From Famrsanctuary.org

Los Angeles, CA – June 29, 2009 – For years, food manufacturers have searched far and wide for the Holy Grail of mainstream vegan cuisine: a non-dairy cheese substitute which stretches, melts and tastes so much like the real thing even cheese lovers can’t tell the difference. Even though a variety of “cheeses” made from soy, nuts, rice, and other plant-based ingredients have made inroads into the lucrative vegan market in the last decade, none has excelled enough at the all-important flavor equivalency test to convince even the choosiest of cheese devotees — until now.

A new vegan cheese substitute made by Canadian company Daiya Foods, Inc. could represent the long-awaited commercial breakthrough. As the only company in the world to make vegan “cheese” from cassava (a tropical shrub native to South America that is also the basis of tapioca), Daiya ferments the plant’s root so that it curdles the same way milk does during the traditional cheese making process, creating the supple yet chewy consistency that largely accounts for cheese’s enduring popularity. As a result, Daiya has won rave reviews from food bloggers, as well as VegNews magazine’s “Best of Show Award” at the 2009 Expo West trade show.  

Daiya vegan “cheese” only became available in the United States in 2009, and the first eatery to offer it to patrons in the Western U.S. was Cruzer Pizza in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles. Cruzer’s owner, Sam Khalaf, started using Daiya on pizzas after being approached by Michelle Sass, California Advocacy Organizer for Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal advocacy group. At Sass’ suggestion, Khalaf removed veal from Cruzer’s menu and simultaneously added eight new vegan Daiya “cheese” pizzas featuring toppings like tofu-based “chicken,” “ham,” “sausage,” and “pepperoni,” as well as a full range of fresh vegetables.

According to Khalaf, customer response to the change was phenomenal, unmistakable and surprisingly immediate. “Since launching the vegan menu on May 29, overall sales in our Los Feliz store have increased by 63 percent, and the vegan items have outsold everything else we make,” he reported. “Sales have been so good that we’ve decided to add vegan calzones, macaroni and ‘cheese,’ spaghetti and ‘meat’ balls, and lasagna to our menu.” Khalaf publicized Cruzer’s new menu by hanging 50,000 doorknob fliers throughout the area, and has even started making vegan pizzas at their Glendale location as well as some of the other 20 pizzerias he owns in the L.A. area bearing other names.

Meanwhile, after watching its next door neighbor’s vegan pizza sales go through the roof, upscale restaurant Desert Rose made a full one-third of its menu vegan and prominently printed Farm Sanctuary’s “seal of approval” next to the new items, which include Cruzer’s pizzas. About 150 people attended the menu launch party at Desert Rose on Saturday night, June 27, an event that was co-organized by Farm Sanctuary’s Sass and Vegan Drinks, a social networking group that promotes the vegan lifestyle by hosting monthly outings in more than a dozen U.S. cities.  

Like Khalaf, Sass believes Daiya’s game-changing innovation will fuel an exploding vegan pizza demand that the smartest restaurateurs will be ready to supply. “Cruzer and other pizzerias using Daiya are on the cutting edge of a trend that is going to grow exponentially as more people get a taste of this fabulous product,” she said. “There is already a huge underserved and largely untapped consumer demographic out there comprised of vegans and millions of others who want appetizing, natural, cruelty-free alternatives to milk-based cheese. That is exactly what Daiya is, and the first companies — from the smallest storefronts to the largest global franchises — to get in on the ground floor of this budding business are going to profit the most.”

Tue Jun 16, 12:46 PM

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Charging that toys sold with meals in fast-food outlets can lead children to develop bad eating habits, a Brazilian prosecutor on Monday asked a judge to ban such sales nationally at chains including McDonald's and Burger King.

The move comes amid global concern over the link between some fast food and illnesses such as diabetes, as the U.S. Congress considers requiring chain restaurants to disclose calories on their menus to help fight endemic obesity.

Prosecutor Marcio Schusterschitz, a federal prosecutor in Brazil's Sao Paulo state, said fast-food toy promotions encourage children to buy high-fat meals through "the abusive creation of emotional associations" that turn them into life-long eaters of high-fat foods.

A judge must first decide whether or not to hear the request, which targets combination meals offered by McDonald's, Burger King and Brazilian chain Bob's that typically include hamburgers or chicken nuggets, french fries and soft drinks.

"It is necessary to remove toys that are used to leverage the sale of food that has little nutritional value," said the statement. "The (meals) offered are promoted with the clear objective of increasing juvenile consumption of fast food."

A spokesman at his office said previous attempts to regulate fast-food toys, including having them sold separately from the meals, did reduce aggressive marketing by the chains.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Brazilian representatives of the restaurant chains for comment.

A Brazilian non-profit group last year complained to prosecutors that the promotion of the toys violated the country's consumer protection legislation.

McDonald's Corp's Brazilian website currently features a promotion with pictures of a Spiderman action figure and plastic toys with the logo Littlest Pet Shop apparently linked to an animated television series of the same name.

The Bob's website shows kid's meals offered with bottles bearing the logo of cartoon character Scooby-Doo, while Burger King features Transformer toys.

The European Parliament voted on Tuesday to endorse a European Union ban on seal products in protest against commercial hunting methods, provoking anger in Canada and a possible pursuit of redress at the World Trade Organization.

Canadian lawmakers unanimously supported a motion late Wednesday in the House of Commons urging the Canadian Olympic Committee to make athletes' uniforms out of seal pelts and for the government to promote sealing at the Games in Vancouver.

In a statement, national Inuit president Mary Simon expressed support for the motion.

She noted that Olympic organizers had borrowed an Inuit symbol -- a stone marker called an Inukshuk -- for the Games and urged them to "follow-through and support Inuit all the way. That includes our culture, and our culture includes seal hunting!"

Chris Rudge, head of the Canadian Olympic Committee, however, immediately dismissed the idea, saying there would be no seal skins used in the making of uniforms.

"We respect the right of Canadians and its politicians to engage in such discussions, but it's not the role of the Olympic movement or of our Olympic team to take a position on social or political issues," he told AFP.

The European Parliament has passed a bill that will impose an import ban on seal products, a move meant to force an end to Canada’s annual seal hunt, which is the world’s largest.
The bill — passed today by the EU assembly 550 votes to 49 — says commercial seal hunting is, notably in Canada, “inherently inhumane.”
It is expected to be endorsed by EU governments in the coming weeks to ensure the ban is in place before next year’s seal hunt.
The ban offers narrow exemptions to Inuit communities from Canada and Greenland to continue their traditional hunts but bars them from a large-scale trading of their pelts, oils or meats in Europe.
Inuit groups say such restrictions will spell disaster for their communities which rely heavily on seal hunts for their livelihoods. Another exemption was passed to allow “small-scale hunts” to manage seal populations.
Canada and Norway say they will challenge the ban at the World Trade Organization.

London city council has rejected the killing of deer this fall in Sifton Bog, voting unanimously last night to delay consideration of a cull until the results of a key study are completed next February.

"I don't want London to become the first city in Canada to support a deer hunt," Controller Gina Barber said. "It's a great day, indeed."

A week ago Barber was on the losing side of a vote as four politicians on the city's environment and transportation committee recommended a cull in the fall.

The majority argued any delay could irreparably harm the bog.

- Though neighbours of the bog and some environmentalists lobbied for a cull, politicians were deluged by those opposing the kill, with more than 400 people signing a petition submitted yesterday.

- The city ecologist said she favoured delaying consideration of a cull until a key study is finished and the deer population in the bog is counted in the fall. Last year the numbers dropped by about 30%.

- Politicians who supported a cull went to the city's acting chief administrator to complain about the city ecologist, a tactic criticized inside and outside city hall.

"Needless to say, this has become a very emotional, explosive and sensitive issue on both sides," Coun. Paul Hubert said.

The bog is in Hubert's backyard and ward, where the deer have long been a source of complaints by neighbours.

But for Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best, the issue was one so controversial it shouldn't be considered until all the evidence was in on the harm caused by deer to the bog.

"We should . . . do our homework," said the mayor, whose proposal for a delay was then backed by all of council.

For most of the past century it has been people, not deer, who have posed a threat to a bog that environmentalists say is an ecological treasure and rarity in Southern Ontario.

People drained the bog, flooded it, stripped its peat, cut its black spruce for Christmas trees, surrounded it with development and gravel pits and planted an invasive plant that is likely its biggest threat, buckthorn.

It has only been the past decade those protecting the bog turned their focus to deer. Though a citizens' committee and city staff once recommended a cull, council has not gone that route.

Yesterday's recommended delay included some more immediate elements.

The city will ask Ontario's Natural Resources Ministry for permission to consider options beyond a cull that aren't allowed without ministry approval, such as sterilizing deer or trying to drive them out of the bog and erect a tall fence with space underneath for smaller animals.

Presentation and Discussion on Factory Farms in Canada: The impact they have on communities, the environment, and animals

When: Tuesday March 31st at 5:00pm
Where: University Of Waterloo, Multipurpose Room(ground floor) of the SLC.

