Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time

Giraffe in Trailer Smashes His Head on a Bridge

August 5, 2014 by Comments are off for this post


The News

The South African SPCA is suing the people responsible for the death of a blindfolded giraffe who smashed his head on a bridge while being transported in a trailer on a highway near Johannesburg.

giraffecollision

News & Opinion

One way to prevent tragic accidents with wild animals is to not move them in the first place!  The news media did not report on why these giraffes were being transported, but I can’t  help but think they were kidnapped from the wild for a zoo or another commercial enterprise.  To learn more about the inherent cruelty of zoos and find out how you can help, please visit Last Chance For Animals.

 

 


Pamela Anderson Protests Denmark’s “Barbaric, Psychotic Frenzy”

August 5, 2014 by Comments are off for this post


The News

Actress and animal rights activist Pamela Anderson traveled to Denmark’s Faeroe Islands to join Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in calling for an end to the annual slaughter of 1,000 pilot whales.  She called a four century-old pilot whale drive a “barbaric, psychotic frenzy.” Sea Shepherd has led opposition to the drive since the 1980s.

News & Opinion

What could be crueler than rounding up 1,000 gentle and intelligent pilot whales and mercilessly slaughtering them in the name of tradition?  Scandinavian countries are among the most progressive in the world, but the Danish are somehow able to celebrate or turn a blind eye to this annual bloodbath.  Please help Sea Shepherd put an end to what Pamela Anderson aptly describes as a “barbaric, psychotic frenzy.”


Slaughter-bound Pig Leaps from Truck

July 30, 2014 by Comments are off for this post


The News

A pig attempts to escape from the truck taking her to a slaughterhouse.

News & Opinion

If anyone doubts the intelligence of a pig, please show them this video.  Of course all farm animals, not just the smartest ones, should be free.  As 19th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham once stated, “The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?”


Lawyer for Activists Who Liberated Mink Challenge Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act Charges

July 30, 2014 by Comments are off for this post


The News

According to the Chicago Tribune, “the lawyer for one of two California animal activists accused of sabotaging an Illinois mink farm and releasing about 2,000 animals into the wild last year said today he plans to challenge the constitutionality of the federal “animal enterprise terrorism” charges the men are facing.” The lawyer, Michael Deutsch, said that AETA “is overbroad and potentially criminalizes free speech rights protected by the First Amendment” and that it “unfairly brands activism as terrorism.”   The activists, Tyler Lang and Kevin Johnson (aka Kevin Olliff) spray-painted “LIBERATION IS LOVE” in big red letters on the side of a barn after liberating the mink. 

Kevin Johnson (Illinois Department of Corrections / July 29, 2014)

Kevin Johnson (Illinois Dept. of Corrections / July 29, 2014)

News & Opinion

Let me get this straight: The “terrorists” are the individuals who free captive animals from intensive confinement and emotional and physical torture, and the “victims” are the people who are terrorizing the animals?  I would ask how that is even possible, but then I remind myself that mainstream society found ways to justify the slaughter of native Americans, the enslavement of people who look different and the deprivation of basic human rights to large fractions of society. The AETA must go.

 


An Update on Ag Gag

July 30, 2014 by Comments are off for this post


The News

Half of U.S. states have attempted to pass “ag-gag” laws, but only seven have been successful, according to the Associated Press:  “Among them are Idaho, where this year’s law says unauthorized recording is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine, and Utah, whose 2012 law makes it a crime to provide false information to gain access to a farm. Both states now face separate but similarly worded lawsuits that say the measures violate federal statutes offering whistleblower protections and free-speech guarantees.”

ag-gag

Your Turn

Not surprisingly, agribusiness claims to have nothing to hide and states it lobbies for “ag gag” laws merely to “protect their families and businesses,” but we know the truth: they don’t want the public to see what happens to animals on factory farms.  The windowless sheds that are far from public view are a case in point.  Agribusiness also claims that the footage taken by undercover investigators represents “a few bad apples” in the business.  But we know otherwise. Mutilation of farm animals, such as tail docking and debeaking, is literally built into the business, and egregious physical abuse and torture are rampant, as exposed in one undercover investigation after another by groups such as Mercy For Animals, PETA and HSUS.   Please support the work of the organizations fighting against the “ag gag” bills.  The footage and photos taken behind closed doors at factory farms is critical to changing hearts and minds.  It was precisely that type of footage that made me go vegan.   To learn more about “ag gag” bills and to see how you can help, please visit HSUS.