Animal Writings

Background...

This is foie gras. Foie gras is not just pate. Foie gras lives in a small metal cage. His webbed feet have never touched water; his graceful wings have never flown. Three times a day, he is forced to consume huge quantities of food through a metal tube shoved down his throat. At the start of each feeding, he flaps his wings in a feeble effort to escape. He's missing an eye. His liver has swollen to several times its normal size; it is nearly dysfunctional and clogged with fat. He doesn't make normal duck sounds; instead he makes gasping, panting sounds. He used to move his head back and forth for amusement; now he doesn't move. He is sick and smelly and bleeding. His feathers are encrusted with vomit because he doesn't have the energy, and perhaps not the will, to clean them.

In a few weeks he will be killed. His liver will be extracted and made into a paste. Someone will spread it on French bread.

Many ducks in foie gras farms die before the process is over; the daily punishment to their bodies is too overwhelming. Those that survive the ordeal are half-dead by the time they're slaughtered. Some can barely hold their head up. A few are so weak, all they can do is stand there as rats eat them alive.

But now this horror has an end date.

On Wednesday, September 29, 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California Senate Bill SB 1520, which outlaws one of the most inhumane farming practices ever invented: the force-feeding of ducks to produce foie gras.

Thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator John Burton (who sponsored the bill), and thousands of animal advocates who urged the governor to sign the bill, there is now light at the end of the tunnel for the long-suffering foie gras ducks.

Unfortunately for the ducks currently held captive in California foie gras factories, the ban does not take effect immediately; there is a several-year delay. Over 100,000 ducks will be slaughtered for foie gras in the interim. Nonetheless, this is a huge victory. A hideously cruel injustice to animals is on its way to being history, at least in California.

So rejoice for a day or two; then regroup. The fight is not over. New York State is the other location in the U.S. where foie gras is made, and the practice is still legal there. However, recently there is pending legislation to ban foie gras-style force-feeding in that state. Let's hope that the momentum in California carries over to New York.

To thank Governor Schwarzenegger, email his office at governor@governor.ca.gov. Let him know that with this one stroke of the pen, he has spared millions of ducks from suffering that most of us can't imagine. It's important to let our public officials know that we appreciate their efforts to help animals. It's been a long time coming, soon the ducks will be free.



The next two posts will also have good news.

Six people crowd into a Honda Civic. Each window is open an inch; it's impossible to open them any more. The radio doesn't work. There's no CD player. Cell phones and any other communication devices are removed. You'll stay in there for the next 12 months. We'll come by once or twice a day to give you food, water, and a vitamin pill, and to collect sewage. There's no medical care if you're sick. We're also removing the cameras.

Now you know what it's like to be an egg-laying hen in a factory farm.

Just kidding. They have it worse. Let's take it up a notch. All the food is high-fat. We spread a pungent ammonia solution on the carpet. You'll have to deal with the smell. Now give me your thumb and index finger; I'm going to tape them together.

You may be wondering, "What about free-range hens?" That's what this simulation is. In most free-range egg operations, tens of thousands of hens are stuffed into dark warehouses; there's barely any room between each animal. Possibly there's a tiny, shadeless outdoor area at one end of the building.

To simulate hens in battery cages, put on your seatbelts. Now let me tape your arms to your sides. I'll spread some excrement on the ceiling. See you in a year.

"Fear Factor," of course, is about entertainment, not fear. You sign up for some stupid stunts, often ones that kill or injure animals, get lots of attention, and go home.

Animals in factory farms experience real fear. None of them consented to their miserable fate. They don't know what's happening to them. All they know is that their every desire is denied, their boredom is maddening, and their tiny living space makes movement nearly impossible. They have nowhere to go to escape their fear. They can't turn it off. When they go to sleep, and wake up, the nightmare continues.

But that's only the beginning of their fear. After a long, hot, waterless ride to the slaughterhouse, the hens are strung up by their feet, hoisted onto a conveyor belt, paralyzed, and knifed. Some will be tortured first. The same thing happens to broiler chickens — that's what comes in the Perdue package — in their seventh week of life. They're practically babies. They're still peeping when the men grab them and slit their throat.

Each of the other species in factory farms has their own brand of fear: newborns are separated from mothers, corpses rot next to living animals, sick animals that can't walk are pushed and prodded onto the slaughterhouse truck.

Fear Factor at the factory farm runs every day, all day, without end. 10 billion contestants experienced it this year, none of them voluntarily.

Help these animals; their fear is real, not fake. It's severe and it's constant. Most of us would not be able to endure the conditions we force on farm animals. Indeed, many of the animals don't make it all the way.

You can help ease their fear TODAY. Go vegetarian — all the way. You'll be surprised. The market for vegetarian foods is exploding. Vegetarian clubs and support groups are all across the country and on the Internet. Recipes are everywhere. Go to your grocery store frozen food and refigerated food sections TONIGHT and pick up some chicken, beef, pork, or turkey substitutes. Being vegetarian has never been easier, or more necessary. You can do it. There's nothing to fear.

Today's Washington Post has a photograph of a faux-cowboy on horseback, backlit by the setting sun, warming up for a "steer wrestling" event at a rodeo. The picture is entitled "American Beauty."

A more fitting title would be "American Cruelty." Steer wrestling is not wrestling; it's animal abuse dressed up as entertainment. The steer is kicked and prodded in the chute, so that when the gate opens, he flees in terror. He's running at full speed to get away from the source of the pain.

The rodeo contestant jumps off his horse onto the head and neck of the running steer. He jerks the animal's head, forcing him to fall to the ground. The steer is often injured as a result.

Steer wrestling, like most rodeo events, has virtually no resemblance to actual ranching operations, in which real cowboys handle the animals with a modicum of care, so that they are not injured in the act.

Rodeo is a particulary cowardly form of animal cruelty. It's no fun for the animals, who are tormented with tail-twisting, tail-pulling, and electronic jolts while in the pen, and then manhandled when they're trying to run away.

This video exemplifies the inherent meanness of rodeo; it shows a rodeo handler repeatedly yanking on the tail of a captive steer that can't escape. Go to http://www.sharkonline.org/rodeocrueltytailtwisting.mv to view the rest of the sequence. The man forcefully tugs on the poor animal's tail over and over. No wonder the steer runs away as soon as he has the chance!

If anyone did this to their dog or cat at home, they'd be charged with criminal activity and probably have to give up their pet. The rodeo, because of its influence and power, gets away with this violence. Local law officials refuse to prosecute; irresponsible media glorify the rodeo myth and ignore its cruelty.

