Recently, Ross Hornby, Canadian ambassador to the European Union, has skoken his mind. "We are deeply disappointed that the European Parliament has voted for a seal product ban," Hornby says. Having the idea that it's causless to have a ban on seal products in his head, Hornby states that the annual seal hunt is perfectly humane and is well monitored.

Senator Marc Harb, of Canada recently proposed a bill to end all sealing in Canada. But sadly enough, no one was willing to second it. The Canadian Government is so oppsoed to stopping the seal slaughter out of feal of what might happen with those who are pro sealing. Now that the EU (European Union) has finally put a ban on all seal products being sold in Europe, Canada is willing to take action on the WTO (World Trade Organization). Any action that they plan on taking will end up with Canadian citizens paying more taxes to support the hunt, rather than do anything to stop it.

More From The U.S. Senate

Very recently, the U.S. Senate has passed a unanimous bill calling an immediate end to all seal slaughter. Still Canada isn't listening to everyone's voice. Canada persists on keeping the annual seal slaughter.

Some More Support

Our United States Senate now is on the supportive train to hel stop the sealing in Canada. Many people from all over the world are expressing their concern for the sealing. Also, many of Canada's own senators are trying to introduce bills to get passed to end the slaughtering.

Vast Majority of Seal Products Banned in Europe

After a public notice to all of Europe about the truth about sealing, the public has planned to stop buying and ban seal products from being bought and sold. There are many

[More] News on the Seals

Recently, one of the many anti-sealing groups has been trying to figure out a good estimate on how many seals have been killed so far in the hunt. About 19,411 seals have been killed so far (as of last wednes day) and the end of the first stretch is over! The hunters will go back to their homes and usually clean their tools and soon will go back for some more hunting. The second stretch of the sealing will be the brutalist and the hardest. From previous years, an estimated 188,600 more seals will be killed and shiped inland to be sold.

Music and PETA

For those American Idol fans, you all may as well know that Annop Desai was voted off. :(
But there's good news! PETA has taken the opprotunity to ask him to help in PETA India. He has been asked to help with their ABC (Animal Birth Control) campaign, to help control the animal population in the slums.
Another music story that many people have heard is that of Susan Boyle. In her interview with Britain's Got Talent, before she sang, she just had to mention how much she loved her cat, Pebbles. Of course, PETA had to get this right away, and PETA Europe has asked Boyle and Pebbles to be in a PETA add by asking everyone to always adopt and reinforce that "everyone can be a winner".
Mark Hoppus, bass player and vocalist of Blink-182 (now reunited!), was spotted! Doing what? Being a kind animal cruel guy. He asked PETA if he could get an award for paying $1000 dollars extra on a movie prop octopus, instead of a real one so that a live on doesn't have to die, in a photoshoot that he will be doing. Aww! In the eyes of PETA, they just love him now. So for his award, he will recieve a Compassionate Citizen Award. Good job Hoppus.

Likely Reasons for the Swine Apademic

Many people are suffering and dieing from the new disease "flu" virus/disease that's going on in Mexico at the moment. And there are some very simple answers and reasons as to why these things are happening. According to most PETA exterts, chickens and pigs are all shoved into crates and cages where there are no windows or any breathing room, or any room whatsoever.
The crates and cages make it easier for bacteria to float around causing all of the animals to get it. Once the crate is opened, BAM, disease everywhere.
It's as simple as that.

I personally think that this is kind od rediculous. Of course, bacteria spreads in enclosed areas, but to the point where everyone has to wear masks on a regular day so they doin't get the new flu. It's sad, and i think that for one, people and companies can start to make a change for the better by first making crates open nad not in suffocated areas.

Wal-Mart

In Hamilton, New jersey, the owner of a Wal-Mart store was charged for animal cruelty.
It was reported that the owner uses bird traps to collect the birds that fly around in the store (they usually get in through the garden place) and instead of checking the traps eachday to let them free, he didn't check them much at all. The birds that were caught were starved and were all in an enclosed area for and extended period of time until their death. PETA is now trying to get nolethal ways for Wal-Mart, or any other store who have birds randomly fly into them, to capture or lead away the birds. Home Depot for instance uses angry bird recordings to keep the birds away. So, Wal-Mart, if you use a bird catcher, at least check them often.
Personally, I dispise Wal-Mart. Everytime I go there it's always dirty, birds are flying around, and they treat their workers and customers terribly. I think that they should just find new methods of catching birds. I think that getting charged with animal cruelty is really kind of going over the top.

