Get This Rat a Lawyer! A recent target of right wing anger has been Obama administration "czars", a term used to denote appointed presidential advisers not subject to Senate approval. Opponents of "czars" were recently emboldened by the resignation of Anthony "Van" Jones, who served from March 16 to September 5, 2009 as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. An additional target of the hunt for Obama's czars is Cass Sunstein, a constitutional-law professor at Harvard University, who was confirmed Thursday as the director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. [more inside]
posted by ND¢ on Sep 15, 2009 - 67 comments

This week Slate featured a five part series by Daniel Engber on the treatment of live animal subjects in biomedical labs and the birth of the animal rights movement.
posted by Rhomboid on Jun 5, 2009 - 21 comments

Some of you might know the story of Heidi Erickson, better known to most as the Beacon Hill Cat Lady. After being evicted from her Boston apartment upon the discovery of over 100 cats, some alive, more dead, in her home, Erickson soon took up residence in a Watertown apartment. The saga soon played itself out again. [more inside]
posted by Law Talkin' Guy on Dec 3, 2008 - 31 comments

Chrissie Hynde: “[A] complete rock star in every sense of the word”? Nope: “I consider myself an animal activist first and my music as more of a hobby that gives me a platform to fight for animals.” [more inside]
posted by joeclark on Oct 5, 2008 - 136 comments

Animal Rights History collects quotes and original source documents from historical figures concerned with animal welfare, animal rights and vegetarianism throughout history, including John Locke on kids' cruelty to animals, Voltaire on vivisecting dogs, the author of history's first protected species list, lots about Pythagoras, timelines, a survey of anti-cruelty laws and more.
posted by mediareport on May 12, 2008 - 4 comments

Guillermo Habacuc Vargas, Bienarte, Maltratador de Animales. Costa Rican artist Guillermo Habacuc Vargas' exhibit El Perrito Vive has drawn a number of criticisms from concerned animal rights activists after he allegedly starved and deprived a dog named Natividad as an installation piece. [more inside]
posted by scabrous on Apr 15, 2008 - 27 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

Earthlings (1 hr 35 min Google video) is "a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called 'non-human providers.'" Also in three parts on YouTube.
posted by homunculus on Jun 24, 2007 - 71 comments

Last July, activists from the SPEAK animal rights group were arrested while holding a protest outside Oxford University's Encaenia ceremony. Almost a year later, they have all walked free after audiotapes emerged which appear to record Thames Valley Police declaring their intent to conspire with the university and frame the protesters.
posted by stammer on Jun 8, 2007 - 18 comments

The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow. A documentary about Temple Grandin (previously discussed here and here.) [Via MindHacks.]
posted by homunculus on Dec 18, 2006 - 42 comments

Elephant Rage might just tell us a lot about ourselves. There are rehab programs for elephants [mefi thread], and perhaps the ones for human victims can paired . This would be a pretty big step in acknowledging the trans-species psyche. Could this lead to a scientific revultion? Should it lead to an ethical one?
posted by cal71 on Oct 8, 2006 - 18 comments

The first member of SHAC 7, an animal rights group convicted for their organizational role in a campaign against animal research at Huntingdon Life Sciences (previously discussed here and here), began his three-year prison sentence today. Meanwhile, Horowitz and Malkin are still at large.
posted by homunculus on Oct 3, 2006 - 38 comments

The Little Bird Flies Away animation short by Veronica Ibarra. also, the Cooking Set.
posted by trishthedish on May 10, 2006 - 10 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

Hello, my name is Kentucky Friedcruelty.com.
posted by sour cream on Dec 31, 2005 - 60 comments

Homegrown terrorists or animal rights activists? Our anti-terrorism laws are getting a bit out of hand.
posted by leftcoastbob on Jun 7, 2005 - 35 comments

Winning the war on terror! International fundamentalist terror groups must surely be on the run if the FBI now lists animal rights groups as the top domestic terrorist threat facing the US
posted by UbuRoivas on May 18, 2005 - 87 comments

Canada's seal hunt started yesterday and though I wondered if the numbers on the Protect Seals site were accurate, this somewhat gory and disturbing slideshow at Yahoo/AP news seems to support the high numbers of slaughter. There doesn't seem to be much you can do to stop seal clubbing in 2005, just boycotting Canadian seafood and calling congressfolks. Shame to see up to 300k seals killed for some fur coats -- seems so last century.
posted by mathowie on Mar 30, 2005 - 210 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

PETA plans to hand "Your Mommy Kills Animals" flyers to kids at Nutcracker performances. The fliers urge kids to "ask your mommy how many dead animals she killed to make her fur clothes" and include a color drawing of a woman plunging a large bloody knife into the belly of a rabbit.
posted by Irontom on Dec 17, 2003 - 142 comments

Wannabe Vegetarians Or Hypocritical Carnivores? Do you enjoy eating meat but hate the way it reaches your table? (More inside.)
posted by MiguelCardoso on Nov 5, 2003 - 90 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

MassKilling.com: Holocaust on Your Plate, where PETA compares the holocaust to the meat industry really boils my blood. Sure they are seeking approval from the Jewish Community to take the exhibit on a national tour, but Jews weren’t the only ones killing in the concentration camps.
posted by ambirex on Feb 26, 2003 - 77 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

Rats R Us. "Rats are the backbone of much scientific research, but only a few off-the-shelf models are available," says the National Centre for Research Resources. So a new "rat boutique" is being opened to provide scientists with more diverse selection.
posted by sanitycheck on Jan 30, 2002 - 8 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

“The group's communique to Rosebraugh said it hoped to see an "escalation in tactics against capitalism and industry" in 2001.” The Earth Liberation Front struck twice in the three weeks.
posted by capt.crackpipe on Jan 9, 2001 - 1 comment

Almost no animals were harmed during the making of this commercial. This is really gonna have those animal-rights wonks hacked off!
posted by quonsar on Jun 18, 2000 - 3 comments