thoughts and passions

New Home !

2010-10-20T22:07:00.000+10:00

Hello All!

I felt it was time for a fresh start if I really wanted to commit to my blog and really put some effort into it. So I have a new home

please follow me at
http://www.vicnohiding.tumblr.com/

still all the passion but a fresh start ! Thank you to everyone who has followed and commented over the past 2 years, I hope you will do the same over at my new blog
xx
vic

Australian Pork Update!

2010-07-21T20:38:00.000+10:00

This morning Coles announced that their own-brand pork will be 'sow stall free' by the end of 2014. This is the most significant victory yet in the campaign for pigs and will force the rest of the industry to catch up!

I wrote a story previously about the disgusting state of the Australian Pork Industry, also showing videos of the gruesome truth. Pigs are among the most intelligent species on the planet, and yet have been subjected to one of the cruellest practices ever inflicted on animals in Australia. 'Sow stalls' are typically used in factory farming operations across the country to confine and isolate mother pigs during pregnancy. The national Code of Practice permits these animals to be confined in tiny crates, unable even to turn around for months on end, denying them exercise and any quality of life. As a result, pigs suffer painful physical ailments and even depression.

Since then, Tasmania's Industries Leader, Bryan Green, announced he will be banning cruel sow stalls, having them all wiped out in the state by 2017. This was a great step for pigs...no longer will they have to live a life of terrible suffering just to be slaughtered at the end of it.

According to Coles' press release "Our customers are becoming increasingly interested in welfare issues surrounding pig farming, with the use of sow stalls their greatest concern".

This is excellent news for consumers, as it makes buying cruelty free more accessible and a lot more affordable. Having cruelty free options readily available in supermarkets makes it a lot easier for the public to make the compassionate switch. It also puts the pressure on other leading supermarkets to make the same change.

It also makes me feel great to know that people out there are putting the pressure on big companies and voicing their outrage at the cruelty behind a lot of animal products. Its excellent that people are becoming more passionate and caring and want the cruelty free options to be the ONLY option.

I am delighted to share this news on my blog...its only a small step but it's a very positive one. You can help by taking two seconds to click a button and send emails off to Woolworths, IGA, Aldi etc and urge them to make the same change! Help here : http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/sow-stall-free/

Remember, always buy cruelty free. More updates soon xx

info and photos courtsey of animalsaustralia.org

Australia's Poultry Shame!!

2010-07-09T22:31:00.000+10:00

"An investigation into one of Australia's largest chicken meat producers that supplies major retail outlets has revealed routine and shocking animal abuse. Every year in Australia 488 million chickens endure brutally short and undeniably cruel lives inside factory farms. Animals Australia's investigation video shows baby birds suffering from heart disease, lameness, thirst, starvation and trampling inside a shed packed with over 40,000 birds.

Threatened by rising concern for the welfare of animals, Australia’s major chicken producers are attempting to mislead consumers with confusing terms such as ‘cage free’ and ‘free to roam’ — despite the fact that cages are never used in broiler facilities. The reality is that chicken meat from all major brands — including Steggles and Inghams — is factory farmed." - Animals Australia.

Watch the video of the investigation here to see just how shocking it is.

Chickens are intelligent animals that do not need to be treated this way. The crave stimulation and are slowly, slowly being tortured and dying painfully. Please...if you buy chicken ONLY by organic FREE RANGE! Cage free and free to roam are NOT free range...they are a play on words. Please take extra care when chosing animal products. Please, do not buy Steggles or Inghams. Open your heart and make small changes to make a difference in thousands of animals lives.

Warning. Disturbing images in this video. I cannot watch it anymore without losing it...

More videos from Animals Australia

please help here: Animals Australia

My inspiration

2010-05-15T21:36:00.003+10:00

/Mary Hutton is an inspiration to me. You may have heard of savethebears.org.au - you may not. Well to tell you a bit about how it came about I will tell you a bit about Mary.

She became passionate about saving bears after watching an ACA programme (rare for a current affairs programme to show something like this) about Asiatic Black bears held in coffin sized cages unable to move or turn with dirty catheters inserted directly into their gall bladder. These bears are kept this way as traditional Asian medicine uses bear bile so from the 80's, bears were kept in horrible conditions and milked for their bile.

First Mary set up a petition outside a shopping centre asking people to help free the bears. She received thousands of signatures and supports and in 1995 began free the bears as a non for profit charity.

She then joined forces with John Stephens who told her about the Sun bear, which are kept in restaurants and butchered for bear paw soup. John and Mary rescued a number of bears from Cambodia and brought these bears back to Australia to start a breeding programme. With more bears needing help, then came along the Cambodian Bear Sanctuary, which is the world’s largest sanctuary for Sun bears and has educated hundreds of thousands of Cambodians about the threats facing their wild bear populations!

The next challenge was India and the rescuing the poor dancing bears. Very tough. The fund joined with the wildlife SOS and the first 25 bears entered the Agra Bear Sanctuary in 2002. in 2009 - “Raju” the last of India’s dancing bears is handed over, bringing the dancing bear trade to an end!! That's over 500 dancing bears rescued in India, an amazing achievement.

Mary is now at 71 years of age and is still fighting to bring bear bile farming to an end and strives to educate and strengthen law enforcement to help bears in need all over the world. Mary has helped the WSPA with their efforts in saving bears and also involved in bear sanctuaries in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.. Mary message: "Free the Bears fund is to protect, preserve and enrich the lives of bears throughout the world."

Free the bears have saved in total an amazing 751 bears!! In India: 525, Cambodia: 140, Vietnam: 33, Laos: 23, Thailand : 25, Indonesia: 5.

Mary inspires me because she followed her passion of wanting to help these amazing animals that cant help themselves. She united other people with the same passion and shows there is hope and you can help. Sometimes with all the brutality I see animals going through, I lose hope. This shows me that I must not give up, that my passion will help and I will be dedicating my life to helping animals that cannot help themselves. My aim is to go over to volunteer in Asia one day, hopefully for a few weeks.

This is one of the many heroes out there and I will be sharing more.

To find out more about free the bears and their work, or to donate or help out, please visit http://www.freethebears.org.au/

Beauty

2010-05-15T20:25:00.000+10:00

"A nine-day-old gorilla lays in the hand of its mother Kijivu at the Prague Zoo on May 3, 2010"

A truly beautiful and moving picture.

Here are some amazing pictures of animals in the news lately at this link

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/animals_in_the_news.html

home

2010-04-29T23:08:00.000+10:00

Just sharing some pics that I took out the front the other day. Went down after work and watched some surfers and stayed until dark. Only have my iphone but got some cool shots. Nothing could capture the moon though, it was amazing...still working on my next story...enjoy!

Easy choices to make a difference

2010-04-20T17:28:00.000+10:00

An interesting article I read through a GREENPEACE newsletter was about canned tuna. Most people know to only buy "dolphin friendly" - and it is very rare to find tuna now a can that does not have this label... in fact...my cat food even has this label!

Many of you may not know, as I did not know myself, that canned tuna is still hurting other precious marine life.

Did you know that canned tuna is Australia’s biggest selling seafood item. Yet none of our canned tuna brands use tuna that’s caught sustainably. Increasing demand for tuna has decimated global tuna stocks. And to make things worse, destructive tuna fishing methods kill other marine life such as turtles and sharks.

Supermarkets rack up over $300 million a year from canned tuna. By selling us tuna that’s not caught sustainably, supermarkets play a key role in the tuna crisis. It’s time they cease trading with companies that use overfished tuna species and destructive fishing methods.

BUT before you freak out and think "geez well what CAN I eat then??" Greenpeace have created an easy to read guide that shows you the brands that use the best/least harmful methods of fishing so you can make an informed decision when purchasing tuna

GREENSEAS and COLES are the top two brands in sourcing their tuna sustainably. You can find out more information here or at http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/issues/overfishing/our-work/cannedtuna and learn more about what brands NOT to buy and more about how these brands received their ratings.

We all care about our marine life and I share this information with you so hopefully we can all just make a better choice at the supermarkets and help preserve our oceans.

information sourced from Greenpeace

Vicky x

Fresh start!

2010-04-20T16:58:00.001+10:00

So due to a terrible throat infection and not being able to talk for 2 days while antibiotics take effect, i've been wondering...what shall I do with myself? Wondering around the internet and facebook trying to fill in time. Catching up on old newsletters I haven't read in ages and reading about more and more horrendous animal abuse stories, and the occasional good story. Of course! My blog has been sitting here collecting dust as I have been using my facebook as my main means of sharing information about current animal rights issues.

Facebook is an excellent way to share information with others, however I do miss writing my own feelings about each issue and sharing the whole story and showing ways others can help.

So, with a fresh start in my life - moving from Brisbane to the Gold Coast by the gorgeous beach - new job and new attitude...I have given my blog a bit of a makeover and some TLC and will be packing it with some great stories and lots of information.

