I Would Rather “Smell Like a Pig” Than Buy From Tyson Foods!

I am in an activist mood today, and have been looking at ways that I can help those in need – whether it be people, animals, or the environment.  I came across a really good site – Take Part – that highlights different issues a day which need to be addressed.  So far, I’ve signed a few petitions, donated a few bucks, and have bookmarked the site so I can keep up-to-date with ways to take action.

However, one issue both really grabbed my attention and disgusted the hell out of me.  It’s an issue regarding Tyson Foods.  Apparently, Tyson, a U.S. pig supplier, has admitted to buying pigs from suppliers who use gestation crates, which are tiny cage like “pens” where the pigs are unable to even turn around, and barely sit down.  However, while this was troubling, the thing that disgusted me the most was watching undercover investigation footage taken by the Michigan Humane Society of one of Tyson’s supplier’s pig breeding facilities in Wyoming.

I am providing you all with the video, however I will admit that I couldn’t even watch it more than a minute in.  I will warn you, like the video states at the beginning, that it is GRAPHIC.  For those of you who want to skip watching the video (which I don’t blame you for) it does show the facility’s employees mistreating the pigs in VERY inhumane ways.  One man full out sucker punches a pig with his closed fist.  An extremely overweight woman sits on a mother pig’s injured leg to get the sow to move.  And as this is all going on, the pigs are all living in deplorable conditions.  And this is just less than a minute into the video!  

But here it is anyway, because I do believe we need to educate ourselves of what is going on under our noses.

The abuse shown in the video is highly disturbing.  Did you know that pigs are smarter than dogs?  They can feel every punch given to them, can understand that they do NOT deserve this abuse, but unfortunately are unable to do anything about it.

After seeing this, I signed the petition instantly.  I was fuming inside as my heart raced frantically and my fingers typed the only 2 words I wanted to say to Tyson Foods (I’ll give you a hint: the first word started with F, the second ended in U).  Of course I erased those hateful words because well, this is a petition, but you better believe it that I will be typing my own hate letter in my own time!

I did state in my petition message though that I would NOT be buying Tyson brands (I am a vegetarian, but shhh…they don’t need to know that!), and I made it clear that I would be urging my family, friends, and others I knew to boycott them as well.  So here I am!

I ask you to please sign the petition to convince Tyson Foods to STOP using gestation crates and to STOP buying from suppliers who abuse the animals as if the animals were objects instead of beings.

Here’s the link to the petition, and after you sign it, please let us know in the comment section below.  Let’s see how many people we can get to try to change Tyson Food’s mind about the way they treat their pigs!

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 *Note: Check out the links above for more information and for my sources.  The video above was taken from YouTube.  The words, thoughts, and opinions of this article are my own: © Kalie Lyn, 2012.*

Save the Rhino

I knew that Rhinos were poached for their horns’ value.  I knew they were endangered.  I knew they were being killed by the numbers.  I knew all of this, yet the elephants being poached for their tusks, and the pit bulls being used for dog fighting seemed more important.  I did not even think twice about Rhinos, such a random yet beautiful animal.

Then I saw this photo on National Geographic:

It’s of a Black Rhino that game scouts found wandering with bullet wounds and the poor thing’s horns cut off.  They had to euthanize him.

What is happening to these animals is a tragedy and going right under most of our noses.  This needs to be stopped and there’s something you and I can do to at least help out.

First, and the most obvious, is donating to organizations that dedicate their time to saving this endangered species.  A good one that I have found is Save the Rhino International.  Check them out and see how you can help.

Second, do NOT buy anything with Rhino horn in it.  The horn is used in daggers, and is used in Asian medicine.  If you’re traveling abroad, just be careful about what souvenirs and products you purchase.

 Third, tell everyone you know about the dangers Rhinos are facing.  Rhinoceroses are such interesting creatures, so dinosaur like, and it would be an extremely sad thing if they weren’t around for our children to see.

 Check out more ways you can help the Rhino here.  Also, check out National Geographic’s feature article: Rhino Wars.

Please, the word about Rhinos needs to be spread.  Be active in wildlife conservation.

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*Note: Check out the links above for more information and for my sources.  The picture above was taken from National Geographic.  The words of this article are my own: © Kalie Lyn, 2012.*

“10 Most Wanted Species”

 

Currently, I am reading The Devil’s Teeth by Susan Casey, a fascinating book about Great White Sharks.

She states in the book that in 1993, Great White’s became a protected species due to the fact that before, they were among the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) “10 Most Wanted Species”, which is a list of the 10 most endangered species in the world.

