(ANIMAL RIGHTS) Animal activists seem less impressed than film critics with Rust and Bones, a recently released French-Belgian film starring Marion Cotillard. Animal rights organizations, including Animal Defenders International, advocate a boycott against the film, as orcas were used and kept in captivity for filming. Animals should never serve as entertainment, and we hope activist efforts can help end this trend of animal exploitation. — Global Animal
(ANIMAL NAMES) While some animal species are humorously named after celebrities such as Beyonce, George Bush, and fictional character Yoda, other animal names seem to make no sense at all. I wonder if the scientists who named these animals were just trying to pull our legs… — Global Animal
(SEA WORLD) SAN DIEGO— SeaWorld’s killer whale, Nakai, acquired a serious wound to his lower jaw. Whether a barrier in his enclosure or a confrontation with the other whales caused the injury is still a hot topic. If the gash had been caused by a confrontation with other orcas, SeaWorld would be in direct violation of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Believing SeaWorld has defied the AWA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has filed a federal complaint. “SeaWorld is fully aware of the social conflict, stress, agitation and resulting aggression and injury that it causes by housing these social and intelligent animals incompatibly, yet it continues to do so,” the complaint proclaims. — Global Animal
(ENDANGERED SPECIES) Rangers at Cocos Island in Costa Rica recently discovered an endangered green sea turtle hooked by fishermen. Fortunately, the turtle was released alive, though injured. While Cocos Island is, in fact, a national park, the rangers’ discovery suggests foul play in protected Pacific waters. Conservation officials say the incident draws attention to the threat of illegal long-line fishing. Read on to learn how endangered sea turtles are being placed in danger by the illegal shark fin trade and sign the petition to stop shark finning once and for all! — Global Animal
(TAKE ACTION) GEORGIA — The Humane Society of the United States has created a petition against the Georgia Aquarium. The facility is requesting a permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service to import 12 wild caught Beluga Whales for entertainment purposes. The Belugas will be taken from their natural environment and placed in a tank to be guffawed at by insensitive spectators. The permit also entails the legal transport of these marine mammals 6,000 miles by plane. The animals will also be transferred from one container and plane to another during a layover in Belgium. These conditions will be extremely stressful for the whales, and not to mention that their heightened noise sensitivity will be exposed to hours worth of screaming engines. Continue reading and sign the petition to stop the exploitation of these Beluga Whales. — Global Animal
(ENDANGERED SPECIES) — There is no doubt about it: dogs have much better noses than humans. A human has about 5,000 scent receptors and some breeds, like German Shepards, have about 250,000 million. Some high-energy dogs that unfortunately end up in shelters are finding careers with conservation scientists. The rescue dogs are trained to smell and track animal droppings from land and ocean. Hopefully these incredible dogs can endangered species get the help they desperately need. Read on for more stories on these very talented dogs. — Global Animal
(ANIMAL WELFARE) Two harp seal pups slated for death at the Aquarium des Iles in Quebec, Canada were granted temporary reprieve on Saturday due to an overwhelming public outcry from animal activists all over the world. The six-month-old pups, Zak and Mika, were to be killed on Saturday after the aquarium in the Gulf of St. Lawrence closed for the summer. However, the decision has been temporarily reversed as a petition targeting the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to spare the seals’ lives has garnered over 150,000 international signatures. Read on to learn what’s next for Zak and Mika. — Global Animal
(OCEANS/TAKE ACTION) CALIFORNIA — Animal advocates are deeply concerned for California’s central coast marine life in response to PG&E’s decision to start seismic mapping this November. The Seismic Imaging Project entails blasting 18 underwater cannons every 15-20 seconds, 24 hours a day for 33 days. The blasts send shock-waves into the earths crust which will supply data to create 3-D images of multiple earthquake faults near Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The project will test whether further precautions are necessary to prevent a nuclear meltdown in the event of an earthquake, not unlike the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. — Global Animal
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