MARINE MAMMALS AND OTHER SEA LIFE TO BE DECIMATED, By Rosalind Peterson

The United States Navy will be decimating millions of marine mammals and other aquatic life, each year, for the next five years, under their Warfare Testing Range Complex Expansions in the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS under NOAA), has already approved the “taking” of marine mammals in more than a dozen Navy Range Warfare Testing Complexes (6), and is preparing to issue another permit for 11.7 millions marine mammals (32 Separate Species), to be decimated along the Northern, California, Oregon and Washington areas of the Pacific Ocean (7).

U.S. Department of Commerce – NOAA (NMFS) Definition: “TAKE” Defined under the MMPA as "harass, hunt, capture, kill or collect, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, kill or collect." Defined under the ESA as "to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct." Definition: Incidental Taking: An unintentional, but not unexpected taking (12).

There is a lot of information about this on her website, with several links to more information; please read and pass this on.

Banfield Vet. Hosp. Chain Bans Cropping, Etc

This is excellent news!

Banfield pet hospitals ban tail docking, ear cropping on dogs

Banfield, The Pet Hospital, the nation's largest network of animal hospitals, has announced it will no longer do tail docking, ear cropping or devocalization on dogs.

Headquartered in Portland, Ore., Banfield is the nation's largest general veterinary practice, with more than 730 hospitals and 2,000 veterinarians nationwide.

Let's hope more places follow their lead!

Irresponsible Monster Quest: Feral Dogs

I usually like Monster Quest, but I was disgusted by their episode on "Hogzilla" a season or so back as I commented on Frame 352 : "It's Trigger Happy Hog Killing Time!" That show reveled in the blood lust and exploitation of animals.

Monster Quest did it again last night, with its episode on feral dogs. Feral dogs are a real problem; and it's a huge problem in abandoned, decaying urban areas, such as Detroit. In last night's episode, researchers trapped dogs, which were obviously nervous and wary, but also, very clearly, responsive to attention and all they needed was love and care. Most of the dogs were young. Instead, researchers (one in particular) were far more concerned and had a greater love for, their cameras and other equipment than they had for the dogs. After trapping a couple of dogs, putting a ridiculously clunky large camera on one, taking it to the vet to draw blood and do other lab work -- but not anything else -- they released the dog back into the "wild."

Debate rages on about the interference of human with animals in their natural habitats; I'm not addressing that issue here in any depth. But in this case, with the dogs, it is a different situation. It's because of humans neglect and abuse that these dogs became feral, humans are often the victims of attacks by feral dogs (although research showed the feral dogs didn't attack people as much as previously thought) human/dog interactions and co-existence continues, and the impact of environment affects both humans and dogs. To remove ourselves from the situation in the belief that one is being "scientific" in this context is arrogant and, irresponsible.

These dogs could have been treated, nurtured, and given homes. Instead, the researchers and producers of Monster Quest were highly irresponsible.

"Calico Racoons"

In Eugene, Oregon: calico racoons.

Beware the Bears (And Don't Go Messing With No Turkey Hunt!)

Over on L.O.W.F.I. I have a post under the Oregon section on bears, people, turkeys and the law.

Non-Real Animals

Researchers Design Tiny Robotic Bat, all the more to spy on us my dears. Researchers at North Carolina State University say the robotic bat's uses are: "for detection missions of biological, chemical and nuclear agents."

There's also "cybug" half robot, half insect. Military Developing Half-Robot, Half-Insect 'Cybug' Spies" that the military is developing.

Instead of attempting to create sophisticated robots that imitate the complexity in the insect form that required millions of years of evolution to achieve, scientists now essentially want to hijack bugs for use as robots.

Originally researchers sought to control insects by gluing machinery onto their backs, but such links were not always reliable.

To overcome this hurdle, the Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) program sophisticated robots is sponsoring research into surgically implanting microchips straight into insects as they grow, intertwining their nerves and muscles with circuitry that can then steer the critters.

"Gluing machinery onto their backs"???!! It doesn't get much more surreal than that.

Condolences to Lesley

Lesley of The Debris Field and The Wild Kingdom blogs, (among others) very recently lost her beloved pet cat James Bond. It is so damn hard when we lose a beloved animal friend; my heart goes out to Lesley. It's synchronicity that Lesley's cat James Bond looks very much like my cat Roswell, pictured here. Once again, it seems Lesley and I share a karmic connection.