Obituaries

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

Obituaries

“I come to bury Caesar,  not to praise him.  The evil that men do lives after them.  The good is oft interred with their bones.” –William Shakespeare

Nick Santino,  47, a New York City soap opera actor who had performed in All My Children and Guiding Light,  on January 24,  2010 had his pit bull Rocco euthanized,  after receiving veterinary advice that the dog was aggressive,  and although New York City has more resources for retraining and rehoming pit bulls than any other city, with the possible exception of Los Angeles.  Less than 24 hours later Santino killed himself with an overdose of sleeping pills, attributing his suicide to guilt over killing Rocco.  Other residents of the building in which Santino owned a condominium had reportedly complained about Rocco,  who according to building rules could not ride in the main elevators and was not allowed to be left in Santino’s apartment alone for more than nine hours.  Santino reportedly attributed Rocco’s behavior to his own depression. Read more

Failure of Armenian s/n program brings NYC success

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

NEW YORK CITY–Newly released New York City Center for Animal Care & Control shelter surrender numbers gave Companion Animal Network founder Garo Alexanian cause for celebration on February 4, 2012–and a message for Yerevan,  the capital city of Armenia.

“After five years of virtually unchanged numbers of dog and cat surrenders to the CACC,”  Alexanian said,  “the total dropped by 15%,”  or nearly 6,000 animals,  “during 2010,  the first full year that we operated our Low Cost Vet Mobile,  and fell another 9% in 2011,  our second full year.” Read more

Another Chicken Activist’s Perspective on Federal Legal Protection for Hens

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ISSUES

by Paul Shapiro
Senior director of farm animal protection, Humane Society of the U.S.

In 1999, United Poultry Concerns rightly lauded the passage of the European Union’s law requiring a phase-in of better treatment of egg-laying hens by 2012, including a switch from barren battery cages to enriched colony cages.

“Europe Bans Battery Hen Cages” was the UPC newsletter’s headline,  with the article continuing that caging systems will be improved by reducing stocking density,  but that cage-free would have been better.  “Historic Day for Hens,”  continued another UPC headline about the EU announcement.  The article asserted,  “It is time for the United States and Canada to climb aboard,”   adding “The vote is a victory for the birds and for our struggle on their behalf in a country that,  to date,  accords to birds and to farmed animals no federal protection at all.” Read more

Federal laying hen standards bill goes before Congress

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

Federal laying hen standards bill goes before Congress

WASHINGTON D.C.–Awaited for seven months,  a proposed federal law governing the care of laying hens was on January 23,  2012 introduced by Oregon Member of the House of Representatives Kurt Schrader.  Assigned bill number HR 3798,  the draft legislation results from a July 2011 pact between the Humane Society of the U.S. and United Egg Producers,  the largest trade association representing U.S. egg farmers.  Under the agreement,  HSUS withdrew ballot initiative campaigns seeking laying hen standards in Washington and Oregon,  in exchange for UEP collaboration in pursuit of a weaker federal standard which would govern the entire U.S. laying hen industry.

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Why an ancient armored mammal needs better defenses

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

Why an ancient armored mammal needs better defenses

 

HONG KONG–“We have uncovered disturbing information which strongly suggests that ‘medicinal use’ pangolin farms are already operating in China,”  said Project Pangolin founders Rhishja Cota-Larson and Sarah Pappin on January 16,  2012.

 

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“The emergence of pangolin farming,”  Cota-Larson and Pappin suggested,  “may help provide insight into why the world is losing pangolins at such an alarming rate–an estimated 40,000 killed in 2011– and why China’s appetite for pangolins continues to increase.” As with bear bile and tiger farming,  the growth of a captive population enables sellers to encourage customers to buy more pangolin products,  even as the exploited species disappears from the wild.

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The conservation aspect of the disappearance of pangolins has drawn the most attention so far,   but the suffering of individual pangolins is considerable.  Most pangolins taken from the wild are transported to markets and sold alive,  if the poachers can keep them alive.  This is also believed to be the fate of farmed pangolins.  If pangolins die in transport or markets,  their remains are frozen and sold. Read more

NIH announces end of funding for buying cats from Class B dealers

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

NIH announces end of funding for buying cats from Class B dealers

WASHINGTON D.C.–-The National Institutes of Health on February 8,  2012 published notice that NIH grantees will be prohibited after October 1, 2012 “from using NIH funds to procure cats from USDA Class B dealers.  The procurement of cats may only be from USDA Class A dealers or other approved legal sources,”  the NIH said. Read more

U.S. Supreme Court overturns California law requiring downers to be euthanized

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

U.S. Supreme Court overturns California law requiring downers to be euthanized

WASHINGTON D.C.— The U.S. Supreme Court on January 23,  2012 unanimously overturned a 2008 California law requiring slaughterhouses to immediately euthanize non-ambulatory livestock.

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Focused on the issue of federal primacy over state legislation,  the legal reasoning behind the 9-0 verdict signaled that the Supreme Court is likely to favor uniform national standards for livestock handling in any situation where state and federal law are perceived to be in conflict.  This could mean any situation in which states have adopted supplementary humane standards meant to address gaps in federal laws which were last updated by Congress several decades ago. Read more

Agreement Raises Flags for Egg-Laying Hens: A Chicken Activist’s Perspective on the "New Deal"

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

Agreement Raises Flags for Egg-Laying Hens:  A Chicken Activist’s Perspective on the “New Deal”
by Karen Davis,  PhD,  founder & president of United Poultry Concerns
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The January/February 2012 edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE included a full-page ad headlined “It’s Time to Ban Barren Battery Cages Nationwide,”  urging readers to ask Congress to support the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012.
The ad told us that “All the groups that have been leading the fight to ban battery cages-such as those listed below-actively support this legislation, because it’s the best opportunity to help the largest number of farm animals.” Read more

Letters

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

Letters

The Animal Rights Agenda 25 years later

Concerning the January/February 2012 ANIMAL PEOPLE editorial “The ‘Animal Rights Agenda’ 25 years later,”  I would have little to argue with in the statements quoted,  except that I shy away from the term “animal rights,”  as it has such negative connotations in the United Kingdom (at least),  and have always had at the back of my mind the philosopher  Bertrand Russell’s statement that “The logical extrapolation of animal rights is votes for oysters.”  I prefer the cause of “animal welfare,”  where humans accept that they have a responsibility to protect all the animals of the planet.

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