I'll have many more posts about the various types of abuse inflicted on rodeo animals — many of of them still in babyhood — and the consistent pattern of coverups and denials by rodeo participants, even in the face of first-hand testimonies and video evidence that disproves their lies.

Ex-poultry plant worker Virgil Butler, describing some of the terror that chickens face in their final moments of life:

“They hang there and look at you while they are bleeding. Sometimes if they are not completely immobilized by the stunner (which happens frequently), they will try to hide their head from you by sticking it under the wing of the chicken next to them”

You can visit Virgil's blog at www.cyberactivist.blogspot.com.

"There is no difference between the worry of a human mother and an animal mother for their offspring. A mother's love does not derive from the intellect but from the emotions, in animals just as in humans."

— Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides)

A day of atonement is of little value if the very next day you resume behaviors that ruin lives.

With rare exceptions, every time you eat an animal, you're consciously and unnecessarily contributing to the suffering of another creature. Often the suffering is prolonged and severe. Jews, of all people, should strenuously avoid causing other beings to suffer. Animals should not be the exception.

There is little doubt that animals have the capacity to suffer deeply. Factory farm hens live their entire lives in a space smaller then the computer screen on which you're reading this. They cannot even raise one wing. Is that not suffering? Their male chicks are taken away from them and crushed or suffocated, when one day old. Mothers -- is that not suffering? Who among us does not think that a broiler chicken, genetically engineered to be grossly overweight, suffers when he starves to death within inches of food because his legs can no longer lift his body?

We are the cause of that suffering, and we should be ashamed of it, and we should stop making excuses for continuing our destructive lifestyle. We should atone for causing the animals to live and die in misery. Making others suffer is just about the worst thing we can do in this world.

Rabbis should condemn carnivorism and help their congregations transition to a more humane diet, in which the blood of innocents is not shed. Of all the changes we can make in our life to relieve animals' suffering, none has a greater effect than becoming vegetarian, and it is easier than you think. God very clearly prescribes his desired diet on page one of the Torah. He presents humans with a bounty from which to be fed and nourished. His menu does not include animals. Animals are not food, they are companions. God endows animals and people with nefesh chaya, a "living soul." God makes a separate covenant with His animals.

Proverbs 12:10 counsels us: "The righteous person regards the life of his beast." How should we interpret "regards?" With common sense, compassion, and the Golden Rule.

Anyone with a pet (and many without) can see that animals derive enjoyment from life. At times, their delight is irresistible and catching. By the same token, we recognize their pain and sadness. It is much like ours. The animals scream and writhe when in physical pain; they withdraw and lose interest in daily activities when they're depressed.

In factory farms, the source of most of our meat and dairy, and, unfortunately, on many smaller, even so-called "humane" farms, the mistreatment of animals is a never-ending horror movie. Chickens, laying hens, and turkeys never see the light of day, breathe fresh air, bask in the warmth of the sun, or feel the earth beneath their feet. They never exercise, they never play, they never experience one moment of happiness. They have nothing to look forward to. Their lives are dreary and depressing. Some go mad from the lack of activity, resorting to compulsiveness, self-mutilation, and cannibalism. They live in filth. No veterinarian tends to their illnesses, though most are sick. Drugs and genetic engineering combine to make the animals top-heavy — deformed so that humans can feast on more meat. Many animals die of heart attacks long before the rest are transported to the slaughterhouse.

Is this how God intended animals to live?

The overriding and recurring message in the Torah is to be merciful. To be loving, as God loves us. Our behavior toward animals is the antithesis of love. It is worse than hate, for hate implies that the object of our hate has value. We have committed the worst sin: indifference. We don't care how much we cause God's non-human creatures to suffer. When pressed, we come up with convenient, self-serving rationalizations. We're lulled into believing our protective lies because most of our friends and relatives echo them. But this does not make our actions right. Jews have been on the other side of indifference; the memories are painful.

Everyone knows the Golden Rule. Extend it past your own species. "Others" should include all that are capable of benefiting from the goodness in our hearts, and that can suffer from our heartlessness.

When discussing this topic, there are always those who say, "but God lets us" do this or that. God, in various contexts, lets us get away with a lot of things. But surely we don't want to interpret His word in the manner of an unruly six-year old. The point is not "what can we get away with," but "how should we live?" What pleases God?

There also some who point out that certain foods are traditional: a brisket at Rosh Hashannah, a boiled egg during the Passover Seder. Traditions are valuable and an integral part of Jewish heritage. But kindness is even more important.

Please consider this during Yom Kippur. It is never too late to change, especially when it's for the better. As God's children, we have enormous power, and a solemn responsibility to use that power for good. In the past, and up through the present time, we have used our privileged position to torment every creature in the world, including ourselves. We have enslaved and brutally slaughtered animals because we like the taste of their flesh. We cruelly confine and barbarically electrocute fur-bearing animals because we like the feel of their skin. We live in an age where we no longer have to kill animals to survive. Therefore, doing so is clearly wrong (unless we are humanely euthanizing an animal in misery that will not survive). Technology enables us to create products from plant sources that taste like meat. We have access to a dazzling array of fruits, vegetables, and grain all year. We can wear clothes made of synthetic fibers that keep us warm in sub-zero temperatures and are stylish as well.

We know what to do to reduce suffering; failing to act — especially because of apathy — is evil. The vast majority of Jews reading this live in relative peace and freedom. We know how much we cherish that. Let the animals have their peace and freedom. Atone to the hundreds of animals that, by this point in your life, have been killed essentially at your behest. Atone to the millions of animals stuck in dark, human-made Hells where rotting corpses foul the air and excrement covers their feathers and fur. If you eat dairy products, atone to the cows that see their newborns pulled away to the horrific veal crate. If you eat eggs, atone to the hens in battery cages that have no idea what it's really like to be a hen, who will never spread their wings to protect their young nor feel the nurturing of their mother's wing.

If you eat poultry, pray for the most widely abused animals on earth. We are constantly inventing new ways to inflict pain on chickens, turkeys, and ducks. Their whole life is a horror. English has 500,000 words. None describe the 45-day life of a modern "broiler" chicken. These animals are deprived of everything. Their lives get steadily worse week by week, as their bodies grow out of control. The lucky ones die early. The modern slaughterhouse is a fast-paced, unregulated bloodhouse, where angry, frustrated workers squeeze chickens until the feces pop out, or rip off chickens' heads and squirt coworkers with the blood gushing from the end of the severed neck. Body parts are pulled off the chickens that are hung improperly. The chicken's last memory is of being conscious but completely paralyzed as its throat is cut. One poultry plant worker described the chickens as "screaming with their eyes." A single day of atonement hardly seems enough.



