Cruelty News

8 November 1997

Cruel Mexican Sports

Someone wrote to me recently about cruel animal sports in Mexico. If anyone has any information on this please email me. The writer of the following email has kindly given me permission to reproduce it.

I have just spent quite a while at your page and reading through the nightmares of animal abuse. Last year I did extensive research on the topic as a College speech class project...I read through a couple years worth of animal rights magazines and so on and have read about countless acts of abuse..I read through your animal abuse in sports, and was wondering if you ever heard of the Mexican rodeos and what they do...compared to American rodeos, it makes American rodeos look like a walk in the park...I have a video that I taped (and showed the class during my presentation) of 20/20 awhile back about these Mexican rodeos (which, some of the events are happening in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas)..

The video is the most appalling thing I have ever seen..I cannot watch it without it bringing tears to my eyes. One event in particular..and that is horse tripping. The object of the event, is to make the horse trip and fall while running at top speeds...the Mexicans rope these horses (after chasing them around an arena at high rates of speed) around the legs and makes them trip and fall. These horses are completely terrified and get seriously hurt. On the video they show many examples, including a horse that landed on his neck in a way that caused it to break and he lay their in convulsions...it made me sick. When the 20/20 reporter asked the Mexican why they did it, he first said it was a tradition, then added "the horses are going to the slaughterhouse anyway"...so that makes abuse alright? I don't think so! (don't even get me started on bullfighting)

Another awful event was they roped a cow (or steer maybe...definitely not a bull) by the horns and by the back feet..the Mexicans, while on horseback, proceed to pull the poor animal in opposite directions. And this is supposed to be entertainment? *UGH*

26 August 1997

UPDATE on Korea Massacres

Have you read about the animal abuse in Korea?
If not, read the February article on it.

If you have, here is another place you can write to express your outrage.

http://korinfo@koreaemb.org

The name of the Korean ambassador is Ambassador Park Kun-Woo.

Another web site about the abuse is http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/3787/korea.htm.

The full length account can be found at http://www.paws.org/korea/korea07.htm.

22 August 1997

INDIANA UNIVERSITY TRAGEDY

The dreaded Noah's Ark tragedy has sadly been repeated. Four innocent cats were lured into a backyard and cruelly burnt with hairspray and a cigarette lighter. The most injured one, Olivia, was caught by a passerby who took her to the animal hospital. She has third degree burns over 40% of her body and her hospital bill is expected to be about $5000.

See Olivia before and after.
WARNING: The pictures are graphic.

What you can do: Go to Olivia's Page where you can:

Read the story in-depth;

See Olivia's condition;

Sign an online petition;

Receive updates on Olivia;

Receive addresses you can write to about this case.

Act now! The less we act, the more this behaviour is going to be condoned by the legal systems around the world. Show them we care! And it matters!

22 August 1997

NOAH'S ARK TRAGEDY UPDATE

Do you remember the brutal murders of over 60 cats in Iowa?
The trial is in November. This is your chance to put these cruel people away.
IF you haven't signed the petition, please do so now at Noah's Ark.

15 July 1997

HELP SINGAPORE CATS NOW!

A group of cat-lovers in Singapore has been helping homeless cats find loving homes in other countries. The government does nothing to help the local SPCA, instead supporting euthanasia as a means to control the cat population. Mom herself found me on the streets and took me in and I am forever grateful for that. Please help the other stray cats find loving homes as well. Many cats have died on the streets and on the roads, from cars, hunger, or just plain cruelty, as demonstrated in the article below.

CLICK HERE FOR WHAT YOU CAN DO

Massacre of Noah's Ark cats!

On 7 March this year, three people broke into the Noah's Ark Shelter and stabbed and bludgeoned 17 cats and injured 6 others. I am ashamed that they are human. Those non-animal lovers reading this... well, akin this to 3 sickos breaking into an orphanage and cruelly murdering 17 children and injuring 6 others. Action this now! Sign a petition to put these cruel people away forever.

I quote Dr Albert Schweitzer:

'Until we extend the circle of our compassion to all living things, we will not ourselves find peace.'

6 February 1997

Korean Market selling Cat and Dog Meat after Cruel Torture

Of all the cruelty news I have ever received, this one took my breath away and left me stunned and speechless. The sale of cat and dog meat is just the tip of the iceberg. The torture that ends the life of these innocent creatures shows the cruel nature of their captors.

Some quotes from the author:

"There was no food or water in the cages."

"I saw one cage holding over fifteen cats waiting to be tortured and then boiled for medicine. The cage was too small for them, so many cats were sleeping on top of other cats."

"Most noticable is the dog's decapitated head... The lips are peeled back as if the dog was wincing in pain while being tortured."

