Category: Animal Abuse


Help Dolphins on Ocean Day! Support European Dolphin Demonstration for Freedom

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, Cruelty to animals, Protection, World News — 3 Comments
June 9, 2013

Reblogged  from   :  Champions for Cetaceans

Posted on June 8, 2013

By Kirsten Massebeau

Ocean day is a day to celebrate our oceans, understand more about them, and take action to help the very bodies of water that give our world life. Part of the amazing underwater world of the oceans are the inhabitants which include dolphins. Highly intelligent with brains as large as mans dolphins remain at the top of the food chain in the ocean. They can easily be categorized as the people of the sea. Dolphin families stay together for a lifetime living in socially complex societies. They recognize themselves in the mirror, and call each other by name. Many scientists today believe that cetaceans deserve status as non-human persons: “They believe dolphins – and their whale cousins – are sufficiently intelligent and self-aware to justify the same ethical considerations given to humans. Recognizing cetaceans’ rights would mean an end to whaling and the captivity of dolphins and whales, or their use in entertainment ”. (source).

Bruges Dolphinarium by Frederich Clemente

Bruges Dolphinarium by Frederich Clemente

Sadly despite the scientific data that deems dolphins unsuitable for captivity the practice continues. Bruges Dolphinarium in Europe is just one example of the terrible dolphin suffering that takes place in Europe and worldwide. Trapped in cement tanks filled with chlorinated water dolphins are forced to spend their lives in suffering for human entertainment, forced to perform tricks for dead fish something that would have never been part of their diet in the wild. In 2005 Toni Frohoff, Ph.D. prepared a report entitled, Report on Observations and Preliminary Assessment at Boudewijn Seapark Dolphinarium in Brugges, Belgium:

Bruges dolfinarium is considered as “substandard”. The fate of our 6 dolphins (more than 30 died Under the Dark Dome) is a good example of cruelty, as Morgan is a good example of commercial cynism of Industry. Dr Toni Frohoff said : “The facility itself appears to be sub-standard compared to many facilities around the world that a) provide a more naturalistic environment for dolphins and b) adhere to international governmental regulations This is especially notable due to the extreme noise and reverberation that is characteristic of an indoor facility (and in particular this one that plays such loud music and encourages loud sounds from the audience as well). In fact, this was the loudest facility of the many that I have visited – and in my opinion, is completely unacceptable and constitutes cruelty to these animals who are well-known for their exquisitely sensitive hearing. Further, the ambient and reverberating noises of the indoor facility pumps and maintenance systems may produce continuous noise from which the dolphins cannot escape” (source)

Many died in the nets as the capture process continued. By SSCS Cove Guardians December 13th, 2012

Many died in the nets as the capture process continued. Those dolphins unwanted for

captivity were  slaughtered for pet food and human consumption.
By SSCS Cove Guardians December 13th, 2012

Read More Here

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Idaho Humane caring for 64 pit bulls seized from dogfighting compound . Sadly, 11 Have had to be euthanized

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, Animal Rescue Stories, Cruelty to animals, Protection — 2 Comments
April 28, 2013

Idaho Humane caring for 64 pit bulls seized from dogfighting compound

Idaho Humane caring for 64 pit bulls seized from dogfighting compound

by KTVB.com and KING 5 Staff

Posted on April 9, 2013 at 8:06 PM

Updated Tuesday, Apr 9 at 8:19 PM

BOISE — A spokesperson for the Idaho Humane Society says one of the 64 pit bulls brought to Boise for care Monday night had to be euthanized.

The pit bulls were found at the scene of a triple murder in southeastern Idaho. They were loaded into trailers and truck beds Monday and taken to Boise.

Idaho Humane said the dogs are in very poor condition. The majority of the dogs are underweight and suffering from malnutrition. Many of the dogs had open lacerations and extensive scarring from old wounds. Many are suffering from skin, eye, and ear ailments resulting from neglect of their basic care. A few dogs have old injuries of broken bones that were left untreated.

Hannah Parpart, Idaho Humane Society, said one of the dogs was having seizures and was euthanized Tueday morning.

Despite their obvious neglect and poor treatment, the Idaho Humane Society found the majority of the dogs to be friendly and accepting of handling by people.

Investigators believe the dogs were part of a dog fighting operation at a rural ranch outside Holbrook in Oneida County.  Police discovered the bodies of two men and one woman at the property last Friday.  The search continues for the suspect.  Cash and several dozen marijuana plants were also found at the home.

Law enforcement requested the dogs be moved to the Idaho Humane Society in Boise because it is the largest Humane Society in the state.  Once the pit bulls arrive, veterinarians will begin administering any necessary medical treatment.

“Sixty-four dogs, kind of triaging them all at once and trying to assess all their medical needs at once, is going to be a challenge,” said Parpart.  “And then finding space to house that many dogs at once as well.”

Parpart says the Idaho Humane Society had to relocate most of its adoptable dogs to its PetSmart adoption center to make room for the 64 pit bulls.

“Our staff is well prepared for dealing with a large number of animals and processing them through and giving them the medical attention they need, it just takes some shuffling of resources,” said Parpart.

Through this Friday, the Idaho Humane Society is reducing its adoption prices for dogs and cats by 50 percent to try and free up some space at the shelter.

Once the pit bulls are healthy, they will be evaluated for behavioral issues.

“We’re being realistic with these dogs knowing their backgrounds, but we’re definitely going to look at each dog individually to see, assessing them for adoptability,” said Parpart.

If the dogs are determined to be adoptable, Parpart says it will likely be sometime before that can happen.

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Read More Articles  and  See Additional Photos Here

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11 pit bulls taken from Idaho dogfighting operation euthanized

Credit: Zach Stotland/ KTVB

by KTVB.COM

Posted on April 27, 2013 at 1:09 PM

Updated yesterday at 1:20 PM

BOISE — Three of the 63 pit bulls rescued from a murder scene at a dog fighting operation in southern Idaho have been transferred to a rescue organization in California, according to the Idaho Humane Society.

The move marks the first step in moving the dogs into the care of people who can rehabilitate them, according to humane society staff.

 

Credit: Idaho Humane Society

Picture here are two of first three pitbulls to be transferred to a Los Angeles Pit Bull rescue organization in the wake of tragic

Spokesperson Hannah Parpart says pit bulls Helena, Hershey, and Granny are headed to Angel City Pit Bulls, a nonprofit rescue organization dedicated to creating a better future for the breed in Los Angeles.

Photo of enclosure  where dogs  were  found

Pilot Peter Roark with the nonprofit Dog is My Copilot organization was able to fly the pit bulls to Los Angeles on Friday.

Unfortunately, the future wasn’t so bright for several other dogs.

Parpart said 11 of the pit bulls had to be euthanized due to dangerous behavior.

“We knew right from the get-go that there was a group we’d have to euthanize,” Parpart said, describing their behavior as “hyper focused” on fighting other dogs, and saying staff felt they wouldn’t be safe in homes.

The good news: Parpart says the humane society is trying to clear about 11 to 12 dogs for local adoption, but most won’t be ready to go until next weekend.

“We’re still talking to people and doing the match-making business,” Parpart said.

Those who want to contact the humane society about the adoption should call: (208) 342-3508

In the meantime, the Idaho Humane Society is still trying to find rescue organizations throughout the United States to accept the remaining 40 dogs, which are expected to need further behavioral help and socialization.

Read More Articles and See Additional Photos Here

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Ag Gag Laws : My Question Is …….Can The Companies Be Trusted To Be Open and Honest About the Realities of How They Treat The Animals Sold To Us As Food?

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Cruelty to animals, Food Production, Food Safety, Freedom of Information, Hypocrisy, Ineptitude, Lack Of Transparency, Unethical — Leave a comment
April 18, 2013

Friday, April 12, 2013

Duke Professor Suggests Simple Solution to Counter “Ag-Gag” Laws 

Activist Post

The old maxim that if you knew how sausage was made you would never eat it has been highlighted by many undercover videos taken by employees of factory farming operations and activists alike.

