Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog

How you can help animals in Indiana this week

eChris — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:01:35 +0000

Indiana’s Humane Lobby Day is this Tuesday! This is your chance to have a major impact on the welfare of animals in our state!

Humane Lobby Day is scheduled to take place this year on Tuesday, February 15th, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. in Indianapolis. You will have an opportunity to meet with your state legislators to discuss animal-related legislation currently pending before the Indiana General Assembly.

If you have not yet registered (and pre-registration is required!), please follow this link: http://action.humanesociety.org/site/Calendar?view=Detail&id=103345

Here is a link for information on some of the bills we will be discussing: http://www.humanesociety.org/action/alerts/indiana/

Piranhas In Peril

Matt Ellerbeck — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:11:17 +0000

Piranhas have long inspired many emotions in humane beings, everything from fascination to outright fear. It is not uncommon then for many people to view them as endurable and undaunted predators

However, despite this reputation piranhas are helpless against the assaults of humans.

Every year, countless numbers of piranhas are unwillingly captured and kidnapped from their natural habitat so they can be exploited and commercialized for monetary gain. David M. Schleser’s Piranhas (Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.1997) states that humans are undoubtedly the major predators of adult piranhas.

It is a common misconception that fish do not feel pain. This belief has allowed many people to justify the cruelty they inflict upon piranhas (and many other fish species). However, fish can and do feel pain and recent studies have provided the scientific evidence to prove this. A study done by Joseph Garner of Purdue University (2009) reported that these animals do experience pain consciously, rather than simply reacting with a reflex. Many other studies have resulted in similar evidence.

The ability of fish to perceive pain and discomfort makes the bid for their welfare extremely important. The desecration and ill-treatment that piranhas endure as a result of the trades that harvest and profit from them is truly horrifying.

Piranhas are hunted extensively throughout their range and then sold to local food markets. Considerable numbers are intentionally caught in nets, traps and by hooks and lines. However, numerous other piranhas are accidentally caught in lines and traps set for other intended catch.

Piranhas are also harvested directly from the wild to be sent off to the exotic pet trade. This harvesting represents an unnatural loss in the populations. Piranhas are caught from their native South America and then exported to places all around the world.

Others are killed so that they can be dried and mounted, or encased in glass. These deceased piranhas are then sold as decorative ornaments and marketed towards tourists.

The piranhas’ fearsome reputation makes them susceptible to being directly persecuted by those who deem them as dangerous or nuisance. Individuals who encounter vulnerable piranhas are likely to kill them. This is especially true of piranhas who have become trapped in receding pools after the wet season.Piranhas are also fished and killed for sport. The reputation of piranhas as blood-thirsty killers often makes them the pursuit of outdoors men who want to prove their masculinity by targeting such animals.

Protecting piranhas is important for several reasons. Piranhas are absolutely paramount to the health of many eco-systems and to biodiversity as they are extremely valuable components to the ecological communities in which they live; playing several complex roles.

Piranhas are efficient predators in both lotic and lentic habitats. Piranhas largely prey upon sick, injured, dyeing, or deceased animals. By effectively removing sick or dyeing members from animal populations, piranhas help maintain the health of the aquatic eco-systems they reside in. They essentially act as a natural clean-up crew.

Aside from their predatory and scavenging roles, piranhas are also prey items for numerous other species including caimans, birds, otters, and dolphins.

There is much about piranhas that scientists still do not know. This fact could mean that piranhas may play even more integral roles in the natural world that we are simply unaware of.

Many individuals have a thought process that views human beings as the most intelligent, superior, and enlightened lifeforms on the planet. If people are to have such views of themselves then they must use such intelligence and perception to realize that the majority of treatment that piranhas (and all other animals for that matter) receive from humans is extremely unethical and deplorable.

Humans must use their privileged position to strive to live in such a manner that is not detrimental or cruel to the other species on the earth; many of which species have been here for millions of years before humans appeared. This gives non-human species every right (if not more then humans do) to live on this planet. It also gives them the right to live free of cruelty, persecution, and from infringements on their freedom.

Protecting piranhas is also important to furthering the animal rights movement.

Being a compassionate animal rights advocate means standing up for all animals, not just the visually appealing (cute and cuddly) ones such as charismatic mammals. If individuals can be taught the value in protecting and conserving an animal like a piranha (a so called ‘terrifying cold-blooded fish’), then they will certainly be able to see the value in all other animals as well!

For more information www.savethepiranhas.com

This is a guest post from piranha advocate Matt Ellenbeck. If you would like to write a guest post, contact chris (at) deeprootssanctuary.org.

Thank you!

eChris — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:20:13 +0000

It is always so great to be able share good news. Our good news is that we were able to raise $4,000 in about a week to be able to build a new barn and rescue more chickens (and eventually other small farm animals). The construction of this barn will truly mark the next step in our evolution as an organization working to rescue at-risk animals and end animal exploitation.

