Old ships, ancient customs FREMANTLE, Australia––Seventy thousand Australian sheep aboard the 38-year-old livestock carrier Al Messilah, or anyhow those who survive the journey, are due to reach Kuwait on May 14, 2018, according to VesselFinder.com. The voyage continues a trade that Animals Australia likens to whaling in terms of cruelty and obsolescence, but which […]
The many faces of Nasim Aghdam, vegan turned YouTube shooter
Social media performer more engaged in self-promotion than in message-focused statement SAN DIEGO, California––Claiming more than 300,000 people had viewed her 60-odd (and sometimes very odd) YouTube videos on vegan and animal rights themes, Nasim Aghdam on April 3, 2018, two days before what would have been her 38th birthday, abruptly multiplied her audience and […]
Cutting animals’ throats in New York City––who does it, who pays for it?
Customs change with waves of immigration NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.––Live markets and storefront slaughter are again controversial in New York City, scene of countless protests against the live animal marketing and killing practices of ethnic communities, this time through undercover video of purported halal or Islamic slaughter, taken by two members of Brooklyn/Queens Animal […]
Kaporos: chicken soup for the soulless?
UPDATE: Opponents of Kaporos will on September 28, 2017 hold a candlelight vigil in Borough Park, Brooklyn, co-hosted by the Animal Cruelty Exposure Fund, Their Turn, NYCLASS, Long Island Orchestrating for Nature, New York Farm Animal Save, New York Animal Defenders, and the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos, a project of United Poultry Concerns. […]
The animal & human heroes & most overlooked lesson of 9/11
Remembering national trauma Today, September 11, 2016, marks the fifteenth anniversary of the national trauma the U.S. experienced as result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The aftermath of those attacks brought global traumas including ongoing warfare in much of the Middle East, Central Asia, […]
Egyptian writer gets three years in prison for criticizing Eid slaughter
Allegedly insulted Islam CAIRO, Egypt––Found guilty of insulting Islam for criticizing mass public slaughter of animals at the 2015 Eid al Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, Egyptian writer Fatima Naoot, 52, was on January 26, 2016 sentenced to serve three years in prison and to pay a fine of 2,000 Egyptian pounds, amounting to […]
Sperm-sorting comes to India
Slippery business may stop the bull calf surplus AHMEDABAD, Gujarat, India––What to do with the surplus bulls born to dairy cattle, perhaps the oldest, most vexing, and most contentious humane issue in India, probably responsible for the most animal suffering, may soon be resolved by the introduction of sperm-sorting by the dairy cooperative Amul, […]
What did the Prophet Mohammed really say about dogs?
Kindness toward dogs could bring forgiveness for sin Will Islamic refugees from conflict in the Middle East respect western values? Of particular concern to animal lovers, will the refugees respect our cultural concern for the well-being of dogs? Vehement foes of refugee immigration frequently allege that Islam is intolerant of dogs, but reality is considerably […]
Fallen crane & stampede take spotlight from haj animal victims
At least 900,000 animals killed among 24 nations RIYADH, Saudi Arabia––After decades of global controversy over animal transport and slaughter in connection with Eid al Adha sacrificial rites, the animal victims of the 2015 Islamic pilgrimage season went almost unnoticed amid furor over human victims. The start of the pilgrimage season, called the haj […]
The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living & Nonviolence In Early Christianity
by Keith Akers Lantern Books (128 2nd Place, Garden Suite Brooklyn, NY 11231), 2001. 260 pages, paperback. $20.00. Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Denver vegetarian advocate Keith Akers, perhaps best known for compiling A Vegetarian Sourcebook (1983), earned his B.A. in philosophy 45 years ago at Vanderbilt University. Akers turned to computer programming to make a living, […]