Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog

Go vegetarian to save money [MSN]
Staples such as rice, corn and beans can make trips to a grocery store less expensive. But the biggest savings may come in health-care costs years later.

One city’s fight over biomed plans [Christian Science Monitor]
When Covance, a multinational drug-testing company, elected to build a $44 million laboratory here – where it will test chemical and medical compounds on animals – residents, as well as national and international animal rights groups, mounted a vigorous campaign to block it.
To learn more about Covance, go to http://www.protectchandler.org/

Vick Loses Another Sponsor _ Rawlings [ABC News]
Michael Vick lost another sponsor Rawlings. The sports goods company said Tuesday it was ending its relationship with the Atlanta Flacons quarterback because of dogfighting conspiracy charges.

Nike suspends Vick’s endorsement deal [The Oregonian]
A week after seemingly standing by accused dogfighter Michael Vick, Nike said Friday it is suspending without pay its multimillion-dollar endorsement contract with the embattled NFL quarterback.

Calf roping: Animal abuse or all-American sport? [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
“While the humans in rodeos have a choice as to whether they are willing to place themselves in danger, the animals don’t have a choice”

Animal rights group at odds with circus, village [Chicago Heights Star]
A national animal rights group is calling on Steger lawmakers to ban devices they say are used to inflict pain on elephants in time for this week’s performance by Carson & Barnes Circus.

Cockfighting on Web Enters Legal Arena [Washington Post]
One evening last week, two roosters in a ring surrounded by cheering spectators pecked and clawed one another in a fight to the death. With each lunge, feathers flew, then floated to the ground. Finally, one bloodied bird, its eyes plucked out, lurched and faltered.

New Texas Animal Cruelty Laws Take Effect In September [KFOX-TV]
Beginning this September, you can expect some new laws when it comes to your four-legged friends.

AR Groups Break Silence on Amazon.com’s Foie Gras Sales, Urge Boycott [Farm Sanctuary]
You can help put an end to foie gras cruelty by cutting the supply chain! In the United States, Amazon.com hawks foie gras produced at Elevages Perigord. Please put the power of your purse to work to stop this intolerable cruelty, and tell Amazon.com that they won’t earn back your business until they stop selling foie gras.

Will Potter Posts Updated Analysis of Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act [GreenIsTheNewRed.com]
I finally got around to posting my updated analysis of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and posted a new pdf file that you can download as well.

UCSF Primate Research Is Target Of Watchdog Group [KTVU]
Ohio-based Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) has filed an official complaint with the USDA about UCSF and its research practices on primates, the group announced today.

Birthing bears head for land as Arctic ice gets scarcer [San Francisco Chronicle]
Increasing numbers of pregnant polar bears are coming to land to give birth instead of staying on the thinning Arctic sea ice, a trend that signals a bleak future for their population there, a U.S. Geological Survey study has found.

Not Everything is Kosher at So-Called Kosher Slaughterhouse [Infoshop News]
Earlier this week PETA filed a formal complaint with Sheridan County Attorney Jamian Simmons asking her to prosecute the Rubashkin-owned Local Pride kosher slaughterhouse in Gordon for apparent violations of Nebraska’s cruelty-to-animals statute. PETA’s complaint follows a two-day undercover investigation.

California spay-neuter bill shelved [Sacramento Bee]
Legislation to require statewide spaying or neutering of dogs and cats was shelved Wednesday after receiving a chilly reception by a Senate committee.

Mad Cow Disease In Soil Lives On … And On [The Daily Green]
New research shows that the prion — a mysterious infectious agent that is neither bacterium nor virus — is 700 times more infectious when combined with common minerals found in dirt.

Federal Agency Agrees to Issue New Rules Protecting Whales from Fishing Gear Entanglement [ENN]
New rules to protect endangered whales from fatal fishing-gear entanglements will be in place this fall after environmentalists sued to end the delay.

Battle rages over bill to require pet fixes [DailyBreeze.com]
“There were 2,800 bills introduced in the Legislature this year,” said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, “and if you were to ask me which one I’ve received the most reaction to, this is at the top of the list.”

Quebec Foie Gras Investigation [Global Action Network]
Several months ago, Global Action Network, in collaboration with Farm Sanctuary, embarked on an extensive undercover investigation of Canada’s largest foie gras farm – Elevages Perigord.