Halong Bay bears set for rescue
Following international pressure from animal lovers across the world, it has been announced that the Halong Bay bears can be rescued by Animals Asia. Click here for the whole story,
and to get an idea about the amazing work that Animals Asia do, look at Layla 🙂
And here she is again, having grown quite a bit 🙂 :
Mackerel noun
Oxford Dictionary definition: Edible sea fish.
Our definition: The Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) is a beautifully streamlined, fast-swimming fish. It has silver underparts and metallic green and blue upper parts with irregular bands along the back.
Click the Mms for the rest of the M Words
And check out the Vegan Dictionary in the sidebar for words beginning with other letters, defined in a way that doesn’t normalise animal exploitation and degradation.
For the rest of the L words, click this pic
To find out more about the wonderful world of Edgar’s Mission Sanctuary, click here 🙂
For the rest of the K words, click this pic or peruse the vegan dictionary in the sidebar
Jasmine the rescued greyhound with one of her many fostered youngsters. Click on the pic
Greyhound noun
Oxford Dictionary definition: Slender swift dog used in racing.
Our definition: Greyhounds are quiet, gentle, and loyal. They are very loving and enjoy the company of their humans and other dogs. Jasmine, a beautiful, rescued greyhound puppy who grew up to be a permanent resident at Nuneaton & Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary and an extremely well loved member of their team, is a perfect example of how loving these animals are. Tragically so many gentle individuals like her are exploited and abused by the greyhound racing industry.
And the G g page is done! Click on the pic or go to the dictionary in the sidebar
Welcome back to story time 🙂 sit back and relax, we’re going to tell you about the lovely Deidra
The bees are back in town! Hurrah!
See if you can spot this lil’ lady in every picture:
Elephant noun
Oxford Dictionary definition: Largest living land animal with trunk and ivory tusks.
Our definition: Elephants are large mammals of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. Two species are traditionally recognised: the African elephant and the Asian elephant. Male African elephants are the largest surviving terrestrial [land] animals and can reach a height of 4 metres and weigh 7,000 kg. All elephants have a long trunk, used for many purposes, particularly breathing, lifting water and grasping objects. All African elephants, male and female, have tusks whereas only some Asian males have tusks. About 50% of Asian females have short tusks known as tushes – which have no pulp inside. Usually in mammals tusks are enlarged canine teeth, but in elephants they are actually elongated incisors and are essentially no different from other teeth. One third of the tusk is actually hidden from view, embedded deep in the elephant’s head. This part of the tusk is a pulp cavity made up of tissue, blood and nerves. The visible, ivory part of the tusk is made of dentine with an outer layer of enamel. Their tusks can serve as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. Elephants’ large ear flaps help to control their body temperature. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs while Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.
Elephants are herbivorous and can be found in different habitats including savannahs, forests, deserts and marshes. They prefer to stay near water. Females, known as cows, tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The groups are led by an individual known as the matriarch, often the oldest cow. Elephants have a fission-fusion society in which multiple family groups come together to socialise. Males, known as bulls, leave their family groups when they reach puberty, and may live alone or with other males. Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate. Calves are the centre of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. They communicate by touch, sight, smell and sound; elephants use infrasound (low frequency sound), and seismic communication (sometimes called vibrational communication) over long distances. Elephant intelligence has been compared with that of primates and cetaceans. They have self-awareness and show empathy for dying or dead individuals of their kind.
African elephants are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while the Asian elephant is classed as endangered. One of the biggest threats to elephant populations is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory tusks. Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflicts with local people.
Horribly, in addition to murdering them for their ivory, human beings have exploited elephants for entertainment in zoos and circuses for centuries; and now the military thinks they might be useful for sniffing out bombs!
Thank goodness for The Elephant Sanctuary, Tennessee, a natural habitat refuge developed specifically for African and Asian elephants, which is home to beautiful animals, rescued or retired from zoos and circuses, who can now live out their lives in a safe haven dedicated to their well-being.
Chickens are people
Just like dogs.
