Pristine beaches, beautiful coastlines, incredible rainforests, arid deserts and crisp clean snow - Australia is without a doubt one of the most amazing countries in the world.
So don't you just hate it when you see rubbish littering this beautiful landscape? I mean, when you find out how rubbish affects our environment, you quickly realise it doesn't just look ugly, it can be a serious danger to our wildlife. That's why you'll catch me with my gloves on, cleaning up next Sunday (6th March) for Clean Up Australia Day!
I remember first hearing how plastic bags can wash into oceans and be eaten by turtles, dolphins, birds, etc - blocking their digestive tract, causing them to slowly starve. Now, I can't walk by a stray plastic bag (esp. near waterways) without picking it up and putting it in a bin! This story of 'The Majestic Plastic Bag' puts it well:
And plastic bags are just the start...
You wouldn't think that something as small as the plastic ring around the top of a drink or vitamin bottle could do much harm. But check out what happened to this turtle, who got caught in a plastic ring at a young age, and literally grew around it! This magpie didn't fare much better! Btw, simply cutting rings before tossing them out is a simple way to avoid this happening to any other animals.
And seeing a snake with her head trapped in a soft drink can is just saddening. Especially when you know how easy it would have been to crush the can and put it in a bin!
Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday, March 6th is a fantastic opportunity to help make Australia even more beautiful, save animals from falling victim to our litter and meet some other caring cleaner-upperers! There are over 5000 volunteer sites all over Australia and you can find one near you simply by typing your postcode in here. If you know of a site that needs attention, you can register that as well!
I'll be down at my local creek the morning of Sunday the 6th, clearing away hazards to animals and prettying up the place! I hope to see you out there!
Are you taking part in Clean Up Australia Day? Where do you plan to clean up?
So by now you've probably heard the good news: Last week Japan called an early end to their whaling season. Woot! Here's hoping this is the end to Japan's whaling program for good! (btw you can sign the petition to call for a permanent end to Japanese whaling here)
I'm glad to see Aussies so passionate about whales. They're amazing animals and harpooning them is just plain awful.. but also, it seems to me that people caring about whales is a sign of hope for other animals. I mean, if people can feel such a strong connection to whales then surely they could feel that same compassion for other animals, right? Sure not all animals weigh 40 tons, live in the ocean and eat krill, but really they're not so different. For example...
They say whales are smarter than your average bear (sorry, for the Yogi reference, I couldn't help myself)... not unlike pigs, who have proven themselves to be quite the clever creatures. In fact, pigs have even been trained to play computer games! Yup... with specially designed joysticks pigs can pick up on how to play intelligence testing games just as quickly as chimpanzees!
Whales are also well known for their strong bonds between mother and calf. Mother and calf... hmm... sounds just like another familiar furry, doesn't it? Mother cows also form a strong bond with their calf within hours of being born, and this bond only strengthens over time.
As for their songs...? Scientists suspect that some species of whales sing to their young - something mother pigs are also known for (not to mention hens clucking to their eggs). But perhaps even more surprisingly, the author Jeffrey Masson tells the story of a pig who liked to sing to the full moon. Now that's something I'd like to see!
But the thing that I think really captures people's imaginations with whales is their playfulness - the way they leap out of the water, often for what seems like the sheer joy of it. I'd like to think that if more people saw footage like this playful kid goat, then the Aussie public would be as concerned about the treatment of farm animals as they are about the hunting of whales. wdyt?
I just discovered a very sweet song by a very sweet lady about a very sweet subject. I give you "The Dog Song" by Nellie McKay.
Clearly Nellie loves her pooch, but the song has a great message too; "Just go right to the pound/ And find yourself a hound/ And make that doggie proud/ 'cause that's what it's all about."
This is great advice! In Australia 23 dogs and cats are put to sleepevery hour because there aren't enough loving homes for them. It just makes sense to get a dog from a shelter and save a life (rather than buying from a pet store or breeder). Not only that, but you'll end up with a very loving and loyal companion.
I was pretty impressed with this cute song so I looked up the singer. It seems Nellie has also written a song about the vivisection that goes on at Columbia university and is involved in the campaign to ban horse drawn carriages from city streets. Sounds like the animals have a very talented friend in her!
Ahem... Sorry. I got a bit caught up in the moment...
Rather than give you tips on the best chocolates to win your sweetheart over today, I thought I'd share a sweet story of love that I read a few years ago. I'll only ruin it if I try to put it in my own words, so here's the story, as told by Gary Kowalski in his book "The Souls of Animals":
Geese are famous for their fidelity to their partners. Once the initially shy female has warmed up to the romantic posturing of the gander and joined him in the "triumph-call," the two are wed for life.
One morning many years ago, a farmer living near Buenos Aires witnessed the heart-rending tenacity of this love when he went riding on horseback and noticed on the plain ahead of him two geese, a white male and a brown female, walking in the distance. Drawing closer, he observed that the female was plodding steadily southward. The male, greatly agitated, walked about forty or fifty yards ahead of her, periodically rising into the air with forlorn cries. After flying a short way the gander turned back to rejoin his mate in her weary march. This pattern was repeated again and again. The female had broken her wing and, unable to fly, had set forth afoot on her fall migration to the Magellanic Islands. Driven by his deepest instincts to fly south, the male nevertheless refused to abandon his partner, but remained loyal in her hour of need, plaintively begging her to spread her wings and join him in the long flight home. The pair was truly faithful "until death do us part."
And this is hardly the only remarkable story of Cupid working his magic amongst other animals...
Shakespeare wondered whether music is "the food of love". For gibbons it certainly is! Young male gibbons usually sing a solo early each morning. Young female gibbons don't sing at all, but instead are attracted by good singers. But it's once a pair of gibbons gets together that the real music begins. Once a female has picked a male, she will begin to sing with him. They will practice singing together every day, until they have created their own elaborate and unique duet. Their whole song can last up to a quarter of an hour, building towards a peak with the two of them whooping and calling as they swing through the branches, high up in one of their favourite trees.
Or what about cranes, who seem to dance not just to romance a mate, but for the sheer fun of it. And speaking of dancing, you've got to give these guys points for trying, even if they don't get the girl:
Happy Valentines Day! I hope you can share a little of the devotion of geese, the creativity of gibbons and the free-spirited joy of cranes with your loved one today ;)
Are you doing anything special this Valentine's Day?
In just days, hundreds of Unleashed members let Wicked know that stickers telling motorists to 'run down' roos were, well, not funny, and not cool. Good news -- Wicked got that message loud and clear, and posted on their website today the following statement:
Following a week of intense protesting from Animal Rights Activists around the world, we have decided to remove the controversial Kangaroo stickers from our fleet of vans. We have come to realise that this is a sensitive issue for many people and have taken their arguments into consideration. Whilst there was never any malicious motive behind the design of the sticker, we can appreciate how some groups could be offended. (more here)
Kangaroos need all the help we can give them. Millions of these amazing animals are hunted and killed every year by shooters for their skins and meat. Collateral damage -- baby joeys -- are often flung against tow bars or decapitated. The last thing these vulnerable need are ill-informed motorists thinking they need to run them down with their vans too.
Fortunately for roos, Wicked's change of heart will help to encourage tourists to treat our amazing wildlife with what they deserve -- respect. Please drop by Wicked's facebook page and thank them for swiftly removing these stickers form their vans!
The fashion world sure has a lot to answer for. From innocent mistakes like handbags the size of suitcases to skyscraper platform shoes to the less forgivable things like fur coats and mink eyelashes. But whoever came up with the idea for fur coats for dogs must have a screw loose!
Unbelievable but true, a Danish 'fashion' house has decided it's not bad enough that humans wear the skin of another species, but now they want dogs to be wearing another animal's fur over the top of their own!
The company says that "it can easily be worn all year round". Correct me if I'm wrong, but do they not already have a fur coat that they wear all year round?
The company have encouraged their customers to "put the health of the dog before anything else. Situations where it is too hot for the dog to wear fur can occur." It's a shame they don't have the same concern for the health of the animals in fur farms!
Fur is an ugly business! On fur farms foxes, rabbits, minks, cats and even dogs are forced to live in tiny cages, before being killed - often in the most brutal ways imaginable - anal electrocution, drowning, gassing, or even being skinned alive! Anyone who has seen Earthlings will remember the live fox, who had been skinned and left to slowly die in a dumpster,without even the warmth of her own skin for comfort.
Skinning one animal to make another 'more fashionable' takes the cake for being tasteless, cruel and so unnecessary!
Is it just me, or has this fashion house gone mad? wdyt?
Now The 7PM Project is jumping on the bandwagon too! This will be some of the biggest exposure bobby calves have ever had in Australia - making it a show not to be missed. So tune into the program tonight (2nd Feb) - on Channel 10, at ... hang on I just have to check what time it starts ... ;)
Most people would be outraged to know that 700,000 baby calves are sent to slaughter each year as a routine part of the dairy industry. And they have a right to know! So get all your family and friends to watch too!
Afterwards, tell us what you thought of the show in the comments below!
PS. Want to win some dairy-free chocolate goodness? Want to do a good deed for the calves? Great... then head over here to help bobby calves on MooTube - I mean YouTube!
Disclaimer:
We’re supposed to let you know that the ideas expressed here are the views of the individual authors, and may not necessarily reflect the views of Animals Australia or Animals Australia Unleashed. So now you know.
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