Animal rights Book

Final Exit

2011-04-11T18:33:00.005+01:00

Well as some of you may have noticed I have not been that active with online AR in recent times, this is mainly because I am trying to do more real world activities over online stuff. Along with this evolution of action for myself I have decided to finally hang up the ARB & Dev Ious Boots.

I will be adding some of those activists I know and respect on my own personal FB.

Cheers to all those who have supported ARB over the years it has been a blast at times :)

Anyone wishing to use the Animal Rights Book (ARB) name for animal rights is free to do so, they can also use the ARB graphics if they want on the condition that it is always connected to the animal rights movement!

I am currently considering blogs, websites or other online work but this will be under my own name and not that of ARB or Dev Ious

ARB over and out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family Values....

2011-02-21T00:58:00.003Z

Last night I had another one of those fucked up Q&A sessions with my meat eating sister and her other half which resulted in me leaving scratching my head once again wondering how on earth I am related to these people. From conversations with other AR activists and vegans/vegetarians I know I am not the only one that is thinking of getting onto one of those madcap chat shows and demanding a DNA test.

The conversation started quite innocently with an aunts concern for her niece, she asked me how my daughters job hunting was coming along. My daughter is at college and is looking for some evening or weekend work for extra income but due to the economic situation in the UK hasn't had much luck so far. I explain she is struggling to get any work but is trying her best, this is when the by now boring attack on the AR lifestyle and vegan diet is slipped in. Through conversations with me and my daughter she has learned that my daughter who is an AR activist and vegan would never work for certain companies or industries such as Mcdonalds, KFC, Burger King ect...... because this would go against her moral beliefs.
So now my sis says if my daughter wasnt so stubborn she could get a job at McDonalds who are always looking to employ young students, STUBBORN?????
I bite my tongue and once again try to explain (all the time knowing I will never again get this wasted 5 minutes of my life back) why it is so morally wrong for my daughter to work in such a place blah blah fucking blah........

I can see from the way I am talking to the back of her head and she is concentrating more on facebook farmville than what I am saying that its not really getting through. "Would she work in a supermarket"? she asked, I explained of course she would as long as it wasnt the meat or fish department. "they sell meat in supermarkets" was her reply! By now my head is starting to hurt a little and my eyes are meeting in the middle, keep in mind I have been through about 100 similar conversations with my sis and all end in the same way, she doesnt get it! I then try to explain the facts about McDonalds having horrendous animal welfare ethics (in the sense they actually have none) and as a business they contribute massively to the meat industry therefore are considered an enemy in the eyes of any true animal rights activist.

I then get the lecture from both my sis and her other half about doing anything to keep a roof over our heads and paying the bills with the comment "even cavemen had to find a cave and supply food", they insisted morals should not come into the equation. I sighed and asked them if they were starving or homeless would they sell a 6 year old child into slavery so they can eat or pay the rent? Of course the answer was no and tensions were raised, they then proceeded to tell me that was not the point while I tried to point out the reason they wouldnt sell the child into slavery to fund their own financial comfort is because it would be morally wrong!

Thinking I had made a good point and slightly hoping I got through a little (forgetting my past failures for a second) I cross my fingers. Nope, instead I got a strong defensive wall and them trying to make me realise I hadnt understood the conversation and there was no point in having this conversation if I wasnt going to listen to them.

So there it was, a pointless waste of energy and time yet again. Why do I keep wasting my time trying to explain the rights and wrongs of mankind to people who just cannot or will not understand it? I suppose its a little obsession about my love for the animals and the AR movement as well as a huge chunk of hope that one day I may actually break through that hard shell of ignorance and plant a seed in the soft centre of their heart. At the end of the day what is the point of the animal rights movement if we dont have hope, a lot of what we wish for cannot be achieved without hope!

Roll Up, Roll Up, The Circus Is In Town.....

2011-02-19T11:06:00.004Z

I noticed today that a certain so called Animal Rights Social Network is holding yet another one of those never ending guest chats all in the name of desperation, desperate to feel important. Ok I know I cant really talk since the AR guest chat sort of originated on ARB and was sort of my idea but now others have taken that idea and are ass raping it backwards in order to gain a couple more members, its all a little embarrassing now. I am starting to feel like the guy who invented the atomic bomb only to wake up and realise it was actually a bad idea only on a much smaller scale :) I should have listened to Steve Best when he gave me his opinion on these guest chats a while ago.

To be honest I dont think the guest chat feature for an AR website is a totally bad idea and they can have their uses, especially by getting activists from all corners of the globe to socialise. The biggest problem I have with these guest chats now is that a certain AR network is using them merely as a cheap method of boosting membership numbers and site activity which should never be the point of an AR site. Yes there is little point in having a website if no one visits that site but publicity should never be an AR websites core objective in my opinion. The main goal of any AR website I have been involved with is to operate for the good of the animals and the movement not for the good of the site itself, when you become obsessed about the popularity of your site I don't think you can consider the site a true AR site. It becomes more about you than animal rights and a total waste of energy not only for you but also for your site users/visitors.

Anyway onto what really brought me to post about this subject. A certain network has made a shameful decision to host a guest chat with none other than a real live vivisector, no this isnt someone who has realised their torture of animals in the name of bullshit science is wrong and is now a vegan activist. This "guest" is still very active and supportive of the animal testing industry. The network and the guest shall remain nameless here as I do not want to publicise this disgusting waste of time all in the name of popularity. Dont be fooled by this so called AR website, they are not hosting this event for the good of the animals or the movement. They may claim the event is for the benefit of education or debate but the real reasons for this event are obvious to me. The dance with the devil is being arranged purely for the reason of boosting membership numbers and activity on an ego lifting rocket to hell. What other possible reason could they have for hosting such an event as this? Do they think the AR community would benefit from anything this scum has to say or do they feel they and their members can convert this "guest"? If they feel either of these are possible then they are badly mistaken and should not have the capability of hosting a member based website such as this. As AR webmasters we have a duty to use that ability and opportunity to benefit the animals, movement and community in a purely unselfish direction.

Will I be attending this sad excuse for entertainment? In the time it has taken me to write this blog I have thought of 1000 different activities I could be doing at the time of this "guest" chat which could better benefit the AR movement or the animals which so desperately need our attention. Whether you give your attention to the enemy and the fame hungry network admins during this ridiculous circus event or actually concentrate on the important stuff is entirely up to you.

Its easy really, just ask yourselves "what would the animals want"?

Vegan Tribes Coming Soon............................

2011-02-19T01:29:00.002Z

Vegan Tribes

To win the war we must first unite the army.....

Vegan Tribes, coming soon........

Peter Young guest chat on The AR Hub video Transcript

2010-10-31T12:11:00.002Z

This is the video transcript for the guest chat which took place on The AR Hub on the 30th October 2010

The video comes in 5 parts

Part one

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

www.arhub.net

Peter Young Guest Chat on The AR Hub

2010-10-30T15:41:00.005+01:00

The Animal Rights activist and popular speaker for direct action, Peter Young, will be the guest for this weeks guest chat on The AR HUB.

You can find out more about Peter on his wikipedia entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Daniel_Young

...Or the Voice Of The Voiceless website
http://www.voiceofthevoiceless.org/

The main 11pm time displayed is UK time, for a more local time either see the list of times below or check the World Clock
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

Just enter the date in the converter as 30th October 2010 and the time as 23/11 pm. choose "UK/London" as the from time and then choose your local area as the To Time Zone. Hit convert and you will have your local time for the guest chat :)

Brief List of Global Guest Chat Times

Australia (Sydney): 9am 31st October
Australia (Perth): 6am 31st October
Australia (Darwin): 7:30am 31st October
Canada (Halifax): 7pm 30th October
Canada (Toronto): 6pm 30th October
Canada (Winnipeg): 5pm 30th October
China (Beijing): 6am 31st October
Denmark (Copenhagen): 12am 31st October
France (Paris): 12am 31st October
Germany (Berlin): 12am 31st October
Ireland (Dublin): 11pm 30th October
Italy (Rome): 12am 31st October
Japan (Tokyo): 7am 31st October
New Zealand (Wellington): 11am 31st October
Russia (Moscow): 2am 31st October
Spain (Madrid): 12am 31st October
USA (Boston): 6pm 30th October
USA (Washington DC): 6pm 30th October
USA (Chicago): 5pm 30th October
USA (Denver): 4pm 30th October
USA (Los Angeles): 3pm 30th October
UK (London): 11pm 30th October

We fully expect an interesting and intriguing guest chat with Peter and hope you can all make it :)

www.arhub.net

Vegans against PETA

2010-10-27T11:49:00.002+01:00

I just seen this logo plastered all over facebook by the twilight zone admin Carolyn Bailey linked to a blog post from the Gary Francione wannabe Dan Cudahy. If it wasnt so serious and sad this would be absolutely hilarious, another of the online hermits attempts to divide and conquer! I'm no psychic but I could easily predict this group of self obsessed idiots will soon be starting a new campaign called "Vegans against Vegans" but then again arent they already active in this? We all know they spend their time speaking out against every action by activists that they deem inappropriate under the false pretence its bad for the movement! They claim ownership of an animal rights movement which in many ways clashes with their so called belief system.

Yes these people are a small minority of invaders to the REAL movement and in reality we shouldnt worry about which part of AR they are campaigning against now but at the same time I have always said there are potentially excellent activists out there being fed this bullshit and buying into it. PETA isnt perfect and a long shot short of being the organisation we would all like to see them be but isnt there much more important targets to be concentrating our energy on?

