This Newsweek article talks about how hunters screw up natural selection by killing the biggest and most attractive members of a species. This allows the weakest animals to continue propagating, effectively creating a weak species.

Scientists like Charles Darwin suggested that the fittest of a species survive to reproduce and pass along their traits to succeeding generations, while the traits of the unfit gradually disappear. New evidence shows that hunters screw up the entire process. Hunters kill individuals with the best horns or antlers or the largest piece of hide rather than the one that is deformed or diseased. Studies are showing that species such as the bighorn sheep, red kangaroo, and even salmon are growing smaller because hunters are killing so many of the larger animals.

The authors give some great evidence as to why this type of 'unnatural selection' is so dangerous:

"Tusks used to make elephants fitter, as a weapon or a tool in foraging—until ivory became a precious commodity and having tusks got you killed. Then tuskless elephants, products of a genetic fluke, became the more consistent breeders and grew from around 2 percent among African elephants to more than 38 percent in one Zambian population, and 98 percent in a South African one." Tusked elephants, like the old dominant males on Ram Mountain, were "genetically 'better' individuals," says Festa-Bianchet. 'When you take them systematically out of the population for several years, you end up leaving essentially a bunch of losers doing the breeding.'"

When all the 'losers' are left in a species, the species becomes less viable and the survivors are left with a narrower gene pool.

Hunters often claim that the 'sport' is a natural act where they can get back to nature and celebrate tradition. The truth is, modern weaponry and the whole idea of hunting as a sport where competitors vie for the biggest trophy will imperil many of our most vital species including humans. Hunting is cruel, inhumane, unnatural and will be one the the factors in the destruction of the planet if it is not stopped.

This a great list that PETA has put on their blog about the 10 most karmic moments in animal abuse of 2008. I don't usually laugh at the misfortune of others, but when it comes to animal abusers they should have seen this coming. So here they are, 10 classic moments in animal abuse:

10. While striking his dog with a gun to make him release a bone, a man managed to shoot himself. Granted, I don't think there's any safe place to point a gun, but letting the "business end" face you as you swing it like a club? Wow. Maybe he'll think twice about hitting his dog next time—if he, ya know, survived.

9. What happens when you anger a 10-foot python who's been stuck in a cage for a long time? An intern at a Venezuelan zoo found out when he decided to play with the snake during his night shift. Turns out that snakes are fond of strangling and swallowing their prey (someone really should put that on Wikipedia).

8. Some people shoo wasps away with their hands. Others think it's fair play to go after them with lighted torches. One monk learned that when you play with fire, you (and your entire temple) might get burned (to the ground).

7. While tracking a deer whom he had shot and was in the process of killing, a hunter apparently misjudged a cliff's edge and fell off.

6. A New Jersey man tried to kill insects in his apartment with bug spray, but the propellant chemicals in the spray seemed to have some unforeseen consequences. He succeeded in killing many bugs, but probably not so much because of the poison as because of the explosion, which destroyed 80 percent of his apartment.

5. Though the purpose of "sea kitten hunting" is to dig a hook painfully into another being's skin, one guy seems to have misread the how-to manual and managed to drive the hook into his own hand.

4. Have you ever seen bears who were forced to perform in captivity and felt sorry for how helpless they look? Well, it turns out gigantic land mammals with sharp, sharp teeth aren't always that helpless—as demonstrated by the fatal attack that a bear at Predators in Action wild animal training center made against a trainer.

3. Why don't we allow children to drive? Because it's dangerous. Why do we allow children to kill animals with loaded firearms? Good question. Though some folks argue that children can be trusted with firearms if trained properly, I don't think that helps the two men who were allegedly shot by one eight-year-old boy who had reportedly been taught how to use a deadly weapon to hunt animals.

2. After being jailed on burglary charges, a man was attacked by another inmate who chewed off a part of his ear (ewww!). What are the odds that something so disgusting and awful would happen to someone? To top it off, what are the odds that it would happen to a man who had previously been charged with cutting off a dog's ears?!

1. Proving that using a .44 Magnum to kill mice is not a good idea, a trailer park resident managed to shoot herself and a bystander while trying to fire at a rodent who was simply trying to share her space. Is anyone else stunned that two accidental injuries occurred? PETA's humane mousetrap, on the other hand, has never hurt a living soul.

