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3 cubs bred at the zoo in 2007. I wonder whether they are still alive?

Only a short time after 13 tigers died of malnutrition at Shenyang zoo in China, a mass grave has been discovered near another Chinese zoo, containing more than 30 animals, including rare white tigers and lions, that died of malnutrition.

The bones and remains of a quantity of animals could be seen poking through the snow in a three-metre deep pit near the Harbin Northern Forest Zoo, in Heilongjiang province in northeast China, state media reported.

They included two white tigers, five white lions, two leopards and five other big cats that had died in early 2008, zoo staff told a Chinese reporter.

Also believed to be buried in the mass grave were two of the zoo’s three Asian elephants and 28 of its 29 endangered great bustards.

Zoo officials said the deaths followed a decision in 2007 to change the animals’ diet to save money when the zoo ran into financial difficulties. A regimen of mutton and beef was replaced with chicken. Some keepers even gave their lions corn buns instead of meat.

Zhang Xinru, deputy head of the feeding department of the zoo, said that the animals showed no differences in the first month and a half of the new diet.

After six months the zoo noted a sharp fall in their body weight and after the deaths of 14 big cats in 2008 officials returned to feeding them beef and mutton. However, the animals were still suffering from malnutrition after a poor diet for such a long period.

Another zoo employee said that more than 80 per cent of the animals were being fed on bean cakes to keep up their protein levels. However, the zoo could no longer afford cakes of sufficient quality.

The employee said: “The animals eat this feed every day and many can only just stay alive. Death is coming closer and closer.”

The zoo was so short of funds that rare golden monkeys – one of China’s most treasured animals – were being fed only three types of fruit instead of the six varieties they should be given and the quality was very poor.

Earlier this month a zoo in northeastern Shenyang was closed after 13 endangered Siberian tigers starved to death. Some newspapers said the animals may have been used to produce valuable tiger-bone liquor, much prized in China as a tonic to boost virility.

Additional support for that report came from a Chinese journalist who went undercover at the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park, where more than 1,000 of the animals have been bred in captivity, to investigate whether tiger-bone tonic was being sold illegally.

The journalist said he was offered tonic containing tiger bone at 2,800 yuan (£280) a bottle or without bone parts at 780 yuan (£78) a bottle. When he asked a zoo employee if the tonic was fake, he received the answer: “Why would we bother to sell fake tonic?”

So much for the Chinese year of the tiger.

Source: TimesOnlineUK

I was lucky enough to win a copy of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy Ph.D. from the latest issue of Vegan Voice. I was thrilled, since this was on my long list of books to buy.

The author provides a fresh approach to an animal rights book as she looks into the psychology of ‘carnism’ -  a lifestyle that enables us to love some animals and eat others. In this quote from the book, she explains why it is necessary to give meat eating a label:

“We don’t see meat eating as we do vegetarianism – as a choice, based on a set of assumptions about animals, our world and ourselves. Rather we see it as a given, the “natural” thing to do. We eat animals without thinking about what we are doing and why because the belief system that underlies this behavior is invisible. This invisible belief system is what I call carnism.”

I enjoyed the academic angle, which really delves into the psychology of why people can love some animals and support the abuse and slaughter of others. I think this book would appeal to veggies, meat eaters and those on the fence, because the author does not judge, blame or shame the individual.  However there is no way you will look at your meat dinner the same after reading this book. You may even feel quite angry at the way that those in charge take advantage of their powerful position and manipulate society for more profit.

In the chapter, ‘The Way Things Really Are” Joy describes the horrific realities of slaughter and factory farms. It was hard to read it, but by including this in the book Joy gives her readers the chance to open their minds and take ownership of their choices.

Despite the serious nature of carnism Joy keeps the reader interested throughout and once I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down.  I found myself taking notes throughout the book, just so I could remember smart things to say to my carnist friends and family. The ideas were so logical and compelling I am not sure how anyone could argue with them.