Soon we will see the twilight zone and its insane admins joining forces with the People Eat Tasty Animals idiots in their unbalanced attempts to bring down or discredit PETA

There are enough anti PETA groups out there without the vegans who hate vegans getting in on the act. I say these people are a disgrace not only to the movement they claim to be a part of but the animals they claim to be here for, can they really get any lower?

Thankfully the real AR movement continues great work while these fools play with their distractions on the sidelines and the majority of AR activists are dedicated to the animals. My advice to anyone new to the movement is to avoid these people like the plague and stay focused on what's important. The animals need us more than ever and bashing other orgs or groups who are primarily on the same side is as much use top the animals as vivisection is to human health!

Shaz Kelly AR Hub Interview

2010-10-24T10:48:00.003+01:00

Interview With Shaz Kelly

Shaz Kelly is the founder and administrator of the Avalon Guinea Pig rescue based in Nottingham, England.

Q1) Hi Shaz, thanks for taking part in this AR Hub interview. Can you please start by telling us about yourself?

Shaz: Hi ,well I run a guinea pig rescue in Nottingham with several unpaid staff. I work normally 4 hours per day and the rest of the time is devoted to looking after the guinea pigs here at the rescue.

Q2) How did you come to start working with Guinea Pigs in the first place and then start your own rescue dedicated to guinea pigs?

Shaz: I started by having 2 of my own which were mis-sexed by the pet shop,the female then had babies which we kept as pets then we decided there are way too many guinea pigs out there unwanted and looking for homes,sadly there aren't many guinea pig rescues around
so we thought the best thing to do was to pay out and get lots of hutches and cages and advertise ourselves as a place where people could bring their animals that they had no time for rather than just dumping them,which sadly people still do

Q3) You have a commendable spirit which can only serve to help the guinea pigs :) How long has the rescue been in operation and what is the maximum number of guinea pigs you can hold at
any one time?

Shaz: Thank you, well we started about 5 years ago but became " official " 3 years ago ( with our own website etc) the maximum number we can have here at any one time would
be around 150-170 guinea pigs, that's using part of the house to put indoor cages etc in as well as the hutches in the garden and shed.

Q4) With such experience you must have experienced dreadful situations but also fulfilling moments of joy. Can you give us an example of your worst and best experience during your time as a rescue?

Shaz: The worst experience was from an old man that breeds rabbits and guinea pigs,2 boys he gave us were covered in huge deep wounds on their backs,the wounds oozed infection so they were taken to a vet,after 5 weeks of treatment they sadly both died as the infection had eaten through the holes into their lungs and killed them,the vet said that the boys had been left like that for weeks before got them for them to be that bad,it was heartbreaking to lose the little guys as they had such lovely personalities and despite being pulled about having their wounds treated day after day they didn't complain the best experience was a little girl we called Sweetpea,left to die ( by the same breeder) on a shed floor after giving birth to 6 dead babies,24 hours later she was laying on her side bleeding and couldn't stand up,we brought her home and after 5 weeks of massage on her legs,bathing her wounds ( holes underneath where rats had chewed at her) and helping her walk again she was re-homed. there was also a boy piggy we called Alf,brought to us by the RSPCA,he had been dumped on a common in a pile of shavings,his skin from head to toe was thick and crusty and split where he had tried to turn his neck,his eyes were closed due to infection,people thought he was some kinda of hedgehog and didn't recognise him as a guinea pig,we bathed his sore skin with soothing gel and managed to " peel off " the old crusty skin,which left him with no hair all over,we put drops in his eyes and continued with the soothing gel,after 4 weeks his hair started growing back and he put on 500gms in weight,he was placed with a baby boy guinea pig and both were re-homed a fortnight ago. There are times I have shed so many tears over the state of some of the piggies we have had come in,and still they keep coming in.

Q5) Many will remember the online campaign called "Old Father Hubbard" which was mainly brought into the open by yourself. This was where an elderly gentleman who lives locally to you was responsible for creating a hell on earth within his property. An avid breeder of many small
animals and obsessed with profit over life the animals in his care where living in horrendous conditions. Can you give us an update on this situation?

Shaz: Sadly its still going on,as far as we know he was banned from selling from his house,but thanks to 2 girls who went undercover he sold them 2 rabbits,they had been there a week or 2 previous and got a bun out that's constantly being treated by the vets,according to the girls the animals living conditions are worse than before,there was a petition sent out for people to sign but instead of it going to where it should have it mistakenly got sent to him, he now has the names and addresses of people who signed that petition and is going to those peoples houses posting threatening letters through peoples doors,the letters state the people are going to get hurt unless the campaign against him is dropped,the Police are involved as the letters are being taken to them..but while all that is going on he is -still- selling them at the Melton Auction and also buying them from the auction too, i dread to think of the cold and hunger the animals at his place are still suffering in this cold weather,it seems to be going on
forever.

Q6) Sounds very frustrating, hopefully things will get better soon. Please keep us updated! Running a rescue can be emotionally draining, how do you manage to keep it together in times of stress?

Shaz: Its extremely frustrating and as you hopefully it will get sorted soon. Sometimes I just sit down and have a good cry, I think the only way I keep it together is by thinking of those guinea pigs that need us and that if it wasn't for us most of them would probably be dead by now, I do lay awake some nights thinking about them, the little creatures get me through so much bad stuff, other times I go to the York Air Museum and chill out with the guys that work
on the Victor Bomber ( I am part of the Victor Bomber Crew up there) that takes my mind slightly off the bad things, but they're always there in the back of my mind no matter what I do, listening to some Pink Floyd helps a lot too ( as daft as that may sound)
I don't do holidays anymore as too much time is taken up with the rescue,last time I went away to Berlin,a pet sitter looked after the piggies..or should I say " should have " looked after, but sadly we came back and she hadn't done her job properly and due to not putting hay and clean water in when they needed it ( it was mid October) we lost 30 in 3 weeks,2 of them were our first piggies that we had so now I don't bother really going away anymore.

Q7) Sorry to hear that Shaz, losing a companion can be horrific especially when you work so hard to make sure they have a comfortable life! To change the subject a little :) Vegan/vegetarian diets are one of the biggest talking points of the animal rights movement, are you either vegan or
vegetarian and if so when & why did you make that change?

Shaz: I'm now Vegetarian,it changed me when i went to the Melton cattle auctions and saw how the cows and sheep etc are treated down there, all crammed into lorries,beaten with sticks and basically looking sick and ill next door to the auction is the slaughterhouse and there's a certain part where cattle are sent straight into there, queueing up to die..,also what changed me funnily enough is when we stayed at a pig farm in Wales a few years ago,and I saw how the babies were born etc and then the farmer described which ones were going for slaughter. animals deserve a go at life as much as we do,the conditions where animals are
kept before slaughter are deplorable,and I have always said if it has nerves it has feelings, every animal deserves a right to live

Q8) First of all excellent work in having a vegetarian diet, we at The AR Hub are supportive of ALL measures which help the animals no matter how big or small. How have you found the vegetarian diet and what is your favourite vegetarian meal?

Shaz: It takes some getting used to but there wasn't a lot of meat I like anyway
my favourite food is actually Waldorf Salad, I could eat it by the ton !
and Goats Cheese and Honey Ravioli, anything with salad.

Q9) Do you see yourself working towards a vegan diet or do you feel the vegetarian diet is sufficient?

Shaz: I think the vegetarian diet is sufficient for now, I don't think I can go fully vegan yet, I love my goats cheese and salads etc

Q10) While The AR Hub would recommend the vegan diet we would never alienate anyone who is vegetarian. The road to veganism is a stepping stone procedure and as long as your on that road that is the main thing :) Your involved with some online activism, how has your experience been with interacting with other activists online?

Shaz: Its been great, there are some really nice and very helpful people, and so very friendly, it certainly opens your eyes to what goes on behind closed doors.

Q11) Care to elaborate?

Shaz: Any problems or questions that I have had regarding the campaign we're doing against that certain person I actually feel like I have got backing for once rather than us trying to struggle through alone, and that everyone are like minded regarding animals rather than " oh its just an animal "

Q12) Glad your finding it so helpful. Before we wrap up this interview I just wanted to ask about funding. It can be hard financially running a rescue, how do you deal with this aspect of it?

Shaz: We really struggle big time, we had to pay out of our own money to set it all up, we had a large grant from a pet superstore but that went nowhere, we haven't even made enough yet to cover everything we paid out in the beginning. We make appeals for hay and food etc but hardly get anything in return. The only money that's made is through donations when one of the guinea pigs is re-homed and now more people are giving them up its costing more each week, it costs around £150 every 3 weeks for food, most pet food suppliers when they're emailed and asked for anything they can donate don't reply or if they do they don't seem interested, its all about what money they make and don't seem to want to help
rescues. The hutches that were bought with the grant after a year are already
leaking, the company who made them has we think gone bust so we're desperately needing
to put new roofs on the outside hutches before winter comes, most of the time it feels like no one wants to know and these animals rely on us.

Q13) Shaz maybe you could give us your website address as well as details on how to make donations?