So enjoy reading...help out where you can and feel free to comment.

pic taken and edited on my iphone.
Vicky x

Australia's Dirty Secret

2009-12-08T15:54:00.000+10:00

This post is going to be brief and straight to the point - I've written about the Australian Pork Industry before.
I'm still discusted to see no change. 60 Minutes on channel 9 finally told Australians about this disturbing truth.

Factory Farmed Animals. Discusting and cruel. Watch the videos - they speak for themselves. Unfortunetly, most Australians are not aware of the cruelty they are supporting by buying factory farmed products.

People need to know and see exactly what is being done to these animals. I am not saying don't eat them, but please do not support animal cruelty. These pigs have no need to spend their lives in such appalling conditions.

200,00 mother pigs are subject to this awful cruelty each year. It doesn't have to happen. By free range.

Help End Factory Farming at AnimalsAustralai.org

Help End Factory-Farming at AnimalsAustralia.org

Save & Free Dolphins!!

2009-11-04T13:40:00.000+10:00

As some of you may or may not know, the slaughter of thousands of dolphins each year has just been exposed to the public in a movie called "The Cove"

I am also here to educate you about this issue I am terribly passionate about. Here is some facts from the coves website.

In Japan, fishermen round up and slaughter hundreds and even thousands of dolphins and other small whales each year.
In the small fishing village of Taiji, entire schools of dolphins are driven into a hidden cove after a prolonged chase. Once trapped inside the cove, the fishermen kill the dolphins, slashing their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears. The water turns red with their blood, and the air fills with their screams.

This brutal massacre — the largest scale dolphin kill in the world — goes on for six months of every year. Even more scandalous, members of the international dolphin display industry take advantage of the dolphin slaughter to obtain some few, show-quality dolphins for use in captive dolphin shows and dolphin swim programs.

It is commonly assumed that Japanese fishermen hunt dolphins to supply a small minority of Japanese people with dolphin meat. But unlike the expensive whale meat, dolphin meat is not considered a delicacy in Japan, and the real reason the Japanese government issues permits to kill dolphins by the thousands every year has nothing to do with food culture. It has to do with pest control. As shocking as it sounds, some Japanese government officials view dolphins as pests to be eradicated in huge numbers. During a meeting at Taiji City Hall, the fishermen of Taiji admitted this to us. "We don’t kill the dolphins primarily for their meat. We kill them as a form of pest control," they told us. In other words, killing the competition is their way of preserving the ocean’s fish for themselves.

The fact is this is unesccesary and the dolphins are slaughtered INHUMANELY!

The majority of people in Japan have no knowledge about the annual dolphin blood bath.

ALSO

Concealing this information from the public is a violation of Article 21 of the Japanese Constitution!

"The Japanese dolphin hunt will continue for as long as members of the international dolphinarium industry continue to reward the hunters for show quality dolphins, thereby making the hunt tremendously profitable."

http://www.takepart.com/thecove/ Is an EXCELLENT site to visit! It shows several ways you can help by signing petitions, spreading the word on facebook, learn more about dolphins in captivity and chosing the best fish to eat.

http://www.savejapandolphins.org/ Is also a great site to visit on how you can help AND educate yourself further.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP

Bear Baiting In Pakistan

2009-07-06T19:20:00.002+10:00

Please note this is not anything negative about anyone in Pakistan. The main reason I post this is to share awareness and show how we are trying to use money and education to help Pakistan people find OTHER ways to make money other than animal cruelty blood sports...
Bear baiting in Pakistan is possibly the world’s most savage blood sport. With their teeth removed, bears are tied to a post and set-upon by fighting dogs.

Bears sustain more injuries than dogs and usually suffer ripped noses and mouths. Most bears are permanently scarred, but the killing of either animal is avoided, as they are too valuable. Fights are mainly held at local fairs and attract a crowd of up to 2000 spectators.

Life away from the fighting ring is also miserable for these bears. Between events, the bears are commonly tethered on a short chain through the nose and many bears are chronically ill due to poor diet.

Pakistan is the only country where bear baiting takes place, despite the ‘blood sport’ being illegal under the country’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1890 and under the Pakistan Wildlife Act. It is also illegal under Islamic Law to bait animals.

Success so far

We have been working with our member society ‘The Bioresource Research Centre‘ to reduce the number of bear baiting events held. Each year we manage to identify more events and pass information to the authorities to get them stopped. In 2007, we identified over 150 events with 75% of the events being stopped.

Up to 300 bears, and around 1000 dogs were involved when WSPA first undertook investigations in 1993. Today the number of fighting bears has been estimated as around 80.

While opposition to the fights is increasing, there is still much work to be done to save bears caught up in this brutal pastime.

Education and awareness building are key to stopping the demand for this barbaric form of entertainment. Within local communities we can work to change attitudes and make people aware that bears are sentient beings that experience fear and pain. Mobile ‘infotainment’ unit at rural fairs, television advertising and relationship building with religious leaders are some of the ways we are able to reach local communities that engage in this practice. As these events become unacceptable, the demand for bears to be forced into fighting will decrease and the cycle of cruelty will be broken.

The Kund Park Bear Sanctuary

In June 2001, the first bear to be confiscated from a bear baiting event arrived at the sanctuary built by WSPA in Pakistan‘s North West Frontier Province. Rustam, a male Himalayan black bear, believed to be about 15 years old, was confiscated after he was used in a savage bear-dog fight at Khan Bela, in the south of Pakistan, the year before.

At the time of the event in Khan Bela, WSPA alerted authorities to the fight and photographed it from the air. Some time later two of the organisers were arrested and imprisoned. Due to a legal appeal, Rustam was kept in a barren enclosure in a nearby zoo at Rahim Yar Khan. After seven months WSPA finally secured permission to move the bear to the newly built sanctuary, Kund Park.

The sanctuary ensures that on arrival all bears are:

• Quarantined for several weeks
• Vaccinated against infections such as hepatitis and distemper
• Checked for worms and external parasites

Sanctuary Surroundings

Following a period in quarantine, the bears are introduced to one of the large wooded enclosures that form the main part of the sanctuary.

For Rustam, Kund Park will be his permanent retirement home, since as a tame bear without most of his teeth, he could never adapt to life in the wild.

WSPA continues to liaise with the Pakistan government urging it to clamp down on illegal bear baiting activities and re-house confiscated bears in the sanctuary. WSPA is also available to provide technical advice whenever necessary.

Thanks to WSPA Australia & NZ for this information.
If you want to help, please sign a peition or donate 5 dollars to help a bear be rescued!!! here
more info here: BEAR BAITING

Australian Piggery Charged for Animal Cruelty

2009-05-21T12:06:00.002+10:00

More videos from Animals Australia

This is one of the worst cases of cruelty at a major Australian piggery. This piggery supplies meat to Woolworths. This cruelty is bad enough that the piggery are being charged with serious cases of neglect and abuse, including a sow who was slowly dying as hundreds of maggots ate at her infected shoulder. Another sows legs were so badly infected she couldn't stand or feed herself. Most of the pigs were so bad they had to be put down. However, laws in Australia still say its acceptable for pigs to be kept in cages like this. We can see what happens to them!

If you buy something that doesn't have a free range label, your supporting these piggeries. Please only buy free range products

Rarest of all sharks found, then eaten

2009-04-08T17:10:00.002+10:00

This is an interesting story from nationalgeographic.com
Its a shame the shark was eaten as it is so rare, however this is just cultural difference.

In just a short time, one of the rarest sharks in the world went from swimming in Philippine waters to simmering in coconut milk.

The 13-foot-long (4-meter-long) megamouth shark (pictured), caught on March 30 by mackerel fishers off the city of Donsol, was only the 41st megamouth shark ever found, according to WWF-Philippines.

Fishers brought the odd creature—which died during its capture—to local project manager Elson Aca of WWF, an international conservation nonprofit.

Aca immediately identified it as a megamouth shark and encouraged the fishers not to eat it.

But the draw of the delicacy was too great: The 1,102-pound (500-kilogram) shark was butchered for a shark-meat dish called kinuout.

"While it is sad that this rare megamouth shark was ultimately lost, the discovery highlights the incredible biodiversity found in the Donsol area and the relatively good health of the ecosystem," Yokelee Lee, WWF-US program officer for the Coral Triangle, said in an email.

The Coral Triangle, which spans Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste (East Timor), is home to the richest concentration of marine life—including iridescent corals—in the world, according to WWF.

"It is essential that we continue working with the government and local community on the sustainable management of Donsol's fisheries resources for the benefit of whale sharks, megamouth sharks, and the local community," Lee said.

The megamouth shark species, discovered in 1976 off Oahu, Hawaii, was so bizarre that scientists had to create a new family and genus to classify it. With its giant mouth but tiny teeth, megamouth, like the whale shark, is a filter feeder that preys on tiny animals and appears to be no danger to humans.