Recent news say that 9 primate mokeys escaped from the Oregon National Primate Research Center, due to their cages being left open. Sadly, the primates were eventually captured. But for them, they would have loved the freedom coming from where they were livingg Many people who have seen the cruelties that occur at the center, ONPRC, have contacted the USDA. Being seperated at birth, deadly surguries, eating food from garbage, and powerwashing their cages while they're still in them are just a few of the details that have been reported.
Primates are fairly similar to humans, they have thumbs! it's sad to hear these stories about this happening to any animal, especially to primates. I hope that the USDA makes a wise decision and keeps a close eye on the center in Oregon.


video: http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=onprc_web

Ringling

Recenty Ringling magic people or circus appeared on The Early Show. Now with small dogs. A few montsh back there was a case with Ringling, they were accused of animal abuse. Shackeling elephants by the ankles when they weren't performing or when they were traveling which at the most lasted 100 hours. Two workers from Ringling, are now somehwat heros, in the eyes of PETA. They were the "whistleblowers and spilled the beans about all of the animal cruelty they had witnessed.
So, my question is, why would Ringling want to start using small dogs, in which people can obviously tell they are not fed or treated right, in their shows? Many of the dogs they use have to walk on their hind legs for super long periods of time, causing, arthritis, which is not fun. And having experianced a dog with bad arthritis, the dogs can't do much, so they get fat, and are put down. Many complaits come to PETA about dogs being in circuses. So why would Ringling want to make the mistake of using dogs in their shows?

Montreal Canadians to Canadian Seal Pups

Being away for a little over three weeks and not reporting on any PETA related stuff has been ok. But one thing that's been on my mind is those Canadians. What are they doing about their little sealing problem? Well, i don't know what they're doing, but i know that PETA is trying to do whatever they can to get Prime Minister Stephan Harper to stop all sealing. Even if it means buying a hockey team.
The owner of the Montreal Canadians is thinking about putting the team up for sale, and right away PETA has ideas. Maybe buying the team just for a week and calling then the Canadian Seal Pups will let people listen and aware of the cruelty in sealing. But who knows? Maybe not.
I think that the most difficult thing for PETA to do is try to stop something that has been around forever. Some people may just live for sealing, but others may be highly against it. Going in and trying to stop tradition may be a little bit more difficult than what they thought. Good luck PETA.

Saint Louis Zoo

Saturday morning, a gorilla at the Saint Louis Zoo was found dead in his cage. The accident was very unfortunate. The gorilla was supposedly strangled by one of the ropes in his "home" after he separated it and became tangled up in the mess. This gorilla was a lowland gorilla and from the facts, lowland gorillas live to be at least 50 years old. It's sad that this misfortunate event happend, considering that this young primate of 8 years old.
Adding to the bad news, about two weeks ago another gorilla in the exhibit died. Investigators are still not positive of the cause of death.
Along with the gorillas, there's also many other animals at the zoo right? Yes.
Not too long ago, tow of the elephants were diagnosed with a deadly type of herpes. One elephant is very ill and the other has shown no sign of illness other than a few small symptoms.

200 Dogs, 1 Cat, and a Tiger Walk Into A Bar....

Last Friday, a 66-year old woman was charged with two accounts of animal abuse. Many different shelters saved more than 200 dogs, 1 cat, and a Bengal tiger from the woman's property. In late 2007, the woman was charged with 1 misdemeaner for having a little over 150 dogs in her house. She told authorities that she wouldn't breed again. Yeah right...
The dogs were found living on feces and urine, with skeletal remains of dogs and puppies in dog food bags. The tiger was extremely malnurished and it's paws were infected due to living conditions. The tiger is now at the Springfield Zoo to get healthy again. And the dogs are being held at the St. Louis Humane Society.
Well, this is wierd, I think. No one should have any type of exotic animal, wether it's a tiger of a chimpanzee. And also, no one should have more than about 4-5 dogs. It's just not right. Anyone with that many animals should own a zoo, not just a regular home.

