Animal rights, awareness and issues 2014

[bigrun]

German barn explosion caused by 90 farting cows..


http://www.salon.com/2014/01/28/germ..._farting_cows/

[my miss storm cat]

The Japan Times

(editorial)

Defend dolphins, not a ‘tradition’

Feb 1, 2014


In mid-January, somewhere between 250 and 500 dolphins were driven into the cove near Taiji, a small town in western Japan made famous in the award-winning film, “The Cove.” There, at least 100 of the dolphins were slaughtered for their meat. Others were packed up and sold to aquariums.

The dolphins are herded, butchered and sold every year, but this year, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, together with CNN news uploaded videos of the dolphin hunt. The video, available online, is not for the faint of heart. Despite claims of humane killing methods, the video shows the fishermen hacking into the heads and backs of the panicked dolphins, then leaving them to bleed to death, turning the entire cove bright red.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended the practice in an interview with CNN and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a news conference that marine mammals including dolphins were “very important water resources.” Suga insisted “Dolphin fishing is one of the traditional fishing forms of our country and is carried out appropriately in accordance with the law.”

Their argument that the force of tradition justifies the herding, capturing and slaughtering of dolphins is a flimsy one. Many past cultural practices, such as slavery, bordellos and beheading were stopped for ethical reasons. Tradition and culture are forces that change in accordance with new scientific understanding and evolving ethical standards. In addition, the Taiji hunt didn’t even become institutionalized on a large scale until 1969, so its roots are quite shallow.

Their argument that the slaughter adheres to principles of the law is equally questionable. Veterinarians and behavioral scientists who viewed the covertly recorded video contend that the killing method used in this year’s Taiji dolphin hunt would not be permitted in any slaughterhouse in the developed world.

Indeed, it is open to question whether the method would be acceptable if used to slaughter cows or other livestock in Japan.

Japanese law states that all methods of killing livestock should reduce the animals’ suffering as much as possible. The method of sending “fishermen” into the water with knives to stab the dolphins, clearly evident in the video, does not begin to meet that guideline. The desperate flailing of the wounded animals and the long time it takes them to die go against the accepted animal welfare standards employed in advanced societies.

Japan has already stopped invasive research and other harmful practices on species such as chimpanzees. Intelligent animal species have always held a special closeness to humans because of their intelligence, capacity for suffering and complex social relations. Dolphins are even known to commit suicide when distressed or confused.

Japan has another tradition, one of deep respect for nature and the creatures in it. That tradition would be much easier to defend. The dolphin hunt is an inhumane practice that should be stopped.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/.../#.Uu0YGbCYbIX

[my miss storm cat]

For anyone so inclined there will be demonstrations at Japanese Embassies and consulates on Valentines Day to draw attention to the barbaric and vile Taiji dolphin hunts.

World love for dolphins day protests:

Seattle
601 Union Street, Suite 500
Seattle WA 98101-4015

San Francisco
50 Fremont Street, Suite 2300
San Francisco CA 94105-2236

Los Angeles
350 South Grand Ave, Suite 1700
Los Angeles CA 90071-3459

Denver
1225 17th Street, Suite 3000
Denver CO 80202-5505

Houston
2 Houston Center Building
909 Fannin Street
Suite 3000
Houston TX 77010

New York City
299 Park Ave, 18th Floor
New York NY 10171-0025

Washington DC
2520 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by bigrun

German barn explosion caused by 90 farting cows..


http://www.salon.com/2014/01/28/germ..._farting_cows/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTg4JPnAfFQ

[bigrun]

Originally Posted by Danzig

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTg4JPnAfFQ

[my miss storm cat]

http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-...lphins-da-1551

[Danzig]

the sea shepherd group?!

ugh!

look, i get that dolphins have better pr than your average tuna or swordfish, but let's not get loony (like the sea shepherd group).

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by Danzig

the sea shepherd group?!

ugh!

look, i get that dolphins have better pr than your average tuna or swordfish, but let's not get loony (like the sea shepherd group).

The sea turns red in Taiji day after day after day from the blood of slaughtered dolphins.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for their tireless watch over the cove.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

The sea turns red in Taiji day after day after day from the blood of slaughtered dolphins.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for their tireless watch over the cove.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

The sea turns red in Taiji day after day after day from the blood of slaughtered dolphins.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for their tireless watch over the cove.

what about the blood from tuna? or cows?

i guess i just don't get how some people decided some animals are sacred and others aren't. especially since everyone doesn't have the same view.
what we cherish as hamburger, indians hold sacred (of course, that doesn't keep them from exporting sacred cows for consumption, money's money).

the sea shepherd people will willingly kill people to save an animal. that's bizarre to me. i've watched that show that has them vs the japanese whalers. i think they come across as a bunch of bozos. it's a wonder no one has had to take a ship down there and save any of them yet. they keep trying to sink one of their own ships, and kill their crew (or the ships and crews of the people they attack)...eventually i figure it'll happen. they should be charged with assault, piracy and any other nautical laws they break.

i'd be just as flabbergasted if people started attacking trainers, jockeys and race horse owners because they didn't like the sport of racing. it would be unreal. but, very much the same as what sea shepherd does.