Pic from HERE.
I could list them here but! You know, just to stir the pot a little?
So here are a few more grumbles -
+ Animals used in lab tests. How can it be okay to do tests on live animals, for whatever reason, when so many of us aren't even willing to give up our organs when we're dead?
+ Animals in "entertainment". I'm not even talking about evil blood sports like bull, dog and cock fights here. How about more insidious ones, like greyhound races and circuses? I see on telly that an animal circus has come to Sydney town, complete with performing lions and elephants. Are we kidding?!
+ SeaWorld. Does anyone really believe that leviathans could be happy in
Hmmm.
+
I don't want this to become another
That means it's time for me to thank all the intrepid souls who kept me company this week. I really appreciate that you took the time to read and to share your thoughts and experiences on this difficult subject.
These cartoons are especially for you! I hope they give you a giggle as much as the earlier posts gave you headaches :)
The Lighter Side of The Food Chain!
Pic from HERE.
Above 2 pics from HERE.
Following the many food scares we had including Swine and Avian Flu and Mad Cow...
Pic from HERE.
And lastly, the vegetarian diet that might work for me.
Pic from HERE.
+
Feeling better?
I hope you're having a wonderful weekend. Over here in sunny suburbia, SOMEONE forgot to set the alarm for the Olympics opening ceremony this morning. Bah!
Oops! P.S.
The next time I get a knee op and feel introspective, please be so kind as to remind me that I should just make myself a giant caipirinha and go directly to bed.
Tchau! :) X
Bugger! P.P.S. If you'd like to share your pet animal [welfare] peeves, please feel free to do so. I'd be keen to know I'm not the only joyless person around.
.jpg)
31 comments:
Oh Nooooooo, you threw in some more!!
Headaches back........from the bottom, Sea World - really don't believe they can be happy but what if they have born into that environment? how bout programs they do for the rehab of sick, injured endangered animals? I can see I'm going to have to find out about our Sea World here, do some research - I'm ashamed to say I don't know very much about it, BUT it did start me thinking about fish in fish tanks in the home (they upset me) but not more so than the pretty birds in little wee cages in the home. When I bought this property, there was the BIGGEST aviary I've ever seen and it was stocked to the hilt with budgies, parrots, quails and others. It now stands empty and the wild parrots, cockies, crows, wrens, magpies all just use it to sit on as a big perch. Love it. I digress, back up your list to ANIMAL CIRCUS's - cannot be right??!!! I had NO idea any even existed anymore. Must watch the news to see what comes of THIS.
To the top of the list - with the advances in modern science it baffles me completely that any animal testing for any reason would even be necessary - unless of course it's for cost cutting. Disgusting.
(I can hear some Olympic stuff on tele Typist, better go have a look hey?)
xx
Rose, I think you've done enough commenting for the month (which ends in a few days so that's a real holiday).
I hate birds in cages. My inlaws have aviaries and nothing I've ever said has convinced them it's cruel. I come from a family of fish in tanks people. To give them their due, these weren't small display aquariums but big tanks and tubs kept outdoors, properly "landscaped" with aquatic plants (not plastic ones). I'm not a fan of small indoor aquariums. I especially get sad seeing the sterile vertical tanks in offices with no plants or sand and just 1 or 2 fish swimming up and down. For display, you know. Or maybe feng shui. Pah! Incredibly, there was a hotel/bar here that kept a shark in a tank for display. I haven't been there in years so I'm not sure if it's still there, but they got a lot of complaints.
I googled seaworld last week. It's sad. In fact, there was some very recent news about their practices.
Now go rest and don't bother to comment anymore unless there's something you're dying to get off your chest, okay? HUGS X
ya see,
I just cant even read them without getting upset, so I skipped that bit.
Do you know about the site,"texts from my dog"? im following it on facebook, it's hilarious.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Text-From-Dog
/203679529752766
On a side note, the dogs here in Berlin are all so relaxed, they go here, they go there, no leashes, no one screaming or getting frightened, they just hang out with us humans.. So civilised.