Yale Jail

Recently, there has been a lot of news and hype about Yale university. What for? Keeping, torturing, and doing scientific experiments on monkeys. PETA asked for a tour of the labs to see if these things were true, and Yale wasn't too excited about opening their doors to many viewers. PETA has started a new protest, Whistleblowers. If you're a Whistleblower, you basically tell PETA if you see any type of animal cruelty anywhere, not just labs at Yale. If you see animal abuse on the set of a movie, blow the whistle. Or even if if it's your neighbor, blow the whistle.

Personally, I think that if it's for a test of some sort, at Yale for example, they have the right to do these tests. I mean, maybe shocking the animal is art of the test? Sometimes PETA needs to realize that they can't save every single animal on the planet.

::http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/02/more_bad_news_f.php

Kid Killers...?

Last friday, a kid of 11 years, took his gun (that was present for Chrimstmas) and shot his father's pregnant mother. Hmmm? This is kind of wierd. Hunting humans just like someone would hunt an animal is a little much. Don't you think? This is just one of the few stories that have involved children killing oher humans. In 1998, two boys under the age of fourteen years, took their grandpa's gun, and basically ambushed their peers and teachers, ending in the death of 4 girls and 1 teacher. PETA and many people think that's it's wrong to teach a child under the age of 18 to hunt. But personally, I think that you have to be smar about teaching a minor to hunt.
I think that if you teach your kid, grandchild, niece, nephew, whoever under the age of 18 to hunt, you need to have some precautions. Don't just leave guns out. Be smart and lock them up! My brother has about 3 locks at least for his gun, if i ever wanted to go shooting with him, i would have to gain a lot of trust, and I think that that should be the case for just about everyone. I'm not saying that since i have to somewhat "suffer", others should too. I just think that letting you kids, or whoever have total access to a weapon.

Mercury

Well, after reading a story about a small town guy who held up a thermometer to a light to see what would happen if he just kept holding it there, I learned that mercury exposure is bad for you. The things you learn on the internet. :) Well, adding to that story, fish are exposed to mercury all the time. The coal that is burnt, goes into the air (hot), when the coal cools down, it falls, usually into water, considering where the coal is being burned. The coal then is in the water and is turned into methylmercury thanks to bacteria, which then gets absorbed by fish, or any living thing in the water. The fish have mercury in their entire body, and when fish, being exposed to mercury, are consumed by people, there is a chance that people themselves can soon have mercury running through their bloodstream.
Now the Obama administration is planning on cutting out the main source of mercury pollution. Which is good, right? Yes, it is. But still, it's not like when they stop it, the pollution isn't going to just stop. Fish that were exposed in the first place could've had little fish, which could have mercury running through their little fins.
I personally think that living without fish isn't the end of the world. If someone eats a lot of fish, cut it in half from time to time. Or just cut out fish from your entire diet, with an occasional serving of fish 'n chips i guess.


::http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/02/got_drain_bamag.php

Hugs Not Clubs

Following up on PETA's campaign asking Canada to stop the cruelty of sealing, today they held another kind of protest. PETA sent a "baby seal", or someone dressed up as a baby seal, today to Ottawa, Ontario, for people to give him hugs. With a sign that says "Hug me, Don't Club Me", the baby seal was on his way to making more awareness to those who don't yet know the cruelty of sealing, and to those who know very little about it.




::http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/02/have_you_hugged.php
::http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=canada_seal_slaughter_vancouver2010_peta&Player=flv

30 Rock and Mir-people.

Early this morning, a fish tank caught on fire. I have no idea how this is possible, but it did. Who's fish tank? Tracy Morgan, of 30 Rock, was luckily thankful that nothing more happened to his house, and his family in it. Firefighters got the call and were there fast enough so that really no serious damage was done. And luckily for the fish, their still alive. The shark and the piranha were unharmed in this little accident.
Adding to the whole "fish" thing, also today, another protest against the killings of large schools of fish. Five people painted and put on their fins and were acting like dead Mermaids/Mermen. They wanted to show that fish are just as equal to humans, and we wouldn't kill humans for food or many other animals that can feel pain. Another point they were trying to make was to basically become a vegetarian.

Honestly, I think that it's a little excessive to protest as mermaids, wait, dead mermaids, to get a point across to become a vegetarian. As gross as i think fish are, it isn't the end of the world.

