Vegetarian Star

PETA Kentucky Derby Ad

As expected, no billboard company in Louisville is willing to let animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals place a poster describing how many horses have died since Eight Bells did in 2008 from racing.

Maybe they should start campaigning for next year. It must be a factor of space, obviously.

PETA said that, on average, three horses break down on the race track every day and although the industry has made improvements, like banning steroids from the tracks where the Triple Crown races are run, officials resort to using drugs that mask the animal’s pain so it can still race when it should be in recovery.

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Jack Hanna, who has been vocally supportive of SeaWorld since the incident involving a trainer being killed by a whale at the park, remains positive about the organization.

In an interview with DIS Unplugged, the zookeeper shared his thoughts on the park and animal safety.

On continuing programs at SeaWorld despite trainer deaths:
Does an accident or a death at NASCAR or Indy or even sometimes in certain sports around the world hesitate people in going? The answer’s no. Not just for that, Dawn (Brancheau), whose memorial service is this weekend, gave her life doing something – as her family said, what she loved to do. She loved to educate people. The millions of people this young woman has educated over the years is phenomenal.

On the possibility of future tragedies:
Things happen, yes. Will things happen again? Of course they will. It could be the Columbus Zoo. It could be any zoo throughout the country – the 220 zoos and aquariums. Because we work with safety of our visitor first and safety of our animals – that’s our number one goal, but could something happen? Of course it could happen.

On more government regulations for educational programs at parks like SeaWorld:
Yeah… well, I hope they don’t change anything at SeaWorld. That’s my opinion. I would think people in Washington would have other things to worry about right now. Was Dawn’s death a tragedy? Sure it was. It’s incredible, one death, anybody’s death is a tragedy. But think about other things that are tragedies: the war, the economy, job loss, I could go on and on. You’d think in Washington they’d consider working on things like that that are a little more important than trying to figure out… you know, SeaWorld does it the best there is, period.

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Although McDonald’s in Europe has committed to going cage-free for its eggs by the end of 2012, U.S. McDonald’s show no signs of letting the birds out the wire, citing rising prices for consumers for the more humane and better quality product as the reason.

However, as Wallet Pop points out, with the average cost of a dozen cage-free eggs being only sixty cents more, this would translate to an extra nickel to customers.

According to a poll on WP’s website, over half of people are willing to pay more for cage-free eggs, with 22% willing to pay $0.05, 21% willing to pay $0.25 and 7% willing to pay $1.00.

Of course, we’re not getting into the debate of raising the Canadian bacon pig more ethically (or better yet, doing away with the bacon altogether).

That too should be the next step in making the Egg McMuffin more humane, and keeping up and maybe even getting ahead of our European fast food loving  brothers and sisters.

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Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, will make an appearance at Farm Sanctuary’s California Country Hoe Down in May, a day filled with vegan food and workshops on health and the environment.

According to a press release from the group, Biz turned vegan 10 years ago after a visit to the New York sanctuary, which is home to cows, pigs, goats and other formerly abused and abandoned farm animals.

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Jack Hanna and animal rights activists aren’t best friends forever.

More recently, he and PETA’s president Ingrid Newkirk shared words over the value of holding dolphins captive in places like SeaWorld.

Another area where he and activists may differ is the area of zoos, where animals are restricted to small spaces versus being free to roam for miles in their natural habitats.

Hanna thinks this is something that’s unavoidable, as some animals cannot be released into the wild.

“I’ve tried working with animal rights groups, and some of those people are just plain nut cases,” Hanna told Northern Express. “You can’t just put all the animals back out into the wild. That’s why we have zoos – good zoos, not bad ones. We have 220 of them in this country. Ninety nine percent of our animals come from other zoos – animals that are born in captivity. Not everyone has the means to travel like I do, and this allows people to see these animals up close. People leave learning something.”

With animal rights activists like PETA, it’s not necessarily the wild they’re recommending, but sanctuaries.

These environments would offer the larger living spaces that more closely mimick an animal’s natural habitat.

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Olivia Munn PETA

Olivia Munn has bared all to spread the message about captive animals in circuses, especially elephants in an anti circus ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

According to Ace Showbiz, the ad will be unveiled on a billboard on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles today, so be prepared for the slowed traffic, open mouths and binocular watching from men in that area.

The ad reads, “As nature intended, let animals be free. Boycott the circus.”

Peta2 has written a few facts about the circus and treatment of animals on its blog.

An interesting fact: Elephants are no sedentary creatures. They may walk as much as 30 miles a day!

However, as Peta2 points out, circuses chain these animals and cart them from city to city, forcing them into such a small space when they’re let out, it’s impossible to even strike a yoga pose.

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Hide the mouse from the cat.

Hulu has a pet channel, an all in one stop on the Internet for every good animal show, from Dog Town and Cesar Millan‘s Dog Whisperer to movies like The Lost Stallion to the clay animation of Wallace and Gramit.

It’s the Animal Planet of the Internet.

Like other Hulu shows, some of the episodes, clips and movies are more recent than others.

The clip below, from the Sundance Channel’s Big Ideas for a Small Planet, is about a woman who owns a natural pet foods store (ran with the assistance of her two Saint Bernards?).

Other clips from the channel feature the stories of dogs rescued in Iraq.

A recent article from a Northwestern University blog featured green pet ideas, from food to cleaning supplies.

Vegetarian and vegan pet food exists for both cats and dogs, but regardless if you choose to make your pet go veg, it’s always best to feed your animal food that is natural, organic and contains the fewest processed ingredients, according to Kelsie Dolezal, a certified veterinary technician at The Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine, adding that it’s not difficult to “make your own.”

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"Terriens" Georges Laraque

Georges Laraque is in between careers right now, after recently leaving the Montreal Canadiens.

While he decides where his next step should be in the NHL, Laraque is keeping busy with his activism.

Laraque hosts free monthly viewings of his French narrated version of Earthlings, Terriens, the documentary about the use of animals in food and fashion industries that prompted him to go vegan.

According to The Star, the screenings usually attract 150-200 people.

“We’re talking about how bad eating animals is, not just for compassion, but how bad it is for your health and for the environment,” said Laraque. “I’m not an extremist trying to force people to do so. I give them the information and people can make their own decision.”

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