China currently supplies half of the fur garments imported and sold the the United States. PETA has just released a new investigation highlighting some of what goes on in Chinese Fur Farms.

"..many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, the free limbs kick and writhe. Workers stomp on the necks and heads of animals who struggle too hard to allow a clean cut."

The first step to doing something is knowing something. Watch the video, get mad, and get active and never forget, WE have the power to stop this.


Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org.

PETA's big turkey abuse investigation that broke last month has taken a dramatic turn. The corporation responsible for the abuse (Avigen, Inc.) has fired what they claimed to be "all involved personnel." This is great news! Hopefully these guys can seek some counseling to deal with their violent perversions. Here's a few horrific highlights from the Avigen, Inc. investigation:

• Employees stomped on turkeys' heads, punched turkeys, hit them on the head with a can of spray paint and pliers, and struck turkeys' heads against metal scaffolding.
• Men shoved feces and feed into turkeys' mouths and held turkeys' heads under water. Another bragged about jamming a broom stick 2 feet down a turkey's throat.
  
• A supervisor said he saw workers kill 450 turkeys with 2-by-4s.
  
• One man said he saw a coworker fatally inject turkey semen and sulfuric acid into turkeys' heads.
  

It is not enough to merely fire these employees because, truth be told, the incident was not perpetrated by a few bad apples. Animal abuse at Avigen and other factory farms is endemic.

Ask Avigen to adopt PETA's 7 Point Animal Welfare Plan and help end the needless suffering.

The Guardian reports today that soy farming in South America is the cause of massive deforestation. The issue here is that the majority of the soy being farmed in South America is fed to livestock around the world which are then killed and eaten. Feeding food to our food so that we can have food makes no sense. We should eat the food directly to reduce the impact of soy fed animals in factory farms.

In the UK alone, soy was used to feed 850 million broiler chickens, produce 10 billion eggs, 10 million turkeys, 4.9 million pigs and 10 million cattle for dairy and beef. Cattle and pigs alone eat more food every year that the average person. If the soy was used to feed humans directly, would be well fed and the environmental impact the meat industry has on the earth would be eliminated.

The soy deforestation argument is one that has been used by the pro-animal cruelty sect for years however, meat producers are the largest purchasers of soy in the world. Currently we are relying on both plant and animals means of agriculture to support our diet so we're doing double the damage. If we would choose subsist on soy and other plants alone we would be fine. Instead we feed our food to our food.

The meat industry is increasing the demand on the soy industry more than any vegan ever could. We can end this illogical chain of consumption by eating the food we grow directly and going vegan.

Ikea is drawing fire from animal rights activists for selling reindeer salami. Ranchers buzz over the reindeer in helicopters, herd them with snowmobiles and truck them hundreds of miles and their terror doesn't end once they are caught.
The reindeer are taken to facilities were they have their throats cut so they can bleed to death. When they get close to being dead they are skinned and ground into salami to be sold at a shitty furniture store.
Sadly, more than 70 per cent of reindeer slaughtered for meat are calves that have grazed during the summer, which means they never even get to see snow. Ikea should do the right thing and ban the sale of reindeer meat altogether at the very least to avoid losing the business of millions of vegans and vegetarians.

The campaign to end Ikea's sale of this Christmas icon is being run by the United Kingdom's Viva! organization.

Go to here to find out how you can help end the slaughter and sale of reindeer.

Has this news changed your opinion of Ikea?

Today is an annual international day of protest against fur. Even tough everyday is fur free, today will be official.

Fur is bad for so many reasons but I've compiled the top 5 (in no particular order) of why I'm against it:

5. On average it takes about 120 dead animals to make one fur coat. That's 120 lives that ended brutally so I could wear a something that makes me look like a complete douchebag.

4. Fur production is BAD for the environment. I like to think of myself as a steward of the earth and fur production uses 15 times more energy than faux-fur production (link).

3. Animals are gentle and caring and don't hurt anyone else unless threatened. The fur industry uses the sweetest animals for skinning (link).

2. No federal humane slaughter law protect animals in fur factory farms so owners are allowed to get away with some of the most gruesome and sadistic acts imaginable. Animals are killed with poison, gas, anal electrocution, neck breaking, and are often skinned alive (link).

