The report says that rabbits were fed a diet high in fat to increase cholesterol levels to egregiously high levels and to harden their arteries. Then, the companies fed the animals tea in their water, ostensibly to demonstrate that if the levels decreased, they could market their product as having health benefits. Rabbits weren’t the only test subjects; mice were bred with severe bowel inflammation problems, and then fed tea to see if it helped. And piglets were infected with E. Coli, to give them diarrhea, and I suppose the tea companies felt that their product might have an effect on that, too?

In any event, even if tea had helped the artificially, intentionally sickened animals, they were all killed afterwards for their trouble. It doesn’t get less natural than this.

And this might not be all. Other reports have stated that the Lipton brand uses animal products in their teas — like blood. To dye it the right color.

The companies’ silence on these issues are disturbing. Apparently, Lipton did not respond to repeated calls for a statement on the findings. Twinings, however, verified that it doesn’t use animal products or employ animal testing in the making of its products. So if you’re interested in certifiably cruelty-free tea, you might want to switch.

Tea companies are using your dollars to fund ridiculous, unnecessary, painful and deadly tests on animals that don’t improve human health but only the company’s bottom line. Animals should not have to suffer and die just so large corporations can make specious claims as to their products’ health benefits.

The National Anti-Vivisection Society has tons of research about the pros and cons of animal testing, which you can read here. But it boils down to this: the physiology of the animals, and the way they are artificially sickened, means that whatever “benefits” Unilever determines their products have mean pretty much nothing for regular people with high cholesterol and irritable bowels who drink Lipton, Lyons, and PG tips teas. If you like their teas, awesome. But if you’re drinking it solely to ensure you don’t die from a heart attack or stroke, you might need a different kind of help.

Agree? Then tell Unilever, the parent company of the Lipton, PG tips, and Lyons brands, to end their use of useless animal testing. And until they do, vote with your wallet; this winter, curl up with a mug of something else.

Photo credit: psd

How Many Animals Have Died for Your…Tea?

In an interview with CityBeat, Webber said exotic pet ownership may be shocking, but it’s not an obscure phenomenon. “I started paying attention and that’s when I realized this was the elephant in the living room. This big, enormous thing that’s going on in our country and no one is really recognizing it.”

Until now.

It’s no coincidence that the Dayton, Ohio, filmmaker aimed the camera at his own state. Ohio has some of the weakest exotic animal laws in the country, a flaw which gained national attention this summer when a bear killed his caretaker. Despite obvious and repeated negligence on the part of the bear’s owner, Sam Mazzola, authorities’ hands were tied because you can pretty much own whatever you want in Ohio. And Mazzola isn’t the only one whose choice of pets has caused problems.

“It’s like the wild, wild west in the State of Ohio,” Tim Harrison of Outreach for Animals told WKRC Local 12 in Cincinnati. Harrison is a police officer, firefighter and paramedic from the city of Oakwood. He’s also the go-to guy when it comes to exotic animals, fielding as many as 200 calls a year, and he’s one of the stars of The Elephant in the Living Room.

On the other side of the equation, the film follows Terry Brumfield, who keeps two African lions, hand-raised since they were cubs.

Webber says following the personal stories of Harrison and Brumfield “has a completely different effect on people from an entertainment standpoint, from an education and awareness standpoint, you take it personally. When people get affected in that way, that’s when the awareness starts to explode.”

The explosion of The Elephant in the Living Room comes just in time. Although this issue plays out across the country, it’s been stampeding across Ohio politics lately, especially since Governor Ted Strickland promised an exotic pets ban as part of a package deal of animal welfare reforms negotiated with the Humane Society of the United States and Ohio’s Farm Bureau.

The proposal was applauded by several animal welfare groups, but various contingents protested, from reptile enthusiasts to schools with wild mascots. Some, like Brumfield, feel their wild animals are their children; others feel they simply have a right to own whatever animal they want.

It’s likely that an exotic pet ban in Ohio would grandfather in existing animals, with the caveat that troublemakers like Mazzola could finally be held accountable. This Midwest state has been the wild west for too long; it’s dangerous for people and unfair to the animals. Tell Ohio legislators to pass the exotic pet ban.

Harrison’s opinion is clear: “When you bring a dangerous large predator, snake, bear, crocodile, anything of that nature, you’re signing a death warrant for either you or the animal … one of you is going to die.”

The website for the documentary calls it “a movie too big to ignore.” Let’s hope so.

The Elephant in the Living Room is currently screening in Cincinnati, Ohio. If you’re not in The Buckeye State, don’t worry: the movie is due for nationwide release in early 2011.