Factory farming has become one of Canada"s most pressing social justice and environmental problems. With over 700 million animals slaughtered in Canada every year for food, factory farms have a large negative impact on the environment, animals, health of communities, and the rights of workers. 


Join food activist Matt Heppler for a presentation and discussion about Factory Farms and their impact on communities, the environment, and animals in Canada. The presentation will be this Tuesday March 31st at 5:00pm in the Multipurpose Room(ground floor) of the SLC.

Hope to see ya there =)

Peace

KWAAG

“The goat’s mother had already been sold and taken away, so he was left alone, unable to stay warm or nurse. He already had hypothermia and a navel infection by the time I found him. He barely survived the ordeal,” said Officer Mohler. “Though this goat was a victim of neglect and deserves protection under the law, the owner could not be identified and therefore could not be charged. In any event, it is inexcusable that the animal was left to die and no one noticed – especially given New Holland’s poor track record with abuse. This incidence is not isolated, but rather symptomatic of larger animal welfare problems at this facility.”  

In the past weeks alone, the owner and an employee of New Holland Sales Stables were charged with animal cruelty for allegedly leaving a live cow with a bullet in her head on a dead pile for hours. On Jan. 4, Officer Mohler began investigating an incident involving a badly injured horse who had to be euthanized at the facility. The stockyard has been the subject of multiple animal cruelty investigations through the years as well. It was found guilty on three counts of animal cruelty in 2007, after Mohler filed charges on behalf of Farm Sanctuary for inhumane handling of downed sheep on the premises. In 2006, the stockyard was acquitted of animal cruelty on a technicality after leaving a live sheep in a dumpster. And, in 2004, a man who dragged a horse at the stockyard was convicted of animal cruelty.  

This most recent instance of abuse also sheds light on the need for greater protection for farm animals who are too weak or sick to walk on their own in order to prevent them from languishing at farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses without food, water or veterinary care. Farm Sanctuary has worked to end downed animal abuse for more than 20 years through its No Downers Campaign and continues to lobby for federal legislation that would require the immediate, humane euthanasia of not only cattle, but also all animals who become nonambulatory, including goats, sheep and pigs. More information can be found at nodowners.org.

“About one-week old now, the goat is still suffering from pneumonia and navel ill and is currently at Cornell University’s Hospital for Animals where he is awaiting a possible blood transfusion and fighting for his life,” said Farm Sanctuary National Shelter Director Susie Coston. “If someone had just taken some time to clean his umbilical cord with iodine and allow the baby to receive vital colostrum from his mother before they took her away, all of this suffering could have been prevented. The fact that he was denied this very basic care at New Holland is unconscionable.”

The suit, brought by the National Meat Association (NMA) and the American Meat Institute (AMI)—two trade groups representing major packing and slaughter plant companies—takes aim at a statute that originally went into effect in the 1990s, and was then amended last year in response to an HSUS investigation that exposed torment and horrific abuse of downer cows at a southern California slaughter plant. The Hallmark/Westland plant, based in Chino, was the nation’s number-two supplier of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program.

“This misguided effort to overturn state law seeking to stop the torment of animals and to protect food safety shows more than ever that we cannot trust the meat-packing industry and its trade associations,” said Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel of animal protection litigation and research for The HSUS. “This arrogant attitude towards public safety is precisely why we need strong legal standards and vigorous enforcement at both the state and federal level.”

The scandal over the abuse of dairy cows at Hallmark exposed major gaps in food safety and humane handling, prompted the largest meat recall in U.S. history, and probably cost the meat industry and the federal government more than $1 billion.

According to the meat industry groups’ papers, they believe California lacks the authority to protect school children from the human form of mad cow disease and other foodborne illnesses, or to prevent wanton cruelty to farm animals. However, two federal appeals courts have already ruled that states have the authority to ban the slaughter of certain animals where it is contrary to the state’s interest in preserving public morals and protecting public health. The U.S. Supreme Court has twice rejected requests to reconsider those rulings.

“Animals who are too sick to stand should never be allowed to enter the human food supply,” stated Gene Baur, president of Farm Sanctuary, which was instrumental in the passage of the original statute. “The lack of concern for public health and the complete disregard for these suffering animals demonstrates pure greed on the part of the meat-packing industry. California’s downed animal law is appropriate and sensible, and it should be upheld by the court.”

The industry suit claims the law is unnecessary because some downed animals can regain the ability to walk and “could recover with rest time” or be “assisted” into the slaughter plant. But as HSUS’ undercover Hallmark investigation revealed, such assistance has included shocking helpless animals repeatedly, prodding them in the eyes, dragging them with chains and ramming them with forklifts.

“This challenge to California law is a stunning example of the meat industry's utter disregard for animal suffering and public safety. The industry apparently believes it has the right to continue perpetuating animal cruelty and endangering public health. We are confident that the courts will uphold California's right to prohibit the irresponsible and hazardous marketing of meat from diseased and disabled farm animals,” said Bradley Miller, national director of the Humane Farming Association, which was instrumental in the passage of A.B. 2098 last year.

Downed cattle are more likely to be infected with BSE – bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow disease.” Studies suggest animals who are too sick or injured to stand and walk may be more likely to harbor foodborne bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, which kill hundreds of Americans every year.

“The writing is on the wall for factory farming operations that continue to subject animals to appalling abuses despite increased consumer calls for less cruel farming methods—and increased recognition by the courts that animals have interests that should be protected by the law,” said Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

The suit, National Meat Association v. Brown, No. 1:08-cv-01963-LJO-DLB, is pending before a federal district court in Fresno, Calif.

Farm-raised tilapia, one of the cheapest and most popular fish in the United States, may actually worsen the inflammation that leads to heart disease, arthritis, asthma and other serious health problems, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

"For individuals who are eating fish as a method to control inflammatory diseases such as heart disease, it is clear from these numbers that tilapia is not a good choice," the researchers wrote. "All other nutritional content aside, the inflammatory potential of hamburger and pork bacon is lower than the average serving of farmed tilapia."

As researchers have discovered the importance of maintaining a healthy ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, many health professionals have recommended that people increase their fish intake as a way of getting more omega-3s. Numerous studies have found that omega-3s help reduce the inflammation that has been implicated in a wide variety of diseases including cardiovascular disease, asthma and allergies, autoimmune disorders, and arthritis.

Due to its low cost, tilapia has become the fifth most popular fish in the United States, and is particularly popular among people with lower incomes. It is the most commonly used fish for fish sticks, fish burgers and artificial crab.

Unlike many other fish, however, farm-raised tilapia contains particularly high levels of an unhealthy kind of omega-6. It also contains less than 0.5 grams of omega-3s per 100 grams of fish, in contrast to almost three grams in an equivalent amount of farm-raised salmon, and four grams in trout.

"We are all familiar with the classical Hippocratic admonition, Primum no nocere, 'First, do no harm.'" said researcher Floyd H. Chilton. "I think it behooves us to consider this critical directive when making dietary prescriptions for the sake of health. Cardiologists are telling their patients to go home and eat fish, and if the patients are poor, they're eating tilapia. And that could translate into a dangerous situation."

First US count finds 1 in 200 kids are vegetarian

By MIKE STOBBE – 1 day ago

Sam Silverman is co-captain of his high school football team — a safety accustomed to bruising collisions. But that's nothing compared with the abuse he gets for being a vegetarian.

"I get a lot of flak for it in the locker room," said the 16-year-old junior at Westborough High School in Massachusetts.

"All the time, my friends try to get me to eat meat and tell me how good it tastes and how much bigger I would be," said Silverman, who is 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. "But for me, there's no real temptation."

Silverman may feel like a vegetable vendor at a butchers' convention, but about 367,000 other kids are in the same boat, according to a recent study that provides the government's first estimate of how many children avoid meat. That's about 1 in 200.

Other surveys suggest the rate could be four to six times that among older teens who have more control over what they eat than young children do.

Vegetarian diets exclude meat, but the name is sometimes loosely worn. Some self-described vegetarians eat fish or poultry on occasion, while others — called vegans — cut out animal products of any kind, including eggs and dairy products.

Anecdotally, adolescent vegetarianism seems to be rising, thanks in part to YouTube animal slaughter videos that shock the developing sensibilities of many U.S. children. But there isn't enough long-term data to prove that, according to government researchers.

The new estimate of young vegetarians comes from a recent federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of alternative medicine based on a survey of thousands of Americans in 2007. Information on children's diet habits was gleaned from about 9,000 parents and other adults speaking on the behalf of those under 18.

"I don't think we've done a good job of counting the number of vegetarian youth, but I think this is reasonable," Amy Lanou, a nutrition scientist at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, said of the government estimate. She works with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a vegan advocacy group.

Vegetarians say it's animal welfare, not health, that most often causes kids to stop eating meat.