On the eastern shores of Maryland and Virginia are hundreds of long, windowless sheds. Each one is filled with up to 50,000 chickens. The chickens' lives consist of constant confinement, chronic discomfort, frustrated desires, and unrelenting boredom; simply existing is a chore. A few hundred yards from some of these buildings is a paradise. A lush woods with dense undergrowth and a canopy of towering trees. In this little forest are animals of all sorts: industrious insects, darting lizards, small burrowing mammals -- and chickens that scratch in the ground, form flocks, raise families, bathe in the dirt, and roost in high branches. The chickens live free, as they have for eons. They use their beaks and wings and repertoire of calls for the purposes intended by God. They are content and robust and busy, and their tapestries of green, gold, and red feathers dance in the sunlight.

In one direction, Eden, in the other direction, a human-constructed Hell. They are deceptively close to one another. We have the power to make the world (the animals' world and our world, for they are the same thing) more like God's ideal or more like the time of depravity and greed before The Flood. The distance between these two extremes is surprisingly, disturbingly small. We can change direction at our next meal, the one that comes after a day of fasting. We can pledge to live in harmony with the animals. In doing so, we honor God and draw closer to him. We have a tremendous opportunity to emerge from Yom Kippur with greater compassion, to repeal our killing ways, to not repeat the behaviors that have caused so many of God's weakest creatures to suffer. This Yom Kippur, seriously consider becoming vegetarian. You won't have so much to atone for next year.

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Richard Schwartz, author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, offers this Yom Kippur story as an example of how compassion toward animals is righteous and prayerful.

"Rabbi Israel Salanter, one of the most distinguished Orthodox Rabbis of the nineteenth century, failed to appear one Yom Kippur eve in time for the sacred Kol Nidre Prayer. His congregation became concerned, for it was inconceivable that their saintly rabbi would be absent or late on this very holy day. They sent a search party to look for him. After much time, their rabbi was found in a Christian neighbor's barn. On his way to the synagogue, Rabbi Salanter had come upon one of the neighbor's calves, lost and tangled in the brush. Seeing the animal in distress, he freed him and led him home. His act of compassion represented the rabbi's prayers on that Yom Kippur evening."

Note that the injured calf that Rabbi Salantar encountered had a better life than any factory farm animal.

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"Auschwitz begins whenever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: they're only animals." (Theodor Adorno, German Jewish philosopher)

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"His tender mercies are over all His creatures" (Psalm 145:9)

  

Aren't they beautiful?

Gypsy is a 10 year-old red and blue Eclectus (she's the one on the left in her picture). Kia is a 2 1/2 year-old Amazon. As you may have guessed (or already know), Eclectuses and Amazons are two types of parrots.

Parrots are wonderful companions. They're intelligent, interactive, and full of personality. But don't just go out and buy a parrot. Adding any animal to your household is a long-term commitment, but with parrots this is especially true. We're talking not just years but possibly decades. So, as enticing as it may be to welcome one of these resplendent avians into your family, give it careful thought. Read up on parrot care; determine if you're ready to make the commitment.

Parrots need a healthy diet, suitable living quarters, daily socialization, and ample stimulation. The web sites at the end of this post provide much more information on all these topics; I'll just skim the surface.

Birds eat more than bird seeds! You need to give your parrot a good mix of vegetables and grains in addition to seeds. Treats should be given sparingly.

Parrots want a clean, comfortable, accommodating cage — you would, too, if that was your home. Again, do your homework. There are all sorts of cages, perches, feeders, and accessories available. You want to create a setup that works well for your bird and is reasonably easy to maintain. Cleaning is a daily necessity with a bird (and just about any pet). Change the litter each day, and periodically do more in-depth maintenance. Parrots like to be clean; just look at Gypsy's and Kia's feathers — they shine!

Parrots, like any companion animal, benefit from a blend of comfortable routine and novelty. A parrot gains security from knowing that he has a reliable source of food, favorite perching spots, and daily social time with his humans. (I use "he" and "his" at random; I just don't like to call an animal "it.") Parrots are quite smart, so they need toys and activities to challenge their mind. They'll get bored or depressed if they don't have enough physical and mental exercise. Rotate the toys and try out new ones. Be alert to your parrot's style; each bird has individual preferences.

Make your parrot feel like he's part of the family — because he is. Don't relegate him to a far-off room. Make sure that the arrangement in your house allows parrot and humans to be in the same room, interacting with one another, for more than a couple of hours each day. The more time together, the better. Maintain a friendly conversation stream with your parrot; tell him your day, complain about your boss, consult with him about your stock portfolio. Remember, parrots are social animals and good listeners. But let them get a word in edgewise.

Which brings us to this exceptional capability that parrots have — they talk! Some are more talkative than others, but the ability to put even two or three words together sensibly is remarkable. Your cat or dog is probably very adept at conveying her intentions, but imagine if she actually said, "hello" or "it's time to eat!" Parrots, a few other representatives of the bird kingdom, and humans are the only living beings as far as we know that can say a phrase in English and have an idea of what it means. That's impressive! Anyone who lives with an animal knows that they think and make decisions, but parrots' talent to incorporate human words allows us greater insight into their thought patterns. One writer on parrot care reported that her parrot, after learning what "pretty bird in the mirror meant," applied the phrase to his shadow on the wall. That's smart! Many two-year olds would not make the association.

Speaking of two-year olds, households with young children may not be suitable for parrots (or many other animals). Children under six may be too rough with the bird, causing injury or getting injured themselves when the bird retaliates. This is a general rule; many factors come into play, including size of the bird, temperament of the bird, maturity level of the child, and the child's past behavior with pets. Above all, ensure that both birds and children will be safe and feel secure.

Because parrots are living, breathing, thinking, feeling, creative creatures, they're entitled to have their moods and errors in judgment from time to time, just like us. If your parrot has periods of crankiness or is being obstinate, take it in stride. Treat any behavior problems with sympathy. Attempt to get to the root of the problem and fix that. Always maintain a trusting and respectful relationship with your bird. Learn how to approach him and talk to him so that he feels safe with you, and welcomes your company. Without his trust you won't be able to gently correct undesired behavior such as biting. You can be the benevolent alpha member of the flock, but always be gentle — no exceptions. Prefer positive reinforcement over punishment. Note that any acute or prolonged changes in your parrot's behavior may signal a medical condition that requires veterinary care. Don't hesitate to call your vet if you have any suspicions.

