Born Free USA Blog:
Fur trade deals aboriginal card
Three cheers for Delaware for signing into law, on July 3rd, a new law that says that garments made from animal fur must be so labeled. The law goes into effect on June 1, 2010. New York State has a similar law. But oh, I wish those laws had gone one step farther. Let me explain.
Keeping primates as “pets”
Like many of you I watched with dismay ABC’s Primetime last night which covered the widespread practice of keeping nonhuman primates as “pets” and the shameful defense of this practice.
A critique of the OSPCA Act
Some months ago a colleague asked me about the OSPCA (Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Act, proposed for Ontario, which, at the time, was being lauded in some quarters. My friend Lesli Bisgould, an animal rights lawyer, has done a short and informal critique, which is as follows:
Free to Move About the Country?
Almost nothing instills more fear in me than the term “jaws of life.” Being pinned into the wreckage of my vehicle as firefighters struggle to pull me free before the engine blows and I’m engulfed in flames is one of many of my “worst nightmare”–type moments.
Sinking to a new low
When we received a call from one of our members letting us know that about 200 feral cats were going to be trapped with leghold traps and hunted with dogs, I was shocked. I actually thought that the caller had misunderstood the situation. I was even more surprised when I was told that the cats were here in California. After all, we banned leghold traps in California 10 years ago.
No Lives Lost?
We’re pretty lucky here at Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute. Our headquarters are located in sun-drenched California — a state that offers near perfect weather and is home to some of the most beautiful places in the world. But living in California is not without its drawbacks — we have more than our share of natural disasters — earthquakes, floods, and fires.
Take That, Home Depot
On May 29 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally took the long overdue steps to protect children, wildlife, and companion animals from inhumane and dangerous poisions by imposesing new restrictions on commonly used rat poisons.
Oceans of Trash
Last week, we experienced extremely low tides around the Puget Sound and I was lucky enough to get to spend the day at Salt Creek state park on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was a gorgeous day and we spent hours wandering from tidepool to tidepool, admiring huge purple sea anemones, giant orange sea stars, delicate blood stars, colorful sea urchins, and more.
