Very encouraging report on immunocontraception for elephants. Watch the video report, too.
Economic Downturn: Meat Consumption
Demand for meat and animal feed in China, the world’s biggest pork producer and consumer, has been cut by the financial crisis as rural residents reduce protein consumption to save money, said Sichuan New Hope Group.
China Meat, Feed Demand Cut by Crisis, New Hope Says
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. said Friday it will cut 3,000 jobs as it shuts down operations at three of its 32 chicken processing plants, including one in Arkansas. The closures, which will reduce the company’s chicken production by roughly 10 percent, are designed to save the company $110 million a year as part of an ongoing restructuring. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in December under a heavy debt load. The company expects the closures to cost $35 million, not including asset write-downs it may take in the second quarter.
Animal Law Among Fastest-Growing
Changes in animal law have come, and not just to Pennsylvania. Other incidents of abuse and a shifting national consciousness have made this one of the fastest-growing fields in the legal profession. In 1993, just seven states had felony animal cruelty laws; today, all but four do.
“Animal law is where environmental law was 20 years ago. It’s in its infancy but growing,” said Pamela Frasch, who heads the National Center for Animal Law at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, where she has been an adjunct professor for 10 years.
Lewis & Clark opened the first Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter in 1992. Today it has branches at more than 115 law schools in the United States and Canada.
In 2000, nine law schools had animal law studies. Today about 100 do.
“The reason it is getting taught is student demand,” said professor David Favre, who teaches animal law at Michigan State University College of Law and is a top authority in the field. “It’s not because tenured professors wanted to teach it, it’s that students want to take it.”
Talk about Delusion and Disconnect
Well, this is simultaneously charming and disturbing: A duck hunting man and his pet duck.
Under the Knife No More
The Grumpy Vegan was truly touched by all the emails and phone calls he received in response to the announcement of my surgery. Both of you will be pleased to know (and anyone else who cares but didn’t care enough to get in touch) that everything went very well. Here’s the text of a letter I sent to the local paper.
My experience as a patient undergoing an operation at the Richard Ticehurst Surgical Unit at Conquest Hospital in Hastings this week was far from a crisis. In fact, it was the complete opposite. There was a wait of two to three hours after registering before the surgical process began. I reminded myself that the staff were caring for people. I’d rather wait than know patients were being rushed through their treatment. I had the foresight to bring a good novel to read. The television was on but it wasn’t loud. The waiting room was pleasant and sunny. The staff were professional and friendly throughout the process from pre-surgery, the surgery itself and the post-surgery follow-up. The expertise and technology were impressive. The hospital appeared to be very clean. I’m truly grateful for the NHS and appreciative of everyone who cared for me.
As you can see I was on my best behaviour.
Two New Links Added
The Grumpy Vegan has added two new links, which are Erik Marcus’ Vegan.com (reliable, useful and comprehensive source of information) and Jack Norris RD, Co-founder Vegan Outreach (summaries of recent research and answers to questions on vegan nutrition.) Don’t forget to RSS them as I hope you do with the Grumpy Vegan!