Photo credit: eMaringolo

Documentary Brings Ohio’s Elephant in the Room Out of the Shadows

In a 74-second video made by a partygoer, the Irish Times reports that the marsupial is roughly lifted about three feet off the ground as loud music plays. Partygoers shout and grab at it while flashes from cameras burst around it. The wallaby can be seen frantically trying to break free. The video ends with a man holding the wallaby to his groin and simulating a sex act.

An official investigation began only after enraged animal welfare advocates saw the video after it was uploaded on Facebook (it has since been removed) and notified police. The BBC reports that the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) received five complaints about the incident, only one of which was from a partygoer. There were an estimated 150 to 200 guests at the birthday party for a 30-year-old.

“We know that the animal was videoed, and you can imagine the fear and stress it must have felt. It is completely unacceptable that an animal would be used in this way,” Orla Aungier of the DSPCA told the BBC.

Police are trying to find the owner of the wallaby, and determine whether the creature is still alive.

There are unconfirmed reports that the wallaby was given alcohol and the drug Ecstasy, which may have contributed to its death — if it’s dead, that is. As sickening as these allegations are, the poor creature could have simply died from fright. According to the Herald.ie, kangaroos and wallabies can die quickly when they become stressed.

At least the staff at the Clarion Hotel was upset by the incident. The general manager, Garret Marrinan, told the BBC, “We’re horrified by this.” He said the night manager noticed “some kind of a strange animal coming out of a box and shortly after going back into it,” and called security, who forced the people to take it out of the hotel.

Initially it was thought the wallaby may have been stolen from a nearby circus as a practical joke, which turned out not to be the case. Police are investigating whether it was taken from Lambay Island off the coast of Dublin, where wallabies were relocated in the 1980s to alleviate overcrowding at the Dublin Zoo.

Or maybe the wallaby was a party guest’s pet.

Exotic animals are not banned in Ireland. In fact, you can easily buy a wallaby, zebra or alligator online from Irish websites — no license required (licenses are required, however, for dogs and cats). Wallabies cost about 700 Euros ($975) each, says Sky News.

RTE News reports that employees at the Reptile Village Zoo in Co. Kilkenny are “all too aware of the trend for exotic pets,” and want new legislation put in place to end the trend.

Zoo staff member James Hennessey said, “To have a dog, you go in and get a license. Yet you can go and buy a crocodile — you’re breaking no laws. You don’t need any license or experience to own one. It’s absolute madness.”

It’s apparently unlikely that the madness will end anytime soon. On the DSPCA website, Aungier calls for the introduction of a registration system for exotic animals, legislation that’s included in the Animal Health and Welfare Bill. “[W]e have been assured time and again by successive administrations that it will be provided, but it has once again been put on the long finger.”

In the meantime, the Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) is offering a 10,000 Euro reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator of the wallaby incident.

Photo credit: OpenCage.info

Wallaby Feared Dead After Nightclub Prank

? All of these videos share a common theme: the animals are incrementally crushed by a woman in high heels. Most people view these materials for sexual gratification, but these videos are becoming increasingly popular just for their shock value alone. The crush fetish can be also linked to paraphernalia, which is an atypical sexual arousal to nonhuman objects and humans alike being caused physical distress.

? Crush videos are becoming increasingly popular across America, and will escalate to epidemic proportions due to the Supreme Courts recent ruling to legalize them.
It’s not hard to find such sites on the Internet with any search engine-keep in mind it’s now perfectly legal to download and watch. Minors can access these materials with a click of a button. If The Supreme Court says,”Okay fine, It’s free speech,” please first examine the damage it causes both human and nonhuman lives, and society as a whole.

? Freedom of speech has its limits when it places a society in danger, such as the ban on child pornography as it leads to violence of children. Films that exploit, torture, and kill animals for entertainment purposes also puts society in danger, for it is destructive by inciting violent and antisocial behavior, thereby endangering our citizens. Adults showing their own children these videos can cause emotional damage and lead to Antisocial Personality Disorders. This is not only considered child abuse, but is one of the leading disorders found in serial killers. While there are many factors that contribute to someone becoming a serial killer, the one constant they share is animal abuse.

? In short, there is nothing socially redeeming about? crush videos and animal torture videos when used for entertainment and financial purposes. However, relating to educational or for political and sociological purposes, this should be the exception? such as speaking against, or educating the public about the realities of dog fighting or other issues and how it affects a society, such as the making of a violent criminal or serial killer.
International Petition: Ban Crush Videos in America

The fact that veal is cruel cuisine shouldn’t come as a surprise. If, for some reason, you’ve been eating it with no idea what it is, veal is baby cow. The pale color that chefs and gourmands love so much? That comes from deliberately inducing anemia and weakness, which is done by taking the calves from their mothers (a.k.a. dairy cows, like those at Conklin) and shoving them into crates to ensure that they have an unhealthy existence with as little exercise as possible. In other words, it’s flesh from a sick animal.