In response, the industry has increasingly lobbied for “Ag-Gag” laws that criminalize whistleblowing and undercover investigations, essentially rendering animal cruelty completely invisible.

Arguably, animal rights activists are the most tenacious; so much so, that they have routinely been labeled anarchists and terrorists by various governmental organizations the world over. Yet, beyond the general demonization campaign of anyone who professes sympathy for the proven suffering of factory farm animals, we arrive at much the same question asked by those who wish to know if their food has been genetically modified — Do consumers have the right to independently investigate the origin and production of the food they choose (and pay) to ingest?

The Big Ag lobby has countered investigations into animal cruelty and health hazards at industrial farm facilities with issues rooted in contractual agreements that bind employees to certain conduct, and the issue of private property rights.

Karen De Coster summarized the legal and moral issues very well when she stated:

Indeed, there is a libertarian case to be made for private property rights, and thus the owners of property banning the filming of their business matters – right or wrong – within the confines of their property lines. This is something the public has a tough time dealing with because the emotional issues (animal abuse, disease, and degrading quality food) override reason in terms of understanding property rights and non-aggression against those rights. For instance, these same people would never allow for “whistleblowers” to enter their home property to film so-called “inappropriate” goings-on within their home. But while it is libertarian, and perfectly reasonable, for a private food producer to disallow video and photography on private property, there is a larger, moral issue here. (source)

We initially reported on new legislation in early 2011, and said the following in regards to both morality and the clear health impacts of being kept in the dark:

Strangely, consumers may actually want to know if their meat is being electrocuted, beaten, or ground up alive as some recent videos have exposed. Consumers may also want to know what the animals eat, if they ever see sunlight, if they are injected with chemicals, or even genetically cloned. Since the FDA does little to shine light on these and other concerns, activists have been the only source of this information. Now, they will face jail time for doing so if this measure passes. (source, with some horrific videos)

Read Full Article Here

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Father Frank Mann’s Awakening to Compassion for Animals

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, Animal Rescue Stories, Animal Testing, Cloning, Conservation, Cruelty to animals, Farm Animals as Pets, Goodwill, Humanity, Poaching, Protection, Research, Wildlife — 1 Comment
April 4, 2013

Published on Mar 25, 2013

Father Mann organized the Tablet Forum’s May 10, 2013, NYC premiere of Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home, an award-winning documentary about farmers and their change of heart about animals. Father Mann is a gifted writer and speaker known for his infectious enthusiasm and warm sense of humor. The Tablet Forum events offer attendees the chance to view films, hear speakers, and participate in discussion of a wide range of topics which foster community and celebrate the potential we each have to make a difference for those most in need. The May 10 film premiere is a free event that is open to the public. Learn more at http://www.tribeofheart.org/tabletforum

Father Mann’s own journey has been inspired by visionaries such as Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, who have shown compassion and moral leadership in the face of injustice. He recently had a deep personal awakening to the plight of animals, and has since incorporated the values of veganism and animal rights into his spiritual life and vision of a more just and peaceful world.

The New York City premiere of Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home is the first Tablet Forum to explore the ethical dimensions of our society’s relationship to animals.

Order free tickets for this May 10, 2013 event at http://www.tribeofheart.org/nyctix

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What's it like inside a factory farm?

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, Cruelty to animals, Protection, ReBlogged — 5 Comments
March 30, 2013

Reblogged from misebogland:

Click to visit the original post

Flies, Maggots, Rats, and Lots of Poop: What Big Ag Doesn't Want You To See |

What's it like inside a factory farm? If the livestock and meat industries have their way, what little view we have inside the walls of these animal-reviewing facilities may soon be obscured. For the second year in a row, the industry is backing bills in various statehouses that would criminalize undercover investigations of livestock farms.