::http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/02/peta_schools_fi.php

::http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/02/tracy_morgan.php

Chimpanzees

On Monday, Travis, a chimpanzee of fourteen years, was killed after mauling his owner's friend, Charla Nash. Travis had been acting strange for the majority of the day. And when Nash came to the house that day, something triggered him to physically attack her. A 200-pound chimpanzee isn't exactly the easiest type of animal to get off of you when it's raged, and already in the process of attacking you. The owner Sandra Herold, in protection of her friend, started to stab the chimp repeatedly. Nothing seemed to work. Travis was beaten with a shovel, and when the police came with help, Travis ran away from the scene. Later on, Travis returned and started to attack a police officer in his own car. Travis was shot multiple times, and he fled into to woods. Afterwards, Travis was tracked, police folled a blood-track, to his living area and was found dead.
Chimpanzees shouldn't be kept as pet's or thought of as children. They belong in their natural habitat with their family. When they are taken out of their own environment, they can never be taken back because the other chimps will neglect them. Any chimpanzees you see in movies, commercials, anything else used for entertainment purposes, are beaten, kicked, shocked, and are put in terrable living quarters.






::http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=anjelica_huston&Player=wm (video)
::http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/nyregion/18chimp.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=chimpanzees&st=cse
::http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/02/rip_travis.php

Winter Olympics 2010 (Canada)

Next year the Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, Canada. PETA officials have met with next years Olympic comittee asking for them to support them in stopping alleged seal hunting. The Olympic committee thinks it would be hard to convince the government to put a ban on seal hunting overall, since every year during hunting season, over 300,000 harp seals are killed, mainly for their fur, also because many sealers have a regular amount of annual imcome from hunting. PETA says, that the ending of seal hunting will look good for Canada, in the eyes of the entire world. This is one of PETA's first movements that have to do with the Olympics, and knowing them, it won't be a small protest.




http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/seal_hunt_09

http://news.therecord.com/Wire/Sports_Wire/article/489331

McDonald's

McDonalds is one of the leading fast food "restaurants'' in america. Recently, investigations have shown that the chicken houses where McDonalds get's their chickens from are brutally abusing their chickens. From hanging them upside down, which results with many broken bones, cutting throats, and being immersed in scolding hot water to be defeathered, you could say that the chickens aren't exactly in stable living conditions. Since 1997 PETA has been trying to convince McDonald's to simply ask the chicken houses to make their processes more bearable and a little less painful. But it seems that McDonalds may just be refusing to do this to get the easiest way of getting chicken. In 2000, McDonalds agreed to adopting better ways of slaughtering chickens, but this year, 2009, the idea simply seemed to be forgoten, but not for long. With PETA on the case (again), McDonalds will surely have to face some decisions in the future, as simple as they are.

http://www.mccruelty.com/

Lunch Food and Obama

President Obama claimed at his town hall meeting on Tuesday that he's "open to any idea, whether it comes from a Democrat or a Republican or a vegetarian." Now, PETA just loves him now. The fact that he put vegetarians uop with the Democrats and Republicans, just makes them all warm and fuzzy inside. To show thir appreciation for Obama, they wrote him a letter, asking him to stop using unhealthy, artery clogging, just plain nasty, meat, eggs, and other products in the National School Lunch Program.
I happen to agree with this proposal, and am going to be waiting to hear what his reply is, that is, if he does reply. The food at TJ, and at many other schools is so unhealthy, and not too appetizing. It fills you up, but in a bad way. In no way is processed food healthy. Not only that, but the process of getting the food, puts many animals in danger, such as cows and chickens. It also is a great risk of heart disease, probably due to all the grease and fattening greases that are used to make the food.

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/02/president_consu.php

Yet Another Protest...

Earlier this week PETA held another protest for Armani products. Men dressed as cavemen, inspired but the GEICO cavemen, were protesting outside of on of Armanis warehouses in Chicago. Holding signs that said "Only Cavemen Wear Fur", the so called, 'cavemen' were posing for pictures and trying to convince the store and it's customers to stop buying fur, stop working there, and to stop supporting Armani overall. Even though these little protests have a very little impact on certain people, PETA won't give up the fight until Armani stops using real fur and starts using faux fur.


http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/02/armani_gets_sto.php

Michael Phelps Inspires Another Animal Rights Billboard

A couple of days ago a picture of Michael Phelps was released to the media. The picture was of Phelps, doing what you say? Um, well, smoking pot. He might be faced with charges of having drugs. But that's that what I'm here to write about. PETA is probably one of the only animal rights groups that i really know of that can turn any situation into some type of protest supporting animal rights. PETA's new campaign is called "Say 'No' To Pot roast". The billboard campaign is made to show that marijuana isn't all that addictive, but meat is. This is a follow up to their investigation of cattle farms. They want more people to understand that cattle and dairy cows are all at some point used as meat, and my eating meat, is supporting that. More than half "meat eaters" say that they all care about animals and yet they go out and buy meat and of course, eat it. I think that buying Kosher meat is the way to go.

