Meet Your Mink Coat

It is so perturbing to see so many photos of furry bags, coats, and hats when I Google images for mink..

For example, this is a Fendi mink bag:

A coat.. (brand unknown)

Who would guess that they are wearing part of the carcass of these little creatures?

This is a glimpse into the lives (and deaths) of minks at a Swedish fur farm... life outside the cages when they are finally taken to have their furs peels off their bodies is another story.. 

"Angels for Animals" in the Cold Winters

I tweeted this status a few minutes ago..

You might think PETA is extreme, but they do the work that no one else does.. to save and help animals in need. my thing is: don't criticize unless you can do better. 

Take a look at this video- a case in point. PETA makes its mission known to the world, and the organization acts on their words.. it's not about empty promises, but rather teams of passionate people doing their best to help the suffering and ignored souls on this earth.

"They're Here" by OneKind

Earlier today, someone tweeted me a link to this video by OneKind, an animal protection charity based in the UK. I watched the video.. and it made my heart pump really hard because of the suspense, even though I knew it wasn't anything horrific. But this video is something simple yet profound, do take a look if you're interested :) The actual length is only about 5 minutes, with a minute at the end for credits. It's about the human search for other intelligent beings in the universe.

I registered with OneKind to not only explore what this organization has to offer, but also to continue educating myself about animal welfare.

Help! 2 million cats/dogs in S.Korea tortured in profit-driven meat industry

Please help and spread the word to save 2 million cats and dogs in South Korea from torture and consumption based on the myth that the meat improves health and sexual powers, which is conjured by the greedy industry.
“The man dragged the dog for about twenty meters and tied him to a post. The dog was screaming in pain. The man used his two hands to pull the dog’s tail with all his strength, causing the dog to be choked, crushing his backbone.” 

"She continued, “Using all his strength he pulled the dog by his left leg. Next he did the same with the right leg. While the dog was still alive, he was tearing his body apart. The dog was moaning with horrible pain. I asked the man why are you killing the dog so painfully, so cruelly? He smiled at me and proudly told me, ‘Dogs should take a long time to be killed, that way they taste better.”

If you are not able to donate to IDA's fund specifically for this cause, please spread the word and share this with someone. 

https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Donation2?2480.donation=form1&df_id=2480&JServSessionIdr004=vp2e832pa1.app246b#signature

Killing Animals for their Fur Breaks Hearts

**originally written 11/9/09. picture are linked to their original sources if you click on them.

Hi dears,

I have a few questions for you. 

To what extent is it fine for humans to take the lives of animals? For food? For clothing?

To what extent is it permissible for humans to subject animals to cruel treatment, in the processes of raising livestock, killing livestock for food, testing for cures to diseases, testing products, or hunting for fur? 

I have mainly shared with you the cruel treatment of animals in animal testing and experimentation, but today I would like to share about the cruelty involved in hunting animals for their fur.

Did you know rabbits, foxes, minks, raccoons, raccoon dogs, chinchillas, dogs, cats, and other animals are tortured and killed by the fur industry?

Is it okay to wear fur and promote the hunting of animals?  For example, these are fox fur hats from Michael Kors's 2009 line:

In a blog entry by PETA about Michael Kors's use of raccoon dogs, foxes, and other animals in his clothing lines. While he has agreed to stop using the fur of raccoon dogs, he turns his back on millions of other animals, including foxes (who are also members of the canine family) that are: "beaten, strangled, anally or genitally electrocuted and skinned alive for their fur." (source: http://blog.peta.org/archives/2007/05/push_michael_ko.php) 

No, that was not a typo.. I didn't know what raccoon dogs were either, until today. Raccoon dogs are not raccoons, but are part of the canid family, which includes dogs, wolves, and foxes. They are not aggressive animals, and are originally from east Asia and live on plains, mountain regions, and woodlands. Millions of these animals are hunted each year for its fur. (Source)

Now this... is a skinned raccoon dog that is still alive: 

Do you have any idea what happens to the animals that are killed for their fur? Martha Stewart talks about her change of heart when she found out about the cruelty involved. This video may be hard to watch, but please, at least listen to it.

What are your views after watching this video? If you were given the task to kill these animals, break their bones, electrocute them, confine them to the brink of insanity, would you do it? Another important question is, would you support the practice by purchasing fur or brands that engage in animal cruelty?

The following videos below are about the hunt of baby seals. Each year, hundreds and thousands of baby seals are cruelly slaughtered in Canada for fashion. 
 

"Each year, millions of foxes, minks, raccoons, chinchillas, rabbits, and other animals—including dogs and cats—are bludgeoned, strangled, drowned, and electrocuted so their fur can be made into so-called 'luxury items.' Many of these animals are even skinned alive for fashion." (Source: http://www.peta.org/FeatureKarinaSmirnoff.asp)

Please take a minute to sign this petition to help end the Canadian seal hunt. It's as simple as entering your name, email, and birthday- no spam mail involved, just uncheck the box if you do not wish to receive news from PETA.

