by Janice Cox The many ways in which the development of industrial animal agriculture harms humans, animals and the environment in developing nations have been subjects of concern to far-sighted thinkers for more than a century. The lineage of intellectual concern about such issues includes Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), E.F. Schumacher (1911-1977), Barbara Ward (1914-1981), Lester Brown (1934-), Frances Moore Lappe […]
More medical warnings link dog meat to rabies
13 people ate meat from a rabid dog MANILA––Philippine, Chinese, and international public health media in mid-March 2015 warned that eating dogs can spread rabies, after at least 13 people ate meat from a rabid dog in Cabatangan village, Zamboanga, the Philippines. Summarized Robert Herriman of Outbreak News Today on March 15, 2015, from reports […]
Taiwan adopts plan to become no-kill nation by 2017
Bans killing impounded dogs TAIPEI, Taiwan––The Taiwanese legislature, the Legislative Yuan, on January 24, 2015 adopted 25 revisions to the 1998 national Animal Protection Act that are intended to make Taiwan a no-kill nation. The revisions includes a ban on killing impounded dogs, to take effect in 2017. The ban resembles laws in effect in […]
Fundraising, FADS, “dolphin safe,” & why Ric O’Barry left Earth Island Institute
The U.S. “dolphin safe” standard accepts the use of FADs at the expense of sharks, sea turtles, and many other marine species BERKELEY, OAKLAND––“FADs are bad,” says dolphin defender Ric O’Barry. By FADs, O’Barry means a fishing method so deadly that he believes it makes a travesty of “dolphin safe” tuna labeling. The U.S. “dolphin […]
The Ric O’Barry prequels to “The Cove” and “Blackfish”
To Free A Dolphin 2000. 269 pages, hardcover. $23.95. Behind The Dolphin Smile 1988, 2000. 300 pages, paperback. $15.95. Both by Ric O Barry with Keith Coulbourn Renaissance Books (5858 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90036.) Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Dolphin Project founder Ric O’Barry is now an internationally recognized film star, through […]
Waiting for the Rising Sun: Ric O’Barry’s wish for 2015
by Ric O’Barry 16 December, 2014 It’s just after 5:30 a.m., local time in Taiji. I’m at the harbor now, waiting for the sun to rise. From the moment I leave my hotel, I am surrounded by police. I am glad they are here, as they’re professional, respectful and fair to both sides. It’s a […]
Defying International Court of Justice, Japan announces plan to kill another 4,000 whales in the name of research
Japan Fisheries Agency proposes to kill 333 minke whales per year TOKYO––Defying a March 2014 ruling by the International Court of Justice and a September 2014 International Whaling Commission resolution, the Japanese government on November 18, 2014 announced that it intends to resume so-called “research whaling” in Antarctic waters during the winter of 2015-2016. […]
“Crush video” makers get life in prison
Victor & Chita Dorma Ridon convicted MANILA––“Crush video” makers Victor Ridon and Chita Dorma Ridon, his wife, were on September 28, 2014 convicted of human trafficking and sentenced to life in prison in the northern Philippines city of San Fernando. The life sentences stood in stark contrast to the failure of Miami-Dade prosecutors to […]
Post-Fukushima lawsuit may reshape the politics of animal welfare in Japan
Repercussions for animals continue TOKYO––Aftershocks from the March 11, 2011 earthquake that devastated the Tohoku region of Japan long since faded into occasional tremors. Debris from the tsunami that followed has mostly been cleared away, except in the no-man’s-land surrounding the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactor complex. But repercussions for animals continue, including the rise […]
South Korean activists protest against eating dogs during Papal visit
In South Korea, not only are many Catholic priests fans of dog meat, they often encourage their congregation to go out and eat dog meat and even sell dog meat at their church bazaars. Fed up with their hypocrisy, members of several animal rights groups in South Korea protested on August 18, 2014 when […]