News
The number of news found: 24.
09/30/2013 ANOTHER REASON NOT TO EAT MEAT
If you are eating meat and fish, you are taking antibiotics. The majority of meat-eating Americans are on a 365 day a year prescription of antibiotics. That means all the bacteria, good or bad, is being attacked in your gut by drugs passed on to you through your ingestion of animals. Not to mention the drugs prescribed to you by the medical industry. Yes, you can buy meat that is raised without antibiotics, but 99% of restaurants serve drug laden animals. By being on an antibiotic diet year round, you are opening up the possibility of any infection killing you. Salmonella, C.Difficile, Staph, MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus), Steptococcus Pneumoniae, Tuberculosis, Entrococcus (VRE), Candida & Gonorrhoeae are just a few of the bacterial infections becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics of any kind. A new breed of "Super Bug's" making their rounds in hospitals today has a 50% kill rate. It is essentially untreatable with any known antibiotics in use.
09/27/2013 WHALE MASS STRANDING ATTRIBUTED TO SONAR MAPPING FOR FIRST TIME
An independent scientific review panel has concluded that the mass stranding of approximately 100 melon-headed whales in the Loza Lagoon system in northwest Madagascar in 2008 was primarily triggered by acoustic stimuli, more specifically, a multi-beam echosounder system operated by a survey vessel contracted by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production (Northern Madagascar) Limited. In response to the event and with assistance from IFAW, WCS led an international stranding team to help return live whales from the lagoon system to the open sea, and to conduct necropsies on dead whales to determine the cause of death. According to the final report issued today, this is the first known marine mammal mass stranding event of this nature to be closely associated with high-frequency mapping sonar systems. Based on these findings, there is cause for concern over the impact of noise on marine mammals as these high-frequency mapping sonar systems are used by various stakeholders including the hydrocarbon industry, military, and research vessels used by other industries.
09/26/2013 SHARK OVERFISHING HURTS CORAL REEFS
Overfishing for sharks is having detrimental effects on coral reefs, finds a new study published in the journal PLOS One. The research is based on long-term monitoring reefs off northwestern Australia. The authors, led by Jonathan Ruppert, formerly of the University of Toronto and now with York University, compared community structure between several atoll-like reefs. Some of the reefs were protected, while some were open to exploitation by Indonesian fishermen using traditional fishing techniques. Indonesian fishermen tend to target high value species like sharks. The researchers found the overfishing of sharks can result in profound ecological changes.
09/25/2013 PHOENIX JAIL GOES VEGETARIAN TO SAVE MONEY
Sheriff Joe Arpaio is making a big change to his jails in Maricopa County, Arizona. In an effort to save big money, the jails' menus are ditching meat. Arpaio is replacing beef with soy, a switch that he says will save $100,000. FOX 10 Phoenix was invited into the jail's kitchen to see how Arpaio makes what the inmates call, "slop." While the Sheriff was enthusiastic about using soy chips in a stew, the FOX news anchor was apprehensive. For health, the environment and animals, many institutions including hospitals and schools are offering more vegetarian options. Once the chefs perfect their use of soy, hopefully the inmates will think differently about veg foods.
09/24/2013 SCARCITY OF FOOD DRIVING BEARS INTO TOURIST AREAS IN YELLOWSTONE
Encounters between bears and humans are likely to increase in Yellowstone National Park this fall as a scarce supply of nuts forces hungry grizzlies to seek food closer to the U.S. park's popular tourist areas. Conservationists say that climate change has caused a decline in whitebark pines in recent years, which produce the nuts that are a food source for grizzlies and black bears. During this same time, several attacks on visitors have been recorded in the park straddling Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
09/24/2013 BRIGITTE BARDOT CALLS ROMANIAN PRESIDENT "TYRANT" OVER STRAY DOG LAW
French animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot called Romanian President Traian Basescu a "tyrant" for backing a law allowing stray dogs to be put down. "This tyrant thinks only of killing, and I condemn his dictatorial policy, which is unworthy of a member of the European Union," she said. "You would think we had returned to the (Nicolae) Ceausescu years!" the 78-year-old former actress told AFP, referring to the dictator deposed in 1989. The law allowing authorities to euthanise stray dogs if they are not claimed within two weeks was passed by a vote of 266 to 23, with 20 abstentions. Basescu was expected to approve the measure, which Bardot termed "animal genocide." The law was passed a week after a child died after dogs bit him near a Bucharest park. "It would be scandalous, unfair, to condemn all innocent dogs to death because of an isolated incident," Bardot said.