I truly believe that this book could bring about change. Now has anyone got any tips on how I can get my carnist Mum to read it?

If you would like to buy this book click here

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Photo Source: Stop Shark Finning

Every proposal to protect marine species at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Doha, Qatar was voted down. Even the previously approved proposal to protect the extremely endangered Porbeagle shark was brought back onto the table by Japan and voted down.

Japan were responsible for lobbying other countries to vote down the marine protection proposals. Although countries such as China also voted down the proposals off their own back, so that they can keep overfishing endangered sharks for their ‘traditional’ shark fin soup.

It is disgusting that bluefin tuna, many species of shark and 31 red and white coral species remain unprotected. Overfishing will continue and the next CITES meeting is not for 3 years time.

“This is truly catastrophic for sharks,” Peter Peuschel, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said in a release. “Close to 100 million sharks are caught every year and some shark species may have declined by as much as 80 per cent in the past decade – yet Parties voted irresponsibly against any increased protection.”

It is disgusting that this group of leaders that are meant to come together to protect our oceans prefer to concentrate on short term greed and backroom deals.

How can these supposedly intelligent people not see that emptying our oceans non-stop is going to end in disaster? It is simply not sustainable and practices such as shark finning are incredibly wasteful and cruel.

What do we have to do to get these idiots to wake up and take some responsibility?

One of the tigers shot dead by police at Cocodrilos Park Zoo

Considering it is meant to be the year of the tiger, the poor animals are having a terrible time in 2010. First 11 die of starvation at a Chinese zoo and now this…

On May 23rd 3 tigers wandered out of their enclosure in Gran Canaria Island’s Cocordrilo Fun & Theme Park. This was due to an error by a cleaner who accidentally pressed a button that opened the enclosure gates.

The tigers did not get to enjoy their new found freedom for long as they were shot dead by police. This was in spite of the fact that they were still on zoo grounds and the zoo was closed.

Why the hell didn’t they use tranquilizer darts?

Yet another example of why these amazing animals should not be kept in captivity.

This is how Tourism Australia is selling our country to the world:

Less than three weeks after the Herald Sun revealed the shocking treatment of Rocky the red kangaroo in a Texas circus, these disturbing images and video footage have emerged.

Filmed by New Zealand expat Kylie Mackenzie, the images show a kangaroo on display in Beverly Hills in January as part of the “G’day USA” marketing campaign.

Ms Mackenzie said she was horrified to see the kangaroo kept for hours on end in such an unnatural environment, with barely a bucketful of straw covering the concrete pavement.

“I just couldn’t believe that this is how they were trying to promote Australia,” she said.

But Tourism Australia saw nothing wrong with the stunt.

“When you are doing things with Australia, people – particularly children – are really interested in seeing animals,” spokeswoman Rachel Crowley said.

She said the kangaroo came from a reputable Los Angeles animal handler and was on display for four hours at a time.

Ms Mackenzie said Humane America, the US equivalent of Australia’s RSPCA, was not concerned by the footage.

“Their view was that it wasn’t (in distress) and that when it did a bit of rocking it was just maybe a bit of boredom,” she said.

Australian Reptile Park animal expert Tim Faulkner said it was clear the kangaroo was not acting normally.

“The animal is obviously distressed, there is no question about it,” he said.

“The sort of stress I see here suggests it has endured long-term problems.”

Animal Liberation spokeswoman Angie Stephenson said the noise of a busy city street and the confinement of a small cage were highly unsuitable for a kangaroo.

“Kangaroos live in mobs and they have a tight-knit family group,” she said.

“For this kangaroo to be standing there swaying probably means it either has mental health problems from being in captivity for so long or may have been sedated.

“It’s tragic they are using them like this to promote Australia and tourism.”

Tourism Australia said it was working on a policy governing the use of animals in promotions.

Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au

We abuse kangaroos in our own country by slaughtering them en masse and we abuse them abroad as well. Not good enough is it?

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