Two Canon City, CO police officers opened fire on a dog after one of the officers was “attacked”, but sustained no injury, during a response to a domestic violence call. The dog later died at a veterinary clinic. The police press release about the killing thanked other first responders for their assistance with the call:
“Without their help, this incident may not have gone as well as it did.”
(Thanks Davyd for the link.)
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The Klamath Humane Society in OR is another facility that changed its name in recent years to bypass the common misconception among animal lovers that HSUS provides their funding. Now called the Klamath Animal Shelter, a spokesman explained to a local paper that the name was changed “because the National Humane Society provides no money for homeless pets.”
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In the Caucasus Mountains, researchers find sheepdogs aren’t so much keeping the wolves at bay as they are chatting them up, inviting them in for drinks and let’s see where the night takes us.
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France moves towards legal recognition of pets as “sentient, living beings”, a change from their current status as “personal property”. (Thanks Arlene for the link.)
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Fave read of the week: Excerpts from the essay “Why Look at Animals?” which examines the relationship between humans and animals over time. (Thanks Valerie.)
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Magical photographs of snails. Yes, magical.
You might want to investigate this situation, if you are not already preparing something on it. This is NOT about animal welfare. Sounds like greed for the assets and revenge on the woman who has been vocal against the NJSPCA.
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/04/animal_rights_nj_spca_handcuffs_animal_lover_mulshine.html#incart_river
Marcy Covault
Feathered Companions Aviary
Comanche County, OK
http://www.birdcompanions.com
Love your bird? Thank a breeder!
“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.” Edward R. Murrow
“It makes no sense to claim to love animals and use them to hate people.“ Jon Katz
The idea that animals are not personal property is a horrible idea.. when animals are no longer property you will be denied your rights to care for them as you see fit.. you will no longer have the right to decide when to end their suffering as they will have rights.. you will no longer be able to decide to breed them spay them or neuter them without permission for some authority. and of course the lawyers will be making all of the money.. bad idea
I think interpretation under the law is likely to be more nuanced than that. I don’t believe our only two options are to legally classify pets as lamps or to classify them as untouchable monarchs. Parents have reasonable rights to determine care for their children and if we ever transition away from pets as legal property in this country, I believe we will still have rights to care for them. There may be other considerations in need of exploration but I don’t believe this is one of them.
I love those snail photos! They’re fantastic! I find snails rather fascinating in any case but these pics are wondrous.
Also, total agreement that animals should not be classed as property. When a sentient being is relegated to that status it rarely goes well for them. I do agree that there will be some fine tuning to be done but it’s a good start to my mind.
For those who enjoyed the snail photos, I highly recommend a little book called “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating” : http://www.elisabethtovabailey.net