09/23/2013 ESCAPED CIRCUS ELEPHANT TRAMPLES PENSIONER TO DEATH
A pensioner who was playing boulles has died after he was attacked by a rogue elephant that had escaped from a circus. Tanya, a two-tonne circus elephant, went on the rampage after breaking out from an electrified enclosure in the French village of Lizy-sur-Ourcq, 35 miles outside Paris. According to investigators, she battered the 84-year-old man with her trunk and then stamped on him. The victim, who has not been named, died from his injuries in hospital in nearby Kremlin-Bicetre. Witnesses reported the animal as appearing "angry and upset". It had been performing to a sell-out audience on the day of the attack. They claimed that Tanya grabbed a tarpaulin with her trunk and used it to cover the electric fence surrounding her enclosure before storming though two barriers, including one formed by a ring of circus trailers. Animal rights campaigners have accused Cirque d'Europe of animal cruelty. One Voice has filed a criminal lawsuit against Cirque d'Europe, which denied mistreating the elephant. The victim's brother also pledged to take legal action against the circus for failing to safeguard the public.
09/20/2013 POACHERS POISON WATERING HOLES
Just when you thought people couldn't sink any lower... poachers are now poisoning African elephants to fuel the illicit ivory trade. It was horrifying enough when they were slaughtering these beautiful animals with machetes and guns at the rate of one in every 15 minutes; now they're lacing the elephants' watering holes with cyanide. Last year alone, some 36,000 elephants were killed - a poaching trend conservationists believe will decimate all elephants in less than 12 years. What's even more cruel is the elephants aren't the only ones being killed. African authorities say because of the potency of the poison, the animals who feed off the elephants' carcasses will also die, and so will the animals that eat them. Earlier this year, a group of men caught committing this horrendous crime were arrested. Their punishment? A mere two years! Hundreds of animals will perish and an iconic species may become extinct yet they’re given a slap on the wrist.
09/20/2013 SEA SHEPHERD CRACKS DOWN ON CRUEL SPORT
Since 1983, the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd has been fighting to stop whale and dolphin Grind hunting in the Faroe Islands - also referred to as the Taiji of the North - and now they're ready for their next battle with their summer launch of "Operation GrindStop 2014." For those unfamiliar with the term, a Grind is when small fishing boats surround a pod of whales or dolphins and drive them into the bay. The pod is then beached and left defenseless while men savagely plunge blades into the whales and dolphins until they die. This cruel "sport" has been around since 1584 but not because it’s done for profit, or even to feed a starving community- the Faroe Islanders have one of the highest standards of living in the world. Grind hunting seems to persist today simply because it's considered "traditional Viking fun."
09/19/2013 AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL ACTIVISTS LAUNCH SPY DRONE TO MONITOR FACTORY FARMS
A group of animal activists based in Australia have taken to the skies to launch their new campaign against intensive livestock production. The organization, known as Animal Liberation, purchased a $14,000 spy drone aircraft earlier this year and had it outfitted with a $3,000 high-definition video camera, stabilizers, and a 10x zoom lens. The group's executive director in NSW, Mark Pearson, told ABC Australia, "It gives the opportunity to document from above 10 meters and below 30 meters, and it is lawful. So the key to the remote-controlled device is that it's actually vision that's obtained without trespass, it's obtained lawfully in our airspace so what it documents is something that can be used by all the authorities, police and the courts."
09/19/2013 COSTA RICA'S AMAZING PLAN TO HELP HOMELESS DOGS
Not only is Costa Rica home to an incredible 500 thousand unique organisms - representing over 4% of all the known species on Earth, the country is also quickly emerging and one of the most animal-friendly ones in the world. Costa Rica already announced that it plans to close both of the country's public zoos in May 2014 so that animals can be released from captivity. Now Costa Rica is in the news again, thanks to an amazing initiative focused on homeless dogs, launched by an organization called Territorio de Zaguates. The Problem: The interest in rescuing abandoned dogs has grown in recent years, but the number of adoptions hasn't, because people prefer pure breed dogs. The Solution: Watch this video!