Well hello Ms World Traveller Grrl, why are you in Berlin and not the centre of the universe (for the moment), London? Yes, I have heard of the site and checked it out. Not following it though. I get enough meaningful messages from the dog in my house. Berlin sounds very cool! I like places where dogs and people can mingle without someone hurling abuse. Hooroo! x
Even if you're not comfortable with it, I reckon your serious blogging skills are very well honed. You always take a different slant on things, whether humorous or serious. Plus your posts are so well researched. Google surely must be a very good friend:)
I was sitting here wondering what all the fuss is about the Olympics. How many wrongs could be righted with all the money that is spent on producing them? Not just in the host country but in the competing countries as well. Then, because there wasn't anything else on TV, I turned over to watch some coverage of the Olympics and here I am glued to it. Of course it helps that it's mostly hunky young males in swimming heats;)
Looking forward to reading the ensuing comments from this post:)
Why thank you Ms Sue. I'm glad you were able to read a couple of the posts and I hope your walls don't suffer for it.
Re: the Olympics. You must be related to The Cushion. He says the same thing every time it comes round! We just saw some gymnastics (my favourite) and some swimming. I don't think we're going to do too well this year :( 8 foxtel Olympic channels and nothing to watch. How about that? The Cushion is back to Saturday night football. Haha. He said not to tell you that in case you think he's bogan.
My animal welfare pet peeve: the fact that so few people understand that human and animal welfare are intimately connected (although the kid video on the food chain eventually got there).
When animals thrive, people thrive. When people thrive, animals thrive. We need to keep a balance in life.
Oops, I hear swelling strings and see the Lion King making an appearance. Better stop before I have a Disney moment. :)
Just wanted to tell you what a wonderful and fun place you've created for your discussions at LDOLL. When you see the acrimony in the comments at many sites, you should congratulate yourself for starting hard discussions while providing a safe place for people to share.
Peace to you. Oh, and there's enough money in the world for Olympics and solving big problems. We only lack the will. So enjoy the gymnastics. And keep doing good where you can.
Yegods, Pamela! I hear the whole bloody orchestra!
I'm also very glad there have been (so far) no acrimonious comments. I was quite prepared for them. I like listening to other points of view but if they're just screaming or not making sense, I'd probably delete them. I can be quite despotic and this is, after all, a G rated family friendly blog (farts, doggy romance and butt squeezes aside).
Thanks again for your great company! X
Thank GOD you are back to NORMAL... partially.. we wanna hear about Georgia's farts and urmm.. Bondi Beach vet and his sexy back.. and and urrmm... whatever else that bugs you :D
i really have not read the other posts.. they were too deep.. i was sinking and sinking... and and.. i will still find the time to read them... one day!
Just signed a petition against tests on animals this morning.
The fact that I avoid discussing, reading, watching something related to those subjects is an answer in itself.
Btw, I'll stay in Berlin one week in September...
Thanks for giving me an excuse to have a cocktail. "it's not forthe alcohol, but I'm a vegetarian, you see..."
Maybe on the contrary? A witty blogger like you is exactly the right person to raise and discuss some issues.
Glad to see the (literally) comic relief - I especially like the shark one, as I'm quite sure there were some sharks in that group plotting how to take out the humans at the top of the food chain - I can see it now!
As much as I enjoy light and funny and beautiful posts, I think the sort of questions you've raised the past week are important and we all need to think about the disturbing aspects of our world now and then. (But I do look forward to a funny post from Georgia soon!)
This week, three of my pet peeves reared their ugly heads:
1. A lovely German Shepherd, a former police recruit, was brutally beaten and left for dead in a dumpster in 30 degree C weather. He was found, but unfortunately did not survive. How can anyone do that to a dog?
2. I received an email from a rescue looking for someone to take in a 13 year old lab, crippled with arthritis, multiple problems - owners have had her from a pup but are moving and don't think the dog would like their little concrete patio after having a big back yard. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? After thirteen years they are dumping a dog and think a new home will be preferable to staying with her family? (I said no to the rescue; personally, if the family aren't keeping her I think it would be kinder to put her down at this stage).
3. Culls. There is talk of a deer cull on the island. And I read Rose from Oz's comments on the previous post. She points out, and I agree "It would be a good world if all wild animals died from natural causes in their natural time and no doubt many still do but far too many of our native wildlife die a nasty death due to starvation and disease caused many times through as you say development encroaching on their habitat (to name one of many) and so that balance I harp on about is way out. Too many numbers for the food source. And as we know any species where overcrowding exists within a less than ideal area leads to hunger and disease". But it begs the question: should we also cull the human population - for the same reason - hunger, disease, fighting, preying on others, etc.?
I'll stop now. Back to sticking my head in the sand and thinking about mundane things like breakfast...hmmm...bacon and eggs....oh, wait, piggies immobilized in cages in huge barns, chickens in battery cages....NOOOOOOOOOOO!
Very creative and engaging posts. I like it so much. :-)
I met a woman who works at Sea World. She says the dolphins are so smart they have trained her to feed them fish just by jumping up.
Seriously she is very passionate about what she does by bringing sea creatures up close and personal to children and their families. She says it brings better understanding of the life that lies beneath the ocean.
I am also very sad when animals are abused and mistreated... even in name of the scientific research.
I laugh with the cartoons.
Did you believe me that I never drink a caipirinha? Lol!
Have a good weekend.
Scientific Animal testing, not the bunny cosmetics in the eyes kind of testing, is very important to finding medical cures for many human diseases.
Since I have a friend that did scientific testing on animals, I have a different insight to the situation.
There is a misconception that anyone with a lab can bunch together some animals and do whatever they want with them. That cannot be farther from the truth. If a scientist is doing a legitimate study they must;
#1 - provide an animal handling protocol for the study and outline of why animals are necessary for the study.
#2 - the study must be approved by a committee that consists of vets, scientists and a community "lay person". Protocols get rejected ALL the time for a various number of reasons.
#3 - IF the study is approved, any animals that are used are purchased by breeding companies that specifically provide animals for testing purposes. The larger animals like cats costs thousands of dollars to buy. Using animals with an unknown genetic and health history can skew the results.
#4 - during the course of the study, the test animals, even something as small as a mouse, are supervised by vets to ensure that the animals are not being "abused" .
There is no substitute for a living thing and computer models just don't cut it. I was recently a "Guinea Pig" for science. I volunteered for two Lupus drug trials. One of the drugs was not approved. The second trial that I participated in was 5 years long and led the the approval of the only Lupus specific drug on the market right now.
And eating a balut egg? EWWWWWWW
Jean - 1. I hope they catch the person. So bad. Another day, another pointless act.
2. You know what it is. A convenient excuse to get rid of expensive time-consuming baggage.
3. Ostriches don't do that, love. And I know from your work that you don't either :)
Jan - such sarcasm and wit! I'm handing the torch over to you LOL!
Karen - Always interesting reading your responses. I'm glad to know there are stringent conditions but, being an idealist, I wish there was no need for them at all.
I suppose my stand is that even if there are compelling reasons to test on live animals, we shouldn't, from an ethical stand point. We can only do such testing if we believe (other) animals are more dispensable than us. I'm not a Jain (or my sister haha) but I think we need to take responsibility for finding drugs (or cosmetics) that are not harmful to us by being the guinea pigs ourselves. Which is exactly what YOU are doing now, so I applaud you!
That seems hypocritical since I'm a meat eater. But (and I could just be choosing to believe what I want to here), I see the difference between being on the food chain and eating humanely managed and slaughtered meat.. and injecting poisons and cancer viruses into live animals so we can look or feel better and live longer. As for the idea that we could grow organs in pigs to be used for our transplants because so many of us refuse to or are afraid to donate our own organs after death ... I can't even put down in words how sad and embarrassed that makes me feel.
Animals have been our food source and servants for a long time and always will be. But to experiment on sentient beings while they're alive (though what constitutes sentience is disputed, I know) ... how can that be morally right?
I suppose, the quick and easy answer is that this has nothing to do with morals.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts! X
Balut. Yeah. I was younger then ;)
Well I've rested, and Im having my morning brew, and, (unfortunately) there is something I am dying to get off my chest - what is a "caipirinha'???? (I'm too tired to Google) ;)
Rose - exactly what I needed this beautiful sunny Sunday morning ... an inane question! Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail made from cachaça, lime and sugar. And if you don't know what cachaça is, you'll have to google it! Bwah ha ha!
