Dog and Horse Slaughter - What Else Is New on Groundhog Day?

In typical "Groundhog Day" fashion my day began with learning about the 100 massacred "mushing" sled dogs.  Now we just have to get people as aware and angry about what happens to greyhounds too...

On with more gastly news:  This time about the continued and relentless BLM horse roundups despite all reasonable efforts by Madeleine Pickins to put an end to them:


A slight change from the other stories about "lion burgers" or skinning cat fish alive --- That was last week's horror news - wasn't it? :(

Still, I guess the brightest side of today's headlines in the hopeful world of animal justice and social evolution comes from a post on Oprah's Vegan Challenge.  This comment by pumpernicklebread was really on the mark: 


"The circle of life? Not exactly. The Human food chain is a choice. Whether you eat fish, cow, horse, dog, cat, worms or you are a vegan - it is a choice. We are not fighting for survival to eat anything we can find thanks to the agricultural revolution, yet some always seem to justify flesh consumption with incomplete arguments. If you want to say "it tastes good and you like it and you don't care this creature was bread to live out a tiny fraction of it's expected life span only to be dissected for your culinary desires (desires not absolute needs)" Then just say it and be ok with it, it is the only unarguable truth for the meat eater who lives in an industrialized nation with so many diet choices. I don't care if they whisper sweet nothings into a cow's ear and guarantee that the cow will be going to heaven. A cow will always be more amazing to me than a steak".


Whoever you are "pumpernicklebread"... A hat tip and a warm hug.  Thanks!  On these perpetual "Groundhog Days" - I needed that!


Please - Break the cycle of unending animal cruelty... Make compassionate Vegan choices.


Petition against the brutal  Iditarod here at Animal Legal Defense Fund

Racketeering the American West: BP Oil, Cattle & BLM Horse Roundups

In 1971, Congress charged the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management with the stewardship of both the land and the Mustangs. These 2 videos show that not only did the Bureau failed horribly in that stewardship, but did so by colluding with big industry to destroy the very beings they were entrusted with protecting. The scandals are numerous and tawdry, the lies are plentiful and ludicrous, the attitudes are sadly predictable and the result is the wholesale destruction of the American people's culture and waste of the American people's treasure(read tax dollars) by their own servants.


The truth about the wild "protected" horses is that their land is being handed over to Big Agriculture (Corporate Cattle Ranches) and Big Oil, (British Petroleum), all at the expense of the U.S. Tax Payer and in violation of U.S. Federal Law. 


I've heard it said many times and it bears repeating: If you like horses - Don't eat cows. And I add further: If you like animals - Don't eat them at all! Go Vegan


Horses to Slaughter: Anatomy of a Cover Up within the Wild Horse and Burro Program of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)


A plethora of facts and investigative reports about the grim realities the Mustangs are facing at the hands of the BLM and their Corporate Mistresses.


The Cloud Foundation

Horse Abused & Killed at Cheyenne Rodeo -

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A horse died after falling during a saddle bronc riding event at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo.

Correction please... this 4 year old mare, Strawberry Fudge did not "die"... She was injured to death! Killed for "entertainment". As a "hobby" or "sport" for "wild west" wannbees.

And rodeos are supposed to represent "traditional American values".... People who support rodeos claim to be good Christian, patriotic folk - And they also claim that they do not tolerate animal abuse... Well, maybe the ancient blood drenched amphitheatre patrons were told that too...

You decide. Ask yourself... Really - what's the difference between these activities and dog fighting? Or rooster fighting? There's none that I can see, except that with rodeos... the animals stand even less of a chance against the biggest bully of them all: The "American" crap-kicking Cowboy.

For more information on rodeo and other animal abuses please visit and support SHARK.

Hey Barbie! Horseracing is Not Vegan - Animals are Not Toys

Barbie is going to the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs is teaming with Mattel to create the Kentucky Derby Barbie.

The plastic-fantastic babe will be dressed for the occasion. Of course, the Derby is where fashion meets horse racing.Kentucky Derby® Barbie® doll commemorates the 135th “Run for the Roses!™” Ready for the winner’s circle, Barbie® doll wears a pretty floral summer sun dress. Accessories include faux pearl necklace, spring sandals and stylish white hat to protect her from the sun!

And what a stylish gal she is!

But considering, there's 3 fatalities everyday on the racetracks, thousands of disappointing foals that are bred for the "sport"... and countless horses that cease to earn the winning purse - That sends these guys right to the glue factory for sure.

