Last month I attended a biology trip to the Liggens Institute. We all filed into the room and sat down in front on the projector. Informed by my teacher we would get the opportunity to carry out gel electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), two processes related to our current internal Biotechnology. However the speaker at the Liggins Institute had another agenda.

He announced we would begin with a quiz. Questions were asked on screen, mostly related to our internal. However we were then asked if we agree with the use of “animal models”. A being strongly
agree, B agree, C don’t know, D disagree and E strongly disagree. He asked us to write down the results. They are as follows: A-4 B-10 C-5 D-7 E-4. He said that there was no wrong or right answer and that we would be asked the same question at the end of the day to see if anything had changed. He also said he was not trying to make us give a particular answer, simply trying to educate us.

We were each given a booklet. Under ‘programme aims’ I noticed somethings strange, “develop your understanding of what a scientific model is and why they are valuable in scientific research”already on the second page I had a biased, not to mention, completely false statement forced upon me. If what
he said was true, that he was not trying to get us to agree with animal testing, then why was the word valuable used. Animal testing is not valuable; it is torture and produces completely false results because animals are so different to us.

The research being undertaking at the Liggins Institute currently is focused on how the fetal environment affects the individual in later life. An example of a “scientific model” was given where
pregnant rats were fed a high fat, nourishing or under nourishing diet. The fat percentage of each group of offspring was then compared. He tried to justify this experiment by telling us that the rats chose to eat the food. He failed to mention the rats were most likely murdered after the data was obtained. And that unlike humans used in experiments these rats did not volunteer and sign a contract. This particular example was also used because it is mild compared to most where the animal suffers extreme pain or death.

At the end of the day we were again asked the question regarding “animal models” and again asked to note down the resultsThey are as follows: A-8 B-16 C-2 D-2 E-2. This shows the duplicitous and sanitized nature of his statements worked and how people are so easily manipulated to believe something even though it comes from only one biased source.

Three scientists arrived nearing the end of the day to speak to us. One man, who worked at the University of Auckland, shared his current research into a cure for ‘lazy eye’ in individuals over 12 years of age. He believes that stimulating the brain with electrodes helps the eye recover focus. This was done on animals, and that he might be importing monkeys from Singapore to work with soon. My disgusted face did not match that of my peers who had so happily accepted this scenario.

The Liggins Institute pretends to further high school students education, when it fact it corrodes their minds with incorrect information, imposes disgusting ethics and removes their empathy which is after all what separates us from animals.

By Avril

The idea of equal rights of both humans and animals is, apparently, the most powerful statement of those, who fight against exploiting these marvelous creatures, their extermination, hunting and using in inappropriate purposes. 2011 was not only the year of crucial political transformations and economic reforms, but a period of prominent protests for animal rights as well, which could not but alert world society’s attention, as they occurred in both prosperous and developing countries.

One of the illustrious protests has been marked in March 2011 in Finland, which encouraged ten more countries to continue it in other areas. Specifically, ecologists of Finnish “OikeuttaEläimille” were remonstrating against cruel and disgustingly poor animal preserving in fur industries. On the basis of overview of certain such establishments, activists came to very sad conclusion: animals were kept injured, infected or even without limbs, not to speak about any veterinary treatment. On the contrary, the holders of these plants claimed that their fosters are in good hands and feel nothing, but well-being. It is impossible not to mention that Finnish protest even affected the results of parliamentary elections, when the activity of obvious leader (who appeared to be connected to state’s fur industry) was doubted by voters.

In September the protest against BFC Israel have emerged in front of the Embassy of Israel in Moscow, which opposed to laboratory experiments on monkeys this company conducted. Wearing the masks of monkeys, activists tried to deliver the claim of outrageous treatment to these funny animals. In particular, there were some statements about monkeys’ living in tiny cages until someone would like to buy them, afterwards they were sent to specific laboratories without their relatives and in depressed condition.