Shaz: Ok well the website address is
http://www.freewebs.com/avalonguineapigrescue/

our address is on there and there is also a paypal address
avalonguineapigrescue@hotmail.com

there are stories and pictures on there about some of the guinea pigs we have
had come into the rescue,some sad but some with good endings

Thanks Shaz its very much appreciated. While that concludes the main interview we would like to have a little quick fire round where you choose one of 2 options :)

1) PETA or ALF

Shaz: not sure

2) Facebook or twitter

Shaz: Facebook

3) Sea Shepherd or Greenpeace

Shaz: sea Shepherd

4) War or Peace

Shaz: Peace

5) More or Less

Shaz: More

6) Winter or Summer

Shaz: Summer

7) Book or television

Shaz: book

8) Love or Hate

Shaz: Love

9) Single or Married

Shaz: single

10) Black or White

Shaz: white

The AR Hub would like to thank Shaz for taking part in this interview

Please visit the Avalon Guinea Pig rescue website and if you can make a donation

Would you like to be interviewed by The AR Hub? Would you like to suggest someone else for an interview? contact Dev ious with details :)

2010-10-23T16:21:00.005+01:00

The AR Hub is holding a guest chat in just under 7 hours time with the lifetime activist and author Keith Mann

Find out more about Keith here or from his website From Dusk Till Dawn

Here is a brief list of global times for the chat

Australia (Sydney): 9am 24th October
Australia (Perth): 6am 24th October
Australia (Darwin): 7:30am 24th October
Canada (Halifax): 7pm 23rd October
Canada (Toronto): 6pm 23rd October
Canada (Winnipeg): 5pm 23rd October
China (Beijing): 6am 24th October
Denmark (Copenhagen): 12am 24th October
France (Paris): 12am 24th October
Germany (Berlin): 12am 24th October
Ireland (Dublin): 11pm 23rd October
Italy (Rome): 12am 24th October
Japan (Tokyo): 7am 24th October
New Zealand (Wellington): 11am 24th October
Russia (Moscow): 2am 24th October
Spain (Madrid): 12am 24th October
USA (Boston): 6pm 23rd October
USA (Washington DC): 6pm 23rd October
USA (Chicago): 5pm 23rd October
USA (Denver): 4pm 23rd October
USA (Los Angeles): 3pm 23rd October
UK (London): 11pm 23rd October

To find a more local time use the World Clock Converter

While the hub are not asking members to pre-register any questions we do expect members who attend the chat to have respect for our guest and other members. If you would like to ask Keith a question either wait for a break in chat or send a private message to our admin Lorna who will be moderating the chat. You can of course also register your interest in asking a question at any time before the chat begins by sending a message to Lorna.

ARB had Keith as out guest when the ARB Social Network was up an running, it was a very interesting and entertaining night, I am looking forward to enjoying another guest chat with Keith Mann.

To take part in the guest chat just go to the AR Hub network

www.arhub.net

If you have problems signing in or joining the network email us at contact@arhub.net

If Only AR Were A Religion

2010-10-09T01:26:00.003+01:00

I have always said that if the animal rights movement were a religion we would receive more respect. By that I meant respect from the wider world not the actual activists within the movement. Now I say not only would we receive more respect from outsiders but we would also receive more dedication from within the movement. I look at the muslim religion with both fear and envy, the followers of this religion are so dedicated to their cause they are willing to give their lives. Can the same be said for the animal rights movement? Does it take the promise of countless virgins in paradise or the guarantee of a place in heaven to demand that dedication?

We can learn a lot from religious movements with their dedication and unity. A muslim women can claim discrimination against an employer simply for not being allowed to wear their burka, should we not also be allowed to claim such discrimination when our colleagues devour their meat filled lunches? Should we not also be discriminated against when our local restaurant advertises its availability of Halal meat? Are we not discriminated against by the McDonalds or KFC adverts flashed across our televisions daily? Of course we are! There is only one difference from the AR movement and the many religious movements out there and that is they have more determination and organisation than us!

All that separates our needs from theirs is a historic book. if the Koran or Bible said eating meat was a sin would we be seeing muslims suicide bombing slaughter houses and christians picketing the fur farms? I have no doubt this would be a reality!

What makes the situation worse is there is no proof for the existence of god, alah, Jesus or Mohammed other than a book written thousands of years ago. AR has the advantage of fact on its side, the facts of AR are there to see for anyone willing to open their eyes or minds! The great injustice against the animal kingdom by human beings has not only existed longer than any of these historic books but STILL exists today!

We need the same determination and unity from our very own activists. Liberation is a reality and if we want it we can have it we just need to work hard enough to get it, together, united and organised!

The Witness

2010-10-09T01:03:00.002+01:00

I saw this video on Facebook

And it caught my imagination. I then followed the link to the full documentary and I'm glad I did :)

It has given me the major kick up the arse I was badly needing. After returning to the online world of AR I have quickly become downhearted by the usual BS infighting which plagues the online side of the movement. Watching this guy and listening to his simple equation of what is required of all us activists has given me a refreshing drive.

This mans struggle to get the truth out there not only brought me to tears but has again recharged my batteries and I'm ready to get going again :)

I recommend this doc to anyone who is questioning whether we are making a difference

Watch the full thing here

The Internet Hermits Who Crave A Divided Movement

2010-10-07T19:56:00.009+01:00

After a lengthy break from the online side of the movement I recently decided to go back to it on a part time basis. My reason for having a break in the first place was I was becoming disillusioned by those I call the dividers, a group of internet hermits who have decided for reasons only known to themselves to dedicate their entire waking lives to online activity. Activity which includes the determined attempt to divide the animal rights movement and make a mockery of any activist or operation which disagrees with their theory. That theory being the sole use of education within animal rights and any other method of action being deemed not only unacceptable but extremely damaging to the movement. It probably wouldn't be so bad if they actually did go out there and do some education but their refusal to leave their blogs or websites for even the shortest of time hinders their ability to practice what they preach. Normally I wouldn't care less how fake activists such as this spend their time, its their lives after all but the endless stalking and aggressiveness from such divisive hermits made me rethink my online activity. I'm glad I chose to have a break since I managed to get out there and do a lot more ground work which is really what I am all about.

The internet is a great tool for recruitment and educational purposes but due to the highly divisive nature of certain individuals online who constantly try to hijack the online AR movement it is sadly becoming a frustrating and embarrassing method of activism. Recently since I have become involved with the AR Hub network it has come under attack from dividers such as Carolyn Bailey, Roger (Rabbit) Yates and the other administrators of the other single method network. They constantly try to brainwash the online community that other site or blog admins who are not part of their little yes sir no sir group are all for nothing but violence within the movement. This is complete and utter rubbish and if anyone buys this bullshit then they also need to have a look in the mirror. The philosophy I support and promote is the Any Means Necessary philosophy, this of course means that I fully support ALL methods of action as long as they are beneficial to both the movement and the animals. What the dividers always fail to mention is that I am fully supportive of educational and diplomatic methods of action just as much as I am supportive of any forceful methods of action. Before anyone listens to the silly attention seeking accusations from these people I suggest they do a little research first, its not difficult to find out what other online activists support and dont support.

Another act of complete and obvious division circulated by these egotistic and self righteous trolls is the portrayal that the heart and actions of any activist can be weighed by their IQ is nothing but absurd. On many occasions they have tried to ridicule other activists intelligence and bluntly state they can't possibly call themselves AR activists since they are unaware of a certain persons written philosophical work or read it in full detail. Since when did these fakes decide who was or was not part of the AR movement, who made them judge & jury?

Take this ridiculous exchange of views for example
(since first posting this link Carolyn Bailey has heavily edited the comments on her wall by deleting 90% of her own comments and one of my replies, it now doesnt make much sense)

Or this ill informed blog post from Mr Rabbit himself
(Since first posting this link Roger Rabbit decided to delete the entire blog post & comments with it only to re-post it again without the comments of course)

This is my response to that blog post from Yates (scroll down to the comments)

Also a small note on the activists who have given their time to Bailey's site as guests only to be abused and attacked afterwards, Pete Buthane & Anthony Marr amongst others! It is no secret that Bailey & Yates want you on there so that they can make you look like a fool. I have to ask myself why good activists freely provide their services to this site for them to be shamefully ridiculed and insulted. Mr Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd is their next target, for a site and administration which openly and directly insults the Sea Shepherd organisation as well as Paul himself its nothing short of a waste of an opportunity and a disgrace to hard working activists out there doing something real! Something these hermits know nothing about.

Those who know me from the days of ARB and MahKah will know Bailey and her band of merry fools have given me a rough ride in the past for no reason other than I was administrator of ARB. This involved the release of my personal telephone number to the internet and the harassment of ARB/MahKah members. This stopped once I closed ARB (note: I didnt close ARB because of them ;) but has once again raised its ugly head as I venture into a new network.

Before they spread more bullshit let me reassure you this is not a post centred on jealousy or a means of discrediting another site. I'm not interested in competition within the AR movement, I have always fully supported a united movement working together in the hope of achieving liberation for our animal friends which is why I get frustrated when dividers like this are so dedicated in keeping it divided.

I just wanted to make sure any ARB followers and Hub members knew the situation. Now lets get on with the REAL work :) hats off to all the true activists out there who are fighting the real fight and making a true difference for our long suffering friends!