If you're interested in acquiring one of these fabulous and complex creatures, like I said, do your homework. Visit stores that take good care of their birds and are truly interested in their welfare. You'll probably know this when you walk in. If the birds have toys, a varied diet, and lots of attention from the staff, you're probably in the right place. Read up on parrots, ask advice, and get ready for the start of a beautiful, long-term relationship.

For more information on parrot adoption, care, health, and behavior, please peruse the following web sites:

http://www.parrotparrot.com/contents/ -- Parrot health, breeds, behavior, and care
http://www.parrotparrot.com/articles/aa020900.htm -- Children and Birds
http://www.avianweb.com -- All About Birds

See you later!

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Teaser for future post:

See the grey parrot on the right, listening to a soliloquy by Kia? That's an African Grey. Down the road, I'll introduce you to Alex, a remarkable African Grey.

(True story, names changed)

Max and Jackson were two house rabbits that shared a pen. They got along well enough, but Jackson was the more aggressive of the two. When meals were served, he would push Max out of the way, to get to the "good stuff," like cilantro and fennel, before Max did. This went on for years.

Max eventually developed kidney failure, which decreased his appetite and energy level. Jackson noticed Max's decline and changed his behavior. He stopped trying to shove his way to the food bowl, and let Max eat before him. This was a sacrifice on Jackson's part because both rabbits had the same favorite vegetables, which they always liked to polish off first.

Max's condition worsened, and some days he would refuse to eat. Jackson went to further lengths to be helpful. He would go the food bowl, grab some vegetables, and bring them to Max, trying to get him to eat.

Max passed away a few months ago. The person taking care of Max and Jackson will forever remember Jackson's kindness, and intelligence at knowing that his buddy needed his vegetables.

Re: the recent NBC special on entertainer Roy Horn (of Siegfried and Roy) and his narrow escape from death after being mauled by Montecore, a tiger in his hire.

Blatant bias is bad enough, but inexcusable when it puts both humans and animals at risk. Montecore's attack on Roy Horn was merely the latest in a long string of incidents in which captive animals, forced to be performance artists, lash out at their handlers. It is highly doubtful that Montecore was "helping" Mr. Horn, as he claims. Her actions closely matched that of a tiger whose predatory instinct has been triggered. Furthermore, when we take into account that she was forced to perform tricks night after night, it is no surprise that she — like many other animals in the same circumstance — acted out of pent-up frustration.

Horn's self-serving — possibly delusional — interpretations of everything from why Monetcore lunged after him to why she dragged him toward the exit are highly questionable and disputed by most independent tiger experts. But then again, there is substantial vested interest in portraying Horn as an innocent victim rather than as partly responsible for the debacle:

• Field Entertainment, which produced the Siegfried and Roy show, and which also owns Ringling Brothers, relies on the lie that animals in circuses and other performance milieus are well-treated. We know from video footage and first-hand testimony that animals in the circus are chained, confined, and beaten. Field also refuses to release a tape of the attack to the USDA. You'd better believe that if the tape clearly supported their case, they would hand it over.


• Siegfried and Roy naturally are not about to incriminate themselves. The "masters of illusion" have carefully crafted an image of the animals and them being one big happy family. They fail to mention the excessive cruelty of keeping a lone elephant on the compound. Elephants are complex social animals that require a herd for companionship and vast acreage for exercise. Gildah, imprisoned in "The Secret Garden," has neither.


• NBC is about to launch an animated series based in part on the myth of Siegfried and Roy. The new show was promoted heavily during the special, which, by the way, was produced by the pair's ex-manager. The whole arrangement stinks of collusion.


• The public, by and large, wants to believe that circus-type shows, which they grew up with and enjoy, are not harmful to animals. The truth is painful. Siegfried and Roy's audience probably would rather believe their deceptive pitch about saving the "nearly extinct" white tiger, rather than finding out that the whiteness is merely a random coloring pattern popular with breeders and entertainers, because it's a big draw. Siegfried and Roy fans may not wish to hear about past events at the Secret Garden in which tigers got out of hand (one died), or that the act violates federal law by letting potentially deadly animals get too close to the audience with no protective barrier.

Animals that are taken from their families at young ages and forced into a lifetime of servitude regularly demonstrate their unhappiness, sometimes violently. Lions, tigers, and elephants are wild animals that yearn to be free. Instead, we confine them, deprive them of adequate companionship of their own kind, and coerce them to do human-invented tricks night after night.

In addition, tens of thousands of exotic animals are sold to Siegfried and Roy wannabees, who are woefully unprepared to care for the animals. As we've seen, even experienced trainers like Roy Horn can't prevent a tiger from acting out her aggression in a deadly manner. Indeed, on a regular basis, tigers kept as "pets" go on the rampage and ravage the surrounding neighborhood, injuring or killing innocent humans, including children. In many cases, the animal is shot.

NBC chose to put profit over human and animal safety by failing to mention the multiple dangers of keeping wild animals captive. Its near-deification of Roy Horn paves the way for more tragedy, compromised animal welfare, and lies by those who make a buck from the merchandising of magnificent creatures.

I of course have sympathy for Mr. Horn and wish him a full recovery. But I also have sympathy for animals trapped in life-long servitude to show business, and for the humans that are sure to be targets of the animals' wrath. That blood will be on NBC's, Field Entertainment's, and Siegfried and Roy's hands, in part because all parties perpetuate the dangerous message that stealing wild animals from their natural environment and making them perform for our amusement is legitimate and relatively harmless.

It's not too late for Siegfried and Roy, Field Entertainment, and NBC to save face and help animals in a big way, by establishing the Siegfried and Roy Wild Animal Sanctuary. Let the animals retire to wide open spaces where they can run free, and not have to face the rigors of putting on a show each night. (Gildah, the 55 year-old solitary elephant, should be relocated to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee: a spacious, extraordinarily reputable, elephant-friendly facility that houses many ex-performers. There, she would receive the necessary companionship and social stimulation of a herd.) Siegfried and Roy can manage the site, spend time with the animals each day, and invite school groups to learn how big cats really live. Such a move would be a win-win. Siegfried and Roy and their associates would prove to the world that they truly do care about animals — sometimes loving means letting go. Their reputation would soar. They would set an example to would-be exotic "pet" owners that wild animals are happiest when they have freedom, ample space, and a natural social structure. The animals, of course, would love it — finally, they'd be home.

"If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth."

"Humans aren't the only species on Earth -- we just act like it."

