Today’s World Animal Day, celebrated across the globe since a 1931 convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy, conceived of it as a way to highlight the plight of endangered species. They chose October 4 because it’s the Catholic Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Since then, people have used the
Here’s a nice video of and song about elephants, courtesy of one of our great Planetsave readers/musicians. Here’s more information on the video from the musician who contacted us, Jan Schnell: With the help of some top Danish musicians, I have made a music video tribute to the African Elephant. It is a positive
First things first — stay calm. People tend to panic and think unclearly when faced with stressful situations.. take a deep breath and relax.
A recent report from the West Virginia Racing Commission has revealed that over 152 greyhound dogs have been euthanized, due to injuries acquired while racing, since 2005. The injuries occur because of the design of the tracks’ first turn. I would think that a greyhound racetrack that makes thousands on a daily basis could afford
Here are some top global warming and environmental stories from the last day or so: Global Warming Politics Anti-Koch Rally (or Rallies) A great video on the Koch Brother Billionaire Bash protests and Uncloak Koch Rally from the other 98%: More on Schmitt We covered a couple pieces going into depth on astronaut Harrison Schmitt’s
Denmark’s largest newspaper, Ekstra Bladet, activists from the animal welfare organization ANIMA, and Danish TV2 have revealed horrible animal cruelty at mink and fox farms in Denmark. Some of the things they caught on camera were a fox with three legs lagging around in its cage; a fox with a mouth full of abscesses; a
Chris Aultman is the helicopter pilot and Aviation Director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. He served for six years in the United States Marine Corps prior to joining the Sea Shepherd team. During that period Chris spent 13 months at sea and became a veteran of the Gulf War. Aultman’s first experience with
Nine monkeys escaped from an Oregon Health & Science University animal testing lab after a cage was left unlocked. Four were shortly re-captured and four others have been spotted on campus — but one has entirely eluded authorities. [social_buttons] “One of our cage cleaners accidentally left a lock off a cage,” said Jim Newman, a
The Humane Society of the United States has returned to court in attempt to stop the sea lion cull near the Bonneville Dam in Washington and Oregon. [social_buttons] Hundreds of sea lions may be trapped and killed in a program aiming to increase the salmon population in the river. The animal welfare group argues that
Weeks before the planned start to the hunting season, Russia’s natural resources minister announced a ban on hunting seals under 1 year old today. The move spares up to 35,000 seals. [social_buttons] “The bloody sight of the hunting of seals, the slaughter of these defenseless animals, which you cannot even call a real hunt, is
HBO will premier a new documentary titled “Death on a Factory Farm” tomorrow at 10 pm EST. [social_buttons] The film is a sequel to 2006’s Emmy-nominated “Dealing Dogs,” which exposed the illegal market for dogs sold to research labs through an undercover investigation by a man going by “Pete.” Well, Pete is back again and
Within a matter of months, activists have succeeded in changing a store from a puppy mill vendor to an animal rescue venture. A pet store in the small town of Elyria, Ohio was the target of intense protests by animal rights activists for months before deciding to close down. Now, a new owner is opening
The Canadian seal hunt comes around once a year, and along with the hunt comes the international day of action against it: March 15th. [social_buttons] This year is looking more promising than ever. The European Union is considering a complete ban on seal products, a bill to ban the hunt has been introduced in the
A syndicated news story made its way into multiple English papers earlier this week claiming that arsonists with the Animal Liberation Front inadvertently killed dozens of birds in an attack on a zoo in Italy. Now the New York Times has reported that this may not be the case: [social_buttons] “A recent such protest in
Apparently sea lions like salmon a little too much. People in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are threatened — they want all the tasty salmon for themselves. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit of an oversimplification. But I have to wonder — if salmon didn’t taste good, would people be going to such great lengths
Scientists in Florida have come up with a strange way to stop crocodiles from crawling into cities and towns. [social_buttons] Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is testing a program to strap magnets onto the heads of crocodiles that wander into developed areas, saying the magnet could “break the homing cycle” and prevent them from
The US Fish and Wildlife Service rejected an attempt by trophy hunters to re-allow shipments of polar bear parts from countries where it is legal to kill the embattled species. [social_buttons] The Humane Society of the United States lobbied the agency hard against the proposed reopening of the trade. The animals are listed as a
Animal rights activists have filed suit against Washington’s King County to dispute a state-wide law that essentially allows farmers to decide what treatment is humane and what is not. [social_buttons] In a press release, the Northwest Animal Rights Network declared that “Foxes should not be guarding the henhouse” and argued that the law is against
The Animal Legal Defense Fund is celebrating their annual Justice For Animals Week by asking people to partake in a new, specific action for animals every day this week. [social_buttons] For the first day, they’re asking people to help spread the word by telling friends on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere to visit their site to
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently re-launched the ‘McCruelty’ campaign against the fast food giant McDonald’s, saying of their treatment of animals, “I’m hatin’ it.” The original campaign against McDonald’s was launched in 2000, and after the company worked with PETA to make some basic animal welfare changes, the campaign was withdrawn.