Pete Bethune Hub Guest Chat Review

2010-10-02T22:34:00.006+01:00

Yesterday on the AR Social Hub we were lucky enough to have as our guest Mr Pete Bethune, the captain of the Ady Gil sea vessel which was sank by a Japanese whaling ship during a Sea Shepherd Campaign early 2010. he then single handedly boarded the Japanese whaling ship responsible for the attack on the Ady Gil which led to his arrest and trial by the Japanese authorities. now he is back and proving himself as a worthy speaker and campaigner for a number of issues including Animal Rights. before the chat I had heard from a certain group who had entertained Pete as a guest on their site that he was a hypocritical meat eater out to make a quick buck off the back of his sudden fame within the environmental and AR communities. To be entirely honest I would not have asked Pete to be a guest on the hub so soon after he had been a guest on another site. However pete had been invited before by the WAAR administration and I fully respected that.

The guest chat with Pete didnt get off to the best of starts since due to a misunderstanding about times Pete was late coming onto the Hub. As always with these open chats (no predetermined questions) it was a little chaotic at the beginning but once things had settled down hub members asked Pete some excellent questions and I have to say he gave respectable answers.

There were questions about his time in Japanese custody to which Pete told us the Japanese were excellent hosts and very friendly, all apart from a sergeant who was a little rough with him. Then came a question about whether or not there would be an Ady Gil 2, Pete explained the problem of the costs of such an undertaking for Sea Shepherd but he was unsure at the present time whether this would be possible. he did say SS were trying to secure another ship to the value of $1 million at the moment. Then the issue of Pete's dietary lifestyle came into play, he was asked to comment on how he could be so emotionally attached to the plight of other living beings when he himself is not vegetarian or vegan. At first I have to admit his answer surprised me, he stated he had only eaten meat twice since his liberation from Japan. There was a definite silence in the hub chat after this and I am pretty sure most activists in there where thinking the same thing. How could Pete say this as if it were a good thing, how could such a prominent figure in the world of AR have such views. Pete then continued to explain that he was trying very hard to lead a full vegetarian lifestyle which would eventually lead to a fully vegan diet for him. I am sure there were still mixed emotions about this in the chat but for me if its a case of encourage or depress I always think it best to encourage. Pete said he was trying to be honest with us and I must admit I admired his bravery to come into a dedicated animal rights site like the hub and yet still announce his struggle with his dietary lifestyle. As I said in the chat yesterday I fully believe veganism to be a stepping stone journey which has to be given encouragement throughout the journey by those who have made that journey, to ridicule or repel such travellers only serves to alienate possible vegans from completing that journey.

Before I knew it we were well over the hour mark and although Pete was willing to hang around an unfortunate incident occurred with other activists (not loyal members of the hub) who decided to make the situation difficult.

Overall the guest chat with Pete Bethune was highly interesting and I am glad I was able to attend. I found Pete to be both an admirable and honest person who I hope makes that journey to veganism to enhance his AR activism. Thanks to Pete for being the Hubs guest and to the members for making it a remember-able guest chat.

As the hubs first guest chat I look forward to more :)

ARB Is Back On The Social Curcuit

2010-09-28T19:10:00.003+01:00

ARB was approached by the administrators of the WAAR Social Network and NewAR Online with the idea of joining together onto one social network site as a dedicated online animal rights hub. I thought about it since I wasnt so sure about going back to the social network situation but thought it would be largely beneficial to both the animals and the movement, somewhere we can all concentrate our online operations in one place.

The ARB Blog will remain as will the NewAR forum. We hope you will join us at the hub and look forward to hosting some great guest chats, interviews, fun events as well as serious debates. Each site is only as good as its members and followers so really the admins can only do so much, what this online social hub will do is really up to you.

I look forward to seeing any ARB followers, past or present over there :)

Click here to check out the new hub

http://www.waararb.co.cc

Eyes Of Slaughter

2010-09-25T21:51:00.003+01:00

Twice a week for the past few months I have driven past a local slaughterhouse, once in the morning and again in the evening. Each and every time i do pass this hell hole inside I'm screaming, for the first time the other day I seen a truck parked down the side of the house of horrors and they were unloading the sheep. I made eye contact with a few of these poor souls as they were leaving the truck and I was ill. My entire body was shaking as I wrestled with this insane situation. There were two voices in my head, one was telling me to remain calm and there was nothing I could do. The other voice was raging with anger screaming that those abused creatures needed help NOW, not when us activists manage to organise our little picket protest with our banners and posters just to be ignored by the ignorant. This is why we need more haste within the animal rights movement using Any Means Necessary. If there was an organised and structured movement capable of immediate deployment anywhere it is required then those that are suffering and need us the most would have half a chance!

In reality there simply wasnt anything I could do for those animals that day, thats the brutal truth of the matter. I'm not giving up though and fully intend action against this hell hole, its what us activists are here for and what we must do!

The Opinion Of Choice

2010-09-24T01:05:00.002+01:00

So many times when telling someone I am vegan and why I am vegan I get the reply "well its all down to each person opinion or choice". Bollocks!!! Its nothing to do with my opinion or my choice its to do with FACT!

FACT: EVERY animal including humans wants to live a life free from suffering & abuse.

FACT: Human Beings are responsible for causing endless amounts of suffering & abuse.

FACT: Each individual has an obligation not to be part of that suffering & abuse to the best of their abilities.

FACT: If you consume meat, dairy products, use fur, use products from animal testing or play a part in the human domination of other sentient beings for financial, moral or personal gain then YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!

Animal Rights is not a religion or belief, its not a difference of opinion and its certainly not an optional choice its a lot more simple than that. Its a RIGHT! A right to live a life free from suffering and abuse.

Just like the confusion, hurt and pain a human child feels who has been subject to suffering and abuse each and every animal experiences similar emotions. The majority would never stand by and watch a human child experience such pain and emotion so why do some ignore the same amongst the animal kingdom? They say ignorance is bliss, I say ignorance is an illness. Just like depression or any mental dysfunction, ignorance allows us to create our very own matrix. Do you enjoy being robotic and part of the assembly line or can you take a second to WAKE UP and see the system for what it is?

You may choose to be ignorant or even express your own opinion but me, I'll stick with FACT!

Dont tell me its a difference in beliefs when I KNOW billions of animals are suffering and being abused every day. Its not a belief its a simple matter of fact versus fiction. You choose to believe in fiction and I know it to be FACT!!!!

Try opening your eyes and leave the robotic existence behind, become less of a number and more of a individual. You may be surprised at what you find but I can assure you that you will never look back!

ARB Joins NewAR

2010-09-20T22:28:00.002+01:00

It has been a while since I have posted but I was asked to help out with the online arm of the NewAR organisation and after careful consideration I decided to go for it! I like the vision of NewAR as well as the direction it is trying to take Animal Rights, its no big secret I have said for some time now the animal rights movement needs more organisation and structure, it seems I'm not alone in this way of thinking (thanks NewAR ;)

Anyway I'll be working with NewAR for the foreseeable future and highly recommend any ARB followers to consider joining us. You can find out more about NewAR at the NewAR public open forum (remember if you join to use a nickname), I look forward to seeing some of you there!

http://newar.freeforums.org/portal.php

Promising New AR Network

2010-08-06T22:49:00.004+01:00

I came across a new animal rights network which is looking promising for those of us who support any means necessary. Its called NewAR and looks and feels just as good as the old ning sites like ARB, I have signed up and will keep this blog updated with its developments!

Click here to go to the NewAR network

Ning Users BE WARNED!!!!!

2010-08-02T10:31:00.003+01:00

I would just like to take the opportunity to warn the AR community about the custom social network website Ning. As most of you will know ARB was the first animal rights concentrated social network at the beginning of 2009 using the Ning platform. Since then a LOT of other AR Ning netoworks have popped up, some great and others not so good. At the beginning of 2010 after some serious cashflow problems Ning announced they will no longer be providing a free service with all free sites to be closed down in due course if they did not convert to a Ning paid service. After hearing about Ning ending their free service it was decided to close ARB down rather than go to the paid option however some of us decided to continue with Ning and are opting for the paid service, BIG MISTAKE!

First of all you have to realise why Ning decided to stop offering its extremely popular and successful free service, simply because its in SERIOUS financial difficulty with debts running into the millions. Ning will unlikely recover from these debts and in the end will be no more, in the meantime their trying desperately to get some cash and using underhanded tactics to achieve this.

I have spoken to many Ning creators who transferred to the paid service recently only to have a great deal of money taken from their credit cards, well over and above the advertised amount for the paid service! When these Ning creators have contacted Ning asking for their money back guess what happens? Yes they never get a reply! Its daylight robbery in the making and when Ning decide to jump ship and run (which I feel will not be long after they finally stop the free service) there will be little chance of Ning users seeing their money again.

So please consider yourself warned and spread the word, DO-NOT PAY FOR NING! There are alternatives out there, maybe not as eye catching as ning but just as useful. If I was to reccomend one then it would have to be Spruz

The important thing to remember is most of what you want to do can be done using free services on the internet, when paying for a service check and double check they can be trusted :)

Who REALLY Runs Facebook?

2010-07-31T21:13:00.002+01:00

Here's an interesting video detailing how Facebook's privacy policy is..... Well they don't really have one. Everything on Facebook is fair game to the highest bidder and there are plenty of scary bidders out there taking advantage!