And for this occassion Barbie will not to be caught out of vogue with her matching kill floor ensemble that is to die for!

The smart print apron should catch those nasty spills... never soiling her pretty blue frock underneath. Rubber boots and matching blood bucket sold separately...

Putting childish frivolity away, we know that horses, like all living beings are not toys for our amusements. Whether it's the thrill of the track, that playful delight to our tastebuds or the touch of dead fur upon our skin. All animal slaughter is wrong. All of it is needless and all of it... no matter what fashion, style or culture may dictate is ugly, cruel and unnecessary.

Three stages of truth:

• Ridicule
• Violent Opposition
• Acceptance

Respect Life... End speciesism - Go Vegan

BAN CRUEL HORSE DRAWN HANSON CARRAIGES

In December I posted a video urging the boycott of horse-pulled carraiges. Here is the full length movie illustrating the many reasons why we should:

GRAZING CATTLE SPURS HELICOPTER HORSE ROUND UP

The February issue of National Geographic Magazine has an article, about the government's round up of Mustangs on behalf of cattle ranchers, headed, "Spirit of the Shrinking West: Mustangs." It includes gorgeous photos of the animals, and disturbing photos of them being chased by low flying helicopters across the plains towards pens.

"Wild horses are right in the middle of a culture that wants nothing to do with them. The wild horse has been despised ever since white men came west-blamed for everything that can and does go wrong on these grasslands. So in the mid-1800s, when stockmen released up to 40 million cattle on the plains, where horses had lived for centuries without destroying the grazing, at most two million mustangs were held responsible for the suddenly depleted range." J Kirkpatrick, director of science and conservation biology at ZooMontana

The article explains, "Traditionally ranchers haven't had much time for anything that competes with them for resources. It's not uncommon to find coyote carcasses draped over barbed-wire fences, as if Westerners had gone trolling for whatever offended their souls and, unable to shoot the wind, turned their ire on something more tangible." The article's author, Alexandra Fuller says "The Bureau of Land Management, is required to manage 258 million acres as "multiple use." In theory there should be enough room for everything, but in reality, from the moment pioneers settled here, resources have been extracted with little patience for anything that got in the way of a silver dollar. "The BLM decides what are appropriate management levels for horses. Advocates believe the numbers are fixed arbitrarily low, threatening the genetic viability of the herds; ranchers say they're unrealistically high, threatening vital grazing." The article includes distressing descriptions, as well as the photos, of helicopter chases during mustang round-ups. Chris Heyde of the Animal Welfare Institute says, "Every year they pull more and more horses off the range to keep the ranchers happy. Meantime the scenario for the horses is just awful." Though it is not supposed to happen, we are reminded that most of the mustangs, the symbol of the Great American West, end up in slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. Killed for their flesh and their leather hides. There are contraceptive alternatives for these horses, however the BLM is resistant. Spending too little studying fertility control and too much on helicopter roundups. But when approached about using such wildlife contraceptives the response from the BLM was, "This is not how we do it out here. We do it with horses and ropes. And helicopters."

And it's true... it does seem like everything gets in the way of the space the cattlemen need... Or rather... the grass to feed the cows. The wolves, coyote, mountain lions, bison, elk, prarie dogs. Even birds are a threat to cattle interests once the bovines reach the feedlots. And anything that gets in the way of cattle interests are hunted, herded, trapped, poisoned and killed. Perhaps if we are running out of sufficient room to grow the cows - we might consider adopting a different, more sustainable plant based diet? This is the way to evolve while continuing to co-exist with other inhabitants on this earth. Unless all we want to have left on it is a bunch of McDonalds & Burger Kings?

As for me, I'd much rather eat my veggies and respectfully let the wildlife be. Go Vegan

No Holiday for Carraige Horses - Christmas Compassion -

We picture this romantic scene: And here is the reality: As you can see these horses lead a very sad life... After years of labor in some other "life" they "retire" to a traffic-congested concrete city... Pulling an exhausting burden in the blistering heat and frigid cold. For most of the day... till the end of their days. After age, injury or illness leaves them "unproductive", their depleted bodies are hauled hundreds of grueling miles to slaughterhouses in Mexico or Canada. There they succumb to the last of brutalities and are butchered into *meat* for Europe and Asian markets...

So during your holiday travels... if you happen to think for a moment that a nice ride around the park would be pleasurable - please think again at what cost to whom? Happy Holidays. Please consider going Vegan.