I was curious to see who is currently the “10 Most Wanted Species”, so I did a little Google search, and found a list.  Now, this list is from 2010, (I can’t find a more current one, and if you do please let me know!) but I am assuming these species are still endangered, if not even more now that they’ve been on the list for 2 years.

So, here are the 10 most endangered species (from 2010):

10: Giant Panda

There are only about 1,600 more Pandas left in the wild.  And we don’t want that adorable face to go extinct!

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9: Javan Rhinoceros

Considered one of the “most endangered large mammals in the world”, there are less than 60 of these animals and only 2 populations left in the wild.  Knowing that only 60 of them exist, is incredibly troubling.

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8: Monarch Butterfly

It does not say how many are left, but if it’s on the endangered list, there can’t be many.  It’s weird to think that an insect could become extinct (I know we all wish certain ones would!) however, imagine how sad it would be not to see these beautiful butterflies in the backyard.

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7: Mountain Gorilla

Probably the most beautiful of the great apes (in my opinion), only about 720 still survive in the wild, with more than 200 living in National Parks.  After I read the biography of Dian Fossey, Woman in the Mists, (I plan to read Gorillas in the Mist soon) tears come to my eyes just thinking about these creatures becoming extinct.

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6: Bluefin Tuna

Yes, it’s also weird to think of a fish on the endangered list, however this particular fish is “the source of highest grade sushi”, and could soon become extinct.  It does not say how many are left though.

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5: Leatherback Turtle

Turtles are pretty much everyone’s favorite animal, and I just love how serene and beautiful they are.  They are also one of the largest living reptiles, and there are only about 2,300 female Leatherback Turtles left in the wild.

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4: Magellanic Penguin

Everyone loved “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet”, and how could anyone imagine these cute creatures becoming extinct?!  However, ”12 out of the 17 penguin species are currently experiencing rapid population decline”.

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3: Pacific Walrus

Ever seen “50 First Dates”?  Well, the Walrus is one of the “largest victims of climate change”.  200 dead Walrus (what’s plural for “walrus”?!) washed up on Alaska’s northwest coast in September 2010.

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2: Polar Bear

Unfortunately, this one is no surprise.  WWF reports that “many polar bear populations will be vulnerable to extinction within the next century if warming trends in the Arctic continue at the current pace”.  I could never imagine a world without these majestic bears.

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1: Tiger

And at #1, one of the most beautiful of the feline world, is the Tiger.  There may be as few as 3,200 left in the wild because they are poached for their body parts.  It is devastating to know that these tigers could be extinct because of the selfishness of humans.

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Whether it’s because of climate change, deforestation, or us humans, it is heartbreaking to know that our children and grand-children may not be able to experience the wonder each of these animals has to offer.  Something has to be done to protect and save these endangered species.

To read the full list, and to hear why and how to save these animals, click here.

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*Note: Click on the link above to view my sources and to read the full list of the “10 Most Wanted Species”.  The pictures were taken from Google Images.*

Link of the Day: Don’t Fake It

National Geographic:  Real Christmas Trees Save Water

Quote of the Day: Bill Vaughn

“Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.” ~ Bill Vaughn.

A Striped Thanksgiving

The biggest blessings seem to come in the smallest packages.

Five-year-old Kirana, a Sumatran tiger at the Chester Zoo in the U.K., gave birth on October 21st to three baby cubs, and on Tuesday, October 22nd, mother and triplets made their big debut.    

These three births were very special, not only because they are just so darn adorable, but because they may be one of the last glimmers of hope for this particular species of tigers.  There are less than 400 Sumatran tiger left in the wild in their home of Indonesia, and have been claimed critically endangered.

 ’”It’s estimated that there are just a few hundred left in the wild and only around 7% of their original habitat remains, which is why these triplets are so, so important,” Tim Rowlands, the zoo’s curator of mammals, told Sky News.’  

So, while the zoo still does not know the sex of the cubs – since they’re still too small – these three cubs could be the future for the Sumatran species.  It seems that we should all be thankful for something this Thanksgiving.

To see the full article and more pictures of these precious blessings, click here to visit the Huffington Post.

Happy Thanksgiving All and remember, there is always something to be thankful for!

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*Note:  Click on the links above to read the full articles and to check my sources.  The pictures were taken from the source.  I, however, summarized the article (the italicized section at the top) in my own words, and the opinions, thoughts, phrases, and words in this post are my own: © Kalie Lyn, 2011.*

Animals in the News

Shirley, an orangutan in Malaysia, is forced to quit smoking

According to the Global Post, Shirley, an orangutan in Malaysia, must be forced to quit smoking after she has been showing some abnormal behaviors such as mood swings, drowsiness and becoming agitated when she doesn’t have a cigarette.  But how did she start smoking in the first place?