"Compassion for animals is the major, major reason," said Richard Schwartz, president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, an organization with a newsletter mailing list of about 800. "When kids find out the things they are eating are living animals — and if they have a pet...."

Case in point is Nicole Nightingale, 14, of Safety Harbor, Fla. In 2007, Nightingale was on the Internet to read about chicken when she came across a video on YouTube that showed the birds being slaughtered. At the end, viewers were invited to go to the Web site peta.org — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Nicole told her parents she was going vegan, prompting her mother to send an angry letter to PETA. But the vegan diet is working out, and now her mother is taking steps to become a vegetarian, too, said Nightingale, an eighth-grader.

She believes her experience was typical for a pre-adolescent vegetarian. "A lot more kids are using the Internet. They're curious about stuff and trying to become independent and they're trying to find out who they are," she said.

Vegetarians are most often female, from higher-income families and living on the East or West coasts, according to previous studies. One good place to find teen vegetarians is Agnes Scott College, a mostly white, all-women's private school in suburban Atlanta with about 850 students. Roughly 5 to 10 percent of Agnes Scott students eat vegetarian, said Pete Miller, the college's director of food service.

Frequently, the most popular entree at the college dining hall is a fresh mozzarella sandwich with organic greens. And the comment board (called "the Beef Board," as in "what's your beef?") often contains plaudits for vegetarian dishes or requests for more. "They're very vocal," Miller said of his vegetarian diners.

Eating vegetarian can be very healthy — nutritionists often push kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, of course. For growing children, however, it's important to get sufficient amounts of protein, vitamins B12 and D, iron, calcium and other important nutrients that most people get from meat, eggs and dairy.

Also, vegetarian diets are not necessarily slimming. Some vegetarian kids cut out meat but fill up on doughnuts, french fries, soda or potato chips, experts said.

"Vegetarian doesn't mean low-calorie," said Dr. Christopher Bolling, who directs weight management research at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He said roughly 10 to 15 percent of the overweight kids who come to his medical center's weight loss program have tried a vegetarian diet at some point before starting the program.

Rayna Middlebrooks, 15, last year started a weight-loss program offered by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a nonprofit hospital organization. She said she's been on a vegetarian diet for four years and now carries about 250 pounds on her 5-foot-3 inch frame.

Her mother confirmed that, and said that although Rayna does a great job of cooking vegetable-rich stir-fried meals for herself, the girl also loves pasta, soda and sweets. "I have to watch her with the candy," said Barbara Middlebrooks, of Decatur.

On the flip side is Silverman, the Boston-area football player. He's pleased with his health and has no problem sticking to his diet. Rather than try to negotiate the school cafeteria line, he brings his lunch to school. It's the same lunch every day — rye bread, some chicken-like tofu, cheese, a clementine and an assortment of Nutrigrain, Cliff, granola and Power Bars.

He was raised vegetarian and said it's now so deeply ingrained that the idea of eating meat is nauseating. Recently, he ate something he belatedly realized might contain chicken. "I felt sick the rest of the day, until I threw up," he said.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - A Canadian delegation will travel to Europe later in January to make the case against proposed new European Union rules banning seal products, said federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea.

Shea, who was in St. John's to meet with her Newfoundland counterpart, Tom Hedderson, said her officials will travel to Europe along with a Newfoundland official.

The new Canadian rules governing the seal hunt force sealers to take more time to ensure the mammals are dead before they are skinned.

A seal hunter carrying a hakapik approaches a seal. Federal officials are urging for a ban of the tool.

Paul Darrow/Reuters

 

They also beef up federal enforcement and ban the use of hakapiks - a type of club with a hook on one end - on seals more than a year old who have not already been shot.

Some sealers said the new regulations will make the hunt even more dangerous because it may force them to leave their boats and go onto the ice before hauling seals on board to bleed and skin them.

But Shea downplayed the concerns.

"I think there has to be some give and take, I guess, on both sides. I have never witnessed the seal hunt, but I assume they have to go over the side anyway to get the seal," she said.

Shea said the changes were supported by the sealing industry.

© St. John's Telegram 2009

The Animal Defence League of Canada is celebrating a "major victory" after Wal-Mart Canada agreed to pull a type of Chinese-made slippers that contained real rabbit fur from its shelves.

The retail giant pulled the Tender Tootsies slippers, which advertised "all man-made materials," on Monday morning after a member of Vancouver"s Animal Defence League discovered the products were incorrectly labelled and contained real fur. Wal-Mart has a no-fur policy at all of its stores.

"They have been pulled from the shelves, and what we were told is that if there"s any still on the shelves, their UPC code won"t go through at the till while they"re in the process of taking them out of their stores," said Marley Daviduk, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver branch of the national organization.

"Wal-Mart was extremely compliant and right away said that they do not sell fur, so right away I knew it was another case of Chinese suppliers being dishonest with companies and giving them real fur when they think it"s fake."

Daviduk found the slippers while shopping last week and the Ottawa and Vancouver branches of the Animal Defence League immediately contacted both Wal-Mart Canada and the product"s London, Ont.-based importer.

"I knew right away it was real rabbit fur, but it said on the tag that there were no man-made materials," she said.

"In Canada, there are no laws regarding labelling, so items don"t have to say which animal it is, let alone say that it"s real. But you can"t mislabel them, legally."

Calls to Wal-Mart Canada and Tender Tootsies Ltd. were not immediately returned Monday afternoon.

© Canwest News Service 2009.

Sea Shepherd to Return to Land to Refuel

Friday, January 02, 2009

After chasing the Japanese whaling fleet for 2,000 miles from the extreme Western end of their hunting territory near Commonwealth Bay in the Australian Antarctic Territory, to the Eastern side of the Ross Sea, the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin has been forced to cut off the pursuit to return to land for refueling.

"We have engaged them, we have stopped their whaling activities for two weeks and we have successfully chased them out of the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters," said Captain Paul Watson. "We now have to return to land to refuel. We don't have the luxury of refueling at sea like the Japanese fleet has. We don't have the resources to operate two ships down here and we don't have the support of Greenpeace to relieve us. We are doing the best we can with the resources available to us and we are having a significant impact on their kills."

The Steve Irwin has been on the tail of the Japanese whaling fleet for two solid weeks, keeping the fleet under pressure, preventing them from whaling and pushing them continuously to the East.

The harpoon vessel Yushin Maru #2, the first whaler that Sea Shepherd encountered this season, has not been seen since December 20th. "The Yushin Maru #2 is not with the fleet and we have no idea where it is, but that ship cannot kill whales independent of the factory ship Nisshin Maru," reported Captain Watson from the Steve Irwin.

The Steve Irwin will return to the nearest available port to refuel and then will head back out in pursuit of the fleet again as quickly as possible.

ALEXANDRIA, Ont. - It's like Noah's Ark, but without the water - and that's the problem for Rose Gergely and her Refuge RR for Horses.

The Alexandria-area animal sanctuary for abused and neglected animals has run out of groundwater, and a drilling crew that has punched three deep wells into her property can't find any more.

The search has cost about $18,000 so far and Ms. Gergely's money has become as scarce as the water, which could end her 20-year effort to give sanctuary to neglected horses and other animals.

The crisis has prompted an anxious call for financial help that has extended to a stellar acquaintance, movie legend Tony Curtis, whose wife, Jill, runs a similar rescue operation in Las Vegas.

Refuge RR for Horses is a federally registered charity and receives tax-deductible donations to support its work, but the family finances and area volunteers largely keep the operation afloat. It costs about $40,000 a year in feed alone.

Animal welfare and police organizations in Ontario and Quebec routinely call on Ms. Gergely to shelter animals needing care and a place to recover from mistreatment.

Horses have come from as far as Kentucky and North Dakota and she has several former race and show-jumping horses that were tossed aside once their glory days had passed.

She has a chicken that was found wandering the streets of Montreal and pigeons left to freeze to death in a cardboard box. A large puppy mill shut down in Montreal last week has produced the latest guest, a trembling chihuahua.

Several of the animals were destined for slaughterhouses, are blind or were emaciated and left to die before they were nursed to health by Ms. Gergely and her volunteers, including her 13-year-old daughter, Shelby, and son, Matthew, 15.

Her mechanic husband, Bob Blickstead, is the family's only source of income.

Thirty-three horses and ponies will live out their lives with Ms. Gergely, but she also operates a significant foster program, placing up to 100 horses a year in good homes. Many were seized as part of animal cruelty investigations.

Ms. Gergely suspects the lack of groundwater at her farm is due to climate change-related semi-drought conditions in the area and modern farming practices. Her property is surrounded by farms that use tiles to drain excess water quickly from their fields, rather than let it seep deep into the ground. About six weeks ago, their hoses began to run dry and the family even spent a month without functioning toilets.

She said the water supply has never been "great" since moving the refuge from Ormstown, Que., four years ago, but it has never run out.

"We noticed partway towards the end of the summer the water (flow) was getting slower. We thought, OK, we will try to use less. Then about a month and a half ago, there was, like, no water," said Ms. Gergely.

