Thursday, March 17, 2011

NY Times Special Section on Animals This Week

On Tuesday, March 15, the Science Times this week ran a special section on animals with the following introduction:

"Animals and people. We have always been bound together. Humans are animals, after all. And each new bit of scientific research adds weight and complexity to our genetic intimacy, not just with primates, but with distant relatives like fruit flies and sponges. We share behaviors. We share homes and habitats. We consume each other. Mostly we eat them, a moral quandary for many people. But we still do feed multitudes of parasites, mosquitoes and the odd shark. This issue of Science Times is devoted to our many bonds with animals, and also to the distance between us and them. No other animal makes operas or nuclear weapons. How did we become so different? What made us human?"

 You can read the articles here and listen to the animal-themed Science Times podcast here.

Charges Dropped in Hamster Case










Friday, March 11, 2011

Cruelty Charges for Hamster Killing in Bushwick

NY Times: 19-Year-Old Is Charged in Hamster’s Death

Gothamist: 9-Year-Old Called ASPCA About Sister's Hamster Slaughter

Associated Press: NYC Teen Arrested in Death of Sibling's Hamster

Strawberry Selling Faux Faux Fur -- Not a Typo!

Raccoon dog
Clothing retailer Strawberry has 18 stores in the 5 boroughs.

The Humane Society of the US has issued the following alert:

Warmth Without Cruelty

Dear Friend,
Strawberry, a leading New York-area retailer, was recently found selling real fur vests marked as "faux fur" and unlabeled sweaters trimmed with raccoon dog fur. Strawberry continues to sell rabbit and raccoon dog fur even as other companies reject this cruel trade.

Columbia University Blocks PETA VP From Campus Debate on Ethics of Eating Animals

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals writes:

"PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich has been blocked at the last minute from appearing in a high-profile on-campus debate at Columbia University that was planned for this evening.

Friedrich intended to speak on the ethics of eating animals, as he has done at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, and more than 25 other top schools in the past 18 months (without incident or concerns from school administrators). But Columbia officials have stated that Friedrich is persona non grata on the campus following his disruption of a 2004 commencement ceremony while protesting animal experimentation at the university.