Questions, Comments, or Concerns?

Dunno if anyone actually reads this blog, but it occurred to me that maybe it would be interesting just to dedicate a post solely to readers’ questions and stuff; so if anyone has any questions about anything, comments about the blog, suggestions to make it better, or anything at all, feel free to post them here. When (and if) I get a couple, or at least one really good response I’ll make a post addressing it. So comment away! Please…………………………don’t be shy…………… I’m begging you :)………………………………………………………………………go for it…………………seriously……………………… :DD

Another Day at the Circus

Ookkkkkay… so sorry that I’m posting so sporadically (it’s 1Am on Thursday, but I’m writing about Sunday) Anyway.. so on Sunday Megan and I went for more protesting at the Giant Center, we went to protest the noon show, and then the four o’clock show; it was pretty fun, we handed out more pamphlets, and we even talked to a woman who had two children, and said that maybe one of her sons would even be coming to the protests next year! It was actually really nice to talk to a whole family that supported us, and even wanted to help us. It was so sweet actually, I was holding a sign that said, “Ringling beats animals” and the little boy looked at his mom and was like, “Mommy, why do they beat them?” Megan and I had to explain that that’s how they trained the poor animals how to do the silly tricks that they wouldn’t naturally be doing in the wild, as Ringling claims. Then the mother asked us about being a vegan, and then left.
And before that, a woman walked into our box (protesters are only allowed to stand in a little box, which is generous considering the Giant Center is private property, and they don’t even need to let us in…) and she said, “Alright girls what can you tell me?” it was nice that she noticed us and wanted to know more about our cause. We gave her a pamphlet, and talked with her. She said that the animals were actually the weakest part of the show, which was cool, because if the animals don’t bring in the crowds, maybe they’ll take them out. She even told us that she would find the number for the Cirque and tell them that they should take the animals out of the show! That made me really happy.
Unfortunately, there were still some haters out there. One old man looked at us as though we were hooligans, and he shouted, “Your parents should have beaten you!” What is that supposed to mean? We were not disturbing the peace, we were simply in our little box, protesting abuse against animals, and someone had the nerve to suggest that we needed to be beaten? First of all, child abuse is illegal, and wrong in ALL cases, and secondly: what the heck? Whyyy did we need to be beaten? I will never understand that man’s response, but it’s water under the bridge I guess. Another man saw my sign and asked, “Do they really beat their animals…” At this point I was like, Yes! Another person concerned about what’s really going on in the circus, but then this gentleman asks (while being with his two very young children) “Do they charge extra to let us watch?” I just stared at this creep. I literally did not know what to say to a question like that. I was absolutely disgusted with the human race. Beth couldn’t even control herself, she shot back, “Great parenting sir; really great example for your kids.” And totally I agree, that was so uncalled for, rude, and what are those kids going to end up like with a father that is that outwardly uncaring about abusing animals? I hope they don’t have pets! I was actually so distraught about that, that I went home, and emailed my cousin. Though he claims men need meat, and so will never join me in the vegan cause, he is still sweet. He replied:
“Recently I've seen a girl and an old woman, her hair grey, in piglets' costumes. They're protesting against eating meat. I felt compassion towards them and all the sweet piglets in the world. And even though I love eating pork and stuff, I think those who fight for animal rights are very good people. Warm hearts and pure souls.
You shouldn't care about other people. If you have a hundred of them, there will always be at least 5-10 who are stupid, 5-10 who are mean. Still, it's minority ;)
Btw, I've never been to a circus. I've never wanted to go. I think clowns are not funny at all ;)”
His comment really did make me feel better, because he’s right, there always will be those few stupid people that are just rude, and whatever makes them so rude, you just have to ignore them. So all in all, I’d have to say protesting was a ton of fun, and I defiantly want to do a lot more, whenever I can! Through protesting I even met some really cool people. Saturday Megan and I met Beth, and she was absolutely wicked! Unfortunately Beth had protested alone because of bad planning for the event, and Megan and I having school, but once we showed up, she seemed really grateful. I really hope to see her next year when I protest. I also met Ashley and her mother on Sunday. They were both very nice, and even provided us with some more materials that they had gotten from PETA. So I hope that anyone who actually reads this (if anyone actually does) will consider protesting, because if we’re not a voice for the animals, who will be?

