And best wishes for 2011!
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VANCOUVER, Dec. 28 /CNW/ - According to a recent Harris/Decima poll commissioned by the VHS, and funded by the Vancouver Foundation, 71% of Canadians said they are concerned about the humane treatment of farm animals and two-thirds (65%) said a political candidate's stance on farm animal welfare practices would factor into their voting decision.
Read the rest in the blurb from a Canadian newswire... and a shout-out to Doug Powell at Kansas State for finding this nugget - thanks, Doug!
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Read the rest in the blurb from a Canadian newswire... and a shout-out to Doug Powell at Kansas State for finding this nugget - thanks, Doug!
A few animal law-related stories in the news today...
Atlanta's PBS online reports on a new law going into effect this Friday that will ban the use of gas chambers to euthanize dogs and cats...
An Arabic site has details on the honorary fellowship that Bob Barker will be receiving from the Oxford Centre of Animal Ethics...
And a nice article in today's Baltimore Sun talking about how Demand Grows for 'animal law' expertise.
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Atlanta's PBS online reports on a new law going into effect this Friday that will ban the use of gas chambers to euthanize dogs and cats...
An Arabic site has details on the honorary fellowship that Bob Barker will be receiving from the Oxford Centre of Animal Ethics...
And a nice article in today's Baltimore Sun talking about how Demand Grows for 'animal law' expertise.
The bald eagle, with its snowy-feathered (not bald) head and white tail, is the proud national bird symbol of the United States—yet the bird was nearly wiped out there. For many decades, bald eagles were hunted for sport and for the "protection" of fishing grounds. Pesticides like DDT also wreaked havoc on eagles and other birds. These chemicals collect in fish, which make up most of the eagle's diet. They weaken the bird's eggshells and severely limited their ability to reproduce. Since DDT use was heavily restricted in 1972, eagle numbers have rebounded significantly and have been aided by reintroduction programs. The result is a wildlife success story—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has upgraded the birds from endangered to threatened.
Though their numbers have grown in much of their range, bald eagles remain most abundant in Alaska and Canada. These powerful birds of prey use their talons to fish, but they get many of their meals by scavenging carrion or stealing the kills of other animals. (Such thievery famously prompted Ben Franklin to argue against the bird's nomination as the United State's national symbol.) They live near water and favor coasts and lakes where fish are plentiful, though they will also snare and eat small mammals.
A mother Polar Bear does not let her cub out of her sight as this family makes its way through the tundra brush in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area in Churchill, Manitoba.
Polar Bear Mother Cub Family Churchill Manitoba: Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
A mother Polar Bear leads the way through the brush on the tundra landscape in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area in Churchill, Manitoba as her cute cub follows behind. The mother keeps a close watch on any strange movements or noises and will protect her family if anything becomes a threat to her cub.The circle of life starts for a cub after the female Polar Bear has met her match and mating has taken place. The mother Polar Bear then begins to eat trying to gain a total of about 440 pounds to ensure that she is healthy enough to carry out the term of her pregnancy. During this time, the mother will find the ideal place to make her den which will protect her cub or cubs from any extreme winter conditions which may pass through...
Blue Temple Viper
A tree snake whose bite is haematotoxic and indeed very dangerous. The affected limb of snake bite victim must be completely immobilized and a stretch bandage should be applied. The victim then needs to be transferred to the nearest hospital or emergency room for observation of signs of invenemation. We do not recommend to use antivenin, unless the patient is developing symptoms of invenemation, since most snake bites do not inject significant amounts of venom during a bite.Manipulation of the wound, suction, squeezing, massage, cutting the skin or application of ointments or remedies only increases the absorption of the venom, and should never be attempted. A polyvalent antivenom is available at the International SOS clinics in Bali and Jakarta.
Green Pit Viper
Both the Malayan Pit Viper and the Green Pit Viper are found around Jakarta. Each has a distinctive triangular head shape, stocky body, and a length of about 80 cm. Each has the ability to jump with great force when attacking. The Malayan Pit Viper is reddish brown with triangular markings on his sides and the Green Pit Viper is bright green with a distinct red tail. The Malayan Pit Viper rattles with his tail before striking as a warning. Vipers are nocturnal and can be easily be avoided by staying away from fields and rocky areas. The Hemotoxic bite causes immediate pain, swelling, bleeding, and tissue damage.
King Cobra
There are two species of cobra--- the king cobra, usually a resident of the paddies, and the Black Spitting Cobra, comfortable in semi-urban areas. Both are aggressive if disturbed. The Cobra is easily recognized when he rises and spreads his hood. The colors of the snake range from black to brown to olive. Both can reach a length of 4 meters. Only the Spitting Cobra, sometimes seen in Jakarta, can eject a spray of venom for several feet, aiming at the enemy's eyes. This can cause temporary blindness but can be removed with repeated rinsing with sterile water. The nuerotoxic bite of either can cause pain and swelling with general muscle weakness following and eventual respiratory paralysis.
Not sure I got much of anything else out of my ABA membership this year, but that's ok. The ABA e-Journal validated the entire price of membership with this recent article:
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Calif. Judge OK’d Seinfeld’s ‘Festivus’ as Legitimate Religion, Ordered Special Meals for Inmate
Posted Dec 13, 2010 7:38 PM CST
By Martha NeilLocked up in a California jail, Malcolm Alarmo King wanted healthier meals. In an argument apparently made to a friendly court, he won a ruling from Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson that he should be fed double-portion kosher meals.
Battling to keep its food costs down, the sheriff's department argued that King himself admitted "healthism" was the so-called religion justifying this request. But Johnson wasn't daunted, calling a sidebar with King's lawyer, Fred Thiagarajah, and the county prosecutor and asking for suggestions about a religion he could cite in the kosher-meal order to nail the issue down once and for all, the Orange County Register reported.
“I said Festivus,” Thiagarajah tells the newspaper—and Festivus it was. The holiday (Festivus for the rest of us) was popularized by the writers of the Seinfeld television show, county counsel argued to no avail.
King, however, has now served out his sentence, so further argument over the issue may be mooted.
Last updated Dec. 14 to clarify that Seinfeld writers popularized Festivus.
In addition to the Pennsylvania case (see post below), Manitoba may be looking at the largest-ever farm cruelty case that province has seen. More from CNews...
... in an unrelated cruelty matter, in case anyone is following the saga of Diane Eldrup in a north Chicago suburb (she ran a "shelter" at which authorities found more than a dozen dead dogs after the judge in her divorce case gave her ex permission to retrieve some personal items from the property... he noticed some dead animals... and tipped off the police)... prosecutors are now asking to quadruple her bond. The local Lake County News-Sun explains why.
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... in an unrelated cruelty matter, in case anyone is following the saga of Diane Eldrup in a north Chicago suburb (she ran a "shelter" at which authorities found more than a dozen dead dogs after the judge in her divorce case gave her ex permission to retrieve some personal items from the property... he noticed some dead animals... and tipped off the police)... prosecutors are now asking to quadruple her bond. The local Lake County News-Sun explains why.
Ok , apologies for the absence... holiday season and all...
At any rate, here's a quickie round-up of a few items these past couple of weeks that made me say "hmm, I should blog about this..." right before I got distracted and did something else:
The Senate untangled the largest reform to American food safety since the Great Depression from an ill-fated spending bill yesterday (yes, really, on a Sunday) and passed the landmark measure during its final lame duck days. President Obama is expected to sign it sometime later this week. Read about the reforms in the Christian Science Monitor or The Washington Post.
