The slaughter of horses for meat is not only unnecessary and inhumane, it is also harmful to humans as well as horses in many ways.

Canada Horse Slaughter Industry

Statistics Canada reports that Canada’s total horse meat exports bring in roughly $80 million per year. Canada slaughtered 66 651 horses in 2014, in five slaughter plants across the country.

Statistics Canada reports that Canada’s total horse meat exports bring in roughly $80 million per year. Canada slaughtered 66 651 horses in 2014, in five slaughter plants across the country.

As of 2009, approximately 100,000 horses are slaughtered in Canada each year to produce meat for human consumption, most of which is exported to European countries. This figure has doubled since operations at American horse slaughter plants were suspended in recent years. The BC SPCA and the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies have presented federal authorities with a report of concerns regarding horse slaughter in Canada. The Report on Horse Slaughter Practices in Canada  is based on a review of recent video footage depicting inhumane practices at two of Canada’s largest horse slaughter plants, one in Alberta and one in Quebec.

Link opens pdf document

The Report on Horse Slaughter Practices in Canada is based on a review of recent video footage depicting inhumane practices at two of Canada’s largest horse slaughter plants, one in Alberta and one in Quebec.

“At one “kill” auction attended by Star reporters last Friday, more than 60 horses were crammed into pens without hay or water in temperatures topping 35 degrees Celsius.

Dirty little secret: Canada’s slaughter industry under fire

A year before the last U.S. horse plant shut down in 2007, Canada slaughtered about 50,000 horses. Since then, the number of horses killed annually has nearly doubled to between 90,000 and 113,000 over the past three years. Star reporters tail a transport truck filled with horses bought at a U.S. ‘kill’ auction, bound for slaughter – and dinner – in Quebec.”

Horse slaughter in US

The Humane Society of the United States

Separate fact from fiction on the issue of slaughtering U.S. horses for food.

The Facts About Horse Slaughter

 

Trophy Hunting

The path to your fur coat is bloody one. Never forget that.

Elephant Poaching Crisis

What’s a Vegan Diet?

What’s a Vegan Diet?

Definition of vegan. Wondering what a vegan is or what vegans eat, then you are on the right path. According to an article published by PETA, approximately 2.5 percent of people in the U.S. are vegans. Being a vegan is definitely more of a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than a diet. A vegan does not eat anything that is of animal origin. Vegans will not use animal based products for clothing, or any other purpose. Veganism is “an integral component of a cruelty-free lifestyle.”

Many vegans also say that there would still be slaughter of animals if we all became vegetarians who only consumed dairy and eggs from animals. Bulls and cockerels would most likely be slaughtered at birth, unless everybody were willing to pay more for their eggs and dairy in order to maintain these “unproductive” animals. Farming today is very different from what it used to be. Modern farms are highly mechanized factories – a lot of animals are given products to make them produce more.

Vegans say that veganism is a lifestyle with a philosophy that animals are not ours to use.

A person can become a vegan because of ethical reasons involving animal rights, for environmental factors, or for better health.

People gravitate to veganism for various reasons; but its popularity stems from three main reasons–number one being love and respect for animals. Animals raised on factory farms endure horrific living conditions, and most vegans believe that even animals raised with “free-range” and “organic” classifications still suffer. Another reason that people follow a vegan diet has to do with environmental concerns. Take this fact, for example: The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people–more than the entire human population on Earth. If we stop feeding all our land’s output to farmed animals, there will be more food for humans to eat. Lastly, some people become vegan for health reasons. Veganism is a strong movement and continues to increase in popularity. With increased awareness about the environment and animal welfare, it looks like it is a movement poised for continued growth. Livestock farming, has a devastating effect on our planet. A vegan believes that producing food through animal farming is inefficient, because animal feed production takes up a lot of land, fertilizer, water, and other resources – resources that could be used for feeding humans.

In the pursuit of higher yields, most vegans believe that livestock farms are accelerating topsoil erosion4; lowering its productivity for the cultivation of crops. A great deal of wilderness is converted to grazing and farm land because of this. A significant amount of pollution in groundwater and rivers comes from animal waste from massive feedlots and factory farms.

More people globally could be fed on existing land if we all became vegans.

