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Peace and Justice for Animals
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htp://www.foranimals.org
Activists working toward peace and justice for all
sentient beings.
Animals: The "War on Terrorism" is changing their world, too.
Central Asia and the Middle East have been battlegrounds since the dawn of
civilization. In the age of weapons of mass destruction, military
operations, and preparation for war, pose a major threat to all who inhabit
this planet.
Even in "peacetime" animals suffer from preparations for war. A recent
report by from the U.S. Navy, admitting responsibility for killing whales as
part of its sonar testing, continues a tradition dating back to the nuclear
weapons tests of the 1950s (if not earlier). The indirect effects of nuclear
weapons testing on humans and
other animals led to an agreement by the major nuclear powers to ban
atmospheric nuclear tests in the early 1960s. Nuclear warfare proved
impractical for the major powers, and inaccessible to most smaller nations,
although the Middle East and Kashmir continue to face the danger of nuclear
war.
Since the 1960s, the development of weapons of mass destruction has shifted
to chemical and biological weapons (CBW). Osama bin Laden's network set up a
facility to test CBW on animals.
The 1991 Gulf War was the culmination of more than a decade of government
energy policies that have consistently undermined efforts to promote
efficiency and renewable alternatives to oil. The military action in
Afghanistan, which threatens to spread to Iraq and the Middle East,
continues the tragic saga of environmental destruction.
There will be no peace for animals as long as humans continue to wage war.
On April 20 and 21, Peace and Justice for Animals joined over 100,000 people
in Washington, D.C., marching for peace in the Middle East and an end to the
Bush Administration's "War on Terrorism."
Peace and Justice for Animals in Washington, D.C., April 20
For related articles, visit the Common Sentience website.
Circus Animals Dying to Entertain You
Herds of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) once roamed freely from what is
now Iraq and Syria to the Yellow River in China. Sadly, the habitat of this
endangered animal is vanishing at an unprecedented rate. Scientists estimate
that no more than 50,000 Asian elephants survive in the wild today, ten
times fewer than their African cousins.
Peace and Justice for Animals has been demonstrating in front of circuses to
demand an end to elephant acts.
The Shriners use circuses for fundraising, leasing troupes of animal acts
and acrobats, who perform under the Shrine name. Because the Shriners don't
own the animals, they escape U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
inspection. But Shrine-leased circuses have deplorable records of USDA
violations, including failure to
provide veterinary care, adequate shelter, nutritious food, and clean water,
as well as failure to handle animals in a manner that prevents trauma and
harm and ensures public safety.
The Shriners are known for helping children;yet their circus fundraisers can
threaten children's safety by using dangerous animals. In 1997, a caged bear
chomped part of a 2-year-old's finger off at a Shrine Circus in Grand
Rapids, Michigan;three years earlier, children suffered injuries during an
elephant ride at a Shrine-sponsored circus in Muskegon, Michigan.
A Hawthorn Corporation elephant, Tyke, charged during a Shrine Circus
performance in Altoona, Pennsylvania, causing $10,000 in damage and
terrifying the audience of 3,000 children, one of whom was injured. Months
later, Tyke was shot 87 times during an hour-long rampage in Honolulu. One
person was killed and a dozen were injured.
Another Hawthorn-leased elephant killed her trainer by hurling him into a
pillar during a Chicago Shrine Circus performance. And Misty, a
Hawthorn-owned elephant used by the Shriners, once broke loose and killed a
keeper by crushing his head. During that three-hour rampage, she smashed a
pickup truck, and authorities shut down the interstate and evacuated a
nearby swap meet.
In January 2000, an elephant named Kenya, who had been used in Shrine
Circuses, crushed a circus worker to death. In 1998, Jupiter, a tiger used
by the Shriners, killed his trainer; six weeks later, he did the same to his
owner. A SWAT team gunned him down in his pen. Another tiger frightened
children and parents at a mall as he ran free for 15 minutes during a Shrine
Circus. In April 2000, an elephant named Tina used in Shrine Circuses tested
positive for a human strain of
tuberculosis.
An 11-year-old girl who witnessed abuse at a Shrine Circus wrote to her
local newspaper, "The man appeared to get very upset and took the stick and
slapped [the tiger] with it. ... That man grabbed the tiger's tail and
dragged him around in circles ... I would rather go see these 'wild' animals
in the wild than see them get abused
in the Shrine Circus."
Web services provided by Common Sentience.
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