The Truth About Ringling Brothers Circus

Ringling Brother's Circus of Cruelty

The Ringling Brother’s Circus has come to the Giant Center in Hershey. Last Friday a friend of mine and myself went to go protest it. Unfortunately due to a lack of people, the protest was a bit of a fail. Megan and I did meet a wicked individual, Beth though. Megan and I went again today, and we saw Beth again. We started our protest at six, an hour and a half before the start of the show. We got some good response from the public, we had hand outs that we gave out, and a couple of people took them, or even better actually started to talk to us about the information we were presenting. SOOOOME people though, found in necessary to say mean things such as, “I know where cheeseburgers come from, and I still eat them” another gentleman said, “You guys are crazy! Go home” Yet another guy looked at me as he walked by and said, “Well, the government abuses us” It seems that some people don’t care an ounce for animals, and I believe it is absolutely disgusting. Of course all we said to those people were, “Have a good evening, Sir” and that was that. If those individuals had asked to talk to us, we would have told them the following: - Baby elephants are beaten into submission using chains, bullhooks, and electric prods “It wasn't just one or two people," Rider told Morales. "It was every handler at Ringling that held a bull hook" (Tom Rider former elephant handler for Ringling talking about abusing elephants) - Animals die during transportation in extreme heat and cold weather: “He said circus officials would not stop the train to cool the animal off despite reports by him and another handler that the 2-year-old lion, named Clyde, and other animals were suffering from intense heat” 1 - 8-month-old Ricardo had to be euthanized after he feel off of a platform during a training session - USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) has charged Ringling with multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act o Kenny died after performing three times while being ill and having veterinary recommendation to stay in the barn 2 o Ringling has killed four baby elephants: Kenny, Ricardo, Bertha, and Benjamin 2 In short, Ringling is NOT a humane circus. Any information you receive from them is obviously biased to support them. Their own employees have testified against them in court.There have been multiple lawsuits against them. If you want to help give the animals a voice, speak out. Get the facts, DON’T GO TO CIRCUSES WITH ANIMALS. Get to a protest near you! The one at the Giant Center is going on tomorrow for two more shows. Sunday : 12:00 PM and 4:oo PM Monday 12:00. Hope to see you there!! Here are some links about the circus cruelty:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48042-2004Aug7.html (1)

http://www.wildlifeadvocacy.org/current/circus/elephant_mistreatment.php (2)

http://www.circuses.com/ringling.asp

http://www.awionline.org/ht/d/sp/i/11273/pid/11273

Animal Testing :l

I actually wrote this for a science blog. I got a 100%, and a lot of my peers read it and were supprised. Just goes to show you how doing your school work can help animals. :] Enjoy! Animal testing is an issue that has two sides: for or opposed. Many people are for animal testing because of a lack of knowledge, or interest in the subject. Others, like me, have a strong negative disposition for the practice. There are many hidden side effects of animal testing, and if we would simply look, we would see that animal testing is not the proper solution to current science anomalies. There are also substitute practices for animal testing. Because animals' bodies are different from our own, drugs and other tested substances have different affects on animals than they do on our own bodies. Nicotine, found in cigarettes, is obviously harmful for humans. Everyone knows smoking can lead to cancer, but the tests done on animals proved that nicotine was harmless. Warning labels on cigarettes were delayed just because tests on animals proved nicotine was not harmful to humans. Mascara and other beauty products are often what are being tested on these animals. Often tests can last weeks, so the animal has to endure courses and courses of the treatment or product. The care of the animals is not on the minds of the people conducting the tests. Animals are kept in cages where only their heads can come out, they are immobilized, and veterinary care is unavailable for the animals. The tests can cause emotional and physical harm to the animals-damage that is either irreparable, or simply never treated. Who knows how many lives were killed because we were not aware that smoking could kill! Drugs such as Oraflex and Zomax tested on animals were fine, but they actually killed humans! How can we base our tests on species that are so different from us? Clearly tests on animals are not always accurate. Not only are there numerous cases of animal testing being incredibly inaccurate, animal testing is also particularly cruel. Procedures are done often without pain killers or anesthesia. Animals such as rabbits (often albinos) have chemicals poured onto their skin or into their eyes. Beauty products, medicines, and even candy are tested on animals. Mars, the company that makes products like M&Ms and candy bars tests on animals. They inject their test subjects with caffeine and chocolate, and for what? What is the necessity of testing candy products on animals? Animal testing is cruel in itself, but the conditions that the animals are kept in are horrid. The cages have no space for movement, and only the animals head can come out of the cage. Emotional and physical damage are the side effects that these animals suffer. Basic necessities such as space, light, exercise, and veterinary care are not given to the animals in the tests. The animals that are tested on suffer so much, yet there are alternatives to animal testing, and they are actually more accurate, and cruelty free. Scientists are always coming up with new strategies to test without the use of animals. There are computer models you can use, in vitro, volunteers, previous research and data, and veterinary clinical research. In vitro is a relatively new practice, and is more accurate than animal testing. Basically, in vitro is using tissue, cells, and organs to test on. All of the experiments can be done on the tissue or whatever it is the scientist is using, all you have to do is work inside of a test tube, or dish. Through science advances it is possible for scientists to grow skin graphs or tissue, so tests can be done on the scientifically engineered tissue, instead of on animals. Animal testing is a complete waste of time. More accurate tests can be done without using animals, and the tests done on animals are half the time pointless, and extremely cruel. I believe in conducting cruelty-free tests, or tests not done on animals. Since joining PETA, I have taken an interest in the rights of animals, especially animals that are tested. I strongly believe in alternative testing methods, and I hope that by reading this you know have a better idea of what animal testing really is all about.

