In the Middle Ages, animals that did bad things were tried in court. Maybe that’s not as crazy as it sounds. "In the fall of 1457, villagers in Savigny, France witnessed a sow and six piglets attack and kill a 5-year-old boy. Today, the animals would be summarily killed. But errant 15th-century French pigs went to court. And it wasn’t for a show trial—this was the real deal, equipped with a judge, two prosecutors, eight witnesses, and a defense attorney for the accused swine. Witness testimony proved beyond reasonable doubt that the sow had killed the child. The piglets’ role, however, was ambiguous. Although splattered with blood, they were never seen directly attacking the boy. The judge sentenced the sow to be hanged by her hind feet from a “gallows tree.” The piglets, by contrast, were exonerated."
posted by bookman117
on Feb 26, 2013 -
49 comments
WalesOnline
reported earlier this week on a UK government funded experiment in which kittens had their eyes stitched shut in an examination of how the brain reacts to sensory deprivation. In a related
poll, nearly 11,000 Mirror readers were nearly split in their support for the experiment.
The University of Cardiff has
vigorously defended the experiment, saying the study will lead medical researchers to an "improved understanding of the brain to treat older children or adults, whose
amblyopia has been missed or not treated adequately in time."
posted by GnomeChompsky
on Jul 25, 2012 -
70 comments
Sue Coe, one of the most committed activist artists in America, has during her thirty-five-year career charted an idiosyncratic course through an environment that is at best ambivalent toward art with overt socio-political content.
posted by Trurl
on Sep 1, 2011 -
27 comments
The Cornucopia Institute's
Organic Egg Scorecard ranks egg producers on a scale from 1 to 5 eggs,
using criteria like
outdoor access, indoor space per bird, ownership structure, beak trimming and other factors [pdf]. The scorecard is part of the Institute's new report,
Scrambled Eggs: Separating Factory Farm Egg Production from Authentic Organic Agriculture. The
executive summary [pdf] provides some political context.
"
Whole Foods, Walmart, A&P, Costco, Meijer, Safeway, and Trader Joe's store-brand eggs all received the lowest possible rating in Cornucopia's study."
posted by mediareport
on Oct 5, 2010 -
69 comments
"
Pet custody disputes have become an increasingly common fixture in divorce cases." Related: "
Animal lawyers are careful to distinguish themselves from animal rights advocates... These lawyers are concerned primarily with getting the legal system to acknowledge that animals have an intrinsic value beyond mere property."
posted by amyms
on Sep 17, 2007 -
15 comments
Morrissey,
famous animal rights activist, is following the example of
Pamela Anderson and
Paris Hilton, jumping onto the bandwagon of using his
celebrity status to influence politics the world over. On tonight's agenda: Seal clubbing for fun.
Jesus Morrissey has cancelled his tour of Canada, in order to detract from national economy and punish Canada for its
evil seal-hunting ways, comparing them to Nazis along the way.
His
tour, however,
still takes in the sights of Turkey, where even
human rights are known to take the back foot. Furthermore, Turkey is a somewhat infamous site for
animal rights abuses, and only passed its first law on the matter in 2001,
under pressure from Gillian Anderson.
posted by jrengreen
on Apr 7, 2006 -
77 comments
Happy Easter, everybody!
Nothing like a natural abomination to ring in the season! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, those are real live baby chickens dyed in various pastel colors. How do they do this thing?
They inject (non-toxic) dye right into the eggs. Who does this thing?
These guys, a hatchery in Alaska (no information about the chicks on their web page). Amusing? Horrifying? Strangely delicious-looking? You make the call.
posted by logovisual
on Apr 9, 2004 -
31 comments
Calls for a ban on Halal and Kosher slaughtered meat in the UK are being called
an attack on religion or
necessary to improve the welfare of farm animals... Where to start thinking about this? Take 1: Is there a vast
right-wing, um, wait,
left-wing, um wait, err, something-wing conspiracy against Muslims right now? Take 2: Is this a case of "colliding waves of political correctness"? Take 3: As a vegetarian (works for me, ain't gonna preach) the notion of killing animals nicer is kind of funny. Why couldn't we just survey the animals as they enter the slaughterhouse? "Slash to throat? Bolt to head? Electrocution? Thank you, drive through." Whichever way you look at the story, it just goes to show you, the world's a complicated place and you can't please
anyone.
