Vick drops the ball

You've probably heard by now about the alleged dogfighting ring that was uncovered in a raid on Michael Vick's property last week. Vick has been vigorously denying any involvement in the operation, and I really, really want to believe him, because he genuinely is a fantastic quarterback. Unfortunately, the man's versatility in the pocket is at best dubious proof of his innocence in this case, and things are looking even more bleak for the Falcons QB after Deadspin reported on another apparent link between Vick and the property. According to info published on Deadspin:

Um, yeah. We're still calling on the Falcons to suspend Vick until this has been cleared up, and to release him from the team if animals on his property are found to have been neglected or used for fighting. For my own part, unless he is able to absolve himself completely of all this, I will not be selecting Michael Vick for my fantasy football team this year. It's called tough love, Michael.

See Also:

Deadspin
USA Today

Many of you will be familiar with PETA’s “March of Crimes” Campaign, which was launched a number of years ago to promote a simple message: Harming animals, whatever your ultimate intention, is harmful to people too. Sadly, charities like March of Dimes, which have a laudable goal of preventing birth defects, also have an ugly side, which the public rarely sees. Many of the experiments on primates, cats, dogs, rats, and other animals that have been funded by the March of Dimes are downright gruesome, and the frustrating thing is that, with so many effective, humane alternatives around, there was absolutely no good reason for these animals to have suffered and died in the first place. Anyway, the reason for all this March of Dimes talk right now is that their annual “WalkAmerica” fundraiser is taking place at the moment, and I’d like to encourage people who are considering giving them a donation to have a look at this great list of humane certified charities instead. These are groups that are doing the same important work as March of Dimes without torturing anyone, which is just a kickass way of getting things done, in my opinion. For a much more eloquent statement on the topic than I could ever muster, here’s an article by my good friend Heather Moore about her own unique experience with humane giving. It’s all pretty damn inspiring, if you ask me:

Health Charities: Helping or Hurting?

By Heather Moore
Senior Writer
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Heather and Carly Moore

Unbeknownst to many donors, a number of health charities, including the March of Dimes, waste time and money on animal experiments instead of devoting all of their funds to worthwhile projects that may truly help people with CMT and other disabilities or diseases.

This causes me far greater distress than any genetic defect ever could. It’s shameful that a health charity would inflict the same pain and suffering on animals that it wishes to eliminate in humans.

Animal research proponents often like to claim that animal rights advocates would change their minds about animal experimentation if they had diseases or disabilities. I didn’t. In fact, I find the implication that those of us with disabilities would automatically support animal experimentation insulting. It suggests that people with diseases and disabilities are selfish, callous, and desperate, and will support cruelty to animals in order to help themselves—no matter how futile the chance.

It’s simply unethical to cause harm to one species under the guise of helping another—unethical and ineffective. Although animals feel pain and fear like people, there are enormous physiological differences between animals and humans; data taken from one species cannot always be correctly applied to another. Vast differences exist even between mice and rats, let alone rats and humans.

Every dollar spent on animal research is a dollar that could have been better spent on humane, effective methods of fighting birth defects and helping people.

Relevant programs, such as the National Birth Defect Registry, improved prenatal care, counseling and education, and treatment for pregnant women addicted to nicotine, alcohol and drugs, can really help prevent birth defects and improve the quality of life for people with disabling conditions.

Many other charities, including Easter Seals, Birth Defect Research for Children, Heimlich Institute, and the Little People’s Research Fund, Inc., put all their funds into programs that directly benefit people and never waste a penny on animal experiments. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, where I work, provides a complete list of health charities that do and do not fund animal experiments at StopAnimalTests.com.

The next time a health charity stretches a hand in your direction, make sure the charity won’t waste your money on cruel animal experiments. After all, health charities are supposed to help stop suffering—not cause it.

As you probably know, our country is in the midst of an extreme companion animal overpopulation crisis, and unfortunately, California (where some estimate that nearly a half million dogs and cats are euthanized for lack of good homes annually) is no exception.

Fortunately, a life-saving piece of legislation that would address this crisis—Assembly Bill 1634—has been introduced in the California Assembly, and if it becomes law, AB 1634 would prohibit any person from owning or possessing any unaltered cat or dog over the age of four months, unless that person purchases an intact-animal permit. Violators would be fined, and the money raised from the fines would be used to fund free and low-cost spay and neuter programs.

The cool thing about this legislation is that it would make California a safer place for people and save animal lives. According to one Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, male dogs who are not neutered are almost three times more likely to attack a human being than are those who are sterilized, so this really is a win-win proposition.

If you happen to live in California, please politely urge your assembly member (click on the links for “Find My District” and “Member Directory” on the left side of the page) to support AB 1634. And please forward this information to anyone you know who does live there.

Well, through no particular design, the last couple of posts have been a little heavy—a lion mauling and a dead, angry chicken—so I figured we were long overdue for a bit of light relief here, which arrived in my inbox this morning in the form of a few beautiful photos of an anti-fur demonstration organized by an activist named Lucas in Montreal. Lucas' demo got some great coverage in the local media, including this story on 680 News. Decked out in their cavepeople costumes and holding signs with anti-fur messages, Lucas and co. made their way into pretty much every story about the recent fur-pushers' convention in Montreal. Love it.

What an awful story all around. This shocking video shows a lion in a circus somewhere attacking and mauling a trainer. The lion wound up being shot and killed, and the trainer is totally messed up as well. I’m afraid it’s just another sad example of why wild animals don’t belong behind bars . . .

Yes, this video is extremely graphic, but it is reality. I felt like it was important to show the uncensored reality of what can happen when animals are driven insane in captivity, because far too often all that is reported are bubblegum fluff pieces that couldn’t be further from the truth.