President Obama is expected to sign the law repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" military policy on Wednesday, according to The New York Times political blog. Although Congress passed the measure last week, as CNN reports, implementing the change is expected to take at least several months. In the meantime, gay rights activists are wondering if this is going to be a real turning point for their efforts. The Washington Post reports.
Also
about a week ago... Pennsylvania authorities filed 832 (count 'em!) charges of cruelty against a farmer after a potential buyer went to check out the farm and found some pretty gruesome conditions. As Change.org notes, this would be "big for any case, but it's even bigger when you consider that it was for the deaths of pigs." I would also add that this case has the potential to be even more groundbreaking, considering it's filed in the same state which issued that dreadful opinion in the Pritchard divorce appeal a number of years back (equating a companion animal with a lamp).
About two weeks ago.... animal law attorneys in Colorado filed a class-action suit against Denver and another Colorado city seeking to overturn the ban on the grounds that it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The local NBC station has details...
...And President Obama signed a new law banning so-called animal crush videos. The new law was specifically drafted to address the concerns that prompted the right-leaning Supreme Court to overturn an earlier incarnation of the ban earlier this year. Read more about the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act in this CNN article or blogs at the San Francisco Chronicle or Examiner.com.
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At any rate, here's a quickie round-up of a few items these past couple of weeks that made me say "hmm, I should blog about this..." right before I got distracted and did something else:
The Senate untangled the largest reform to American food safety since the Great Depression from an ill-fated spending bill yesterday (yes, really, on a Sunday) and passed the landmark measure during its final lame duck days. President Obama is expected to sign it sometime later this week. Read about the reforms in the Christian Science Monitor or The Washington Post.President Obama is expected to sign the law repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" military policy on Wednesday, according to The New York Times political blog. Although Congress passed the measure last week, as CNN reports, implementing the change is expected to take at least several months. In the meantime, gay rights activists are wondering if this is going to be a real turning point for their efforts. The Washington Post reports.
Also
about a week ago... Pennsylvania authorities filed 832 (count 'em!) charges of cruelty against a farmer after a potential buyer went to check out the farm and found some pretty gruesome conditions. As Change.org notes, this would be "big for any case, but it's even bigger when you consider that it was for the deaths of pigs." I would also add that this case has the potential to be even more groundbreaking, considering it's filed in the same state which issued that dreadful opinion in the Pritchard divorce appeal a number of years back (equating a companion animal with a lamp).About two weeks ago.... animal law attorneys in Colorado filed a class-action suit against Denver and another Colorado city seeking to overturn the ban on the grounds that it violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The local NBC station has details...
...And President Obama signed a new law banning so-called animal crush videos. The new law was specifically drafted to address the concerns that prompted the right-leaning Supreme Court to overturn an earlier incarnation of the ban earlier this year. Read more about the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act in this CNN article or blogs at the San Francisco Chronicle or Examiner.com.
Scorpions are found widely distributed over all continents, except Antarctica, in a variety of terrestrial habitats except the high latitude tundra. They have been introduced by humans to England and New Zealand. Scorpions number about 1752 described species with thirteen extant families recognised to date. The taxonomy has undergone changes and is likely to change further, as a number of genetic studies are bringing forth new information.
Animal Planet's show Fatal Attractions is returning this Friday, October 8th about people keeping exotic animals as pets. And to kick off that series, it's time for another guest post, this one by someone with extensive experience working with exotic animals. Annie Greer and ghostwriter Tim Vandehey, co-authored the new book, The Chimp Who Loved Me. Annie is a veterinary chiropractitioner, animal behaviorist, radio host and farmer’s wife whose life of memorable and bizarre experiences with animals (including a cheeky chimp attempting to mate with her while she was in the shower) inspired the book. Tim insisted that Annie’s stories needed to become a book. Both have dedicated the book to raising awareness of how exotic animals are often treated after they stop being cuddly, and will donate 20% of their profits to the ASPCA. To read more of this story, and many others please check out their book! You can join Annie's Facebook page here. So without further adieu...
At times like this, my true nature comes out, and it’s not flattering. It was every man for himself as I bolted for the cage door. But I was brought to a halt by my husband, who decided that this would be an opportune time to give the cougar fluids! At least we’d managed to get a noose around the animal’s neck while he was out, so he was restrained.
Sedation was too risky, so we had to give him fluids though an IV. My job was to hold the bag of fluids. Now, the average IV line is 72 inches long, but when you are near a snarling predator in a justifiably bad mood, 72 inches is nothing.Kent had the more hazardous job of getting the needle in the cougar’s neck. But every time he got close, the cat snarled and I jumped back, pulling the needle out. Kent swore at me, as though I was doing it just to piss him off.
When I am under stress, I have mantras. On a plane, my mantra goes like this: “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.” That day, it was, “I hate you! I really hate you!” To make a long story short, we got the IV in and the cougar survived. I’m not so sure about the owner.
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Sedation was too risky, so we had to give him fluids though an IV. My job was to hold the bag of fluids. Now, the average IV line is 72 inches long, but when you are near a snarling predator in a justifiably bad mood, 72 inches is nothing.Kent had the more hazardous job of getting the needle in the cougar’s neck. But every time he got close, the cat snarled and I jumped back, pulling the needle out. Kent swore at me, as though I was doing it just to piss him off.
When I am under stress, I have mantras. On a plane, my mantra goes like this: “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.” That day, it was, “I hate you! I really hate you!” To make a long story short, we got the IV in and the cougar survived. I’m not so sure about the owner.
This week's post is by Fen Montaigne, senior editor of Yale Environment 360 online magazine, and author of the newsly released book, Fraser's Penguins: A Journey to the Future in Antarctica, which chronicles the author's five months spent in the frozen continent, working alongside Bill Fraser and the endearing Adélie penguins he studies (Photograph Copyright Fen Montaigne).
One of Antarctica’s legendary explorers, the Englishman Apsley Cherry-Garrard, had it right when he said, “All the world loves a penguin.” And few penguins are as beloved as the classic, tuxedoed species, the Adélie — the knee-high creatures who comport themselves, Cherry-Garrard noted, “like old men, full of their own importance and late for dinner, in their black tail-coats and white shirt-fronts.”
Bill Fraser has been coming to Palmer Station, a small U.S. science base on the Antarctic Peninsula, since 1974. In that time he has developed a deep respect for the Adélies, which he calls “the toughest animals I’ve ever encountered.” Once, Fraser came upon a female Adélie that had been grievously wounded by a leopard seal. The seal had ripped open the penguin’s chest, and Fraser could peer inside and see the Adélie’s lungs. Despite her injuries, the penguin recovered and managed to continue rearing two chicks.
Now, however, Adélie penguins in the northwestern Antarctic Peninsula have encountered an obstacle they can’t overcome: rapid warming, which has deprived the Adélies of a vital feeding platform in winter as sea ice melts. Populations of Adélies in Fraser’s study area have plunged from more than 30,000 breeding pairs in 1975 to 5,600 today. The long arm of man has reached down to Antarctica in the form of global warming, posing a threat to the continent’s two ice-dependent penguin species — the emperors and Adélies. “Here you have this unbelievably tough little animal,” says Fraser, “able to deal with anything, succumbing to the large-scale effects of our activities.”
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Bill Fraser has been coming to Palmer Station, a small U.S. science base on the Antarctic Peninsula, since 1974. In that time he has developed a deep respect for the Adélies, which he calls “the toughest animals I’ve ever encountered.” Once, Fraser came upon a female Adélie that had been grievously wounded by a leopard seal. The seal had ripped open the penguin’s chest, and Fraser could peer inside and see the Adélie’s lungs. Despite her injuries, the penguin recovered and managed to continue rearing two chicks.