Only 40 megamouth sharks, including 7 in the Philippines, have been found since the initial discovery. The shark is so rare that the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the megamouth species as "data deficient."

(Related shark pictures: "Rare "Prehistoric" Shark Photographed Alive".)

Scientists who examined Megamouth 41—the Philippine specimen's official name, bestowed by the Florida Museum of Natural History—before it was eaten found facial scars from past run-ins with gill nets. The shark's last meal was shrimp larvae.

Other shark species in Donsol are valued for conservation rather than consumption: The region hosts a successful ecotourism project that allows people to swim with whale sharks, according to WWF.

—Christine Dell'Amore

hotograph by Elson Q. Aca/WWF-Philippines

beauty

2009-03-29T22:50:00.002+10:00

Thought I would post an amazing picture since my last couple of posts have been pretty bleak.

I am getting around to reading everyone's blogs and catching up so sorry I haven't left many comments

x

Canadas Commercial Seal Slaughter

2009-03-27T09:42:00.003+10:00

These seals are slaughtered every year. There is a team that have been documenting the slaughter for 11 years and will keep doing so until the slaughter stops. They must show the world this disgusting, sickening brutality.

These seals are 3 weeks old when they are clubbed to death and skinned for their fur.

The Sealers are becoming smart. They know people don't like the images of their dirty work. They now make sure as soon as cameras come they disappear. They leave a couple of survivors behind to shut people up. Still, 19,200 were killed!

From Rebecca Aldworth's blog entry:

" Today was very hard.

Sealers from the Magdalen Islands had already killed most of the seals allotted to them in their quota by the end of yesterday. So it was likely they would kill the rest today very quickly.

We would only have a few hours to film the cruel reality of this slaughter.

Our helicopters left at dawn, battling gale force winds to reach the killing zone. On the horizon, I could see sealing vessels working their way through the ice floes, slaughtering as many seals as they could before the quota was filled. We came closer, and the blood began to appear. Giant pools of it, spread all across the ice. Every few hundred feet, dozens of carcasses were abandoned in macabre piles. "

Please, if you care at all SHARE this story. Do not accept this. It is unthinkable that something so brutal still happens today. You don't have to donate. Just read the updates and see what you can do to help spread the word.

http://www.hsus.org/protectseals.html

Pictures tell the story

2009-02-24T19:39:00.016+10:00

So much has happened...One of the biggest things has been the Australian bush fires in Victoria. We all know about the tragic loss of lives and it deeply saddens me. I'm happy to see the strength in people pulling through and helping each other.

Our wildlife has taken a huge blow during this time as well. It is estimated that the wildlife death toll could top one million or more. Owners have been parted from their pets during the panic and rush to leave their homes.

Volunteers have worked around the clock to save the surviving wildlife and companion animals. They have treated burns and infections, respiratory conditions and worse. I shed many, many tears over the loss of people and animals in these fires. I only wish there was more I could do to help. I have no income I cannot donate. I wish I could donate my time and effort to help.

Bless you, all of you hero's and angels donating your time, money, effort, energy to helping fight the fires, save lives of all kinds.

Good luck to all. Here are some photos of the lucky ones to make it through...I think they tell the story better than I can.

If your touched you can help here:
http://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/
http://www.rspcavic.org/
http://www.redcross.org.au/default.asp

Back to blogging world

2009-02-24T19:28:00.003+10:00

Just wanted to say thank you all for your support in comments and reading my blog.
I am sorry I have been away for about a month. I have been going through a tough time of late, I'm no longer at my job, I haven't been well. I am back however and feeling strong.

I have been reading your blogs but have not been commenting as much as I would like to, so my apologies.

Here's to many more stories to share

x

12,000 reasons to desex your cat!

2009-01-31T12:37:00.002+10:00

This story tells it how it is. straight out. Please be a responsible pet owner... desex, microchip AND register your cat/dog!

story from brisbanetimes.com.au

This woman has killed 100 cats this week.

She had to.

Euthanasing cats and kittens is her business.

Melanie "Minnie" Layton is an animal attendant at the RSPCA's centre at Fairfeld.

Recent moves by the State Government to force councils to make it compulsory for people to register their cats by July 1 may be one small way of making her job easier.

However, if councils don't strongly encourage ratepayers to desex their cats - with hefty discounts for desexed cats in the new cat registrations - her job will continue to be as hard as it really is.

On the day we spoke it had been a hard day.

"The other day we had to euthanase 32 cats, primarily because there are just too many cats," Minnie said.

"And these were beautiful cats. There was nothing wrong with them - they were healthy, really beautiful cats," she said.

"And that is really hard to deal with because they don't deserve that.

"They deserve to live and be happy and healthy."

The irony for the Queensland's peak animal welfare organisation, the RSPCA, is that too many Queenslanders and certainly Brisbanites think cats and kittens are cute, but easily disposable.

When they become an inconvenience, they are dumped.

The RSPCA receives 18,000 cats and kittens each year and kills 12,000 of them by legal injection.

Minnie Layton's job is to clean up that mess.

For five days straight in a month-long roster, Minnie Layton puts cats and kittens to death.

Stray cats have a three-day shelf life, but if someone surrenders their own cat, they have just 24 hours.

And it is not pretty.

Unfortunately, it is pretty necessary.

The RSPCA would choke if she didn't do her job.

Minnie Layton might spend three days looking after cats and kittens and then, on the fourth day come and collect the cats that the vet marks with a big "C" on the chart above their stall.

They all go off to "Central", the centre at the RSPCA's Fairfield home where they are killed.

After that, the cats get an injection in the stomach with a legal mix of barbiturates.

And then there is the disposal.

"After the euthanasing we have to check to make sure that they have passed away," Minnie explains.

"And after that we have to look after each body and dispose of each correctly."

That part gets serious.

Every animal attendant has a soft side.

Later, Minnie says the euthanasing is a hard, but necessary part of her job - something that effects all her colleagues.

"They have images of cats they have euthanased going through their heads at night," Minnie said.

"And they always question themselves. Why? Why that cat?

"You just question the owners of the cats. Why didn't you get your cat de-sexed."

Perhaps surprisingly, Minnie does have pets.

"I have two cats, a dog and a fish."

help out here: RSPCA

Happy Australia Day

2009-01-23T17:08:00.001+10:00

Change In Koala Habitat

2009-01-14T16:41:00.002+10:00

Firstly is a map of the Koala population in 1788 and 2008.

See it for yourself… the huge impact our urbanised lifestyle has had on our country and the devastating loss the land has felt since Europeans settled in Australia.

These maps depict more than just the trees that we have lost over the last three centuries, they show the mass deterioration of the habitat of over 400 endangered species.

The koala is our nation’s icon and is one of the many species that have been left to survive amongst our toxic urbanised world.

Over $8 million of science simply and powerfully demonstrates the devastation that Australian biodiversity has faced since1788.

This is the hard evidence we can use to awaken the world’s decision makers and ensure they take immediate action to protect the koalas and the rest of Australia’s biodiversity.

Don't take my fur!

2009-01-07T11:05:00.001+10:00

I do think it looks better on you.

mimicking human behaviour

2008-12-23T15:33:00.003+10:00

An interesting story from national geographic.com

Bonnie's whistling isn't so surprising to her caregivers. The 140-pound (63.5-kilometer) orangutan at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has been whistling for about two decades.

Now a new study suggests that the sounds she makes could hold clues about the origins of human language.

"The assumption is that someone was whistling and she probably picked it up from them," said animal keeper and study co-auther Erin Stromberg.

Lisa Stevens, the zoo's curator for great apes and giant pandas, said the key point is that the orangutan was not trained to whistle.

While orangutans can be taught new sounds with extensive training, Bonnie is the first indication that the animals can independently pick up the sounds from other species.

"It's something she spontaneously developed," Stevens said. "It wasn't a trick."

Mimicking Motions

Orangutans are known to imitate humans. Bonnie, for instance, sometimes sweeps up after herself, just as her caretakers do, even though the zookeepers don't encourage this behavior.

Lead author Serge Wich of the Great Ape Trust of Iowa, said orangutans in Indonesia have been seen pretending to wash clothes.

"We know they are capable of imitating these motor skills, but we never had any good indication of sounds for vocalization," said Wich, who presented his research on December 18 during a symposium at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Bonnie the Orangutan Whistling

1,000 Pets Rehomed!!

2008-12-19T14:43:00.003+10:00

Pet Rescue Australia has reached their target to rehome 1,000 pets for Christmas.

Every email sent, every dollar donated has helped 1,000 pets find their way out of a shelter and into a home of their own this xmas. This is an amazing achievement and one worth celebrating.

It's sooo good to see this result that people do care about animals in shelters and they are looking to this option.

My mum

2008-12-16T10:01:00.002+10:00

Mum has been ill of late. She worried me very much!! Mum has always had a few health problems which my family and I are used to now, but this time when mum was admitted to hospital for heart pains and told she may need a triple bypass due to 3 blocked arteries, this was scary.

