The AVMA will lead a collaborative effort to develop a model animal welfare curriculum for veterinary schools and colleges with funding help from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun10/100601e.asp

The AVMA has revised several of its food animal welfare policies and adopted a policy concerning the use of electromuscular disruption devices (eg, stun guns and devices sold under the trade name Taser) on animals. http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun10/100601g.asp

As a seitan worshipper, I got a kick out of a recent letter that found its way to PETA’s inbox: A PETA supporter (who wishes to remain anonymous) was preparing to barbeque some seitan—also known as “wheat meat”—when an image of Jesus Christ on the cross appeared in the godly gluten. Here’s the photo he/she sent us:

“Praise Seitan!”

It makes me wonder, WWJD if He knew that billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths to sate our addiction to the taste of their flesh? Considering that His message is one of love, kindness, and mercy for all of God’s creatures, I think that Jesus would say to hell with meat.

Right now, I’m going to practice the compassion that Jesus preached and grab some vegan eats …

OMG, there’s an image of SpongeBob SquarePants in my block of tofu!

Posted by Amy Skylark Elizabeth

Feeling creative? Got something to say to the Australian wool industry about the horrific mulesing mutilation that the industry continues to force sheep to endure? Well, then, there’s no time like the present to caption this week’s “Tag and Release” comic!

Click for a larger version

Submit the caption for this week’s comic in the comment section below and you’ll be entered in our contest to win a Preserve Razor and a PETA Bunny Towel. The person whose comment is most fitting for the strip will receive a prize.

The contest ends at 12 noon on May 26, 2010, and we’ll showcase the winning comment in a blog post on May 27, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Don’t forget to check out the archive of past 10% Wool comic strips here. Get more information on the series and the writer here, and learn how to get Jeff’s other comic, DeFlocked, into your local paper here.

Sure, factory farms are mechanized madness but have you ever thought about how computers drive the insanity? I worked in software development before coming to PETA but never considered the ways that the software could be used to hurt or kill animals. Almost everything seems to depend on computers today—from running increasingly automated factory farms and slaughterhouses to tracking fish using sonar and satellites to guiding deadly missiles to their targets.

Thankfully, software developer Anders Sundman has been looking out for animals on the techie front and has joined up with PETA to create the Harm-Less Permissive License (HPL), the first-ever license that will prohibit the use of software being used in any way that will harm humans or animals. Anders originally developed the license for personal use but decided to release it to the public because “having seen images from inside slaughterhouses and modern fishing vessels it is obvious to me just how dependent these industries are on technology and computer software.”

PETA will be contacting compassionate developers to encourage them to use the free and open-source legal text to ensure that their products aren’t used for harmful purposes. You can help by making sure the geeks and code jockeys in your life—especially if you are one—know about the HPL, and push them to include the HPL in any software they have developed or plan on developing. Then take your own swipe at the murderous meat industry by going vegan.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

PETA’s spay-or-neuter billboard was erected today, promising to reach not only Nadya Suleman’s immediate community in La Habra but also a national one, thanks to a ton of media coverage. Because of our offer to “Octomom,” we received a lot of calls, e-mails, and blog comments from people who thought that their yards would be great places to get the word out about spaying or neutering animals. So we’re calling on caring animal defenders to reach out to their own communities with the lawn sign pictured below, which is available to the first 100 people who sign up.

Check out more photos.

We hope that you’ll join this effort and send us pictures of the sign on your lawn. No matter where you live, you can be certain that some of your neighbors don’t know that spaying and neutering helps save lives. They might have no idea that so many of the more than 6 million dogs and cats who end up in crowded animal shelters every year are only there because some people mistakenly think that “just one litter” doesn’t hurt. It does. Maybe they’ve never read this alarming statistic: One cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in just seven years. And perhaps they don’t realize that spaying and neutering is a simple, inexpensive (and in many cases, free) procedure that can also ensure better physical and mental health for their animal companion.

The effort to educate others about the importance of spaying and neutering companion animals begins at home. So come on—sign up to place our spay-or-neuter sign in your lawn or apartment window today!

Posted by Karin Bennett

http://www.flickr.com/photos/
wendypiersall/ / CC BY 2.0

Two female orcas at SeaWorld Orlando are pregnant—one is expected to give birth later this month or in early June—but we’re not celebrating.

If the calves survive, what do they have to look forward to? Swimming endless circles in barren concrete tanks, doing circus-type tricks, and dying an early death. Twenty-one orcas died in U.S. SeaWorld facilities between 1986 and 2008—an average of nearly one each year for 22 years. Their deaths were caused by severe trauma, intestinal gangrene, acute hemorrhagic pneumonia, pulmonary abscesses, chronic kidney disease, chronic cardiovascular failure, septicemia, and influenza. In some cases, the cause of death could not even be determined, but it is clear that none of these animals died of old age.