“I’m a level 5 vegan—I don’t eat anything that casts a shadow.”   Character on The Simpsons

People often point to some food item and ask me, “Can you eat this?” My answer is always “Sure, I can eat whatever I want.” I choose not to eat certain things. When deciding what type of vegetarian you

Effects of Human-Animal Interactions

Psychosocial and Psychophysiological Effects of Human-Animal Interactions

US National Library of Medicine   National Institutes of Health    PMCID: PMC3408111

During the last decade it has become more widely accepted that pet ownership and animal assistance in therapy and education may have a multitude of positive effects on humans. Here, we review the evidence from 69 original studies on human-animal interactions (HAI) which met our inclusion criteria with regard to sample size, peer-review, and standard scientific research design. Among the well-documented effects of HAI in humans of different ages, with and without special medical, or mental health conditions are benefits for: social attention, social behavior, interpersonal interactions, and mood; stress-related parameters such as cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure; self-reported fear and anxiety; and mental and physical health, especially cardiovascular diseases. Limited evidence exists for positive effects of HAI on: reduction of stress-related parameters such as epinephrine and norepinephrine; improvement of immune system functioning and pain management; increased trustworthiness of and trust toward other persons; reduced aggression; enhanced empathy and improved learning. We propose that the activation of the oxytocin system plays a key role in the majority of these reported psychological and psychophysiological effects of HAI. Oxytocin and HAI effects largely overlap, as documented by research in both, humans and animals, and first studies found that HAI affects the oxytocin system. As a common underlying mechanism, the activation of the oxytocin system does not only provide an explanation, but also allows an integrative view of the different effects of HAI. During the last decades, animal assistance in therapy, education, and care has greatly increased. Today, the value of animal-assisted interventions [AAI, including animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and activities] is widely acknowledged. In the light of the rapid development of the practice of AAI, research evaluating the effects of AAIs as well as studies investigating the basic effects of human-animal interaction (HAI) and the underlying mechanisms seem to lag behind. Still, there is already quite a body of scientific literature on this topic. However, this is spread out over a number of journals and fields, constraining an integrative view. In the following, we will provide an overview of studies assessing effects of AAI as well as pet ownership which meet certain scientific criteria. In addition, we propose a common underlying mechanism for the majority of the positive effects of HAI: i.e., the activation of the oxytocinergic system and its role in social stress modulation. This system can be linked directly to many of the observed physiological effects of HAI and may also be indirectly associated with the other, mainly psychological, effects. Thereby, we provide a coherent body of theory for integrating the diverse endocrinological, psychophysiological, and psychosocial effects of HAI found in different studies. Furthermore, we give a well-founded overview of scientifically documented effects of HAIs which today are a quite popular topic in the general literature, as are first speculations on underlying mechanisms including the oxytocin system (e.g., Olmert, 2009).

We will start our rationale with a review of the literature on effects of HAI and thereafter we will present a short overview of the oxytocinergic system and its psychophysiological effects. We propose that oxytocin (OT) release may contribute to explain many of the effects of HAI documented by the studies included in our review.

Criteria for Inclusion of Studies in This Review

In this review we focus on the effects of HAI on psychosocial variables such as empathy and social interactions and on human physical and mental health, including effects on hormones and the autonomic nervous system assessed via variables such as heart rate or blood pressure. Effects could result from either companion animal ownership or animal contacts, in experimental settings or animal-assisted interventions. Studies not directly related to these topics were excluded, for example, on pet ownership and attitudes toward smoking, or other variables which could indirectly influence health or social contacts (e.g., Milberger et al., 2009; Zimolag and Krupa, 2009). Furthermore, we excluded the following contexts: reports on relations between human personality and animal-related issues; the link between animal abuse and interpersonal violence; attitudes toward pets in general or in connection with animal welfare.

The prime criterion for inclusion was the publication of the original research in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Mainly Medline and PsychLit were used for the article searches. Search terms were: HAI, AAT, animal-assisted activity, “therapeutic riding” and “equine facilitated therapy.” However, since we focus on psychosocial and psychophysiological effects in this review, studies employing horses in physiotherapy with a mere assessment of effects on movement or balance were excluded (e.g., Cherng et al., 2004; Beinotti et al., 2010). From several hundred publications found via the terms “pet,” “cat,” or “dog” we included relevant original research articles (see Table ​Table1)1) as well as reviews and meta-analyses. The second criterion was that the study design allowed to attribute any effect found with a high probability to the animal interaction rather than to any other possible confounding variable. Hence, studies with a pre-post-measurement design, but without control group were excluded. The third criterion for inclusion was a sample size of at least 10 subjects (per group).

Effects on social interaction

Interacting with animals influences social interaction between humans and related factors important in this respect, such as trust, empathy, aggression, and a positive mood.

Increased positive social attention from others and stimulation of social behavior

A relatively large body of research investigated the effect of a friendly animal on the perception of the human in its company and on the stimulation of social behavior. This is also called the “social catalyst effect” when it refers to the facilitation of interpersonal interactions.