posted by lazywhinerkid
on Jun 10, 2003 -
82 comments
Private zoos in China. This is one of the saddest pieces I've ever read--all the stories are terrible but especially the one on the bears. I thought the article made a good point on the focus on human right violations in China with a lack of attention on the treatment of animals. There should be some kind of organization either from outside or internally that addresses this issue.
posted by zinegurl
on Dec 27, 2002 -
17 comments
Elephants are people, too. A new book by
Steven M. Wise,
Drawing the Line, marshalls the latest research on animal cognition in arguing for legal rights for some animals, especially gorillas, chimps, elephants, and
gray parrots. The author's previous book,
Rattling the Cage, forcused on primates, as many researchers and animal rights activists do. After all,
we share at least 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees. Other researchers are expanding our knowledge of animal cognition in
the octopus,
dolphins, even
dogs. See also:
Next of Kin and
When Elephants Weep.
posted by acridrabbit
on Sep 4, 2002 -
40 comments
"They are hardened criminals." Is the "domestic terrorism" of radical animal-rights and environmental groups really the same as the 9/11 attacks? Or just an excuse to crack down on liberals?
posted by centrs
on Feb 13, 2002 -
50 comments
The Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations. Ah, what would the silent animals do without we oxy-moronic humans looking after their welfare. Pity they taste so good.
Some giblets to chew on: "No person shall use, or cause or permit to be used, any mechanical apparatus to kill any surplus chick unless the apparatus contains rapidly rotating mechanically operated killing blades or projection...any person who slaughters by a religious method any animal which has not been stunned before bleeding shall ensure that each animal is slaughtered by the severance by rapid, uninterrupted movements of a knife, of both its carotid arteries and both its jugular veins...no person shall use, or cause or permit to be used, a water bath stunner to stun any bird unless appropriate measures are taken to ensure that the current passes efficiently, in particular that there are good electrical contacts and the shackle-to-leg contact is kept wet...no person shall bleed any bull, cow, heifer, steer, calf, sheep, goat or pig in a slaughterhouse, knacker's yard or lairage within sight of any other such animal."
posted by fold_and_mutilate
on Feb 5, 2002 -
17 comments
How long before all animal rights groups go from extremist, to being classified as Terrorist groups? Are they acting on behalf of animals, or just acting like animals? And how long before their methods and actions become downright un-American?
One of
PeTA's favourite punching bags,
Ringling Bros., has started hitting back. Coming after a win in the
recent court case involving trainer Mark Gebel, Kenneth Feld, Chairman and Producer of Ringling Bros., issues an
open letter to animal rights groups in an attempt to appeal to them to stop attacking what he says are responsible animal care providers. In it, he alledges some of PeTA's own cruelty, as well as making the connection to the
Animal Liberation Front, which is classifed as a domestic terrorist threat by the FBI (see opening link).
PeTA isn't backing down and has just launched their
latest campaign against Ringling Bros. which cites cruelties no more recent than 1999.
I was also surprised to hear about companies finding it easier to
buy off activists by donating money, which just continues to allow them to flourish. Is it time to start ignoring the good intentions of these groups and really scrutinizing their actions? Should animal rights groups which engage in and support extremist/terrorist activities be shut down and broken up by governments? How far is too far when it comes to activism?
posted by mikhail
on Jan 15, 2002 -
45 comments
Stile has hit the fan. His "Kitten - It's what's for dinner" video has finally attracted the attention of PETA, et al. Oddly enough, they seem non-plussed. Unlike much of MeFi's
response, PETA is seeking to censor and prosecute.
posted by NortonDC
on Aug 29, 2001 -
80 comments
No! Not the ferrets! Aaaaaah!
A wee dilemma for animal rights supporters. Should the prairie dogs be moved to a new location? Or
fed to endangered black-footed ferrets (cue Psycho music)! The horror.
posted by CRS
on Jun 14, 2001 -
7 comments
big mac's big voice in meat plants "Bloodied in past scrapes with animal rights groups, McDonald's has been positioning itself in recent years as an ardent defender of farm animals... the company's headfirst plunge into slaughter policing is revolutionizing the way slaughterhouses do business, according to a wide range of industry experts and observers."
part of an ongoing washingtonpost.com series entitled "Modern Meat."
posted by moth
on Apr 10, 2001 -
13 comments
UK Govt. votes to ban hunting in England and Wales. Browsing the web last night, several national polls were showing that more of the British Public were against a ban than in favour. Will the MPs who turned up to vote but not to debate (not very democratic?) live to regret their decision as the debate turns from animal welfare to civil rights?
posted by nico
on Jan 18, 2001 -
29 comments