The 120-year-old lobster was out the door and heading towards freedom, but then an obstinate UPS driver wouldn’t agree to give the lobster’s box careful handling on its way back to the Atlantic. [social_buttons] Craig the 20-pound lobster made headlines after PETA asked Brooklyn restaurant owner Gina Ng to allow the animal to be released
The parents of a 5-year-old Australian boy who was eaten by a 14-foot-long crocodile have asked authorities not to euthanize the animal, presumably recognizing that the crocodile was merely protecting its river home from an intruder. [social_buttons] The parents run a crocodile sight-seeing business, so it seems that they must understand that the animal is
Often animals will show signals of disaster long before the human population is affected, leading researchers to seek widespread information of wildlife fatalities for both the safety of people and other animals. [social_buttons] While data of wildlife fatalities or infection exists in different agencies across the US, researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Shackled, Beaten, Abused is the tagline of a new PETA ad designed to raise awareness about the mistreatment of captive elephants. It features Celina Jaitley, who is a popular actress in India. Last year she also participated in an elephant conservation fundraiser in Switzerland that raised one million francs.
Thousands of gray seals could be spared particularly brutal deaths this year because sealers have been unable to find a buyer for the pelts. [social_buttons] This news comes as the European Union considers a ban on all seal products, an action which some think drove typical pelt buyers to rethink their purchase this year. Multiple
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/do9AoKyjjQg&hl=en&fs=1] First-hand video shows an Australian firefighter finding a lone koala amid the charred remnants of a forest. He’s a lucky survivor of the brush fires that have swept the country for the past few days. “It was amazing, he turned around, sat on his bum and sort of looked at me with (a look)
Organizers have announced a three-day music festival to take place in Port Lympne Wild Animal Park that will feature over 200 bands, visual artists, and poets. Half the profits from the event will be donated to the Aspinall Foundation.
Activists in Portland, Ore. really know how to make a scene in a shopping mall. [social_buttons] Four women dressed as cheerleaders chanted and danced in front of a pet store known to sell sick puppies from puppy mills yesterday before mall security decided they’d had enough. Instead of detaining the cheer leaders, they decided to
Animals Asia Foundation rescued thirteen black bears from government-approved stomach bile farms in southwest China today. [social_buttons] The bears had holes punched in their stomachs to allow bile to drip out for traditional Chinense medicinal use. The bears were found in poor condition suffering with anything from blindness to cancers. Bear bile farms, however, are
City officials in Houston, Texas have fired a veterinarian who has acted as a whistle-blower against botched and cruel operations on pets in the past. [social_buttons] But Kathy Barton, a health department spokesperson, said Gil Costas has been fired because he failed to file registration to handle controlled substances and drugs with the Department of
The Sea Shepherd crew reports that the Japanese whaling fleet managed to kill one whale today, even in the midst of a hot pursuit from the anti-whaling ship, the Steve Irwin. [social_buttons] Captain Paul Watson deployed his two small boats to the Nisshin Maru, the whaling fleet’s factory ship, where crew members threw “rotten butter
We wrote this week about the Defenders of Wildlife’s new campaign (and TV spot) against Sarah Palin and her plan to legalize aerial hunting of wolves from helicopters. Palin’s PR team was quick to the punch and issued this strongly-worded (yet weak on facts) response: It is reprehensible and hypocritical that the Defenders of Wildlife
Airport customs in Melbourne, Australia found that a man was carrying bird eggs in his pocket before also noticing that he had two live pigeons wrapped in paper and stuffed inside his pants. [social_buttons] The 23-year-old Australian had just returned on a flight from Dubai. If convicted of smuggling charges, the man could face 10
