Vegetarian Star

For the first time in over 20 years, the Iditarod Trail sled dog race ended with no dogs dying during the race.

“To stand there and watch that last team come in, I’ll tell you, is the highlight of my veterinarian career,” chief race veterinarian Stuart Nelson said. “I think it’s a pretty safe assumption that this is a first.”

Conditions that favored the well being of the dogs during the race this year include good trail conditions and low temperatures, since overheating is the biggest threat, according to Nelson.

“Typically our greatest concern is dogs that might overheat,” Nelson said. “So when you have a colder race, you can take that factor, typically, out of the equation.”

Nelson also said that he couldn’t remember any animals not dying since he first became involved with the race in 1986.

The last dog death resulted in an investigation after animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals demanded it.

Still, no deaths doesn’t satisfy all advocates of the dogs in the race, like Margery Glickman, founder of the Sled Dog Action Coalition.

“If it’s true that there have been no dog deaths, I hope that remains the case for however long this race is run and I hope that they make other improvements,” Glickman told the Anchorage Daily News.

Glickman wants the race shortened and more rest breaks available.

About 40 volunteer veterinarians patrolled the trail at various checkpoints, checking the health of the dogs throughout the race.

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Hayden Panettiere visited the Japanese fishing village of Taiji with boyfriend Wladimir Klitschko as part of her ongoing efforts to end the dolphin hunts there.

Hayden told reporters, “We are trying to peacefully come up with better ideas as to how to generate income and utilize the nature here. We’ve been to Taiji before and it’s a beautiful place with beautiful wildlife.”

According to X17, Hayden and other animal rights activists met with the mayor of Taiji and representatives from the local fisheries unit.

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Queen guitarist Brian May is opposing the practice of culling badgers in West Wales as a method to prevent Bovine TB.

Although the Welsh Assembly is convinced the cull will help control the outbreak of TB in cattle, May says the decision is based on bad science.

“This would be genocide,” May, a doctorate in astronomy, said. “To me, countries do not matter; badgers are not British, they belong to the world and they belong to everyone.”

He compared the culling to solving the problem of disease in cattle to eradicating smallpox by killing people with certain hair colors.

“Anyone would think that doing that was insane, but that is what we are proposing to do to badgers.”

Dr. Christianne Glossop, the chief veterinary officer for Wales, defends the practice, citing the costs involved with the bovine TB crisis during the last decade.

The plan is to limit the cull to an area where 42% of cattle farmers had an outbreak of bovine TB.

Previous badger culls revealed less than 2% of the creatures were actually infected with the disease and some experts believe that cattle to cattle transmission may be primarily responsible for the outbreak.

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“No porn. Just PETA. Nadya prefers animals over men.”

—- Jeff Czech, Nadya Suleman‘s, aka. “Octomom” lawyer, indicating she has rejected the offer from a pornography company to help pay for her mortgage.

PETA will give Suleman $5,000 and a month’s worth a veggie burgers and veggie hotdogs to post a sign in her yard reading, “Don’t Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter.”

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Ellen DeGeneres invited Postmaster General John Potter to unveil a new line of stamps by the United States Postal Service that encourages pet adoption.

“Each year we have a social awareness stamp and this year it’s all about animal rescue,” Potter said.

“We want people to adopt pets from shelters.”

The stamps, which can be seen in the video, feature 10 pets that have been adopted and go on sale April 30.

To learn more about the stamps and order the set, visit USPS.

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Moby is a reformed vegan.

Although in the past, he sometimes refused to speak to non vegans, he confessed at the Genesis Awards that he used to have a holier than thou attitude towards the non vegans until he realized that being a jerk didn’t do much for converting or saving any creature other than his ego.

During an interview with Grant Butler of the Oregonian, the musician said, “There are a lot of people in the animal rights movement who can be very passionate and aggressive, and I applaud people’s passion, but when people are judgmental and aggressive, all you end up doing is getting other people to turn away in irritation. To change people’s minds, you have to respect the people you’re talking to. Part of that is presenting the facts available, and not being pedantic or judgmental.”

So expect to see a passionate, but respectful character if you catch him on his Gristle book tour.

And if you accidentally wear your old pair of leather shoes you bought before you changed, rest assured you won’t be crucified.

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Louis CK, Dave Attell, Gary Gulman, Wyatt Cenac, Lizz Winstead and Dan Piraro will be performing at NYC’s Gotham Comedy Club at 208 w 23rd b/t 7th & 8th Aves on April 1 at 8pm.

This event is no April Fool’s joke and neither is the cause these comedians are coming together for.

Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary‘s third annual Comedy for Karma benefits the dozens of rescued animals that call the sanctuary home.

Visit the organization’s site for more information.

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The Octomom has just bought 15 more minutes of fame.

Nadya Suleman signed a deal with animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to promote spaying and neutering pets to control the animal population.

It’s pretty easy to figure out why Suleman was chosen as the “it” girl for the campaign.

Suleman has agreed to put a sign in her front yard that reads, “Don’t Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter.”

In exchange, PETA is paying Suleman $5,000 and a month’s worth of veggie burgers and hot dogs.

A month’s worth of veggie burgers? Hey, hey, hey, there’s space in our yard too, PETA.

Suleman accepted the offer through her lawyer, Jeff Czech, who is also in the process of refinancing a whopping $450,000 payment due on her home two weeks ago.

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