09/18/2013 LABORATORY PUPPIES AND KITTENS MAY BE CLUBBED TO DEATH INSTEAD OF BEING "PUT TO SLEEP" UNDER NEW EU LAW
Puppies and kittens could be clubbed to death under new European Union regulations on the welfare of laboratory animals. Currently, newborn puppies, kittens, ferrets and fox cubs which are not needed for scientific research are put to sleep. But rules due to become law in the UK by 2013 sanction killing by a "percussive blow to the head." Animal welfare charities have described the technique as "officially sanctioned cruelty." And they have accused the Government of bowing to the wishes of drug companies anxious to cut costs.
09/18/2013 VEGAN STRONGMAN SHOULDERS 550 KGH AT VEGETARIAN FOOD FEST
Moments after apparently carrying more weight than anyone ever before, German strongman Patrik Baboumian let out a roar and a couple seemingly unlikely words: "Vegan power." The 34-year-old, who already holds world records for log lifts and overhead beer keg lifts, carried a yoke loaded with just over 550 kilograms 10 metres across a stage at the Harbourfront Centre - at Toronto's Vegetarian Food Festival. According to organizers, it's the heaviest load ever carried - equivalent to a large horse.
09/17/2013 A HISTORICAL FLIGHT TO FREEDOM FOR 1,150 EGG-LAYING HENS
A new chapter in U.S. history has been written with the airlift rescue of 1,150 egg-laying hens this past week - the first transnational all-chicken flight ever recorded. The 1,150 hens were a part of a rescue mission that began back in July by the farm animal rescue group Animal Place Sanctuary of Vacaville, Calif. who had already rescued some 1,800 hens from the same California egg farms. Thanks to a generous anonymous donor who gave $50,000 to make the plane mission a reality, the group of 1,150 two-year-old hens took a 2,300 mile red-eye trip all the way to New York in their very own chartered plane. Animal Place Sanctuary made arrangements for the rescue with two California egg farmers who were going out of business. Instead of gassing them, as is common practice for retired hens in the egg industry, the farmers agreed to surrender the animals to Animal Place.
09/16/2013 USDA FINALLY CRACKS DOWN ON INTERNET PET SALES
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service finally closed the pet internet sale loophole in the Animal Welfare Act. The Humane Society of the United States, the Humane Society Legislative Fund and the Doris Day Animal League spearheaded the administrative process behind the loophole closure, with the Animal League Defense Fund and Dentons law firm following suit. Prior to this decision, breeders who sold animals on the internet took advantage of the loophole by labeling themselves "retail pet stores." Under the Animal Welfare Act, retail pet stores are exempt from standard regulations as buyers are able to see the conditions of the animals first-hand. Now, any breeders that sells pets over the internet, through the mail or over the phone will be subject to the same regulations are wholesale breeders. This means that these breeders will either have to obtain a license or allow buyers to see the animals in-person, comply with a minimum set of standards for animal care and submit to inspections.
09/13/2013 ICELANDIC CONSUL KICKED OUT BECAUSE OF WHALING POLICY
The Icelandic consul in Edinburgh in Scotland had to move his office after whale hunting opponents threw red paint on the building where his office was. Cameron Buchanan, sworn in as a Conservative list MSP for Lothian and filling the vacancy left by the death of David McLetchi.
09/12/2013 SHARK FIN IMPORTS TO HONG KONG TUMBLE AFTER AIRLINES REFUSE TO CARRY THEM
Shark fin imports to Hong Kong have fallen by up to 30 per cent since the launch of a campaign to stop airlines and shipping lines bringing in the controversial product, says an industry spokesman. Ricky Leung Lak-kee, chairman of the Hong Kong Marine Products Association, told the Sunday Morning Post the shark fin industry had been hit hard by the campaign launched last year, combined with an economic slowdown and the mainland's anti-corruption campaign. He accused the coalition of 60 green groups behind the campaign of putting fishermen out of work. "They protect the shark but they never think about the livelihood of these poor people," he said.