Bwah haha, not for a second did I think it was illegal......bwah haha
I'm not sure how to reply, which has been the case for me several times this week. I'm a person who avoids confrontation at all costs most of the time. There are some of your points that I agree with, and some things that I guess I feel differently about, too. I'll just say that it bothers me when people tell me that my dogs have been abused when they've never met them or been somewhere to see what their background was like. Greyhounds are some of the sweetest dogs around and I don't think they get that way by being abused early on in life. True, they aren't treated like a lot of pets, but I don't think that most of them are mistreated, either. I'm not a Pollyanna, I know that there are exceptions to the rule and that there are a lot of places outside the US where their fate is much worse than it is here. I think part of it for me is that I've seen Greyhounds who have been abused, and the worst cases were almost always after they were done racing and living as pets. Anyway, just my half cent's worth.
Dear Bunny's mama, that was worth at least 2 cents :)
My thinking about greyhounds is that there wouldn't be so many out for adoption if there were no races. I don't think I've actually ever met any greyhound here who wasn't originally bred for or retired from the races.
From my reading, retired hounds often meet unfortunate fates (like the cooking pot) or untimely and cruel deaths. Now, this might be the exception and not the norm, I'm not sure (and I know for a fact that you know a hell of a lot more about greyhounds than I do). It could be a few bad hats. But they certainly make the news. And the pictures and reports I've seen have been enough to turn me off the "sport". I have signed a petition to end it as well.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Believe it or not, I am the least confrontational person in the world myself.
P.S. If only every ex-racing greyhound ended up in your home, I think I'd be out with the rah rah pom poms! X
Georgia,
some very valid points there....and my peep REALLY enjoyed the cartoons:)
Thanks for stopping by and viwing my bear adventure photos! I don't think I am little as I was raised with a Black Lab. Hiking is one of my favorite things in the world to do! PS. Your secret's safe with me. (But FYI - you would enjoy it:))
Goodness, such a lot to talk about. I love the cartoons though. Animal welfare, Hmmmmm. How about we all just be friends. Personally I hate that they have lifted the ban on wolf hunting around this part of the country. They belong here, leave them alone.
Furst I wanna say, I love readin' da comments and to sees everybuddies opinions and what's goin' on in their heads.
Secondly, I am so glad you can't be a serious blogger...I soooo can't do a serious post. I have tried but fail miserably. Howevers, you does a good job bein' serious and makin' me think too much.
Now my comments just will never come close to these udder ones. We don't do circuses...have them but has nevers and WILL nevers shell out da money for one. It has nuttin' to do withs da creepy, freaky clowns eithers...but da way da animals is treated.
Nows I am startin' to wonders since I likes to hunt if dat makes me a bad dog. See, here I go thinkin' again.
Puddles
PS: You ain't a bad furiend.
The cartoons really did make me feel better. :)
I met someone recently who lived near a facility that used dogs for testing (of some sort or another). Two of her dogs went missing and she knows where they went, but never could prove anything. It's a sad world we live in where this goes on.
I appreciate your thoughts...both the deep, gloomy ones and also the lighter, slightly-off ones! I've come to find this blog as a place I want to come, and I relish whatever may be in store on any given day. Thank you!
I hate Seaworld and the like too. The pools may be huge to us, but they're tiny compaired to the whales and dolphins. =[
It's almost akin to living in a room your entire life... that's a horrid thought.
How funny that you posted about your new vegetarian diet ... and your next post is about Georgia eating a donut! Really, can the pooch be blamed? =)
No pet peeves from me ... the list is too long - like people that don't pick up after they pets on the trail, and people that tie their dogs to a tree and never pay any attention to them, or people that put a caged tiger in their parking lot in the ridiculous heat in hopes that they get more business, or people that go to see the tiger in the cage in the ridiculous heat and give the business owner a reason to do it the next time, or ... wait a minute - you got me!
I grew up in San Diego county and whenever I meet someone and my hometown comes up and they respond with "Oh, Sea World!" and "Oh, the Zoo!" I want to throw them right off the food chain.
mmm ... donuts.
-c at ddy.
Post a Comment