Important Dates This Month!

Tuesday, and everything after.

Life expectancy of Beluga Whales drastically reduced in Captivity.

South Africa: President Says Dogs Should Not Be Mans Best Friend

#BuyTheBunny: 50 Cruelty-Free Companies

The Friendly Fig

Thousands and thousands of brands test their products on innocent animals. Yes, this is a reality, and we are all aware. But have you ever really stopped and thought about it? I do… all the time. If you think about it enough, it will make you sick. If you’ve looked at the pictures, you have already experienced this, I’m sure.

The worst part? Animal testing does not help humans! How could we test on a being that is not ours to test on, for no reason at all? There are other ways to test, so it is time to take a stand against animal testing, and cruelty as a whole.

Shopping cruelty-free does not have to be expensive, either. Just like all cosmetics and products, there are inexpensive and high-end brands. The key is doing the thorough research to find a product that is within your budget. There are…

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Please Retweet for Dolphins and Orcas~Raise Awareness

AgGag Victory in Australia

Our Compass

Wikimedia Commons

SourceGreen is the New Red
By Will Potter

A U.S.-style “ag-gag” proposal to restrict undercover investigations has just been defeated in South Australia.

TheSurveillance Devices Bill would have cracked down on undercover investigations—particularly those by animal rights groups—by criminalizing the publication of undercover video.

Activists and journalists would have faced a $15,000 fine or imprisonment of three years. Organizations involved in the investigations would face a maximum penalty of $75,000.

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WEARING A DEAD BODY? OVER MY DEAD BODY!

Urge BCBG Max Azria to Ditch Angora and Fur | Action Alerts | Actions | PETA

Urge BCBG Max Azria to Ditch Angora and Fur | Action Alerts | Actions | PETA.

Urge Dairy Industry to Admit its Products are Harmful – ForceChange

Urge Dairy Industry to Admit its Products are Harmful – ForceChange.

Say No to Massive Toxic Waste Incinerator – ForceChange

Say No to Massive Toxic Waste Incinerator – ForceChange.

Praise Activist for Elephant Conservation – ForceChange

Praise Activist for Elephant Conservation – ForceChange.

Punish Officials Participating in Ivory Trade – ForceChange

Punish Officials Participating in Ivory Trade – ForceChange.

Fire Police Officers Who Joked About Rape – ForceChange

Fire Police Officers Who Joked About Rape – ForceChange.

Polar bear biologists doing mark-recapture work in Hudson Bay may have misled the world

polarbearscience

What exactly are Western Hudson Bay (WHB) polar bear researchers hiding? Since 2004, research on the body condition and cub production of Western Hudson Bay (WHB) polar bears has been carried out but none of the results of these mark-recapture studies have been made public.

The researchers all claim that WHB polar bears are struggling to survive because of recent sea ice changes but won’t release the 10 years worth of updated information they possess on the bears or the sea ice.

Mark-recapture work entails chasing the bears down with helicopters (including females with newborn cubs), drugging them with a cocktail of sedatives that taint the meat (and perhaps the milk of nursing mothers) for months afterward, installing radio collars or ear tags, extracting a tooth for aging, drawing blood and fat samples, and before it’s all over, posing for a few up-close-and-personal photos with the tiny cubs of drugged females…

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Tennis Star Andy Murray Joins Fight Against Poaching | Ecorazzi

Life or Lunch?

Tennis star and animal lover Andy Murray will be helping to end poaching in Nepal by supporting a program that trains dogs to sniff out the bad guys and stop them from destroying the local tiger and rhino populations.

“I think it’s incredibly important that this trade is prevented and the sniffer dog programme seemed like the perfect venture for me to get behind,” explained Murray in a press release. “I know from my own dogs how clever they can be and it’s fascinating how they communicate with their handlers.”

Murray was announced as World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) global ambassador on Thursday. His job is to raise awareness and funds during the 2015 tennis tour for programs in Nepal.

“I’ve followed WWF’s work on the illegal wildlife trade for a while now and been looking for a way to support the campaign,” he admitted.

Murray is in good company…

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No proof walrus are “struggling from the loss of sea ice” as new Earthjustice lawsuit claims

polarbearscience

A new day, a new lawsuit by environmentalists: this time, the species-on-a-pedestal is the same population of Chukchi Sea walrus that generated a news frenzy last month, which apparently still has legs.

Courtesy Alaska Dispatch News (“Environmentalists sue feds to protect Pacific walruses from oil drilling” 10 November 2014):

“Environmental groups on Monday sued the federal governmentover a rule that would allow Arctic oil exploration in areas that could hurt Pacific walruses, which already are struggling from the loss of sea ice.

Earthjustice brought the suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of a coalition of conservation groups that have long been opposed to Arctic drilling.”

…

“The groups also are challenging the agency’s environmental assessment and “finding of no significant impact.” The suit asserts the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to properly consider travel corridors between haulouts…

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A more optimistic view of Churchill polar bears and Hudson Bay freeze-up

polarbearscience

Finally, an unbiased first-hand report about Churchill polar bears and freeze-up on Hudson Bay.

Over the last few weeks, biologists Andrew Derocher and Steve Amstrup have been repeating their tired old tales of doom and gloom about the polar bears around Churchill and I’ve done my best to refute the worst of their nonsense.

Figure 1. Polar bear female with cub, 2009, Churchill, Western Hudson Bay. Wikipedia.

To that effort we can now add this report from PolarBearAlley, where Kelsey Eliasson has posted a good-news story about the bears of Cape Churchill and the progress of freeze-up, including sightings of a number of mothers with cubs.

Here is some of what Kels had to say about his helicopter trip to Cape Churchill on Sunday 9 November [I’ve added a map of the area, Fig. 1, and the latest sea ice map, Fig. 2]:

“We cruised south to Thompson Point…

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How Constantine Star Charles Halford Stays Fit on a Vegan Diet | Ecorazzi

Life or Lunch?

Who says you can’t be the brawn on a plant-based diet? Not actor Charles Halford, who credits his vegan diet for staying fit — and bulking up.

The character actor, best known for his roles on last season’s “True Detective” on HBO and the new NBC show, “Constantine,” talked to Men’s Journal about his fitness regime, which includes adhering to a vegan diet.

“Beans and nuts are big part,” he tells the mag.  “I have been vegan now over 15 years, vegetarian for more than 20. I’ve run the gambit of healthy and unhealthy diets, because it is very possible to be an unhealthy vegan or vegetarian.”

Halford says he sticks to raw and natural foods, and stays away from processed food.

“I mix it up and I’m never bored,” he says. “I also put hot chilies on everything, whenever possible.”

When asked how to bulk up on a vegan…

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This Southside Chicago neighborhood is about to become a national park

This Southside Chicago neighborhood is about to become a national park.

Do We Really Need to Keep Killing One Species to Save Another? | Care2 Causes

Life or Lunch?

The debate about whether to kill one species to save another isn’t new, but thankfully the conversation is shifting. Rather than targeting individuals of a certain species, can we find an approach that values the lives of all wild animals?

In a recent article examining the debate titled “There Will Be Blood” featured in the magazine Conservation, Warren Cornwall say that: “The pressure to reach for a gun to help save one animal from another is stronger than ever. And it has triggered a conservation problem from hell.”

Citing recent examples from an ill-conceived plan to poison thousands of ravens in Idaho to save sage grouse, sea lions being killed at the Bonneville Dam for eating endangered salmon, and yet another plan to kill 16,000 double-crested cormorants for eating those same salmon, the death toll continues to rise and there’s no end in sight to the killing.

Then…

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