Now, however, Adélie penguins in the northwestern Antarctic Peninsula have encountered an obstacle they can’t overcome: rapid warming, which has deprived the Adélies of a vital feeding platform in winter as sea ice melts. Populations of Adélies in Fraser’s study area have plunged from more than 30,000 breeding pairs in 1975 to 5,600 today. The long arm of man has reached down to Antarctica in the form of global warming, posing a threat to the continent’s two ice-dependent penguin species — the emperors and Adélies. “Here you have this unbelievably tough little animal,” says Fraser, “able to deal with anything, succumbing to the large-scale effects of our activities.”
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| A flock of heritage turkeys. Image Courtesy Springfield Farms in Maryland |
For Thanksgiving, have you considered something other than a traditionally farm-raised turkey? Most families eat the standard “large white” or “broadbreasted white” turkey; 48 million get consumed every Thanksgiving, 99% of which are traditional factory-farmed birds. Those turkeys get raised just to be eaten. That means they can’t even run, fly, or mate - takes pretty much all the fun out of being alive doesn’t it? They are engineered to grow plump quick, and often pumped with antibiotics and hormones. Christine Heinrichs, author of How to Raise Poultry and publicity director for the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, also has a great post about the various labels you might encounter on her blog post, Thanksgiving turkey.
Huffington Post highlights another company, Mary’s Free Range Turkeys highlighted in a Discovery Channel How Stuff Works video . They take seven months to raise these birds. No doubt the conditions here are far better than those in traditional factory farms, but also different than conditions on small farms where birds that can truly roam to their heart's delight. Small farms can't produce as many turkeys, though, so it's a tradeoff.
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| The Komodo Dragon |
Komodo Dragons reach sexual maturity at about 5-10 years old, and they are reported to live over 50 years. The mother dragon will make a nest to lay eggs into, and she can lay over 30 at a time. It takes about nine months until the eggs hatch, and then the young dragons will scurry into the treetops where they will live until they are big enough to take care of themselves. This keeps them from being hunted and eaten, mostly by other Komodo Dragons. They usually live up in the trees until they are about four years old.
NBC's Today Show had an interview with another set of strong candidates for worst parents of the year this morning. (Maybe some pollyanna producer thinks these are heartwarming stories for the holidays???)
Today's contenders actually left a 6-month-old strapped into her car seat... left the car engine running... and walked away. As fate would have it, some lowlife walks up, helps himself to the car and proceeds to peel out of the parking lot. To the parents' credit, they adhere themselves to the passenger side of the car. The mom busts the glass with her elbow and the dad somehow manages to leapfrog over her and throw himself into the car. Fortunately, he manages to plead and pummel the lowlife until the thief crashes the car into an embankment and runs away. The passenger window has seen better days, although all's well that ends well.
Better still, when asked what he would do differently if he had to do it all over again, the young dad responds "everything." He wouldn't leave the keys in the car, wouldn't leave it running and most importantly, doesn't leave the baby alone anymore. The mom nods in agreement. These people at least seemed to have learned a lesson. This undoubtedly puts their kid in a much stronger position to actually grow up (unlike yesterday's losers... uh... guests). Of course, it weakens their chances of winning the dubious worst parent award immeasurably, but we all make our choices in life, eh?
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Today's contenders actually left a 6-month-old strapped into her car seat... left the car engine running... and walked away. As fate would have it, some lowlife walks up, helps himself to the car and proceeds to peel out of the parking lot. To the parents' credit, they adhere themselves to the passenger side of the car. The mom busts the glass with her elbow and the dad somehow manages to leapfrog over her and throw himself into the car. Fortunately, he manages to plead and pummel the lowlife until the thief crashes the car into an embankment and runs away. The passenger window has seen better days, although all's well that ends well.
Better still, when asked what he would do differently if he had to do it all over again, the young dad responds "everything." He wouldn't leave the keys in the car, wouldn't leave it running and most importantly, doesn't leave the baby alone anymore. The mom nods in agreement. These people at least seemed to have learned a lesson. This undoubtedly puts their kid in a much stronger position to actually grow up (unlike yesterday's losers... uh... guests). Of course, it weakens their chances of winning the dubious worst parent award immeasurably, but we all make our choices in life, eh?
An appellate court in the Garden State rejected an appeal today from several animal rights groups to postpone a controversial bear hunt. The suit - a separate matter from the one filed against Republican Governor Christie and a sportsman-related PAC (see below) - means that the hunt will be allowed to proceed on Monday.
New Jersey's Star Ledger reports...
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New Jersey's Star Ledger reports...
Anyone see NBC's Today Show this morning?
Meredith Vieira interviewed a couple whose son nearly drown in a bathtub about 10 months ago. The mom had been giving the toddler a bath... turned away for a few seconds... got distracted... and when she came back the baby was underwater. In fact, he was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital, but amazingly, doctors were able to revive him. After spending several weeks in a coma, the toddler recovered.
The "hook" of the story was supposed to be that, after making this miraculous recovery, the toddler is now taking swimming lessons. (First of all, you have to ask yourself how would NBC even know that a 2-year-old in Utah is taking swim lessons, but I digress...) Things don't always work out according to plan.
Halfway through the interview, the child became increasingly squirmy and demanded repeatedly to "put me down". Anyone with a kid knows how annoying this is. Yes, there is a huge temptation to put your kid down just to get him or her to shut up. And yes, many people do actually give in to this temptation (yours truly included). But here's where most of us differ. We don't stop being parents. These people did. They were so wrapped up in being interviewed on national TV that they let their 2-year-old wander unchecked around the set. First he stumbled off the riser that the couch and chairs were on. Then he hovered around a camera. Sure, he was cute looking at himself in the return. But the camera is heavy, it gets hot, it moves without warning and it is full of metal edges - never mind costing several hundred thousand dollars. That's not cute. Then the boy wandered back around the chairs and, despite the not-so-off-camera efforts of some staffer to safely corral the toddler, he stood up on the arm of a chair and fell back onto the couch.
Suddenly, it became painfully clear that this mom didn't just make a mistake. She and her husband are simply negligent. Worse still, they did not learn anything from the first time their son died!!! How sad for them - and how frightening for the little boy.
Shame on NBC for not interviewing the toddler's doctors - the real heroes of this real-life drama - rather than these hapless, attention seeking parents. And where's the Dept. of Children and Family Services when you need them anyway?
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Meredith Vieira interviewed a couple whose son nearly drown in a bathtub about 10 months ago. The mom had been giving the toddler a bath... turned away for a few seconds... got distracted... and when she came back the baby was underwater. In fact, he was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital, but amazingly, doctors were able to revive him. After spending several weeks in a coma, the toddler recovered.
The "hook" of the story was supposed to be that, after making this miraculous recovery, the toddler is now taking swimming lessons. (First of all, you have to ask yourself how would NBC even know that a 2-year-old in Utah is taking swim lessons, but I digress...) Things don't always work out according to plan.
Halfway through the interview, the child became increasingly squirmy and demanded repeatedly to "put me down". Anyone with a kid knows how annoying this is. Yes, there is a huge temptation to put your kid down just to get him or her to shut up. And yes, many people do actually give in to this temptation (yours truly included). But here's where most of us differ. We don't stop being parents. These people did. They were so wrapped up in being interviewed on national TV that they let their 2-year-old wander unchecked around the set. First he stumbled off the riser that the couch and chairs were on. Then he hovered around a camera. Sure, he was cute looking at himself in the return. But the camera is heavy, it gets hot, it moves without warning and it is full of metal edges - never mind costing several hundred thousand dollars. That's not cute. Then the boy wandered back around the chairs and, despite the not-so-off-camera efforts of some staffer to safely corral the toddler, he stood up on the arm of a chair and fell back onto the couch.
