warming climate is causing their habitat which is mostly ice, to melt away making their existences significantly more difficult. From their need to move inland to a lack of prey perched on sea ice, they are already in danger of extinction without the added habitat destruction associated with unnecessary oil drilling.
Interestingly, the arctic drilling was approved not out of being introduced and fairly debated on its own, but it was slipped into a larger tax bill where it could passed without a debate among the house. This tactic is unsurprising of the Trump administration as they have repeatedly made it clear through their actions that the oil and fuel industry come before the environment and animals. Their administration has demonstrated an almost neurotic lack of empathy towards animals, so much so that they have faced significant lawsuits regarding their poor track record.
Americans surveyed son't want oil drilling, they want protected polar bears. The Trump admin's slimy attempt to allow oil drilling is another example of their deceitfulness but thanks to this bill, they won't be drilling anytime in the near future. Check out the original story from World Animal News through the link at the top of the page! HAPPY VEG It may sometimes feel like all I do on this website is target President Trump of the United States but it just so happens that the news keeps getting worse and worse. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loathe that man but his administration is by far one of the worst in modern history in regards to animals and the environment. Today's story is about the very first permit given to a Florida hunter which permitted the import of lion parts for trophies from the nation of Tanzania which reportedly is home to nearly 40% of the world's wild lion population. This recently acquired permit will allow this man to bring in his lion trophies which include the skin, skull, claws, and teeth to display them proudly like the sick asshole he is. The troubling part of this is that it implies that the US Fish and Wildlife Services might be on track to begin allowing further trophies into the US from Tanzania which is bad news for elephants and lions from the nation. What is also especially troubling is that Tanzania reportedly keeps very poor track of their current wild animal populations which means that they could be allowing more of these animals to be killed than there are being born. We all know that this will ultimately lead to them once again becoming endangered in their habitat and potentially put them on track to become extinct, all for the sake of fucking trophies.
We are in a period of time where these animals already face significant perils in the wild without the addition of permitted hunts by a bunch of wealthy pigs who get their enjoyment out of destroying ecosystems and ending lives for fun. Recently, I reported on a story about a group of scientists who claimed an abrupt ban on trophy hunting could lead to increased illegal killing however if they were to abruptly ban trophy hunting and then put increased effort into controlling poaching, there would definitely be a population increase. We cannot continue to argue about the benefits of trophy hunting when discussing animals that are vulnerable to extinction, it's beyond hypocritical and frankly, a disgusting attempt to cover up the fact that these wealthy scumbags know damn well that they're contributing to extinction but could care less because they have money and want trophies.
The Trump administration continues to deal with lawsuit after lawsuit in regards to their abhorrent track record with animal welfare and this is another nail in the coffin for Africa's most recognized wildlife. In fact, Tanzania houses all of the big 5 "game" species which include the rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, and buffalo and of them, 4 of those species are in danger. There is no time to waste with Trophy Hunting, we must ban it immediately to save these beautiful animals from extinction! HAPPY VEG Despite the multitude of scientists out there that claim we need to start shifting away from things like fossil fuels and oil drilling for the sake of the environment, we are still seeing stories like this where increased drilling is occurring which inevitably puts ecosystems at serious risk. The Trump administration has approved a major oil and gas company to expand its oil drilling territory in Alaska despite the fact that there are fewer than a couple hundred beluga whales left in this area. Oil drilling consists of seismic blasts and destructive machinery that most assuredly disrupts land and marine life in the area, particularly the extremely threatened beluga whales. The seismic blasts are known to reach over 250 decibels which affect the belugas and other marine life significantly by throwing off their communication, hunting ability, and mating rituals. These blasts will further damage and already dwindling population of belugas ultimately pushing them to extinction in the area if this oil drilling is not stopped.
This is just another lawsuit in a long line of active suits against the Trump administration for their repeated ignorance when it comes to protecting our planet's wildlife. His administration has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of compassion and understanding of the perils these animals face and in fact, has almost attempted to worsen their situations in the wild by removing protections, failing to act on suggested protections, or in this case, allowed further ecosystem drilling in favour of the fossil fuel industry. His admins denial of science is pushing several species to the brinks of extinction and sadly, he doesn't show any signs of stopping.
Follow the link at the top of the page to the original story by World Animal News and take a minute to lend your name to the signature demanding his admin. stop further drilling in this part of Alaska where belugas are in immediate danger. HAPPY VEG I've been reporting on animal welfare stories across the globe for over 4 years now and there are some stories that I desperately want to stop reporting on because the appropriate action has been taken. In a perfect world, I'd go so far as to add factory farming to this list but I honestly don't see it going anywhere in the near future. Below are some things that I've had to painfully report on several times and believe we should already be done with;
Humans utilize animals in every way imaginable and have given ourselves the right to everything on this planet without consequence. As the dominant species on this planet, we have a moral obligation to care for everything that exists on this planet with us and yet we abuse our power every single day when it comes to the environment and the animals that inhabit this earth with us. It's time that we collectively put an end to the nonsense and move forward towards a more compassionate existence. I don't expect the planet to abruptly turn plant based, but the repeated abuse of animals needs to come to an end.