They enjoy dust baths
And jumping on logs.
Chickens will play games
Like ‘chase’ and ‘steal your smalls’.
They’ll splash you in the paddling pool,
Though not keen on fetching balls.
Some of them are gentle,
Some of them are tough.
Some of them are bossy,
Some timid and soft as fluff.
They all have personality
And every one is different.
Just like Rover and Fido and Max
They might be quiet or exuberant.
Donkey noun
Oxford Dictionary definition: 1. Domestic ass 2. colloquial stupid person
Our definition: The donkey’s wild ancestor, the African Wild Ass, is well suited to life in a desert or semi-desert environment, having a tough digestive system which can break down desert vegetation and extract moisture from food efficiently. They can also go without water for a fairly long time. Their large ears give them an excellent sense of hearing and help in cooling. Because of the sparse vegetation in their environment wild asses live somewhat separated from each other (except for mothers and young), unlike the tightly grouped herds of wild horses. They have very loud voices, which can be heard for over 3 km (1.9 mi), which helps them to keep in contact with other asses over the wide spaces of the desert.
Mature males defend large territories around 23 square kilometres in size, marking them with dung heaps – an essential marker in the flat, monotonous terrain. Due to the size of these ranges, the dominant male cannot exclude other males. Rather, intruders are tolerated—recognized and treated as subordinates, and kept as far away as possible from any of the resident females.
Wild asses can run swiftly, almost as fast as a horse. However, their tendency is to not flee right away from a potentially dangerous situation, but to investigate first before deciding what to do. When they need to, they can defend themselves with kicks from both their front and hind legs.
Though the species itself is under no threat of extinction, due to abundant domestic stock, the two extant wild subspecies are both listed as critically endangered. African wild asses have been captured for domestication for centuries, and this, along with interbreeding between wild and domestic animals, has caused a distinct decline in population numbers. There are now only a few hundred individuals left in the wild. These animals are also hunted for food and for traditional medicine in both Ethiopia and Somalia. Competition with domestic livestock for grazing, and restricted access to water supplies caused by agricultural developments, pose further threats to their survival. The African wild ass is legally protected in the countries where it is currently found, although these measures often prove difficult to enforce.
There are more than 40 million ‘domesticated’ donkeys in the world, mostly in developing countries where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. Working donkeys are often associated with those living at or below subsistence levels. Small numbers of donkeys are kept for breeding or as pets in developed countries.
The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon works hard to transform the quality of life for donkeys, mules and people worldwide through greater understanding, collaboration and support, and by promoting lasting, mutually life-enhancing relationships. They work inclusively with people frequently marginalised within their own countries and communities, whether due to poverty, ignorance, race, gender or disabilities. They treat every interaction as a two-way opportunity to learn and to teach. “We know that it is only together that we can help donkey owners and carers become donkey welfare ambassadors wherever they live and work.”
Dr Elisabeth Svendsen, in love with them since childhood, made it her life’s mission to rescue abused, neglected and abandoned donkeys and founded The Donkey Sanctuary in 1969. She said,
“To me they are the most beautiful, the most underrated animals in the world – and, as long as they need my help, they shall have it.”
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is finished for the time being.
Click on the picture or go to the dictionary in the sidebar 🙂 And now, on to E e
Crab noun
Oxford Dictionary definition: 1. Shellfish with 10 legs 2. This as food
Our definition: 1. Crabs are sentient beings who live in all the world’s oceans, in fresh water, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton and have a single pair of claws. They attract a mate through chemical (pheromones), visual, acoustic or vibratory means. Pheromones are used by most fully aquatic crabs, while terrestrial and semi-terrestrial crabs often use visual signals, such as fiddler crab males waving their large claw to attract females. Crabs are mostly active animals with complex behaviour patterns. They can communicate by drumming or waving their pincers. Males will fight to win females or to defend territory. Fiddler Crabs dig burrows in sand or mud, which they use for resting, hiding, mating and to defend against intruders. Crabs are omnivores, feeding primarily on algae, and taking any other food, including molluscs, worms, other crustaceans, fungi, bacteria and detritus, depending on their availability and the crab species.