I don't know what I would do without my mum, she is a wonderful, kind, beautiful person who I look up to and look forward to hearing from everyday.

She is now home from hospital on medication to try to clear those blockages and triple bypass as a last resort if all else fails.

I wanted to write a post to express how much I love her and put my prayers and good wishes out there for her.

Love ya mum and get well soon. Bring on 2009

This confuses my views on conservation...

2008-12-16T08:40:00.004+10:00

This story from national geographic.com speaks about a study done over six years which now proves that protected Elephants in the wild live more than TWICE as long as those captive in Zoo's. This has really confused my views on conservation.

I do believe however that, unfortunetly, we have to have these animals in zoo's to educate people. As sad as it is, some people may not care for the elephants if they don't get the chance to see them in real life in a zoo. Hmm..the story still makes me kinda sad though.

"Wild elephants in protected areas of Africa and Asia live more than twice as long as those in European zoos, a new study has found.

Animal welfare advocates have long clashed with zoo officials over concerns about the physical and mental health of elephants in captivity.

"We're worried that the whole system basically doesn't work and improving it is essential," said lead author Georgia Mason, a zoologist at the University of Guelph in Canada. Until these problems are resolved, the authors are calling for a halt to importing wild elephants and breeding them in facilities unless an institution can guarantee long, healthy lives for its elephants. The study will be published tomorrow in the journal Science.

Mason and colleagues looked at data from more than 4,500 wild and captive African and Asian elephants.

The data include elephants in European zoos, which house about half of the world's captive elephants; protected populations in Amboseli National Park in Kenya; and the Myanma Timber Enterprise in Myanmar (Burma), a government-run logging operation where Asian elephants are put to work.

Only the survival rates of females were analyzed because of their importance to future populations.

The findings show that captive elephants live considerably shorter lives."

THE OTHER SIDE:

In 2004 Wiese co-authored a paper in the journal Zoo Biology showing the opposite of Mason's findings: that zoo elephants live as long as those in the wild.

He said that within the last decade accredited facilities have made huge improvements in the care of captive elephants by providing better nutrition to combat obesity, as well as environmental enrichment activities that reduce stress.

"Typically anti-zoo critics throw … in our face the things that the zoo community has already identified as issues that we need to work on," Wiese said.

remember, they won't stay babies forever!

2008-12-04T13:41:00.005+10:00

I remember this add which was on TV when I was young from the RSPCA. I remember it because it featured this gorgeous Dalmatian puppy, and as it slowly grew to an adult and became more destructive and more costly, less loved. The message, they won't stay babies forever really relates to this story here.

A polar bear cub (1st picture) named Knut, was once a gorgeous and famous tourist attraction at the Berlin zoo. He is now getting the boot now he is a grumpy 2.5 metre tall adolescent.

The zoo defends his actions as "they just cannot afford to house/feed the bear anymore due to this current economic crisis." Ha! It's just the same as pet ownership. The Bear's keeper also passed away recently which has been blamed for the bears bad behaviour.

Supporters of the bear in Berlin are rallying to keep the bear there and trying to save money, however a number of animal refuges are expressing interest in housing the bear. The most popular contender is Gelsenkirchen Zoo, who not only have the space and resources, but also a suitable breeding partner, Lara, who is also adolescent.

Let's hope a positive becomes of this situation and they do breed which is another step forward in animal conservation.

So remember, all things cute and cuddly grow up eventually. They stay just as beautiful to me!

lolcats

2008-12-02T17:30:00.002+10:00

Translation "grandpa kitty does not understand technology"

One of my fave sites, just sweet photos.

Pet Rescue.com.au

2008-11-27T11:51:00.002+10:00

Heres a graph that makes me happy. It shows the increase of animals homed in Australia over the years via Pet Rescue.com.au

This means people are listening and rescuing pets that need homes. They have a goal of homing 1000 pets for christmas. Although I cannot adopt as my small townhouse barely holds Jonah my cat inside, I still donate to this not for profit organisiation.

Turkey Absuse in America

2008-11-20T17:05:00.001+10:00

story from my PETA newsletter:
PLEASE DON'T BUY TURKEY!
Greetings,

The holiday season is upon us, but for turkeys on factory farms, there is nothing to be thankful for. We have just released footage from an undercover investigation that reveals a rarely seen side of the turkey industry. I must warn you that the cruelty to turkeys that we found is horrifying and heart-wrenching.

Men shoved feces and feed in turkeys' mouths and held turkeys' heads under water. One worker bragged about jamming a broom stick 2 feet down a turkey's throat because the turkey had pecked at the worker's back. The same man mimicked raping a turkey hen whom he had pinned against a shed floor.

Others told PETA's investigator that they had killed turkeys, including by hitting them with pieces of lumber and pipes. Workers broke turkeys' necks, sometimes leaving them to suffer for several minutes before trying again or stomping on their heads. A supervisor said that he saw workers kill 450 turkeys with 2-by-4s. Many of the workers kicked and violently threw turkeys, and hens' beaks were cut with dull pliers. You can watch video footage from the investigation here.

Now that our undercover investigator has exposed what the turkey industry does not want America to see, we need you to help turkeys on factory farms by writing to the National Turkey Federation (NTF) and asking it to support PETA's seven-point animal welfare plan, which will help reduce the suffering of turkeys.

After writing to the NTF, please consider other ways that you can help birds during this holiday season. You can keep them off your plate this holiday season by choosing mouthwatering vegan options instead, and you can support PETA's work so that we can continue to investigate and stop animal abuse worldwide.

Thank you for your compassion for animals.

-Argh I think i'm going to be sick...

Elephant tusks sold to raise money for conservation?

2008-11-11T11:14:00.004+10:00

This story from National Geographic.com

The world's first legal ivory auctions in nearly a decade ended Thursday with four African nations selling more than a hundred tons of tusks to Chinese and Japanese traders for the equivalent of nearly 15 million U.S. dollars.

The money raised during the controversial week of sales will reportedly be used for African elephant conservation

MANY protests have been held to this and I cannot come to the conclusion on this myself. Many have argued that auctioning the ivory stockpiles would cause poaching to increase particularly in the central, eastern and western African elephant range states where poaching is not yet properly controlled. This point was argued by Kenya-based conservationist and paleontologist Richard Leakey on his blog Wednesday.

It's a tough one. If the ivory has been confiscated and sold to raise funds to help stop poaching does this help? Or should we never sell the ivory and dispose of it. I'm confused on this one, but I do believe that it's all such a mess.

2008-10-31T15:32:00.001+10:00

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-10-30T17:18:00.006+10:00

This is my pre school shot. Wish my hair was that blonde still. Does every child have that white blonde hair when they are young? Did everyone in the 80's have that fringe!!!

Halloween

2008-10-30T15:22:00.003+10:00

I don't usually celebrate this American tradition, but at work we are having a dress up day which can be a bit of fun. Gold coin donations to buy some candy will be going to a charity. I thought this photo was sweet and would like to share. Story below from nationalgeographic.com

San Diego, California, October 28, 2008--Menderu, a six-month-old Malayan tiger cub, stalks a pumpkin stuffed with ground meat at the San Diego Zoo. Jack-o-lanterns were set out for Menderu, his two sisters, and mother as special Halloween treats.

Malayan tigers, like all tiger species, are endangered, according to the IUCN. Primary threats are habitat loss and poaching for their striped coats. The San Diego Zoo participates in breeding programs for Malayan and Sumatran tigers.
—Photograph by Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo

Priceless

2008-10-21T12:37:00.008+10:00

I purchased this book recently, Priceless - the vanishing beauty of a fragile planet, once of the best purchases I have ever made. The book, by Bradley Trevor Greive, which you may know from The Blue Day Book, which was highly popular.

This book, combined with stunning photographs from wildlife photographer Mitsuaki Iwago, has passages which really touched me. Breif and simple, it talks about the beauty of all animals, and the impact the daily lives of humans are having against their population.

It really touched me this book and im now 100% sure that this is something I am going to work towards my whole life. Conservation.

http://www.tarongafoundation.org/ is the foundation in which the book suports, which is part of Taronga Zoo and Western Plains Zoo Australia. Together, these zoo's are working hard towards education people about animals and working hard on the reproduction of endangered animals and releasing them into the wild.

You may think, when does this ever happen, zoo's are cruel?! Well, all people that care about animals one day hope to have a world without zoo's, where animals can live in harmony with humans and we do not have to have them in enclosures to ensure their species stay alive for centuries to come. A sucess story which I learned about in Priceless, is of the The Przewalski’s Horse.

The Przewalski’s Horse is the last relative of the wild horse, In May 1995, Western Plains Zoo reintroduced seven Przewalski Horses to Mongolia's Gobi Desert where they were last found in the wild. The Zoo is a proud partner in the continuing world wide captive breeding program which manages over one thousand horses. This is great news that they can be reintroduced to the wild!