Well, apparently, visitors to the zoo would throw lit cigarettes into her enclosure, and Shirley, mimicking her “wonderful” human “role models”, would smoke the cigarettes thrown in for her.

Luckily though, Nature Alert, a British activist group, complained, authorities realized that the zoo which Shirley was in was not a good environment.  Shirley, as well as a tiger and a baby elephant, were all removed from the zoo, and should be sent to a wildlife center on Borneo island.

It just outrages me that people are so gosh darn stupid and insensitive as to throw a cigarette into an animal’s enclosure.  What the hell were they thinking?  What if Shirley had eaten the cigarettes that were thrown in?  What if a fire had started in the enclosure during a dry season or something?  It’s bad enough that she smoked them, and it also says in the article that she’s more than 20 years old, so now, depending on how long she has been smoking, it didn’t say, she could develop cancer and other health problems.

Grrr … the human population just angers me.  We all need to grow-up, and not think a “smoking monkey” is funny or cool because it’s not! It’s an outrage!  It’s not natural for animals to be smoking, and it’s not right for humans to be exposing them to man-made death traps.

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Cheeky Monkey!  Macaque Borrows Photographer’s Camera to take Hilarious Self-Portraits

According to the Daily Mail, award-winning photographer, David Slater, whom was visiting a national park in Indonesia, left his camera unattended for a while.  Curious by her reflection in the lens, a female black macaque, grabbed the camera and “smiled” for a picture.

Apparently, by the time David Slater retrieved his camera, the macaque ‘must have taken hundreds of pictures’, though not all were in focus.  Guess they still need a bit more practice!

I loved reading this news article not just for the cute pictures, but also because it really does show you how intelligent animals truly are.  They are eternal children – we all know a few humans that are the same way! – and whomever says that animals don’t have feelings, souls or emotions is plain wrong.

Just by looking at the “self-portraits” by the macaque, and staring into her eyes, you can see that she is curious yet intelligent, excited yet cautious, and nothing short of a 3 year old human child!

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Liger cubs nursed by dog in China’s Xixiakou Zoo

According to BBC News, only two, out of four, Liger cubs – offspring of a male lion and a female tiger – survived when they were born at the Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo in China.

When their tiger mother stopped nursing them, due to reasons unknown by the zoo staff, a dog, whom recently had her own puppies, became the new step-mother of these liger cubs.

Ligers are extremely rare and are known to only be born in captivity.  While tigers and lions are from different species, they are still able to breed together, and ligers are the biggest known cat, even growing larger than both their different species parents.

It’s strange how different species are able to breed with one another and actually produce offspring.  I wonder if, when/if aliens are found, humans could mate with them and produce a “huien” baby?!  Sick thought, I know.

Anyway, I have always been interested in hearing stories about one species that ends up taking care and nursing another species when it is left orphaned.  I know there are many stories about dogs taking in other specie babies such as pigs, kittens, and now ligers, however there are even other species – ones that no one would even think would do that – taking care of orphaned babies.  

One of my favorite books, which gives examples of inner-species parent/child relationships, is Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer Holland.  Hearing the stories which fill that book, and the story above, brings my heart joy as I think how much alike humans and animals are.

We both feel, love, nurture, and take care of those in need.

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*Note:  Click on the links above to read the full articles.  The pictures were taken from the sources.  I, however, summarized the articles in my own words, and the opinions and thoughts in this post are my own: © Kalie Lyn, 2011.*

Animal Expression

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Everyone that’s read my blog by now knows that I LOVE animals!  I also love photography and catching the lovely creatures in their “natural” beautiful state. Here are some of my favorite pictures I’ve taken of animals, along with one of my boyfriend’s photos. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A close-up of an elephant at Busch Gardens in Florida. […]

Animal Massacre in Zanesville, Ohio

Do you see that picture above?!  Among those animals you see lying, dead, on the ground are bears, monkeys, lions and rare Bengal tigers.  

What happened here to cause such a horrible scene?

Terry Thompson, the owner of a wildlife preserve in Zanesville, Ohio, had released his brood of exotic animals and then shot himself.  Officers were forced to gun down the animals as “these animals were on the move and were showing aggressive behavior,” said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz.  After everything was over, 49 animals – 18 rare Bengal tigers, 17 lions, 6 black bears, 2 grizzly bears, 3 mountain lions, 2 wolves and 1 baboon – were slaughtered.  According to ABC News, Jack Hanna, wildlife expert, ‘said it was especially heartbreaking to see so many Bengal tigers killed when they are on the verge of extinction’.

