Kill It, Skin It, Wear It
Chef Merrilees Parker looks for the truth behind the fur trade tomorrow (Sunday 10th August), C4, 10pm.
More: DigiGuide
Lots of comments on this one…
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (34)Say Burger Off To Kangaroo Meat
According to the BBC News an Australian scientist is recommending switching from beef to kangaroo burgers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The cows may be wiping a bead of sweat from their brow, but what about poor old roo?
A VIVA report on the killing of kangaroos for meat and skins published in 2006 paints a gruelling picture of the trade:
Imagine this. A mother kangaroo, grooming her beautiful joey at night in the vast wild outback, hears the sound of a four wheel drive and stands transfixed, sensing danger. Searchlights are shone at her. A man takes aim, supposedly to shoot her in the head – but blows a hole in her neck. She falls in pain, helpless to save her joey who retreats into her pouch. But there’s no escape. The hunter pulls the joey out of his mother’s blood spattered body, tosses him to the ground and stamps on his head. He writhes in agony and is left to die. (Older joeys who frantically hop away when their mothers are shot, have no chance of survival. They die a slow, lonely death from starvation or cold.)
The shot mother does not die instantly. She struggles as the hunter slits her leg open, thrusts a hook through it and hangs her upside down on a truck. She is knifed, gutted, her head, tail and legs tossed aside. This is the fate of Australia’s national emblem.
The killing of Australia’s kangaroos constitutes the biggest land wildlife massacre in the world, surpassed only by the decimation of the American bison in the last century. In its investigation, including trips to Australia in 1998, 2001 and 2002 by myself at the invitation of wildlife and animal protection groups over there, Viva! has made a series of discoveries which are amongst the most distressing it has ever come across…
Full Viva report: SaveTheKangaroo
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)PETA Offers £1,000 To Nab Cat Killer
According to news reports, 18 cats in Bridgwater have died after being poisoned with antifreeze in the last four months, and seven of those poisonings happened in the last week alone. PETA is offering up to £1,000 as a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for these violent crimes.
PETA is also urging residents to keep a watchful eye on their animal companions and keep them indoors.
As long as the perpetrators of this crime are at large, other animals in the area – and human residents – might also be in danger. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals don’t stop there; many of them move on to commit violent acts against their fellow humans.
“Animal abusers are cowards”, says PETA spokesperson Sam Glover. “They take their issues out on the most defenceless beings available to them.” Bridgwater residents have good reason to be concerned. According to leading mental health professionals and the police, perpetrators of violent acts against animals are often repeat offenders who pose a serious threat not only to other animals but also to the community as a whole.
Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.
For more information about PETA, please visit PETA.org.uk.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)IFAW Penguin “Mystery Stranding” Brazil
More than 1000 juvenile Magellanic penguins have washed-up either dead or dying along the Brazilian coast and as far north as Natal in Rio Grande do Norte, 3000 km north of Sao Paulo. IFAW deployed a team of penguin rehabilitation experts to assist local animal centers that are handling penguins for the first time…
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