Suddenly, it became painfully clear that this mom didn't just make a mistake. She and her husband are simply negligent. Worse still, they did not learn anything from the first time their son died!!! How sad for them - and how frightening for the little boy.
Shame on NBC for not interviewing the toddler's doctors - the real heroes of this real-life drama - rather than these hapless, attention seeking parents. And where's the Dept. of Children and Family Services when you need them anyway?
Ok, once again, this isn't going to be about animal law... but here goes. Imho, Republicans are - already - feeling their oats and this country is - already - seeing the start of the next Republican reign of terror.
The House - no doubt feeling pressured to acknowledge the "message" the Republican and Tea parties keep bludgeoning us with in the wake of last month's election - voted overwhelmingly today to censure longtime Democratic Representative Charles Rangel of New York. Rangel was found guilty of 11 ethics violations. True, this is not a good thing. But those violations were - in comparison to some of the other crap that other politicians have pulled in recent decades - for relatively minor things like violating the gift ban. Even tax evasion pales in comparison. Did anyone watch CBS Sunday Morning last weekend? Even longtime Republican TV commentator Ben Stein urged lawmakers that censure was too harsh for the 20-term, decorated war veteran Rangel. Oh well.
Perhaps more disappointing, it appears that Congress - driven in particular by a few old-school Republicans - won't even accept a recommendation from no less than the Pentagon itself to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" ban. What is up with that? Defense Secretary Robert Gates testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today that a Pentagon study found that ending the ban is unlikely to reduce military preparedness. However, if Congress refuses to enact legislation to allow for a gradual repeal, the all-at-once repeal that would come from a court overturn of the ban would be much more difficult. So far, it's unclear at best whether Gates has actually persuaded his opponents.
On the other hand, it does appear that Illinois is about to become the next state to legalize civil unions. The senate passed the measure today over the opposition of a handful of legislator-curmudgeons from the southern part of that state. And although Illinois may be incredibly corrupt, at least it still has a Democrat governor (who has indicated previously that he supports the measure). As I've blogged before, improvements in gay rights is likely a good thing for animal rights.
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The House - no doubt feeling pressured to acknowledge the "message" the Republican and Tea parties keep bludgeoning us with in the wake of last month's election - voted overwhelmingly today to censure longtime Democratic Representative Charles Rangel of New York. Rangel was found guilty of 11 ethics violations. True, this is not a good thing. But those violations were - in comparison to some of the other crap that other politicians have pulled in recent decades - for relatively minor things like violating the gift ban. Even tax evasion pales in comparison. Did anyone watch CBS Sunday Morning last weekend? Even longtime Republican TV commentator Ben Stein urged lawmakers that censure was too harsh for the 20-term, decorated war veteran Rangel. Oh well.
Perhaps more disappointing, it appears that Congress - driven in particular by a few old-school Republicans - won't even accept a recommendation from no less than the Pentagon itself to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" ban. What is up with that? Defense Secretary Robert Gates testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today that a Pentagon study found that ending the ban is unlikely to reduce military preparedness. However, if Congress refuses to enact legislation to allow for a gradual repeal, the all-at-once repeal that would come from a court overturn of the ban would be much more difficult. So far, it's unclear at best whether Gates has actually persuaded his opponents.
On the other hand, it does appear that Illinois is about to become the next state to legalize civil unions. The senate passed the measure today over the opposition of a handful of legislator-curmudgeons from the southern part of that state. And although Illinois may be incredibly corrupt, at least it still has a Democrat governor (who has indicated previously that he supports the measure). As I've blogged before, improvements in gay rights is likely a good thing for animal rights.
An animal rights group filed a lawsuit today against Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and a pro-hunting political action committee. The suit alleges that a rally held by the PAC in support of Christie's candidacy violated campaign contribution laws, led to a political appointment for one of the PAC's leaders and ultimately resulted in the Christie administration's decision to support a long-controversial bear hunt.Read more in New Jersey's Star-Ledger...
The normally progressive state of Oregon is finally getting with the program... ok, technically phasing out the program... when it comes to acknowledging that keeping wild or exotic animals as pets is just a bad, bad idea.The Oregon Department of Agriculture will stop issuing permits for animals such as bears, chimpanzees and yes, even crocodiles like the obviously cuddly creature seen above (seriously? People keep these things at home? What are they thinking??) come the new year. And it will start phasing out existing permits as current by attrition. Read more in this Associated Press story appearing on KGW-TV.
Tonight's the last night to vote on "Dancing with the Stars." Completely ridiculous, I know.
Nonetheless - and I am generally not much of a conspiracy theorist - there really does seem to be some sort of concerted conservative effort to get out the vote for Bristol Palin. While undoubtedly she has improved considerably since the first episode, there is just no way to objectively believe that she is actually the best dancer on the stage. (Nor, I believe, would it even be fair to say that she has improved comparatively more than the other finalist, Kyle Massey.)
Bristol's freestyle tonight, as the infamous lawyerly platitude goes, truly missed the mark. She danced to a number from the Broadway hit musical "Chicago." While the "look" of the number was about right (evoking a prison cell), the costuming was fine and the dancing - to the completely and totally unitiated - seemed ok... it lacked the most fundamental essence it could possibly miss: Bob Fosse's style. Mr. Fosse (pronounced foss-ee) was one of the most quintessential choreographers to ever grace (and yes, I mean grace) the Broadway stage. He had a style that was so unique, so inimitable, that even a person who never took a dance lesson in her life (ie: me) could recognize it when I saw it. And I didn't see any of it in Bristol's dancing tonight. Think: doing an Elvis Presley number without wiggling your hips. Just shows a real lack of depth. Judge Bruno alluded to this in his comments when he said that dance was a difficult style to imitate. Judge Carrie Ann, to her credit, didn't try to dumb it down for the audience and mentioned Fosse by name. Judge Len, on the other hand, apparently already had lowered his expectations for Bristol so far down that he said he wasn't even thinking about the fact that team Bristol basically did the bunny hop when the music called for a conga line. What was Bristol's (professional!) dance partner thinking?
You have until 11am Eastern tomorrow. Maybe you didn't turn out for the November election (which yes, would have been much better), but there is still time to make this right. Vote Jennifer and/or Kyle!
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Nonetheless - and I am generally not much of a conspiracy theorist - there really does seem to be some sort of concerted conservative effort to get out the vote for Bristol Palin. While undoubtedly she has improved considerably since the first episode, there is just no way to objectively believe that she is actually the best dancer on the stage. (Nor, I believe, would it even be fair to say that she has improved comparatively more than the other finalist, Kyle Massey.)
Bristol's freestyle tonight, as the infamous lawyerly platitude goes, truly missed the mark. She danced to a number from the Broadway hit musical "Chicago." While the "look" of the number was about right (evoking a prison cell), the costuming was fine and the dancing - to the completely and totally unitiated - seemed ok... it lacked the most fundamental essence it could possibly miss: Bob Fosse's style. Mr. Fosse (pronounced foss-ee) was one of the most quintessential choreographers to ever grace (and yes, I mean grace) the Broadway stage. He had a style that was so unique, so inimitable, that even a person who never took a dance lesson in her life (ie: me) could recognize it when I saw it. And I didn't see any of it in Bristol's dancing tonight. Think: doing an Elvis Presley number without wiggling your hips. Just shows a real lack of depth. Judge Bruno alluded to this in his comments when he said that dance was a difficult style to imitate. Judge Carrie Ann, to her credit, didn't try to dumb it down for the audience and mentioned Fosse by name. Judge Len, on the other hand, apparently already had lowered his expectations for Bristol so far down that he said he wasn't even thinking about the fact that team Bristol basically did the bunny hop when the music called for a conga line. What was Bristol's (professional!) dance partner thinking?