We couldn’t have done it without help from dozens of people. It was truly awe-inspiring to see folks from Chicago, NYC, Portland, and as far away as Holland come together to help out a grassroots sanctuary in rural Indiana. We couldn’t have done it without all of the people who donated and helped spread the word. It really was a grassroots effort.

We heard today that the money is being transferred to our account, so we plan to get started really soon. We will keep you up-to-date on work days and progress through this blog, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and our newsletter. (Have you signed up for our free email newsletter?)

We are really excited about this next step. Are you?

As if that wasn’t enough good news, here is some more from the past couple of weeks:

Charges were dropped against the AETA 4! As animal liberationists, we are really excited about this. Now we can go back to chalking sidewalks without being charged with terrorism (we hope).
BP and the Coast Guard reached an agreement to stop burning sea turtles trapped in the oil spill. BP still needs to do much, much more, so don’t think this is letting them off the hook.
Zimbabwe stopped the sale of elephants and other wildlife to North Korea.
Obama administration argued against commercial whaling at IWC. This one truly is a victory of the masses. LOTS of people fought to make this happen. Keep taking action… it works.

I’m sure there is more good news. Feel free to share in the comments.

Donor will match donations over next two days

eChris — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:20:20 +0000

We just got some great news that a donor will match all donations to our Kickstarter campaign made in the next two days. That means that every donation you give will be doubled and we only need to raise about $1,700 to be able to go forward with construction and operation chicken rescue! However, we have less than three days to raise that amount, so please donate as much as you can and share this with everyone you know.

Kel asked some good questions about this campaign that might help shed some light.

Kel: can you help me understand why a chicken coop costs $6000?

Chris: Calling it a chicken coop is a bit deceiving. It is more of a barn that will be large enough to hold dozens of chickens and a few small farm animals. All of which will be rescues from abusive situations. The $6000 figure was the estimated amount to cover material costs, equipment rental, and food/care for the chickens for the first year. It didn’t make sense to us to raise money for an empty barn. We also factored in the credit card processing fees. Let me know if you have any other questions. You are right, we should have better explained where that number came from. I assure you, it was the result of a lot of research and personal experience.

Kel: What happens to the pledged funds if you don’t reach the goal?

Chris: The cards aren’t processed if we don’t raise all the funds. It is all or nothing.

If you want more information about what we are buiding and why, visit the Kickstarter project page (http://kck.st/crFbgq).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Birds and the BP oil spill

raina — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:39:01 +0000

The scene is apocalyptic. Fires sweeping across the surface of the ocean. Gulls and turtles entombed in oil slicks. Oil-soaked pelicans and terns washed up on shorelines–tragic monuments to human folly and the destruction of a delicate balance. And always that stinging smell of oil that seeps into every pore and entangles sea grasses, oozes over beaches and blackens the marshlands.

Perhaps the largest marine disaster to happen in decades, and now considered the largest oil spill in the history of the United States, the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20, 2010 has led to an environmental catastrophe that continues without abatement and whose oily clutches extend from slicks on the ocean’s surface to deep swells near the ocean’s floor. Armed with mops and rags, seeming trifles compared to the magnitude of the oil’s reach, the human response to the disaster has been one of caution and vigilance. With no real solution in sight, coastal inhabitants, volunteers, even the government, can only try to redirect the slicks away from fragile coastal regions or don the tools of the domestic and use brooms and rubber gloves in an attempt to clean house. That, and wait.

While it goes without saying that the oil spill has led many consumers and legislators to question and call attention to our dependence on oil, the spill has also demonstrated to what extent our world is an ecological network, where the health and survival of one species depends on that of another; where the destruction of an environment may affect ecosystems across the planet. Carl Safina, president of the Blue Ocean Institute, has illustrated the importance of the Gulf Coast as an aviary highway and stopover for many migratory birds who depend on the food sources and breeding grounds found there. But with the toxic oil and dispersant residues permeating not only the shoreline and nesting habitats, but also killing and contaminating fish populations, the survival of bird species from as far north as the Canadian Arctic and as far south as the southern tip of South America is put in jeopardy.

We at Deep Roots Animal Sanctuary grieve for the lives, both human and non-human, lost to this terrible tragedy. While we mourn the ecological consequences of this catastrophic event and support efforts to clean-up and change energy consumption in the United States, we also recognize that habitat destruction and species endangerment is a chronic issue. That is why we at Deep Roots are dedicated to providing refuge and rehabilitation to wild birds and waterfowl. Now, more than ever, we need your help–bird species around the world need your help–to protect their livelihoods and preserve their futures.