He had no name. I never met him. I don't know how old he was or what he was going to do that day. I had no time to stop or swerve. I looked in the rear-view mirror, and he was dead.

Please accept this small donation for your efforts to protect squirrels and all the other urban wildlife with which we share our little corner of the earth.

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The Northern Virginia Wildlife Rescue League rehabilitates, educates the public on, and promotes compassion for local wildlife. Their brochures convey the joy that flows back to us when we treat our backyard denizens with respect and kindness. There are similar groups across the country. Volunteering for one is a rewarding way to help animals.

An article in the New York Post notes that Mayor Bloomberg's girlfriend's fur coat was stolen. But that's not news; every fur coat is stolen...

From Macy's:



My Reply:



Macy's Reply:


* * *

Macy's treats the decision of whether or not to buy fur as an ethically neutral choice. I disagree. One involves wanton destruction and immense suffering, the other does not.

Macy's says that they respect the views of those who oppose fur. If that were true, they would not avail themselves of the fur industry's ill-gotten products. One can't respect the views of human rights advocates while offering goods made with child labor.

If I had to choose one method to end fur, it would be to "un-demand" it out of existence. With the possible exception of some remote Alaskan natives, no one in this country needs real fur. The purely discretionary nature of the product does not justify the horror of its production. The synthetics feel great, look great, cost less, and are every bit as durable. Educate your friends and family about the real cost of fur, in hopes that they'll be repelled by it. If they must have a garment that looks like an animal draped around them, urge them to go with faux fur. Ask them to pass the message on to their friends.

However, I recommend working the supply side, also. Although the success rate is low, if you can get one designer, department store CEO, fashion editor, or celebrity model to see the light, that's like converting thousands of consumers. Emails and phone calls have a cumulative effect, so yours might be the one that makes the difference.

Fur is a heinous, rotten business. The fur industry lies through its teeth to keep consumers in the dark. They claim that animals in fur farms are well-treated. They claim that fur trapping is necessary for "conservation." They inflict unquantifiable misery on millions of animals each year, so what's a few lies? The fur business has gone on too long. For the sake of the animals stuck in these human-made Hell-holes, we can't end their suffering soon enough.

From a Macy's ad in today's Washington Post, page A12:

"What's hot? Wild animal prints, fun fur, rabbit trim..."

I cringe, sometimes actually feel sick in my stomach, when I hear the phrase "fun fur." The cruelty of fur is so excruciating and barbaric, it's obscene that someone could actually put the word "fun" anywhere near it. It ruins lives, it's murderous. There's nothing remotely fun about it for the millions of creatures that have to suffer in the name of fashion.

You can do something about it. Call 212-494-5669. This is Tom Zapf, Director of Consumer Relations for Macy's in New York, where all the decisions about what to sell in the stores are made. Please tell him that you're disgusted enough to never shop there again until they stop selling products of cruelty. You may end up leaving a message. It's up to you if you want to leave a call-back number.

If you prefer, you can email Macy's on this page: http://www.fds.com/contact/service.asp. Phone calls are generally more effective, but email lets you carefully construct your message and present it without pressure.

If your local Macy's sells fur (and it probably does), you can also politely register your disapproval with the sales manager. You may want to ask salespeople how many rabbits are killed to produce the fur trim on each jacket. Ask how the animals are killed, and about the conditions in which they live. I emphasize being polite. As far as I can tell, local store employees have no say in what goes on the shelves. Some may be deeply troubled about selling fur, but unable to express their true feelings because of their position.

Phone calls and personal feedback have more of an impact than you may realize. They won't change the world overnight, but they do have an impact. Silence and inaction are the worst things you can do. The fur industry is pushing fur hard. The only way to stop it is through individual actions. Animal rights groups can't do it alone. Please take two minutes out of your day to help the rabbits, and all the other animals suffering in dirty, rotten, confining, deadly fur farms.

As Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts, I wanted to share with you a prayer by Rabbi Amy Schneiderman, on the death of her pet. I found it very touching and peaceful.

Our God and God of our ancestors, Creator of the universe which You filled with the wonders of life, You have brought forth diverse living creatures and endowed us with the ability to love them, care for them, and be comforted by them.

I thank you for the life of my pet, a constant and loyal companion who shared my home and my love.

At the same time I grieve the loss of my beloved pet, I give You thanks for the miracle of life and the wonder of the love and companionship we shared.

---

You can thank Rabbi Scheinerman at rabbi@scheinerman.net, or if you're in the Baltimore area, by attending one of her services at Beth Shalom Congregation in Taylorsville, Maryland.

Special thanks to www.all-creatures.org, run by the Mary T. and Frank Hoffman Foundation. They kindly granted permission to re-post the prayer, which originally appears here, accompanied by a wonderful photograph of two cats embracing each other. All-creatures.org is a treasure-trove of thought-provoking, inspirational articles about God, religion, and our relationship with animals. I highly recommend perusing the site.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the world's largest no-kill shelter, had two brother cats living there. One was sighted, one was blind. Each day, the two would intertwine tails, and the sighted cat led his blind brother.

How many of us are that kind?

There's a postscript. The cat who could see recently passed away. Shortly thereafter, workers at the shelter noticed something, and the veterinarian confirmed it — the blind cat had regained sight. It's as if his brother left a parting gift.

I'll just repeat the whole PETA alert:

Several participants in a field study course offered by the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS) recently contacted PETA, horrified. On the fourth day of their trek, the team was reportedly instructed to kill a docile sheep who had been tied to a tree by school organizers. The team was told that the sheep had been starved for three days so that “his intestines would be easier to clean.” Apparently, BOSS expects hapless hikers to stumble upon tethered, domesticated, easy-to-clean animals while lost in the wilderness.

According to our sources, team members were told to dig a hole in the ground and place a bucket in the hole to “catch the blood.” Seven team members then wrestled the starving and terrified animal to the ground and positioned his neck over the bucket. Straws were reportedly drawn to determine who would do the actual cutting. Horrifically, our sources say, the cutter used a dull knife to saw away at the sheep’s throat and was only successful in torturing the animal—an instructor had to step in to finish the job.

BOSS does not let potential customers know in advance that they will be expected to pin down and hack away at domesticated animals during their wilderness survival training. Honing that particular “survival skill” is apparently meant to be a surprise activity. Students who are informed in advance about the planned slaughter are specifically asked not to tell other students, in order to not spoil the “surprise.”