You have until 11am Eastern tomorrow. Maybe you didn't turn out for the November election (which yes, would have been much better), but there is still time to make this right. Vote Jennifer and/or Kyle!
Whole Foods Market harbors the same hopes for its chickens that many parents do for their kids: That they'll get plenty of fresh air, live at home until they reach maturity and avoid gaining weight so fast that they can't walk.
These are a few of the animal welfare practices the retailer hopes to encourage with a new humane meat-rating system being piloted in the South and scheduled for national expansion early next year. If the six-step, color-coded labeling system works as planned, it could allow American consumers at many supermarket chains unprecedented levels of specificity when it comes to choosing meat to match their principles.
Read the rest of Monica Eng's article in the Chicago Tribune...
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These are a few of the animal welfare practices the retailer hopes to encourage with a new humane meat-rating system being piloted in the South and scheduled for national expansion early next year. If the six-step, color-coded labeling system works as planned, it could allow American consumers at many supermarket chains unprecedented levels of specificity when it comes to choosing meat to match their principles.
Read the rest of Monica Eng's article in the Chicago Tribune...
Last night was the long-awaited (or perhaps, dreaded) premiere of "Sarah Palin's Alaska", The Learning Channel's purported reality show about the former presidential candidate. The program lived up (or perhaps, down) to its expectations.
Why waste time reinventing the wheel on this one? The L.A. Times quipped "Sarah Palin's Alaska: Reality show or campaign ad?" Wonkette promptly declared "America's Pets Also Hate Sarah Palin's New Tee Vee Show" (complete with a 2:06 video of a dog going pretty ballistic at the TV screen while the show is airing). And my personal favorite caption, courtesy of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial: "You can see Sarah Palin's TV show from your couch!"
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Why waste time reinventing the wheel on this one? The L.A. Times quipped "Sarah Palin's Alaska: Reality show or campaign ad?" Wonkette promptly declared "America's Pets Also Hate Sarah Palin's New Tee Vee Show" (complete with a 2:06 video of a dog going pretty ballistic at the TV screen while the show is airing). And my personal favorite caption, courtesy of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial: "You can see Sarah Palin's TV show from your couch!"
Seems that I'm not the only person who hasn't really been persuaded by GOP whining - uh, arguments - that extending the so-called Bush tax cuts to the very wealthiest Americans is needed in order to help small businesses create jobs. Tuesday's Huffington Post headline reads "Progressive Lawmakers Want to Make GOP 'Put Up or Shut Up' on Bush Tax Cuts". That about sums it up. Everyone pretty much realizes the rich will just pocket the money.
Meanwhile, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner began suggesting another alternative late last week: allow those cuts to expire but use the extra tax revenue to provide breaks that are actually targeted to small business. That's better, at least.
Then there's the prove-it-or-lose-it suggestion being advanced on www.bushtaxcutscompromise.blogspot.com. Basically says the uber-wealthy can keep their tax breaks... so long as they can prove they are actually using the money to create jobs in small business. Now THAT'S put up or shut up.
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Meanwhile, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner began suggesting another alternative late last week: allow those cuts to expire but use the extra tax revenue to provide breaks that are actually targeted to small business. That's better, at least.
Then there's the prove-it-or-lose-it suggestion being advanced on www.bushtaxcutscompromise.blogspot.com. Basically says the uber-wealthy can keep their tax breaks... so long as they can prove they are actually using the money to create jobs in small business. Now THAT'S put up or shut up.
The Washington Post reported today that even the Pentagon is acknowledging that repealing this policy won't hurt the military. Always good to see at least some area of rights have a good day. Read more in this CBS News re-cap or this Washington Post Q & A with the reporters who broke the story.
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A shout-out to the joint venture between the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Politifact.com... which, after investigating comments made by Georgia State Senator Robert Brown last week, just announced today that his statement "[a]nimal abuse is often an indicative trait of future acts of violence against humans," is in fact true.
Took a while, but at least they got the answer right. Read more from their "Truth-o-Meter" here...
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Took a while, but at least they got the answer right. Read more from their "Truth-o-Meter" here...
If you happen to live anywhere near the LA area, there are a whole bunch of events going on this and the next few weekends - including adoption fairs, free-microchipping and even the first-ever Vegan Beer Fest! [We were actually going to drive all the way down to San Diego today for a beer festival there... but maybe we will save ourselves a couple of hours of drive time... more time to drink beer... hmmm... ;) ]
Check out all the options on the LA Times animal blog: L.A. Unleashed...
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Check out all the options on the LA Times animal blog: L.A. Unleashed...
Proposition B - which is supposed to crack down on puppy mills - passed by a narrow margin on Tuesday in Missouri's elections. (My apologies, I completely forgot to blog about it Tuesday night, I was so depressed by the rest of the results...) But not even two days later, pressure from adversaries is already pushing lawmakers to say they may support challenges to the new measure. Read more in the Kansas City Star.
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Well, the Republicans have regained control of the House (as well as picked up a whole bunch of governor races). Several prominent GOP members, including newly re-elected South Carolina Senator and Tea Party stalwart Jim DeMint, have already told commentators on national TV that they're happy to work with President Obama - so long as he wants to work on their issues such as reducing the deficit and repealing the recent health care reform. GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said straight out that his party's number one priority will be defeating President Obama in the next election. Doesn't sound like much room for compromise or bi-partisanship there.
So there you have it. Two years of bickering... which will undoubtedly be capped off by both sides blaming the other for the inevitable stalemate that will be the focus of the smear campaigns in the 2012 elections. :(
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So there you have it. Two years of bickering... which will undoubtedly be capped off by both sides blaming the other for the inevitable stalemate that will be the focus of the smear campaigns in the 2012 elections. :(
An envelope-pushing lawsuit aimed at declaring the parts of Washington's statute that exempted certain "routine" practices from criminalization was rejected by an appeals court last week on the grounds it was not justiciable. It was a valiant effort nonetheless, and maybe also contains some guidance for how to approach this issue in the future. Read more at Northwest Animal Rights Network v. State.
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Legal Zoom announced today that it's going to be selling pet trusts as part of its estate planning. Sigh...
Let's talk about this. While I suppose do-it-yourself pet trusts are arguably animal law and fit within the self-imposed parameters of this blog, this is really more about a larger issue.
To everyone out there who isn't a lawyer and is tempted to buy these forms to save some money: please, please PLEASE really think this through. Yes, hiring a lawyer can be expensive. But so is hiring a neurosurgeon. Yet how many people are up for do-it-yourself brain surgery? Just because drafting your own estate plan doesn't seem as obviously disaster-prone doesn't mean that there aren't some potentially really messy consequences out there. And in some respects, possibly even worse: with do-it-yourself surgery, at least you're only hurting yourself. Screw up a will or trust and you're automatically leaving a big mess for your loved ones because, by definition, you'll be dead by then.