This post will hopefully leave you to search within your conscience and your hearts. Killing animals for their fur is only a small portion of the animal cruelty that happens in the world. This makes me ashamed to be related (as a species) to these cold-blotted and greed-driven human beings. The cruelty mentioned in this post solely reflects the nature of fur-fashion industry, as opposed to killing out of the need for survival.

I would love to hear your views whatever they may be or whether you agree or disagree. You can leave comments below or in the chat box. :)

p.s. Today is Fur Free Friday for 2010, promoted by IDA (In Defense of Animals).

"In Defense of Animals is calling on all advocates with a responsibility to agitate and stand up on behalf of animals raised and killed for their fur. Their miserable lives and merciless deaths must end. On fur farms, foxes, mink, rabbits, and other species are kept in squalid, tiny cages where they go mad running back and forth, desperate to escape. Their efforts to get out are only realized at the end of their tortured lives, when these terrified and helpless animals are killed by such stunningly crude methods, including gassing, neck-breaking, and anal electrocution. In countries such as China, their skins are peeled from their bodies while they are still alive, writhing in pain. Wild animals trapped for fur fare no better. Steel-jaw leghold traps are painful and some of the captured are willing to chew off their limbs in order to escape. Snares are also used, leaving animals in unimaginable pain as the snare slowly cinches tighter. These helpless and tormented captives linger in these traps for days and sometimes weeks before trappers come to retrieve them."

source: http://www.furfreefridayida.org/

Lawsuit: McDonald's Carcinogenic Chickens

McDonad's as well as five other chains will soon be in trial with the California Supreme Court for breaching California's Proposition 65, which requires consumers to be warned about carcinogenic products.

"In independent laboratory tests commissioned by PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine), 100 grilled chicken items from McDonald’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Chili’s, Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, and TGI Friday’s were all found to contain PhIP, one of a group of carcinogens called heterocyclic amines (HCAs)."

PhIP is linked to breast cancer with its DNA-damaging characteristics as well as hormonal activity. Thus far, only Burger King has settled the lawsuit by posting warning signs in its California locations.

see article here: http://www.pcrm.org/newsletter/nov10/phip.html 

Canadian Medical Schools to Cease Live Animal Labs

As the title suggests, PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) has received confirmation that the last of the Canadian medical schools using live animals for testing has agreed to use nonanimal methods in the future.Previously, the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) used live pigs in their medical labs, which violated federal law. Also, animal labs are known to be "inhumane and educationally inferior procedures," according to PCRM cardiologist John Pippin, M.D., F.A.C.C.Instead, MUN will adopt other educational methods like human-patient simulators.

See article here: http://pcrm.org/newsletter/nov10/pittsburgh.html

Humane Mouse Traps (& My Personal Story)

The other night one of my twitter buddies asked what to do with mice in her house, and my obvious response was to trap it and set it free! I mentioned this to the bf, who said that the only way to trap them is with glue traps.. until I showed him this: http://www.humanemousetrap.info/

Even PETA sells this humane mice trap in their catalog for almost $3.00 cheaper than Amazon: http://www.petacatalog.com/products/Humane_Smart_Mousetrap-117-0.html 

My bf was a little surprised to see this contraption, and I know he was rather intrigued that I want to save mice. Many people have this negative view about these "pesky rodents." Of course, they are potential carriers of diseases but as an animal they are really adorable and intelligent, not too dissimilar from the cat, dog, or hamster you have as a pet. I firmly believe they deserve a chance to live and not die from a torturous, unnatural cause. Even as a kid, I was against the use of glue traps as I had once watched mice struggle and die on those torture devices...

This summer my cat had actually caught a mouse from the downstairs floor and brought it up to play with. She was batting it around with her paws, and the little mouse was immobilized-- I'm sure it was frightened. I was worried it would hurt my cat (if it was diseased) or my cat would hurt it with her claws, so I was thinking of a way to get it out of the house. My mom took a plastic bag, turned it inside out, and gently picked it up with the bag. When I placed my hand under the mice, I could feel the warmth of its little body through the bag and I saw it looking up at me. (It reminded me of the time I once visited a farm and petted a little lamb several years ago.. who not only looked at me with its sparkly eyes but also licked my hand-- from then on I could not eat lamb.)

Here's the little mouse before I set it free.. tell me, could you hurt him/her?

 

I ended up walking several blocks to a nearby park and dropped it off there.. although the recommended way is to drive several miles and relocate it that way, because mice are really intelligence and can find their way back if you don't far enough.