The Los Angeles Zoo’s controversial $42-million Pachyderm Forest development, which would house their lone asian elephant named Billy, has attracted a number of celebrity endorsements, including Guns n’ Roses’ guitarist Slash. [social_buttons] But today we learned that the animal rights side of the table, which wants to send Billy to the Performing Animal Welfare Society
Canadian Geese are normally highly migratory birds, flying hundreds of miles every year. So it follows that their feces is typically spread out, but in some parts of Connecticut, geese have decided to stay put year-around. Now their poo is piling up and many are concerned about its impact on the water supply. [social_buttons] Researchers
At first, when PETA offered Michael Vick a chance to star in a PSA against dog fighting, he jumped at the opportunity, probably hoping it would help clear his name. [social_buttons] But now, PETA is having second thoughts — saying they want him to take psychological tests and receive an MRI to show he’s physically
Soon-to-be-President Barack Obama has appointed animal advocate Cass Sunstein to head the relatively obscure, yet powerful Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The regulatory czar, as the position is generally called, is responsible for every regulatory agency in the country, such as the EPA, and will oversee all administration rules. Sunstein is best known for
Contributions to animals welfare and rights organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals rose 11 percent in 2007 (the most recent figures available), even with the economic downturn that began that year. The farming industry-friendly Animal Agriculture Alliance attributes this rise in funding as playing a key role in the increase in
PETA has teamed up with the Experience Project to request that people try being vegetarian for 30 days. In return, PETA will donate to The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, an organization which plants fruit trees in poor villages all over the world.
On Saturday Canada issued new regulations for its annual seal slaughter, banning the skinning of live seals and forbidding the use of the spiked weapon called a hakapik on seals over one-year-old. Unfortunately, most seals killed in the hunt are under a year old so the law will not alter the cruel deaths many seals
British activists may receive up to 14-year jail sentences for blackmail and conspiracy to blackmail executives of and suppliers to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a company notorious for testing on animals. Three of them pled guilty to conspiracy charges, while four others denied the charges and were found guilty of conspiracy. One person was cleared. They
Cruelty against cats is increasing in Guangdong, China, where over 10,000 domesticated cats are eaten daily. The cats, some of which are apparently being stolen from people’s houses, are transported in small cages to restaurants in the town where they are then cooked, often while they are still alive. Activists in China are taking a
After last week’s flame-broiled blatant marketing ploy by Burger King, PETA has come up with their own: a meat-scented perfume that smells like rotting flesh. PETA clearly saw the success of Burger King’s campaign and wanted in on the action.
A video has been flying around the Russian blogosphere of two people dumping about 20 dead and dying sheep onto the streets to oppose what the media have called an anti-government rally. [social_buttons] The sheep were dressed in blue T-shirts and hats reading “Solidarity” and most had their legs broken. The sheep that were still
In response to an advertisement from the Center for Consumer Freedom claiming that the Humane Society funds terrorists, GreenIsTheNewRed.com is offering a prize to the person who can link the the Center to terrorist activity in the fewest steps.
Taking advantage of the shriveling stock market, PETA has been purchasing more and more shares in meaty companies, including popular chain establishments like Domino’s Pizza, California Pizza Kitchen, and Sonics. The surge in stock purchases comes shortly after PETA’s call for donations not only to them, but to other animal rights organizations also hurting in
As the number of tigers decline, Indian wildlife authorities believe recent seizures of leopard-skins suggest that poachers are increasingly on the prowl for the country’s other big cat.
If you’re one of the millions of California voters who helped pass Proposition 2 on November 4, chances are pretty good that your Thanksgiving meal will include some sort of free-range, hormone-free dead bird—or, if you fall into the veg camp, maybe a more benign Tofurky or Field Roast. But for illegal poachers like Peter
