SeaWorld places blame on PETA for spamming its #AskSeaWorld campaign

While looking up articles related to  animal abuse, we came across an interesting article about PETA sabotaging Sea World's outreach campaign.

According to an article on Marketwatch.com Sea World is accusing PETA for interfering with their campaign called #AskSeaWorld. The article states that PETA created several spam accounts in order to ask questions pertaining to the treatment of animals at Sea World. 

Many of the questions have been focused on the treatment of Sea World's Orcas and other types of whales that were featured in the documentary Blackfish. Due to the fact that PETA has been spamming their campaign, people with real questions haven't been given the opportunity to ask them. 

Sea World has referred to these people from PETA who have created the spam accounts as "trolls" and has repeatedly tweeted to their audience that they are trying to "weed through the troll accounts". 

Senior Vice President of PETA, Colleen O'Brien fired back and stated that the accusations of trolling are false. So far up until this point the only questions that have been answered by members of Sea World are questions having to do with the Orca tanks, the death of trainers and the overall health of the whales. 

For more information about PETA and SeaWorld's #AskSeaWorld Campaign check out the website link below! 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-askseaworld-twitter-20150330-story.html 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/seaworld-blames-peta-for-spamming-its-outreach-campaign-2015-03-30

We cannot express our gratitude over the internet, but we can say THANK YOU for your generosity. 100% of the funds raised will go to OC Animal Shelters!
 

End Bear Bile Farming in Asia

End Bear Bile Farming in Asia

By Tiffany Jin

Last summer, I went back to China to visit my grandpa. He had just come back from the hospital after a surgery on his knees. The doctor said he had to continually take what was called Bear bile powder to reduce pains and rebuild bones. At first, I thought Bear bile powder was artificial because I believed that bears are dangerous and it's almost impossible for people to raise bears on their own. However, after I done some detailed research, I was shocked by how cruel the truth could be. 

(Bear bile powder in China)

According to Animal Asia, a bear rescue organization,  more than 10,000 bears – mainly moon bears, but also sun bears and brown bears – are kept on bile farms in China, and just under 2,000 in Vietnam. The bears are milked regularly for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine. Bears are confined in cages which vary from agonizingly tiny "crush" cages to larger pens, all of which cause terrible physical and mental suffering.

In China, Bear bile has been used as an traditional Chinese medicine for over 3000 years. It has been used to cure various ailments, such as fever, gall stones, liver problems, heart disease, and eye irritation. "The active ingredient in bear bile is ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which is more abundant in the bile of bears than in any other mammal. Bile is excreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, where it is released into the stomach to aid in digestion. The average bear produces 2 kilograms of dry bile powder per year. The price of bear bile varies by location, but investigators have found that bile sells for about US$410 per kilogram in China, an average wild bear gall bladder sells for US$33 per gram in Japan, and a whole bear gallbladder sells for about US$10,000 in South Korea. [Because there is now a surplus of bear bile, bear farmers have begun producing shampoo, wine, tea, and throat lozenges containing bile."(animallaw.info)

A group of journalists made documentary "The Moon Bear" in China 2012, the documentary discovered the dark secret of bear farming in China:

These Bears Need Our Help!

Animals Asia is devoted to ending the barbaric practice of bear bile farming and improving the welfare of animals in China and Vietnam.Today,  Animals Asia has rescued over 400 bears, caring for them at its award-winning bear sanctuaries in China and Vietnam. From its small beginnings in Hong Kong, Animals Asia has grown into a respected international NGO with over 300 staff and offices in Australia, China, Germany, Italy, the UK, US and Vietnam. 

Visit www.animalsasia.org to see more information!

Make a donation here:https://www.animalsasia.org/us/donate/

 

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

By

Erin Sledge

On a lazy afternoon whilst browsing Youtube, I came across Cory Williams’, a.k.a DudeLikeHELLA, video that showed his visit at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

During this video, I was able to see him interact with some of the animals, feed bears, porcupines, and baby musk oxen, and see the beautiful and wild scenery of Alaska. The guide in the video informed him and the viewers of releasing animals, like elk, back into the wild, the local donated food, and the adoption and rehabilitation of injured animals. His visit inspired me to talk about this wonderful, non-profit organization and to eventually visit the AWCC.