"I could see dogs like these locked up in cages... I could see the sorrow and confusion in their eyes."

"... a metal club is used to hit the dog on the head.. then electrocution through the mouth follows..."

"... reports of dogs being hanged by the neck and beat until the dog dies from trauma."

"This dog was tied to a pole and screaming in agony... I did not know in my whole life a dog could possible scream like that."

".. my Korean neighbours told me that this was the "traditional way" to prepare dog-meat."

What you can do:

Visit Peter's Page to read his testament and see his pictures of the market. At the last page he has some contacts you can write to, fax or email to protest the inhumane treatment of cats and dogs. Help save our animal friends. Only we can.

15 Jan 1996

Animals are not tools of revenge!!!

A San Diego man is charged in a Las Vegas court with setting a cat on fire in hopes that it would run inside and burn his ex-girlfriend's house down. Instead, the cat ran to a neighbor's yard, suffering for three days before being discovered and euthanized.

Please ask District Attorney Stewart Bell to push for the maximum penalty for case #96F17878X, trial date Jan. 21, 1997. Let him know you're appalled and you'd like maximum prosecution. Address is Clark County Courthouse, District Attorney Stewart Bell, 200 S. 3rd Street, P.O. Box 552212, Las Vegas, NV 89155. They've requested letters only -- no faxes or phone calls.Be sure to include the case number. Thanks!!!

CLAW has written to Heather Bird to send us a copy of her column to verify that her article is really just "satire" about cat abuse. Until then, we will await her reply.

Toronto Sun Columnist Promoting Cat Torture

Heather Bird is a columnist with the Toronto Sun who is promoting a personal campaign to torture and destroy cats. Here are some excerpts of her rantings, which began in June of 1996:

"In a purrfect world, there'd be no cats"
"... Don't care much for cats. Never have. Don't like their cunning cat faces. Or their sneaky, secret ways."
"... There is little to recommend cats as neighbors. They scratch, hiss and bite. They destroy property. "
"... in parts of China, there is an effective way of dealing with stray felines. When a cat goes missing for three or more days, it's safe to assume the animal has met its end in one of the many kitchen pots in Guangdong." "Strays are captured and held in cages on kitty death row where they await the pleasure of prospective diners, who pick one of the plump tabbies."
"... The cats are pulled from their cages and taken to the kitchen where, according to the London Sunday Times, they are prepared much like live lobsters ... They are stunned with a club, dropped into boiling water and then skinned. The meat is marinated in ginger, red wine and Chinese vegetables before being fried or stewed."
"... I'm certainly not recommending it. It is offered here for information purposes only."

The anger sparked among cat lovers was swift. Letters to the editor were very critical. However, Ms. Bird exploited the pain she caused by rubbing salt in the wound, so to speak, in her following columns:

"... There's somebody out there who wants to run me over with a car. Somebody else wants me fired and ... have me charged with instigating violence against animals."
" ...this fellow didn't have patch on the guy who said I should be clubbed on the head and dropped into a pot of boiling water. "Bitch," he hissed into the phone and then hung up ... All I did was point out the nutritive value of cats. And observe that the culinary adventurous Chinese in Guangdong province have an effective way of dealing with strays. They cook them. And eat them."
"... Some argue the veiled look in their eyes is an expression of superiority. I argue it's representative of their true intelligence. They are as blank in mind as they are in expression. True cyphers."
" So there. Anyone for kitty fricassee? ... Throw another kitty on the barbie ..."

When I first started to read those quotes several ideas came to mind, none of them legal and most of them involving quite a bit of pain and suffering for that &%$# columnist. Violence against animals, even in print, infuriates me. Especially when it involves cats! Then I got to thinking... I will bet this Heather Bird (interesting name, yes?) thinks she has hit on a brilliant scheme for publicizing herself. Like Andrew Dice Clay, she doesn't care of she's hated so long as she's not ignored. I don't know what can be done about a person (and I use the term loosely) like her... she probably loves getting any kind of mail, including hate mail, and so long as her column is generating interest her paper will probably continue to run it. Now if people started cancelling their subscriptions to the Toronto Sun or the paper's advertisers started pulling out, I bet her editor would shut her up fast. Rather than writing to Ms Bird, maybe we should write to the editor-in-chief of the Sun? Emily of Emily's Cat Page has found their addys:

http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/home.html

They can also be reached via snail mail at

The Toronto Sun
Sun Media Corporation
333 King St E
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 3X5

We could also write to some of the Sun's major advertisers. Does anyone know anyone who lives in Toronto? Maybe we could also write to some animal rights organizations. A large group might be able to put pressure on the Sun's powers-that-be.

Article by a fellow animal lover

Bird's Homepage