Anyway, this book means a lot to me and it has stunning pictures which I now have on display in my house, they never fail to make me smile. If your interested in animal conservation, please visit http://www.tarongafoundation.org/ - This is one of my fave shots from the book...

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-10-17T10:55:00.003+10:00

This is myself wand my aunty eve who currently lives in England. I think we are at my great aunty beatie and uncle bills place in this picture. I like this picture, I think it's sweet. I wish I could remember times like these. I'm lucky enough to have some video footage of my visits to great aunty beatie and bill's place, and I had a ball when I went. Mum tells me they adored me as well.

tiny

2008-10-17T10:49:00.001+10:00

gorgeous baby sloth, look at the cute little face!

KFC cruelty

2008-10-16T13:46:00.001+10:00

I have never been a big fan of Pamela Anderson's acting, but she does a lot for PETA and WSPA. If you think cruelty to chickens is nothing really, watch this video. Think again.

Watch more videos at KentuckyFriedCruelty.com.

I feel a deep, dark feeling inside where I am just at a loss. It hurts me on the inside and I sit and I cry. Why can't I do something to make a difference?? I can type all I want and cry all I want and preach all I want, but these animals are still suffering through the most ruthful punishment and I just don't know what to do. I guess everyone that I inform makes a differance, if they learn to care, maybe they can slowly make differant choices. I won't give up, I just feel desperatly sad.

do animals matter to you?

2008-10-15T15:45:00.006+10:00

They matter to me! If they matter to you, simply go to: http://www.animalsmatter.org/ and sign the UNIVERSAL declaration on animal welfare. It's a simple and quick way to show you care about the welfare of animals around the world!

Hope you all have a moment to visit the link!

cats, cats, cats!

2008-10-15T15:38:00.002+10:00

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-10-09T11:40:00.004+10:00

I finally have access to some old photos, thanks to the slide show my mum created for my 21st birthday. Here is a shot of me and my dad, since I have not included him in my nostalgic Saturday before, so I thought I would enclude him here. I love my dad, hes amazing. I don't get to see him as often as I would like as he and my mum split when I was about 7? He has always made the effort to see me whenever possible, which was usually every second weekend, he would drive for 5 hours to come visit. Then when he moved to Sydney, he would fly me down every second weekend. He always does whatever he can for me and he is so loveing and caring and I cannot speak highly enough of him. Love you dad!

animal news

2008-10-09T11:18:00.002+10:00

Story From Nationalgeographic.com
"Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 7, 2008--Nearly 400 juvenile penguins march toward the sea in the final leg of a human-assisted journey home after becoming stranded in equatorial waters.

Magellanic penguins breed in southern Argentina and Chile and follow prey north from March to September. Usually this leads to southern Brazil, but this year hundreds followed a current further north.

Rescuers flew them south on a military plane, where they were released to the ocean to complete the return journey. "

--John Roach
—Photograph by International Fund For Animal Welfare

family

2008-10-09T11:06:00.007+10:00

Just thought I'd share some photos of my gorgeous family. I tresured this day that I could have them all together... x Myself and my gorgeous man
My beautiful mum and aunty
My stepdad and my step mum

AND my dad and my mum

the party

2008-09-30T14:22:00.001+10:00

It was such a success! Such a wonderful night!! I have many photos to post shortly but here is one with me in the middle with the black dress. Stay tuned for stories and pictures and thank you for your lovely birthay messages!! x

my 21st!!!!

2008-09-26T13:36:00.002+10:00

I have been really slack with the blog as it has been my birthday and tomorrow is the 21st birthday party. So excited, will report back with lots of photos after the big day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! The theme is black and white

Tainted milk hurting more than just humans

2008-09-26T13:32:00.002+10:00

Story from national geographic.com
"Hangzhou, China, September 24, 2008-- A baby lion that was regularly fed the tainted milk at the center of China's most recent food scare is examined for kidney stones.

Melamine, a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, has been found in infant formula and other milk products from 22 Chinese dairy companies, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The chemical masks protein deficiency in watered-down milk.

More than 54,000 infants have been sickened by the tainted milk, four died. "

Relaaaaaaaaxing

2008-09-18T17:03:00.001+10:00

from nationalgeographic.com

Ahhh I have been missing writing entries. I am still without my laptop at home so I only have internet access at work in my breaks. Well a small update, it is now my birthday next Tuesday, finally 21. The big party is the following Saturday. Things are looking close to being ready, veryyyyyy excited.

Trying to be very animal proactive, I have been making monthly donations to RSPCA, Animals Australia and Pet Rescue. Also at work we had a cupcake day for the RSPCA which raised $1000. The cupcake day was done nation wide and australia raised $73,000 for the RSPCA!!!

Next project is to raise funds to protect our gorgeous Koalas who desperatly need our help.

Thoughts on my mind lately? Acutally doing something higher than veterinary nursing, studying Zoology. Of course this would be very straining on my small brain but it's something im giving some thought to...

More soon. Nostalgic Saturday will be back soon!!!

NO TREE. NO ME

2008-09-18T17:03:00.000+10:00

My team coach at my work and myself are both very passionate about animals. He has been lucky enough to have some wonderful close encounters and experiences with animals. Together we have come up with the idea to have a fund raiser at work to raise funds for https://www.savethekoala.com/index.html

These gorrrrrgeous animals need our help. They are not only fighting there habitat being wiped out, they are fighting a DEADLY virus similar to aids, which is becoming so common in Koala's, babies are now being born with it. There are dedicated people trying to help these Koala's, but everyone can help.

Check out the website and you might be suprised how easy it is to help :)

Happy Birthday Jonah

2008-09-10T17:35:00.002+10:00

Happy birthday to my darling boy! He turns one today, or 15 in human years. SCAREY! I have a teenage boy now. Well he is still a baby in my eyes. Its been roughly 10 months since Jonah has been in myself and Joseph's life and we love him to bits. I'm going to buy him some treats for his birthday, and I'm about to hurry home from work to give him lots of cuddles.

Pandas surviving the earthquake

2008-09-09T15:07:00.003+10:00

Really interesting video to watch. I just love Panda bears
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/photogalleries/homo_floresiensis_1/

WEEKLY POST

2008-09-05T13:25:00.003+10:00

As my laptop is still at my mum's and I am without the internet, I'm just doing weekly posts with my fave animal pics of the week until I'm back on my normal schedule.

London, England, August 28, 2008—Diana, a real donkey from the Island Farm Donkey Sanctuary, joins a pantomime donkey at a charity event staged to raise awareness about the plight of abused, neglected, and abandoned donkeys.

The event was hosted by Gift Republic, a specialty gift store, to encourage people to support sanctuaries through adopt-a-donkey programs. Diana, who was born at the sanctuary in 1997 to a rescued abandoned donkey, is one of the sanctuary's prized show donkeys.

Friday Ark

2008-08-29T12:30:00.004+10:00

As my laptop is with my mum as she is kindly repairing it, I thought I would post some gorgeous pics from national geographics animal photos weekly as part of friday ark. Enjoy these special moments captured by camera...

A mother giraffe nuzzles her baby girl two days after she gave birth in front of guests at the San Diego Zoo. Photograph by Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo

Ready Eddy? A young seal named Eddy peers out from a basket en route to his release into the North Sea from the island of Juist.

Eddy was raised at a seal rehabilitation and breeding station in Norddeich, which cares for about 30 to 80 orphaned seals each year. Seals are released when they reach a minimum weight of 55 pounds (25 kilograms).
Photograph by Philpp Guelland/AFP/Getty Images

Flinder's Bay, Australia, August 26, 2008--A rare albino southern right whale calf frolics in waters off the coast of Western Australia. It is believed to be one of only ten white whales in the world.

Locals named the eight-week-old mammal Wilgi Manung, which is an aboriginal name for white whale. It will swim to the Antarctic for summer feeding in about a month. Photograph by whales-australia.com/Steve Mitchell/Reuters

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-08-24T21:14:00.003+10:00

I just wanted to a picture of my gorgeous mother when she used to dance on the English programe, Top of the Pops. Shes on the left in her groovy outfit with the host, Jimmie Savile. I have been even lucky enough to see some footage on youtube. Oh how I laughed, but im so glad I can see them and share the memories with her.

Heres a link to some info on the show here

Friday Ark

2008-08-24T20:35:00.003+10:00

Jonah was so intrigued by Honey. She just did not want a bar of it. Anytime he went near, she showed all her teeth as a warning. Oh well one day they may get along

Colin the baby whale passes away...

2008-08-22T13:58:00.002+10:00

Story from news.com:
GROWN men were in tears as Colin the abandoned baby humpback whale struggled as he was dragged behind a boat before being left to thrash on a beach after he was injected with a fatal dose of anaesthetic this morning.

Soon after 8.30am (AEST) officers from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) at the Basin in Sydney's northern beaches gave the calf what was believed to be as many as seven jabs of anaesthetic.

