Animal Theory

After months of protest from animal rights activists, most notably PETA, J. Crew has decided not to use fur in any of its clothing, and the chain will pull all fur from its stores. This link provides vivid information about why this is a great step forward. In brief, thousands of dogs (some with their collars still on!), cats, and rabbits are stolen or taken off the streets in China, stuffed in tiny, overpacked cages, and trucked for days without food or water to horrific slaughter houses. About 50% of this fur is used by American retailers. After looking at this site (click on Fur Is Out), there is no person who could think trading with China for fur could ever be acceptable.

Bangkok’s Independent Newspaper In Chaing Mai, Thailand, The Night Safari Park is just opening. Visitors can take night rides to see over 700 wild animals and over 100 species. Though unimaginable, after viewing the animals, visitors can dine at the zoo’s restaurants to sample fresh lion, tiger, elephant, giraffe, zebra, horse, or dog meat.

Evidently Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is not at all concerned about the new restaurants and their effect on Thailand’s image. Shinawatra hopes the Park will become an enormous tourist attraction. Let us hope he will be surprised at the outpouring of disgust and rebuke that lead to the closing of these detestable dining halls.

See Bangkok Post for more information.

If you have visited Manhattan, you have probably seen many sites - The Empire State Building, top restaurants, theater. Did you also notice the carriage horses waiting to pull you around Central Park? While they’re decorated with red plumes and driven by people wearing top hats, they lead desperate lives. They stand and even trot on cement roads in humid weather hour after hour with improper shade and water. In the winter, they may stand outside for hours without any blanketing. At the end of the day, they go back to conditions that are even worse. Their stalls are in converted apartment buildings that have inadequate ventilation and stalls wide enough only for the horses to stand. This means that the horses never have a chance to lie down as all animals must. There is no doubt that keeping animals in these conditions is cruel and unacceptable.

The APSCA is working to improve conditions for carriage horses. To read more about the conditions carriage horses live in, the ASPCA’s proposed changes to create better lives for these horses, and to voice your complaint about conditions as they are, go to the ASPCA NYC Carriage page. To have the ASPCA send a letter to the mayor on your behalf, go to their Advocacy page.