While this tragedy is unbelievable, and a macaque monkey is still on the loose, it was a lucky day for 6 of the animals – 1 grizzly bear, 3 leopards and 2 monkeys – as Terry Thompson never released them from their cage and they were still found there.  They are being taken to the Columbus Zoo.

Read and watch the full story here.

My mother brought this incident to my attention and it absolutely pissed me off.  First, it upset me on how little laws Ohio has pertaining to keeping wild and exotic animals as pets.  Second, and most importantly, while the officers and everyone involved said there was no other way than to kill these animals, there really had to be another option.

The photo above isn’t even the worse.  This is the worst:

How, after everything that these animals had been through – being killed and I guess their owner Terry Thompson abused them – could the officers just throw their bodies on top of one another like that.  Also, if you watch the video, you see a few of the carcasses being dragged behind a tractor and even though they are going to be “buried”, these animals are special beings and deserve to be treated with more respect.

Another thing that upset me to high heavens was the fact that, if you read the article it explains how a vet tried to tranquilize one tiger and, according to the article, the tiger ‘”just went crazy” and started to run, so officers were forced to shoot it with lethal ammunition’.  Why, after one try, did they give up and just kill it?  Maybe the tranquilizer wasn’t strong enough – a tiger is a big animal – so why didn’t they get stronger tranquilizers?.  Why didn’t they try the amount of tranquilizers they had on the smaller animals such as the wolves and monkeys, instead of killing them right away?

The whole thing seems absolutely surreal to me and the fact that there was no other option than to kill these animals is unbelievable.

While the 49 animals, including already endangered species, were killed, there is something we can do to prevent this “situation” from happening in the future.  Whether you’re an Ohio resident or not, visit this site and demand that action be taken to prevent the ownership and sales of exotic animals.

We must not let the above majestic animals die in vain.

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*Note:  Click on the links above to find out more info and to see my sources.  The pictures above were taken from Google Images.  The thoughts and words above are my own: © Kalie Lyn, 2011.

Create, Reuse, Reduce

Going “green” has been the new thing for quite some time now.  Whether it’s opening house windows on a breezy summer day instead of turning on the air conditioning or unplugging all electronics when not in use, many people are finding ways to both save money and benefit the environment.

Recycling is a huge part of “going green”.  On certain weekdays, the ends of driveways are adorned with trash cans containing smelly garbage and bins containing old newspapers, empty plastic milk jugs and glass jars.  While we are told to separate our garbage from our recyclables and that an empty water bottle will be recycled into a new water bottle, many people still wonder what happens to their recyclable materials.

Instead of worrying if you are doing your part to save the environment, here is a fun and beautiful way to reuse an old glass jar.

DECOUPAGE FLOWER VASE

Materials Needed:

• Empty Glass Jar   (I used an empty pizza sauce jar)

• Decoupage Glue Sealer Gloss Finish    (I used the brand, ArtMinds.  I found it at Michael’s Craft Store and while the other brands were priced from $15 – 7$, this brand was only $5.99!  And it works!)

• Material you wish to seal onto the jar   (Examples: newspaper clippings, comic strips, wrapping paper, fabric…etc.  I used white and red wrapping paper along with fake flowers.)

• Paint Brush

Steps:

• First off, make sure you have ALL of the materials listed above.  Once you have your mind set on creating, you want to create and not scramble around finding missing pieces.

• Using the paint brush, Apply a thin coat of the decoupage glue sealer onto the outside of your glass jar where you want your material to be placed.

• With the material you want, position and smooth it out around the glass jar.  Make sure you even the material out so there are no bubbles or overlaps.

• Once the material is set and in place, apply another thin coat of the decoupage glue sealer over the material and let dry for 15-20 minutes.

• You may add as many layers as you want.  I did a base layer of red and white wrapping paper and then went on to my second layer of a different material.

• I pulled off the fake flowers of a decoration plant I had laying around.  I then sealed them to the jar with a layer of the decoupage glue sealer on the bottom of the flowers and on top.

• After those had dried, I put a last coat of sealer around the entire jar and over all the materials so everything stays in place.

• Once everything was dry and in place, I finished off with the rim of the jar by sealing a strip of the red wrapping paper around the rim.

• Let everything sit for about a day and give it time to completely dry.

• Voila! You now have a beautiful, hand crafted, original flower vase!  Add some fresh water and colorful flowers and you’re ready to display it in your home!

 

Create, Reuse, Reduce!

*© Kalie Lyn 2011*