One complainant was definitely surprised: “The sheep had been quiet until now, when the most horrifying [agonized] breathing started … I looked down and saw the trachea had been severed. ‘Oh my God,’ I thought. ‘This is really happening.’ [T]he legs were spasming … How long did it take him to die? At least five minutes … As soon as he was dead, they took a thick wooden pole and rammed it between the ankle bones of the sheep and hung him upside-down. ‘No pictures,’ we were told. ‘The general population just wouldn’t understand.’ ‘Just who would?’ I thought.”

A PETA caseworker, posing as a potential customer, called BOSS specifically to ask about animal slaughter. A BOSS spokesperson confirmed that this grisly activity is discreetly included in most of the longer courses. “The trips build up to a kill of a large animal,” she told PETA. “It’s very spiritual.”

Please let BOSS—which has offices in both Boulder, Utah, and Boulder, Colorado—know that there is nothing “spiritual” about starving and killing animals, and ask that they discontinue this part of their outdoor curriculum:

Josh Bernstein, President and CEO
Jenny Stein, Customer Service and Operations
Boulder Outdoor Survival School, Inc. (BOSS)
P.O. Box 1590
Boulder, CO 80302
800.335.7404 (toll-free)
303-444-9779
303-442-7425 (fax)
Click here to send an email to BOSS.

[End of PETA alert]

I recommend copying and pasting your message, and sending it to the CEO, the customer service representative, and the public relations contact, respectively. You can do that by clicking on various options at the bottom of the BOSS contact page, or by using these URLs:

http://www.boss-inc.com/08e-josh.html sends a message to Josh Bernstein, President and CEO.

http://www.boss-inc.com/08e-jenny.html sends a message to Jenny stein, Customer Service & Operations.

http://www.boss-inc.com/08e-diane.html sends a message to Diane Nagler, Public Relations & Media Inquires.

My comments:

This outfit shows an apalling and utter disregard for the welfare and life of the animals they brutally kill. The exercise is totally uncessary, and to describe it as "spiritual" puts it into the realm of paganistic ritual. Perhaps even worse, BOSS turned the torturous death into a game, where people draw straws.

There are a thousand possible scenarios that a person lost in the wilderness might encounter, and a few that may require violence. It is ludicrous and irresponsible to "play-act" some of them in a way that harms innocent living creatures. For God's sake, the poor thing was already starved and tethered, then gang-tackled by seven people. How realistic is that? They could have accomplished the same goal using dummies. Or they could have used that time to learn another survival skill. Shame on BOSS for pretending that this sadistic violence is educational.

Please be firm but polite in your correspondence with BOSS. Even though what they did was despicably mean, chances are that if they detect any meanness toward them, they'll use it to discredit you, and possibly anyone else who has the compassion to protest the infliction of gratuitous suffering on animals. Companies that destroy animals for profit are all too quick to denounce those who oppose their cruelty as "misguided" or "extremist." So make your case, express your outrage and sadness, but refrain from personal attacks or insults. (If you can — we're only human.)

"Spiritual..." “A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast” (Proverbs 12:10). “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 11:9).

The following video shows some of the abuse that occurred in Iams test labs over a 10-month period. Prior to the revealing video, Iams had touted its animal-friendly enrichment program (practically non-existent), the fact that it did not engage in lethal animal experiments (it contracts them out), and their program for adopting out dogs and cats once they're done being experimental subjects (no evidence of that).

Here's a preview of some of the scenes in the video. The text is taken directly from the PETA web page that contains the video; my comments are in brackets.

• Scene #4: One of the laboratory's employees tells our investigator to hit the dogs on the chest if they stop breathing.


• Scene #8: A laboratory worker holding a dead Iams dog in a black plastic bag tells our investigator that the dog "bled out its mouth." The dog, who was found dead in his cage, was subjected to a muscle biopsy earlier in the week.


• Scene #9: Iams dog Mae-Mae exhibits stereotypical behavior (i.e., pacing and circling) associated with life in a cage.


• Scene #18: Iams dog Sally rises from the floor of her cage and cowers in fear. [Even taking AIMS' promised "socialization" programs at their word, the dogs are in these cages 23 1/2 hours a day, and they don't even have a solid floor to lie down on. The floor is made of metal slats. That has to be painful.]


• Scene #21: A solitary Iams kitten in a barren, steel cage. Iams says that its kittens and puppies are litter-reared for companionship and socialization.


• Scene #22: Sally's leg is caught between the slats of her cage flooring.


• Scene #24: A veterinary technician frees Sally without even examining her to be sure that her legs are not injured. Previously, another dog caught in the flooring of her cage was so severely injured that she was eventually killed.

The undercover investigator also discovered the following (again, from the web site):

• a study involving sticking tubes down dogs' throats to force them to ingest vegetable oil


• coworkers who talked about a live kitten who was washed down a drain


• coworkers who talked about how they had to go home because the ammonia fumes in the animal trailers were so overpowering that it made their eyes burn (try being one of the animals in those cages!)


• cats kept in a cinderblock room with crude wooden "resting" boards that had nails sticking out of them; one of the boards fell on a cat, crushing her to death, while our investigator was there yet the lab director did not remove the boards when the cat was crushed—he removed them when he was told that the lab was going to be inspected because he knew they were illegal

In addition, lab technicians "debarked" test dogs because the lab director was disturbed by the noise. It's hard to find words to describe this kind of heartless cruelty. The long-suffering dogs had practically nothing but their bark — and that was taken away.

Here's the video: http://www.iamscruelty.com/iams-video.asp

When I watch the footage, even more than ire for IAMS is my sadness that these beautiful creatures are treated so callously for no good reason at all.

Please do not buy pet food (or anything else) from this company. And do not fall for their fake, "we are shocked at the abuse" response, which comes after years of denial.

---

A related upcoming post will look at pet food company "feeding trials," in which caged animals are given a food product for six months, so that the company can claim on its label that it meets the American Association of Feed Control Official (AAFCO) standards. The post will argue that a) such trials are insufficient criteria to determine that a food is healthy, and b) they're not needed.

"In the midst of our high-tech, ostentatious, hedonistic lifestyle, among the dazzling monuments to history, art, religion, and commerce, there are the 'black boxes.' These are the biomedical research laboratories, factory farms, and slaughterhouses — faceless compounds where society conducts the dirty business of abusing and killing innocent, feeling beings. These are our Dachaus, our Buchenwalds, our Birkenaus. Like the good German burghers, we have a fair idea of what goes on there, but we don't want any reality check."

In the commercial, the man is driving at night on a dark country highway. The voiceover talks about the benefits of Lexus' adaptive headlights. The car's front lights pick up a deer in the road, allowing the driver to apply the brakes slowly and steadily. As he's stopped, we see that the deer is a doe; two seconds later her fawn gallops across the street. The driver's smile indicates that he's pleased to have spared the deer any injury. Subtle but effective. Thank you, Lexus.

(Bonus: the commercial aired during opening week of the NFL, so several million men — at least — got the message.)

Step on over to my grill. Getting a bit of a paunch there? Not me. And it's not because I work out two hours a day — I don't. It's because of my vegetarian diet. Almost 50 and still full of energy. After lunch I'm not slumped over, ready for a nap; I'm productive.

Listen up. Get this idea that meat is man-food and vegetables are wimp food out of your head. The lion is the "King of Beasts," right? Wrong, the vegan elephant can take him.

All that animal fat in your arteries hurts your performance in other ways, too, if you catch my drift. Don't lie.

Try this Riblet. I cooked it up with some cole slaw, put it on a bun. BBQ-style. Pretty tasty, eh? Or you can have it with some tomato and Bermuda onion, and wash it down with a beer.

Sloppy Joe's? I got 'em. Taste this. Fooled you, didn't I? No meat.

The meat people bombard you with images all day and all night, trying to get you to buy their product. They won't help pay for your bypass, though.

Try fake chicken nuggets with barbeque sauce and you probably won't go back to "real" ones. Fake bacon — close to real bacon in texture and taste. Healthier. I think you can go vegetarian. There's nothing to fear. If you do it, others wil follow.

Seconds, anyone? Sit down, get comfy. Before we watch the game, I want to talk to you for a minute about some real serious reasons why you should remove meat — and I hope all animal products — from your diet as soon as possible. Your eating habits cause massive suferring. Real men don't torture animals. I know you're not torturing them directly. But you're torturing them indirectly. Crushing one-day old chickens. Forcing baby cows into solitary confinement. Preventing pregnant pigs from making a nest. Grabbing female turkeys, forcing them on their backs, and injecting turkey semen into their vaginas. What kind of despicable perverted loser does that? Meanness is a coward's substitute for masculinity.

That hamburger you ate came from a worn-out dairy cow. The chicken soup came from a "spent" hen, feathers falling out, lame, dying. The pink in the veal chop is because the calf never had his mother's milk and developed anemia. The pork came from a pig stuck in a metal crate with lesions covering his legs. The leg that was attached to your chicken breast was pulled off while the chicken was still alive. The watery stuff in the package is feces and bacteria. Want to know the USDA allowance for pus in dairy products?

With a veg diet you don't contribute to or suffer from any of those problems. Another Riblet, anyone?

---

Recommended reading:

The Cattle Rancher Who Gave Up Eating the Ranch

Breakfast of Champions (diets of vegetarian athletes; focus on skiing and weight-lifting)

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Bonus Recipe:


Tasty; based on an idea by J.M. Hirsh, AP Reporter

Peel and slice one large eggplant into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Brush liberally with a mixture of olive oil, Italian spice blend (which you can buy ready-made or mix yourself) and garlic salt. (Put some lemon juice on the sliced eggplant if it starts to turn brown.)

Grill eggplant slices. Baste with the oil and spice blend.

Cut sub roll in half, brush inside with the oil-spice mixture.

Stack eggplant on bread. Top with slices of red onion, tomato, and roasted red pepper.

This works well on a George Foreman grill. Enjoy!

Variation 1: Spread store-bought pesto on bread.
Variation 2: Top with slice of cheese. Soy cheese, that is. Provolone recommended.

Serve with: Grilled Herbed Red Potatoes. You can make this ahead of time, and heat it up in the microwave, or on the grill, wrapped in foil.

"Lamb of God." Could it be any clearer?

For some reason, Christians (and non-Christians) who can wax eloquent on the symbolism in other Gospel passages miss this one.

In one sense, they're right. The Bible is not referring to lambs per se, but to all the innocents who suffer unjustly. Pigs, chickens, ducks, veal calves — and humans who are persecuted. Every day, in thousands of human-created Hells across the world, we crucify God's Creation. Is the suffering of chickens having their legs pulled off while fully conscious as bad as Jesus' suffering on the cross? I think it's worse, because they have no idea why they're in such pain, and they have not had one moment of peace or happiness in their lives.

Christians who should know better (and who, perhaps, deep down, do know better) decry the suffering of Jesus, but assume the role of oppressor when the victim is an animal.

Jesus likened the comforting wing of a hen protecting her chicks to God's love for His flock. In factory farm hatcheries, male chicks are suffocated and dumped in the trash after they're born. The factory farm hen spends her days and nights in a severely crowded "battery cage" with slats for a floor so her eggs will fall through. She lives a joyless life of forced deprivation. She becomes sick, featherless, and lifeless, and dies violently when her egg production drops.

The other animals in factory farms, the ducks out of water in isolation cages, the bleeding rabbit with his head smashed against the wall, the caged fox that resorts to cannibalism, the pig going insane squeezing its snout through the metal bars, the trapped coyote biting off her own leg so she can feed her young...we keep on inventing new ways to make them suffer.


Lamb of God. The very essence of innocence. How do we treat him? With love and respect? As good stewards, entrusted by God to look after this member of His Creation? Or as a thing, a utility to be used however we want, without restraint? Have you seen a lamb up close? Not "leg of lamb," or "rack of lamb," but a real lamb, living and breathing. Have you buried your hand or your head in his soft fur? Have you watched him play, or sleep the most blissful sleep on a bed of straw? His beauty and purity are ancient. In prison-like industrial farms, the lamb of God dies for your sins every day, including the Sabbath, the day of rest. Unlike Jesus — this is crucial — he does not willingly sacrifice himself. He struggles when his throat is slit. As his strength is sapped and his blood drains out, he continues to struggle. As long as he breathes, he struggles. It is as though we nailed a child to the cross.

Lamb of God. His intrinsic worth — by virtue of being created by God, given the breath of life, and endowed with a soul ("Nefesh Chaya" in the Hebrew Bible) — is completely ignored, trampled on, crushed. His innocence is violated and he suffers like Jesus to whom he is compared.

In Isaiah's prophecy, the lion lies down with the lamb. But we can lie down with the lamb right now, which will bring us one step closer to God's Peaceable Kindgom.

---

Recommended reading:

Honoring God's Creation

Is There Gospel Good News for the Animals?

The Veggie Table (Vegetarian Recipes)

Foie gras is a pate sold as a delicacy at French restaurants and gourmet stores. Here's how it's made.

Take a duck. Prevent it from ever going in the water.


