(This blog entry may make you feel the blogger is a lunatic! lol  No matter, I hope you enjoy this blog entry!)  One of the reasons why I blog about this is because I was touched. I was touched by Oprah’s kindness to allow TV broadcasts….exposing the way dogs have been poorly treated in some dog breeding centres. This was not long after her companion of 13 years passed away.

There may be many more things not addressed in this blog entry but I will attempt to voice what concerns animal lovers – health, fitness and welfare of animals all over the world.

Very soon, some pigs will be killed after an “PANDEMIC VACCINE TRAINING” exercise ends on Monday April 26th 2009. The Vaccine Training was scheduled to occur in Texas between 24th (Saturday) till April 26th, and involves Texas National Guard Troops’ “drive-thru vaccination clinics”.

Are these pigs used as a desperate find to the anti-Swine Flu vaccines?? Full news

[ Jump to What Potential Pet-owners Should know :: What others have said about Animal Rights and their Welfare :: Microchips for Pets :: Cruelty to Animals in Corporate-Run Farms :: Animals in Labs :: Animals in Shelters :: Genuine and Fake Animal Support Groups ]

In self-reflection, here are my observations, opinions and questions

1. ANIMALS IN SOCIETY I am not against animals for the blind and paraplegics (Google for HELPING HANDS). These dogs are never sold for profit. If dogs are happy (and healthy) to guide their blind masters, I see no wrong in such companionship (some may think otherwise), except when humans choose to turn a blind eye to these blind!As long as the animals are well cared for, are healthy and are not abused, I am also not against animals kept in captivity for the purpose of nursing them back to health to be released back into the wild, or for education purposes. Same for animals in circus or rodeos (do you know if these animals are abused and if so, could you show evidence?)I also recognise that it’s humane some wild animals are not released back into their wild because they have lost the ability to protect themselves or hunt for food. The question remains whether domesticated pets are capable of looking after themselves if they were released BACK into the wild? What’s your take?Perhaps it is a consolation that vets do not use relaxants when putting down animals. The irony is, when animals are paralysed by the muscle relaxants, they would not be able to indicate their pain IF they had felt pain. (This is one reason why human convicted of crimes and sentenced to lethal injections who are not injected with muscle relaxants.) But what would you do when you see a dying animal in pain (capable of expressing its pain)?
2. ANIMALS IN WILD I am against animal-hunting as a form of hobby and pleasure. There are other more humane hobbies in the world to be involved with even if it’s kicking
   a stupid ball around”. lol I am against animals being pouched for their organs, leather, horns, etc I don’t like the idea of the use or promotion of fur or leather purely for fashion-wear or furniture. However, it also should be noted that fake fur (that’s usually made using toxic vinyl chloride) causes a manufacture by-product pollutant, which is not safe to the environment and living beings. If humans are not to wear real fur nor fake fur (no harm to animals, no harm to environment), what would humans wear to keep warm that is also safe?
   
3. ANIMALS IN SHELTERS A large percentage of animals get euthanized, despite donations animal pounds or animal shelters receive. For example, the Toronto Humane Society is howling mad that the taxpayer-funded Toronto Animal Services euthanized 25,000 dogs and cats in just five years. To what extent do donations help? To donate or not to donate?
   
4. I am aware that when more animals get adopted, there’s also a question of whether animals get extinct. Who’s keeping count of animal population around the world (who are they)?
   