A drilling crew dug the existing 22-metre well to a depth of more than 30 metres, but couldn't find a reliable source of water. A new 75-metre well yielded poor results, but a price tag of $7,500. On Friday, the drill team was at it again and this time, the stakes are very high.

"If I can't give them water, I don't know what we are going to do. We are out of money," Ms. Gergely says matter-of-factly.

It will cost $18,000 to continue drilling for water, dig trenches and lay pipe, she said. Efforts are moving farther away from the farmhouse and barns, which will require expensive trenching and pipes to bring the water back to the animals.

"We are here offering to do the job; we just need people to help us keep them alive."

At one point, they were so desperate they heeded the advice of an environmentalist who suggested they try to "divine" where the water is.

"I don't know how real it is, but we actually tried with the apple stick. It says we have water, but it doesn't say how much. That's the problem,' she says with a laugh.

Want to help?

- Tax-deductible donations can be made to Refuge RR for Horses, and mailed to 21305 Concession 10, RR2, Alexandria, Ontario, K0C 1A0.

- E-mail Rose Gergely's at blick.gerg@sympatico.ca. She can also be reached at 613-525-0049. The website is www.refugerr.org

© Ottawa Citizen 2008

Peace,

KWAAG

Posted By CHELSEY ROMAIN, THE DAILY PRESS

Posted 2 days ago

Agents and inspectors across Ontario finally have something to celebrate as Ontario becomes a leader in animal cruelty legislation.

For Timmins and District Humane Society executive director Lynn Michaud and her staff and volunteers, it's a celebration they have been waiting for for a long time.

"We're very happy with the passing of Bill C-50," Michaud said. "It amends the ancient OSPCA Act of 1919 and it's long overdue."

Recently, Ontario's government passed Bill C-50 strengthening the province's laws and providing those convicted of animal cruelty with harsher punishment.

"The new legislation makes Ontario the leading province for animal cruelty legislation," Michaud said.

"It went from the weakest to the strongest."

Changes made to the act include stiffer fines, jail time and lifetime bans that used to only affect breeders. With the new act, lifetime bans on owning any kind of pet can be issued to those convicted.

"We now have the option of charging (the offenders) provincially and animals are going to be given the highest level of protection we can offer," Michaud said. "Those who are resistant to understanding that animals are not just property, that they are living, breathing things that deserve to be cared for, will be dealt with appropriately."

Michaud said the new legislation will come in handy on cold winter days when a pet owner is given an order to provide shelter for their animals outdoors or when pets are left in a vehicle in a parking lot on a sweltering summer day.

"These are big problems for us," Michaud said. "In the past we would give an order and they would drag it out and sometimes never follow through."

In the past, helping an animal in distress meant agents had to see it with their own eyes. They also needed search warrants.

With new laws in place sometime next year, agents will take immediate action to save the animal. Owners can be charged provincially.

"As far as the animals are concerned, they will be better served," she said. "Pet owners will be held more accountable and responsible.

"This is not the dark ages, people need to get up to speed and know that animals deserve and require a certain level of care."

The new laws also offer more authority for agents and inspectors when it comes to those in roadside zoos. Inspectors will have the authority to remove an animal where charges have been laid and if they believe it may be harmed if returned to the owner. Veterinarians will also face mandatory reporting of suspected animal abuse.

"This is a great morale booster for agents and inspectors who have dedicated their lives to this," Michaud said. "We knew animals were not getting the care they needed, but were only able to do so much, our hands were tied a lot.

"It means being able to execute our authority and ensure we're doing our jobs more effectively."

Peace

KWAAG

By Peter Singer - Published Nov 19 2008

The notion that animals should have rights was widely ridiculed when it was first advocated in the 1970s. Now it is getting more respect. The movement has gained tens of millions of adherents and has already persuaded the European Union to require that all hens have room to stretch their wings, perch and lay their eggs in a nest box, and to phase out keeping pigs and veal calves in individual crates too narrow for them to walk or turn around. And earlier this month Californians voted 63 percent to 37 percent for a measure that, beginning in 2015, gives all farm animals the right to stand up, lie down, turn around and fully extend their limbs. The state"s 45 major egg producers will have to rip out the cages that now hold 19 million hens, and either put in new and larger cages with fewer birds or, more likely, keep the birds on the floor in large sheds. California"s sole large-scale pig-factory farm will also have to give all its pigs room to turn around.

Pressure on other states to grant the same basic freedoms may prove irresistible. Many people see this movement as a logical continuation of the fight against racism and sexism, and believe that the concept of animal rights will soon be as commonplace as equal pay and opportunities for women and minorities. If that happens—and I believe it will—the effects on the food we eat, how we produce it and the place of animals in our society will be profound.

If this sounds radical, so did suffrage and civil rights a few decades ago. The notion that we should recognize the rights of animals living among us rests on a firm ethical foundation. A sentient being is sentient regardless of which species it happens to belong to. Pain is pain, whether it is the pain of a cat, a dog, a pig or a child.

Consider how widely humans differ in their mental abilities. A typical adult can reason, make moral choices and do many things (like voting) that animals obviously cannot do. But not all human beings are capable of reason, not all are morally responsible and not all are capable of voting. And yet we go out of our way to claim that all humans have rights. What, then, justifies our withholding at least some rights from nonhuman animals? Defenders of the status quo have found that a difficult question to answer.

If animals do have rights, what rights would those be? The most basic right any sentient being can have is for his or her interests to be given equal consideration. After that, things get more complicated. Some advocates think that all animals have a right to life. Others give more weight to the lives of beings such as chimpanzees, which are capable of understanding that they have a life, and of having hopes and desires directed toward the future. The movement"s supporters agree that the way we treat animals now, as test subjects and factory-farm products, is flagrantly wrong.

If society were gradually to accept animal rights, it would spell dramatic changes. Some people might accept humanely raised meat, eggs and dairy products, if the animals had good lives, living outdoors in social groups of a size natural to the particular species. But this would most likely prove to be an interim stage. As the demand for animal products dwindles, the meat industry would breed fewer chickens, turkeys, pigs and cattle. Eventually the only remaining beef cattle, sheep and pigs would be small herds preserved so that we can take the grandchildren to see what these once abundant animals look like. Factory farming—for meat, eggs or milk—would disappear. If we are to continue to eat meat, we"ll have to rely on scientists who are now trying to grow meat in vats. When they succeed, it will be the real thing, grown from animal cells, not a soy-based substitute, and it might even be indistinguishable from the meat we eat now. But since it would involve no animals, and hence no suffering or killing, there will be no ethical objections.

Milk and cheese are no easier than meat to reconcile. Cows will not give milk unless they are made pregnant each year, and if the calves are left with their mothers, there won"t be much milk for humans. The separation of the cow and her calf causes distress to both. Hens are not so concerned about the removal of their eggs, and genuinely free-range hens appear to have a good life, but male chicks have to be disposed of, and no commercial egg producer allows hens to live beyond the point at which their rate of laying declines. That"s why animal-rights advocates today tend to be vegans.

Where animals are now used for research, we must find alternatives. In Europe, cell and tissue cultures have already replaced some product testing of live animals, and that will increase dramatically once harmful research on animals is put ethically out of bounds. Research using animals may not cease entirely, but in a nonspeciesist world it could continue only under the same strict ethical safeguards that we use for research on human subjects who can"t give their consent.

Our greatest difficulty in respecting other species may lie in our quest for land. The animal movement forces us to consider that land we do not use is the habitat of other sentient beings, and we must do what we can to allow them to continue to live on it, including limiting our own population growth. Even wilderness presents a problem. Are humans ethically bound to prevent animals from killing other animals? To contemplate interfering with the workings of ecosystems would be presumptuous, at least for now. We will do better to concentrate, first, on lessening our own harmful impact on our domestic animals.

A great hopeul article, written by a controversial, but amazing advocate to the animal advocacy movement.

Peace

KWAAG

Farm Sanctuary Brings Sows to New Homes at Kindred Spirits Sanctuary in Ocala and Rooterville Sanctuary in Archer

www.farmsanctuary.org

Ocala, Fla. and Archer, Fla. – November 12, 2008 –Farm Sanctuary, which operates the largest rescue and refuge network for farm animals in North America, is transporting two rescued pigs to Kindred Spirits Sanctuary in Ocala, Fla. and four to Rooterville Sanctuary in Archer, Fla. tomorrow, Nov. 13. The animals were rescued in June and July off a levee in Oakville, Iowa, where they were stranded without food, clean water or shelter amidst floods that ravaged the Midwest this summer. The rescue, which resulted in the recovery of more than 60 young pigs and breeding sows left behind by evacuated farmers, was the most ambitious of Farm Sanctuary’s 22-year history of saving lives.                                                                                         

“When we rescued the pigs they were severely dehydrated and emaciated and suffered from third degree burns from the sun, as well as lung damage from taking in contaminated water as they swam for their lives. Many were injured and completely terrified. After months of rehabilitation at Farm Sanctuary, however, most of these brave pigs are now stable and ready for new adventures,“ said Susie Cost on, national shelter director for Farm Sanctuary. “We are so grateful to Kindred Spirits and Rooterville for giving six of these smart, sensitive and sweet pigs a safe refuge for life, allowing them to become ambassadors for those animals who are not so lucky.”