 The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, located in Girdwood, Alaska, is a 200-acre reservation that houses animals and educates visitors about Alaskan wildlife. The AWCC cares for various animals such as bears, musk oxen, moose, eagles, elk, caribou, Sitka black-tailed deer, foxes and lynx, and will release them back into the wild; if an animal is too injured, they have a permanent and secure home at the AWCC.

The AWCC is currently working on the Wood Bison Restoration Project. Their goal is to bring the wood bison back into Alaska, since this type of bison has been extinct in Alaska for a while. They have taken a few wood bison from a herd in Canada and have been breeding wood bison at the AWCC.

The AWCC also provides internships to students that are majoring in biology, zoology, and veterinary science. The students will have the chance to care for animals, maintain the facilities and learn to educate visitors about the AWCC.

Click here to learn more about the AWCC and donate http://www.alaskawildlife.org/

Credits:

  

The official Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center website http://www.alaskawildlife.org/

Image 1 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/AWCC_logo.png

Image 2 https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1475467752/image.jpg

Image 3 http://matthewbeard.com/beardtrips/2007/Alaska/Pictures/Portage%20-%20Wildlife%20Conservation%20Park/AWCC_map_1.jpg

Image 4 https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/56/14/21/5614217e837290e627f1834cf1f0cdd7.jpg

Image 5 https://pgcpsmess.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/bald-eagle-wallpapers-flight.jpg

Image 6 http://rebel-performance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/grizzlyBear-photofurl.jpeg

Image 7 http://www.alaskawildlife.org/images/wood-bison-calf.jpg

Image 8 https://www.alaskawildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/header-img-moose-calves.750-750x210.jpg

This week we would like to inform our readers about Leash Animal Rescue. Browsing the web and enjoying the “Before & After Pictures” the recue posted from their work with dogs, we were happy to see dogs being as happy as they are. It takes time and effort to make a stray and/or abused animal to trust humans again, but every try is worth the effort. Notice the difference in the pictures before and after which we extracted from Leash Animal Rescue's website.

Do you think it is worth every penny and try in helping animals? We would say YES, without a doubt - YES.

In the members' of Leash Animal Rescue words, "LEASH Animal Rescue is a 501(c)3 non-profit animal rescue organization...Our rescue follows a no-kill policy and is operated solely by volunteers with an emphasis on foster homes, until we are able to have physical rescue facility."

Exploring their website, we noticed Leash works not only with dogs and cats, but they help ANY animals in need of help. The pictures at the end of the blog are of the resident horse, Cody, at Leash Animal Rescue. Cody is not for adoption, yet we can still help Cody have a good life as a horse while being blind, by supporting him with our donations as low as $5.00 one time or re-curing.

Link to donations for Leash Animal Rescue:

http://www.leashanimalrescue.org/makeadonation.htm

And don't forget that "All donations go directly towards the animals!"

CODY

We see in the first picture how scared Cody was of the woman approaching him. Cody was born blind and had no human contact for the first 7 weeks of his life; therefore, he was labeled as being a feral horse.

With patience and effort to make Cody human friendly, the staff at Leash Animal Rescue were successful. We quote a touching line from Leash website, "Cody is proof that horses of visual disability can lead extremely happy and healthy lives, can play and have fun, and can love and trust their handlers."

Below is the link which will take you to the "Cody the Blind Horse" story:

http://www.leashanimalrescue.org/codytheblindhorse.htm

As well as Cody's social media, Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/codytheblindhorse

AND LASTLY, BUT NO THE LEAST we thought it would be easier to decide if anyone is able to help Cody and/or any other animal at Leash Animal Rescue by providing the monthly cost of care breakdown for Cody:

“Partial cost breakdown for Cody's care:

Feed (hay and Mare & Foal): $122 per month

Farrier care: $30 per every 4 weeks

Vet call out fee: $75 per visit

Vet exam: $60 per visit

Gelding surgery when 1 year old: $250

Shots: $70 per every 6 months

Teeth floating (when old enough): $125 approx. once a year

Sheath cleaning (when old enough): $50 approx. once a year

Shavings: $7 per bag, 1-3 per week

Fly mask: $25-$30 per mask”



Happy animals are our motivation!