5. Undoing the domestication of animals?? If someone wants to free a domesticated animal (back into the wild), I will morally support him/her although I also strongly feel the person should train a domesticated animal to HUNT and fend for itself! This means no more feeding to the animal but leave real live animals/insects around for them to be caught and eaten! It is hard to say which is more humane – letting the animals get euthanised or stay in constrained spaces or free them? What is your take?(Animal Euthanizers – do not try free-ing the animals you’re supposed to put down! If it’s your decision to quit your job, do it the right and legal way. lol)
6. ANIMALS IN CORPORATE-RUN FARMS
   Industry calls these massive compounds “confined animal feeding operations,”
   or CAFOs (KAY-fohs)! Have you seen pigs choking, slammed against the floor till they bleed? Chickens thrown around so badly their heads either get smashed against the ground, or their bones broken? Newborn calf left for dead (because anyway, its mother’s milk feed us humans!) It’s not just pets who may be harmed and abused! Wake up when you are told there’s no animal abuse in corporate-run farms! (In contrast to corporate-run farms, you don’t see tired workers abusing animals in family-run farms because the farm is small enough to be managed by a few. I am not going into the genius who helped creation of bird flu (and subsequently the Tamiflu vaccination) as a “valid reason” to close down family-run chicken farms too. This very same person had a very big role in allowing approval of a dangerous substance, now distributed in many processed “safe” food and drinks.) Although there are vaccines for Swine-flu infected pigs, many corporate-run pig farms do not call on vets to treat sick pigs, not even for pigs’ injured limbs.
7. Marine animals in captivity are not “spared” either, especially those whose natural food is algae and seaweed, their food has been replaced with corn and other genetically-modified foods.
8. ANIMALS IN SCIENCE LABS A small percentage of healthy un-adopted animals don’t get euthanized – they get sent to laboratories paid by pharmaceutical companies out to “prove their drugs work”! As long as humans create more pharmaceutical drugs (ironically most drugs harm with side-effects much more than they cure), animals used in science laboratories will not stop. The very same animal pounds/shelter who you believe to protect animals, cannot stop government propaganda from sending them healthy animals to used in laboratory experiments.
9. I frown upon animal testing for medical research partially because sometimes medical researchers are paid to either hide or twist the real results of medical research – this does nothing for animals nor mankind. Animals are not the only ones abused in the name of animal research, humans are too!
10. Animal research using science is passe and is becoming more and more of a joke because animal research has NEVER lengthened our life expectancy (watch the video to see what Prof. T Collins Cambell say about eating animal fats and proteins!) As published in the Journal American Medical Association Volume 284 July 26 2000, life expectancy in USA alone is one of the lowest amongst industrialized countries, which mentions,” In addition, with the release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report “To Err Is Human,”2 millions of Americans learned, for the first time, that an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 among them die each year as a result of medical errors.” (I am in the agreement that plant and fruits research (not animal research) is the key to treating and preventing diseases like Cancer, diabetes, Aids, etc.)

Also, I received news that PETA wants genetically-modified meat! A desperate attempt to save more animals from cruelty, needless diseases & deaths and slaughters, this is a great big risk! Perhaps Peta is unaware of just one experiment where larvaes of the Monarch butterflies died after coming into contact with pollen from genetically-modified corn. In protecting animals from slaughter, you may be harming your own children – modified meats are not the way to go. Pet’s donations are better used for other purposes!

11. WHO PROTECT ANIMALS? To ensure animals are not treated/fed badly, the government, their agencies and animal protections groups & activists need to randomly and periodically check and review animal breeders, animal shelters, etc. Animal breeders who are lawful and ethical are not afraid of being checked. Actually, anyone is at liberty to report incidences of animal cruelty via 1 or 2 hotlines.

Also, do urge your country (or state) to stop euthanising animals in gas chambers. While dying in gas chambers, euthanizing technicians in the USA have been known to witness animals desperately jumping and clawing at windows and doors. It takes as long as 30 minutes for animals to die this way.

1. There may be genuine and fake animal support groups. It is super-easy to set up harities and associations in the USA because authorities do not check authenticity of new charities and associations (until too late). (Mike Adams once set up a fake Health Review Board with fake doctors just to see if authorities were sleeping – they were!) For example, animal pounds who show only photos of animals to you, in the hope that you will adopt their animals (they give you an animal certificate of adoption) when one animal cannot be physically present in a few animal pounds at the same time. Your best bet is to visit
   the animal pounds/shelters or reputable animal breeder, and see for yourself how well animals are cared for before you adopt one or bring home a lovable pet.While it is good for animal activists to come to together, there’s also a disturbing trend of animal terrorists bombing, torching, and threatening individuals and their families who work for research labs that use animals in their experiments. – Full Story
2. WHO PROTECT ANIMAL-LOVERS? Do not ever be fleeced of your hard-earned money – I once was! I had bought hamsters between SG$20 to SG$30 each (the Winterdove white ones are more expensive) at a neighbourhood shopping centre (in Singapore). But in town (Pet Lovers, Plaza Singapura) I was happy to know I could buy a hamster at SG$10! Needless to say, I switched my loyalty to the one who didn’t fleece me!

