Olympic Shame

London is buzzing.  


I have heard that phrase so many times over the last few weeks but now I can actually feel it, the sun is finally out, the Olympic volunteers are out in force with their bright pink and purple uniforms, Union Jacks are strung high looking extra patriotic against the beautiful blue sky and tonight is the night.  Unfortunately, all of this wonderful, exciting atmosphere has been tainted with the knowledge that over 100 live animals will be used in tonight's opening ceremony which means that they will be exposed to large crowds, loud noise and flashing lights.

When the plans were announced by creator Danny Boyle back in June, animal lovers around the UK were dismayed.  Captive Animals' Protection Society immediately set up a petition opposing the use of live animals in the opening ceremony and this gained a huge amount of support (over 63,000 signatures, which is more people than will be attending the opening ceremony).  

Leading animal welfare charities wrote to the London 2012 organisers asking them to rethink their plans and highlighted the unnecessary stress that would be caused to the animals (not to mention the  unrealistic and misleading portrayal of the British farming industry).  

After the petition was delivered to the head of London 2012 committee, Bill Morris, Boyle reassured the concerned parties that genuine care would be taken of the animals and they would be re-homed in sanctuaries after the performance.

Morris has chosen to ignore the plea of over 63,000 people and keep the animals in the opening ceremony.  CAPS has branded Morris's response as "shockingly dismissive".  To add insult to injury, Morris stated in a letter to Animal Defenders International that the animals will remain in entertainment after being used in the ceremony, which completely refutes Boyle's previous promise.

Boyle has said that he would "vigorously" look into retiring the animals to sanctuaries after the ceremony, please click here in order to contact him reminding him to do everything he can to keep his word and spare the animals used in the ceremony from a life of working within entertainment before eventually ending up in a slaughterhouse.

Tonight the use of animals in the Olympic opening ceremony will go ahead as planned and the world will be watching.  CAPS have stated that they will be following the ceremony closely throughout and monitoring the movement of the animals afterwards whilst continuing to raise awareness about the use of animals in entertainment in the future.

Don't visit SeaWorld (or places like it) this summer

Source.

Are you going on holiday this year?

This is the most frequently asked question of late (except for "What's the weather going to be like today?") and it has lead me to think about some of the holidays I have been on in the past.  If you go on a package holiday abroad that offers excursions to places of interest, you may notice that there is likely to be an aquarium/aqua park/sea world type of place housing marine animals.  There may be an opportunity to swim alongside these magnificent creatures, as well as watching them perform numerous tricks in return for a treat.  

It all seems innocent enough but in reality the animals are kept captive in tanks, or pools a lot smaller than their natural habitat (imagine being trapped in a bath tub) a million miles away from the vast ocean they belong in.  In the wild, whales and dolphins live in large social groups and are free to swim to their hearts content in the open ocean, using echolocation to navigate.  Keeping these intelligent creatures in a tank for entertainment purposes means that reverberations from their sonar bounce of the walls.  

Renowned oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau compared keeping Orcas in tanks to "a person being blind folded in a jail cell."

It is also reported that marine animals are often violently captured and if they refuse to perform common training methods include withholding food and isolation.

"Marine parks such as SeaWorld teach children the wrong lessons: that it is somehow acceptable to imprison animals, forbid them from experiencing the joy of establishing their natural territory and exploring their world, separate them from loved ones, and force them to perform confusing and unnatural tricks to bring in tourist dollars. Visitors to SeaWorld see mere shadows of what these graceful and awe-inspiring animals are like in nature. Captive dolphins are defeated and depressed beings who cannot engage in natural behavior and cannot live as nature intended."

- Peta

Peta states that the SeaWorld parks have a terrible record of animal deaths from causes relating to living in captivity.  Blackstone, the company that owns SeaWorld, completely ignore the cruelty and unsafe conditions that have caused tragedy for both humans and animals which is unacceptable.

Please sign this petition to help animals imprisoned at Sea World.  You can also help animals at similar marine parks all over the world by refusing to visit and contribute to the industry.  Also it is an idea to spread the word to other tourists who may think it is okay to make ocean dwellers live in small tanks and perform tricks all for the sake of entertainment.

Implement a ban on keeping wild and exotic animals.

Source.

A few weeks back there was a very sad and disturbing story in the press about the release of 56 wild animals in Zanesville, Ohio resulting in dire consequences.  The animals were released by their owner, Terry Thompson, who took his own life after opening the cage doors.  The animals liberated included lions, tigers, wolves and bears which prompted the sheriff to issue a “shoot to kill” order.