“Kindred Spirits is happy to be able to assist organizations like Farm Sanctuary by offering homes to animals rescued from disasters like the Midwest floods,” said Laura Brahim, executive director of Kindred Spirits Sanctuary. “The sows we are welcoming tomorrow – confined to2-foot-wide gestation crates on factory farms and used as breeders to produce litter after litter of piglets for the pork industry before the floods – will now be treated as the feeling individuals that they truly are. They will have access to roomy pastures and comfortable housing and will be allowed to engage in natural behaviors. They will live the rest of their lives in peace.”

“We were heartsick when we read about the thousands of pigs who died in the floods, as well as those who were shot after they swam for their lives to reach levees. When we heard Farm Sanctuary was headed to the region,we supported their efforts by offering to take in as many pigs as we could,” said Elaine West, president of Rooterville. “Lush green pastures to graze and root in, as well as a shady oak hammock and are freshing mud hole to cool off in are what the new arrivals will enjoy at Rooterville. After enduring the floods, as well as miserable lives on factory farms, these deserving survivors will now have their own piece of heaven on earth.”

The Kindred Spirits Sanctuary and Rooterville Sanctuary adoptions are two of more than a dozen that have occurred throughout October and will continue into November nationwide. The Midwest flood survivors are being placed through Farm Sanctuary’s Farm Animal Adoption Network (FAAN),a national project initiated to provide safe, permanent and loving homes for rescued farm animals. Since Farm Sanctuary incorporated more than two decades ago, FAAN has made a difference for thousands of abused and neglected farm animals. 

President-Elect Barack Obama, an animal rights supporter, promises a new White House pup

Can we get a high paw for the best part of the victory speech  by President-Elect Barack Obama?
Among the many promises made by Obama is a puppy for his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.
"I love you both so much,and you have earned the new puppy that"s coming with us to the White House," Obama told his daughters at the start of his speech. The dog"s breed or name were not detailed.
Several months ago, Obama stated the he supports animal rights and not just because his daughters want a dog.
During a town hall meeting in Las Vegas in January, a woman shouted out to Obama, "What about animal rights?" according to this news article.
"I think how we treat our animals reflects how we treat each other," Obama said. "And it"s very important that we have a president who is mindful of the cruelty that is perpetrated on animals."

As an Illinois state senator, Obama voted in favor of at least a dozen animal protection laws, including state legislation that:
*Makes it more difficult for puppy mills to operate.
*Allows pet trusts to provide for long-term care of companion animals,
*Increases penalties for cruelty to animals,
*Requires psychological counseling for people who abuse animals,
*Requires veterinarians to report suspected acts of cruelty and animal fighting,
*Bans the slaughter of horses for human consumption.

In September, the Humane Society Legislative Fund endorsed Obama. The group  is Washington-based, non-profit organization that lobbies for animal rights supporters.
Obama"s new presidential pooch will join a long-standing tradition.
For example, President  George Bush"s pets include Miss Beazley and Barney, both Scottish Terriers; India, a cat, and Ofelia, a Longhorn (Bush is from Texas, after all).
Before that, President Bill Clinton had Socks the cat who shared the White House with Buddy, a Chocolate Labrador Retriever.
President John Quincy Adams, who served from 1825-1829, had an alligator.
George Washington, the country"s first president, started it all.
Washington had several French hounds, a parrot and some horses used during the Revolution.Talk about being a work horse. 

A list of all of the White House pets is available here.

Obama will become the 44th president when he takes office Jan. 20.

Again Congrats to The Democrats on thier victory, hopefully their actions will reflect thier view of animals.

Peace

KWAAG

Heres A Link to a Petition to get Sharkfine off the menu of a Resturant in Niagra falls.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sharkfingoldenlotus/index.html

Golden Lotus Chinese Restaurant at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort prides itself on a menu which features numerous Shark Fin dishes. Shark Fin is considered a delicacy in Chinese culture because it is believed that since sharks appear hardy and resilient, these qualities can be transfered to a human if consumed. This is a MYTH and has no basis in science.

While they have been demonized by media, sharks are known to kill only 5 humans per year - by accident. They do not seek humans blood and are not evil. Sharks are very intelligent creatures and are a central link in the food chain. Their role significantly impacts the earth, the stability of the entire marine ecosystem, and our oxygen supply. However, over 100 million sharks are killed each year for human consumption. Shark populations have declined by 90%, and the multi-billion dollar industry continues to grow. They are being driven to extinction.

Fishermen use knives to rip off all the fins and then throw the carcass overboard. The shark is most often still alive when it is tossed back and can take several days to die, in agony. Any shark is taken-regardless of age, size, or species. Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored. Shark finning has increased over the past decade due to the increasing demand.

Experts estimate that within a decade, most species of sharks will be lost. They are being harvested faster than their reproductive abilities can replenish their populations.

Shark finning violates the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's International Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.

If you are a resident of the Niagara area or visit the casino, especially, PLEASE sign. Golden Lotus is contributing to the extinction of sharks, and we are condoning it. This is tantamount to having your hands and feet cut off while fully conscious and then being left to die, all for the greed of others. Fallsview Casino is an icon of Niagara Falls, and as a resident, I feel I have blood on my hands. Tell the casino you want Shark Fin off the menu.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sharkfingoldenlotus/index.html

Peace

KWAAG

The People Have Spoken: YES! on Prop 2

Posted by Wayne Pacelle on 05 November 2008 at 3:00 AM in Humane Society at Work , News & .

This is just a follow up to a precvious article on prop 2. However, even though the animals will be spared from needless suffering, they will lead horrible lives and eventually die in unhumane slaughter for human consumption. Please take a look at our diet section for more info. Congratulations to HSUS on thier win, and congrats to Obama and Biden on thier win!

PEACE

KWAAG

Study says message applies worldwide: Eat fruit, vegetables for healthy heart

1 day ago

The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Eating a so-called western diet rich in meat, fried foods and salty snacks significantly raises the risk of having a heart attack in people around the world - whether they live in Canada, China or Chile, a study of dietary patterns suggests.

While a diet that's high in fat and animal protein and short on fruit and vegetables has long been a recognized scourge in North America and Europe when it comes to heart health, the study found that such regular mealtime fare has a similarly negative impact in other parts of the world.

"What we found was that if you ate a westernized diet, no matter which country you're in, then it's bad for you," said senior author Dr. Salim Yusuf, director of the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University. "And if you ate a prudent diet, no matter which country you're in, it was good for you."

A western diet was found to increase the risk of heart attack by 35 per cent, while a prudent diet - one that includes lots of fruits and vegetables - cut the risk by 30 per cent, the researchers said.

"The good diet seemed to be protective irrespective of which region of the world you came from, and the bad diet seemed to be harmful irrespective of which region you came from," Yusuf said Monday from Hamilton.

To conduct the study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the researchers analyzed data from the Interheart study, which documents how various factors are associated with heart attack risk in about 16,000 participants in 52 countries.

In this paper, they looked at 5,761 individuals who had experienced a heart attack, comparing them to 10,646 people without known heart disease. Subjects were given a dietary questionnaire, based on 19 food groups and adjusted for food preferences for each country.

"A simple dietary score, which included both good and bad foods with the higher score indicating a worse diet, showed that 30 per cent of the risk of heart disease in a population could be related to poor diet," lead author Romania Iqbal said in a release.

The researchers also looked at what was dubbed an Oriental diet, which has a high intake of tofu, soy and other sauces, but found no relationship with heart attack risk, despite its elevated levels of salt.

"The salt would have an impact on stroke and this study is not looking at strokes," Yusuf said. "The other thing is the Oriental diet may have some things that are good and some things that are bad. For instance, the soy sauce and may be bad, but the Oriental diet is also low in animal meat and is also relatively higher in vegetables."

Toronto cardiologist Dr. Beth Abramson said the research is important because it shows, in large numbers of people from around the world, that different dietary patterns are associated with different risks of heart attack.

"It's a large international study that I would say reconfirms what is suggested in the literature in smaller studies that we are what we eat," she said.

"We really need to pay attention to a cardio-protective diet or a heart-healthy diet which is low in fat, high in fibre and high in vegetables and fruits," said Abramson, a spokeswoman for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, who was not involved in the study.

Yusuf said that while the link between a high-fat diet and heart attack has been known for some time in western countries like Canada, "what we didn't know was that this kind of impact is there in every region of the world."

The message, he said, is simple:

"Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and reduce the amount of fried food, salty foods and animal meat. It will help you. It's almost what your grandmother told you to do and it's nice that science is reinforcing it."