2. Crabs are boiled alive by humans who want to eat them.
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The Cc page is done now (click on the pic or go to the dictionary in the sidebar).
I’ll be starting on Dd today 😀
Compiling the vegan dictionary is taking a long time and I won’t be able to complete a letter in one day as I naïvely first thought. I have only just finished Bb so won’t be able to share any C words until at least tomorrow 🙂 In the meantime, Miranda thought it might be a good idea to post an excerpt of Bb – so here it is:
Bee noun
Oxford Dictionary definition: Four-winged stinging insect, collecting nectar and pollen and producing honey and wax.
Our definition: There are lots of different types of bee in the UK, around 250 species – 24 species of bumble bee, 225 species of solitary bee and just one species of honey bee. Honey bees will live through the winter, eating and working all winter long, which of course requires a large store of food – hence the honey they’ve worked hard for all summer. With Bumble bees however, the new queens, after mating, find somewhere to hibernate and the rest of the colony dies off. While hibernating she does not need to eat so there are no honey stores. In the spring when she has to work hard, she makes a small pot of honey for herself. Solitary bees typically produce neither honey nor wax. They are important pollinators as the females, who are all fertile, build their own nests and take care of their own young so pollen is gathered for provisioning the nest with food for their brood. Bees gathering nectar (eg honey bees) may accomplish pollination, but bees that are deliberately gathering pollen (eg solitary orchard mason bees) are more efficient pollinators. There are also 500 species of stingless bee
Where are you going Deidra? is one of our favourite, and one of the most popular, stories on this site so when we decided to publish a compilation of short stories and rhymes for little ones we really wanted to include it. Unfortunately the new book – entitled “Why are you a vegan?” And other wacky verse for kids – is full of rhyming stories (of course), and Deidra is not one of those.
So, we made it into one – and here it is, the true-ish story of Deidra the dairy cow, in rhyme, in case you’re interested.
This is how it begins:
Once there was a dairy farm
With fifty lovely cows.
Most of them were black and white
But some of them were brown.
***
Gripping stuff I know! 😉
Where are you going Deidra? – In Rhyme
Sandra has achieved the unprecedented legal status of a “non-human person.” A court has recognized that she has rights and that being kept in a zoo unlawfully deprives her of her freedom.
Woo hoo!!!! 😀 😀 😀
In November, the Association of Professional Lawyers for Animal Rights (AFADA) filed for habeas corpus, a petition usually used to challenge the imprisonment of a human who has been illegally detained. Instead, this petition sought freedom for Sandra, a Sumatran orangutan. Sandra has spent the last 20 years of her life at the Buenos Aires Zoo. In 1986, she was born into captivity at a German zoo. Nine years later she was sent to Argentina. Sandra is described as very shy, with a marked preference for avoiding the stares of zoo visitors. AFADA’s case asserted “the unjustified confinement of an animal with probable cognitive capability” illegally deprived a “non-human person” of her freedom. AFADA insisted Sandra was a person in a philosophic sense, rather than a biological one. In other words, she’s not human, but she deserves certain equivalent rights. A three-member panel of Argentina’s Second Chamber of the Criminal Appeals Court unanimously granted habeas corpus, deciding that Sandra is a “juridical person” rather than an object.
Congratulations Sandra and well done Argentina!
Let us hope that this decision is upheld and that it will lead to a more enlightened attitude worldwide resulting in person-hood rights being granted to all captive animals.
Happy New Year!!!!!!!
The Hillside Animal Sanctuary Christmas Fayre this weekend!
CLICK THE PIC FOR MORE INFO
If you live in Norfolk or the surrounding area I highly recommend you pop over to Hillside’s Shire Horse Sanctuary for a lovely day out and a chance to help the animals with your Christmas shopping. Hillside is a fantastic charity which not only provides sanctuary for over 2000 formerly abused or neglected animals, they also do in depth investigations into animal abuse so that perpetrators can be prosecuted.