The father in both of the pregnancies is Tilikum, the same orca who attacked trainer Dawn Brancheau—ripping off her left arm and part of her scalp, crushing her ribs, and breaking bones throughout her body before drowning her. Despite knowing about the extreme danger posed by Tilikum—including the fact that he had killed humans twice before—SeaWorld refuses to “Free Tilly” most likely because he’s a valuable and prodigious breeder. Tilikum has already sired 13 calves for SeaWorld.

Enough is enough. Please take a moment to write to the Blackstone Group—the company that owns SeaWorld—and ask that it send Tilly and the other animal inmates in its facilities to sanctuaries.

Posted by Paula Moore

Eventer / CC by 3.0

Yes! Ernie Paragallo, the jerk thoroughbred breeder who starved more than 175 horses on his farm in New York’s Hudson Valley, has been sentenced to up to two years in prison and fined $30,000. In addition, he must pay restitution to humane groups that cared for the horses after they were seized. Of course, the fine is just a drop in the (oat) bucket for a former Goldman Sachs exec who netted more than $20 million during the 20 years that he bred and raced horses, but that jail time’s gotta hurt.

“Your moral compass is out of kilter,” Judge George Pulver Jr. told Paragallo as he handed down the maximum sentence. “Your sense of integrity, your code of conduct, your perception of right and wrong was perhaps formed by your days on either mean streets or Wall Street.”

Coming in the midst of the Triple Crown season, the sentencing serves as a timely reminder to stay away from racetracks and the cruelty to horses that’s associated with them. Here’s hoping that Paragallo gets nothing but bread and water during his stay in the pokey—and even that’s more than his horses got.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

As industrial boats prepare to set sail on Saturday for the annual Atlantic bluefin tuna fishing season on the Mediterranean Sea, WWF is urging all fishing countries to keep the fishery closed this year until a scientifically based management plan is in place that bans destructive industrial fishing.

This will underscore commitments to follow scientific advice in fisheries management made in Doha, Qatar in March by several governments invested in the bluefin tuna fishing industry at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the largest international wildlife trade convention meeting.

High-tech purse seine fishing vessels – whose vast sack-like nets encircle massive shoals of bluefin tunas gathering to spawn – will once again set off for the high seas on Saturday.

WWF welcomes the decision of Italy to impose a moratorium on its large purse seine fleet this year and its commitment to scrap most of the vessels – and urges other Mediterranean nations to also keep their fleets in port. However, WWF is dismayed at the extensive subsidies being disbursed to compensate Italian boat owners for not going fishing and help them finance vessel scrapping.

“Italy’s decision to keep its purse seiners ashore is to be applauded and upheld as an example to follow,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, Head of Fisheries at WWF Mediterranean. “Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks cannot resist for much longer – by all accounts the species is endangered, with current populations dwindling at less than 15 per cent of what they once were. Nevertheless this year fleets are sanctioned to catch another 13,500 tonnes of fish, even when the rules are still widely violated.

“WWF calls on ICCAT – the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the regional management organization in charge of the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery – and its members to respect their Doha commitments to sustainable fisheries management. A sound recovery plan for the exhausted species must finally be imposed when ICCAT meets in Paris in November – including above all a dramatic cut in catches to well below 8,000 tonnes.”

The latest advice from renowned international scientists shows that even an annual catch of 8,000 tonnes would give at best a 50 per cent chance of recovery to Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Such a quota would necessarily entail the closure of the entire Mediterranean industrial fishery, allowing a moderate catch by traditional artisanal fishing methods – such as the tuna traps around the Straits of Gibraltar, which have supported hundreds of fishing families for more than 3,000 years.

Over 150 members of CITES met in Doha, Qatar on March 9-25, where a majority rejected the proposal by the Principality of Monaco to list Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix I of the Convention. The species amply met the criteria, yet the listing was rejected on political grounds – largely due to a comprehensive lobbying effort led by Japan.

However, at the CITES meeting, key ICCAT member countries – notably Japan, the EU, the U.S., Canada and Norway – committed to adopt radical measures to save the species when they next meet in Paris, France in November 2010.

In a statement to the CITES plenary in Doha, ICCAT chair Dr Fabio Hazin told delegates: “Setting management measures not in line with scientific advice is no longer an option,” while Japan also intervened at the end of the Doha meeting, committing to lead a global effort to ensure the recovery of Atlantic bluefin tuna. Given its importance as largest consumer of the species, WWF strongly expects Japan to play a central role in shifting fisheries management in the right direction.

“WWF calls in particular on the EU and Japan – the main catchers and consumers of this endangered species – to lead in honouring their Doha commitments to respect science in fisheries management,” said Dr Tudela of WWF. “WWF’s wish is that this will be remembered as the year the world did good by Atlantic bluefin tuna. This is our watch – let’s make it our finest hour.”

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Editor’s notes
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

A man from Papua New Guinea has been presented with one of the world’s top conservation awards for his vital work safeguarding endangered species in the remote Torricelli Mountain range, an area where a number of unique species are to be found. Mathew Akon, Senior Project Officer of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance won the Whitley Award donated by WWF-UK for his grass roots work protecting a 250,000ha area rich in wildlife.