49 of the 56 animals were killed including 17 lions, 18 tigers, 8 bears, 3 mountain lions, 2 wolves and a baboon. 

PETA reports that for years it has asked Ohio officials to ban the private ownership of exotic and wild animals, unfortunately nobody has listened.  The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has the ability to implement a ban on the sale and possession of exotic and wild animals and could stop a similar incident happening again.

Please click here to be re-directed to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and politely ask them to exercise their authority to implement an emergency ban which prohibits the keeping of wild and exotic animals.  You can either write your own message or copy and past the text below:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I was greatly distressed to hear of the unfortunate death of 49 wild animals being killed after being released by Terry Thompson.  This could have been avoided if Mr Thompson was prohibited from keeping wild and exotic animals.

I am writing to you to ask you to exercise your authority and seriously consider implementing emergency regulations to ban the sale and possession of wild and exotic animals.  Action needs to be taken immediately to stop another horrific incident happening again.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Yours faithfully,

When asked to select a topic from the drop down menu I chose Wildlife: Fishing and Hunting.

As always, please spread the word!

Thank you.

Dolphins don't belong in captivity

Source.

As I am sure you already know, wild dolphins are extremely intelligent as well as being incredibly playful, social and caring.  They belong in the vast oceans where they can live and play freely.  Sadly, there are 25 wild dolphins facing a life of captivity due to Resorts World Sentosa's new attraction.  

At the moment the dolphins are locked in tiny pens and captivity is utter torture for them as their unique sonar bounces off the walls right back at them, it is like being trapped in an endless house of mirrors.  Most dolphins die at a young age from illness induced by stress, some dolphins actually commit suicide.  

Avaaz says that half the dolphins will die in the first 2 years if Resorts World Sentosa suceeds in keeping them captive.  As well as this, it will legitimise the widely banned practice of capturing wild dolphins. 

The cruel wild dolphin industry has been banned from the UK to Costa Rica, so we cannot allow Resorts World to get away with this.  Two years ago the same organisation had to abandon their plans for a whale shark exhibit due to a huge outcry threatening their reputation - we need to do this again in order to set the dolphins free. 

Resorts World claim that their “interactive spa program” using the dolphins will be able to help heal sick and disabled children, there is no scientific evidence to support this technique.  They also claim their programs aid conservation, even though by capturing the dolphins in the first place they were actually hunting as they only keep the “display-worthy” dolphins and the dolphins left are unfortunately killed. 

Click here to sign the petition from Avaaz, once 750,000 signatures have been raised they will forward this to Resorts World and the media. 

Please forward this action to as many friends as possible, share on Facebook and Twitter too!

Thank you.

What happened at the debate on Circuses?

BBC News tells how MP Mark Pritchard stood up to Prime Minister David Cameron after he was "threatened"

The Express tells of a "dirty tricks" row

New Statesmen says Number 10 was "humiliated" after MP's backed a ban on wild animals used in circuses.

The good news is that MP's voted unanimously for a ban!

Stop clowning around, we need to think seriously about Circuses...

Source.

The RSPCA and Animal Aid have long been campaigning for the use of animals in circuses to be banned.  A few months ago some video footage was released by an organisation called Animal Defenders International showing an elephant named Anne, being abused by her keeper at Bobby Robert's Super Circus.  The good news is that Anne has now been moved to Longleat Safari Park where you can see below that she is a whole lot happier.

Read more about Anne here.

Anne was the last elephant to be used in a circus but according to the RSPCA there are still 37 animals left including zebras, lions, snakes, tigers, camels, a kangaroo and crocodiles

After Anne's experiences had come to light, Caroline Spelman MP, the Secretary of State said that she was "minded" towards a ban on wild animals in circuses.  Unfortunately there has been no further announcement by Mrs Spelman.  In recent weeks, Defra announced that it is unable to ban the use of wild animals in circuses because of a lawsuit taking place in Austria.  However, Jim Paice, Defra’s pro-hunt animal welfare Minister was forced to admit that these legal proceedings don’t actually exist. 

Mr Paice was reported to have said "if you don't like the idea of elephants and lions performing in circuses, don't go". 

The RSPCA is asking for one final push to urge Prime Minister, David Cameron to ban wild animals in circuses once and for all.

How to Help

If you click on this link you will be taken to the RSPCA's campaign site where you will be asked to enter a few details, once you have done this you will be taken to a readily prepared e-mail where, if you have time, you can enter your own (polite) comments.  Hit submit and we're another step closer to a better life for animals.

Don't forget to tell your friends.  Thank you!

Sources:  RSPCA, Animal Aid.