"It's a tragic end to a program that dozens of people have put their hearts and souls into," said NPWS spokesman John Dengate, describing the act of ending Colin's life as "harrowing".

NPWS spokesman Chris McIntosh said: "It was a sad moment, but it went quietly to sleep.

"The calf has been quietly and humanely euthanised.'

HOWEVER

"The local community was outraged at how the NPWS dragged the baby whale, bucking and thrashing, across 300m of water.

It was still thrashing when it was pulled up on the beach.

“I don’t understand why they didn’t let it die quietly,” said Michael Brown.

“It was obviously distressed. I’m 41 years old and almost collapsed.”

Mr Brown and other locals were crying as the baby whale - which had sought refuge in the bay for five days - was lashed by ropes to the NPWS boat as it continued to struggle. "

Vets who euthanased the animal said it was a smooth operation and the sedated animal remained stress free and calm throughout," it said.

It was later loaded onto a trailer to be taken to Taronga Zoo for an autopsy.

The autopsy will be aimed at finding clues as to why the whale was deserted by its mother - beginning the tragic story that has gripped the country.

This situation is just so sad and im pretty upset over it all. Who knows what horrors Colin would have faced out on his own without learning from his mother.

the face off continues...

2008-08-22T13:37:00.002+10:00

Tomorrow I'm off to my mum's for the weekend, and Jonah is coming with me. Last time he went there he was just a tiny kitten. He is a BIG FAT 11 1/2 month old cat now. I cannot wait to see what's going to happen with him and my mini foxy that lives with my mum. I'd say they would be about the same size now, and Jonah was the boss of her last time.

I'm pretty sure he will love the adventure this weekend. I'm excited. I will definatly post some pictures...

helping out

2008-08-21T18:00:00.002+10:00

A story from national geographic.com. I just love that we can assist with the quality of life for this gorgeous girl.

Jerusalem, Israel, August 18, 2008—After veterinarians were unable to revive ten-year-old African spurred tortoise Arava's paralyzed hind legs, the doctors attached wheels to help her maneuver.

Shmulik Yedvav, a zoological curator at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, where Arava lives, said the tortoise is attached to the wheels every day for a few hours, allowing her to move throughout the enclosure in an almost normal way.

In their southern Sahara home, wild spurred tortoises can live more than a hundred years.
—Photograph by Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Orphaned whale stuck in sydney

2008-08-21T13:56:00.002+10:00

Story from news.com.au:
Heartbreaking! I feel hopeless. It's a real tough situation...

"THE Defence Force has agreed to supply a fuel bladder on which Colin the abandoned baby whale could be towed to sea, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said he had agreed to a request from New South Wales Environment Minister Nathan Rees to supply the fuel cell to be used like a giant inflatable raft to tow the whale calf out to sea in the hope a pod of humpbacks will go past.

However, National Parks and Wildlife spokesman John Dengate said the baby whale, in Sydney's Pittwater, would have been in communication with pods going up the coast because they could communicate across kilometres.

He said whales never had twins so finding a mother who already had a calf to adopt Colin was almost out of the question.

“The whale itself is in a satisfactory condition,” Mr Dengate said this morning.

“It is swimming well, it’s breathing OK and it is stable in the water so there is no need for any urgent action.”

National Parks and Wildlife Service officers are awaiting the arrival of leading whale vet David Bligh from Seaworld today.

The distressed calf has been nuzzling boats in Pittwater in a futile search for its mother since the weekend.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pictures: Colin the stranded baby humpback whale
Mal Holland: The Colin dilemma is a natural reaction

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Delivering the grim news that today was "decision-day" for Colin, Mr Rees said the Defence Force plan may by the last hope before experts euthanased the whale calf.

The plan will be put to a panel of experts today who will decide whether to end Colin's suffering if it fails.

Following Dr BLigh's assessment, there will be crisis talks between NPWS, RSPCA, ORCCA, SeaWorld and Taronga experts to make a decision on the next step.

The exercise to move Colin with this equipment would also need to be subjected to a sign-off from the vets and other experts.

"I am advised tomorrow is decision day," Mr Rees said.

"Colin's physical health is deteriorating. We will have to be guided by the experts as to whether his health is up to a further attempt at getting him out to open water and, if not, what the best option is."

Experts have warned that saving Colin by hand-rearing him could cost more than $2 million and may not even work.

Experts have advised the Department of Environment and Conservation in Sydney that a 10 gigalitre pool, the size of four Olympic pools would be required to house the animal to hand-rear it until it was 11 months old.

Mr Dengate said the advice of experts was that it was not physically possible to look after a whale like this.

"It's looking like it's too big a mountain to climb," he said. "We're racking our brains ... But we need to be realistic about this."

The challenges involved with raising the mammal in captivity were immense.

"To look after this little whale, you need to suckle it for 11 months, that's never been done anywhere in the word before for a whale this size or for that long," he said on Channel 9.

"You then need to get it to the Antarctic where its food supply is. Letting it go off Sydney, it's got a 2000km trip to make. It doesn't know how to avoid killer whales or how to find krill.

"There's a whole range of extremely serious problems with the idea of getting this little whale through to getting it released in the wild ... that's the advice we're getting from every single expert that we've spoken to," he said."

MY LAPTOP BROKE

2008-08-19T13:40:00.001+10:00

devo! I will still be making posts, just not nostalgic and friday ark until I buy a new laptop. sigh.

tiny

2008-08-15T19:19:00.001+10:00

Bristol, United Kingdom, August 12, 2008—A curator at Bristol Zoo Gardens holds a recently hatched Chinese box turtle, which weighs a half ounce (15 grams) and is about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) long.

"It is doing very well, eating plenty, and growing stronger every day," Tim Skeleton, curator of reptiles, said in a statement.

The sociable turtles, listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), are hunted for their meat, medicinal uses, and the pet trade.
Story from national geographic.com

update

2008-08-14T17:35:00.000+10:00

Sorry I have not been writing my usual entries. I have been feeling really weighed down as of late. So here's an update.

I went for a trail shift for my "dream job" turned out to be a disaster, the people were so unfriendly. it was not meant to be. I'm glad I went though as I would have been sitting here in my office job wondering "what if". Yes my current job is in an office and its not my career choice, but I am looked after SO well as a staff member and the people are so friendly. I'm happy to stay here to save some money till my real dream job does arrive.

I have also been busy organising my 21st birthday next month. Booking a venue, working out costs, what to wear, who to invite, making the invites. It's all very exciting.

I'm so tired, I'm dying for a weekend off to go spend with my mum at her place which I regard as my island retreat. I love going there and having beautiful meals and being out in the peace and quiet of her lovely garden.

I also wanted to say thank you to Abbey who sent me a lovely book on tranquility which I plan to read over this weekend and let you know how it goes. I am also planning to start Yoga asap.

This weekend I will be back to my normal posts, my Friday ark and nostalgic Saturday, and will catch up on all your previous posts. Sometimes I just get so sick of the computer after using it all day at work.

Friday Ark

2008-08-09T09:30:00.002+10:00

Theres my boys again. All they do is sleep!!

stress relief

2008-08-05T20:32:00.003+10:00

I will have to double up my nostalgic Saturday posts this week. I have been flat out at work the past few days.

Feeling very stressed lately, decisions I have to make about what job to stick with. What if I make the wrong one? hmmmm. I need to find some time to read over Indigo's wellness Wednesday post on meditation.

I wish I could take myself back home, drive to the beach and listen to the waves. I miss that so much it aches. I can shut my eyes now and block out the noise from the roadworks making a new tunnel in the city.

I miss having the freedom of having my car, just so I could drive and get out into nature. I want to be in with the trees breathing the sweet fresh air.

Sigh. I might actually go to bed now just so I can dream of this...

Friday Ark

2008-08-02T09:32:00.004+10:00

Jonah reminds me of my dog Gizmoe, my little Giz rest in peace. The way Jonah lays is exactly like how Giz did, on his back with arms in the air. Man he makes me laugh. I just can't seem to take a photo that really captures what I'm talking about.
Join the ark here

MORE beauty

2008-07-31T13:07:00.002+10:00

Another story from National Geographic website - its one of my faves!! This is just an amazing shot and it really took my breath away. He's just so tiny!!

Chengdu, China, July 28, 2008—One of four giant panda cubs born within 14 hours of each other stretches at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center in Sichuan Province.

The birth of four pandas in quick succession is a rarity—and a boost to the population of highly endangered species. All four cubs stem from an artificial-breeding program. Two are twins.

The center is home to 71 pandas. Only about 1,590 remain in the wild, mostly in bamboo-covered mountainous areas. getty images

beauty

2008-07-31T13:04:00.002+10:00

GORGEOUS photo. I LOVE Belugas
Story from National Geographic website.

"Hamada, Japan, July 26, 2008—A beluga whale blows bubbles at an aquarium in Japan to the delight of visitors who have come by the thousands to view the spectacle.