And they need all the help we can give them, so have a great day out helping the animals that need you – get over to Hillside at the weekend.
Have fun 😀
Why would you wear leather?
It’s cow skin you know,
Or goat skin or calf skin,
Or even kangaroo.
Why would you want to wear someone else’s skin?
Isn’t it a yucky thing to put your body in?
Everyone should have the right, if they have no other,
To keep their own skin fully attached, not have it worn by another.
This book is absolutely beautiful.
Treat yourself to a copy or borrow it from the library – that’s where we found it 🙂
Hey boy! Pay attention to me when I’m talkin’ to ya!
What, I say what’s the big idea? Don’t stand there gawkin’ sister!
Nice girl, but more mixed up than a feather in a whirlwind!
Pay attention to me boy! I’m not just talkin’ to hear my head roar! Get down, I say get down to Raystede and support the good work they’re doin’! Any of this sinkin’ in???
There was a time, long long ago
When they thought the world was flat.
They worried if they sailed the seas
They’d fall off the end of that.
In centuries past, in primitive times,
They demonized herbal healers.
They’d label such gifted folk a witch.
Fear and ignorance led to murders.
1908, the Siberian tundra
Was struck by a freak fireball.
Theories abound, though no cause has been found.
Was it meteorite or black-hole?
10,000 crop circles in various forms
Have appeared since ’72
Caused by UFOs, wind or rabbits or hoax?
Who knows who knows? Do you?
And now here we are, Twenty-Fourteen,
A much more enlightened era.
The experts tell us as the ice starts to melt,
That we should try to live more greener.
Thoughtful, conscientious, sensible types
Recycle their plastic and drive less.
They walk or take the bus to work;
Use low wattage bulbs; try to redress.
But in 06 The United Nations
Found that animal farming’s the trouble,
Causing land degradation and water pollution,
Gas with high global warming potential.
The experts gathered and consulted and planned
What to do to solve the problem
Of global warming, pollution, disease
Caused by human animal-consumption.
“Urgent action is required,” they said,
“To remedy the situation.”
We need cows that don’t fart, recyclable manure,
And more efficient irrigation!
“Thank goodness for experts!” the populace cries,
“What would we do without them?
When scientists develop unflatulent cows
That will solve the global warming problem.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier,” a schoolboy asked
“To solve that long list of crises
By giving up meat and dairy and leather
And planting more veggies and fruit trees?”
“The experts would tell us,” his teacher replied,
“If there was anything we could do in a hurry.
There’s no need to resort to radical extremes,
Just recycle what you can and don’t worry.”
****
Click here to look at the report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Be aware, you might do a double take when you read that their proposed solutions to the problem are as indicated in the poem. See Remedies including “Improving animals’ diets to reduce enteric fermentation and consequent methane emissions”
Two days later …
Look at this can, and picture if you can
What it would do to Peter Rabbit’s paw.
It’s as sharp as a knife, it would cut like a knife,
And cause bad infection for sure.
This is how it goes, when someone just throws
Their drink can on the ground.
Inevitably it must, succumb to the rust,
Get dangerously jagged and unsound.
Now think of this, just think of this –
What if Mrs Tiggywinkle walked over?
What if she trod, right over the sod
Where this can was hidden in the clover?
Or Tabitha Twitchit, perhaps Mrs Twitchit,
Might be walking her youngsters to school.
Moppet and Mittens, and Tom, her kittens
Could, on this can, cut their feet cruel.
“Oh I wish,” they would say, at the end of the day,
“That the can had never been left there.”
Their feet would sting, as infection set in,
“But humans who litter just don’t care.”
At Raystede they rescue, rehome and provide sanctuary for more than 1500 animals each year. It is free to visit almost every day of the year and very important to their work is their educational service, used by schools in East Sussex and beyond. They also offer guidance to all ages on caring for animals.