Read more… 986 more words

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Man Shoots Horse Dead in Video to Defy Animal Activists | Shoots horse in the head

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, crime, Cruelty to animals, Depravity, Greed, Irrational Violence, Legislation, Politics, Legislation and Economy News, Power Struggle, Protection, Special Interests, Unethical — Leave a comment
March 23, 2013

Sally Jason

Published on Mar 22, 2013

Man Shoots Horse Dead in Video to Defy Animal Activists Shoots horse in the head

Impatient with a virtual US ban on slaughtering horses for meat, a worker for Valley Meat Company in Roswell, New Mexico, shot a horse in the head and posted it on You Tube to express his contempt for animal advocates. In fact, he swore at humane society members as he pulled the trigger the other day.

(If you have the stomach for it, you can watch the unedited video here, but be prepared for barbaric graphic cruelty.)

The stunning act of defiant brutality is the entryway into a far bigger and ominous story about slaughtering horses. According to a local television news station in New Mexico:

In the video, an employee at the Valley Meat Company out of Roswell, NM – which is working with the USDA to get a horse slaughter plant in the area – brings a horse out of its pen, swears at activists and then kills the horse with a single gunshot.

“To all you animal activists, f**k you,” Tim Sappington, a maintenance contractor with Valley Meat Company, said in the video.

He then shoots the horse point blank in the head. The horse falls to the ground and dies.

The owner of Valley Meat Company condones the execution of the horse, but told NBC News, he wouldn’t have posted it on the Internet.

“De Los Santos [the owner of Valley Meat Company] said the contract worker, Tim Sappington, shot the video on his own time and at his own home.

“He shot a horse. That’s what he eats. It’s not against the law to slaughter your own horse,” De Los Santos said. “Now, putting it on YouTube, I would not have done that.”

And this is where the story breaks wide open. According to a February 28 New York Times article, De Los Santos and his Valley Meat Company have sued the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to open a fully operational horse slaughterhouse in Roswell. If the USDA approves Valley Meat Company’s request — which has already invested in equipping the abattoir plant — it would become the first US horse slaughterhouse since 2007:

The United States Department of Agriculture is likely to approve a horse slaughtering plant in New Mexico in the next two months, which would allow equine meat suitable for human consumption to be produced in the United States for the first time since 2007.

The plant, in Roswell, N.M., is owned by Valley Meat Company, which sued the U.S.D.A. and its Food Safety and Inspection Service last fall over the lack of inspection services for horses going to slaughter. Horse meat cannot be processed for human consumption in the United States without inspection by the U.S.D.A., so horses destined for that purpose have been shipped to places like Mexico and Canada for slaughter.

Justin DeJong, a spokesman for the agriculture department, said that “several” companies had asked the agency to re-establish inspection of horses for slaughter. “These companies must still complete necessary technical requirements and the F.S.I.S. must complete its inspector training,” he wrote in an e-mail referring to the food inspection service, “but at that point, the department will legally have no choice but to go forward with the inspections.”

He said the Obama administration was urging Congress to reinstate an effective ban on the production of horse meat for human consumption that lapsed in 2011.

“We now have the very real prospect of a horse slaughtering plant operating in the U.S. for the first time in six years,” said Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States. The last plant that slaughtered horse meat for human consumption in the United States closed in 2007, after Congressional approval of an appropriations bill that included a rider forbidding the U.S.D.A. from financing the inspection of such meat. That rider was renewed in subsequent appropriations bills until 2011, when Congress quietly removed it from an omnibus spending act.

So an employee of the owner of what will apparently be the first horse slaughterhouse in the US since 2007 — in a perverse way — is celebrating the likely go-ahead with a horse snuff film.

 

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Tim Sappington, Valley Meat Contractor, Films Himself Shooting Horse

Hoping to “send a message to Animal Rights activists”:

These people really have no shame/ Can’t wait to see what ALF makes of this guy

By Jeri Clausing

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Internet video that shows a meat company employee swearing at animal activists before shooting a horse in the head highlights the increasing emotional intensity of the national debate over whether a New Mexico plant should be allowed to resume domestic horse slaughter.

