Stop Burying Pigs Alive 01/13/2011
In an effort to control South Korea's worst outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease the Government have ordered that over 1.23 million pigs and hundreds of thousands of cows, goats and deer be killed. Presumably to speed up this process up and save on the costs of slaughter pigs, in their thousands, are being buried alive in pits. I found these disturbing images on the Mercy for Animals blog. Surely the best way to stop the spread of Foot and Mouth disease is to not farm animals in the first place. I have never really heard of anyone getting a terrible disease from vegies.   Add Comment Emotions Transcend Species 12/26/2010
 Just over seven weeks ago two good friends of mine had a lovely little vegan boy called Liam. With two wonderful, intelligent and compassionate parents he is destined for a rich and fulfilling life; sadly he is one of the very lucky ones. Billions of human and non-human children all over the world are not so lucky. Last week I was reading the Stuff website as I do most days and came across an article which made me cry (also something that seems to happen most days – our world has both truly beautiful and truly disgusting things happening every day). The article titled ‘Mother dog finds her puppies drowned’ details how a female pitbull cross named Faith from Tauranga found her puppies drowned in an estuary on Saturday. According to the SPCA she only stopped howling, presumably in grief, yesterday and has been sitting in her kennel without moving. The article says that the six two-day old puppies were found in a plastic bag and that their drowning was obviously purposeful. Among the almost daily articles detailing animal cruelty this story really stood out to me because I am the proud mother a red nosed pitbull called Daisy (see picture of us above) and anything relating to pitbulls grabs my attention but also because of the very obvious distress and grief both the mother and father were going through after finding their dead puppies. It has been obvious to me for as long as I can remember that animals have the same feelings as me but for some reason not everyone sees this. I wanted to share this families story with as many people as possible so that people might actually start to understand the rich emotions that animals have and how they really are just like us. Below are picture from the NZ Herald of Faith and the father finding the puppies and the bag they were in. There is also one of Faith at the SPCA. Too often we hear stories of bags of puppies and kittens that have been dumped in streams, rubbish bins or on road sides. It is as if the people who do these things think that these animals are disposable, that their lives don’t matter and that the parents who’s babies have been taken are not going to suffer and grieve either. I recently read a book called The Inner World of Farm Animals; Their Amazing Social, Emotional and Intellectual Capacities by Amy Hatkoff. This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read and it should be compulsory reading for meat, egg and dairy consumers as well as animal advocates. Among the many stories were heaps about the bond between farmed animals and their young. Did you know that baby chicks cheep to their mother and siblings a couple of days before they hatch to let everyone know they are coming out soon? Or that every chick looks different and a mother hen can tell which ones are her babies? Cows have similar bonds with their calves. During our Dairy Investigation earlier this year a dairy farmer told us how cows on his farm often broke out of the paddocks to search for their stolen calves. This is sort of behaviour is not uncommon. Knowing this makes you wonder how anyone could justify taking a baby from their mother, regardless of the species, for profit or in the case of Faith above because they can not be bothered caring for the puppies. Liam’s mother loves him greatly and her bond with him is very strong. Recently we were talked about how since having Liam and establishing this bond with him she can now really understand what mother sheep, cows and pigs must feel with every stolen litter. Fortunately she will never be confined to a farrowing crate unable to even turn around to nuzzle Liam, nor will Liam be taken away from her to be grown, cut up and eaten. The agricultural industry treats parents as machines; fathers are there to produce sperm and mothers are made to churn out babies who are often taken away not long after birth to be mutilated by procedures such as de-beaking, castration and tail docking. The babies remain separated from their mothers and are grown until they are big enough to kill and eat. The ‘pet’ industry is similar in that the parents are nothing more than baby making machines, churning out profitable babies who are taken away from their mother well before weaning time so that they are ‘super cute’ and will fetch a higher price. Companion and farmed animals are no different to me or you. They have a full range of emotions; they have bonds with their children and friends, they feel pain, happiness, apprehension and fear. Next time you sit down to eat a steak, eat an egg or drink some milk think about how you would feel if your friend/child/sibling was taken from you, abused and butchered. Or think about how you feel if someone placed your child/friend/sibling in a plastic bag and drowned them just because they could not be bothered caring for them. The horror, pain and grief that you would feel is no different to that of any of the animals that we share this earth with. *** Please note that I do not think that human womyn have to be maternal or mothers and I support the right for womyn to have abortions, adopt out children and like myself choose to not have babies but there are also many womyn who maternal and who are mothers. I also do not think we should eat or harm human babies (or adults) in anyway. FIV Free and Neutered 12/03/2010
Huntly was finally neutered yesterday. During his operation he was also microchipped & had eighteen teeth extracted. The teeth had to be removed because he has severe gum disease caused by major neglect when he was a kitten. The best news is that Huntly tested negative for FIV & cat flu. We are so pleased about this as the chances of him being positive were very high. He also has good kidney function. YAY!!! Huntly's movement in his back legs continues to improve. He spends much of the day chasing flies & playing with his favourite toy "Furry Worm" [who kept him company during his stay @ the vet's]. He appears in very good spirits. Ate well this morning, & is showing no indication that he had a big operation yesterday. He's one tough little cat. Teeth and Balls 11/22/2010