That’s what Mercy for Animals found at Buckeye Veal Farm, a Costco supplier. In the video (below), narrated by Bob Barker, the veal crates you see are typical.

The calves are chained by their necks, just in case they try to move around their cramped two-foot wide stall, and forced to live their short lives stuck in their own waste, without the ability to lie down comfortably, run, bond with their mothers, see sunlight, or breathe fresh air. They’re typically slaughtered and on their way to stores like Costco, Giant Eagle and other supermarkets by the time they’re 20 weeks old.

Bob Barker sent a letter to Costco, saying: “As a civilized society, it’s our moral obligation to prevent needless animal cruelty. Chaining baby calves in crates where they cannot even turn around is abusive and totally unacceptable.”

Veal crates are opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association and have been outlawed in the European Union, as well as Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine and Michigan. The Ohio Farm Bureau has agreed to ban veal crates by 2017 as part of an agreement brokered earlier this summer. The calves at Buckeye and other veal farms in Ohio shouldn’t have to wait for when, or if, that happens.

Share this video, so people know the true cost of veal, and tell Costco to take veal off their shelves, and stop supporting cruelty.

Image/Video credit: Mercy for Animals

Investigation Reveals the High Cost of Costco Veal

We would like to ask all of you to help us, to obtain justice for the dogs that were tortured and killed, by four teenagers in Tepic, Mexico. They showed the world how cruel humans can be to innocent creatures.
They received very light penalties. We would like to ask the Mexican leaders of animal protection to change that. Not only in this case but in all cases of cruelty involving pain toward animals, we would like to see longer punishments, including jail time, and higher fines!

We are sending this petition to the Mexican government. To get these four cruel teens and to ask them not to look the other way when abuse happens again.
Please help us call attention to such a painful subject by adding your voice to ours and signing this petition!

Here is some of the links for more infos on this subject. Animal Cruelty on the Net.

- ???????? American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/online-cruelty.html

- ???????? Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/animal_abuse_and_neglect/web_sites_that_promote_animal_cruelty.html

- ???????? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) WSPA is not affiliated with PETA
http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/onlinecruelty.asp
Let us protect animals from cruelty

This event, which takes place in Alberta, is expected to draw over one million visitors, including Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. What are these people flocking to watch? According to Calvary Stampede spokesperson Doug Fraser, 25,000 come to specifically watch calf roping. Calf roping is accurately described by SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) as “the most cowardly rodeo event.” This faux sport consists of macho cowboys roping baby cows that are usually about three or four months old. As the folks at SHARK explain, “the calf is roped so violently she becomes airborne before slamming into the ground. This process can break the calf’s neck, back or legs.”

Other intellectually stimulating highlights include steer wrestling and bronc riding. No word as to whether or not electric prods will be used for the latter event. There’s also chuckwagon racing, which has the dubious honor of being the Stampede’s deadliest event. According to the Vancouver Humane Society, nearly 50 chuckwagon horses have been killed at the Calgary Stampede since 1986, mainly due to crashes and the stress of the 10 day extravaganza.

Not surprisingly, there are those who take exception to the Alberta Abuse-a-thon. Jeremy Thomas has been protesting the rodeo for years. “Every year, animals are hurt, killed and scared out of their minds for the sake of entertainment. That’s what we want to see end.” More than 50 members of Parliament in Britain, where rodeos have been banned since 1934, signed a motion condemning rodeos, specifically calling on the Canadian government to take steps to stop the “immense cruelty” of events like the Calgary Stampede. Other opponents of rodeos include the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies,  the Humane Society of Canada, the ASPCA, PETA, the HSUS, the Royal New Zealand SPCA, and the Australian SPCA. Basically, anyone involved with the animal welfare movement is against rodeos.

Why still have events like the Calgary Stampede? One argument is economic: Lots of tourists means lots of money. Sadly, that’s no doubt true, and we all know concerns over cash trump concerns over cruelty every time. And, of course, there are those who will make fallacious arguments based on “culture” and “tradition.” Been there, heard that.

Really, I think the citizens of Calgary can crawl out of the 19th century and find new traditions and new ways to milk tourists for money. Maybe they can start by letting the oh-so-macho cowboys rope and wrestle each other for a change.

Hey, it’s a start.

Photo Credit: PETA

A Stampede of Animal Abuse in Calgary