1. I love my cat. Thousands of dogs and cats are made into the fur coats and trims that are sold around the world. If the fur is sold below a hundred dollars, manufacturers are not mandated to say wear the fur came from. Often times the pelts of dogs and cats are labeled faux fur (link).

Please speak out and help stop this horrible practice. Check out this website for more information of what Fur Free events are happening in your area today.

Please take to time to send this video to friends and family to remind them of the cruelty and inspire them to change.

I took this from PETA's Blog because I thought it was very cool. I hope everyone out there is enjoying your Tofurkies today.

Written by Bruce Friedrich

Did Sarah Palin's recent interview in front of a turkey-slaughter operation almost cause you to lose your lunch? If so, you're not alone. Even conservative pundit Joe Scarborough says he may well skip the bird this year. With Thanksgiving upon us, here without further ado are PETA's top 10 reasons to pardon a turkey this holiday season:

10. If you wouldn't eat your cat, you shouldn't eat a turkey.
As poultry scientist Tom Savage says, "I've always viewed turkeys as smart animals with personality and character, and keen awareness of their surroundings. The 'dumb' tag simply doesn't fit." They're as interesting and have personalities every bit as developed as those of any dog or cat.

When they're not forced to live on filthy factory farms, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dust baths, preening themselves, and roosting high in trees. These social, playful birds relish having their feathers stroked and like to chirp, cluck, and gobble along to their favorite tunes.

9. Factory farms deny turkeys everything that is natural and important to them.
Ben Franklin called turkeys "true American originals." He had tremendous respect for their resourcefulness, agility, and beauty. In nature, turkeys can fly 55 miles an hour, run 25 miles an hour, and live up to four years. Yet turkeys raised for food are killed when they are only 5 or 6 months old. During their short lives, they will be denied even the simplest pleasures, such as running, building nests, and raising their young.

8. Turkey consumption might kill you.
Turkey flesh is brimming with fat and cholesterol. Just one homemade patty of ground, cooked turkey meat contains a whopping 244 mg of cholesterol, and half of its calories come from fat. Turkey flesh is also frequently tainted with salmonella, campylobacter bacteria, and other contaminants. And a vegan meal won't leave you sprawled on the couch, belt buckle undone, barely able to move.

7. You may stave off bird flu apocalypse.
Current factory-farm conditions are breeding grounds for disease. Turkeys are drugged and bred to grow so quickly that many become crippled and die from dehydration. Cooking meat should kill the bird flu virus, but it can be left behind on cutting boards and utensils and spread through something else you're eating.

6. Don't support their crack habit.
Dosing turkeys with antibiotics to stimulate their growth and to keep them alive in filthy, disease-ridden conditions that would otherwise kill them poses even more risks for people who eat them. Leading health organizations—including the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, and the American Public Health Association—have warned that the factory farming industry is possibly creating long-term risks to human health through the spread of antibiotic-resistant supergerms. That's why the use of drugs to promote growth in animals used for food has been banned for many years in Europe.

5. There are healthy, humane alternatives.
Everyone can give thanks for animal-friendly holiday meals such as Tofurky, Celebration Roast, and Garden Protein's new Veggie Turkey Breast With Wild Rice and Cranberry Stuffing. PETA's scrumptious holiday recipes will please every palate and make it easier to give up the giblets.

4. Eating birds supports cruelty to animals.
When the time comes for slaughter, turkeys are thrown into transport trucks. At the slaughterhouse, they are hung upside-down and their heads are dragged through an electrified "stunning tank," which immobilizes them but does not kill them. Many birds dodge the tank and are still conscious when their throats are cut. If the knife fails to properly cut the birds' throats, the birds are scalded to death in the defeathering tanks.

3. Turkey consumption is bad for the environment.
Turkeys and other animals raised for food produce 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population—all without the benefit of waste-treatment systems. There are no federal guidelines to regulate how factory farms treat, store, and dispose of the trillions of pounds of concentrated, untreated animal excrement that they produce each year.