Source: http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gIQnKAj3ArAcf5SnGNGVh0sJQqOw

There also other articles on the negative health effects of meat consumption on the above link.

The Message is clear: Meat is bad for you!

Peace

Kwaag

Animal-rights activists acquitted after charged with being too close to seal hunt

The Toronto Press

17 hours ago

TORONTO — Five animal-rights activists charged with getting too close to seal hunters off Canada's east coast were found not guilty Friday after a judge ruled it's "extremely difficult" to determine whether the group breached a 10-metre buffer zone.

While Quebec Judge Jean-Paul Decoste said he found the fisheries officer who gave evidence in the case "honest" and "well-intentioned" he said it was possible the man's judgment of the boats' positions could be wrong.

"It is extremely difficult on the seas, or on a frozen area in the gulf, to figure out the distance (between boats)," Decoste said in a verdict delivered from Havres-Aux-Maisons, Que., and broadcast in Toronto via videoconference.

There are "few or no reference points on which to rely," he said.

The five, representatives of Humane Society International and Humane Society of the United States, were charged with coming within 10 metres of seal hunters on March 26, 2006 while filming the annual slaughter in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, not far from Cape Breton.

They were charged with violating terms of an observer permits under the Marine Mammal Regulations. The offence carries a maximum fine of $100,000. If convicted the five would have been denied future permits to observe the hunt.

The defendants - Canadians Rebecca Aldworth and Andrew Plumbly; Americans Chad Sisneros and Pierre Grzybowski; and British citizen Mark Glover - all pleaded not guilty.

Clayton Ruby, counsel for the five and one of the country's best-known defence lawyers, said he believes the charges were a deliberate move on the part of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to keep the hunt from the public.

"This case is all about keeping the images of (hunters) brutally killing baby seals off television. It has no other purpose," he said after viewing the decision in Toronto.

"It is not a legitimate prosecution in any sense."

A ministry spokesman referred all calls to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, and a spokesman from that agency said they accept the decision and have no plans to appeal.

Aldworth, who is with Humane Society International, said the verdict solidifies the right to observe activity that takes place in public space and to document the annual slaughter.

"The oceans belong to Canadians, they don't belong to the fishery, they don't belong to the seal hunt," Aldworth said.

Aldworth has led teams of activists and journalists to the ice floes for 10 years in an attempt to document the controversial hunt and bring the images to the public.

Initially, the group faced a charge of obstructing the hunt, but that was later dropped.

The group travelled twice to the tiny Iles de la Madeleine for trial, giving testimony and submitting video footage of the events.

The prosecutors called just one witness - Jean-Francois Sylvestre, the fisheries officer who laid the charge.

Ruby said there was a notable dearth of prosecution witnesses.

"Standing next to (the fisheries officer) is an RCMP officer, who should have seen everything he saw. There's a captain on that boat, there are fishermen on that boat," he said. "Not one of them got called."

The 2006 hunt was marked by high-profile protests by pop music superstar Paul McCartney and retired French actress Brigitte Bardot.

On the ice floes, there were frequent clashes between sealers and protesters opposed to the hunt, which the federal government insists is a humane enterprise that brings much-needed cash to families that supplement their meagre incomes during the winter.

Animal welfare activists say the annual commercial hunt is cruel and provides little economic benefit once government costs associated with policing and supporting the hunt are factored in.

The Canadian seal hunt is an unnecassy cruel and evil procedure, which like they stated does little for anybody, except kill thousands of baby seals. IFAW has a great website with facts on the seal slaughter, please visit it here.

Peace

KWAAG

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- Scientists have confirmed the second case of a "virgin birth" in a shark.

A blacktip shark in the wild patrols the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean.

In a study reported Friday in the Journal of Fish Biology, scientists said DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female blacktip shark in a Virginia aquarium contained no genetic material from a male.

The first documented case of asexual reproduction, or parthenogenesis, among sharks involved a pup born to a hammerhead at an Omaha, Nebraska, zoo.

"This first case was no fluke," Demian Chapman, a shark scientist and lead author of the second study, said in a statement. "It is quite possible that this is something female sharks of many species can do on occasion."

The scientists cautioned that the rare asexual births should not be viewed as a possible solution to declining global shark populations. The aquarium sharks that reproduced without mates each carried only one pup, while some species can produce litters of a dozen or more.

"It is very unlikely that a small number of female survivors could build their numbers up very quickly by undergoing virgin birth," Chapman said.

The medical mystery began 16 months ago after the death of Tidbit, a blacktip shark that had lived for eight years at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach. No male blacktip sharks were present during her eight years.

In May 2007, the 5-foot, 94-pound shark died after it was given a sedative before undergoing a yearly checkup. The 10-inch shark pup was found during a necropsy, surprising aquarium officials. They initially thought the embryonic pup was either the product of a virgin birth or a cross between the blacktip and a male of another shark species -- which has never been documented, Chapman said.

Tidbit's pup was nearly full term, and likely would have been quickly eaten by "really big sand tiger sharks" that were in the tank, Chapman said in a telephone interview from Florida.

That is what happened to the tiny hammerhead pup in the Omaha case.

"By the time they could realize what they were looking at, something munched the baby," he said of aquarium workers. The remains of the pup were used for the DNA testing.

Virgin birth has been proven in some bony fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds, and has been suspected among sharks in the wild.

The scientists who studied the Virginia and Nebraska sharks said the newly formed pups acquired one set of chromosomes when the mother's chromosomes split during egg development, then united anew.

Absent the chromosomes present in the male sperm, the offspring of an asexual conception have reduced genetic diversity and, the scientists said, may be at a disadvantage for surviving in the wild. A pup, for instance, can be more susceptible to congenital disorders and diseases.

The scientists said their findings offer "intriguing questions" about how frequently automictic parthenogenesis occurs in the wild.

"It is possible that parthenogenesis could become more common in these sharks if population densities become so low that females have trouble finding mates," said Mahmood Shivji, one of the scientists and director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

The DNA fingerprinting techniques used by the scientists are identical to those used in human paternity testing.

Chapman, who is with the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook, was assisted in the study by Beth Firchau of the Virginia Aquarium.

Chapman and Shivji were on the team that made the first discovery of virgin birth involving the Nebraska shark.

This Was a fascinating article. I urge any of you to check out the documentary Shark Water, which touches on the topic of the rapid decline of sharks in there natural environment.

Peace

KWAAG

It is impossible to eat meat without violence. An animal, after all, has to be killed before it can be consumed. And that means Jessica Smith, a Hindu, doesn't eat meat.

"It has to do with the Hindu belief in non-violence," the 32-year-old Toronto resident says. "And reincarnation."

Smith, who converted to Hinduism three years ago, says a basic tenet of her faith is that all living things have souls, with many revered as manifestations of God. In such a faith, empathy for animals seems natural.

"It's as ancient as the faith," says Smith, who helped start Canada's only vegetarian food bank.

In fact, it's an impulse as ancient as most faiths. The Hebrew Bible, known as the Old Testament to Christians and considered a holy book in Islam, for instance, instructs man to care for creation – including the animals.

So it is not surprising that animal welfare groups are drawing a connection between religious teachings and animal rights.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States – the first non-clergy to run the society in almost 40 years – made the point during a vegan lunch at a recent religion writers' conference in Washington.

All people of faith should work to improve the welfare of animals, Pacelle said. "They (animals) have the same spark of life as we have."

The society recently launched Eating Mercifully, a film about evangelical Christians whose faith has led them to be animal welfare advocates, running sanctuaries for abused animals and lobbying against factory farms.

At the formal launch of the film last weekend at a Washington cathedral, Pacelle said: "It's a sign of a merciful people to be good to these other creatures."

The campaign, dubbed "All Creatures Great and Small," is not looking to reinterpret anybody's religion, but to "awaken" people to what their scriptures say about animal cruelty and humankind's responsibility to care for animals.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, also made an appeal to faith communities when, several years ago, it set up the jesusveg.com website and launched a campaign arguing that Jesus was a vegetarian.

"Jesus's message is one of love and compassion, yet there is nothing loving or compassionate about factory farms and slaughterhouses, where billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths," PETA says on the website.

A Case for Jewish Vegetarianism, a pamphlet handed out at Toronto's annual Vegetarian Fair, argues that the ethical underpinnings of Jewish dietary laws point toward "the ideal of vegetarianism."

The website jewishveg.com makes similar arguments.

The push has come from more conservative circles, as well. In 2002, Matthew Scully, an evangelical one-time staffer in the George. W. Bush White House, published Dominion: The Power of Man, The Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. Its cover featured a lamb, often considered a symbol for Jesus, tethered and dying, against a black background.

The bestseller told evangelicals they had a God-given responsibility to look after creation, making the link between faith and animal rights that activists now hope to draw on. The movement, still getting its footing in the United States, has yet to move north – though campaigners here recognize the potential.

"It's an area we are just starting to explore," says David Alexander, director of operations for the Toronto Vegetarian Association.