Use of Chimpanzees in Commercials

Me giving a lovely Chimpanzee a drink of water at Dudley Zoo.

I had a disturbing e-mail from Peta regarding the use of chimpanzees in a commercial for a company called CareerBuilder (The chimpanzees were dressed as office workers).  As you know, chimpanzees are highly intelligent and sensitive animals and the use of them in such commercials is extremely unnecessary and cruel.

Myself and my boyfriend had the pleasure of coming face to face with a lovely group of chimpanzees last year at Dudley Zoo and we were struck by the amount of intelligence in their eyes.  (Our encounters as Keepers for a Day at Dudley Zoo is another story which I promise to share another day)

To read the entire article that was sent to me from Peta and to find out how you can help please click here.  If you are especially sensitive (like me) you may find it difficult reading so you can skip the article and go straight to filling in a few details so that Peta can forward a message to CareerBuilder on your behalf asking them to end their advertising campaign.

Remember those small but helpful things you can also do that don't take long but can make a difference such as sharing this information with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Trouble at the Fair

On Bonfire Night there was a firework display and fair just a stones throw away from where we live so we decided to combine Suki's evening walk with a mooch around.  It was crowded and noisy in the park so we didn't stay long and after watching most of the fireworks we headed over to the fair for a toffee apple (Suki was having a lovely time and seemed completely oblivious to the fireworks and more interested in what delights people had dropped on the floor!)  Unfortunately we didn't stay long at the fair either after seeing at least two of the stalls giving away goldfish.  

One of the stalls was selling goldfish along with "Starter Kits" which consisted of small square plastic aquariums, the other stall was giving away bags containing 2 or 3 goldfish as a prize.  We spoke to the people manning the stalls and they seemed perfectly happy to continue with what they were doing.  Giving away goldfish at the fair is not only a very old fashioned practice, it is also cruel and completely unnecessary - what is wrong with cuddly toys?  It was very loud at the fair with bright flashing lights and lots of people, many under the influence of alcohol and who would not be responsible should they have won/purchased the goldfish.  Although it may seem easy to look after a goldfish, they are living creatures with feelings and need proper care and attention.

Under the Animal Welfare Act it is illegal to give a prize fish to an unaccompanied child under 16, but some councils have banned it altogether on their land.  I have written to the Captive Animals Protection Society for some advice of what action to take next so will update you when they respond.

What do you think?

Something to be ashamed about.

Me swimming with the dolphin a few years ago. Yes, it an experience but at the dolphins expense :-(

Back when I was 12 years old and in secondary school I really began to become aware of issues affecting animals. One of the first things I campaigned against was animals in captivity and I focused especially on sea mammals such as whales and dolphins. A few years back I had the opportunity to swim with a dolphin in an Aquapark in Turkey, blinded by excitement and desperation to swim with this gorgeous creature I succumbed and actually paid for the privilege. I have to say that I am thoroughly ashamed of myself for doing this as I was contributing to the whole animals used for entertainment industry.

I can't even remember why we ended up in the Aquapark in the first place, I know that we went at my insistence all because I love animals and wanted to see seals, porpoises and dolphins but I really wish that I had remembered everything I knew and didn't go anywhere near the place where wild animals, who belong in the expansive oceans, are kept in confinement for our selfish enjoyment. I think about the dolphins and other animals in that Aquapark all the time and rather than simply feeling guilty for what I did, I want to make something positive happen. I want to learn from my mistakes and do something to help stop animals being used to make money from tourists.

I will never visit an aquapark or dolphinarium again (unless to protest in some form)

I have found quite a few stories about some dolphins in particular that are situated in a dolphinarium in Oludeniz near to the Aquapark I visited, these dolphins named Misha and Tom are being kept in an area of water the size of a swimming pool and were allegedly transported there in the back of a fruit and veg van without any type of support. The dolphinarium is not able to open to the public as the owner Aleksandr Kuznetsov does not have a licence.

The good news is that tourists and local people are speaking out against the dolphinarium and major tour operators are boycotting it.

Born Free sums up things perfectly and makes me hang my head in shame “As long as people are prepared to pay to see captive dolphins then opportunistic facilities like this will continue to spring up. But at what cost to the dolphins?”

Born Free has contacted the owner and asked him to consider their proposal of entering the dolphins into a rehabilitation programme.

I will keep you updated and will let you know of more ways to help.

Helen Worth and Amanda Holden are some of the celebrity campaigners that have spoken out about this cause.

Please join the Facebook Group and you will find some letters to send to relevant authorities and also a petition to sign.

Born Free