Our Hen House

Congrats and good luck to longtime animal advocate and colleague Mariann Sullivan, and co-founder Jasmin Singer, on their new blog/podcast "Our Hen House". Looks like it is going to be a terrific resource for all things related to positive change for animals! (Mariann, this is a really in-depth site, how do you have time for this?!?)

Here's a little bit of the mission statement:

Our Hen House is a central clearinghouse for all kinds of ideas on how individuals can make change for animals. With both a blog and a podcast, we will identify opportunities, report on successful activists and enterprises, and brainstorm ideas ranging from the brilliant (if we do say so ourselves) to the farfetched.

You can read more here....

... I'm also adding a link to the sidebar on the right. Cheers, ladies!

Judge Rejects Lawsuit Over Circus Elephants

Sorry for the delay in posting this... unfortunately a federal judge ruled that an animal advocacy group and a former trainer don't have standing to sue Ringling Brothers over its use of bull hooks and chains in handling its Asian elephants.

Read more in the New York Times or Los Angeles Times.

After Katrina, pet custody is a legal issue; documentary highlights problem

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the levees broke, many who were forced to leave without their pets endured long searches to find animals that had been ferried to safety without them. You'd think that finding that their pets were alive and well after the storm would be pure joy, but for some, it was more complicated.

The documentary "Mine," released Friday, tells the stories of people who found their pets in new homes, with rescuers or adopters who didn't want to give them back.

Read the rest of Linda Lombardi's article in The Canadian Press...

East Boston cat called to jury duty

This little gem courtesy of blog reader Bruce (and Channel 7 news in Boston):

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO133130/

Update on Sioux City dog ordinance mess

This from the Sioux City Journal:

SIOUX CITY -- There was a lot of tail-wagging Saturday at Sioux City Animal Control as six dogs were reunited with overjoyed owners after city officials reversed course and agreed to release the dogs.

Read the rest of the article here...

A few farm animal items...

I haven't heard of this blog before, but an interesting little piece from "The Comment Factory" by Randy Poehlman on Tracing Food: Why Japan has the right idea on meat production.

Poehlman writes that Japanese producers are required to assign a 10-digit code to each animal throughout its life, allowing consumers to access information about the animal at the point of sale.

Assuming he's correct, this could moot a lot of the humano-centric reasons to stop eating meat...

The famous House of Blues switched to a cage-free eggs only policy with the new year, according to Chicago's Examiner.com.

Daelyn Fortney writes: "This groundbreaking initiative will have a large impact as the live music restaurant uses more than 2 million eggs each year."

Kudos to HSUS for all of its efforts in encouraging House of Blues to be the latest restaurant to switch to a cage-free policy.

And PETA has named Tim Gunn and Ellen DeGeneres their man and woman of the year in recognition for their animal-friendly stances. Read more in L.A. Unleashed...

2009 State Animal Protection Laws Rankings

The Animal Legal Defense Fund recently released its fourth annual report ranking the animal protection laws of all 50 states and U.S. territories. Click on the report link to find out how your state ranks...

Don't Hate Me, Meat Eaters

It's one of the greatest dilemmas in vegetarianism: how to talk about your diet without annoying your friends.

My host, a new friend, asks if I'm drinking red or white. I tell him that depends on what's for dinner. Turns out, it's lamb.

"I'm so sorry," I say, feeling like a jerk for being a jerk, and also like a jerk for feeling like a jerk. "Didn't I mention that I'm a vegetarian?"

I hadn't. So we move on to the consolation.

"Don't worry about it!" my host (still friendly) chirps. "There's plenty of other stuff. I made a great Caesar salad."

"I hope this question won't be annoying, but is there any anchovy in the dressing?"

"You don't eat anchovy?"

"I'm afraid not," I say, as if it weren't a choice.

"Just a little bit in a dressing spoils the whole salad?"

"Spoils isn't the right word," I say. Although it is.

And now, the inevitable: "Why don't you eat this stuff?"

Read the rest of Jonathan Safran Foer's thoughtful commentary in the January/February 2010 issue of Men's Health Magazine...