Inside This Issue:
- The Radical, Long-Awaited Anti-Breed, Anti-Breeder Campaign Has Started
- Understanding the Ways Animals Respond to Death
- Former Animal Sanctuary Director Sentenced for Animal Neglect
- For Most of Us, Loving Baby Animals Is Mandatory
The Radical, Long-Awaited Anti-Breed, Anti-Breeder Campaign Has Started
One of the many breeds targeted by the Ojai ordinance.
On Tuesday, the Ojai California city council passed an ordinance making it the first city in the nation to ban so-called “unethical breeding.” By their definition, "unethical breeding” encompasses the purposeful breeding of dogs, especially those breeds the activists have labeled as "too flawed to continue" – a Dachshund or French Bulldog, for instance. This is a huge win for animal extremists, whose stated goal is the eventual elimination of all dog breeds, and it will now be trumpeted nationwide as they advance their anti-breed, anti-pet agenda.
Ojai was definitely a soft target for this type of campaign: last year, the city council made headlines by voting to make Ojai the first city in the nation to grant habeas corpus rights to elephants. And earlier this year, they banned glue traps for mice and rats – something the city’s mayor, a committed vegan, took great pride in.
Some may feel comforted upon learning that Ojai is a city of less than eight thousand people where fringe policies are “business as usual” – but they shouldn’t. Many of the most destructive animal rights campaigns with nationwide effects started out just this way, in tiny municipalities led by animal rights zealots.
Source: And so, it begins… the radical and long-awaited anti-breed, anti-breeder campaign has started!
Understanding the Ways Animals Respond to Death
Orca mother and calf.
The feeling of profound loss when a loved one dies, the emptiness in your chest that can never be refilled – that is an accurate, if oversimplified way to describe grief. And this description is something most of us can recognize, even if we can’t quite articulate it.
Despite its seemingly "human nature," other animals have been observed processing death in their own ways. A burgeoning branch of science, thanatology, studies the reaction of animals to death, how they perceive it, and their subsequent grief behaviors. Researchers hope that continuing observations into the world of animal grief will help us in our understanding of animals and unearth how we developed our own rituals around death and grief.
Various animal species, including great apes, elephants, and birds, respond to the death of their offspring or group members. One common behavior is corpse carrying, where the mother continues to carry the dead body for an extended period. While the exact reasons are unknown, researchers suggest it may be due to the strong maternal bonds and possibly even grief. Other species, like eusocial insects, respond to death in more practical ways, such as removing the corpses of their comrades from the immediate area, which can help in preventing disease. Meanwhile, a large number of species engage in activities that are unfit to discuss in polite society, such as cannibalism and necrophilia. Finally, some animals, like corvids, may gather around a dead body – perhaps as a way to learn about potential threats. Who knows what they are thinking? We certainly don’t. At least not yet.
It is tempting, though unhelpful, to anthropomorphize these behaviors. It’s important to acknowledge that we can’t even claim a full understanding of human behaviors and rituals at this time – and we definitely don't know what is going through a mother orca's mind as she carries her deceased calf through 1,000 miles of ocean. However, it is clear that humans are not unique in experiencing emotions such as grief and loss, and studying the complexity and variability of animal responses to death is fascinating, sadly touching, and will no doubt provide invaluable insights over time.
Source: How animals react to death: From vigils to cannibalism
Former Animal Sanctuary Director Sentenced for Animal Neglect
The former director of an Ohio animal sanctuary was sentenced today after pleading no contest to six counts of animal neglect. Her charges came after an animal control investigation that resulted in the seizure of dozens of cats. The investigation should not have been a surprise, as the sanctuary had received multiple complaints from volunteers, and been told by animal control that it must reduce overcrowding and increase its quality of care. Unfortunately, those improvements never came. Along with the charges against the former director, each of which resulted in a 90-day jail sentence, the woman has also been ordered to seek mental health treatment and has been banned from owning pets for life.
These harsh penalties speak to the severity of the conditions at the animal sanctuary. It is worth noting that sanctuary volunteers were not permitted entrance to certain rooms on the property, indicating the former director’s awareness of dire conditions and a conscious choice to deceive, rather than improve and/or seek help. So, given that the complaints stemmed from things volunteers were allowed to witness, it's not hard to imagine how crowded and unsanitary the "forbidden" rooms must have been. Yeesh. It is also worth noting that the sanctuary was voted "Best of Dayton Animal Adoption Centers" just last year, and that adopters give them generally high ratings (and extremely high ratings if you take out the Redditor comments about receiving cats with respiratory infections). This serves as a reminder that when it comes to animal care, conditions can drastically decline or improve within a very short span of time... and awards, accolades, and/or a great social media presence may not accurately represent the current conditions of a facility and its animals.
Source: Ex-animal sanctuary director learns sentence for animal neglect
For Most of Us, Loving Baby Animals Is Mandatory
You'd have to be a monster not to adore this duckling.
People’s love for baby animals is a well-known fact. Plenty of folks who would never dream of owning a pet involuntarily gasp and swoon at the sight of puppies and kittens. People who shriek at the sight of a mouse or lizard may find themselves saying “awwww” at the baby versions of those “terrifying” animals, too. Baby animals just have that it factor: a disproportionately large head and eyes, chubby cheeks, and the coordination of a 2 am barfly. Against a collection of traits like these, we never stood a chance!
But knowing a thing is not the same as understanding it – so why is it we act so goofy when confronted with baby animals? Well, according to the recent book, Irresistible: How Cuteness Wired Our Brains and Conquered the World, evolution is playing a trick on our brain. When we see Moo Deng frolicking about, the reward centers of our brains are immediately flooded, giving us a sense of pleasure while also drawing out the caregiving, socializing side of our natures.
Many of us simply can’t help but feel warm adoration and a desire to get closer to baby animals like Moo Deng. And whether or not we actually want to provide care for these cuties is irrelevant – we just want to be around them! For humans, with our utterly helpless little offspring who take years (OK, let’s be honest: decades) before they can fend for themselves, this evolutionary response has been a key to the survival of our species. Just imagine the rate of infant and toddler mortality if people didn't feel compelled to adore and watch over them! This compulsion is so strong, it spills over to other species – and the more their features fit the baby schema, the more we like them. For the animals it is a mostly positive, though mixed bag. Seeing cute baby animals definitely helps stir people’s interest in conservation, though it can also lead to folks harassing and stressing wildlife, or even “adopting” young wild animals that have no business living as household pets.
Source: Why we're hardwired to love baby animals
Also in the News...
★ Scientists Just Discovered One Of Earth’s Earliest Animals. (A 555-Million-Year-Old Palaeontological Pancake)
★ Arctic fox found loose in Portland now awaits its next home (Escaped Illegal Pets; Wildlife Rehab)
★ Long-extinct animals could be resurrected as robots to shed light on evolution (T-Robo Revolution? More Like Evolution; Paleontology & 3D Printing)
★ Dog found alive 5 days after owner died: ‘She’s our redemption dog’ (Rescue & Rehoming; Bright )
★ A new implant tested in animals reverses drug overdoses (Animal Research; Opioid Overdose & Addiction)
★ Wink man arrested after failing to properly care for animals (Neglect, Filth, and Aggression; Sometimes It's Only Five Animals, Not 100)
★ Watch these zoo animals enjoy an early Halloween treat (Zoos; Spooky Good Times)
Click here to see what is happening legislatively