Hart et al. (1987) and Eddy et al. (1988), for example, showed that the company of a service dog promoted friendly social attention, smiles, and conversation from others for persons in wheelchairs. Wells (2004) studied the behavior of 1800 strangers toward a female experimenter in six different conditions: accompanied by a Labrador retriever pup, by an adult Labrador, by an adult Rottweiler, being in the presence of a teddy bear or a plant, or being alone as control conditions. In the alone condition, the experimenter was ignored more than with the teddy or plant, but got more attention in the company of a dog. The Rottweiler led to more non-responses than the pup or the adult Labrador, which elicited most smiles and verbal responses. Also, in a classroom of first-graders, the presence of a dog was associated with increased attention toward the teacher in comparison to class in the absence of the dog (Kotrschal and Ortbauer, 2003).

Interaction with an animal is per se a form of social behavior. The following research assessed the effect of animal presence on this aspect without further investigating effects in interpersonal behavior. Children with autism interacted most frequently and for the longest periods with a real dog in comparison to objects or a person (Prothmann et al., 2009). Also children with pervasive developmental disorders (including autism) were more playful in interaction with a live dog compared to toys, and also more aware of their social environment in the presence of the dog (Martin and Farnum, 2002).

Effects on social interaction

Interacting with animals influences social interaction between humans and related factors important in this respect, such as trust, empathy, aggression, and a positive mood.

Increased positive social attention from others and stimulation of social behavior

A relatively large body of research investigated the effect of a friendly animal on the perception of the human in its company and on the stimulation of social behavior. This is also called the “social catalyst effect” when it refers to the facilitation of interpersonal interactions.

Hart et al. (1987) and Eddy et al. (1988), for example, showed that the company of a service dog promoted friendly social attention, smiles, and conversation from others for persons in wheelchairs. Wells (2004) studied the behavior of 1800 strangers toward a female experimenter in six different conditions: accompanied by a Labrador retriever pup, by an adult Labrador, by an adult Rottweiler, being in the presence of a teddy bear or a plant, or being alone as control conditions. In the alone condition, the experimenter was ignored more than with the teddy or plant, but got more attention in the company of a dog. The Rottweiler led to more non-responses than the pup or the adult Labrador, which elicited most smiles and verbal responses. Also, in a classroom of first-graders, the presence of a dog was associated with increased attention toward the teacher in comparison to class in the absence of the dog (Kotrschal and Ortbauer, 2003).

Interaction with an animal is per se a form of social behavior. The following research assessed the effect of animal presence on this aspect without further investigating effects in interpersonal behavior. Children with autism interacted most frequently and for the longest periods with a real dog in comparison to objects or a person (Prothmann et al., 2009). Also children with pervasive developmental disorders (including autism) were more playful in interaction with a live dog compared to toys, and also more aware of their social environment in the presence of the dog (Martin and Farnum, 2002).

Several studies assessed changes in social interaction not via direct observation, but rather indirectly. Paul and Serpell (1996) found that normal families who obtained a dog, 1 month later engaged in more leisure activities together and their children were more often visited by friends. In a classroom of first-graders, the presence of a dog led to a better social integration among students as documented via indirect psychometric indicators (Hergovich et al., 2002) as well as via direct behavior observation (Kotrschal and Ortbauer, 2003). Also adults profit from animal contact with regard to social relationships, such as patients with substance abuse in an AAT group program, who rated the therapeutic alliance with the therapist as more positive after 26 sessions than the control group without an animal present (Wesley et al., 2009). Fournier et al. (2007) reported that prison inmates significantly improved in social skills via AAT and in normal adult couples, owning pets stabilized the marriage after the children had left home (Na and Richang, 2003).

Based on the presented evidence we conclude that contact with companion animals holds the potential to promote social interaction and functioning in children and adults with or without mental health problems.

About the authors and credits:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/

Andrea Beetz,1,* Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg,2,3 Henri Julius,1 and Kurt Kotrschal4,5

1Department of Special Education, Institut für Sonderpädagogische Entwicklungsförderung und Rehabilitation, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany

2School of Life Science, University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden

3Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agriculture, Skara, Sweden

4Konrad Lorenz Forschungsstelle Gruenau, Gruenau im Almtal, Austria

5Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Edited by: Lara Bellardita, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Italy

Reviewed by: Takefumi Kikusui, Azabu University, Japan; Lynette Arnason Hart, University of California Davis, USA; Erhard Olbrich, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

*Correspondence: Andrea Beetz, Department of Special Education, Institut für Sonderpädagogische Entwicklungsförderung und Rehabilitation, University of Rostock, August-Bebel-Straße 28, 18055 Rostock, Germany. e-mail: moc.liamg@zteeb.m.aerdna

This article was submitted to Frontiers in Psychology for Clinical Settings, a specialty of Frontiers in Psychology.

Copyright information

Copyright © 2012 Beetz, Uvnäs-Moberg, Julius and Kotrschal.

© 2014 animal ambassadors All rights reserved

The Homey Bee

The honey bee, responsible for 80 % of pollination worldwide, is disappearing globally.

