Tag Archives | animal cruelty

States Outlaw Videotaping of Animal Cruelty

By on April 8, 2013 in News 0

Dead-pigWhat kind of society passes laws like these? Well about 12 states in the US, for a start. Richard A. Oppel, Jr. reports for the New York Times:

On one covert video, farm workers illegally burn the ankles of Tennessee walking horses with chemicals. Another captures workers in Wyoming punching and kicking pigs and flinging piglets into the air. And at one of the country’s largest egg suppliers, a video shows hens caged alongside rotting bird corpses, while workers burn and snap off the beaks of young chicks.

Each video — all shot in the last two years by undercover animal rights activists — drew a swift response: Federal prosecutors in Tennessee charged the horse trainer and other workers, who have pleaded guilty, with violating the Horse Protection Act. Local authorities in Wyoming charged nine farm employees with cruelty to animals. And the egg supplier, which operates in Iowa and other states, lost one of its biggest customers, McDonald’s, which said the video played a part in its decision.

… Read the rest

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Footage Released Showing British Military’s 1952 Biological Warfare Experiments On Monkeys

By on October 2, 2012 in News 9

The horrific testing, conducted in secret and dubbed Operation Cauldron, took place offshore on a ship near the Isle of Lewis. Over the course of several months, dozens of terrified monkeys and thousands of guinea pigs were subjected to “germ bombs” containing bubonic plague and other deadly diseases, with many of the animals dying after a few days.

The project was part of the U.K. military’s effort to develop biological weapons that could be used on real people in a potental war against the Soviets. Needless to say, the Ministry of Defence was reluctant to release the incredibly disturbing 47-minute film documenting the experiments:

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Mitt Romney Strapped Dog To Roof Of Car

By on April 17, 2012 in News 8
Seamus Romney

Seamus Romney

Could this be the incident that proves Romney to be the cruel, heartless man many of us suspect? From the New York Daily News:

Seamus Romney absolutely “loved” his wild rooftop rides, at least according to his mom.

Ann Romney opened up about their family dog, who was strapped to the roof of their car in a crate during vacations in the 1980s — insisting the pet pooch looked forward to the trips despite once getting sick.

Her husband, likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, has come under fire from animal activist groups after he revealed how the long-deceased Irish setter traveled with the family.

The left has used the trips to paint the White House hopeful as uncaring.

“The dog loved it,” Ann Romney told ABC’s Diane Sawyer on Monday. “He would see that crate and, you know, he would, like, go crazy because he was going with us on vacation.

… Read the rest

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California Court To Rule Whether SeaWorld Whales Are Illegal ‘Slaves’

By on February 8, 2012 in News 33

killerwhaletRegardless of the slim odds of a favorable ruling, it’s a groundbreaking case in its use of the Constitution to fight for intelligent animals’ freedom. Via PhysOrg:

A California federal court is to decide for the first time in US history whether amusement park animals are protected by the same constitutional rights as humans.

The issue arises from a lawsuit filed by rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in a San Diego court on behalf of five orcas named Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka and Ulises. The whales perform water acrobatics at the SeaWorld amusement parks in San Diego and in Orlando, Florida.

PETA argues that continuing the whales’ “employment” at SeaWorld violates the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits slavery. District Judge Jeffrey Miller heard arguments in the complaint Monday and reviewed the response from SeaWorld, which asked that the lawsuit be dismissed. His ruling is expected to come later.

… Read the rest

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Arkansas Democrat’s Cat Gets Murdered Because He Is ‘LIBERAL’

By on January 24, 2012 in News 15

arkansas catFrom RawStory:

An Arkansas Democrat has a message for whomever killed his kids’ cat: “I’ve got a gun and I know how to use it.”

According to the Blue Arkansas blog, the campaign manager to Ken Aden, who’s running for the state’s third congressional district, came home last night to discover the family pet had been murdered and left on their front porch, as if the attacker wanted it to be discovered.

The feline’s skull was bashed in, and an ominous message was carved into its side: “LIBERAL.”

“If I have to protect my kids, I’ll do it without hesitation,” Aden campaign manager Jake Burris told Blue Arkansas.

The killing comes after a weekend of positive press for Aden, a former soldier running for Congress as a Democrat in one of the most conservative areas of Arkansas…

[continues at RawStory]… Read the rest

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San Francisco To Outlaw Pet Stores

By on June 21, 2011 in News 12

sonia_real_puppy Kudos to San Francisco for its decision to crack down on an industry based on animal misery. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

San Francisco’s ever-active Animal Control and Welfare Commission has renewed its push for a pet sale ban in the city – only this time, it even covers goldfish. The idea is to put the squeeze on puppy and kitten mills that supply pet stores, and to discourage “impulse buys” of hamsters and other small pets that often wind up being dumped at shelters.

“Most fish in aquariums are either mass bred” under inhumane conditions “or taken from the wild,” commission member Philip Gerrie said. That leads to “devastation of tropical fish from places like Southeast Asia,” he said.

The proposed ban, which the commission just adopted after a year of study, was expanded to cover animal breeders as well as pet stores.
As you might expect, it has local merchants like Ocean Aquarium owner Justin Hau dumbfounded.

… Read the rest

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Video: Disturbing Abuse Of Australian Cattle At Slaughterhouses

By on June 1, 2011 in News 14

Animals Australia and RSPCA Australia have launched a public campaign against the torture cattle endure during live export. The campaign asks the Live Export organization to reconsider the trade of living animals because of the cruel way they are treated before being slaughtered.

Note, they are not necessarily advocating vegetarianism or the elimination of slaughterhouses (although there are many benefits to reducing industrialized slaughterhouses including cutting down on pollution, increase agricultural land and reduction of animal cruelty), but they argue the unfair treatment of live animals being exported to other countries.

Warning: The video below include graphic material that may be difficult to watch.

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States To Outlaw Undercover Photos And Videos Of Factory Farms

By on April 19, 2011 in News 34

4944283870_202e5923c1A bill before the Iowa legislature would make it a crime to produce, distribute or possess photos and video taken without permission at an agricultural facility.

In Iowa, Florida, and Minnesota, laws are in the works to criminalize the documenting of animal cruelty and health violations in factory farming. With activists nosing around, “people are scared to death that they might be found in a compromising position,” [says the] president of the Iowa Farm Bureau — it’s about “making producers feel more comfortable.” The New York Times reports:

Undercover videos showing grainy, sometimes shocking images of sick or injured livestock have become a favorite tool of animal rights organizations to expose what they consider illegal or inhumane treatment of animals.

Made by animal rights advocates posing as farm workers, such videos have prompted meat recalls, slaughterhouse closings, criminal convictions of employees and apologies from corporate executives assuring that the offending images are an aberration.

… Read the rest

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Outrage Over South Korea’s Mass Live Burial Of Pigs

By on March 24, 2011 in News 98

Factory farming practices are always bloody and cruel, but this seems to go above and beyond. Following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, since December South Korea has killed 20% of its domestic livestock — 3 million animals have been exterminated, mostly pigs, who are being buried alive by the thousands in gigantic pits. The practice is traumatizing workers (who hear the pigs’ screams in their sleep) and provoking outrage around the world. Video footage is difficult to sit through:

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Knowsley Safari Park Makes Changes After Photographs of Carcasses Were Released

By on January 10, 2011 in News 3
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Photographer Penny Boyd released photos of carcasses to the council and animal charities

What happens to animals that perish in a safari park? One ex-employee of Knowsley Safari Park took photos making the public aware of how the carcasses were disposed of. BBC News reports:

A Merseyside safari park was told to change the way it dealt with dead animals after an ex-employee released images of carcasses left in the open.

Knowsley Safari Park photographer Penny Boyd complained to the local council over what she believed was unnecessary killing of animals and their disposal.

An investigation by Knowsley Council found a breach of animal by-products regulations, which the park addressed.

In a statement, it said “robust new procedures” were now in place.

[Continues at BBC News]… Read the rest

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