After a long absence, the links roundup is back from the grave.  What can I say?  Life’s been too busy, but now, fortified with six eight shots of espresso [‘I could see colors that weren’t in the visible spectrum…’], I give you a summary of animal law and animal rights related links from the last few weeks.

• An orca killed someone again.  The American Family Association blames them godless vegetarians.  Vegan.com extracts the urine.  The Telegraph is half insightful and half inane, and Change.org analyses the gibberish.

Chalk another death up to animal rights insanity and to the ongoing failure of the West to take counsel on practical matters from the Scripture.

• Orca kills man: Controversy.  Man kills orca species: Who cares?
• In January, we critically discussed pedigree breeding.  Now, Crufts is preparing to ‘show’ working dogs and mongrels.  Oh, and Iowa is taking small steps against puppy mills.
• In March, AnimalBlawg presented a useful discussion on pig farming.
• Animal rights activism often lacks praxis: Unpopular Vegan Essays has a bit to say about demand- and supply-side campaigns, and in doing so criticises single-issue activism.
• Some of you may have been following the Environment Canterbury controversy (that is, the government eliminating a bit of local democracy, in ‘farmer coup’), but when it comes down to it: It’s Us or the Cows (and they aren’t getting any better, environmentally; David Carter MP objects, then promptly does nothing good).
• The story of the farmers and Environment Canterbury is not unique: Farm lobby’s lawyer appointed as Ag Committee’s counsel.
• On the bright side, welfarism won on the cow cubicles.  Because of…the cost of resource consents.  A real victory?  Perhaps not.
• The total number of species in the world is decreasing.  Human influence on the environment is causing the number of extinctions to outpace the evolution of new species.
• Bruce Wagman has a bit to say on animal law, and it’s not all roses.  The field is ‘vibrant and new’ and ‘intellectually and ethically complex’, but:

This is not the kind of law many people want to practice – and I don’t mean just because it is forcing the examination of our conduct and values around animals.  But it calls out for a level of commitment, at least for many of the practitioners that I know, that extends beyond professionalism and into lifestyle. There is no real parallel in the law to the overlap between most animal lawyers’ work and home lives.  Once this work gets under your skin, it is hard to leave it behind at the office.  I find for myself I no longer really separate work from the rest of my life.

• The Swiss proposal for animal lawyers?  Rejected (just like minarets).  Simon Jenkins at the Guardian heard the rumour, but didn’t understand it – which never stops the critics of animal rights from waxing lyrical.
• If you read the Solution, you should probably also be reading Gary Francione’s Abolitionist Approach.  Whether or not you follow Francione, however, you should definitely consider this.
• PETA.  Adopted.  Eight.  Animals.  Yes, eight, in 2009.  And they killed 2,301.  Just…what? (…with friends like these, who needs…)
• 100% of fish tested in US streams are contaminated with mercury.  100%.
• Animal abuse is ever more closely linked to other atrocities.
• Parties to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) met in Doha, and decided not to ban bluefin tuna trading.  Oh, and if you want to trade in polar bears, that’s fine.  Link and link, via Opinio Juris.  Link, via New Scientist.  Link, via Grist.
• Want to write about animal rights?

For an upcoming issue, Creative Nonfiction is seeking new essays about the bonds—emotional, ethical, biological, physical, or otherwise—between humans and animals. We’re looking for stories that illustrate ways animals (wild and/or domestic) affect, enrich, or otherwise have an impact on our daily lives.
Essays must be vivid and dramatic; they should combine a strong and compelling narrative with a significant element of research or information, and reach for some universal or deeper meaning in personal experiences. We’re looking for well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice.

• Alan Crafar (remember him?) just won’t give up.
• My friend Emily over at Sustainability and the City has been ordering and reviewing weekly delivery boxes of fresh vegetables.  Great concept.
• Apes, like us, can suffer from self-doubt.