09/11/2013 SOME BEARS WILL BE SHOT AFTER RUSSIA'S RECORD FLOODS
Record rains in July and August have swelled rivers in Russia's Far East and caused flooding not seen in a century. Yakutia, a vast region in the northeast of tundra and forests, has been the hardest hit. More than 100,000 people have been affected and damages (10,000 homes have been ruined) expected to total 30 billion rubles (about $91 million). Wildlife have certainly suffered. Bears have been left hungry as the floods have destroyed the blueberries, cranberries and lingonberries that they usually eat their fill of in the summer. After six cases of famished bears breaking into homes and emptying refrigerators, authorities in the Yakutia region are responding to the pleas of residents by saying they will shoot "aggressive" bears.
09/10/2013 DUTCH OFFICIALS RECALL 50,000 TONS OF "BEEF" THAT MAY CONTAIN HORSE MEAT
Dutch authorities are recalling 50,000 tons of meat sold as beef across Europe because its exact source cannot be established and it may contain horse meat. The announcement was the latest development in a far-reaching scandal that saw horse meat mixed in with other meats and sold as beef across the continent without informing consumers. The scandal led to recalls of products ranging from frozen lasagna to Ikea's Swedish meatballs.
09/10/2013 OIL RUSH PUTS ADRIATIC SEA AT RISK
The Norwegian company Spectrum launched large scale seismic surveys in the Adriatic Sea in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Croatia (about 35,000 km of marine surface). These activities mark the start of a new rush for oil and gas resources in the Adriatic Sea and receive strong criticism from international conservation organizations. OceanCare, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the "Silent Oceans" campaign partners raise concerns over extreme underwater noise which can be expected to harm and displace marine life. The NGOs also question the procedural steps in the run-up to the surveys.
09/05/2013 A SLAUGHTER OF FRUIT BATS
Fruit bats have a brutally hard life in Sulawesi, an orchid-shaped island in the heart of Indonesia. A remarkable 22 species of fruit bats live on the island and some of them are found nowhere else. But their numbers are being decimated by overhunting for the commercial "bushmeat" trade, and their treatment on the way to market can only be described as torture.
09/04/2013 POPE TO INVESTIGATE POLAND'S RITUAL SLAUGHTER BAN
Pope Francis has ordered an investigation into a Polish ban on the ritual kosher slaughter of animals, the president of the World Jewish Congress said Monday. Ritual slaughter, including traditional Jewish kosher and Muslim halal practices, has been banned in Poland since January 1 after the country's Constitutional Court deemed it incompatible with animal-rights law. The pope met Monday with Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) - which represents Jewish communities outside Israel - to discuss the ban, among other issues. The Jewish and Muslim communities each number around 20,000 to 30,000 people in Poland, a country of some 38 million people. European Union rules on the slaughter of livestock are designed to minimise suffering for animals when they are killed, but religious groups are exempted from a requirement that animals be stunned before death.
09/03/2013 RED MEAT COULD RAISE ALZHEIMER'S RISK
A study of Alzheimer's patients found that iron had begun to accumulate in part of the brain which is generally damaged in the early stages of the disease, but not in a region which tends to be affected much later. Comparing the results against a separate set of brain scans, they also found that iron levels were linked to tissue damage in Alzheimer's patients. Although the study did not prove that iron responsible for causing the disease, researchers said the results suggest it "may indeed contribute to the cause." Lowering the amount of red meat and iron dietary supplements we consume can reduce the amount of iron which builds up in the brain, they said.
09/02/2013 CENTRAL ASIAN ANIMALS ARE BECOMING VICTIMS OF FASHION
The continued growth of the global cashmere garment industry is placing a number of Central Asian mammals, like snow leopards, wild yaks, Tibetan antelope and gazelles, in danger, reports a recent study. The study entitled "Globalization of the Cashmere Market and the Decline of Large Mammals in Central Asia," was published in the scientific journal Conservation Biology and was run by researchers from the University of Montana (U.S.A.) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (U.S.A.), the Wildlife Conservation Society (Mongolia), the Snow Leopard Trust (U.S.A.), and the Nature Conservation Foundation (India), according to The Global Fool. The study reveals that an expansion of pastureland for goats used in the cashmere industry is the main cause of the decline in Central Asian wild animal populations. Many of these animals native to China’s Tibetan plateau, Mongolia and India are already endangered.
The number of news found: 24.
