Archive for the ‘animal rights’ category

« FOXSYLVANIA home page
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Fugitive Cow…

August 17, 2011

 – – I’ve always felt empathy for fugitive cows, those bovines that feel the bloodline of the aurochs stir in them, and so do not go quietly to the slaughter… 

…and so to Yvonne, the six-year-old German cow, I say, You go, girl!  No milk dud, Yvonne escaped in May from a farm in Muehldorf, Germany where she was being prepared for the slaughter.  She made a new home for herself in the Bavarian woods, gaining the notice of authorities when Yvonne jumped in front of German police cars.  Deemed a traffic threat, hunters were then authorized to shoot the cow, which outraged animal rights activists.  An Austrian animal protection group then either offered or has already bought Yvonne from her original farm for 700 euros. 

While receiving much attention, Yvonne remained on the lam, prompting efforts to lure her in by sending bovine family members and friends into the wild.  A bull was even brought in by animal rights activists in an effort to romance the cow, but the bull turned out to be castrated, and Yvonne wasn’t fooled by this flimsy deception.  Things got weirder still when an animal psychic was consulted by the animal rights activists.  The psychic reported having contacted the cow by telepathy, saying that Yvonne was fine but didn’t feel ready to come out of hiding, fearing that the humans would lock her up and that she’d lose her freedom!

Meanwhile, the Hindu community recently issued a statement calling for German authorities to withdraw permission for hunters to shoot Yvonne, saying that the decision was ill-advised.  A German newspaper has also created a Facebook page, and offered a reward of over $14,000 to anyone who can capture Yvonne…

…my sympathies are on the side of the cow on the run, who has probably connected with the underground and awaits the furry revolution…long life and good fortune to you, counter-culture bovine!- -Fight the power, Yvonne!

Categories: animal rights, animals, furry, furry causes, furry heroes, strange happenings
Tags: , ,

Comments: 3 Comments

Liberating Lobsters…

August 10, 2011

 – – In Gloucester, Mass. on August 3rd (Wheel Turning Day),  a group of thirty Tibetan Buddhists bought 534 live lobsters from a seafood wholesaler, clipped the bands binding their claws, and then released them back into the Atlantic from a whale-watching vessel, saving them at least temporarily from the boiling pot.   Among those setting the lobsters free was a chef who no longer cooks live shellfish.  The Buddhists typically liberate masses of the expensive seafood a couple of times each year.

While the Buddhists recognize that the lobsters may be re-captured, it is felt that by the action, the lobsters have had a longer life, even if only by an hour.  Lobsters to the Buddhist are viewed equally with other life forms, with their happiness and suffering  just as important to them as it would be to higher life forms. 

And for the fishermen paid for their labors, it’s a win-win proposition…I dunno what the lobsters think about being captured and then released, but they may perceive it as a near-death experience…

Categories: animal rights, animals, aquatic, philosophy
Tags: ,

Comments: 3 Comments

Animal Smuggling…

May 14, 2011

 – -We’ve posted previously here on Foxsylvania about the illegal trade in wild and exotic animals, including animal smuggling.  While it’s fairly common for one type of animal to be smuggled (snakes, spiders, etc.), some smugglers diversify and try to take a variety of different species out.

Take for example the case of a man arrested at Thailand’s international  airport May 13th after he was caught trying to smuggle wild animals out of the country.  The man, identified as a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, was trying to board a flight to Dubai when investigators found a baby bear, two leopards, two panthers, and at least two monkeys stuffed into his luggage!  Don’t ask me how…must have been some pretty big luggage!

The anti-animal trafficking group FREELAND said the man is believed to be part of a far-reaching animal trafficking network…

Categories: animal abuse, animal rights, animals, deplorable practices, endangered species, furry
Tags: ,

Comments: 2 Comments

Language Applied to Animals…

May 4, 2011

– – I most resent the word “varmint” when applied to foxes and other animals; it’s degrading and disrespectful, and dates back to a time when animals were treated unkindly as little better than things; sadly, some still hold this viewpoint.  Language is a curious and powerful thing, and the label that we apply to a living creature shapes how it is permissible to treat them.  As a tool of classification, language then also becomes a device of control.

Researchers from the Oxford Center for Animal Ethics along with the University of Illinois and Penn State University suggests that using such words as “varmints,” “critters,” and “beasts” to describe animals degrades the relationship that can exist between them and humans by contributing to a mindset of animals being trivial, unfeeling, and inconsequential.   Instead, a language should be cultivated that shows mutually respectful relationships between humans and the animals which live among them.  I’m fully on board with all of this…

…where we separate the sheep from the goats (so to speak) is in the beliefs of some animal rights academics that pets should be renamed “companions,” and that rats are just “free-living;”  pigeons are simply “free-roaming.”   While I do consider my co-habiting animals as companions, this is my personal choice, and I happen to be an animal myself (this is not necessarily a bad thing)!  When political correctness kicks in, however, it’s often time to take a holiday before things get silly and I’m expected to garb my animal companions in clothing, which they would hate anyways.

What can perhaps be taken away from all of this is the thought that words are powerful, not because an animal understands the nuances of language or cares what you call them but because words can influence how your mind works, with language choice subsequently affecting human behavior towards animals as well as countless other things.  If you doubt this, consider that psycholinguistics has been at the core of every successful political campaign for the last number of decades, with labels determining perceptions and serving as a substitute for independent critical thought for many…

Categories: animal rights, animals, controversial, furry causes, psychology, science
Tags: , ,

Comments: 2 Comments

Goldfish Racing…

April 24, 2011

 – – Not to be confused with cat juggling, dwarf bowling, or submarine races, goldfish racing is one of those strange pseudo-sports activities that bars seem to be host to, alcohol making such things just that much more amusing.