Friendly Cat Finds A New Friend

2010-07-27T19:22:00.004+01:00

This lovable cat finds a new friend

Armed Resistance Is On Its Way

2010-07-23T20:43:00.010+01:00

Many of you will know I am a huge supporter of Any Means Necessary when it comes to the animal rights movement. This covers every option available to us from informing people about what REALLY happens in the real world, educating and teaching to armed resistance, no holds barred attacking. Well I just wanted to talk a little more about my vision regarding the armed resistance animal rights so badly needs. For years the animal rights movement has been a moral driven movement which has held a strict unwritten code of conduct stating that no other living being should be harmed during the movements activities. While I agree this would be such a beautiful road to walk on I have to face reality and realise its not really getting us anywhere fast! Yes we have achieved amazing things in our history, mainly getting animal rights into peoples faces but we're constantly hitting brick walls at every turn. Now I say lets try something new, something radical, something desperate. Those we speak and fight for cannot wait any longer, they need us more than ever and I for one hear their screams every time I see pictures like these:

Of course most of you will have seen these pictures before and have been equally outraged as me but its clear to me that whatever we're doing isnt working fast enough. We then have to ask ourselves what can we do that would have an immediate impact, we have to answer that question with another. What will make people think? Yes the pictures, videos and educational operations are working but in a limited and slow capacity. We need something which has an immediate impact on the world and in my opinion that is an armed resistance. A resistance that lets every animal abuser worldwide know that they will face the consequences of their actions in the most severe way. Its time to step off our moral pedestal and face the enemy on level ground, show them we will no longer allow this holocaust to continue.

Many time when I speak to other activists about an armed resistance I get the same response, "we can't allow violence to tarnish our movement" Humans are animals too so we cant possibly hurt another human" "we would just be as bad as the abusers if we used violence" and so many more. I just cannot accept this way of thinking as a realistic movement, all our enemies know is violence, all they respect is violence and I say its time they were shown some respect!

There is also the issue that we may all be locked away in padded cells as soon as the authorities get wind of our resistance but I firmly believe with dedication, organisation and structure we could mount an underground resistance capable of instilling fear into the abusers. As much as I love the ALF and what it has achieved I now see the ALF as an excellent stepping stone and we must now move onto the next step and organised and structured movement which also includes a respected leadership. Don't worry I'm not putting myself forward as I would rather be on the front line but if we are to be organised and structured then we must have good leadership. This I admit is the stumbling block to an armed resistance since power hungry misguided activists could become an issue but with a little thought and understanding we could manage to overcome this!

An Armed Resistance within animal rights IS coming its just a matter of time, sadly that is exactly what the animal kingdom doesnt have is time.

Gay Couple Buy Daughter Custom Mink Coat

2010-07-22T12:17:00.005+01:00

I was reading about a gay couple who had spent a fortune on creating their own little family which is fair enough but then I also read that they bought their 10 year old daughter a custom made mink coat, saying to the 10 year old girl "I don't care who throws paint on you". Should these guys actually be in charge of children? Me thinks not! Here is the article in full.
(Link to the original article at the bottom)

Couple with children

The family in My Weird and Wonderful Family (Channel 4) took a bit of getting my head around. They're more of an unclear family than a nuclear one. So there are gay dads Tony and Barrie. That's easy enough. And they have three kids – Saffron, Aspen and Orlando. Fine. The complicated bit is how these children came about, and I was quite relieved that even the kids themselves seem a bit muddled about it. Saffron says she's Aspen's twin sister, and the evidence certainly points that way – they came out of the same woman, at around about the same time.

They didn't get in there in the traditional way, though, as she wasn't their mum, but a surrogate. Their biological mother was an egg donor, chosen for her looks and her brain; one of them was fathered by Tony, and the other by Barrie. I don't think the kids have been told who's whose (we're not, anyway). To all of them, Tony is Dad and Barrie is Daddy, or possibly it's the other way around. What does that make Saffron and Aspen? Half-twins?

It gets more complicated. Because Aspen's egg split, and one half was put on ice, to be used later. So Aspen and Orlando are actually identical twins, even though Aspen is four years older. Orlando will always know what he's going to look like in four years' time: when he looks at his older brother, he is kind of looking into his own future. Freaky. Orlando says that if it hadn't been for Tony and Barrie, then he would have been a crocodile, but I don't think that's right. The three kids cost £250,000 to make.

With me so far? Good, because it gets better, or worse, depending on how you view all this. Three kids is so last year, now Tony and Barrie want more – another couple of half-twins, but with a different donor. This time they're going on looks alone, and have picked out a 6ft catwalk model from the biological mum catalogue. No one's allowed to know who she is, because it's just easier that way.

Saffron wants sisters, but she's out of luck: they both turn out to be male. By my calculations, one will be her half-brother, and the other won't be related to her at all, as they will have no common parents. But that's looking at it in a very narrow-minded, old-fashioned kind of way.

There is a small scare: one of the foetuses is showing a higher than normal risk of developing Down's syndrome. There is always the possibility of putting it up for adoption if it doesn't come out right, says Barrie. They're fine, though – two beautiful boys, Jasper and Dallas. Probably best to keep the receipts just in case. How long is the guarantee on a baby, I wonder? Now they can be brought back home to Essex (the baby-making takes place in California, where it's legal), one big happy family.

Well, there are a few little problems. Like the kids getting teased at school. And other parents complaining that Barrie has hijacked the school pantomime to showcase his own thespian talents as the Fairy Godmother. And Eamonn Holmes on breakfast television suggesting that what they're doing isn't natural. And the fact that pretty much everyone else in the country agrees with him.

Certainly some of their queeny behaviour, Barrie's especially, doesn't help. Like asking the kids who they prefer, him or Tony, Dad or Daddy. And getting Saffron a specially made mink coat for her 10th birthday, and declaring: "I don't care who throws paint on you." That's not really going to help.

(The Mink: From Farm To 10 year Old Girls Coat)

I'll leave all that to people who know right from wrong: outraged Daily Mail readers, God botherers, anxious liberals, people who have no problem at all with it. And you: let the debate begin.

As television, it's fabulous – one minute jaw-dropping, the next strangely touching. Daisy Asquith's film looks great, too; I like her trick of shooting them against a white background, like those photoshoots families do. She doesn't judge; her style is gently probing rather than confrontational. She gains their trust, and they give her – and us – what we want. The kids, too, because that's who we really want to hear from. They're certainly spoilt, precocious perhaps, and there is a touch of the Outnumbered monsters about them. Some of what they say sounds like it could have come straight from Barrie or Tony. Of course, it does – they're the parents, that's where language comes from. But they're nice. Normal even. Whatever normal is.

Click here to view the original article

Canadian Parliament Eats Seal In Defiance

2010-07-17T22:19:00.007+01:00

Canadian parliamentarians tucked into a meal of seal meat on Wednesday to defy both animal right activists and the European Union, which has banned imports of seal products.

Some two dozen guests, surrounded on all sides by media, crammed into a small room off the main parliamentary restaurant to hear speeches backing the annual hunt off Canada's East Coast, which the EU says is inhumane.

"This support begins on the plates of Canadians," said federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea as she prepared to eat three small medallions of double-smoked bacon-wrapped seal loin in a port reduction.

The EU imposed its ban last year after a decades-long fight by what Shea called "misguided and mean-spirited" anti-seal-hunt activists. The seals are either shot or hit over the head with a spiked club called a hakapik, which critics say is cruel.

All of Canada's major political parties say they are in favor of the hunt, which takes place on ice floes in March and April.

"The Europeans simply don't know what they're talking about. Since time began human beings have lived with animals and they have culled animals," said Michael Ignatieff, leader of the main opposition Liberal Party.

He spoke at an earlier reception where waiters passed through the room carrying platters of seal terrine snacks. Ignatieff ate several for the benefit of photographers.

"It tastes delicious, actually. It's a meaty taste, a little gamy," he declared.

The meal was arranged by Liberal Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette, who said the hunt provided income for fishing communities in the Atlantic.

"We're sending a message to the European parliamentarians ... we want to say something so that opponents do not take to the floor with lies," she told reporters.

The EU ban has slashed demand for seal furs, meat and oil. Poor weather conditions and a lack of ice mean this year's hunt could be scrapped.

Contact Gail Shea (above) & Tell her what you think of the seal hunts: Shea.G@parl.gc.ca

Contact the idiot above (Michael Ignatieff) and let him know what you think of him Ignatieff.M@parl.gc.ca

To Read The original Article Click Here

Confused Much???

2010-07-14T20:17:00.003+01:00

I remember when I first got myself involved with the online animal rights movement which is deeply rooted more in on facebook than anywhere else as far as I am concerned. Having created and administered the ARB social network no one can deny any other AR forum or network would love to have the attention of all those facebook AR activists, in fact as I have said many times one of the reasons I started ARB was to try and unite the online AR movement onto one site. Many people seen ARB as a success but not me, to me it failed. Maybe the goal was too far or the dream was just that, a dream but in the end ARB wasnt heading in the direction it should have been.

I look at the current online movement and there is little difference to the online community I joined nearly 2 years ago. I struggle to comprehend why we cant embrace a united and organised movement on or offline. Those of you who know me will be sighing deeply right now and saying "here he goes again about the united & organised AR" but there's no need to worry because I have finally realised its not going to happen. That realisation doesnt stop me from being confused. There have been a lot of opportunities for the online AR community to embrace a united and organised AR such as ARB, NIO, Mahkah, the ALF forums and even animal rights zone if it would open its doors a little wider (which it does seem to be doing these days). Yet some people are so hung up on facebook its scary. I understand people like to stick with whats familiar but every now and then it would help to take a walk on the other side and TRY something new!

