According to statistics, a whopping 25, 000 African elephants, and 1,300 rhinos are slaughtered by poachers & trophy hunters every year. It is widely believed that the African elephant population has dwindled by a whopping 96% over the last century, plunging elephants in to an uncertain future on our planet. Ivory is a highly sought after product that leaves rhinos and elephants in grave danger at all times. They may be the biggest herbivores in Africa, but they are not safe from trophy hunters who stalk, shoot, and kill them with no regard. Why? Because it's fun for them, and they have absolutely no compassion or empathy towards the possibility of extinction that they are happily contributing to. If we are truly going to stave off extinction, trophy hunting MUST be banned across the globe. Those who argue in favour of trophy hunting are almost always directly linked to the industry itself. It has been proven time and time again, that trophy hunting, despite its claims, does NOT contribute towards conservation. As stated, those who argue in defense of it are those who participate, hunting lobbyists, and those who provide the excursions in Africa, all of which directly benefit from the slaughter of these imperiled, beautiful animals. STFU with your "killing them helps conservate them" nonsense, statistics would suggest that that is hardly true as both species continue to plunge towards extinction. Will this trigger a landslide affect, prompting other prominent western countries to also enact similar bans? One can hope, but at the very least, Canada has decided to take a stand and do their part to tackle elephant and rhino extinction. Let's be clear, this planet belongs to us all and it's time we stop shooting and killing everything simply because we like it / want to. We should be ashamed at how we treat the other species on this planet. Peep the original story from World Animal News attached at the top of this post. HAPPY VEG
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The dog meat industry is one that is shrouded in abuse and cruelty to animals, that most of us on this planet, see as friends / family. I've always found the horror at the abuse that dogs / cats face in countries that consume / abuse them, but the lack of equal concern for farm animals interesting. It's interesting to me because farm animals have repeatedly proven to be so very similar to the animals that we call "pets". They recognize their names, come to you for affection, form bonds / relationships with other animals / humans, have fears, likes, etc. But with the media's help, these animals are looked at as nothing more than brainless food. Whatever the case may be, the dog / cat meat industry is one that in my opinion, has long been scrutinized by the rest of the planet. Why would you kill pets? Steal pets and kill them? Why? Banning dog meat is an imperative step to kind of adhering to an International standard of rules and acceptable behaviour. Look, every country has their traditions, and it isn't entirely fair of us to be horrified by another country's choices, but when it comes to companion animals...there's simply no turning a blind eye. I've seen one too many videos of undercover investigations in to these dog meat producers and the videos are grueling. Watching dogs cower in fear is not something for the faint of heart; it's an emotionally gutting experience, one that reminds us that animals do not belong in this position. Cowering in fear, begging for their lives...why would we impose that on them? South Korea will impose this transitional period from 2023 - 2026, finalizing the ban in 2027. South Korea is definitely one of the only highly democratic countries that continue to farm / consume dog / meat. It's not surprising to me that they would be one of the first to take a stand, listen to their citizens / the International community, and end their dog meat industry. But this is only the beginning of what needs to happen in this industry as other nations have less concern for International scrutiny when it comes to mass dog slaughter. Millions of dogs are bred / stolen every year and agonizingly killed for their meat. There is much work to do. Congratulations South Korea for this monumental, history-making ruling that will spare 100's of thousands of dogs every year from brutal murder. Head to the link at the top of this post for the original story from World Animal News. HAPPY VEGFor the past 2 and a half years, I've really advocated for the conservation of grey wolves / wolves on our planet, as they face endless perils that are plunging them towards worldwide extinction. Why the past 2 and a half years? It has been approximately that amount of time, since one of the Trump administration's final acts in office, was to lift all endangered species act protections from wolves. When I began my research, I realized that we have, as humans, manipulated every facet of wolves' existence and now, we have collectively decided that they are better off extinct. The more I dove in to the topic, the more I realized, that every peril wolves face to their survival, every one of them, are directly traced back to humans. Humans are the ONLY reason that the dialogue surrounding wolves has shifted to one of negativity, to one of being ok that wolves are eradicated. How could we possibly want to wipe an entire species off of this planet with no regard? Let's chat about the main culprit! Why Kill Wolves?Not my photo. Photo taken respectively from National Wildlife Foundation nwf.org The Main Culprit? LivestockThe conflict between livestock farmers and wolves is nothing new. In fact, a large percentage of wolves that are slaughtered are usually done so after they interact / kill livestock. A story recently emerged from Switzerland regarding the permittance of wolf pack slaughter to protect livestock, after several instances of wolves attacking / killing livestock. Livestock are easy targets for wolves as they are often rather defenseless against attacks. Chickens, goats, sheep, etc., these animals make for an easy meal for hungry wolves who are opportunistic hunters. After wolves kill livestock, it's almost a guarantee that they will be euthanized, disrupting wolf pack hierarchy. My question here is, why put food on a silver platter for hungry predators and then blame them for helping themselves? My problem here is if this livestock is such a precious commodity, and farmers are so very concerned about protecting them, why are the perimeter fences that house these animals so easily penetrable? Why is it that wild predators can so easily access livestock? Livestock are literally served up to wolves in order to justify their euthanasia, but why not address the reasoning behind this? Why not improve the perimeter barriers so that wolves can not feasibly access livestock? Why? Because killing the wolves is the easier and cheaper option and frankly, the narrative surrounding wolves right now is one that sees them as unimportant and nuisances to the animal ag industry. This narrative allows us to overlook the importance of wolves in their habitat, the importance of wolves in their hierarchy / social structure, and the importance of their survival on this planet. What's The Connection Between Wolf Survival & My Push For Meatless Mondays?
Will it stop at wolves? Not a chance. As we continue to steal land away from wild animals, other predatory species will undoubtedly have interactions with livestock, leading to their euthanasia. How long can wild animals sustain our continued growth, continued animal ag development and the toxic pollution that comes with these industries, and onslaught as a result of livestock conflicts? If we continue to develop at this rate, stealing land and killing predators, we must be willing to accept that we will push wolves, bobcats, bears, and other predatory species towards inevitable extinction. Are we really so unable to extend empathy towards the survival of an entire species because we love bacon? My advocacy for Meatless Mondays ties directly in to the survival of wild animals like wolves. Sure, I could get on here and repeatedly push the vegetarian / vegan narrative, hoping to inspire a large amount of meat-eating people to drop meat and adopt a meatless lifestyle. The reality is, it's so much easier to advocate for a small change, like ditching meat one day a week, versus pushing a meatless lifestyle. A small change like giving up meat one or two days a week would have a significant impact on the necessity of livestock. Imagine if all 34 + million people in Canada collectively dropped meat one day per week. The environmental impact would be astronomical. The amount of livestock required / killed would drop, and the need for more land to produce more animals would also drop. It is all tied together. I think one of the most frustrating things I've seen at the grocery store is when packages of meat are marked down 50% to sell them before they expire. This indicates that the necessity is not even there in some cases, and yet we continue to slaughter at the rate that we are. To think that we slaughtered a frightened animal to produce meat, only to throw it in the garbage when it expired is beyond frustrating to me given everything that comes along with that package of meat. So not only are we rapidly growing, rapidly taking land, and slaughtering animals in mass quantities, we are also doing so to such an extent that the necessity is not even there. An entire cycle of destruction that leads to products being thrown in the garbage after they expired. At the end of the day, we are all free to make our own choices regarding what we eat. This story is simply a reminder that our choices do not only affect us. If we continue to over-produce meat, steal land from wild animals to produce MORE meat, and continue to kill wild predators to protect meat, we will undoubtedly destroy every other species on our planet to put steak or bacon on our plates. Is it too astronomically outrageous to hope that there are enough of us who recognize that our choices are directly linked to the survival of other species on our planet? Are there enough of us who care? Enough of us who want to see wild animals survive for generations to come? Enough of us that recognize that we are on track to lose wolves, bears, and other predatory species which will disrupt the natural balance of ecosystems that rely on a healthy population of both prey and predatory species? Or, is it simply too late to change course and reverse the damage that we are on track to do with our continued growth? My hope is that even one person who reads this will make the connection between meat production and the eradication of our planet's predatory species. After making that connection, giving up meat one day a week doesn't seem so hard when the survival of an entire species hinges on our decisions. Wolves will go extinct to protect livestock, that is a guarantee, and it will not stop there. It's up to us to stave off the inevitable extinction of species we are pushing towards extinction for a piece of bacon. We cannot be this stubborn and lacking in empathy, I refuse to believe it. HAPPY VEG
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