Animal rights groups this week uncovered a video posted by a former employee of Valley Meat Co., which has been fighting the United States Department of Agriculture for more than a year for approval to convert its former cattle slaughter operation into a horse slaughterhouse.

horse2

Valley Meat Co. owner Rick De Los Santos said the employee, who was let go this week, was reacting to harassment by animal rights activists who have targeted the plant since its plans were made public about a year ago. The harassment has worsened since the video, made a year ago, was uncovered this week, he said.

“We are getting lots of threats: that we better watch our back, watch who is around us, that they hope our kids and families get killed, ugly stuff,” De Los Santos said Friday.

 

The video shows Tim Sappington of Dexter leading a seemingly healthy horse by a rope to a spot in a dirt road. He strokes his nose and neck, says, “All you animal activists, (expletive) you,” then shoots it in the head.

Chaves County Sheriff Rob Coon said the department is bracing for things to get worse as the company nears a final inspection by federal regulators with the hope of opening horse slaughter operations next month.

 

Read Full Post  at  Earth First Newswire

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Humane Society Seeks Donations for its Statewide Emergency Medical Fund; Charity Inundated with Requests for Help

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, Animal Rescue Stories, Cruelty to animals, Protection, ReBlogged — 14 Comments
March 21, 2013

Reblogged from WGNO:

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(Humane Society of LA) - The Humane Society of Louisiana, a statewide humane society based in New Orleans, is seeking donations to help replenish its Emergency Medical Fund. Recently, the Humane Society has been flooded with calls for assistance from financially-challenged pet owners seeking medical attention for their animals and having to provide emergency care for animals that were criminally neglected.

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Scientists Want To Bring 24 Animals Back From Extinction

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, Beauty Of Nature, Chemicals, Climate Change, Cloning, Conservation, Crimes, Cruelty to animals, Deforestation, Environmental, Fraud, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Geo Engineering, Greed, Land, Nature, Poaching, Pollution, Preservation, Protection, Research, Research, Science, Seas / Oceans, Special Interests, Species Extinction., Unethical, Wildlife — Leave a comment
March 18, 2013

A noble undertaking to  be  sure.  Were  it not for the  simple  fact that  Science has  not  , for the  most  part, respected the  right of creatures  to  exist in an environment  that  is suitable  for  their rightful existence.  Science  and  mankind  alike  have, for the  most  part,  considered  only it’s pleasure  and curiosity where   animals  are  concerned.  They have  neither  respected  their  lives  nor  their  habitats.  Always  putting their  selfish  needs  before  anything else. 

Which  leads  one  to  wonder as  to the  why of  this  undertaking?  I  would  venture  to say   it is  all for the  greater  glory  of their  Scientific  careers.  They  nether  care  nor  are  concerned  with the  well being  or  happiness of  any of these  creatures.  The  proof is in the lack  of impetus where pollution, experimental animal  research and  deforestation are  concerned.  Just  look  at the  palm oil plantations  flourishing  at the  expense of  the  Orangutang ,  the  bees  and  pollinators   dying off  due to  GMO’s.   The  Whale, porpoise and a  long  list  of  sea life.   The endless  list  of   animals  that  are  endangered,  being  poached and savaged on a  daily  basis, and then  there is  always   the commercialization of the  creatures.    Aquariums for  profit,  Zoos that confine  these  poor  animals to cages or  concrete  pens in many  cases in   environments that  are  completely  alien  and  detrimental to the  species.  Exotic  animals  captured and  sold for the  highest dollar to people  who think they  are  pretty  and since they  have  the  money   why  not ?   Of course if they  can  afford it  they  want  what  no one  else has, regardless of the morality of  such a desire.  Avarice and social standing know  no  limits to   satiating  these desires

Photograph by Tim Laman

A lesser bird of paradise flaunts his flank plumes to entice females.

Purchase this print »

www.timlaman.com

 

Who  cares  what  these poor  creatures  had to endure  to  make it  to  that pet shop or  dealer.  The only thing that  matters is they  got  what they  wanted , the  animal  be  damned.  After  all it is  just  an  animal  isn’t it ? 