HAPPY VEG A new initiative to crackdown on illegal cockfighting has brought upon the discovery of law enforcement in Kentucky participating in cockfighting. Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) and In Defense of Animals (IDA) announced their new campaign, Crush Cockfighting, in an effort to identify and expose illegal cockfighting across the United States.
This particular group of officers from Kentucky run a rooster breeding facility called "Cuttin Up Gamefarm" where they were found to breed and ultimately orchestrate fights. There were also reportedly people from Virginia tied to the illegal cockfighting organization making this a potential interstate criminal organization. Evidence of their illegalities has been turned in to the FBI where the Animal Welfare groups have requested a thorough investigation into the facility which will hopefully lead to charges and prosecution. It's not enough that we breed them for meat and let them live in absolute squalor their entire lives until they're killed. It's not enough that we have animals in cages at roadside attractions that don't have enough space to live appropriately. It's not enough that we breed animals in facilities to supply game reserves where they finally see their own habitats until they are shot and killed by participating trophy hunters. All of this and we have to worry about people breeding these birds only to watch them tear one another apart for sport. What kind of planet do we live on where this is in any way, shape, or form acceptable? Cock fighting is a despicable activity that allows humans to profit off of the torture and abuse of animals. I commend the welfare groups aiming to tackle this despicable sport and condemn anyone who willingly participates in such a disgusting activity. Animals are not our to do with as we please, why haven't we recognized this? Why do people out there continue to take liberties at the expense of innocent animals? We are the destroyers of this planet, that's for sure and this is yet another example of how manipulative our species is. We have the power to protect this planet and all of the creatures on it and yet we continue to hear stories like this where we've obviously abused our position as one of the dominant species by participating in such atrocities. Shame on anyone who participates in these activities and I wish CRUSH COCKFIGHTING continued success in fighting this illegal activity across the US. HAPPY VEG Learn more about CRUSH COCKFIGHTING here --- www.sharkonline.org/index.php/animal-cruelty/cockfighting
It's been 17 years since I stopped eating meat and let me tell you, in those 17 years I've come across every kind of person you can think of when it comes to my being vegetarian. THE DOCTOR - You know the one who suddenly has their masters in health care and repeatedly reminds you that you are likely lacking in several key nutrients, particularly protein. The one who needs to educate you on all of the healthy reasons they eat meat whilst omitting all of the proven bad things meat does to our bodies, especially when eaten in excess. This person can be frustrating because they seem like they're coming from a good place but have absolutely no idea what they're talking about except what they've read on the internet maybe twice about protein. THE NON-BELIEVER - You seriously don't eat meat? How about chicken? Not even fish? Fish aren't animals though! These types find it very hard to believe that you could survive without eating meat and can't wrap their heads around what a diet without meat would even consist of assuming you likely consume freshly mowed grass and leaves off of trees. I discovered these people more in the start of my journey rather than now as there is a plethora of information now available to us and frankly, a lot of vegetarians and vegans among us. THE ONE WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE ETHICS - Do you want a bite of my fish taco? I made this amazing pasta sauce with beef, you should try it. These people are obnoxiously pleasant and simply don't understand that your decision to abstain from meat comes from an ethical standpoint. They're also becoming more rare with the movement becoming more mainstream.
I like to break these types of into two different categories, the ASHAMED and the BULLIES. Both of these types of people will react to your insight in a very similar manner but come from completely different places with their anger and resentment.
Somehow, caring about the environment bothers these types but what especially bothers them is that you care about farm animals' well being. My goodness, the fact that you are compassionate to the plight of animals that are raised in factory farms for food is the ultimate insult to these people. They constantly make jokes about animals being "steaks" or "bacon" because they've managed to completely detach themselves from the idea that these are actually living creatures. These people want nothing more than to criticize you, demean you, and tear you down and are known to show up at protests and gatherings belittling or being aggressive towards protesters. Also, these people probably have other aggressive tendencies in their lives (IMO) that manifest themselves in other situations. These are not the kind of people I would associate with anyhow so their nonsense and bullying is water off my back, but for some, it can be deeply troubling and hurtful to be on the receiving end of a meat thirsty bully on a tirade.
All we can do is educate and continue to spread the message planting the seed of compassion everywhere we go. Are we going to get bashed and belittled along the way? Of course, but it shouldn't steer us off the road we've chosen to take. Anytime you do something that a larger majority of people do not do or fully comprehend, there will be push back. It's important to face all scrutiny with a smile and really stand by that message of compassion even in the face of the absolute opposite from a bunch of jerks. What type of person did I miss or have you encountered on your vegan / vegetarian journey? HAPPY VEG |
Stay educated and remain involved in animal welfare. Together, we can all make a difference!
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