Nine awards in total were presented last night during a ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London, by HRH The Princess Royal.  The judges were impressed by Mathew’s work which includes using GPS technology to conserve one of the world’s most endangered marsupials, the little known Tenkile, or Scott’s tree kangaroo. The most threatened of all tree kangaroo species, the tenkile’s habitat is restricted to just 150km² of rainforest.

Mathew was born in the Torricelli Mountains and witnessed first hand the decline in the region’s fauna and wildlife. His efforts to interest and involve some 10,000 local people in protecting the rich and rare wildlife of the mountainous region, and his work on behalf of the Tenkiles resulted in the Whitley Award nomination.

Glyn Davies, Director of Programmes at WWF-UK, said: “Mathew shows how a wise community leader can engage with local communities, and with support for them to use GPS technology to map their communal lands, enable them to press government to recognise their wish for forest conservation. It is inspiring to see what has been achieved in this remote area of Papua New Guinea.”

Georgina Domberger, Director of the Whitley Fund for Nature, added “The judges were particularly impressed by the high level of support Mathew is gathering from local people, by the connections he is demonstrating between improved livelihoods and nutrition and wildlife conservation, and by the commitment of the region’s communities to creating a protected nature area in the heart of their mountains.”

The Award includes a project grant of £30,000 donated by WWF-UK, an engraved trophy, membership of the influential network of past Whitley Award winners, international recognition and leadership development training.

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Editor’s notes

The way we live is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF’s One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth’s capacity. For more information visit www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet

The Whitley Awards are the flagship grants of the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), a UK-registered charity. WFN’s aim is to identify the world’s most dynamic conservation leaders and support them in practical work that benefits both wildlife and local communities. The first Whitley Award was given in 1994 when a single winner received £15,000 GBP. Since then, the number and value of the prizes has grown so that the awards are now acknowledged internationally as one of most valuable accolades a conservationist can win.

The ceremony at which Mathew Akon received his accolade was co-hosted by BBC wildlife presenter Kate Humble and witnessed by a 350-strong audience which included embassy representatives, Whitley Fund for Nature donors, including HSBC, and WWF-UK, and leading environmentalists.

In all, grants worth £270,000 were presented, bringing the total amount distributed by the Whitley Awards since their inception to £6m across 55 countries.

The Whitley Awards scheme is an annual competition, now in its 17^th year. It exists to identify, fund and encourage inspirational local conservation leaders and their teams in developing countries. To find out more about the charity and its work please see: www.whitleyaward.org

The full list of £30,000 Whitley Awards winners this year is:

Mathew Akon (Papua New Guinea) who is enlisting one of the world’s most endangered marsupials – the little-known tenkile (or Scott’s) tree kangaroo – to inspire villagers in Papua New Guinea’s remote and wildlife-rich Torricelli Mountains to agree hunting limits and support habitat protection. Whitley Award donated by WWF-UK.

Diego Amorocho (Colombia) who is teaching Pacific coastal fishing communities how to reduce the accidental bycatch of sea turtles, become turtle first aiders and earn money as conservation supporters and from beach care.  Whitley Award donated by The Friends of WFN

Pablo Borboroglu (Argentina) who is establishing the world’s first coalition to use penguins as ambassadors for global ocean conservation, highlighting the need to mitigate threats to marine wildlife and habitats from over-fishing, oil pollution and climate change. Whitley Award donated by Natasha and George Duffield.

Susana Gonzalez (Uruguay) who is combining scientific research with public outreach to safeguard Uruguay’s two  remaining Pampas Deer populations and reverse the trend which has seen the country’s grasslands dwindle to 1% of the area covered in 1900. Whitley Award donated by The Garfield Weston Foundation.

Vadim Kirilyuk (Russia) who is working on the vast steppe grasslands at the Russian-Mongolian frontier to win better protection for the Mongolian gazelle and its migration routes, including through the opening up of international border fences and greater community understanding and support. Whitley Award donated by The William Brake Charitable Trust.

Angela Maldonado (Colombia) who is exploring community-backed alternative ways for the impoverished people of the Colombian Amazon to earn a living, to end the illegal capture of night monkeys for biomedical research and raising awareness of the violation of international wildlife trade laws. Whitley Award donated by HSBC Private Bank + extra £30,000 as Whitley Gold Award winner. 

Jimmy Muheebwa (Uganda) who is inspiring communities in Lake Victoria’s catchment zone to use the wetlands sustainably, to improve livelihoods and save the region’s local wildlife, including Uganda’s national bird, the grey-crowned crane. Whitley Award donated by The Shears Foundation.

Louis Nkembi (Cameroon) who is introducing community-based landscape and biodiversity management to the Lebialem Highlands – a refuge for many rare plants, birds and other animals, including chimpanzees and Africa’s most endangered great ape, the cross river gorilla. Whitley Award donated by WildInvest.

For further information/images, please contact:

Kellie Hulbert, Press Officer at WWF-UK, tel: 01483 412383, email: khulbert@wwf.org.uk