Once a vibrant sea creature with an infectious personality, Larry the Harbour Seal now sits nearly lifeless in his cage with red, swollen eyes. Housed at Niagara Falls' Marineland's Marine Park, Larry is now blind after repeated neglect and exposure to terrible living conditions that include filthy pool water and poorly maintained cages. Staff and visitors alike are in an uproar.
And Larry isn’t alone. Some eight different Marineland employees have been complaining for several years about the harmful living conditions of the majestic animals suffering within the gates of Marineland. Top Trainer Phil Demers recently quit after 12 years as chief caregiver to the beloved Swooshi the Walrus over his concerns about the park’s management and cleanliness policies. Demers and others complain of both staffing shortages and poorly trained employees as contributing factors to the diminishing health conditions in Marineland.
John Holer, owner of Marineland for some 51 years, denies any wrongdoing. When asked to respond to allegations of misconduct, Holes simply states, “All our facilities are legal.” But Canadian regulations for sea mammal captivity are all but non-existent. According to many of the park’s employees, the question of legality is not the issue. Marineland has a moral obligation to these animals.
In October of 2011, five dolphins named Tsu, Lida, Sonar, Echo, and Marina were forced to swim in a cramped concrete pool filled with murky, green water for months on end. Former staffers talk of the dolphins either laying at the bottom of the pool or thrashing about wildly in reaction to the infested water. Over the next eight months, their coloring began to change, their appetites decreased, and massive chunks of their skin began to peel off into the water. The water in their concrete pool was finally changed in May of 2012.
On May 28, a baby beluga named Skoot died in the park after a continuous two-hour assault by two adult male belugas. The entire event was witnessed by a single helpless tour guide. She immediately alerted two trainers who were away from the property at the time. During the two hours that it took for the trainers to arrive to help, Skoot’s head and body were badly bitten by the older belugas who then spun her round by the tail before smashing her into an adjacent rock wall where she lay lifeless. When the trainers finally arrived to intervene, Skoot began to convulse and immediately died in their arms.
Sea lions Sandy and Baker are also going blind. In 2011, they had to be pulled from the water completely and placed into dry cages to prevent further damage occurring to their eyesight. Baker completely lost the lens in his left eye, and Sandy is often seen sitting in a corner of the cage still and statue-like. A video even exists of them writhing in pain, racing to place their tiny heads into a nearby bucket of pure, clean water.
Many trainers and employees feel that they can no longer stand by and watch these poor creatures suffer. Many feel as if their inability to help affect positive change to the living conditions in Marineland is only enabling the situation to further escalate out of control. As a result, employees like Phil Demers have chosen to leave the facility altogether where they will be free to shine a brighter spotlight on the neglect and abuse going on inside the park. Conditions are slowly improving, but there is still a very long way to go.
An estimated 100 African elephants are killed by poachers each and every day, leaving this majestic breed on the brink of extinction. That’s about one elephant every 15 minutes. By current estimates, only 400,000 of these beautiful animals remain on the entire planet. If the massacre continues at this rate, the species could be wiped out in several regions of Africa within only a few years.
Why are these elephants dying? Because the insatiable demand for their ivory tusks, particularly in the Asian markets, has led to the illegal trafficking of ivory products becoming increasingly more profitable. In reaction to this global dilemma, the Chinese government has just imposed an immediate one-year ban against imported ivory in all its forms. This comes amid growing worldwide criticism that Chinese consumer demand is a significant driving force behind this escalating violence.
At LCA, we applaud this new ban – and we hope it is well enforced.
The announcement was posted on the website of the State Forestry Administration on February 26, 2015. A follow-up statement was issued by a government official stating that China would increase its efforts to prosecute those involved in illegal tusk smuggling to the highest extents of the law. While the capital city of Beijing has consistently campaigned against illegally acquired ivory, China still remains the world’s leading importer of smuggled elephant tusks. Over 6 tons of illegal ivory were seized just last year in the city of Dongguan alone.
In 2008, China legally acquired over 60 tons of precious ivory which has only increased consumer demand even further.
Products that contain ivory have long been considered a type of status symbol among the more affluent communities in China, which is only fueling the poachers’ greedy ambitions to higher and higher levels. The world has been watching as the African elephant has been slaughtered by the thousands, all in the name of status-conscious consumerism. In an open letter signed by several highly regarded conservationists including David Attenborough, a global call-to-action was made to Chinese President Xi Jinping to put an end to the mass killings. Many are crediting this letter as the final push that resulted in the recent legislation passed in China, outlawing the buying and selling of all forms of imported ivory completely.
Meanwhile, London’s Environmental Investigation Agency recently issued a scathing report that accuses certain officials of the Chinese government of direct involvement in the importing of smuggled ivory tusks. Many in the activist community fear that the recent announcement for a one-year ban may only be a political smokescreen. Is the Chinese government truly committed to ending this murderous rampage against the African elephant? The world is watching.
A beautiful, black-spotted guinea pig named Oriole was traveling on a Delta flight from North Carolina to Oregon with his owner last June. But Oriole would never make his destination – his dead body was discovered during the connecting flight in Atlanta. A necropsy was immediately performed by veterinarians at the nearby University of Georgia, where it was determined that Oriole had died from pneumonia brought on by a combination of flight stress and a pre-existing inflammatory condition in the lungs.
Believe it or not, the U.S Department of Transportation keeps very detailed records of all animal fatalities, injuries, and losses that result from travel on our nation’s airplanes. The 2014 report was recently released, and the statistics show that we have significant room for improvement. With 26 cases of animal injury, 17 cases of death, and 2 incidents of lost pets, most of the cases involve the transporting of dogs and cats.
