Monday, July 23, 2012

Sweet Potato Treats. Rescue U Students. Mink Farms. Canada’s Fur. Bristol Bay. Black Bart. RIP John McDonald.

For “Mammal Monday”:

If You Feed Sweet Potato Treats to Your Pet, Please Read This!

“In addition to chicken jerky treats made in China, there is also now concern about sweet potato treats and possibly pork treats and cat treats imported from China as well.

Anecdotal reports from veterinarians indicate concerns about sweet potato pet treats made in China. According to the Veterinary Information Network, “Although no evidence is available that these sweet potato treats cause kidney issues similar to those related to chicken jerky treats, pet owners should be aware of the possibility.”

To protect your own dog or cat, avoid feeding any pet food or treat made in China. Homemade treats are easy to make and can give you complete peace of mind that you’re not feeding your pet something potentially toxic.”        More at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/20/sweet-potato-dog-treats.aspx

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Rescue U students give up vacations to build shelters

“Another of our "webisodes" tracking those Rescue U college volunteers as they criss-cross the country in 2012 helping shelters to rebuild! And, while they keep saying that the animals are awesome, we think they are pretty awesome too!”

Since its launch in July of 2002, The Animal Rescue Site has established itself as a clear leader in online activism and a dynamic force in the effort to give all animals the happy, healthy lives they deserve. Help us celebrate ten years of rescuing animals through projects like this by clicking every day at The Animal Rescue Site and telling your friends.

Want to help Rescue U students give up even more vacations to build shelters? Donate through The Animal Rescue Site's Gift That Gives More [tm] program.

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Law firm targets N.S. mink farms

Class-action suit mulled against fur industry

A law firm is considering a class action suit over contamination from mink farms. This sign in Tupperville expresses the view of many residents in that community. (GORDON DELANEY / Valley Bureau)

“A law firm is considering a class action suit over contamination from mink farms. This sign in Tupperville expresses the view of many residents in that community. (GORDON DELANEY / Valley Bureau)

BROOKLYN — “Opponents of mink farming in Annapolis County are watching closely as a lawsuit is proposed against the industry in neighbouring counties.

Wagners law firm is investigating the viability of initiating a class action over contamination caused by the fur industry in Yarmouth and Digby counties.  “Wagners is presently accepting enquiries from residents of Yarmouth County who have been affected by pollution resulting from the mink farming industry in and around the Carleton, Meteghan and Sissaboo River watersheds,” the Halifax law firm says on its website.

It offers a registration form to join the suit for anyone who believes they have suffered any effects or losses from pollution.  A recent study by the provincial Environment Department and Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research identified mink farms as the most likely source of contamination in 10 lakes in western Nova Scotia, particularly the Carleton, Meteghan and Sissiboo watersheds.

The lakes have been plagued by large algae blooms believed to be caused by mink farm runoff. They include Hourglass, Placides, Porcupine, Parr, Ogden, Fanning, Sloans, Vaughan, Provost and Nowlans lakes.  The blue-green algae is known to produce toxins that, at certain levels, may be harmful to humans, wildlife and other animals, including livestock.”  More at: http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/116078-law-firm-targets-ns-mink-farms

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How Canada gets dog and cat fur from China

SHANGCUN, CHINA—”A young man swaggers through the dusty streets of this crumbling village with a dozen freshly gutted minks slung over his shoulder. The slick black furs, destined to be fashioned into expensive coats and jackets, are still matted with traces of blood and dirt.

The Facts on FurShangcun is the rural epicentre of China’s fur-pelt industry. More than 60 per cent of the country’s trade in unprocessed fur is conducted on the streets and in open-air markets of the tiny town about 100 kilometres south of Beijing.  There are hundreds of fur vendors. While some merchants sell out of ramshackle stores, others, like the boy with the dark hair and confident stride, peddle their fur on the sidewalks.

In one corner of the market animals are killed. Women snatch the live animals by their back legs then smash their heads on the hard ground, or strike them over the head with a bamboo pole. The animals are stripped of their fur, which is stretched over wide wooden paddles. The animals are killed for their meat, which is considered a delicacy in China.

The demand is also satisfied another way — with domestic dog and cat fur. Animal rights activists say some of the fur comes from stolen pets, animals gathered and transported cruelly and then slaughtered inhumanely.  Most Western countries restrict imports of dog and cat fur. But not Canada.   