The problem is not the forms themselves. They are pretty straightforward and yes, most people are perfectly competent to fill in their names, addresses, next of kin and so forth. The problem isn't even when any of those things change (assuming you remember to change your form, which, for some people, does become a problem). The problem is when any one of a million little other circumstances crop up that are not addressed by the generic mass-targeted language of the forms. Now try going to a lawyer. It's like the difference between hiring a contractor to build a solid house from the ground up or trying to get someone to shore up your 3-story, plate-glass dream home with a bird's eye view of the San Andreas fault. Not good. And it's not just the pet trusts. A reliable estate plan accounts for EVERY aspect of your life that you want to make sure is taken care of - whether it's an especially long-lived parrot or having peace of mind that the residuals from your best-selling commercial jingle will continue to fund your grandchild's special needs trust... when the original copyright ends 28 years after you wrote it... which ends up being a year after you die.
Look, I like saving money. Everyone does. There are some things, however, that are just not worth price-shopping. Buying contacts from 1-800-contacts is different than getting your eyes examined by a Caribbean-schooled doctor at eyeballs-r-us.
The attorney who Legal Zoom says drafted their forms apparently has a lot of experience doing pet trusts. That's great. If you want to use her services, call her office and make an appointment. If she's not licensed for your state, maybe she can make a referral. Yes, hiring a lawyer will cost more today. Yes, it may mean foregoing something else you would rather - or even, yes, need to - buy. But the few hundred or thousands it costs today will pale in comparison to the cost of a probate battle tomorrow.
My two cents.
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Let's talk about this. While I suppose do-it-yourself pet trusts are arguably animal law and fit within the self-imposed parameters of this blog, this is really more about a larger issue.
To everyone out there who isn't a lawyer and is tempted to buy these forms to save some money: please, please PLEASE really think this through. Yes, hiring a lawyer can be expensive. But so is hiring a neurosurgeon. Yet how many people are up for do-it-yourself brain surgery? Just because drafting your own estate plan doesn't seem as obviously disaster-prone doesn't mean that there aren't some potentially really messy consequences out there. And in some respects, possibly even worse: with do-it-yourself surgery, at least you're only hurting yourself. Screw up a will or trust and you're automatically leaving a big mess for your loved ones because, by definition, you'll be dead by then.
The problem is not the forms themselves. They are pretty straightforward and yes, most people are perfectly competent to fill in their names, addresses, next of kin and so forth. The problem isn't even when any of those things change (assuming you remember to change your form, which, for some people, does become a problem). The problem is when any one of a million little other circumstances crop up that are not addressed by the generic mass-targeted language of the forms. Now try going to a lawyer. It's like the difference between hiring a contractor to build a solid house from the ground up or trying to get someone to shore up your 3-story, plate-glass dream home with a bird's eye view of the San Andreas fault. Not good. And it's not just the pet trusts. A reliable estate plan accounts for EVERY aspect of your life that you want to make sure is taken care of - whether it's an especially long-lived parrot or having peace of mind that the residuals from your best-selling commercial jingle will continue to fund your grandchild's special needs trust... when the original copyright ends 28 years after you wrote it... which ends up being a year after you die.
Look, I like saving money. Everyone does. There are some things, however, that are just not worth price-shopping. Buying contacts from 1-800-contacts is different than getting your eyes examined by a Caribbean-schooled doctor at eyeballs-r-us.
The attorney who Legal Zoom says drafted their forms apparently has a lot of experience doing pet trusts. That's great. If you want to use her services, call her office and make an appointment. If she's not licensed for your state, maybe she can make a referral. Yes, hiring a lawyer will cost more today. Yes, it may mean foregoing something else you would rather - or even, yes, need to - buy. But the few hundred or thousands it costs today will pale in comparison to the cost of a probate battle tomorrow.
My two cents.
In its first interpretation of the Illinois Citizen Participation Act, that state's high court has, in the words of one local legal reporter, "sided with the little guy." The case, which revolved around some uncomplimentary comments made by the president of a Chicago condo board about the building and its developers, upheld the board president's right to complain openly not only to the city council, but the press as well. The suit itself had nothing to do with animals, although anti-SLAPP legislation has historically been a valuable strategy for animal advocates. I imagine activists of all types in Illinois are celebrating this one. Read more in reporter Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Tribune article or what appears to be a press release from a group called The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
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Tigers, Lions, Leopards...the Big Cats like to carve pumpkins too! Take a look at halloween at Big Cat Rescue!For FREE halloween goodies visit: http://bigcatfun.com/halloween.html Music: Kevin Macleod - incompetech.com
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor & Feelin' Good, used under the Creative Commons license with permission.
For the cats, Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue
an Educational Sanctuary home
to more than 100 big cats
12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL 33625
813.493.4564 fax 885.4457
Carole.Baskin@BigCatRescue.org
http://www.BigCatRescue.org Caring for cats - Ending the tradeJoin more than 28,000 Big Cat Rescue fans http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Cat-Rescue-Tampa-FL/122174836956?ref=ts Twitter: Follow Me and get a free wild cat screen saver or ecard account @BigCatRescue
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor & Feelin' Good, used under the Creative Commons license with permission.
For the cats, Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue
an Educational Sanctuary home
to more than 100 big cats
12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL 33625
813.493.4564 fax 885.4457
Carole.Baskin@BigCatRescue.org
http://www.BigCatRescue.org Caring for cats - Ending the tradeJoin more than 28,000 Big Cat Rescue fans http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Cat-Rescue-Tampa-FL/122174836956?ref=ts Twitter: Follow Me and get a free wild cat screen saver or ecard account @BigCatRescue
An endangered Florida panther was discovered dead this week in Big Cypress National Preserve, according to a report by a preserve biologist.
The 12-year-old female panther was detected in the preserve between Turner River Road and Burns Lake north of U.S. 41 during a routine monitoring flight Monday, the report says.
The report does not list a cause of death, but says rangers "did not detect signs of human involvement" and found signs of a struggle, possibly a fight with another panther.
The panther likely had been dead for two days, limiting field assessments. The panther was taken to Gainesville for a necropsy, the report said.
Rangers placed trail cameras at the site and baited the area in an attempt to determine whether two of the panther's kittens, about 5 months old, are still in the area.
www.bigcatrescue.org
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The 12-year-old female panther was detected in the preserve between Turner River Road and Burns Lake north of U.S. 41 during a routine monitoring flight Monday, the report says.
The report does not list a cause of death, but says rangers "did not detect signs of human involvement" and found signs of a struggle, possibly a fight with another panther.
The panther likely had been dead for two days, limiting field assessments. The panther was taken to Gainesville for a necropsy, the report said.
Rangers placed trail cameras at the site and baited the area in an attempt to determine whether two of the panther's kittens, about 5 months old, are still in the area.
www.bigcatrescue.org
A jaguar that escaped from its cage at a Belize animal rescue center during Hurricane Richard fatally mauled an American whose body was found yesterday, officials said.
Belize's national police identified the victim as Bruce Cullerton, who held US and Belizean citizenship. Authorities found the victim's body near the animal center on Tuesday. They did not say where he lived.
The 4-year-old cat, named Max, escaped when a tree fell on his cage Sunday, the same day the Category 1 hurricane hit the Central American country's Caribbean coast with howling winds and rain.
www.bigcatrescue.org
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Belize's national police identified the victim as Bruce Cullerton, who held US and Belizean citizenship. Authorities found the victim's body near the animal center on Tuesday. They did not say where he lived.
The 4-year-old cat, named Max, escaped when a tree fell on his cage Sunday, the same day the Category 1 hurricane hit the Central American country's Caribbean coast with howling winds and rain.
www.bigcatrescue.org
A jaguar that escaped from its cage at a Belize animal rescue center during Hurricane Richard fatally mauled an American whose body was found yesterday, officials said.
