Ships collide in Antarctic whaling clash

Research? Bull!

They chop the animals up and package the flesh for shipment on the whaling vessel, that’s not research to me! The international community should be outraged by the slaughter of these majestic mammals. Research is studying their language, and family units and how they take care of each other as a family.

Ships collide in Antarctic whaling clash
A group of radical anti-whaling activists said they were pelted with bloody chunks of whale meat and blubber after their boat collided Friday with a Japanese whaling vessel in a dramatic Antarctic Ocean clash Japan condemned as “unforgivable.”

It was the second battle this week between the whalers and their foes. No one was injured, but the skirmishes mark the resumption of potentially life-threatening run-ins in a contentious fight that has become an annual fixture in the remote, icy and dangerous waters at the bottom of the world.

“The situation down here is getting very, very chaotic and very aggressive,” activist Paul Watson, captain of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s vessel, told The Associated Press on Friday by satellite phone.

The clashes come as diplomatic efforts to resolve the controversy surrounding Japan’s scientific whaling program appear to have stalled.

Japan – which has described the protesters as terrorists – plans to harvest up to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales this season. Under International Whaling Commission rules, the mammals may be killed for research. Opponents say the Japanese research expeditions are simply a cover for commercial whaling, which was banned in 1986. [read on]

"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." - Gandhi Cruelty is a the precursor to more evil deeds, so if a country treats it's animals inhumanly, it's evidence of other serious issues.

First-Ever Felony Charges of Cruelty to Factory-Farmed Birds

What will the workers do after they leave Aviagen and not have access to abuse? Most people who abuse animals are known to grow into something more, most prisons are filled with criminals who started out abusing animals. So, this is all great news, but those employees should get some psychological counseling and should not be left without some kind of monitoring.

First-Ever Felony Charges of Cruelty to Factory-Farmed Birds
In a huge victory for animals, a grand jury has issued 19 indictments for cruelty to animals against three former employees of Aviagen Turkeys, Inc. And it gets better—11 of the indictments are on felony charges. This marks the first time in U.S. history that factory-farm employees have faced felony cruelty-to-animals charges for abusing birds.

These indictments are the result of PETA’s undercover investigation at Aviagen’s factory farms in West Virginia, which uncovered workers stomping, kicking, throwing, and killing turkeys in unimaginably cruel ways. Our investigator’s video footage was seen by the West Virginia State Police, whose investigator then conducted his own prompt and thorough investigation, leading to these indictments in Greenbrier County. Next stop: Monroe County, where we anticipate additional charges to be filed for similar acts committed there.

It’s great to see the authorities take this case seriously. But Aviagen itself? Not so much. [read more]

“The greatness of a nation and it’s moral progress can be judged by the way it’s animals are treated.” – Gandhi Cruelty is a the precursor to more evil deeds, so if a country treats it’s animals inhumanly, it’s evidence of other serious issues.