In goldfish racing, cheap “feeder”-type goldfish normally sold to be fed to other pets are guided and encouraged by bar patrons to swim down water troughs the length and general width of plastic gutters with bottles and water guns.  This practice has brought complaints from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who contend that the loud noises and bright lights used during the practice scare the bejesus out of the fish.  In addition, some fish have reportedly been impaled with soda straws or even swallowed alive by the same notorious bar patrons.

PETA’s protests have caused one Tacoma, Washington bar to cancel its weekly goldfish races, while other similar establishments are still having fish start their engines…

Categories: absurdities, animal rights, animals, deplorable practices, scalies, strange happenings, things humans do
Tags:

Comments: 3 Comments

Jakarta’s Monkeys

December 24, 2010

– – In Jakarta, Indonesia trained monkeys perform skits on the street of the capital city using props such as toy motor bikes, wooden rifles, and doll masks.  Unfortunately, the macaques are kept on chain leashes which are jerked to keep the trained simians on task; they are conscripted and trained beginning as young as one month of age.  The performances are believed to have originated in the port cities of northern Java in the late 1800’s when entertainers from Europe introduced monkey and dog shows. Forced to perform unnatural acts in a stressful, abnormal environment, the forced performances may easily be seen as a form of animal exploitation or abuse.

Such monkey business is diminishing, however, owing at least in part to the depressed economy…

Categories: animal abuse, animal rights, animals, deplorable practices, furry
Tags:

Comments: 1 Comment

Mail Order Tarantulas

December 8, 2010

– – I, for one, prefer not to get tarantulas in my mail.  The bills are bad enough…

…but a German man stands accused of sending more than 500 live tarantulas through the mail, receiving more than $300,000 for the arachnids.

Special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service waged a sting operation (so to speak), ordering and receiving dozens of live tarantulas in an investigation known as “Operation Spiderman.”  If convicted, the person involved faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000…

…and for your reference, the entire Brachypelma genus is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species because it is being threatened by international trade, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

– -Well, there goes my gift idea for my relatives this Xmas!


Categories: animal abuse, animal rights, deplorable practices, endangered species, strange happenings
Tags:

Comments: 3 Comments

Points To Ponder…

December 3, 2010

– – It’s  deer hunting season again in Pennsylvania.  A  thought on the subject:

“Whether hunting is right or wrong, a spiritual experience, or an outlet for the killer instinct, one thing it is not is a sport.  Sport is when individuals or teams compete against each other under equal circumstances to determine who is better at a given game or endeavor.  Hunting will be a sport when deer, bears, elk, and ducks are endowed with human intelligence and given 12-gauge shotguns.  Bet we’d see a lot fewer drunk yahoos (live ones, anyway) in the woods if that happened.” — R. Lerner

‘scuse me…I gotta go help even the odds out there a bit…




Categories: animal rights, animals, furry causes, furry perspectives, philosophy
Tags:

Comments: 3 Comments

The Death of Bozo…

November 26, 2010

– – The bear, that is, not the clown!  Bozo the black bear had spent more than 15 years receiving treats near the grounds of a Northeastern Pennsylvania mountain resort, and was by all accounts a tame, gentle animal.  Unfortunately these very qualities probably led to his demise at the hands of a crossbow hunter on Nov. 15th, the first day of archery season.

One area resident fed Bozo for 17 years from the time that he was a cub, noting that the gentle giant was especially fond of donuts and anything sweet.  Bozo was considered a “mascot” at an area eatery, accepting ice cream there the night before he was slain.  He would sometimes let people pet him.  Local residents who had come to know and love Bozo are grief-stricken.  “I mean I feel like I lost a friend,” said one.

Ironically the hunter did nothing illegal, whereas those who fed him did. In Pennsylvania it’s illegal to feed some wildlife, including bears.–Why?–When a wild animal looses its fear of humans, it’s vulnerable.  Bears can create a public nuisance if they’re fed by humans, and they’re creatures of habit that can become accustomed to finding food in one area.

The legal slaying of a beloved and tame animal may create, however, a public relations disaster for the practice of hunting, which has already come under fire.  Hunting is further damaged by the attitudes of some of its practitioners.  One hunter said regarding Bozo’s death, “As long as the bear was not on someone’s property, it doesn’t matter if a few people liked it.”

Attitudes of that type and this image say more about hunting than any animal rights activist ever could.- -RIP, Bozo…



Categories: animal rights, animals, deplorable practices, furry, furry heroes, furry perspectives, things humans do
Tags: ,

Comments: 4 Comments

Real Piggy Banks…

November 14, 2010

– – How would you like a piggy bank made from a real piggy?–No, I wouldn’t, either…

They are for sale, however, from a novelty retailer out of Vancouver, British Columbia;  yes, taxidermied piglet piggy banks for a mere $4,000 each!  Production costs are high for the item, with the taxidermy process alone taking six months.  The piglets used have actually died of natural causes.

Animal activists have called the piglet banks, “a particularly callous and demeaning exploitation of a baby animal’s dead body.”  Although no pigs are killed to make the piglet banks, the co-owner of the Canadian novelty retail establishment which has been brought much publicity feels that the real argument would seem to be about taxidermy and whether preserving animals for aesthetic appeal is ethical.

There is unquestionably value in taxidermy to the extent that it has allowed for rare and extinct animals to be displayed and studied; I personally find the display of hacked-off animal parts to be gruesome and repugnant, however…


Categories: animal rights, strange, strange happenings, things humans do, weird
Tags:

Comments: 4 Comments

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »