animal welfare

Most people who know me know what kind of vegetarian I am. I don’t eat meat from animals that had a mother. However that doesn’t make me a vegan. I do eat cheese, yogurt, ice cream and eggs. All products that contribute to the suffering of farm animals. I struggle with this fact – that I’m a bit of a sell-out of sorts – but at the same time I am not of the mentality that humans will ever live solely on a plant-based diet. We will always eat meat. So what I advocate for is a better quality of life for farm animals, as well as more humane killing of them.

As a result, I am all for the news that two premium chicken producers are preparing to switch to a system that would kill their birds more humanely. The article, covered in detail by the NY Times, points out that this humane sort of slaughtering “is sure to appeal to a segment of the chicken-buying public,” and I couldn’t agree more.

Read the full article here.

This horse carted tourists around NYC until it came time for retirement: the slaughterhouse.

Throughout the year tourists from around the world travel to New York City and are drawn to the horse-drawn carriage rides around Central Park… they say it’s whimsical. But with that whimsy comes a huge price to pay.

Read the rest of the article on the Huffington Post…

Sen. Byrd with his wife, Erma, and dog, Trouble

On Monday, the animals lost one of their most powerful and ardent voices, Senator Robert Byrd. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a Senator from 1959 to 2010 and was the longest-serving senator and the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress. Byrd was 92 years old and still in office when he died.

Read the rest of the article on Examiner.com…

My good friend Jen Panton from United Action for Animals was walking her dogs on 5th Avenue close to Central Park early on Friday morning when she discovered a small bird on a window sill flailing its wings, seemingly unable to fly.

On the way back from her walk the bird was still in the same spot so Jen captured it and took it to her bird friend who confirmed that the bird was indeed a fledgling that could not yet fly. Her friend encouraged Jen to bring it back to the same spot she found it since there was a good chance her mother was nearby. Jen was torn. She knew if the bird stood any chance of survival it was with its mother, but she would be returning it to a busy street.

So Jen obliged her friend and returned the bird to the same window sill where she had found it and within seconds her mother swooped down and greeted the bird, speaking to it frenetically. A minute later, the mother bird flapped its wings to cross the street and the baby bird slowly followed. But because she could not open her wings to clear the street in time, she met her fate from a car that was headed in her direction.

Both Jen and the mother bird went to the fledgling who lay dead in the middle of the street. Jen said the mother bird stood over her young and paced back and forth grieving. Jen, also extremely upset, sobbed as she contemplated the lesson in all of it.

Last year I had my first experience with a fledgling and its mother who was trying to teach its young to find its wings. It’s an uneasy feeling, watching the baby bird get caught in places the mother bird cannot rescue it from. So you intervene where you can, torn about taking it from its mother or allowing nature to take its course…

A long, albeit exceptionally excellent and important article by Charles Siebert for the NY Times.

“…another significant reason for the increased attention to animal cruelty is a mounting body of evidence about the link between such acts and serious crimes of more narrowly human concern, including illegal firearms possession, drug trafficking, gambling, spousal and child abuse, rape and homicide,” the NY Times.

The Barbi Twins have once again lent their fame and faces to support the animal welfare cause. This time, Shane and Sia Barbi appear on the new poster for the documentary, Earthlings. Click here to read more…

As someone who runs but has not yet tried the Vibram fivefingers, and as someone who used to work at Goldman Sachs and was dismayed by the company’s “best practices” while there, (not to mention now), and as someone who is part of the animal welfare movement, I feel like this Huff entry was written just for me. Luckily, my compass is not broken and I was able to find this wonderful blog post.

Mr. Biggs awaits his turn to get neutered Sunday at UA4A's spay/neuter clinic in Jamaica, Queens

This is Mr. Biggs. Someone had big plans to make a champ out of him so they chopped his ears. But Mr. Biggs turned out to be a lover not a fighter, so they dumped him at a neighbor’s house saying they would return to get him in a couple of hours and of course never did. He is being fostered by this gentleman who lives in Brooklyn and has two dogs and several cats of his own. He adores Mr. Biggs but there’s only one problem: he doesn’t get along with cats. Despite this small caveat, Mr. Biggs has an amazing disposition and desperately needs a good home. He’s young and let’s not forget… he’s also neutered thanks to United Action for Animals! Please let me know if you would like to meet this special boy.