2. Turkey farming contributes to human starvation.
Turkeys have to be fed grains, soy, oats, and corn that could otherwise be fed to human beings. Only a fraction of the calories fed to a turkey are turned into meat calories. While there is ample and justified moral indignation about the diversion of 100 million tons of grain for biofuels, more than seven times as much (760 million tons) is fed to farmed animals so that people can eat meat. Is the diversion of crops to our cars a moral issue? Yes, but it's about one-eighth the issue that meat-eating is.

And the number one reason to give the birds a break:

1. Factory-farmed turkeys have nothing to be thankful for.
On factory farms, turkeys live for months in sheds where they are packed so tightly that flapping a wing or stretching a leg is nearly impossible. They stand mired in waste; urine and ammonia fumes burn their eyes and lungs. To keep the birds from killing one another in these crowded conditions, parts of the turkeys' toes and beaks are cut off, as are the males' snoods (the flap of skin under the chin). All this is done without any pain relievers.

A PETA investigator recently went undercover at a massive turkey-breeding facility in West Virginia and documented workers stomping on turkeys, punching them, beating them with pipes and boards, and twisting their necks repeatedly. One worker even bragged about shoving a broomstick down a turkey's throat because the bird had pecked at him. Our previous investigations show that such gratuitous abuse is the norm on turkey farms.

Check out VegCooking.com for tasty alternatives that will allow the turkeys to give thanks this Holiday season along with you and your family.

Happy eating!

What were your favorite recipes this Thanksgiving?

Animal tormentor Michael Vick pleaded guilty today to his dog fighting charge. The plea reduced his sentence from 3 years in prison to 4 years probation with 'good behavior.' He was also issued an additional fine of $2,500 (link).

Vick really got off easy in this case. The horror that he inflicted on dozens of animals is not easy to ignore. Unfortunately, both the courts and the NFL do find it easy; there's rumor that Vick will return to the NFL next season (link).

Vick was not only participating in cruel dog fighting he was running the whole show. Between 2001 and 2007 Vick ran 'Bad Newz Kennels' and made thousands of dollars at the expense of animals. In 2007 he was convicted of shooting, downing, hanging, electrocuting and killing dogs by slamming them down on the ground (link).

Hopefully the NFL will not allow Vick to represent the organization by playing next season.

Do you think Michael Vick served his time? Will he go back to committing animal abuse?

Wanna be Eco-friendly this winter? WEAR FUR! The FCC or Fur Council of Canada is marketing this masochistic 'fashion' as this winter's hottest eco-trend. There campaign is in full force to convince people that fur is the oldest and most popular form of environmentalist fashion (link).

I feel like I'm in an alternate universe. This is the strangest marketing strategy I've ever seen. Check out these adds below to really be tripped out. I cant believe they used a picture of a guy roasting something that looks like a head in an ad for environmentalism.



My favorite quote from the furisgreen.com website is this :

"fur also makes sense if we want to protect nature."

WTF! This is a perfect example of saying the opposite of what is actually true and hoping people believe it. Their website should have said:

"Research shows that most animals prefer to be anally electrocuted and skinned alive
rather than live out a full and happy life in the wild."

To quote a devote student of the fur trade Adolf Hitler, "in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility."

Please get informed about this issue of "green washing" the fur industry. Don't believe the lies.
Go to Crueltyisnotgreen.com to learn more

Do you think that fur is 'green'?

Undercover investigations at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) have uncovered the truth about 'researcher' Eliot Spindel (pictured below).

"Spindel conducts on female monkeys who are impregnated and subjected to multiple surgeries to implant nicotine pumps in their backs. The monkeys endure multiple surgeries as the pumps must be changed up to five times during their pregnancies. Steady doses of nicotine are delivered to the pregnant monkeys and their babies are cut out of their wombs at various stages of development in order to dissect their lungs (link)."

In 2006, Spindel and OHSU were ranked #8 on the PETA's worst labratories list for these egregious acts and many many more. 'Researcher' Martha Neuringer has been found to be drilling holes in the brains of live infant monkeys for an experiment she claims to be about the fat content of infant formula. Massive campaigns have been launched to shut this operation down but OHSU continues to stonewall taxpayers.

Spindel himself has admitted that the information he seeks in his studies can and has been obtained through prior human studies, while Neuringer's years of animal torture have concluded "the fat content and fatty acid composition of infant formulas should resemble human milk (link)."

DUH!