Christine Gutleben is director of the Humane Society's animals and religion program. She says the campaign has been endorsed by ministers and priests from several Christian denominations, as well as rabbis and imams.

Their comments have been posted on the society's website for the campaign, allcreatures.hsus.org.

"It's a common aspect of all the major religions," Gutleben said. "We just want to help make the connection."

Peace,

KWAAG

Hey Everyone,

Below is a link to a petition asking shoppers drugmart to stop selling endangered sharks.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/35/HELP-SAVE-THE-SHARK

Also here is Evidence that these Company's are selling this Shark Cartilage Product in Canada.!


Shopper's Drugmart is a Major Canadian Drugstore.

Costco is only selling this in Canada here is the website.

Holista is the Brand Name of the Shark Cartilage and it only sells in Canada.

LET'S SHOW THEM THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO TOLERATE THE DISREGARD TO THE ENDANGERED SHARK.!!

Thanks,

Peace,

KWAAG.

Violent pig abuse reported at Hormel supplier owned by Fairmont, Minn., company

A mother pig and her piglets severely confined to a small farrowing crate during nursing. (Courtesy of PETA)

Related

• Iowa pig abuse
• PETA: More oversight needed in livestock industry
• VIDEO: Iowa workers abusing pigs at farm owned by Fairmont, Minn., company

WASHINGTON — An undercover video shot at an Iowa pig farm shows workers hitting sows with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor and bragging about jamming rods up into sows' hindquarters.

On the video, obtained by the Associated Press, a supervisor tells an undercover investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that when he gets angry or a sow won't move, "I grab one of these rods and jam it in her asshole."

The farm, located outside of Bayard, Iowa, about 60 miles west of Des Moines, is a supplier to Hormel Foods of Austin, Minn. PETA wants to use the results of the investigation to pressure Hormel, the maker of Spam and other food products, to demand that its suppliers ensure humane treatment of pigs.

Hormel spokeswoman Julie Henderson Craven on Tuesday called the abuses "completely unacceptable."

The animal rights group also planned to send the video to the sheriff in Greene County, Iowa, seeking prosecution of 18 people on animal cruelty violations. According to PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich, the video shows eight people directly abusing animals.

"Abuse on factory farms is the absolute norm, not the exception, and anyone eating factory-farmed meat is paying to support it," Friedrich said.

After getting a whistleblower complaint from someone inside the farm, PETA sent two undercover investigators to get hired at the farm and document its practices — one from June 10 to Sept. 8, and the other from July 23 to Sept. 11.

At one point on the video, an employee shouts to an investigator, "Hurt 'em! There's nobody works for PETA out here. You know who PETA is?" The undercover PETA investigator replies that he's heard of the group.

Records at the Greene County Assessor's Office show the property was owned by Natural Pork Production II LLP of Iowa until Aug. 18, and then was transferred to MowMar LLP of Fairmont, Minn.

Lynn Becker, an owner of MowMar, called the abuses on the video "completely intolerable, reprehensible. We condemn these types of acts. If any animals were abused in the brief time we've owned the farm, if we still employ these people, any attempt will be made to investigate and initiate corrective action immediately."

Becker said his company provided animal welfare training to the staff when it took over the farm.

Natural Pork Production II referred questions to AMVC Management Services, which managed the farm under its ownership. Mark Jones, AMVC's network manager, said the video showed "unacceptable practices" and that his company is working with the new ownership to investigate.

Craven, the Hormel spokeswoman, said the farm became a Hormel supplier only after the change in ownership, and that MowMar "shares our commitment to animal welfare and humane handling."

Craven said it was her understanding the abuses took place before the change in ownership. But PETS's Friedrich said the abuses continued, and the new manager abused animals by shocking and kicking pigs.

One of the PETA investigators, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his ability to do further undercover operations, said there was a culture of violence on the farm, and working there was emotionally and physically exhausting.

Lawyer rips Ontario law

By KEVIN CONNOR, SUN MEDIA

The Ontario government shouldn't have listened to a dog catcher from Ohio when it decided to ban pit bulls, a lawyer fighting the legislation said in appeal court yesterday.

"There was one American report saying pit bulls are dangerous. We have three Canadian reports which say the aren't. The U.S. experience is different than that in Canada," lawyer Clayton Ruby said.

"They aren't dangerous. In Canada, pit bulls are way down the list of dangerous dogs. They make wonderful family pets ... you can't identify how dangerous a dog may be to the public in advance and legislate it."

In 2005, the province introduced legislation that forbids the owning, breeding or selling of pit bulls. Existing pit bulls were exempt under the ban, but they had to be spayed or neutered and muzzled and leashed in public.

The province brought forward the legislation after a string of pit bull attacks.

The ban is "unconstitutionally vague," and should be sent back to the legislature, Ruby said. "It is too broad and needs to be struck down," he said. "It is unclear what was intended to be captured in this legislation."

Too many breeds of dogs are being painted with the same brush, Ruby said.

"This trial judge misunderstood and failed to appreciate what guidelines were required. We ought to ask if every pit bull is dangerous enough to punish every owner," Ruby said.

In late March, the provincial government claimed victory after the controversial law survived a constitutional challenge. But Ruby, who sought leave to appeal that ruling,argued the legislation is too broad because it bans all dogs that look like pit bulls.

Canandaigua Academy continues its Chicken Project, including slaughtering

James Goodman • Staff writer • September 3, 2008

CANANDAIGUA — High school students in Canandaigua will continue to be offered an ecology class with a unit that entails the raising and slaughtering of chickens.

The Chicken Project unit has been offered as part of Eric Cosman"s class at Canandaigua Academy for the past three years and will again be taught when the new school year begins Thursday.

A committee appointed by Canandaigua Principal Lynne Erdle reviewed the project and recommended that the unit with the chicken slaughter continue. Canandaigua Superintendent Don Raw adopted the committee"s recommendations.

"The feeling is that the unit is on target for the goals of the course," said Andy Thomas, spokesman for the Canandaigua City School District.

Thomas went on to say, "We"re studying the impact of growing food and this unit is about the growing of meat."

Students, said Thomas, get the chicks when they"re two days old, raise them, slaughter them and eat them.

School officials last spring decided that the chicken unit would not be taught in the fall as part of the ecology class, which is an elective.

But they subsequently decided to reconsider, saying that the initial decision was made at the height of controversy and that numerous students wanting to take the class had complained.

Karen Davis, president of United Poultry Concerns, an animal rights group based in Machipongo, Va., has been urging a stop to the killing of the chickens and denounced the school"s decision.

"We"re totally disappointed that the school administration did not stand by the decision to eliminate the chicken slaughter," said Davis.

She said there is no need to slaughter the chickens to teach how food gets on the plate. Her group has been involved in at least 10 instances nationwide of trying to stop what she called the mistreatment of chickens in schools.

Joel Freedman, an animal rights activist from Canandaigua, had been appointed to the nine-member committee that reviewed the issue.

School officials served on the committee as well as Casey Cazer, a student from the high school"s class of 2008 who was instrumental in establishing the chicken unit; Beth Thomas, president of the Canandaigua Parent-Teacher Organization, and Dr. Carlos Ortiz, director of medicine at F.F.Thompson Hospital.

Freedman quit after the first meeting, saying that some of the appointments suggested that the committee would be a "rubber stamp" for approving continuation of the unit.

In addition to proposing that the unit continue, the committee made various recommendations, including that the spring semester offering of Cosman"s class not include the chicken unit and that students can opt out of the butchering in the fall semester class. The superintendent has adopted these recommendations.

Fifty-nine students are enrolled for the fall semester, which will be taught in three sections.

Source: http://democratandchronicle.com/article/20080903/NEWS01/809030331

To learn more about United Poultry Concerns The Canandaigua Academy Chicken Project and what you can do to help, please click here

Almost 50 additional products have been added today to an expanding list of items being recalled because they may contain some contaminated meat products from a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency added a variety of ready-to-eat products early Friday that are sold in Sobeys and Foodland stores throughout Atlantic Canada.

Arruda said that in one week this month there were as many salmonellosis cases reported in the province's Eastern Townships as there are in an average year.

Time to give up the animal products people.

BAYSIDE, Ont. — One dog is dead and another is being treated for suspected abuse after the animals were found near Bayside, Ont., east of Trenton.

Provincial police were called to a residence by concerned neighbours Tuesday and found the two dogs, believed to be boxers, locked in a back room.

One dog was dead and the other was sick, but still able to walk.

The dogs’ owner, a 36-year-old man, is now the subject of an investigation by the SPCA and provincial police.

EU orders seal fur ban

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:01 AM on 04th July 2008

Clothing made from seal fur is to be banned throughout the European Union.

Although white pelts from baby seals were banned in 1986, fashion houses still use skins from older animals to make boots, coats, gloves and accessories.

Stavros Dimas, the EU"s environment commissioner, told national ministers in France yesterday that an import embargo will be drawn up within weeks.

