In a display of animal exploitation rarely seen on TV, filmmaker and self-described conservationist Paul Rosolies lathers a “snake-proof suit” with pig’s blood and gets “eaten alive” by an anaconda in the Amazon jungle. The Discovery Channel, which will air the show in December, is assuring critics that the snake does not die during the stunt.
In the teaser video, we see Rosolies and his crew snatch the snake out of the water and carry her away like she’s their personal property.
Filmmaker and crew kidnap anaconda for TV show
Mr. Rosolies appears to be taking a page out of the late Steve Irwin’s playbook — taunting, tormenting and provoking wild animals for profit under the guise of education and conservation. Best know for his TV show Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray in 2006. His 16 year old daughter, Bindi Irwin, continues his legacy of profiting off animal abuse by serving as a paid spokesperson for Sea World,
Your Turn
Please sign the Change.org petition to stop the airing of “Eaten Alive” on the Discovery Channel.
Arriving by electric vintage car to her sold out concert in NYC, music legend Chrissie Hynde announced her support for NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to end horse-drawn carriage rides in the streets of Manhattan. The electric car was created by animal rights group NYCLASS as a potential job-saving alternative to horse-drawn carriages.
Chrissie Hynde arrives at her sold out concert in NYC
https://youtu.be/mNoqzFuHxcM
In her statement to the media and fans, Hynde pointed out that New York would not be the first major city to end carriage rides. London, Paris, Toronto and Beijing have eliminated their commercial horse-drawn carriage trades. Paris has one carriage that can be hired in advance for special events.
After horsing around, Chrissie Hynde talks seriously about animal cruelty
Hynde, who regrettably took a horse-drawn carriage ride on the night of her wedding, has spoken out against them in the past. In 2008, she participated in a protest and distributed leaflets to tourists explaining why horse-drawn carriage rides in the city are inhumane and unsafe.
Chrissie Hynde protests horse-drawn carriages in 2008 (photo: Donny Moss)
Mayor de Blasio, who has stated on multiple occasions that he intends to “end carriage rides” in NYC, has indicated that job preservation will be incorporated into his plan. The carriage drivers, who are tour guides, can apply their skills to many other hospitality-oriented businesses in New York that do not involve the use of live animals in the streets.
To keep apprised of developments, subscribe to the weekly newsletter of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages by sending an email to coalition@banhdc.org.
Watch the award-winning documentary film BLINDERS: The Truth Behind the Tradition that exposes the truth behind the tradition of NYC’s infamous horse-drawn carriage trade.
Recent attacks on humans by captive tigers in India, China, Australia and Singapore have shined an international spotlight on the danger and cruelty of keeping one of the planet’s top predators in captivity. In the United States, captive tigers and other big cats have, in the past twenty-four years, killed four children and eight adults.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, approximately 5,000 tigers are being held captive in the United States. Six percent of them reside in zoos and similar accredited facilities. The remainder are warehoused in squalid cages in backyards, unaccredited zoos, sideshows, circuses, private breeding facilities, and even a roadside truck stop.
Tiger in NYC apartment
Thirty-two states have banned private ownership of tigers; 10 require a license; and eight states have no regulation. What little regulation does exist to prohibit and protect big cats in captivity is often unenforced. A federal bill to ban the private possession and breeding of big cats – The Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act – has 114 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
https://youtu.be/q-xN0HmXqrk
Of the 5,000 captive tigers in the U.S., only a lucky few will be rescued and relocated to sanctuaries where their needs take priority. In October, four tigers hit the feline lottery with the opening of a new habitat at the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Texas. Ben Callison, director of the Ranch, speaks to Jane Velez Mitchell about the new sanctuary and big cat captivity:
Anastasia & Natalia at Black Beauty Ranch. (Photo: Brandon Wade/HSUS)
Even the best of sanctuaries, however, cannot meet the needs of nature’s top predators. In the wild, tigers carve out large territories based on the availability of prey animals and mating partners. They hunt and, in spite of the fact that they are solitary animals, they sometimes share their kill with other tigers. The run 30 – 40 mph, and they can swim up to 18 miles a day.
Tiger stalking her prey
Your Turn
Contact your U.S. representative and Senators to ask them to support The Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act.
Please visit Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch’s website to learn more about the tiger sanctuary and support their efforts to provide sanctuary to animals rescued from captivity.
A tiger at a Chinese amusement park dragged an eight-year-old girl into his enclosure and mauled her to death. The amusement park owners withheld the information from the press, but rumors forced them to admit that the event occurred.
Tiger show at Leheledu Amusement Park in China
The tragedy took place just one month after a tiger killed zoo visitor in India in an incident that was captured on camera. That victim was 20 years old.
Tiger at New Delhi Zoo kills man who fell into his enclosure
Your Turn
Both tragedies were entirely preventable, as the victims – the tigers and their human prey – should never have been in a zoo or circus in the first place.
In their natural habitat, tigers hunt for prey, raise their cubs, swim long distances, establish territories and forge relationships. In circuses and zoos, they pace back and forth, unable to perform any of the activities that make their lives worth living. Zoos and circuses are cruel and exploitive, and they teach children that kidnapping and putting animals behind bars for entertainment are acceptable behaviors.
The animals aren’t filing a class action lawsuit against the Australia government, even though they are the real victims. It is the cattle farmers who are doing it.
The Australian government is the live export industry’s most powerful ally, but cattle farmers are suing them anyway in an attempt to recoup the money they lost after a temporary live export ban to Indonesia in 2011. At that time, activists exposed abuses at Indonesian slaughterhouses that were so horrific that public pressure forced the government to take swift action.
Photo: Animals Australia
Now, the farmers want the government to pay them back for their financial losses, even if it means shining yet another spotlight on the torture inflicted on their animals overseas. The class action was filed just days after Australian media stunned the country with new undercover footage of similar abuses in three Middle Eastern countries.
The new footage, taken by Animals Australia, combined with the cattle farmers’ lawsuit have amplified the battle over live exports, and both sides are digging in their heels. After the damning footage was released, Bill Shorten, a member of Parliament and one the country’s most prominent live export supporters, said “We are seeing that it is possible for increased animal welfare to coincide with increasing export volumes. We see an industry that enjoys more public confidence because we have the best animal welfare system in the world.”
Photo: Animals Australia
The ruling Labor party is also a staunch advocate and justifies live exports on the grounds that new regulations -, The Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) – protect the animals by tracing them. Activists, however, say that the regulations are window dressing, as tracing millions of Australian animals from the docks where they are unloaded to their final destinations in the Middle East and Asia is impossible.
On October 30th, one of the few members of Parliament who opposes live exports said that the government protections are an “illusion.”
As the industry and government continue to defend, promote and grow live exports, protests over the past several years have reached a fever pitch.
Sydney, 2011 (photo: James Morgan)
Parliament building in Melbourne, 2013
Because the live export industry is protected at the highest levels of government by both major political parties, ending it is an uphill battle that will only be won when the Australian Labor Party calls for a ban. One Australian activist, who asked to remain anonymous, called for a tourist boycott: “The only thing that will get the attention of the power brokers here is money. A boycott by tourists could make a difference.”
Australia is the world’s largest exporters of live animals, sending hundreds of thousands of cattle and millions of sheep to markets in Asia and the Middle East each year.