The whale is one of three that learned the trick from scuba divers, who give the whales breaths from regulators to enable the whales to blow the bubbles.

The beluga is native to Arctic waters and considered a vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Conservationists are petitioning the U.S. government to list an Alaskan population as endangered." Getty Images

Jamie's Fowl Dinners

2008-07-27T17:47:00.010+10:00

Jamie Oliver, whether you like him or hate him, did a great programme filmed in the U.K about the poultry industry, using various ways to expose and explain to consumers every detail of the industry. Everything, from when the chicks are born to when (and how) they are killed to all the kinds of products that contain egg and how these eggs are produced. A basic overview of the show from the uk channel 4 website:

"With the help of poultry farmers and experts including Bill Oddie and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie has brought together consumers, producers and retailers to discuss how chickens and eggs are produced and consumed in this country and whether things need to change."

I was in tears throughout most of the show, I mean, you have to be blind to not see the difference in a free range hen and a battery hen. It's just so frustrating being on a tight budget and forgetting that the less you pay, the worse the life for the animal.

He presented it fairly, and gave farmers a chance to speak and supermarkets and other companies to defend themselves. I found it interesting to see him visit a battery facility and a factory farm and see the farmers point of view. Basically, the farmers wants to take care of their stock the best they can as it basically produces a better quality of stock. It's hard for them as the consumer demand the cheapest product, which results in the battery caged hen usually.

It's a tough subject, but I think a lot of people do care about this, and i'm so glad channel 10 decided to air this programme, although it did have to compete with Bert Newton on This Is Your Life. The situation has improving with options of purchusing slightly more expensive eggs that are RSPCA approved. The chickens are in an enclosed barn with fresh air and sunlight, room to move and nests. They even have toys and scratching posts for stimulation.

Here's some stuff Jamie had to say:

What do you hope to achieve?
"In terms of what I hope to achieve, I think if even a small percentage of people watching were informed and decided to shop differently as a result, then that would make a real difference. Some of the people in the audience at the filming were shocked enough to want to change their shopping habits so I'm hoping some of the viewers at home will be affected in the same way. We should all be thinking why something is so cheap, rather than why others seem so expensive."

Will you be 'naming and shaming' farmers and retailers?
"I'm not naming and shaming any farmers because I'm a big supporter of all British farmers and, to me, they are caught between a rock and a hard place. In a way, this has been the hardest show I’ve ever made - what we've tried to do is make a straightforward programme about difficult issues in a balanced and fair way, and after broadcast I want to be able to sleep at night."

What do you think consumers can do to make a difference, what chicken and eggs should they buy?
"Basically, buy the highest welfare bird and eggs that you can afford. If you're used to buying standard battery eggs, try to pay an extra 5p per egg to barn eggs (which are much better welfare). If you're used to buying a non-free range chicken, pay an extra £1 or so for an animal with better living conditions, like natural light and stuff to do. It's morally better for the animal and it's morally better for the producers, because I haven't met a farmer yet who wouldn't love to move up to a better welfare situation for their animals."

I was so pleased to see a programme that was slightly confronting about animal cruelty. This is a situation where consumers do have several differently priced options. Although it does become hard when you find that egg products are in EVERYTHING and you cant choose where they get their egg product from. So bascially, choose wisely and read the labels. Try your best to choose the most humane product possible.

White Lion Cubs

2008-07-26T22:31:00.002+10:00

These animals are just stunning!!

Story taken from news.nationalgeographic.com

"Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, Germany, July 14, 2008—Three rare white lion cubs make their public debut at a wildlife park in north-central Germany.

The cubs are among of seven white lions born to two different mothers on June 30 in what park staff called a "giant surprise."

Despite their unusual look, white lions are actually African lions. A recessive gene causes their snowy white coats. About 30 white lions live in captivity worldwide. "

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-07-26T21:05:00.004+10:00

Inspired from Joseph's Effiel Tower pic, I decided to share when I went. This is mum and myself on a freezing day in Paris. There was a lit up countdown on the Tower, counting down the days till the millenium. 895 days on this particular day. Long time ago. I have a terrible haircut in this pic as one day whilst visiting my grandma in England, I just decided to trim my fringe myself. God I look ridiculous but I look so snuggly and warm with mum.

I wish I could remember more of my trip to europe. I went over with mum and saw her side of the family in England and went to Paris and disneyland! Then after that my dad flew over so I could see his side of the family and then we went to Spain together while mum and my stepdad toured europe. Such a great time except I cannot remember it. One day I'll get another shot of me in front of that tower.

Friday Ark

2008-07-25T12:43:00.004+10:00

Crows always sit on top of the building next to us, crowing away. It hypnotises Jonah. Its fascinating watching him and his instincts to hunt, however I would never want him to hunt a wild bird, I'm happy with Jonah hunting down flies in the house. Join the ark here

and someone else is back

2008-07-24T20:04:00.003+10:00

My man is back and he's back in one piece. I finally feel a little at ease, oh and now I have seen the photos, I'm slightly jealous

Im back!!

2008-07-24T19:53:00.002+10:00

I'm back on the web and trying to get on track of things. I have been reading up on my fave blogs but it takes some time to catch up.

A question that has been burning on my mind as I'm working a higher paying job that I really don't like and makes no difference. I long to be working with animals, and an opportunity has come up that may work for me. So I ask, In this day and age, what do you do? Work in a low paying job that your passionate about or a higher paying job you couldn't care about. I guess its an obvious answer, but I find myself always strapped for cash and having to borrow money.

Money, gosh I dislike it. It restricts me from everything. Well, its obvious what my passion is and I guess in the end you can't get anywhere without happiness.

Lucy Speaks

2008-07-22T16:50:00.002+10:00

Here is a video made to hopefully get in touch further with some people. I know I have already posted on the pork industry before but I also wanted to share this. Please check out animalsaustralia.org for more info

I havent had the chance to catch up on blogs yet so this is just a quick post while I'm at a net cafe. stay tuned.

If Pigs Could Talk...

no internet

2008-07-19T14:49:00.002+10:00

Hello all, Just a quick post to let you know I currently am without internet. Telstra have stuffed me around and im shopping for a new internet company. I look forward to catching up on everyones blogs and I should be back up and running by mid next week.

2008-07-14T19:53:00.004+10:00

"What with our hooks, snares, nets, and dogs, we are at war with all living creatures."
Seneca

Factory Farms

2008-07-14T17:43:00.002+10:00

Taken from animalsaustralia.org "It's commonly accepted that a Pig has the intelligence of a 3 year old.

Most Australians are appalled by animal cruelty. This is why Animals Australia has launched an unprecedented radio campaign, ‘Lucy Speaks’, to alert caring consumers to the truth about how over 90% of pork, bacon and ham is produced in this country.

Pigs are social and affectionate animals. They experience fear, pain and many emotions, not unlike the family pet. Yet most pigs raised in Australia are confined in factory farms, where they are denied any quality of life. What they are forced to endure in the name of profit would be illegal if they were instead a dog or cat.

Despite advances overseas, Australian laws still allow a pregnant pig to be confined in a ‘sow stall’—a barren metal cage barely bigger than her own body. She is unable even to turn around. Trapped in a cycle of suffering, she is forced to give birth on a hard concrete floor; denied the ability to nurture her young; and will be continually impregnated until her body can no longer physically cope. Her piglets are subjected to painful surgical procedures—without anaesthetic. Procedures include piglets have their teeth cut and tails cut off without anaesthetic—an excruciating procedure which can provoke vomiting, trembling and leg shaking.
Male piglets are routinely castrated without pain relief.

Unlike ‘cage’ eggs there is no product labelling on Australian (or imported) factory-farmed pork, bacon and ham products to warn caring consumers."

If this upsets you or you want to find out what you can to help, click here. Me? From today on, no more pig produts AT ALL unless I buy them for a butcher and I know it is free range pork. That is hard to find in Brisbane city so no pig products for me.

beauty

2008-07-13T20:28:00.003+10:00

Source Astronomy.com On June 18, Anthony Ayiomamitis captured the Moon rising against the Temple of Poseidon in Greece.

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-07-13T20:11:00.002+10:00

My scanner is also playing up and I was hoping on doing a post on my dad, but that will have to wait for next week.

Here is a pic of me as a baby, duh. I was a chubby thing, boarderline fat with the cloth nappies mum used to use on me. No wonder learning to walk was hard, with those nappies on I could hardly balance. I think here we are on a family holiday, possibly even to Brisbane for World Expo 88. I wish you could still remember some things from when you were a baby, I wonder what I was thinking back then...