Hunters insist that most seals die quickly after being shot. Their critics say many escape to die slowly on the ice or are clubbed unconscious.

More than 200,000 seals have been killed in Canada this year - 98 per cent of them pups between two weeks and three months old.

Smaller numbers are taken by hunters in Namibia, Norway and Russia.

Steven Blaakman, a campaigner with Eurogroup for Animals, said: "Killing the animals in a humane way is very difficult as seal hunts take place at speed, in inaccessible areas and unstable environments."

THIS IS AMAZING! do you realise how big of a blow this will be to the seal hunt?! The hunt"s days are numbered!

Just wanted to let anyone kn ow that may have been curious that the website was acting up, and that was why there hadn't been any news postings.

In funnier news I got sprayed by a baby skunk tonight trying to help him and his family across the street. They did eventually get across, but not before they gave me a smelly little thank you.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says fewer people are fishing for fun these days, which is good news for the fish, at least.

The agency says 3.2 million adults bought fishing licenses in Canada in 2005, down 25 per cent from the number who hit the water in 1995.

Overall, it says, recreational fishermen are getting older — the average age is 48 for men and 44 for women.

Anglers tend to fish for the same number of days they did a decade ago — about two weeks each — but because of their dwindling numbers, the catch dropped to 156 million fish in 2005 from 196 million in 1995.

However, the ranks of sports fishermen actually rose by seven per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador between 1995 and 2005.

Anglers tend to spend about the same amount on their pastime as they did in the 1990s, but the reduced numbers means that total take from recreational fishing dropped to $1.6 billion in 2005 from $1.8 billion in 1995.

The Sanctuary is called STORY BOOK FARM PRIMATE SANCTUARY.

I can't believe I had never heard of this Sanctuary before, but apperently it is near Whitby in a town called Sunderland.

Anyway on August 16th they are having an open house - and I think it would be the coolest place ever to isit.

There isn't any info up yet, but you can visit the site HERE

Pierre

Hundreds of thousands of pigeons, bred for the cooking pot, will likely have to be destroyed in Ontario, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The massive cull will be a result of what appears to be the bankruptcy of a Waterloo-based company called Pigeon King International.

The company"s founder, Arlan Galbraith, declared this week he is filing for bankruptcy.

That will leave hundreds of farmers who bought into his pigeon-breeding scheme with no market for their birds.

"There"s going to be a lot of people who are going to lose their farms," said Bill Topp, a former employee of the company.

Topp left the company two years ago over his concerns that the business was unstable, and since then he has been warning people about the company. Topp said he has been inundated with calls telling him the company is bankrupt.

More than 1,000 farmers in Canada and the U.S. invested in the company, typically spending up to $500 for a breeding pair of pigeons.

Pigeon King International promised to buy all offspring back from the farmers at $50 a bird.

Farmers typically paid at least $100,000 to get their breeding business started.

Because of concerns about disease, hundreds of thousands of the birds will have to be euthanized.

As early as last December, Iowa"s attorney general, Tom Miller, announced an investigation into the pigeon-breeding company.

DANIELS HARBOUR, N.L. -- Two camels and an elephant made anunexpected stop in a village on Newfoundland"s northern peninsulayesterday when the truck they were travelling in crashed.

Local firefighters had to use the jaws of life toextricate the animals, which were touring the province as part of atravelling circus.

A veterinarian and provincial wildlife officials were called in to treat the animals for minor injuries

The driver was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Cash reward for an end to factory farms

A leading animal rights activist will give $25,000 to any personwho can come up with a viable way to end factory farming inAustralia.

The outspoken former corporate heavyweight Brian Sherman, thefounder of animal rights group Voiceless, announced the incentiveas part of a new round of grants for projects that improve thelives of Australian animals.

Speaking at the Vegan Expo at Sydney"s Wharf 8 yesterday, MrSherman said the projects could include advertising or awarenesscampaigns, academic reports, education and lobbying to pressureindustry and government to ban intensive piggeries, battery hens,broiler chickens and feedlots.

Mr Sherman said the group has already given away $800,000 since2004 to non-profit groups, councils and universities. He said heexpects to hand out at least $1 million in grants this year.

Factory farming was the main source of suffering for animals inAustralia, he said.

"The bulk of people in Australia have no idea what happens totheir meat before it gets to their plate," he said. "If peoplereduce their consumption of meat it will have an impact on thelives of animals and also have a positive impact on reducinggreenhouse gas emissions."

The expo also featured new designs in eco-friendly clothing.

Sydney fashion designer Jazmin Martin has launched her own rangeof vegan clothes. Her label, Kemp Clothing, shuns leather, wool andsilk for items made with hemp, bamboo, organic cotton andnettle.

"I found that vegan and eco-friendly clothing is often dated andunattractive," she said. "My philosophy is you shouldn"t have tosacrifice style to do the right thing by the environment."

The 25-year-old from Collaroy plans to sell her Kemp linethrough retailers and online.

"People don"t realise they"re contributing to landfill when theybuy cheap, synthetic, designer knock-offs that are usually disposedof after one season and unable to decompose," she said.

But Festus must first have his left leg amputated -- surgery today that a veterinarian said will include neutering.

An ad on the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA website accompanied by a photo of the 4- to 5-year-old stray became controversial when a teacher and agency critic sent e-mails claiming surgery was delayed while donations were sought.

Bourque said dogs "typically do marvelously" after amputation. "They tend not to have the psychological issues that humans have."

"He's very curious ... very rambunctious," she said of Festus. "He seems okay."

OVERRUN SINCE KATRINA

After being picked up in Lafayette -- in a state overloaded with strays since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 -- Sykes said Festus was to be euthanized "in a gas chamber, but was too big for him to fit."

Someone called Bark Rescue, which has worked with Ontario SPCAs to help strays. Sykes said his agency began importing dogs because strays in southern Ontario are "largely under control and we have people requesting more dogs than we have."

Red Cross warns of possible surge in food riots over soaring prices

Bradley S. Klapper, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Canadian Press, May 27 2008

GENEVA - The Red Cross is warning of a possible surge in "food-related violence" because of soaring prices that are increasing hunger around the world.

Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, says most of the debate surrounding the global food crisis has focused on boosting aid to poorer countries.

But he says there is also concern about the potential for violence as people become desperate for food.

Kellenberger, whose agency serves as the guardian of the Geneva Conventions on the rules of war, says fallout from rising prices has already sparked violence.

He points to food riots that erupted in Haiti, Egypt and Somalia.

The Red Cross would have to shoulder a big responsibility for those affected by armed conflict, Kellenberger says.

The group already delivers food to isolated or dangerous places where the United Nations' World Food Program can't operate, he said.

"You can imagine when you have countries where you have already an armed conflict, where you have already a high level of violence, and you have at the same time a lot of poor and extremely vulnerable people," Kellenberger told reporters.

It's not just a matter of higher prices, he said. "It becomes a question of survival, of just having access to food."

The Red Cross has already been forced to add more than $60 million worth of food assistance to its planned budget for 2008. It has revamped the budget six times this year - three times to provide greater food aid in Somalia, Sudan's Darfur region and Yemen.

In total, the group plans to spend just over $1 billion on its relief operations around the world in 2008 and an additional $156 million on administrative costs.

Kellenberger stressed that his concern about food violence was mainly about the "future risk," but he declined to say which parts of the world he considered possible trouble spots.

"If I had them in mind, it would not be extremely intelligent if I were to mention them," he said.

North American bird flu viruses becoming more adapted to humans: study

Helen Branswell, Medical Reporter, THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Canadian Press, May 26, 2008

TORONTO - North American avian flu viruses of the H7 subtype - like the H7N3 viruses responsible for British Columbia's massive poultry outbreak in 2004 - seem to have adapted to more easily invade the human respiratory tract, a new American study suggests.

The adaptation is still only partial and the findings do not suggest the viruses are imminently poised to trigger a pandemic. But experts say they underscore the fact that H7 flu viruses need to be watched and studied.

"I think this is certainly amongst the most dangerous (avian flu) viruses out there," said virologist Dr. Ron Fouchier, with the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

"And I think we need to continue to develop vaccines for H7 just as well as H5(N1)."

Fouchier was commenting on a scientific paper published Monday by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Fouchier's research on avian influenza includes study of the H7N7 outbreak in the Netherlands in 2003, but he was not involved in this work.

Among the H7 viruses the CDC scientists studied were H7N3 viruses recovered from the two British Columbians infected during an outbreak in the poultry farm-dense Fraser Valley in 2004. More than 17 million chickens were destroyed in the efforts to stop that outbreak.

Also tested was a virus recovered from a strange H7N2 infection in the Yonkers area of New York City. A man who had no known contact with poultry was hospitalized in November 2003. Because he was suffering from other ailments, the fact that he was also harbouring an avian flu virus was not detected at the time. In fact, it was thought he had human flu.

Several months later testing at the CDC revealed the rare infection. How the man caught the virus remains a mystery.