The Ins & Outs of Exotic Animal Smuggling

2010-06-30T20:00:00.003+01:00

Today I came across this article on another site which I found rather disturbing. What people will do for money never fails to repulse me. To think of the confusion and suffering these animals are enduring is both sickening and outrageous.

What kind of sick f***er is buying these rare and endangered animals.

here's the article I was reading

Earlier this week, airport authorities in Wellington, New Zealand, caught a smuggler as he tried to slip onto a flight. The German citizen wasn’t smuggling drugs, guns, or cash, though. His cargo was a bit more alive: 44 endangered skinks and geckos, all stuffed into his underwear. Why would anyone want to stuff reptiles into his underwear? Because there’s serious dough in it; the geckos would have been worth $2,800 apiece to European collectors.

Although this sort of smuggling job sounds bizarre, the truly shocking thing is how common such arrests are. It doesn’t get the same publicity as illicit drugs or weapons, but the illegal wildlife trade has quietly become one of the world’s biggest black markets. Here’s a look at how it works.

Just how big is the international animal racket?

The black market for wildlife is second only to the illegal drug business in size. It’s currently estimated to be worth more than $20 billion. Yes, that’s billion with a “b.” And it’s not just elephant tusks that are changing hands under the table. For every type of endangered species out there, there’s an eager collector waiting to shell out a lot of cash. For example, a pair of Queen Alexandra’s Birdwings—the world’s largest butterflies, with wingspans of up to 14 inches—sells for about $10,000. A baby chimpanzee goes for as much as $50,000. But the black market isn’t just for cute critters. In March 2009, New York officials broke up a huge smuggling ring that specialized in snapping turtles, rattlesnakes, and salamanders.

Why are so many criminals getting into wildlife smuggling?

In addition to being extremely profitable, it’s pretty difficult to get caught smuggling endangered animals. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is staffed with fewer than 400 law enforcement agents; by comparison, the Drug Enforcement Agency has 11,000 employees. And if you do get nabbed, the punishments are much less severe than in the drug trade. Let’s say you’re a narcotics dealer, and officials find you with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of heroin. Even if it’s your first offense, you could face a minimum of 10 years in prison, and you’ll be a convicted felon. But if you’re an animal smuggler with no prior convictions and you get caught with an equivalent cache of illegal butterflies, you might not even spend the night in jail. And if you’re a repeat offender, the consequences still aren’t so bad. When Hisayoshi Kojima, the world’s most wanted butterfly thief, pleaded guilty to 17 smuggling-related charges in 2007, he received 21 months in prison and a fine of just under $39,000. Such low-risk, high-reward conditions have led many drug traffickers to diversify into the wildlife business.

But what’s so bad about dealing butterflies?

Many scientists believe that the illegal wildlife trade exacerbates one of the gravest problems facing mankind: the mass extinction of species. Biologists like Harvard’s E.O. Wilson predict that half of all plant and animal species will be extinct by 2100, and that could mean dire consequences for humanity. Plants and animals pollinate our crops, filter our water, regulate the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, help decompose waste, and lead scientists to new medical breakthroughs—all free of charge. Each time a species goes extinct, we lose one of these unpaid workers. And because wildlife smugglers tend to target the species that are already the most vulnerable, they’re speeding up the rate at which we’re losing plants and animals.

Who’s buying this stuff?

This is the question that keeps wildlife agents up at night. Although officials have scored some major coups breaking up smuggling rings, the traffickers often refuse to reveal their buyers, which makes it tough to figure out what motivates them. Consider the example of a Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, which can grow up to 10 feet long and has a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. It’s venomous, and its saliva contains virulent bacteria. Who would want to buy that? Yet, Komodo dragons fetch more than $30,000 on the black market.

Part of the answer may lie in the psychology of collectors. Whether they’re amassing baseball cards or Beanie Babies, most of them start by gathering the common items and then build to the more unusual ones. Eventually, they start seeking out the things that are truly rare. As author Bryan Christy put it in his book The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers, reptile collectors tend to follow a common progression. First, they get bigger species, then meaner ones, then unusual ones, and, finally, illegal species, which are also frequently venomous.

In truth, the animals that wind up living in some collector’s menagerie are the lucky ones. Many trafficked animals and insects are sacrificed to dinner plates and medicine cabinets. In China, turtles are often turned into turtle soup or ground into aphrodisiac powder. Other animals are killed so that smugglers can harvest a certain organ or body part. In a number of Asian cultures, bear paws are thought to impart strength and virility, and their gallbladders are used to treat everything from cancer to hemorrhoids. A single bear gallbladder can fetch thousands of dollars. And as we all know from the Indiana Jones movies, the practice of eating monkey brains is still alive and well in many parts of the world; in the United States, though, monkeys are usually smuggled in to be pets.

So how do you smuggle a monkey through an airport?

In your pants, of course! But the trick doesn’t always work. Just ask the guy who tried to smuggle two pygmy monkeys into Los Angeles in 2002. Upon landing at LAX, his brilliant plan was to discreetly stuff them into his underwear as he went through the airport. But his traveling companion blew their cover in customs, when several birds of paradise burst out of his suitcase and flew around the terminal. More recently, a smuggler was caught hiding a monkey under his hat on a flight to Peru, and another female smuggler was caught strapping a monkey to her belly and pretending she was pregnant on her way from Thailand.

For some reason, stuffing animals in one’s trousers is a favorite tactic among smugglers. In 1995, two men were arrested at the Mexican border after customs officials noticed that the bulges in their pants were moving. It turns out that the slithering bumps were actually pantyhose filled with more than a dozen snakes.

Even when traffickers get caught, the stories rarely end well for the animals. Because they’ve been pulled from their normal habitats and potentially exposed to all sorts of diseases, stolen animals can’t simply go home. Instead, they end up quarantined in zoos or in wildlife refuges. And while that isn’t the worst fate that can befall an animal, it does nothing for the survival of the species in the wild. From a conservation standpoint, sneaking an animal out of its habitat really isn’t any different from shooting it for its hide.

How Much for that
Baby Gorilla
in the Window?

Wondering if you got a good price on that creature in your basement? Here’s what the world’s hottest endangered species are going for these days.

Hyacinth Macaws

Native to: South America
Price: up to $20,000
Why they’re so hot right now: This parrot’s large size and beautiful blue feathers have made it a favorite among collectors. The poaching of macaws has devastated wild populations and driven up prices, which makes them even more popular.

Chimpanzees and Gorillas

Native to: Central Africa
Price: more than $50,000 for babies
Why they’re so hot right now: Because they’re cute when they’re little.

Sperm Whales

Native to: the world’s oceans
Price: up to several hundred dollars per pound; one whole whale could cost you a few million. Also, one sperm whale tooth can run you $500.
Why they’re so hot right now: If you thought hunting for Moby Dick went out with Herman Melville, think again. Although the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, whale sushi is still a delicacy in Japan, and the teeth continue to be carved and sold as knickknacks.

Ploughshare Tortoises

Native to: Madagascar
Price: upwards of $30,000
Why they’re so hot right now: Because they might not be around much longer. With fewer than 1,000 ploughshares left in the wild, they’re some of the world’s most endangered animals.

Oenpelli Pythons

Native to: Australia
Price: $30,000
Why they’re so hot right now: This large python can change colors like a chameleon, shifting from dark brown during the day to pale silver at night.

Chinese Alligators

Native to: the lower Yangtze River
Price: $15,000
Why they’re so hot right now: In 1999, commercial developments destroyed the alligators’ habitat to such an extent that, today, only about 130 survive in the wild. Rarity like that lures the collectors.
If ever there was a doubt about the insanity mankind this is a prime example of it.
CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE

ARB History Lesson

2010-06-26T20:14:00.004+01:00

A Little History Lesson......

For those of you that haven't heard of me or ARB I thought I would provide some background on myself and ARB. Animal Rights Book (ARB) began in the beginning of 2009. I (dev) was an active part of the animal rights facebook community and involved in an online campaign against hunters posting pictures and videos of their mindless slaughter on facebook. In one of the many heated debates with the facebook hunting community they commented that if I wasn't happy with the way facebook operated I should start my own social network, so ARB was born :)
Thanks to the online AR community ARB was a great success and welcomed with open arms. It grew from one member (little old me) to nearly 200 in the space of 2 weeks. it was growing so fast & was so active that I had to appoint another couple of admins, thats when Carolyn Bailey & Catherine Dickinson came to my rescue. I was constantly looking for ways to keep ARB active as well as get ARB out there. One of the ideas I came up with was to hold guest chats where prominent members of the AR community joined us in the ARB chat room and took questions from ARB members. The guest chats became a popular success and after the first 4 guest chats ARB membership had tripled with members returning on a daily basis to the network. Guests on ARB included some of the most admired and respected people within the animal rights movement such as Steve Best, Will Tuttle, Anthony Marr, Keith Mann, Camille Marino & Shaun Monson. Have a look at the video below for a insight about what ARB and me are about.

The free servers Ning which hosted ARB announced they were preparing to stop the free service and ever since I have been wondering where to take ARB. I set up ARB on another free server (Spruz) but to be honest I was more interested in taking ARB in a different direction and had been for a while. After much thought I decided the blog route was a good way to go, I could continue the interviews I started with PETA's Ingrid Newkirk as well as share my direct opinion and experiences. So here we are, the all new ARB blog.