Biologists have found more than 150 different chemical residues in bee pollen, a deadly “pesticide cocktail” according to University of California apiculturist Eric Mussen. The chemical companies Bayer, Syngenta, BASF, Dow, DuPont, and Monsanto shrug their shoulders at the systemic complexity, as if the mystery were too complicated. They advocate no change in pesticide policy. After all, selling poisons to the world’s farmers is profitable.

Furthermore, wild bee habitat shrinks every year as industrial agri-business converts grasslands and forest into mono-culture farms, which are then contaminated with pesticides. To reverse the world bees decline, we need to fix our dysfunctional and destructive agricultural system.

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/

Rhino horn trade

All five of the world’s diverse species of rhinoceros have been brought to the edge of extinction because of human appetite for their distinctive horns. The horns have been prized for tens of centuries for their beautiful translucent color when carved, and their supposed healing properties.
In the Middle Eastern country of Yemen, the horn continues to be coveted by Muslim men, although imports were banned in 1982. The material, whose luster increases with age, is used for the handles of curved daggers called “jambiya,” which are presented to Yemeni boys at age 12. Jambiya are considered a sign of manhood and devotion to the Muslim religion, and are used for personal defense. Yemeni men place great value on the dagger handles, which are commonly studded with jewels. In China, the ornamental use of rhino horn dates back to at least the 7th century AD. Over the centuries, rhino horns have been carved into ceremonial cups, as well as buttons, belt buckles, hair pins, and paperweights.
Far more pervasive, however, is their use in the traditional medicine systems of many Asian countries, from Malaysia and South Korea to India and China, to cure a variety of ailments. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the horn, which is shaved or ground into a powder and dissolved in boiling water, is used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders. According to the 16th century Chinese pharmacist Li Shi Chen, the horn could also cure snakebites, hallucinations, typhoid, headaches, carbuncles, vomiting, food poisoning, and “devil possession.” (However, it is not, as commonly believed, prescribed as an aphrodisiac).
Historical mentions of other uses for the horns date back thousands of years. In Greek mythology, they were said to possess the ability to purify water. The ancient Persians of the 5th century BC thought that vessels carved from the horn could be used to detect poisoned liquids, causing bubbles in the presence of some poisons — a belief that persisted into the 18th and 19th centuries among the royal courts of Europe.
Now, science is now stepping in to dispel some of the mystery and fiction surrounding the use of rhino horn.
It is believed that there may be some truth behind the rhino horn’s ability to detect poisons which is linked to the composition of the horn. Rhino horns are composed largely of the protein keratin, also the chief component in hair, fingernails, and animal hooves. Many poisons are strongly alkaline (or basic), and may have reacted chemically with the keratin.
Unlike the horns of most animals, which have a bony core covered by a relatively thin layer of keratin, rhino horns are keratin all the way through — although the precise chemical composition of the keratin will vary depending on a rhino’s diet and geographic location. This fact has allowed ecologist Raj Amin of the Zoological Society of London and his colleagues to take “fingerprints” of horn samples and determine the animal populations they came from, which has helped law enforcement officials target and crack down on poaching.
Rhino horns are not, as once believed, made simply from a clump of compressed or modified hair. Recent studies by researchers at Ohio University using computerized tomography (CT) scans, have shown that the horns are, in fact, similar in structure to horses’ hooves, turtle beaks, and cockatoo bills. The studies also revealed that the centers of the horns have dense mineral deposits of calcium and melanin — a finding that may explain the curve and sharp tip of the horns. The calcium would strengthen the horn while the melanin would protect the core from being degraded by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. As the softer outer portion was worn away over time by the sun and typical rhino activities (bashing horns with other animals, or rubbing it on the ground), the inner core would be sharpened into a point (much like a wooden pencil).
Overall there isn’t much evidence to support the plethora of claims about the healing properties of the horns. In 1990, researchers at Chinese University in Hong Kong found that large doses of rhino horn extract could slightly lower fever in rats (as could extracts from Saiga antelope and water buffalo horn), but the concentration of horn given by a traditional Chinese medicine specialist are many many times lower than used in those experiments. In short, says Amin, you’d do just as well chewing on your fingernails.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CE0QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fwnet%2Fnature%2Fepisodes%2Frhinoceros%2Frhino-horn-use-fact-vs-fiction%2F1178%2F&ei=4qJ8U-SRNYGbyAST34GQCw&usg=AFQjCNFev9g19_LY1_CE0BtIeEnBK4fh5w&sig2=Yj6IrvukyVne6-YMHHDXSA

Seal Hunt-Commercial Seal Slaughter.

Canada’s annual commercial seal hunt, which occurs in March and April,

is one of the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet.