Let’s just start with something that isn’t totally about animal rights. Some of you might remember me linking to GreenIsTheNewRed articles about non-violent activists being labelled terrorists. Well, things are at a bit of the 180 now. An English member of the European Parliament, Godfrey Bloom, has congratulated the French spies who bombed the Rainbow Warrior in the Waitemata Harbour. John Key PM refused to comment.
And we expect the government to get ‘tough‘ on animal welfare? John, I’m appalled.
- Meanwhile, as Bloom celebrates the sinking of a Greenpeace vessel and Key dithers, Japanese whalers have again rammed a Sea Shepherd vessel in the Southern Ocean.
- Oh, and whaling isn’t the only animal-based ‘research’ that doesn’t really…work.
- For example, Iran has launched ‘a rodent, turtles and worms to 500 kilometres above the Earth‘. Apparently, this will either help Iran launch astronauts into space, or…launch ballistic missiles. I’m not entirely sure how orbital animals could be weaponised…
- But we need ‘research’, or else we wouldn’t have worked out all the great things we can do to meat before it hits the supermarket.
- Gary Francione has posted numerous excellent pieces recently. He has:
- Demolished Ingrid Newkirk of PETA’s defence of welfarism.
- Meditated and reflected upon the lessons we can take from Gandhi.
- Examined one of Peter Singer’s and PETA’s Ingrid Newkirks crazier claims (about…bestiality): ‘And You Wonder Why the Public Thinks That “Animal Rights” People Are Crazy?’ I mean, Ms Newkirk, ‘When is sex with a nonhuman not exploitation and abuse?’
- Linked to an essay of his, soon to be published, on whether vegetarianism is a gateway to veganism? (Hey, vegetarians – is it?)
- I’m not completely against Peter Singer though, and hope to see him speak during his NZ visit. Pity I don’t live in Wellington.
- Veganism is ‘girly‘, just like cooking, or being intimate with your girlfriend. Um, right.
That’s just…stupid! It’s stupid! Gah! It’s such a ridiculous division of the world into the stereotypically masculine and the stereotypically feminine with policing to remind us that men must never be feminine. Ever! And women, stop emasculating men!
- A woman unambiguously struck a dolphin with an oar. Any prosecution? No! Why not? Because the ‘legal and social issues are not straightforward when we are dealing with a dolphin [who] seeks out human interaction’. How does this logic even work? Dogs seek actively seek out human interaction, right? So do…cats. That never stopped the SPCA from prosecuting, so why does it stop DOC? Perhaps they could have tried…researching possibly comparable animal welfare cases.
- Though, of course, there are problems with giving a charity the job of enforcing the law: ‘RSCPA Botches SA Cruelty Case‘.
- China appears likely to introduce an anti-cruelty law. I know little else, but I’m almost shocked that they don’t already have one.
- Switzerland is voting on whether animals should get legal representation.
- Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy is calling for papers for a special issue on ‘animal others’. Papers are due in 2011, so if anyone’s interested, you have plenty of time to research and right.
- Lest I be accused of opposing science, let’s have a look at the results of some investigation of ‘Animal Cultures‘.
The Solution 
To Francione – yes, I did find vegetarianism a gateway to veganism.
Posted by Edward Miller | 9 February 2010, 12:44 amI too found vegetarianism a gateway to veganism, as most of the vegans I know did. But I do understand his argument, and disagree. Every step in the vegan direction is better than standing still in a butchery.
Posted by Jonathan | 17 February 2010, 1:07 pmI’m with you. This is one of those few places I disagree with Francione. Let’s put it this way. I have a lot of students go vegan in my class. The majority of them start are vegetarian when they make the switch. My view is anyone who takes the time to go vegetarian is someone who will eventually be willing to listen and consider making the transition. And, I disagree fervently with Francione’s position that “it’s easy”. I think when he says this he is somewhat counter-productive, denying the cultural, social and – in some countries – physical, difficulties of making the switch.
Posted by Peter Sankoff | 18 February 2010, 5:09 amAs a vegetarian myself I find Francione’s article interesting but somewhat insulting. Rather than seeing one’s dietary status as a defined absolute, I think there is rather more a continuum. I think most vegetarians who are ethically motivated will move more and more towards veganism as they become more mindful of what they eat. I may not be vegan (yet) but I drink either organic milk or raw milk from a well run small holding and eats eggs bred from heritage chickens in a truly free-range family farm. Veganism may be my future, but for now I find Francione’s black and white arguments somewhat irrevelant. Although I always love reading extremists!
Posted by Gypsy | 23 February 2010, 12:47 pmI bow down humbly in the prsecnee of such greatness.
Posted by Wednesday | 7 May 2011, 4:53 am