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Breaking New MFA Investigation Leads to 21 Criminal Animal Cruelty Charges

A breaking new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation has resulted in unprecedented legal action on behalf of farmed animals. Hidden-camera video footage secretly recorded by an MFA investigator has led to 21 criminal cruelty-to-animals charges against the owner, two managers and five employees at Ontario Livestock Sales, one of the oldest and largest livestock auctions in southern California. The shocking video footage shows: "downed" animals—those too sick or injured to even stand or walk on their own—being left to slowly suffer and die without food, water or veterinary care; sick, injured and dying animals being kicked, pushed and dragged into transport trucks to be sold and slaughtered for human consumption; workers throwing, beating, stomping on and kicking animals in the face and body; baby goats being carelessly picked up by their necks and then kicked or tossed around; workers grabbing, dragging and throwing animals by their heads, necks, ears, horns, tails, and legs; and birds stuffed into bags and goats, sheep and other animals overcrowded into small pens, forcing animals to stand on and even trample each other. Upon reviewing the undercover footage, Temple Grandin, PhD, animal welfare advisor to the USDA, wrote: “The handling was very rough and kicking animals is not acceptable. If this auction had been a federally inspected meat packing plant, they would have suspended inspection and shut them down.” As MFA continues to expose the unconscionable cruelties inherent in animal agriculture, and to diligently pursue justice by aiding prosecutions of animal abusers, consumers still hold the greatest power of all to end the needless suffering and death of farmed animals by adopting a compassionate, vegetarian diet. Click here to read the Associated Press article about the investigation, which broke this morning. Click here to make a donation to support MFA’s lifesaving work.

Rosalind Peterson - U.S. NAVY’S TWELVE 5-YEAR WARFARE TESTING PROGRAMS & THE INCREASING & ONGOING THREAT TO THE GULF OF MEXICO, ATLANTIC & PACIFIC OCEANS

Revealed today that a “New Navy study says use of sonar, explosives may hurt more marine mammals than once thought”[25]. “…HONOLULU-The U.S. Navy may hurt more dolphins and whales by using sonar and explosives in Hawaii and California under a more thorough analysis that reflects new research and covers naval activities in a wider area than previous studies…”  (The Public Comment period for the new U.S. Navy Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico 5-Year Warfare Testing Range that will use bomb blasts and Sonar is from May 11, 2012 through July 10, 2012 [8C]).     U.S. Navy Website: http://aftteis.com/Home.aspx

The Washington Post also stated:  “…The Navy estimates its use of explosives and sonar may unintentionally cause more than 1,600 instances of hearing loss or other injury to marine mammals each year, according to a draft environmental impact statement that covers training and testing planned from 2014 to 2019. The Navy calculates the explosives could potentially kill more than 200 marine mammals a year…”  (The Public Comment period for the new U.S. Navy Pacific 5-Year Warfare Testing Range that will use bomb blasts and Sonar is from May 11, 2012 through July 10, 2012 [8B]).    U.S. Navy Website:  http://hstteis.com/Home.aspx

On May 17, 2012, news reports that “Mass dolphin deaths in Peru caused by acoustic trauma” were announced by “…Dr. Carlos Yaipen Llanos of ORCA in Peru informed Hardy Jones of Blue Voice that acoustical trauma is the cause of the Mass Mortality Event (MME) that killed an estimated one thousand dolphins along the coast of northern Peru in March 2012…” [28].  This is another reason to begin to limit sonar, laser, radar, and electromagnetic weapons testing in the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Read More:

http://theintelhub.com/2012/05/02/the-u-s-navys-twelve-5-year-warefare-testing-programs-and-the-increasing-and-ongoing-threat-to-the-gulf-of-mexico-atlantic-and-pacific-oceans/

Stephanie Pappas - Report: Global Biodiversity Down 30 Percent in 40 Years

The world's biodiversity is down 30 percent since the 1970s, according to a new report, with tropical species taking the biggest hit. And if humanity continues as it has been, the picture could get bleaker.

Humanity is outstripping the Earth's resources by 50 percent — essentially using the resources of one and a half Earths every year, according to the 2012 Living Planet Report, produced by conservation agency the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Colby Loucks, the director of conservation sciences at WWF, compared humanity to bad houseguests.

"We're emptying the fridge, we're not really taking care of the lawn, we're not weeding the flower beds and we're certainly not taking out the garbage," Loucks said.

Read More:

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/44400

Peru Investigates Deaths of Hundreds of Dolphins

Scientists and Peruvian officials are investigating a mass die-off of hundreds of dolphins along the South American country's coast.

Officials have been studying possible factors in the dolphins' deaths including a virus or seismic oil exploration that has recently been carried out off northern Peru.

A total of 877 dolphin carcasses have been counted recently along the shore in the northern regions of Piura and Lambayeque, Deputy Environment Minister Gabriel Quijandria said Thursday.
He said experts are studying whether the animals could have succumbed to a virus. "So far, it's the most probable hypothesis, and it isn't the first time it's happened. There have been cases in Peru, in Mexico, the United States," Quijandria said.

An analysis of the beached dolphins' internal organs hasn't found the sort of symptoms that experts have seen in other cases when dolphins have been affected by seismic tests, Quijandria said in a radio interview. He said the seismic tests produce underwater noise that can harm dolphins. But he also said that in Peru it's the first time such dolphin deaths have coincided with seismic work and that the dolphins began dying before the tests started.

Read More:

http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=149241

Anna-Louise Taylor - Up to 900 tropical bird species could 'go extinct'

Up to 900 species of tropical land birds around the world could become extinct by 2100, researchers say.

The finding is modelled on the effects of a 3.5C Earth surface temperature rise, a Biological Conservation Journal paper shows.

Species may struggle to adapt to habitat loss and extreme weather events, author Cagan Sekercioglu says.

Mountain, coastal, restricted-range, and species unable to get to higher elevations could be the worst affected.

Birds at risk:

Read More:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17212765

Tuna and Mackerel Populations Have Reduced by 60% in the Last Century

A study shows that the impact of fishing for tuna and similar species during the last 50 years has lessened the abundance of all these populations by an average of 60%. Experts add that the majority of tuna fish have been exploited to the limits of sustainability.

The debate about the impact of fishing on different species has already gone on for 50 years. A recent study concluded that populations of tuna and similar species have been cut by 60% on average throughout the world over the last century.

The project published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal adds that most of these populations have been exploited to the limits of sustainability, and there are many species that have been overexploited.

The populations that have had their abundance most affected are cold water tuna, such as the Atlantic bluefin and the southern bluefin, which have decreased by 80%. These species are big, long-lived and high in economic value.

Read More:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208103226.htm