Belize's national police identified the victim as Bruce Cullerton, who held US and Belizean citizenship. Authorities found the victim's body near the animal center on Tuesday. They did not say where he lived.
The 4-year-old cat, named Max, escaped when a tree fell on his cage Sunday, the same day the Category 1 hurricane hit the Central American country's Caribbean coast with howling winds and rain.
www.bigcatrescue.org
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Belize's national police identified the victim as Bruce Cullerton, who held US and Belizean citizenship. Authorities found the victim's body near the animal center on Tuesday. They did not say where he lived.
The 4-year-old cat, named Max, escaped when a tree fell on his cage Sunday, the same day the Category 1 hurricane hit the Central American country's Caribbean coast with howling winds and rain.
www.bigcatrescue.org
Nick Sculac with some of the big cats at Serenity Springs Wildlife Center. (THE GAZETTE | Carol Lawrence)
Nick Sculac, co-founder of the Calhan-area big cat sanctuary Serenity Springs Wildlife Center, was led out of court in handcuffs Tuesday after being sentenced for theft.
But his stay behind bars will be short. Under the terms of a plea agreement, he was sentenced to serve six years at community corrections, a halfway house. His attorney said Sculac could be allowed to live outside the facility within six to eight months.
Sculac, 60, pleaded guilty to bilking a volunteer at the center out of $40,500. The volunteer was mauled by a tiger, and Sculac falsely claimed the money was needed to pay fines related to the attack, according to court documents.
"You've been a con artist," 4th Judicial District Judge David Gilbert told Sculac, noting his two prior felony convictions. "You've been misusing people. You've been picking on people who are in a vulnerable state."
www.bigcatrescue.org
There are a some lion and tiger cub exploiters still making the rounds at fairs, flea markets, parking lots and malls who are charging the public $10 - $25 to pet a baby lion cub or to play with a baby tiger cub.USDA regulations should over ride state regulations on this matter, but in Florida the FL Wildlife Commission has set its own standard that may differ a bit, but not much from USDA's ruling. Here is what the law says about that:Cubs cannot be handled by the public before the age of 8 weeks because they are not old enough to have had their first kitten vaccination. Cubs need to be vaccinated at 8, 10 & 12 weeks of age to build up an immune response, so it is really irresponsible to allow contact before 12 weeks. USDA defines a juvenile big cat as being any cub over the age of 12 weeks and does not permit public contact with cubs over the age of 12 weeks. Despite the fact that touching cubs between the age of 8 weeks and 12 weeks is potentially deadly to the cub, USDA does currently (2010) allow public contact with cubs over 8 weeks and under 12 weeks of age.
Florida law only allows contact up to 25 lbs for exotic cats. This works out to roughly the same 12 week limit that USDA has imposed, but Florida law does not protect cubs under that weight limit, despite age.
Further the US Fish & Wildlife Service defines a sanctuary as a facility that does not allow contact between the animals and the public.
For the cats,Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue
an Educational Sanctuary home
to more than 100 big cats
12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL 33625
813.493.4564 fax 885.4457
Carole.Baskin@BigCatRescue.org
http://www.BigCatRescue.orgCaring for cats - Ending the tradeJoin more than 28,000 Big Cat Rescue fans http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Cat-Rescue-Tampa-FL/122174836956?ref=ts Twitter: Follow Me and get a free wild cat screen saver or ecard account @BigCatRescue
In USDA vs Palazzo the courts ruled, "…it is now manifestly clear that USDA has changed its position, finding there to be "an inherent danger present for both the viewing public and the exhibited animals(s) where there is any chance that the public could come into direct contact with juvenile or adult big cats"…and finding that…"For regulatory purposes, APHIS generally considers big cats to become juveniles when they reach 12 weeks of age. 11 CX 20 goes on to explain that "According to Dr. Gibbens' testimony, the policy precluding direct public contact with juvenile tigers was in effect in 2004 & was placed on the USDA's website in 2005.
http://www.911animalabuse.com/images/USDAViolations/2010GreatCatAdventures3YrSuspension.pdf
http://www.911animalabuse.com/images/USDAViolations/2010GreatCatAdventures3YrSuspension.pdf
Florida law only allows contact up to 25 lbs for exotic cats. This works out to roughly the same 12 week limit that USDA has imposed, but Florida law does not protect cubs under that weight limit, despite age.
(a) Public contact and exhibition.
1. General: All Class I, II or III wildlife that will be used for contact with the public shall have been evaluated by the exhibitor to insure compatibility with the uses intended. All wildlife shall be exhibited in a manner that prevents injuries to the public and the wildlife. The exhibitor shall take reasonable sanitary precautions to minimize the possibility of disease or parasite transmission which could adversely affect the health or welfare of citizens or wildlife. When any conditions exists that results in a threat to human safety, or the welfare of the wildlife, the animal(s) shall, at the direction of a Commission officer, be immediately removed from public contact for an interval necessary to correct the unsafe or deficient condition.
2. Class I wildlife shall only be permitted to come into physical contact with the public in accordance with the following:
a. Full contact: For the purpose of this section, full contact is defined as situations in which an exhibitor or employee handler maintains proximate control and supervision, while temporarily
surrendering physical possession or custody of the animal to another.
Full contact with Class I wildlife is authorized only as follows:
I. Class I cats (Felidae only) that weigh not more than twenty-five (25) pounds;
https://www.flrules.org/gateway/readFile.asp?sid=0&tid=7515480&type=1&File=68A-6.0023.doc
1. General: All Class I, II or III wildlife that will be used for contact with the public shall have been evaluated by the exhibitor to insure compatibility with the uses intended. All wildlife shall be exhibited in a manner that prevents injuries to the public and the wildlife. The exhibitor shall take reasonable sanitary precautions to minimize the possibility of disease or parasite transmission which could adversely affect the health or welfare of citizens or wildlife. When any conditions exists that results in a threat to human safety, or the welfare of the wildlife, the animal(s) shall, at the direction of a Commission officer, be immediately removed from public contact for an interval necessary to correct the unsafe or deficient condition.
2. Class I wildlife shall only be permitted to come into physical contact with the public in accordance with the following:
a. Full contact: For the purpose of this section, full contact is defined as situations in which an exhibitor or employee handler maintains proximate control and supervision, while temporarily
surrendering physical possession or custody of the animal to another.
Full contact with Class I wildlife is authorized only as follows:
I. Class I cats (Felidae only) that weigh not more than twenty-five (25) pounds;
https://www.flrules.org/gateway/readFile.asp?sid=0&tid=7515480&type=1&File=68A-6.0023.doc
Further the US Fish & Wildlife Service defines a sanctuary as a facility that does not allow contact between the animals and the public.
Accredited wildlife sanctuary means a facility that cares for live specimens of one or more of the prohibited wildlife species and:
(1) Is approved by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a corporation that is exempt from taxation under § 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which is described in §§ 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of that code;
(2) Does not commercially trade in prohibited wildlife species, including offspring, parts, and products;
(3) Does not propagate any of the prohibited wildlife species; and
(4) Does not allow any direct contact between the public and the prohibited wildlife species.
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/laws/lawscaptivewildanimalsafetyact.htm
(1) Is approved by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a corporation that is exempt from taxation under § 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which is described in §§ 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of that code;
(2) Does not commercially trade in prohibited wildlife species, including offspring, parts, and products;
(3) Does not propagate any of the prohibited wildlife species; and
(4) Does not allow any direct contact between the public and the prohibited wildlife species.