5 Airlines are involved.
United Airlines reports the highest numbers with 5 pet fatalities and 13 cases of animal injuries. Alaska Airlines followed closely behind with 3 deaths and 11 injuries, while Skywest, Hawaiian, and Delta airlines were responsible for the remaining cases.
According to the DOT, many of the incidents involved pets attempting to escape from their cages either before, during, or after the flight. Some managed to successfully escape only to be hit by vehicular traffic at the airport afterward. Others were bloodied or hurt during the flight, perhaps due to the fear and stress of flying in a confined space and without their masters.
While each of these airlines is committed to reviewing their current policies regarding animal travel, pet owners must remain aware of the difficulties that face dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and other companion animals. While over 99 percent of airline pet transports result in completely safe transfers, some pets are simply more susceptible to injury or death than others. A visit with your local veterinarian might provide some invaluable insights along with some beneficial travel tips that might reduce these health risks substantially.
Succumbing to loneliness, frustration, and physical ailments, elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo die an average of 10 years younger than elephants at all other North American zoos. And sadly, the facility doesn’t seem to care: they recently spent $42 million to build a new elephant exhibit that greatly enhanced the experience for visitors, but did nothing to benefit the elephants forced to live there.
Last Chance for Animals won’t stand for this atrocity, and our legal team is fighting hard to stop it. We recently filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in an appeal that seeks to end the suffering of three elephants at the L.A. Zoo: Billy, Tina, and Jewel. The appeal is based on a taxpayer action filed by plaintiff Aaron Leider, requesting in part that the L.A. Zoo close their exhibit to elephants. LCA's brief was filed in the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, in support of plaintiff Aaron Leider.
At trial, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge John L. Segal said, "the Elephants of Asia exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo is not a happy place for elephants, nor is it for members of the public who go to the zoo and recognize that the elephants are neither thriving, happy, nor content."
"Captivity is a terrible existence for any intelligent, self-aware species, which the undisputed evidence shows elephants are," noted the trial court. “To believe otherwise, as some high-ranking zoo employees appear to believe, is delusional. And the quality of life that Billy, Tina, and Jewel endure in their captivity is particularly poor."
The trial court found that insufficient space, a substandard living environment, and inadequate expertise of zoo personnel has caused the elephants to suffer from multiple injuries, as well as unnecessary physical and psychological suffering. The court also found that the elephants exhibit severe stereotypic behaviors of stress and psychological disturbance, such as repetitive bobbing, swaying, and rocking in place for hours (and in the case of Billy, for nearly half of his observable life). These actions stem from boredom, frustration, and isolation in a stimulant-free environment.
Forced to stand on a hard, cement-like surface, the elephants suffer chronic foot and joint problems – which are only made worse by their stress-induced behaviors.
Despite these findings, the trial court failed to apply the facts to the law, offering only limited relief for the elephants held captive at the L.A. Zoo. Specifically, the trial court ordered the L.A. Zoo to cease using bull hooks or electric shock on elephants, to exercise the elephants at least two hours a day and to rototill the exhibit's soil. Last Chance for Animals argues that the only remedy is to close the exhibit and transfer Billy, Tina, and Jewel to a sanctuary where they may live out their days without suffering.
UPDATE:
On 1/14/2016, the court of appeal upheld the trial court’s injunctions requiring that the elephants have specific amounts of exercise time, and requiring the rototilling of the soil in the exhibit. The trial court’s injunction prohibiting the zoo from using bull hooks or electric shocks on the elephants was never challenged by the city, so that will stand as well. Unfortunately, it rejected Leider’s cross appeal, and declined to close the elephant exhibit.
Can you imagine your loyal, beloved dog kidnapped, trucked long-distance in a cramped wire cage, then butchered for meat in a filthy market stall? This may sound like a horror movie, but the corpses of stolen pets, strays and commercially bred dogs are on full display at the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China, where throngs of people gather each year to gorge on canine flesh.
The scene is hauntingly barbaric, yet the government does nothing to intervene. That’s why Last Chance for Animals has teamed up with the Duo Duo Animal Welfare Project to stop the brutality. And you can help.
If you’re in Los Angeles, join us at a rally against the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. With expert speakers and a crowd of fellow animal lovers, you’ll help make a difference by speaking out for dogs who cannot speak for themselves. Here are the details:
Date: Thursday, February 19th, 2015
Time: 12 noon
Location: The Chinese Consulate General's office - 443 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, CA 90020
Once you see this video, you’ll understand why these dogs need us so badly (warning: the images are disturbing):
The Yulin festival is heartbreaking, but compassionate people are doing all they can to ease the suffering. Some people give the dogs much-needed water and affection, to make their last moments as comfortable as possible. Other activists gather in the streets holding signs to denounce the slaughter. Some even spend their own money to buy dogs from the butchers, then feed and soothe the distraught animals and send them to loving homes.
The best way to save these innocent dogs’ lives is to convince Chinese authorities to shut down this gruesome festival for good. Help achieve this by sending a letter to the Chinese embassy urging them to stop the slaughter. You can use this sample letter – just send it to the embassy’s email or postal address, listed below:
Dear Ambassador Cui Tiankai,
I am adding my voice to thousands of other people throughout the world in demanding that the Guangxi YuLin government puts an end to the “Dog Meat Festival” that is held on June 21.
I have great respect for the Chinese people and Chinese civilization, but I am horrified to learn that the brutal Yulin “Dog Meat Festival” still exists in a modern civilized society. The Yulin “Dog Meat Festival” is internationally perceived as a disgrace to China. I am adamantly stating my strong opposition to this gruesome practice. I also urge that your office works with China’s Department of Agriculture in passing an animal protection law in China that bans the dog and cat meat trade.
Sincerely,
Name and City
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Postal Address:
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China 3505 International Place, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008
Attn:Ambassador Cui Tianka
Stay tuned for more information on how to stop this festival of horrors!
