RYOT | The Huffington Post Ivory Burn

http://ryot.huffingtonpost.com/ivory-burn/

Austin Peck, PhD (Biology) and film director writes about the tragic decline of the African elephant at the hands of man, and how we have choices to make. Empathy and action are key to saving Africa’s wilderness.

“Kenya’s Tsavo National Park, for example, is an entire ecosystem the size of Michigan that is itself on the chopping block because it no longer earns money from tourism. Just out of sight from the empty lodge verandas, the bushland is already quickly and quietly becoming grazing land for tens of thousands of cattle owned by businessmen from the capital city. New railways and gas pipelines, funded primarily by China, block elephant migration routes. While unbridled development of the region gallops forward, elephants are increasingly pushed into oblivion, and it is still the black face of the impoverished poacher who is most commonly blamed for the wholesale annihilation of the wild. These are the kinds of choices we make, and the stories those choices require.”

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BBC News – India’s dying mother

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-aad46fca-734a-45f9-8721-61404cc12a39

A fascinating piece on the river Ganges in India and the varying ways in which it has become one of the most polluted rivers on the planet. Leather tanneries are a prime cause of carcinogens and rotting animal matter polluting the Ganges, along with human sewage and burnt, rotting human bodies.

Despite all of the vile toxins put into the river, and the horrifying amount of water taken out of the water table, Ganges river dolphins tentatively remain in smaller and smaller numbers in the great river. I truly hope that India can clean up its vital life source. Shutting down its entire leather industry would be a great start. What a disservice we do to animals and the planet in so many perverse ways.

Vets are denied access to abattoir footage | | The Times & The Sunday Times

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vets-denied-access-to-abattoir-footage-hc7z27qmk

“More than 30 slaughterhouses are refusing to let official vets view CCTV footage of animals being killed, prompting concerns that they are hiding illegal acts of cruelty.”

Why? It does not take a genius to work this out. And what are “illegal acts of cruelty” anyway, in contrast to legal acts of cruelty? Vivisectionists commit legal acts of cruelty as a matter of course. Why are we as a species still perpetuating this abominable treatment of other animals every single minute of every single day? Don’t be a part of it. It’s not logical, it’s not ethical, it’s not ok.

Not eating meat is the best way to save the Earth

http://www.techinsider.io/is-eating-meat-bad-environment-2016-3

C’mon. It’s not rocket science. #GoVegan

Watch “Animal Rights.” on YouTube

Speech by Philip Wollen. Art by Jo Frederiks.

Are you vegan yet?

Cadbury’s calves shot to feed hunt’s hounds | UK | News | Daily Express

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/350543/Cadbury-s-calves-shot-to-feed-hunt-s-hounds

The facts of life on dairy farms. Male calves shot at birth because they can’t be milked as adults. What a vile industry we’re all funding…

How we ended up paying farmers to flood our homes

How we ended up paying farmers to flood our homes

http://gu.com/p/3mzz3?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress

Animal Aid: The Case For Mandatory CCTV In UK Slaughterhouses

This footage was taken by undercover volunteers in UK slaughterhouses between 2009 and 2014. It seems that every time undercover footage is taken in slaughterhouses (worldwide) welfare laws are seen to be blatantly flouted and horrific animal abuse appears to be widespread. There is little to no respect for these animals’ last hours and minutes alive. They are often seen to be beaten and punched, kicked and thrown around. These animals are at our mercy. They do not want to die and yet they will, often with very violent ends.

The UK government can stop this. They can enforce welfare laws and ensure that slaughterhouse workers are monitored at all times, with evidence to prosecute should laws be broken.

Why don’t they want this? Who benefits from a lack of CCTV in slaughterhouses? Not the consumer. Not the animals. Slaughterhouse businesses? Slaughterhouse workers? Government? Society? Me? You?

Please send your MP a letter asking them to sign EDM153 via this link (Animal Aid).

The case for mandatory CCTV:

“Between 2009 and 2014, Animal Aid filmed secretly inside ten randomly chosen UK slaughterhouses. We found evidence of cruelty and lawbreaking in nine of them. The problems are serious and widespread. Our films revealed animals being kicked, slapped, stamped on, and picked up by fleeces and ears and thrown into stunning pens. We recorded animals being improperly stunned and coming round again, or suffering painful electrocution instead of being stunned. We filmed animals deliberately and illegally beaten and punched, pigs burned with cigarettes, and the throats of conscious animals being repeatedly hacked at. None of the illegal acts we filmed were detected by the on-site vets or the slaughterhouse operators who have ultimate responsibility for animal welfare. That’s why we need CCTV.” (Animal Aid, 2015)

Political Animals: 7 Ways Congress is Trying to Destroy the Endangered Species Act | Earthjustice

http://earthjustice.org/features/political-animals

400 Million Fewer Animals Were Killed for Food Last Year vs. 2007 Because People Are Eating Less Meat | Latest Vegan News

http://latestvegannews.com/400-million-fewer-animals-were-killed-for-food-last-year-because-people-are-eating-less-meat/

If accurate, I’m absolutely ecstatic about it! WOOHOO! This is what being vegan is ultimately about.