“No one sells cat and dog fur here because it’s free,” says one vendor.  It is a free because it is a byproduct of the country’s enormous dog and cat meat-slaughter industry.”   READ MORE: Animals rights spark new cultural way in China   From: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1218580--how-canada-gets-dog-and-cat-fur-from-china

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The salmon aren’t mammals, but the people and bears who feed on them, are!!

Alaska Gold

“The Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska is home to the last great wild sockeye salmon fishery in the world. It’s also home to enormous mineral deposits—copper, gold, molybdenum—estimated to be worth over $300 billion. Now, two foreign mining companies are proposing to extract this mineral wealth by digging one of North America’s largest open-pit mines, the “Pebble Mine,” at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. FRONTLINE travels to Alaska to probe the fault lines of a growing battle between those who depend on this extraordinary fishery for a living, the mining companies who are pushing for Pebble, and the political framework that will ultimately decide the outcome.”

From: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/alaska-gold/

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Go Fish, Go! Protect Alaska's Bristol Bay

salmon fry“Tens of millions of Alaska’s wild salmon navigate a gauntlet of extreme challenges as they race for spawning grounds in and around Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks: subsistence and commercial nets, sport fishermen’s hooks, bear jaws, eagle claws, and even crashing waterfalls. The last hurdle these incredible athletes need is an industrial mining district. 
In response to local concerns from Alaska Native Tribes and stakeholders, including NPCA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft watershed assessment in May 2012 that examines the extraordinary values of Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed and identifies a multitude of serious, potential impacts that could result from developing an industrial mining district right next to Lake Clark National Park & Preserve. This assessment provides a scientific and technical foundation that must guide future decision-making, whether by the State of Alaska or EPA, in order to protect Bristol Bay’s clean waters and wild salmon from billions of tons of toxic mining waste. Learn More.

EPA should act now, and so should you! Send a letter thanking EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for fighting to protect Bristol Bay.”  Here: https://secure.npca.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=857

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On This Day:

Black Bart strikes again, Jul 23, 1878:

“Black Bart robs a Wells Fargo stagecoach in California. Wearing a flour sack over his head, the armed robber stole the small safe box with less than $400 and a passenger's diamond ring and watch. When the empty box was recovered, a taunting poem signed "Black Bart" was found inside:

Here I lay me down to sleep
to wait the coming morrow,
Perhaps success, perhaps defeat
And everlasting sorrow,

Yet come what will, I'll try it once,
My conditions can't be worse,
And if there's money in that box,
'Tis money in my purse.

This wasn't the first time that Black Bart had robbed a stagecoach and left a poem for the police; however, it was the last time he got away with it. His next stagecoach robbery secured a lot more cash, $4,800. At yet another robbery, on November 3, 1888, though, he left behind a handkerchief at the scene. Through a laundry mark, Pinkerton detectives traced the handkerchief back to Charles Bolton, an elderly man in San Francisco.

Bolton later confessed to being Black Bart but bitterly disputed his reputation as an outlaw. "I am a gentleman," he told detectives with great dignity. How Bolton became Black Bart is unclear. What is known is that Bolton had tried to hit it big in the Gold Rush, but had ended up with a lifestyle beyond his means.  Black Bart ended up serving only a short stretch in prison and spent the rest of his days in Nevada.”

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Yesterday:

John McDonald, fulltime RVer for 27 years, lost his battle with cancer on the 21st. July: http://www.rvliving.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4825&sid=f5d98634ba89adcaa4c761461d49f9fe  RIP John, and best wishes to Peggi in her new life in the apartment.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150974573942545&set=a.84034447544.74579.19387377544&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Yesterday went so fast that I don’t know where it went.  After speaking to my daughter on the phone for quite a while, I was engrossed in reading all the new info that had come up on M.C. Reporter and FaceBook, about the Spindletop Refuge raid.  Our county is doing everything it can to reunite people with their dogs which had been boarded, or taken to Spindletop. Such a mess, Spindletop was one of the best rescues around, but just got overwhelmed. 

Adopt!!  Please don’t breed or buy, while homeless dogs die.

Misty and I went for walks around up here, and down there at Jay’s, as Jay had left the trap set when he took off for Houston for a few days, and a feral orange cat got in the trap. So I had to make sure he had shade, food and water. This particular cat has been a menace for years, and there was no way we were going to turn him loose. His fur has that blotchy scraggly look like a cat with FIV, and he has been infecting the local cats. The trap is up here now, waiting for Animal Control to pick him up today.

1 comment:

Dizzy-Dick said...

One less thing spreading disease.