Let’s not  forget  the  Circus,  animals  taken  from their  mothers  at  a young  age   that  are  savagely   beaten and traumatized to  conform for the  amusement  of those  willing to  pay for the entertainment  and for the profit of  those unethical beasts  that mistreat and terrorize  them on a  daily  basis.  Their  suffering is  of  no consequence and  trivial  to those  who  want to  possess  them.

 

 Image Source                                                             Image Source

 

Image Source                                                 Image source

In light of  the cruelty  and  callousness with  which  humanity has  treated  the  creatures  of this planet,  I  would venture  to  say  they are  better  off  as  a part  of  history   than   part  of the  next  series of  experiments  for the  glory  of greedy  and  soulless enterprises.

~Desert Rose~

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Jennifer Welsh | Mar. 17, 2013, 10:39 AM

On Friday at a National Geographic sponsored TEDx conference, scientists met in Washington, D.C. to discuss which animals we should bring back from extinction. They also discussed the how, why, and ethics of doing so.They called it “de-extinction.”

There are a few guidelines for which ancient species are considered, and sadly, dinosaurs are so long dead they aren’t in the picture. Their DNA has long ago degraded, so researchers are fairly sure that Jurassic Park will never happen.

But there are plenty of other animals on the table. The list of candidates is actually pretty long, considering.

Here are the 24 animals they are hoping to one day resurrect.

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10 Animals That Were Hunted To Extinction

Tasmanian tiger (Extinct since 1936)

Tasmanian Tiger

Wikipedia

Tasmania Tigers were hunted by humans to extinction

Woolly Mammoth (Extinct for ~10,000 years)

Dodo Bird (Extinct since ~1681)

Stellar’s Sea Cow (Extinct since 1768)

Passenger Pigeon (Extinct since 1914)

Passenger Pigeon (Extinct since 1914)

Stuffed passenger pigeon on display at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Wikipedia/Keith Schengili-Roberts

Bubal Hartebeest (Extinct since ~1954)

Javan Tiger (Extinct since ~1970s)

Zanzibar leopard (Extinct since ~1990s)

Pyrenean Ibex (Extinct since 2000)

Western Black Rhino (Extinct 2011)

Western Black Rhino (Extinct 2011)

Na Son Nguyen/AP

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For Those Of Us who Love Animals And  Understand  Why They Need To Be  Protected.  This  One Is For You !!
British photographer Tim Flach is known for taking human-like photographs of animals. His latest body of work, called “More Than Human,” captures the emotions of wild creatures through intensely close shots — like the stunning picture of a gorilla below.

The intimate animal portraits, which feature everything from a featherless chicken to a pair of affectionate chimpanzees, are meant to illuminate the similarities between animal poses, gestures, and gazes, and our own.

Photographing animals on a set, as opposed to in their natural habitat comes with a unique set of challenges.

“You can never predict an animal’s mood,” Flach says on his website. “So you have to plan beforehand to get what you want.” To make the animals feel as comfortable as possible, Flach may adjust the temperature of the studio or play music.

You can purchase a hardcover copy of Flach’s animal portraits here or visit his website to see more of the award-winning photographer’s work.

…

A chimpanzee affectionately cradles its child.

A chimpanzee affectionately cradles its child.

See The Animals

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Starving dog named Springer is on the road to recovery after he was found caged and dehydrated in a foreclosed home

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, Animal Rescue Stories, Cruelty to animals, Protection — 10 Comments
March 7, 2013

They  really  need  to  make  sentences  for  animal  cruelty and  animal abuse  more  substantial

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By Lydia Warren

PUBLISHED: 13:24 EST, 6 March 2013 | UPDATED: 13:27 EST, 6 March 2013

A dog who was found starving and locked in a cage at a foreclosed home is on the road to recovery, authorities have said.

The three-year-old dog, an Australian Shepherd mix, was found on February 22 by a real estate agent who was changing the locks at a foreclosed home in Leland, North Carolina.

The animal was found locked in a crate and was so severely dehydrated and malnourished that he could not move his hind legs, according to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office.