Inspiration much? :]

I suppose people wonder why anyone goes vegan. It's quite a change from what most people consider the norm, and it might seem a little loony (though obviously not to me or other vegans) but the truth is that there are very obvious reasons to go vegan-reasons meat eaters and some vegetarians enjoy being ignorant to. I started out being a vegetarian, so let's talk about general meat industry horrors. The meat industry has many habits that if most people knew about, I believe they'd want to change; but they don't know, and what they don't know doesn't hurt them, but it hurts the animals we abuse and take advantage of. So let’s talk about it. The dairy industry also has cruel practices that would make the stomach churn if people knew about them. Personally whenever I think about meat or milk, I picture the various horrors I've read about, researched, and seen. Lastly, the egg industry has cruel practices that need to be exposed. Some people might think these things are untrue, or at least exaggerated, but I assure you they're not.
The meat industry is well…an industry, and ever since The Industrial Revolution started, Big Business has believed in cheap products, cheap production measures, and receiving lots of money from their cheaply made products. Now how does this all tie into being a vegan, or at least a vegetarian? Because the meat industry likes to cut corners when it’s killing animals (chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs, ect.) and it does so to simple lower their cost of production. The killing of these animals is usually an assembly line type technique. Workers in one slaughter house were actually quoted saying “the line doesn’t end just because one animal is still alive.” (Peta2.com ) So what does that mean? It means if one animal is still alive and kicking, the assembly line doesn’t stop. Animals are often chopped up as they are alive. Chickens are tossed into boiling oil even as they are alive to have their feathers removed. So how are those chicken nuggets tasting right about now?
The dairy industry isn’t any better. Dairy cows are given hormone after hormone to promote milk production. They can barely hold their own weight; they are so malnourished and have such large udders, they will crumble and stay on the ground until they are forcefully pulled up, or die from organ failure (because their bodies are so heavy if they are on the ground for extended periods of time they’ll crush their own organs). They are kept in stalls so small they can hardly turn around-if at all. Many are beaten, and yelled at. In the video you’ll see how the baby calves are actually dragged away from their mothers-and for what? All for a product that can be eliminated. I personally love the taste of soy milk. I specifically drink the Silk® brand that I think is absolutely delicious. I use it in my tea, with cereal, even baking. Please consider the fact that not supporting cruelty doesn’t mean giving up everything you love, most none vegan food can come in a vegan form.
Another none vegan food item are eggs. The egg industry has its evils as well as all other animal industries. The first step in the egg industry is obviously to get the chickens. This is done in a hatchery. Once the chicks are born, the males or split up from the females. Next the males are taken, and thrown in a grinder alive. Why-simply because they are “worthless.” They cannot hatch eggs (obviously) so they have no purpose. The fact that they are alive, can feel pain, and are innocent creatures makes no difference to the heartless workers of the meat industry.
Some people consider animals inferior, or don’t think that they can feel pain. But animals are neither inferior nor lacking in nerves. Animals are highly intelligent, social, kind, gentle creatures that need our protection. It’s up to the consumer to stop animal cruelty. Remember that every time you drink a glass of milk, or eat a turkey sandwich an animal died, or was tortured for it. Don’t support the meat, dairy, egg, or fur industry. If you love animals please watch these videos I’ve linked…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RNFFRGz1Qs&playnext_from=TL&videos=NBx2AlGhjNU&playnext=1
(video about dairy factory farms)

http://www.meat.org/ (general meat factory farms with PAUL MCCARTNEY!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IWN8UGDyC0

(video on foie gras)

sooo.. just a pet peeve

My brother gave up meat for Lent, so in essence he became a vegetarian for 40 days and nights. I of course way MUY excited, thinking maybe he'd stick with it and all, or even if he didn't at least for a little while he'd stop supporting the meat industry. Today, though, I caught him eating SHRIMP SCAMPI! Not only was I a little disapointed in him for breaking his religious commitment, I was also bummed that he was eating shrimp-because in theory he was indeed a vegetarian. He gave me this responce "I gave up meat, not fish." well, indeed dear brother you did say you'd give up meat, but is it just me, or is it INCREDIBLY annoying how vegetarians can say they're vegetarians because they're technically not eating meat? I personally believe a vegetarian isn't someone who doesn't eat meat, but someone who doesn't eat animals, and fish are animals. Pescetarians (fish eating "vegetarians") clearly aren't in it for the animals if they can justify suffocating fish, but not the various methods of killing mammals. It's just a little annoying that they call themselves vegetarians, when they're clearly not, and that they eat animals, whether they're technically meat or not; an animal is an animal no matter what scientific classification.