Meet Your Meat

Farm animals may alwasy seem just so cute, you know? They come across as happy animals, mostly from the publication from cartoon animals and Disney's portrayal of animals. Well, today I was researching PETA's website and found a few videos on how cattle, dairy cows and veel are abused and put in conditions that you couldn't even imagine putting yourself in. Now, I understand that most people think that an animal such as cows are less than us, and personally, i really agree, but watching some of the ways that they use the cows just to get meet and milk are sickening. Cattle are beaten, but, stabbed, stunned, and so much more. Dairy cattle and veel have the worst conditions over all though. Cows for dairy are milked at least 3 times a day and they are often pregnant to keep up the supply of milk. When it's time for the calf to be born, it is often ripped away from it's mother and is tkaen away at the moment. This causes a lot of pain for both creatures. Often the calfs are sold a few days after they are born, and can hardly stand up because they are so week and are usually not fed. Their mothers, on the other hand, are often mated with another cow and it keeps the cycle going. Once the cows have nothing left of them, they are usually frail and you are able to see all their bones. Plus, they can hardly get up. Dairy cows who can't produce any more milk, usually get sent to slaughter houses and are put in worse conditions. With no energy left they are hung by the feet and killed. I personally think that these are really bad conditions and really warn you if you don't really like to watch animals get killed.

video: http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=mym_cattle_dairy

Vick's Trial Coming to an End: PETA Asks Of One More Thing.

Michael Vick, was under contract with the Atlanta Falcons when he was found to be invloved and supportive of a dogfighting enterprise in the April of 2007. He was known to have abused dogs by violently beating, drowning, and even throwing them to make them mad for the next fight. Vick was sencented to 23 months in prison, but after a short time his sencences in prison were suspended, due to good behavior. Vick has made an official public appology and has admitted to what he's done and that he now knows that it's wrong. But PETA is asking for something more than just an apology.

"Saying sorry and getting his ball back after being caught enjoying killing dogs in hideously cruel ways for many years doesn't cut it," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk.

For 18 months, PETA has been meeting with Vick's management team and legal team, trying to convince them to run an anti-dogfighting add with Michael Vick as the spokesperson. PETA has been trying their best to run this add as a public awareness for those who are violent to stop. There is no official decision whether they will make and run this add or not.

PETA is convinced that the only way that they know Michael Vick has changed is to have a brain scan and physcological tesing. They want to know that he really understands that violent acts towards dogs or even humans is just sick and wrong. But until he does, PETA is still not on good terms with Vick.




:http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/01/michael_vick.php
:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sports/football/12rhoden.html?_r=1
:http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-22-rowboldnamesjan22,0,5052139.story

A Beginner's Guide to: Peta

PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is well know for their outragous protests, and being the largest animal rights group in the world. Their most recent news is protesting Giorgio Armani in Sin City. Supposedly, the fashion designer told Peta in 2007 that he would stop designing with fur after they had convinced Donna Karan to stop her use of fur. But, Mr. Armani, decided to go back on his word.
On October 9th, PETA held a protest outside Armani's Magnificent Mile to have the customers, workers, and Armani himself, to become aware that he went back on his promise. The most recent protest was held a couple days ago, the protestors held signs reading "Pinocchio Armani" with a picture of the man himself, Giorgio Armani, with a long nose that was photoshopped to his face.
There are many people who dissagree with this protest. A post commented on the article from the first protest. Some saying, "It never ceases to amaze me how many total whack jobs actually live here. PETA needs to chill, get a grip, have a cheeseburger," with follow up comments from people who have no idea what's really going on. "Duh yeh ah have a cheesebuger... dhu... ahhhhhhhhh duh," says "Dumb Guy" referring to the comment above.
Peta has many adds for their use of fur protests, but only one has been known as their 'Award Winning Add' titled "Fur Is Dead". Take a look: http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=fur-is-dead-psa



:http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/01/anti-fur_protes.php
:http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/10/peta-to-stage-protest-on-north-michigan-avenue.html