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/laws/lawscaptivewildanimalsafetyact.htm
For the cats,Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue
an Educational Sanctuary home
to more than 100 big cats
12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL 33625
813.493.4564 fax 885.4457
Carole.Baskin@BigCatRescue.org
http://www.BigCatRescue.orgCaring for cats - Ending the tradeJoin more than 28,000 Big Cat Rescue fans http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Cat-Rescue-Tampa-FL/122174836956?ref=ts Twitter: Follow Me and get a free wild cat screen saver or ecard account @BigCatRescue
Interesting commentary today by Tibor Machan following his speech at the University of Wisconsin Law School Federalist Society late last week. Prof. Machan spoke on a topic he has written about before: whether animals have natural rights. Not surprisingly, he came to the same conclusion he has come to before: no.
What was surprising, at least to Machan, was that animal rights advocates didn't come to hear him talk:
Beyond that, allow me to explain why your talk was not well-attended by animal advocates. They are not, as you muse, anti-intellectual. Your position, imho, is simply crap. And who wants to sit through what amounts to self-indulgent pseudo-intellectual masturbation? It's just two hours of your life you're not going to get back.
At this point in time, no one in his or her right mind would show up at a college campus to debate "whether" African-Americans... or Chinese... or women... or [insert any group other than white, Christian males]... should have rights. The debate has simply moved past that point. In animal advocacy circles, the debate has likewise moved beyond "whether" animals should have some basic rights. (And just to be clear here, no, I am not talking about the right to vote or drive a car... just the most basic of rights, such as the right to bodily integrity.) Sitting politely through a discussion on "whether" animals have a right not to be dissected is as vulgar and irritating as sitting politely through a discussion about "whether" female genital mutilation is an acceptable practice. The fact that a conversation occurs on a college campus does not necessarily mean it has academic merit and the fact that the speaker wishes to enjoy the delusion that such ideas are worthy of intellectual debate is not a sufficient reason for anyone else to waste their time.
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What was surprising, at least to Machan, was that animal rights advocates didn't come to hear him talk:
I am, after 40 years of teaching, still a bit naive about the nature of academic life so I was somewhat taken aback because my understanding had always been that it is at universities and colleges that debates and discussions about controversial issues are carried out, usually in an atmosphere of civility. Alas, I must not really be as aware about how universities and colleges work as I would like to be. The reality seems to be that in many such communities discussions aren’t all that welcome. Instead the attitude is combative: Let’s show those with whom we disagree that we are against them, solidly, that we have no respect for the idea of a philosophical debate on the topic but want to silence, boycott, or exclude those who don’t already fall in line with our position.Naive and taken aback? Really? I've only been working about 25 years (yeesh...) and the one thing I can tell you that I - and all of my similar-aged colleagues - have long since learned is to expect the unexpected at work. You really never know what's coming next.
Beyond that, allow me to explain why your talk was not well-attended by animal advocates. They are not, as you muse, anti-intellectual. Your position, imho, is simply crap. And who wants to sit through what amounts to self-indulgent pseudo-intellectual masturbation? It's just two hours of your life you're not going to get back.
At this point in time, no one in his or her right mind would show up at a college campus to debate "whether" African-Americans... or Chinese... or women... or [insert any group other than white, Christian males]... should have rights. The debate has simply moved past that point. In animal advocacy circles, the debate has likewise moved beyond "whether" animals should have some basic rights. (And just to be clear here, no, I am not talking about the right to vote or drive a car... just the most basic of rights, such as the right to bodily integrity.) Sitting politely through a discussion on "whether" animals have a right not to be dissected is as vulgar and irritating as sitting politely through a discussion about "whether" female genital mutilation is an acceptable practice. The fact that a conversation occurs on a college campus does not necessarily mean it has academic merit and the fact that the speaker wishes to enjoy the delusion that such ideas are worthy of intellectual debate is not a sufficient reason for anyone else to waste their time.
Pop singer Katy Perry and British comedian Russell Brand embarked on their honeymoon in the Maldives Monday via helicopter, after an eccentric and elaborate wedding in Rajasthan, India, on Saturday.
The couple wed in a traditional Hindu ceremony at Ranthambore National Park, a local tiger preserve. The unusual festivities, made private by a tight security detail, earned a flurry of media commentary when it was reported that Brand presented Perry with a tiger as a wedding gift.
Brand purportedly bought Machli, a female Bengal tiger living in the Ranthambhore reserve, because she was regarded as "the epitome of beauty." The tiger was said to reflect Brand's feelings for Perry. Machli will continue to live at the national park, and the money paid for her will be dedicated to the tiger's care and to the park's restoration and conservation. Russell is also said to have presented Perry with a ruby, which he said possesses "protective powers." Perry presented Brand with extravagant gifts as well, including a baby elephant as a token of her love.
A total of 85 guests, ranging from close family to famous Hollywood figures, attended the ceremony, which was also said to have featured a Hindu guru, a fortune-telling parrot and fire-eating performers.
www.bigcatrescue.org
Foster Park in Youngsville has been reopened for recreational activities. The public is advised to be careful and watchful for any sightings that are out of the ordinary, such as the serval. There is no evidence that the cat has been around any of the traps that were set, and there have been no sightings as of Friday afternoon.
Since the cat is thought to be domesticated and there is no evidence of the cat in the area, Foster Park is open for weekend activities.
UPDATED 1:40 PM
No new sightings of the serval have been reported today in Youngsville, said Animal Control supervisor Virginia Lee.
Lee said they have not received any reports from possible owners and none of their traps have been set off.
She said the initial search is over and Animal Control will only react from reported sightings.
UPDATED 11:30 AM
Lafayette Animal Control continues the search for the loose serval in Youngsville. Traps are still set up in the sugarcane field near Foster Memorial Park, but it has not been caught yet.
ORIGINAL STORY
Lafayette Animal Control is still on the lookout for an African serval, an exotic cat, in Youngsville after it was first spotted early Thursday morning.
Virginia Lee, Lafayette Animal Control supervisor, said the first spotting of the serval was near Foster Memorial Park in Youngsville early Thursday morning.
The animal was still loose as of 7 p.m. Thursday.
Traps were set up in a sugarcane field near the park in hopes of capturing the serval, and Lee is hopeful it will be caught in a peaceful manner.
Animal Control received about three to four calls throughout the day about confirmed sightings of the serval, with the furthest being about a half-mile north of Foster Park.
Animal Control has not received any recent sightings, with the last one being at 1 p.m.
"We've stretched our search area into the perimeters of Youngsville," Lee said, although she was not able to specify how far out. "We might have to come up with a different game plan (today) if we don't catch it tonight."
The owners also have not been identified, nor have they come forward.
"After talking to some people, we're having the feeling this cat has been on loose for a while," Lee said.
The traps, Lee said, are humane traps they also use to catch stray dogs and cats. She said they are wire traps that when an animal steps inside, it triggers the door to close.
A serval is a medium-sized cat that originates from Africa. They are mainly a nocturnal animal and are carnivorous, with their diets including rodents, birds or reptiles, according to the African Wildlife Foundation.
Lee said while the serval they are looking for has been domesticated, there is still some risk involved. She said it's not uncommon for people to want to buy a serval as a house pet, but she doesn't encourage such actions.
"Don't just walk up to something like this," she said. "It's always an unsafe thing when it's an animal that's not well known."
She said anytime there is an animal outside of its normal settings, it will become defensive, especially when approached by people it's not used to.
Lee said anyone who spots the serval should leave it alone and call 911, where they will be directed to the right person.
www.bigcatrescue.org
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