There are a number of people I would like to thank for their support with ARB, most of all Alistair Cornell, Lisa Wright, Chis Alfvegan, Catherine Dickinson, Lisaliberationnow, Kelly Carson, Herdis Daugbjerg, Vegan Student, Camille Marino, Stacey Rakic, Carolyn Bailey, Jason Miller, Cherokee Rayne, Granny Bear, Steve Best, Keith Mann, Alice Mann, Adele Grant, Lisa Rees, Anthony Marr, Gina Maltese, Judith Jaehn, Kerri Milam, Kyle Dowler, Shaz, wee irish Sarah ;), Claire and Marie Amiel and so many more. If I haven't mentioned you please dont take offense its just old age creeping in ;)

Anyway I hope you all find the new ARB blog interesting and useful.

ARB's Interview With Ingrid Newkirk................

2010-06-26T14:41:00.004+01:00

ARB Interview With Ingrid Newkirk
questions submitted to ARB by the ARB social network members interview completed in the beginning of 2010

We are proud to announce the posting of an ARB interview with PETA's president & co-founder Ingrid Newkirk. Click here to find out more about Ingrid Newkirk & PETA. A short time ago ARB asked its members to submit questions that we could put to Ingrid Newkirk in an interview Ingrid had very kindly accepted to take part in.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ingrid Newkirk, PETA and ARB members for making this interview possible.

Lily Allan:
After your many years of animal work where do you believe
right now our work should be most focused?

Ingrid Newkirk
Well, let’s see. I think we are almost at a tipping point if we keep pushing about animals in captivity for entertainment: it’s not just that orcas and elephants and chimpanzees are drowning, slamming down, and tearing the faces off people, there is truly an awakening to the fact that perhaps elephants shouldn’t be kept in shackles, denied their lives and families and hit with what is essentially a fireplace poker; that orcas can’t be happy taken from their pods in the great oceans and kept in a
tank with cement walls; and that chimpanzee infants need to be with their mothers, not in diapers with some of their teeth removed, a chain around their necks and the sting of a shock prod when they sexually mature and won’t just sit there and take it anymore.

Lily Allan:
after many things seen and heard and witnessed with animals over the years..does any one thing stick in your mind?

Ingrid Newkirk
Sorry, wish there was just one thing, but there are many, many things stick in my mind, from finding the neatly severed lip flap of a black dog killed in a satanic ritual to the first time I saw inside a slaughterhouse, the most casual cruelty visited upon chickens, little frail birds with wings and legs that snap in a second, hanging upside down and crying out, trying to right themselves as they came down the line. Having rescued chickens at home at the time and knowing them each as a
personality, an individual, seeing their pain was horrific, but knowing that a million an hour are killed for the table in this country alone and that few people, even kind people, have stopped to think “I can’t support this nightmare!” was even more horrifying.

Lily Allan:
Where do you believe PETA has had most success and failed?

Ingrid Newkirk
Although there are many tangible successes, like the first arrest and conviction in US history of an animal experimenter for cruelty, the first suspension and first cancellation of a research grant for cruelty; the first search and seizure warrant ever served on a laboratory, the first convictions of factory farmers for cruelty, the first felony cruelty convictions for cruelty on farms, stopping wound laboratories on dogs, stopping monkeys being sent into space, stopping car crash tests on animals,
that’s not it. The most success is making anything to do with animals, from eating to wearing them, to using them as amusements and in sport, a topic of hot debate, or making animal rights a hot social cause, and of creating so many vegans and vegetarians and aware people who would never buy a cruelly produced cosmetic, wear a fur, buy leather shoes, go to the rodeo, etc. We have failed to grow as fast as we need to grow to help as many animals as we need to help: we have failed to reach many people, especially, still in China and the Islamic states, where animals are very much viewed as things, and we have failed to pass as many prohibitions on animal suffering andexploitation as we have set out to do, but if we keep working hard, we will eventually at least pave the road to victory.

Robyn Faith:
Why has donations been used to get activists out of jail!?

Ingrid Newkirk
It hasn’t. We don’t pay bail money. We have paid for defense expenses however on rare occasion when we have felt someone has been unfairly targeted, sometimes for freedom of speech.Dan Stanfield: How could such a wealthy organisation justifykilling perfectly healthy animals as opposed to finding good homes for them? PETA have put to sleep 23,640 healthy dogs and cats, finding homes for just 1 in 300. Why?
I’m sorry to say that you are reading sites set up by the animals’ enemies, front groups established by Philip Morris (tobacco experiments on animals), Outback Steak House (slaughter for a sandwich), furriers, Ringling (baby elephant beaters), etc. We do not run a shelter, we try to only rarely take in a healthy animal - other than the 8,000 or so a year you are not counting that we take in and sterilize and return home – we refer those to public shelters where they have the best chance of adoption. We take in the broken, sick, old, request euthanasia cases, and you can seethem, their pictures on helpinganimals.com. It is true that there aren’t enough decent homes for all the animals being born in the US, and the “no kill” movement can’t fix that. What can fix it is fixing the dogs and cats, so that’s where we concentrate our efforts, with ads, with mobile clinics, with TV spots, with demonstrations outside pet shops and Westminster, to get people off the idea of breed snobbism, and into the shelters where wonderful dogs and cats sit on death row, literally dying for a home. If you or any friends or relatives or co-workers of yours have the time, patience, funds, love and so on for an animal, please adopt, never buy or breed.

LisaLiberation NOW:
The movement is so divided, why aren't all the major AR groups uniting and working on the same issues? There is strength in numbers and there are many thousands of us. If we could all come together there we be a revolution, don't you think a revolution is what we need? The animals cannot wait any longer.

Ingrid Newkirk
I am pleased to report that many groups do come together for certain initiatives, but human nature is such that no two individuals, let alone groups, can always agree on priorities, and may in fact disagree as to strategy. There is also strength in diversity, so I think everyone should choose whatever they want to work on it, rally as much support as possible, and go for it. Time is wasted thinking and arguing about philosophical differences when there’s so much work to be done.

Cherokee Rayne:
Hello Ms Ingrid. I am an avid activist for the Bully breeds and work very hard to educate people about the breed and the truth behind all the hype. I am also working hard to stop BSL. I would like to know why you would support Breed Specific Legislation when PETA is suppose to represent and help all animals? I would think a huge organization like PETA would surely support us as well as understand the need for education and research on this issue rather than support the murder of a beautiful and innocent animal. Thank you.

Ingrid Newkirk
Yes, pits are wonderful, can be so loving and perfect, but, as long as any dogs or cats are killed for lack of a good home, we support spaying and neutering of all dogs and cats. No one NEEDs another pit bull or similar. If you have a heart and whatever else a dog needs, why breed one to spec? That deprives an already born, desperate dog of a home. So, we support any legislation that will ban breeding, and at the moment they seem to be pit bull and similar breed bans. As wonderful as pits are, all dogs are wonderful, of course, and as wonderful dogs as pits are, they are involved in the most bites, they are the favorite of the drug dealers and other criminals who often abuse them, and they are the dog who is chained up and abused the most. If you ban breeding more pits, those tough guys fighting them in alleys won’t use Chihuahuas or cocker spaniels, guaranteed.

Cherokee Rayne:
Hello Ms Ingrid, I was wondering what PETA'S protocol is when a group is working on a specific cause and needs serious back up. I have witnessed your group helping in the seal campaigns as well as anti fur. How do we go about receiving assistance from your organization and does it make a difference what the issue is and where it is taking place?

Ingrid Newkirk
Thanks for asking. We get hundreds of requests for help each week, every kind of help. it’s very upsetting that we can’t jump into every single thing, but we do look at all requests, so please let us know what you have if you need help. Perhaps we can help you. We do assist little and big groups, individuals, you name it, but not everyone or every campaign as I regret that we cannot be everywhere and fund everything, as I’m sure you understand.

Catherine (ARB Admin):
What do you make of the American Government classifying PETA as a 'terrorist' organisation?

Ingrid Newkirk
The agency apologized for it, called it an error. Our friends in animal exploitative industries have been busy, but it is just a chest beating exercise on their part and incompetence on the government’s part.

marietta wybo alfaro:
Is it true that PETA is being criticized for its “double standard”?

Ingrid Newkirk
We are loved, hated, understood and misunderstood, but I’m sorry, I’m not sure what “double standard” you mean. I have been trying to think what you might mean, but I’m afraid I can’t. marietta wybo alfaro: If we can build shelters for the “homeless humans” , if we can expand our housing projects to accommodate “excess population” --- why cant we do the same for the animals instead of killing them for “lack of space”- which we would not do to our fellow humans, would we?
In theory, yes, but who is the “we?” For example, if PETA took all its budget away from every other campaign and built shelters with it, we could not house even a tiny fraction of the homeless animals in the US right now, let alone in other countries. The government won’t do it. But, we have to stop this problem at the source: make it hard for people to keep producing dogs and cats who end up homeless, educate people to spay/neuter, provide low cost spay/neuter services; raise license fees; ban pet shops and tax breeders so that every animal born has a chance at a life. That will do more good in the end.

Elen Jackson:
Why does PETA insist on objectifying women (and the occasional man) in its advertising campaigns when it supposedly believes that we should put an end to commodifying animals? Whilst it may draw attention to PETA as an organization it does nothing to make them change their behaviour and makes the campaigns laughable especially when models who "support" PETA go back to wearing fur.

