Abused dog. Photo by Flickr user AmazonCARES used under a Creative Commons License.

Dear Gary:
Animal Defenders International (ADI) urged Congress to take immediate action after a landmark Supreme Court ruling has left vulnerable animals without protection against extreme violence and cruelty.  The Court decided that legislation passed 10 years ago to prevent extreme acts of cruelty, such as in dog fighting and “crush” videos, must be set aside.
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There’s a move afoot by the Animal Legal Defense Fund in Cotati, CA, to get states to set up public registries of anyone convicted of felony animal abuse.

California Senate Majority leader Dean Florez is sponsoring a bill to create a database of people convicted of felony animal abuse, to be posted online so the public can monitor them much as we presently do sex offenders.

In a news release I just received, the ALDF claims animal abuse is frequently connected to domestic violence and serial killers. “Such registries would help protect animals, pet guardians and communities by preventing repeat offenses from anyone with an established history of abusing animals.”

Read more at http://www.aldf.org

As you might suspect, this has created a load of controversy, both pro and con. How about you? Do you think such legislation is a good thing, or a bad thing? Why? /Gary

This is as bad as it gets:
“Santa Cruz Animal Services officers confiscated 38 dogs and puppies Saturday after finding ‘more dead dogs that we could count’ and dog heads hanging from trees.”

Some crazy guy in Santa Cruz County, Calif., is found to be abusing dogs. Animal control officers discover an unknown number of dead dogs and rotting carcasses and dog feces throughout his house … starving dogs chained with no food or water … body parts everywhere … decapitated dog heads hanging from trees … puppies …
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This is from the Associated Press on Monday afternoon:

“HONOLULU — Animal rights activists are calling foul over Honolulu’s decision to contract members the Hawaii Gamebreeders Association to remove feral chickens from private residences.
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Reuters says the Canadian government has announced, “Hunters will be allowed to kill 275,000 baby harp seals on Canada’s ice flows this year.”

Meanwhile, an Associated Press wire story from The Orange County Register reports that police said a man and his 12-year-old son could face charges related to animal cruelty after an incident that left a mother opossum and four of her babies dead. Witnesses told police they saw the father and son pushing an upside-down bucket down the street with the mother opossum inside.

When they lifted the bucket and the opossum jumped out, the boy began beating it with a shovel. Kind of like the seal hunters beat the baby seals with clubs.

There is a slight difference, however.

The father was arrested and released on bail. The 12-year-old was detained and released to his mother, pending further review, according to police.

The seal hunters, on the other hand (club?), will be able to continue killing baby harp seals and selling their skins for clothing and the seal oil drained from their bodies (hey, it contains omega 3 fatty acids!) for a LOT of money.

What a strange little world we live on.

We seem to care about the deaths of a mama opossum and her babies on the one hand, while we’re clubbing to death 275,000 baby seals with the other.

Does caring about the death of the opossums mean there’s hope? Hum. /Gary

This is from a press release I found in my e-mail this morning from the ASPCA in New York:

The ASPCA condemns soldiers involved in animal cruelty video and urges swift action by U.S. Military.

“Thursday. the ASPCA urged the United States Marine Corps to release the findings of its investigation of a video clip recently seen on several social networking sites wherein a member of the U.S. Military — seemingly a Marine — can be seen apparently committing a heinous act of animal cruelty, flinging a live puppy off a cliff.”

This video caused a huge — make that HUGE — public outcry earlier this week after news reports circulated condemning the soldiers responsible for the act. Many have wondered whether the video is simulated or real.

You can decide for yourself. The video can be seen at http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/throwpuppy.asp

NOTE: This video is EXTREMELY upsetting and shocking, so think carefully before you look.

To add to the nastiness:
According to the Associated Press, Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour was charged Wednesday with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird, misdemeanors that carry a maximum penalty of 14 months in jail and $1,500 in fines.

An AP story says the 29-year-old player became angry on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Florida when a squawking red-shouldered hawk a few hundred feet away was making noise while he tried to film a TV show. He drove closer to the bird in his golf cart and started hitting balls at it. After numerous attempts, witnesses said he hit the hawk. The bird, a protected migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils and died.

AP says Isenhour quickly apologized Thursday (yesterday) and said he was only trying to scare the hawk away and didn’t mean to kill it. “Quickly apologized,” eh? And only 85 days after he killed the hawk. The dude is fast. (The bird had been buried at the golf course and later dug up by Florida investigators.)

AP quotes Jethro Senger, a sound engineer at the filming, who said hitting the bird was “basically a joke to Isenhour.”

None of the 15-person crew at the filming with Isenhour tried to stop him from killing the hawk … which in my humble opinion makes them just as guilty of killing the bird as he was.

Doesn’t anyone want to take responsibility for anything these days?

Today marks the end of a rather sick work week. /Gary