For pet-owners, do not abandon your pets – it may be against the law! For those who are thinking of buying a pet, you need to:

1. get the right mentality and preparation, that a pet may have behavourial problems (like digging the garden soil or making things messy) or grow past it cuteness; dogs need their exercise and love!
2. be resourceful – know where all the possible good pet hotels and pet-sitters are – you may need to leave your pets at home when you’re abroad for example.
3. consider getting your pet from an animal shelter (or animal pound), like SPCA or ASPCA, instead of buying one from a shop. You’ll be saving one life and at least the pet would be spayed and neutered to prevent uncontrolled breeding
4. regularly deworm your cats and dogs
5. be prepared to enroll your dog in obediance school while it’s still a puppy (you want to walk the dog and not have the dog walking you!)
6. use good collars with elastic bands to protect your pet from being caught in fences or trees – they are also less likely to get “strangled”.
7. Do you know the goods and bads of micro-chips for animals (and humans)? Although they’re good for tracking missing pets (and parcels), micro-chips also have the ability of holding and releasing small amounts of drugs or deadly viruses – either as a result of mishandling, or someone intentionally placing deadly viruses on these chips. This is something that pet-owners need to be aware of.The Anthrax is a very good example how viruses can be passed around stealthily in envelopes). All that is needed is one corrupted person to “contaminate” micro-chips.  (Definitely someone needs to make sure they’re not!)There is another concern of these micro-chips. Up to 4% of rats had tumours as a result of radio frequency of micro-chips; the micro-chips have been approved by the FDA and there are pet-owners who say their dogs are much larger for anything bad to happen to them. More links about micro-chips here
8. feed them real meat from time to time, to compensate for any nutrition deficiency (and possible hidden toxins) in processed pet foods – a reason why a staggering number of pets have cancer, diabetes and arthritis too! (And I am not even going into the other rendered sick animals INSIDE animal food and cosmetics. That would make this blog entry too long! lol )
9. educate your children that animals are sentient beings and so like humans, they have feelings. (Most wild animals would avoid humans unless they feel their very lives (and territories) threatened. Animals in captivity known to violence were either on anti-depressants or they’ve witnessed their parents killed by humans.)
10. think thrice or quadraple before giving someone a pet as a gift.
11. Educate and keep updated on news of Pet Micro-Chips. Are they Miraculous or Dangerous? Would humans allow their pets and themselves to be “micro-chip lab rats”?
    • Micro-chips to replace animals for testing drugs?
    • A series of veterinary and toxicology studies, dating to the mid-1990s, stated that chip implants had “induced” malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats.
    • Delawareohrealestate.com also has the news of micro-chips for pets.
    • Sciencedaily reports that micro-chips are also able to detect the viruses that infect humans.
    • Humans’ new implant: microchips are able to store everything about you including your National Passport Number.
    • Indonesian law-makers are debating the mandatory use of microchips in HIV and Aids patients.

What others have said about Animal Rights and their Welfare

In the real world, animals are killed for their skin, oils and organs, it’s hard to say if it’s right or wrong. Dr. Ann Moon of the Toronto Public Health Service raised this debatable topic. She once said,”Concern of animal welfare and animal rights should not conflict with concern for human health.”

Tom Regan (in a Animal Rights, Human Wrongs speech) who gave a speech at University of Wisconsin on October 1989,”A retarded baby and a bright dog. I’d save the dog.” But who would know the baby is retarded? ~scratching head~

One ex-euthanizer said,”The dogs were so insane that when you walked into the room, they started going in circles, hitting all four sides of the cage. You couldn’t get your hands on those dogs….. To think that animals live like that continuously for 12 or 13 years! Being dead is not a cruelty to animals. Being half alive is.”

What I SAY!

I gently asked a Muslim friend if he would take a shot at a anti-Swine Flu vaccine (anything pork is forbidden in his religion, Islam). He simply shrugged and said,”Allah allows if it is to save lives.”

Animals are NOT stupid because they can understand our language and yet we don’t know how to speak theirs! So when someone calls you sheep, or pig, smile and say THANK YOU!

Last but not least, with the swine flu around, this may be yet another reason to stay away from meat or pork! Man will always try to genetically modify something in the hope that “nutrition
value” of it changes (poor animals)! Or they try to create vaccines from what is left from animals “they played around with”. I don’t know about you, but I am not about to donate money to something that does not benefit .

More Blogs/Websites that Animal Lovers may want to check out:

• Compassion for Animals
• Horses abused!!!! Video :: C AS
• JudgeLeona Helmsley ruled out a will benefitting Animal Charities!
• Dogs used to sniff out cancer sites…of humans.
• Humane Society of Northeast Texas
  (The Humane Society of the United States is protesting against the Annual
  Canadian Seal Hunt. Give your support!)
• ChooseVeg (Has disturbing videos on cruelty to a pigs, chickens, etc)
• Animal Sanctuary
• Beautiful Siberian Cats
• Matreshkasiberians.com
• Petition against Cruelty Against Animals in China