The suspicion about activity of protesters for animal rights appeared in Denmark in August, when thousands of minks (nearly 3500-7000 individuals) were released from cages on the farm, situated on the Funen Island of Assens community. However, the result was not so good, insomuch as 50 local hunters and inhabitants have caught or killed the most of fugitives almost during one evening, justifying their actions by potentially aggressive behavior of minks.

The demonstration against stray dogs killing in Ukraine was held in Leipzig on December.Their massive extermination is associated with arrangementof the European Football Championship 2012 in Ukraine and Poland. Under the motto "European Football Championship 2012 without killing animals" 80 people out ofAktion Fair Play (organization) came to the demonstration with posters and flyers, handing pictures of killed dogs to others. Instead of organizing certain dog shelters, these poor animals are hunted and burned in specialized crematories, and there were also evidences that dogs were alive before the process started. Many protestors brought their little pets to support the movement. In November, similar demonstrations were held in Potsdam and Kiel.

Probably, it would be appropriate to finish this article with the most unprecedented animal rights protest, which occurred in June, when 12 members of SpanishIgualdad Animal (Animal Equality in English) and EquaAnimal were arrested for a crime against natural environment (this accusation was likely to appear as the consequence of release of 20 thousand minks in  Santiago de Compostela). This event of national importance defined animal rights protestors as eco-terrorists, struggled with Spanish fur industry, which supported the repression wave in Spain.  The resonance this protest gained in the world society might resemble an attempt of criminalization of activists’ work.

Maria Kruk, an author for Species.com

This weekend we were luck enough to hold another stall for  the good vegan boys of The Mark of Man in Henderson :)

We also did one the next day on K'rd. We had a decent number of interested people come up and talk to us. It was awesome!

We have heaps of events over the next couple of weeks and we will be having lots of stalls so if you see us come say hi :)

Check out our pics from the weekend here.

Our poll has now closed and Huntly was the name you choose for little kitten :)

Last week he went home from the hospital with one of his rescuers  so that he can recover. He has gained good bladder function and is starting to use his legs but it will still be a slow path to recovery.

for An update from Huntly's rescuer turner carer:

Considering his predicament, he's affectionate and responsive. He loves mealtime & lying on his hottie. When kitten gets a bit of exercise out of the cage he zooms around the room dragging his legs. It's amazing how fast he can move. Sometimes he moves his back legs like he's trying to use them to walk, but it's very early days yet. He still needs weeks of cage rest.

It's great that he has bladder and bowel function. I didn't fancy having to catheterize him. I'm not sure what kitten makes of the resident German Shepherd that keeps going into his room and  staring at him!

The 1st of September means spring time, long nights, flowers and the return of warmth but for the bottle nosed dolphins who inhabit the waters of Taiji it Japan it means the beginning of the annual hunting season.

The plight of these dolphins has been famously highlighted by the award winning documentary The Cove. While the film was very popular around the world little appears to have changed for these dolphins. An article I read today stated that no dolphins had been caught yet and that Sea Sheppard Conservation Society are ‘monitoring’ the situation.

The article quoted Michael Dalton of Sea Shepherd who made a statement from Taiji. ``The dolphins need defenders at the cove today and tomorrow. If you came to Japan to save dolphins, the place to be is Taiji and the time to be here is now.'' 

I hope with all my heart that Sea Sheppard take action against this hunt before any dolphin blood is spilt.

My thoughts then turned to New Zealand when I read a statement from the Japanese government arguing that killing the dolphins (and whales) is no different from raising cows or pigs for slaughter. And I have to say I whole heartedly agree.

But rather than this being a justification for the slaughter I see it as a challenge to those in the west who find the slaughter of dolphins and whales abhorrent but are happy to chow down on a cow, fish, chicken or pig without a second thought as if their life is some how less valuable than that of a whale or dolphin.

Whether they are the dolphins in Taiji or the new spring lambs filling the paddocks in Aotearoa, animals are not ours to torture and kill for the sake of taste or profit. Please choose a plant based diet and show your support to those working to save our animal friends.