They say: “Our Sanctuary, with its sizeable lakes, offers a safe haven for visiting waterfowl as well as for our chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese. We also offer a lifelong home for goats, horses, ponies and donkeys which are no longer wanted.”
This little person is named Sweetpea, and she is sooo friendly and gorgeous! You can see in the background the fields in which the goats can go to play.
Sweetpea again, what an adorable face!
This is Toffee! Isn’t he a splendid gentleman? Here he is standing in front of the stables and next to the climbing frame.
Toffee again – here he is trying to reach for a piece of paper I am holding. I love his beard!
Reach! Now he’s going for my camera.
Mmm! Tasty. He has a lovely soft tongue, he licked my fingers.
Hello there! Rocky is 7 years old. He likes people and scratching.
This is Lettie – she is taller than the other goats, so she can stand on her hind legs and eat off of the trees. Isn’t she so delightfully pretty?
Lettie again, having a good back-rub on the side of the stable
Snowdrop having a good scratch
This is where the goats live and spend a lot of their time.
POSTSCRIPT:
Sadly, while they do a lot of good for some animals, Raystede sells meat, fish, eggs and dairy in their cafe, thus paying for a lot of animal suffering and encouraging their supporters to do the same. A two year campaign of letter writing and a petition asking them to make their cafe vegan has received no response from those in charge who seem to think they are not answerable for the betrayal of their founder’s mission to make the world a better place for ALL animals.
Today, on National Pet Day, I would like to introduce the newest member of our family: Carly
Carly used to live in a small cage by herself. Her “owner” had had to go into a dementia care home and for Carly, who went with her, this meant being left alone in a small cage in a bedroom all day every day. She was never allowed out of the cage and never had been.
Finally the lady was persuaded to allow Carly to find a new home, and Birdline of Parrot Rescue was called. It was hoped that she would soon be in the company of other birds like her and would live a more meaningful, if still captive, life.
Sadly many more weeks past and Carly was still in her dull, solitary prison. The bird rescue volunteers were so inundated with needy birds (100 a week coming into their care) that they had been unable to find room for Carly.
So she came to live with us.
When we opened the cage she remained inside it for two more days, nervously peeping through the open door occasionally. But the next day she emerged. She swooped and soared the length and breadth of the room. A bit uncoordinated at first, well, she’d never done this before, but she was trying out her wings; finding out what she was capable of. It was wonderful. I assumed she would go back to her cage when she wanted something to eat or drink and intended to leave it permanently open so that she could come and go as she pleased. But she has never been back in. She went a whole day without eating and drinking rather than go back into that cage! And who could blame her?
So I put food and drink on top of the bookcase for her. When we put away the cage she relaxed, noticeably. She sings along with music played for her, be it birdsong or classical music, TV theme music or sounds from nature. She is still nervous of us but getting more comfortable I think, especially as she can perch so high out of everyone’s reach and keep an eye on us all 🙂
Usually, when we all go to bed at night, she has the living room to herself and flies around a little more before settling in a warm spot on the wireless router until morning. But last night, 11 days after arriving here, she demonstrated how skilled she’s become at flying when she glided at an angle through the slightly open doorway of our bedroom and slept on a picture frame by our bed. She clearly didn’t want to be left alone all night, and I guess she quite likes us 🙂
Birds don’t belong in cages.
Click on the picture to see what it might be like if humans were the main attraction at a theme park
We’ve just watched the fantastic documentary Blackfish and had to recommend it to everyone! The film is shocking, moving and heart-breaking but don’t be afraid to watch it because it leaves you with a positive feeling. A feeling that things are changing. That people are waking up to the truth that keeping animals in captivity is simply wrong. That the lies of big companies like SeaWorld are being seen through. Since they are dependent on being able to dupe the public into believing that their performing animals are happy in order to sell tickets, that means time is running out for them.
We are full of admiration for the people who made this film and for the many former SeaWorld trainers who spoke frankly about their own experiences there and the dishonesty of the company they worked for which of course puts money ahead of the welfare of their whales and their trainers.
