Published on October 30th, 2009
When I first read the news that NASA was going to start experimenting on monkeys with radiation to study the effects of deep space travel, my heart sunk. As an anthropologist who has studied non-human primates I have seen up close the emotions, the feelings, and the physical qualities we share with our evolutionary cousins. My mind went back to shooting chimps into space, not caring if they lived or died. To cruel (and now illegal) experiments of all kinds performed on our closest living relative.
Now NASA is planing to irradiate squirrel monkeys. Scientists are particularly interested in studying how the radiation impacts the monkeys’ central nervous systems and behaviors over time. Messing with the monkeys brains. Oh great!
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Published on August 8th, 2009
We have all been waiting for this day. Finally, shark repellent has arrived to the world… except this shark repellent is not used to save humans from sharks. No this shark repellent was made to save sharks from humans. With good reason, while only about 4 people die of unprovoked shark attacks each year, humans kill an estimated 73 million sharks each year. You do the math and tell me who is the biggest threat to whom?
Many sharks are inadvertently killed in fishing equipment used for tuna, swordfish, and other commercial fish. This is called bycatch. These unwanted sharks are often thrown back into the ocean dead, dying, or injured.
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Published on August 2nd, 2009
A 13-foot, 600-pound alligator was killed in a state-managed coastal preserve just north of the Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC) in Pasadena, Texas. The alligator, estimated to be 50-years-old, was a popular tourist attraction at the Center and possibly one of the largest gators in the state. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on August 1st, 2009
Since January, nearly 20 horses have been stolen and brutally killed in Florida. The latest horse was stabbed in the neck and most likely still alive when butchered.
Officials believe the mutilated horses are being killed for their meat which is being sold on the black market. Buying or selling horse meat is illegal in South Florida, according to Crime Stoppers. The killings, which are occurring in and around the Miami area, are leaving owners heartbroken and devastated at the loss and senseless brutality of their beloved horses. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 29th, 2009
Several years ago, orphaned baby Chhouk was found wandering alone in the forest without a foot. The endangered Asian baby elephant apparently lost his left front foot due to injuries sustained from a poacher’s snare.
Rescued in a remote area of northeastern Cambodia, the injured elephant was transported by truck to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center in what turned out to be a very difficult and treacherous 26-hour journey. Besides being severely malnourished, his stump was badly infected and nearly 5 inches of infected tissue was removed. Balance issues and severe strain made walking on three feet nearly impossible. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 29th, 2009
A man lost control of his car and caused mayhem in a Connecticut street, after two snakes escaped from his pants.
Angel Rolon told police that he lost control of his sports utility vehicle after the baby reptiles distracted him by slithering over the throttle and brake pedals. Eyewitnesses then report seeing the 20-year-old’s vehicle swerving as he made a desperate bid to catch the creatures.
Alas, his efforts were to no avail, and the SUV crashed into some nearby parked cars before overturning in a street in Hartford, Connecticut.
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Published on July 27th, 2009
Police agencies raided a Connecticut home on Sunday, just in the nick of time. 19 people were arrested in connection with a bird-fighting operation that was about to take place that very morning. While many people are familiar with cock-fighting and dog-fighting, this particular raid turned up something quite different. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 24th, 2009
Earlier this week, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released undercover video footage showing employees of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus allegedly abusing elephants and tigers.
The abuse, caught on tape by an undercover PETA investigator, allegedly occurred in seven different states across America over several months. The footage shows handlers allegedly whipping and beating 11 circus elephants in the face, chest, ears and legs with bullhooks. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 21st, 2009
Sealers wielding clubs for the purpose of killing seals attacked two journalists, one from the UK and one from South Africa, who were filming the brutal Namibian seal cull last week.
The journalists were then arrested and jailed at the Henties Bay Police Station in Namibia, and their camera and video was confiscated by authorities. The British and South Africa Embassies are demanding their immediate release.
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Published on July 15th, 2009
Image ©Beth Bader
Nine shark attack survivors will lobby the Senate to put new restrictions on fishing for sharks. The current legislation, Shark Fisheries Management Plan, implemented in the late 1990s, and the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 has failed to prevent thirty-two percent of the sharks and rays that live in the open ocean from being classified as “threatened” this year by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Read the rest of this entry »