Put the duck in a small, floorless cage that barely gives it enough room to move.


Feed the duck three times a day by shoving a long metal tube down its throat and forcing huge quantities of food through it. If the duck struggles, grab it so you can force it to consume up to a pound of food at each meal.



What happens next? Here are some examples from www.gourmetcruelty.com:

"At Hudson Valley Foie Gras, investigators found many birds blinded by infections. In some cases, these infections were so severe that it was difficult to tell where their eyes once were."

"Investigators documented two birds literally being eaten alive by a rat." [I have seen a video taken by investigators in which the caged ducks are too weak to fend off rats that are eating them.]

"GourmetCruelty.com documented dying birds covered in their own vomit. The corpses of birds who had suffocated and choked to death from forced-feeding were found in the cages and pens."

[Before reading this next sentence, note that the three-times daily force-feeding causes the duck's liver to expand to several times its normal size, and induces a disease called hepatic lipidosis. The engorged, diseased liver is served as foie gras.]

"Numerous garbage cans filled with dead birds, some of whom appeared to have exploded from the forced-feeding process, were also uncovered."


Investigators were able to rescue 15 ducks from their foie gras prison camp. They carefully lifted the ducks, which were too weak to resist, out of their cages and cradled them in their arms.

(For me, this is a defining image in animal rights activism. The foie gras producers took a beautiful and majestic creature, deprived it of everything it needed for a normal life, and slowly tortured it to death. The activists, out of compassion for the battered, broken-down, dying ducks in their tiny pens, gently carried as many as they could to safety. The contrast between the tormentors and the rescuers could not be more striking.)

The rescued ducks had to learn how to eat, how to walk, and how to swim. Three basic skills that every duck in the wild knows. The rescuers syringe-fed the ducks until the ducks were able to to eat on their own. They filled a bathtub with water and placed the ducks there. The ducks waddled their feet. They propelled themselves. For the first time in their life, they were swimming. Once they got the hang of the water, they loved it. They dove. They splashed. They played.

Some of the ducks had debilitating injuries that would hamper their ability to walk. Some underwent comprehensive therapy at the veterinary clinic. But they all got stronger. They all learned to master basic duck skills. Finally, they were ducks!

Then came the big day — their release into the wild. They walked toward the pond, their new home, and stepped in. They swam out a bit and floated on the surface. It would have been perfect moment, except for the thousands left behind...


Sarahjane Blum is the head of GourmetCruelty.com. She was the ducks' chief rescuer. She oversaw their rehabilitation and eventual release.

"She is charged with felony burglary for openly rescuing ducks from Hudson Valley Foie Gras. For the mercy and compassion she has shown to animals tortured and suffering daily on foie gras factory farms, Sarahjane Blum is now facing a seven year prison term...Legal fees in this historic case are mounting. Please contribute to GourmetCruelty.com to help with Sarahjane Blum’s defense and to help GourmetCruelty.com continue the struggle against the foie gras producers who torture animals for profit. These are the real criminals."


In August 2004, the California Senate passed Senate Bill SB 1520, which bans the production and sale of foie gras in the state of California. The bill is not perfect; for instance, it does not take effect for several years. Nonetheless, it would be a historic victory for animals. It would outlaw a particularly cruel farming method, and spare countless future ducks from terrible suffering. All that's left is for Governor Schwarzenegger to sign the bill. Anti-animal rights groups are lobbying vigorously to get the governor to veto the bill. You can contact Governor Schwarzenegger here.

* * *

It was so glorious out in the country; it was summer; the cornfields were yellow, the oats were green, the hay had been put up in stacks in the green meadows, and the stork went about on his long red legs, and chattered Egyptian, for this was the language he had learned from his good mother. All around the fields and meadows were great forests, and in the midst of these forests lay deep lakes. Yes, it was right glorious out in the country. In the midst of the sunshine there lay an old farm, with deep canals about it, and from the wall down to the water grew great burdocks, so high that little children could stand upright under the loftiest of them. It was just as wild there as in the deepest wood, and here sat a Duck upon her nest.

A friend of a friend was feeling like her efforts to save animals were futile, a drop in the bucket at best. So many billions of animals suffering — how many could she save?

So I told her the starfish story. You don't know the starfish story? Okay, there's your Google research project for today...

When pet owners spend thousands on veterinary care for a beloved member of the family, inevitably they have to put up with "we don't treat humans that well." But when they spend three times as much on a Jaguar, people say "nice car."

That's what the person said after I explained the horror of fur farms, where wild animals are stuffed into tiny boxes like objects, and stay there until they're killed barbarically several months later.

"It's a free country" ignited several responses within me.

Disagreement. It's not a free country for the animals who should be free, in the country, but are instead imprisoned in small filthy cages.

Dismay. This person, who owns a mink throw, could directly prevent suffering by foregoing fur items in the future — a committment she was not interested in making.

Disbelief. How can people be so callous toward the misery and slaughter they cause?

Despair. Tonight, the fur owner will enjoy a nice meal and a comfortable bed. The millions of animals on fur farms, in their wire cages, will eat mash and have no solid floor on which to sleep. They'll have spent another day unable to move more than a few steps in any direction. Perhaps they'll dream about playing chase games in open fields or feeling the cool grass on their feet. Tomorrow they'll meet their violent, bloody end. The rabbits will get their heads bashed in, the foxes will be anally electrocuted, and the chinchillas will be suffocated. Someone will make a few incisions into each animal's fur and pull their skin off. "America the Beautiful" will be playing on the radio.

Cooper knows that the big log in the middle of the field is the boundary of his territory. But that still leaves him with quite a lot. During the day, he oversees his small flock of two chickens. He keeps them out of trouble and protects them against danger.

At precisely ten minutes to four each day, he reminds his person that it's time to go in the barn for the night. He rounds up "his girls" and leads them to the correct door — second from the right. If the girls dilly-dally, he tells them in no uncertain terms to make haste, and ushers them along. The three of them go in the barn, safe for the night. Their person closes the door behind them.

It's important that they good a good night's sleep, because there's a lot to do tomorrow at the sanctuary.

(A true story)

"Although it was a fabulous hit with the fashion world at the time, I realized later, with sorrow, that a quarter-million leopards had been killed in order to enable this fashion trend. … [animals] continue to be needlessly slaughtered to satisfy the demands of thoughtless people who themselves remain entrapped in unnecessary fashion."

-- Oleg Cassini, the designer who put Jackie Kennedy in a leopard-skin coat in the 1950s. New York Post, May 13 1999