Please watch this film and share it far and wide. Knowledge is power and the more people have this knowledge, the more power we’ll have collectively to close these types of places. SeaWorld needs bums on seats. Let’s persuade all bums to sit elsewhere!
FIVE STARS! *****
Click the pic for the story
When you’re sitting quietly, we’ll begin 🙂
Inspired to help some elephants?
Why not pop over to The Elephant Sanctuary and see how you can help out?
Up and down the walnut tree,
The squirrels run,
Just for fun,
Collecting nuts for free.
1, 2, 3.
The 4th they drop for me.
***
From branch to walnut branch,
The squirrels jump,
Without a bump,
Collecting nuts for free.
5, 6, 7.
The eighth they drop for me.
***
Round and round for walnuts bound,
The squirrels dance,
They skip and prance,
Collecting nuts for free.
9, 10, 11.
The 12th they drop for me.
***
Squirrels full of energy,
Go from tree to walnut tree,
Collecting nuts for free,
And dropping them for me.
When they have 30
How many will there be for me?
Did you know that squirrels communicate with each other through various vocalisations and scent marking. They also use their tails as a signalling device, twitching it when uneasy to alert other squirrels of potential danger. I have seen this and it’s fascinating to watch.
For more interesting facts about squirrels pop over here
My friend Ellen shared this video yesterday on her blog Moonside and I just had to reblog it 🙂
Three brown cows. Three brown cows.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all run after the human ilk,
Who kidnap their calves and then steal their milk,
The cows want their calves back, the humans can’t bilk,
The three brown cows.
For more nursery rhymes and wacky verse for kids click here 😀
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vegan nursery rhymes
Hickety pickety my red friends,
They go where they want, there is no fence.
They wake at dawn, eager to go out,
And scratch with their pals, around and about.
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vegan nursery rhymes
“Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?”
“Yes sir, yes sir, but I’ll keep it all.
None for your jumper,
None for your scarf,
And none for the funny socks you wear for a laugh.”
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vegan nursery rhymes
This little piggy went to Oak Wood,
This little piggy tagged along.
This little piggy ate acorns,
This little piggy ate leaves.
And this little piggy went “wee wee wee” all the way to his mum.
All little piggies deserve to be free.
Let’s not eat them 😀
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vegan nursery rhymes
This game is simple. You can play alone or with friend(s). All you have to do is turn over the question cards (play the videos 🙂 ) one at a time.
Either write down your answers (if you’re all answering the same question) or say your answer aloud (if you’re taking it in turns and only one of you is answering each question).
Then check the answer by turning the answer card for that particular question. If you got it right you get a point – someone should keep score 😉
The person with the most points at the end is the winner 🙂
By the way, I got all the information for this quiz from here, here, here, here and here so if you don’t know the answer and you don’t want to guess you can look it up
🙂
Question 1:
Question 2:
Question 3:
Question 4:
(you can have a point if you get close to right answer on this one)
Question 5:
Question 6:
Question 7:
Question 8:
Question 9:
Question 10:
Question 11:
Question 12:
Question 13:
Question 14:
Question 15:
Question 16:
Question 17:
Question 18:
Question 19:
Question 20:
Question 21:
Question 22:
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Question 24:
Question 25:
Question 26:
Question 27:
That’s the lot for now, but we will continually add more questions so do come back and pick up where you left off 🙂
Save the Bees!
Bees don’t just make honey, they are vital to life on earth, every year pollinating 90% of plants and crops and without immediate action, many of our favourite fruits, vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves.
Recent years have seen a massive decline in bee populations around the world and some bee species are already extinct! A key EU agency is saying that toxic pesticides called neonicotinoids could be responsible for the bee deaths. The EU has banned three of these bee-killers, but giant chemical producers like Bayer and Syngenta continue to export their poison across the world.
Bumble Bee
Let’s get people power to counter the powerful pesticide lobby and save bees from extinction. Please sign the urgent petition to leaders around the world, and then share it as wide as you can.
Thank you 😉
Violet's Vegan Comics 