If you would like to be a part of our efforts to rescue and protect birds and waterfowl, please visit us at deeprootssanctuary.org or contribute to our kickstarter campaign where we are raising money to build a bird rehab center.

Suzie becomes a Vermonster

eChris — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:38:49 +0000

We are excited to say that Suzie (pictured right, calmly sitting during a bath) left for her new forever home in Vermont this morning. Suzie first came to us in November of 2008. She was one of hundreds of animals rescued from a hoarding facility in Indianapolis. Suzie has always been very sweet, quiet, and cuddly. We assumed she would be one of the first of that batch of cats to find a new home. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to think that she would easily find a home, too, so she spent a year and a half with us… patiently waiting.

We always joked about Suzie being a creepy cat. That’s what we’ll miss most about her. She was just this tiny little ball of pitch black hair with huge golden eyes. She never said a peep. She loved people, but its as if she never wanted to be a burden. So you would be sitting there and look over to find Suzie quietly staring at you. Who knows how long she had been sitting there staring. It was at the moment that you looked at her that she would let out a silent meow and then take the few remaining steps toward you and put one paw on you to indicate that she wanted you to pick her up. She is adorable.

We couldn’t be happier with her new home, either. She is heading up to Vermont with Tessa and Jojo – two friends who have spent that past few months hanging out in Indiana to help with the sanctuary. We are sad to see them go, but at least they get to take a cuddly part of the sanctuary home with them.

Join us in wishing Suzie a great time with her new family.

Also, don’t forget to donate to our Kickstarter campaign and help rescue more animals. http://kck.st/crFbgq

$5,000 GoodSearch Giveaway – Three Days Only!

eChris — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:01:36 +0000

GoodSearch will donate $1 (up to $5,000 total) for every toolbar that is downloaded between May 19th at 12 noon and May 21st at 12 noon Eastern! To help Deep Roots benefit from this contest, please download our toolbar now by following this link – http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/deep-roots-animal-sanctuary

Our new toolbar is free to download and allows you to raise money for Deep Roots virtually every time you search or shop online! Once added to IE or Firefox, each time you shop at more than 1,400 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to our cause – at no cost to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar also provides you thousands of discount coupons and free shipping offers!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search the Internet, about a penny is donated to our cause.

Please hurry and do this now so that we can earn the $1 bonus per toolbar!

And, please pass this along to all of your friends. The two minutes it takes to add this toolbar to your browser can make a lifetime of difference for our cause!

Get the toolbar NOW! http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/deep-roots-animal-sanctuary

Deep Roots seeks to build chicken refuge

eChris — Fri, 14 May 2010 22:34:19 +0000

We are very excited to kick off the next step in our development: a barn. More specifically, this will be a small barn with a 2-3 acre yard to house dozens of new chickens. In order to make this happen, we need to raise $6000 by July 10th. To meet that goal, we’ve teamed up with Kickstarter and created a fun giving model. You can check it out here: http://kck.st/crFbgq

This project has been driven by Mabel, the sanctuary matriarch and currently the only bird living at Deep Roots (pictured below). When Mabel came to us, she was missing most of her feathers, a large chunk of flesh had been torn from her side, and she was dehydrated nearly to the point of death. During her recovery, she had been very solitary. That changed when Harold, a duck rescued from the dinner table, came to live with us. Mabel and Harold quickly became inseparable. Wherever you found one, the other was rarely more than a few feet away. They did everything together: forage for bugs, sleep, chase cats, and learn to trust humans. They were the best of friends and anyone who met them, immediately fell in love.

Sadly, Harold died last year, leaving Mabel to bide her days alone. She seemed saddened by Harold’s death. But one thing that she learned from Harold was that life is better with friends. Mabel can now be found hanging out with the cats and dogs at the sanctuary. She follows the cats and dogs around, begs for food when they beg for food, and jumps in laps when they jump in laps. Unfortunately, the cats and dogs are terrified of her. They don’t seem to understand this fearless, talkative descendant of dinosaurs.

That’s why we decided to take on some chicken friends for Mabel – survivors of the farming industry, like herself. Chickens have it pretty bad. Our hope is to build a place where people can come to meet chickens, interact with their incredible personalities, and realize that we shouldn’t be killing them in the name of food. You can help accomplish this goal by donating to our Kickstarter campaign (http://kck.st/crFbgq) and spreading the word to all your friends and family. The Kickstarter page has lots of easy ways to share the campaign through Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and email. You can also post a widget to your website.

Another great way to help is to “attend” our Facebook event and invite all your friends. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123261337700473 While you’re at it, be sure to “like” us on Facebook so we can easily share photos and updates with you.

By donating to the Kickstarter campaign, you not only help us to save lots of chickens, but you also get fun gifts in exchange. What you get depends on how much you give. We’ve got new buttons, limited silk-screened totebags, copies of the book Extraordinary Chickens, the chance to name one of the new chickens, and more. Be sure to check out our page on Kickstarter for more info about the gifts (as well as more info about our plans for the chickens). http://kck.st/crFbgq

Bunnies, Easter, and… Morrissey?

eChris — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:21:13 +0000

Easter is coming up this Sunday. While for many this is a time to get together, run around the yard, and celebrate, for rabbits it is a bit of a dreaded holiday. Many people think it is cute to give their children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews a baby bunny for Easter. I can’t say I blame you. Bunnies are cute, and kids love cute bunnies. Unfortunately, as the House Rabbit Society points out, rabbits and children don’t really mix:

Children like a companion they can hold, and cuddle. That’s why stuffed animals are so popular. Rabbits are not passive and cuddly. They are ground-loving creatures who feel frightened and insecure when held and restrained. The result of a short-sighted purchase of an Easter rabbit: the child loses interest, and the rabbit ends up neglected or abandoned.

Thousands of rabbits find their way to shelters after the Easter holiday. Others will spend their lives neglected in small cages. This is no life for an animal that loves to hop, run, and graze in fields. We can do better for rabbits and children.

Perhaps equally as disturbing is the fact that these rabbits have never known what it means to live in the wild. Morrissey has just lent his music to the international animal rights group, Four Paws, for their campaign against factory farming rabbits. While many of these rabbits are bred to eat or for experimentation, others are bred to sell as pets. As Four Paws explains:

Factory farmed caged rabbits have limited space to lie stretched out or sit up on their hind legs. The rabbits are forced to live in cramped and barren conditions. It is not uncommon for bone disorders and foot inflammations to develop, as well as other excruciating conditions. Farmed rabbits may develop neurotic behaviors to relieve the stress caused by their unnatural living conditions.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For this Easter holiday, why not celebrate by working towards a better world for rabbits. Shouldn’t the Easter Bunny be free to hop around the world, instead of locked up in a cage?

5 Things You Can Do To Help Animals In Laboratories

eChris — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:20:08 +0000

April 17-24 is World Week for Animals in Laboratories. For now, I won’t go into all the arguments against animal testing. This post is for those that already agree that it is ethically irresponsible. This post is for those that want to know what to do to help lab animals.

Truth be told, there are a lot of things that you can do. Some more legal than others (but in the age of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, it seems harder to know the difference at times). I don’t want to tell you how you can be most productive in your activism. I just want to provide five easy things that anyone can do during “WAIL Week.” If you have more ideas, feel free to share them in the comments section.

1.) Support the Great Ape Protection Act (HR 1326)

It is true that this bill won’t protect all lab animals, but it will save thousands of chimpanzees from research that could potentially cause death, physical harm, or psychological distress. It will also allow about 600 chimps currently housed in U.S. laboratories to live out the rest of their lives in sanctuaries. Ending this type of experimentation and saving thousands of lives in the process is something that we should all be able to get behind. Since the U.S. is the last known country to conduct invasive experimentation on chimpanzees, this bill would effectively end all known chimpanzee experimentation throughout the world. The bill has 142 co-sponsors. Make sure that your representatives are on the list.

You can easily send an email to your representatives.

2.) Organize a demonstration

First, check to see if there is already an event being organized in your town. If not, grab some friends and put something together. The WWAIL website has a great demonstration checklist if you are new to organizing such things. While having a lot of people turn out for your demonstration can look good, you don’t need a ton of people to be effective. Be creative and have fun!

3.) Set up an educational event

You can educate people with a demonstration, but very few people are going to come up and ask questions of someone participating (unless they are epithetical questions). By passing out informative pamphlets, setting up a table, and/or setting up a presentation, you can help spread the world about the questionable ethics of animal testing to more people. You can find some free downloadable resources on the WWAIL website.

4.) Write a letter to the editor

These days, a “letter to the editor” means more than just your local newspaper to me. Sure, you should do that, too. (Why not? It is so easy.) But you can also “write a letter to the editor” in the form of a blog post, tweet, facebook status update, zine, and other form of be-the-media. Don’t let corporate news outlets control what the public does and doesn’t talk about. Help create a local, national, and international discussion on animal testing.

5.) Disobey

Nonviolent civil disobedience can be a great tool for several reasons: brings public attention to the issue, shows that we aren’t going to be satisfied with writing letters to no avail, and can sometimes shut down operations for periods of time. Civil disobedience in its very nature does probably mean you are breaking the law to some degree (hence, disobedience). I can’t be responsible for what actions you take, but be forewarned that you may get arrested depending on what you choose to do. But like those who fought for civil rights or the abolitionists that fought to end slavery or the suffragettes that fought for a woman’s right to vote, I don’t think you should let the law stand in the way of doing what is right. Especially when you are practicing nonviolence.