Green Options

When I first read the news that NASA was going to start experimenting on monkeys with radiation to study the effects of deep space travel, my heart sunk. As an anthropologist who has studied non-human primates I have seen up close the emotions, the feelings, and the physical qualities we share with our evolutionary cousins. My mind went back to shooting chimps into space, not caring if they lived or died. To cruel (and now illegal) experiments of all kinds performed on our closest living relative.

Now NASA is planing to irradiate squirrel monkeys. Scientists are particularly interested in studying how the radiation impacts the monkeys’ central nervous systems and behaviors over time. Messing with the monkeys brains. Oh great!

Five minutes after a bull’s horns were set ablaze, the frantic animal dove into the sea to extinguish the fire and drowned.   The event took place during the Bous a la Mar fiesta, an annual fiesta that takes place each September in Javea, Spain, to honor Our Lady of Loreto. 

A white tiger cub has died at India’s Indore Zoo after zoo authorities decided to keep a litter of sick cubs on display to attract more tourists.

A short life wasted: One of three white tiger cubs born in March at the Indore Zoo is now dead - due to zoo authorities’ decision to release the cubs prematurely into an enclosure where they could be viewed by tourists.

While researching Olsenhaus, a brand I was going to write about today, I came across one of the links on their website entitled ‘What the Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.’ Being incredibly disgusted and mortified by the brutality of animal abuse within the fashion industry, I thought I would post word for word what Olsenhaus taught me and why in fact they are a vegan line of shoes. (My post on those shoes to come. This is by all means far more important than a frilly post about hot eco-shoes.)

Warning…if you wish to be oblivious to the horrible ethics of the fashion industry, don’t read. If you care to be enlightened and morph into a better human being, by all means, read on and prepare yourself for some brutal images.

The Toro de la Vega festival is an annual event held each year in Tordesillas, Spain.  Like many festivals, crowds of people look forward to the event and line the streets.  But unlike many fests held around the world, this event is known for one particular tradition.

We have all been waiting for this day. Finally, shark repellent has arrived to the world… except this shark repellent is not used to save humans from sharks. No this shark repellent was made to save sharks from humans. With good reason, while only about 4 people die of unprovoked shark attacks each year, humans kill an estimated 73 million sharks each year. You do the math and tell me who is the biggest threat to whom?

Many sharks are inadvertently killed in fishing equipment used for tuna, swordfish, and other commercial fish. This is called bycatch. These unwanted sharks are often thrown back into the ocean dead, dying, or injured.

A 13-foot, 600-pound alligator was killed in a state-managed coastal preserve just north of the Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC) in Pasadena, Texas.  The alligator, estimated to be 50-years-old, was a popular tourist attraction at the Center and possibly one of the largest gators in the state. 

Since January, nearly 20 horses have been stolen and brutally killed in Florida. The latest horse was stabbed in the neck and most likely still alive when butchered.

Officials believe the mutilated horses are being killed for their meat which is being sold on the black market. Buying or selling horse meat is illegal in South Florida, according to Crime Stoppers. The killings, which are occurring in and around the Miami area, are leaving owners heartbroken and devastated at the loss and senseless brutality of their beloved horses.

Several years ago, orphaned baby Chhouk was found wandering alone in the forest without a foot.  The endangered Asian baby elephant apparently lost his left front foot due to injuries sustained from a poacher’s snare.

Rescued in a remote area of northeastern Cambodia, the injured elephant was transported by truck to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center in what turned out to be a very difficult and treacherous 26-hour journey.  Besides being severely malnourished, his stump was badly infected and nearly 5 inches of infected tissue was removed.  Balance issues and severe strain made walking on three feet nearly impossible.

A man lost control of his car and caused mayhem in a Connecticut street, after two snakes escaped from his pants.

Angel Rolon told police that he lost control of his sports utility vehicle after the baby reptiles distracted him by slithering over the throttle and brake pedals. Eyewitnesses then report seeing the 20-year-old’s vehicle swerving as he made a desperate bid to catch the creatures.

Alas, his efforts were to no avail, and the SUV crashed into some nearby parked cars before overturning in a street in Hartford, Connecticut.

Police agencies raided a Connecticut home on Sunday, just in the nick of time. 19 people were arrested in connection with a bird-fighting operation that was about to take place that very morning.   While many people are familiar with cock-fighting and dog-fighting, this particular raid turned up something quite different.