Ingrid Newkirk
Luckily, the US isn’t Saudi Arabia and if any man or woman wishes to take off their clothes for a cause, it really isn’t anyone’s place to interfere with them or tell them not to. Everyone in the “naked” ads appears in them because they wish to, no one pays them or forces them to take off their clothes. I think there is confusion between sexuality and sexism. As for people not learning, it’s not true I’m pleased to report: you can always point to someone or the other who went back to
doing something they shouldn’t do, but, Naomi Campbell aside, most of our stars do the commercials because they have had a change of heart or have always been kind to animals.

Alice Bruckenstein:
What are your thoughts about the best strategy to use when animal abuse is perpetrated by the federal government, as in the wild horse roundups in the American West? How can we bring this to public attention when the media is determined not to report it? How can we influence our legislators to act on it when they are preoccupied with popular issues, especially when the President has appointed a ranching advocate to head the Department of Interior?

Ingrid Newkirk
It’s good to see renewed efforts to stop this atrocity. My friend was just in a demonstration and sent me a photograph of an impressive banner. The biggest enemy the animals have is the silence of their friends. It is vital to make one’s opinion known - that animals aren’t here to be our living targets, to be treated as nothing more than hamburger on the hoof, as “resources” for the taking. As Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” At work, at school, in the home, at clubs, at the supermarket, in our legislators’ chambers, every one of us who believes that animals should be treated with respect rather than cruelly, needs to get the facts, speak up, give out books, websites, fact sheets, videos, cook for others, get on the soapbox, never let it rest. The more we do, the quicker animal liberation will come. Look back at how gays were ostracized and ridiculed and oppressed. It wasn’t until gays stopped hiding and being afraid, that things began to change. Being quiet grows oppression rather than stifling it. If people keep working on this, it will stop already over the years, some cruel aspects of this horror have been stopped.

Kitty Waitress:
With all the horrors you have witnessed, all the heartbreak, how do you keep from burning out? I know you keep going for the animals, but how do you keep the flame inside yourself fed?

Ingrid Newkirk
The flame feeds itself: it is impossible for me not to be angry and sad and therefore be highly motivated to act to stop what I see and hear about that is done to animals. It is a very cruel world, and we can’t fix it all, but we can do so much good just by trying, saying, doing, helping others in their campaigns or striking out on our own. I wrote “Making Kind Choices” and “PETA’s Practical Guide to Animal Rights” to point out many ways that you influence people even when you don’t realize you are doing so. I do advise people that when you are feeling despondent at the state of the world, for people, children, refugees, the wildlife, animals, it is important to look back and see how far we have come, not feel overwhelmed about how much is left to do; and please find a way to lift your spirits by action or by doing something like watching a funny film!

lisa rees:
I have been working for months with a friend to try to help stop the Camel culls in the states of WA and NT Australia. The problem is we cant seem to get anywhere with this campaign as the government are very secretive with the details of the culls, it doesnt get media attention and not alot of people seem to support this campaign as they see Camels as "pests". Can you suggest something we can do, we sometimes feel that we will never be able to get anywhere and these poor Camels are being slaughtered by aerial marksmen which leave them suffering on the ground for days. Any advice on campaigning for "so called pest" Animals would be greatly appreciated.

Ingrid Newkirk
I don’t know the details, so forgive me if I misspeak and do not have any marvelous advice for you. The best thing of course, would be to get video and show that the suffering of these animals during the “culls” is illegal, as it probably is, and to get that on TV and in the papers so everyone can see what exactly it entails. I am sure you must have done everything you can to find a well placed advocate for the camels. I remember once when we had no luck stopping a deer hunt on an island by conventional means, we put out an alert that people were in the woods and risking their lives, dressed in deer-colored clothing, and that stopped the hunt. If the land is government land, then it would seem an injunction might be possible; if it is private, then aerial filming or getting the landowner under pressure if he is not sympathetic, to agree to an alternative solution. I do not know how many camels or what alternatives you can find, but that would be important.

lisa rees:
Another campaign we have been working on is to stop the culling of Kangaroos. Just wondering if PETA would be interested in taking on this campaign too?

Ingrid Newkirk
At the moment, the main campaign PETA has in Australia is to stop the mulesing of lambs, whereby the flesh is cut off the lambs’ rumps with a pair of gardening shears. Luckily, many retailers have been appalled and no longer buy Australian wool. Of course, we are interested, yes, but doubtful we’ll get to it any time soon, but happy to lend our name to this worthwhile campaign.

Maureen Hurly:
Can PETA do anything or has it alaready done anything about the plan to "bless" the soccer stadiums before the World Cup in South Africa by slaughtering several animals in a 'traditional killing"?

Ingrid Newkirk
Yes, PETA and PETA UK have written to FIFA and to all the soccer players.

Sissy Mac Niel:
Regarding some of your previous campaigns/ads.Have you ever had any regrets in that you've gone too far in trying to get your point across?As an example when 22-year-old Tim McLean was beheaded and consumed by another passenger on a Canadian Greyhound bus PETA brought out an ad comparing the similarities between his murder and and the meat industries everyday slaughter of animals.Do you still stand by this ad or wish it had never been used? Thank you.

Ingrid Newkirk
We don’t regret it, no. What we regret is that people find it an offensive rather than an apt comparison. We are all animals, we are all sentient, we all experience fear and pain, and there are few things as horrifying as the slaughterhouse. It is so odd that people can feel sympathy and express disgust at the killing of a human stranger, while ordering a steak sandwich or chicken nuggets. People need to think a bit deeper. No, a lot deeper.

Sissy Mac Niel:
I have a question regarding the 2 for one coupons that came out for KFC veggie burger?How can you support KFC yet be against them at the same time?They may be offering one item that is cruelty free but their whole company is based on cruelty and horrific abuse.I have never understood PETA in helping to promote this company.Thank you.

Ingrid Newkirk
I suppose that can be confusing, sorry! If you mean the veggie chicken sandwich in KFCs in Canada, we are delighted that they serve one item that isn’t cruelly produced and if it makes even one person who was about to buy a bucket of limbs to choose not to, and to try perhaps their first ever veggie sandwich, great! We’d like to encourage that. It is our pragmatic policy to want to show a company that switching from a cruel item to one that doesn’t harm animals is rewarding, and KFC is only in business for money.

James:
I would also like to ask Ms Newkirk her personal opinion on the sexism used by PETA in their advertising campaigns. Some may suggest that women are using their bodies politically. But how can this be in a patriarchal society? They are perpetuating commodification and that is the root of the problem.

Ingrid Newkirk
Please see above. I don’t consider nudity sexism. It may be a patriarchal society, but women have ever-increasing power and part of that is the power to choose not to cover their knees or their nipples if they don’t wish to. It used to be that a woman’s father, brother, husband would tell her to cover herself, now it is a certain sect of feminists. With all due respect, there are many kinds of feminists and not all find such things objectionable, they find it objectionable and patronizing to be criticized for stripping.

Susan Somerville - Franz:
I would like to know why places such as St. Thomas, U.S. VI and other outlying areas are so utterly ignored by PETA, and other animal organizations that are based in the U.S.. As far as I know nobody has had any recent concern or contact as to the amount of cruelty that goes on here. It's hideous. I am aware of other places having the same situations, but so often I read of other remote areas getting more attention. The court system here is extremely, painfully slow - but there are unfortunately there are underlying reasons for that. You may know that, I don't know. Does it have anything to do with the huge amont of crime involved in dog fighting, cock fighting etc?

Ingrid Newkirk
Sadly, we can’t be everywhere in the world. It’s not a case of ignoring, in fact we have given funds and advise to various Caribbean island activists. PETA affiliates also have programs in China, India, the Phillipines, Turkey, and other countries where animal suffering is commonplace and on the street. We have also supported programs on various islands – for instance, stopping the use and abuse of animals at Ross University in St. Kitts, and suing to stop a huge monkey laboratory in Puerto Rico. We urge people to start groups were they are, to enlist local vets, to get to know politicians, to round up volunteers. Local progress usually comes from local people. I wish you all the luck in the world. Persistence invariably pays off.

Beryl Scott:
I would like to know why PETA's Caring Consumer list has such weak investigative requirements, as opposed to the Leaping Bunny Programme? It is unrealistic to think that companies will necessarily be honest when signing PETA's "Statement of assurance" and the fact that Clarins appears on the list is a concern. Clarins started and supports an Association for Research into Polyarthritis; an organisation which subsidies and conducts animal experiments! Why, in view of this, is Clarins endorsed by PETA?

Ingrid Newkirk
Thanks for asking. We do not “endorse” Clarins, but the lists show the criteria that is used, e.g. “does not test,” “tests,” “ingredients tested,” “no animal ingredients,” etc. The lists are undergoing review right now and there will be new lists shortly. The Leaping Bunny is our logo for just one category, as you know, and is stricter than the CC lists which give consumers information in a variety of categories of interest.

Amanda MacLean:
I'd love to work for PETA but I'm Canadian. Can we establish an office in Canada?

Ingrid Newkirk
We may do that! Keep posted. Meanwhile, may we have your volunteer activism? Please check out peta.org for information on letters and emails that need sent, products that should be boycotted, new vegan foods, the works!

Once again ARB would like to thank Ingrid for her time and patience