WARNING: Disturbing content

Cruel: This emaciated dog, an Australian Shepherd mix, was found abandoned at a foreclosed homeCruel: This emaciated dog, an Australian Shepherd mix, was found abandoned at a foreclosed home

Disturbing images of the emaciated animal show his spine protruding from his back with his ribs visible through his skin. Investigators believe he had been left in the cage for three weeks.

He was taken into the custody of Brunswick County Sheriff’s Animal Protective Services and was named ‘Springer’ by staff. Dental tests suggest he is around three years old.

He remains at the unit and deputies have already had several inquiries from members of the public about adopting the dog, Emily Flax from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department said.

‘He is recovering wonderfully,’ Flax said. ‘He is very, very sweet-natured, very energetic and playful. He’s a very good boy.’

Springer
Springer

On the mend: The dog, who is believed to be three years old, is being cared for by the animal unit at the sheriff’s department, where he was named ‘Springer’ by staff. He will be put up for adoption when he is well

Heartbreaking: Investigators believe Springer had been locked up in a cage in the home for three weeksHeartbreaking: Investigators believe Springer had been locked up in a cage in the home for three weeks

 

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‘Zero Dark 24′: Is animal testing really necessary?

Filed under: Animal Abuse, Animal Advocacy, Animal Testing, Cruelty to animals, Protection, Research — 2 Comments
March 2, 2013

animal testing blogs 300x225 Zero Dark 24: Is animal testing really necessary?

(Getty Images)

It has been described as ‘vile and immoral’ and refers to the small dark hours of the night when we are assumed to be asleep but while the suffering continues in shadowy secrecy. You can be forgiven if you think I’m about to condemn the film ‘Zero Dark Thirty’. No, I’m talking about another form of torture endorsement: the institutionally embedded secrecy that surrounds animal experimentation. The movie has proven hugely controversial for its normalisation of torture, Section 24 wages controversy for its cover up of torture. Both offer a glimpse into the dark heart of the state that employs extreme security to shield its actions from democratic accountability.

Section 24 is known as ‘the secrecy clause’ of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act and allows scientists to automatically hide anything and everything behind this wall of secrecy: it makes it a criminal offence to reveal any detail even to Parliament. But now that the latest EU Directive 2010/63 has been transposed into UK law, our government is obliged to review this section in mind of the fundamental tenet of the EU Directive of public accountability and access to information. As it stands, Section 24 offers a feast for abuse, regulation breaches and lack of accountability and campaigners are calling for its abolishment.

But whereas the movie may be just that (a movie not even a documentary) and Bigelow has pleaded her right to spend private largesse to ‘create works of art’, Section 24 is about scientists using public money and resources to research our health. It is understandable, then, that a little more accountability is expected from our scientists than from block buster movie makers. More pertinently, where films such as these are fast paced dramas appealing to our emotions and sentimentality, science is directed by the impartial standards of rational and reason where the facts, if permitted, speak for themselves. Above all, in science’s search for truth it depends critically upon rigorous scrutiny and evaluation of all the evidence from all sides. This can only be possible if we are granted access to information.

Yet, the fascinating length animal researchers go to deny access to information that cover up some quite grotesque acts inherent in animal testing has something in it of the tragic sense of life. If scientists are able to perfectly master the art of breaking a spine before taking a tea break or coolly dispense with a lethal shot of chemical and then light a cigarette. They should be able to justify what they do all in a day’s work. But it would seem openness is exactly what is so difficult for a sector where security is ‘top priority’. Theirs is apparently a campaign for furtive concealment and prohibition ours for openness, fairness and answer ability.

Their PR machine replaces the word ‘killing’ with ‘sacrifice’ and the public is reassured that procedures such as poisoning, electrocuting and gassing are practiced ‘humanly’ and in accordance with ‘high animal welfare standards’. As if brutal and enduring violence when practiced by scientists can become any more painless and humane. Methods to induce a state of learned helplessness like allowing a creature to struggle in deep water until he is on the point of drowning, subjecting animals to repeated electric shock treatments or forcing them to exercise until they collapse from exhaustion (point 4) are unimaginably macabre. ‘Conditioning’ techniques to them, torture to everybody else. Is all this propaganda or just science language?

Read Full Article Here

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