 Huntly's walking is improving everyday & only when he gets tired does he drag his back legs. He's gained just over a kilogram in weight which is great because he was so malnourished when we discovered him. Huntly is getting on really well with the German Shepherd that shares our house. He likes jumping out from behind the furniture to give him a fright & the Shepherd is often seen throwing Huntly his rubber ball. The relationship that is developing between them is lovely to watch. Unfortunately Huntly's neutering couldn't be done today. His vet has found he has some major dental & gum issues. He has to be treated with antibiotics before he can be operated on in 2 weeks. Huntlywill be neutered & have the worst of his teeth removed. It's so sad to see such a young cat affected like this. He's in this state because of major neglect during his early development. He has probably had rickets too & will also be tested for feline AIDS... so all in all it wasn't good news. For a cat that is probably only 10 months old this is very unfair. However, his vet is very hopeful we can get him on the right track. She was impressed with his heartbeat & the size of his testicles. "The biggest balls" she'd ever seen apparently. I presume she meant within the feline range!! Huntly on the Move 11/13/2010
 Wee Huntly is going from strength to strength. We have a short video of him showing us how good he is a walking now :) You should check it out.  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. Little Huntly Has Come Home 09/17/2010
 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! Dolphin Slaughter Resumes 09/10/2010
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. Can Someone Please Mention the Animals 09/04/2010
 Some of us (from AFA) are in Christchurch this weekend working on our dairy investigation; well were supposed to be until the now infamous 4.35am struck this morning. Fast asleep in our hostel we were woken by massive thunderous noises and extreme shaking. We used our skills we learnt in primary school and secured ourselves in the doorways. When the shaking had finished we made our way outside into the bitter cold. From the outside our hostel seemed fine, with the exception of a few tiles that had fallen off the roof and then we heard water gushing. Apparently a 500 kilo chimney had fallen on to the roof of the hostel crushing water pipes; causing water to come pouring out of the roof. Eventually it was declared save and we went back inside. Then throughout the morning news filtered in and we realised the real magnitude of the earthquake, loss of power, exploding sewer mains, no water, buildings that have been destroyed and roads that opened up with gaping holes but remarkably no loss of life. This I thought was good news. Then at about 9am the vets in Auckland called to let me know that kitten was doing well; it was then that it dawned on me the lives they referred to on the radio were not taking into account all life but rather human life. For the rest of the day we listened intently to the radio and at no point did even one story mention the thousands of companion animals who will have been displaced in this earthquake. With all the talk of welfare centres, things we all need to do and State’s of Emergency not one mention of support for the local SPCA, what to do with stray animals if you find one or what to do if that much loved furry member of your family is missing. Earlier in the year my partner and I went to see a documentary called Mine about animals lost and found in Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I have not been able to stop thinking about this all day. During Katrina people were threatened with guns by State Troops if they wanted to take their dogs or cats on busses to shelters for displaced people, others chose to leave their animals, many tried to return and find them. Everything about it was a disaster. There was no appreciation or support by the State for the lives of these animals or the place they played in the lives of their families. All of the rescue work and care was left up to volunteer organisations. And in reality there was very little chance of families and their furry friends ever being re-united even if they all survived. So then I think about Christchurch; who is going to look after the many displaced animals, who is going to rescue them, who will manage a database of lost and found animals and what about those whose lives have been lost, how could that have been avoided? We have been trying to get in touch with the Canterbury SPCA all day to see what they needed and how we could help but have not been able to get through. The work that this agency will do during this tough time will be invaluable but undoubtedly it will not be enough, they are under resourced, under staffed and likely unprepared for this sort of event. And without being dramatic hundreds, if not thousands, animals will die as a result of this earthquake. Driving around today we have seen how hard emergency services are working and there is alot to do but at some point soon we need to recognise that the cats, dogs, cows, pigs, fish and birds that we share our lives with every day, who we love, pat, cuddle and feed are just as important as our own, they are members of our community and Civil Defence, the Government or whomever have plan for their rescue, care and return in times like this, just like they would our children, our parents and our friends. Likewise we, as parents and guardians, of these precious animals MUST have an evacuation plan for ALL family members, be they your children, your cat or your budgie. We MUST have a few days supply of the foods that they ALL need and water for everyone. Please do this today; make a plan and get supplies. We do not have the answers but we all need to start asking the questions. Someone needs to start talking about it, sooner rather than later. We will have some images of what we saw in Christchurch today as soon as we have better internet. For anyone looking for animals or those who have found animals and are caring for them please check: Kitten Can Feel His Toes :) 09/02/2010
 Today we got some fantastic news - KITTEN CAN FEEL HIS TOES. For the last couple of days we have been waiting for the news which finally came today that kitten can feel pain in his toes and that he has some voluntary control over his bladder and they it finally came today. This is fantastic and the vet is fair sure that he will make a good recovery. We have been visiting kitten every day and he seems to love the attention. He is such a lovely well natured cat who purrs everytime he gets strokes. Yesterday the vet nurse was tell us how kitten just loves his sponge bathes - CUTE!! Thank you once again to every one who has donated us money for his care. So far we have raised nearly $1000. We have not had a second bill yet but we will let you all know when we do. While kitten is recovering we need to find him a name but just can not decide so we thought that we would leave that up to you. We have set up a poll which will close next week. Click here to have your vote. Sorry this is just a quick update but we have been very busy planning action for the rest of year and it is late. To end here is a cute pic of kitten from today. For more images from today click here.  |