Not so Friday ark

2008-07-13T19:57:00.004+10:00

My camera is not working at the moment as I need to buy a new battery, so here is just a lovely picture. Source Pixdaus

Prayer

2008-07-09T22:02:00.005+10:00

I remember when I was quite young (I could not give an age), my aunty gave me this small statue of an angel blowing a kiss. The angel sat on the edge of my desk which was next to my bed and guided me through the night. It was such a great comfort to me when I was young as I was very scared of the dark and nightmares. This angel is still in my bedroom at my mum's place.

I am not a very religious person but to me praying for someone also is a message that I am sending this person my love and well wishes. I want to pray for my Aunty. She is an inspiration to me.

My Aunty, who is also my godmother, has just received some more news of cancer. She has been fighting cancer for going on 10 years now, from breast to spine to bone. Words cannot describe this woman, she is such a strong woman who has such a fighting spirit, with the cancer AND battling M.S. I just want to say how much I love and respect her and have loved her from when I was a baby. I pray for her that she finds the strength to keep battling on and I am sending all the love and positive energy I have to her in my prayer. My thoughts also go out to my mother, my other aunt and my cousins and all my friends and family who are supporting her through this time and praying for them to also stay strong.

I know you will all join me in thinking of her for a moment. Thank you

All about me

2008-07-08T19:41:00.008+10:00

ME - taken from Abbeys Blog
I am: tired and sluggish
I think: about the past alot
I know: that I will get there one day!
I have: Love
I wish: for less stress
I hate: people putting me down (customers) when they don't even know me
I miss: Also Joseph
I fear: Pain
I feel: loved!!
I hear: Jonah purring
I smell: My dinner
I crave: To be held
I search: for information about everything and anything!!
I wonder: what life will be like
I regret: spending so much money
I love: Joseph, mum, dad, Jonah
I ache: In my legs, it never stops
I am not: always switched on (I often daydream)
I believe: in helping others
I dance: every weekend
I sing: when I'm alone
I cry: often
I don't always: accept
I fight: most things
I write: to pretty much all of my friends instead calling, well write = type
I win: in the family department. I'm very grateful
I never: wake up on time
I always: am hungry
I confuse: myself when trying to understand the minds of men
I listen: to every noise that passes my ear, I tune in to everything
I can usually be found: On my laptop
I am scared: Of life without my mum
I need: Joseph in my arms
I am happy about: The progress I have made in my life
I imagine: My future

I tag : anyone who wants to have a go

Lonely

2008-07-05T21:08:00.001+10:00

sigh

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-07-05T17:28:00.005+10:00

I went down memory lane today watching one of my favourite movies when I was a kid. BATMAN, the one with Michael Keaton and Jack Nickleson. Ohhh man watching it as an adult I really appreciate it. I used to love Vicky Vale, played by Kim Basinger. I would walk around in mums heels and pretend to be her. Even now watching it, I still have a bit of a crush on Michael Keaton as batman!

Anyway, I will add a picture here of me around the age I first watched this movie. I even had a batman T shirt, don't know what happened to it. Here I am at the beach which I always loved but I found this photo interesting as I do not know where in the world this beach is and where I am. Check out Abbeys blog to get the links to some other Nostalgic stories.

Friday Ark (belated)

2008-07-04T21:50:00.008+10:00

It feels like yesterday....

I am not posting a "new" photo this week as I was going through all my baby photos of Jonah . It really does feel like yesterday when I brought him home in his carry cage (which he fills up now)They get so big so quickly! I really enjoy looking at those baby photos like he was a child and miss that age!!! Join the ark here and post a pic of your loved one!

Puppy mill update

2008-07-03T08:53:00.004+10:00

Action is being taken in the U.S at the moment and finally a break through. I received an email today containing a video to show the hundreds of dogs that have been saved from just ONE puppy mill in Tennessee.

"Just one week ago, nearly 700 dogs lived in squalor there. Thanks to our dedicated team of responders, these dogs are now on their way to the loving homes they deserve. Dozens of staff from The Humane Society of the United States, along with other groups and a slew of volunteers, worked around the clock to remove the dogs from their miserable cages and provide them with tender care and medical attention for the first time in their lives.

These dogs are lucky because they will be adopted into loving homes. But thousands more still suffer at the hands of puppy mill operators and animal fighters, or from the unpredictable forces of nature. These are the animals our rescue teams are trained to save. In fact, our responders traveled to the puppy mill directly from Iowa, where they helped to rescue and shelter more than 1,000 animals victimized by the floods."

Click HERE to watch a video of the hundreds of dogs that have been rescued. You can also donate but it is an American organisation and this is also going on in Australia.

It is just a good feeling to know that there is being something done and there are people that care. I admire people like this who dedicate their time to save these animals and I hope one day I can do work like this. I plan to dedicate my life to help animals and getting this email really made me feel good to know there are a lot of other people out there in the world who feel the same as me. Keep up the good work guys, every person who cares make such a difference.

beauty

2008-07-02T20:38:00.002+10:00

Source

MUST watch

2008-06-30T20:15:00.002+10:00

The Lyre Bird. This is just amazing. How beautiful this birds song is just makes me love life. I also love the special effects it can do... "The fate of the creatures which share our planet lies entirely at the hand of mankind." - Sir David Attenborough

beauty

2008-06-30T19:58:00.002+10:00

Source

do people even know this is happening?

2008-06-28T18:47:00.001+10:00

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-06-28T14:11:00.003+10:00

This is my grandmother and grandfather sitting behind her at a dress up party. Love the guy dressed up as a woman haha. Looks like a fun party. My grandmother looks so beautiful. My mum sent me this photo, I'll have to ask her more if she knows more background info on this photo. Visit Abbey's page to see the links for our Nostalgic Saturday stories

Friday Ark

2008-06-27T18:43:00.003+10:00

I was trying to get some study done, but someone likes to take a nap in high traffic areas as always. Post a pic of your lovely little pet and link here

Live export for slaughter

2008-06-27T18:25:00.002+10:00

Australia’s international reputation for good animal welfare has taken a battering with people worldwide protesting the Rudd Government’s support of the cruel live export trade.

"From June 23, concerned citizens from countries as varied as Kenya, Indonesia, Mexico, the US and Ireland have been writing to their local Australian Embassy to highlight the suffering inflicted on sheep sent to the Middle East for slaughter. The international action will last for a fortnight, ending on July 4.

And in a show of unity, animal welfare groups around the world have been writing to Prime Minister Rudd directly to raise serious animal welfare concerns with the trade.

The global protest is part of the Handle with Care campaign against the long distance transport of animals for slaughter.

Handle with Care spokesperson Dr Hugh Wirth said international condemnation of the live export trade was a powerful way to tell the Rudd Government that Australia should no longer be a world leader in animal cruelty.

“This trade puts to shame the nation’s good record in many other areas of animal welfare, and tarnishes our otherwise good international reputation,” Dr Wirth said.

“We urge the many Australians who abhor the trade to contact their overseas friends, and ask them to let the Rudd Government know that live export must end.”

taken from world society for the protection of animals.

thoughts?

Animals and Natural Disasters

2008-06-26T19:42:00.004+10:00

Just some of the victims of the Midwest floods in America. Thousands of stranded pets are being moved to shelters all over America and many orphaned wildlife is also being cared for.
Images from nationalgeographic.com by Joe Raedle.

busy busy

2008-06-26T19:33:00.002+10:00

I have just started a new job and currently in 4 weeks training. A bit intense and full on but interesting learning some new skills. I need to do this to save some money for my next veterinary courses as I just can't afford to go any further in my studies till I have a bit of savings under my belt. Just not making ends meet at the moment so going to do some hard work for a while! (not that I don't normally work hard). I have been busy reading up on blogs but just haven't had the time to sit and think for myself and what I would like to blog about.

So life has been busy working all day and just exhausted when I come home finding the energy to play with my beloved Jonah. Missing the boy a lot but still very excited for him. So instead of posting some animal news, I'm just going to find a picture that really means something to me.

Keep posted for animal news and events. If your interested by any chance, one of the sites I visit daily is http://news.nationalgeographic.com/ Just fascinating news on nature. x

all byyyy myselffff

2008-06-23T21:09:00.004+10:00

my boy is gone for a whole month and I'm already terribly miserable and lonely. Sigh... I will be doing lots of blogging whilst he is away, and catching up on reading all your blogs. x

Nostalgic Saturday

2008-06-22T16:37:00.003+10:00

This is me when I was about 6? Not too sure on that one but anyway I am there with my best friend Anna who was often at my house as my mum used to do family daycare. She often came round when her mother had to work. We are dressed up for a performance at school. Each class was given a certain decade in history to dress up as, I can't remember why. I was dressed up from the 50's, based on a character from Greece. I love the way mum did my hair. The skirt was the closest thing to a full skirt. All I can remember of this day is doing the "time warp" dance haha. I like this photo. Thanks to Abbey for inviting me to walk down memory lane of myself and my family every Saturday.

Friday Ark - The meeting

2008-06-21T00:41:00.007+10:00

The first time my dog, my family dog that now lives with my mum, and my baby boy Jonah ever met. I took Jonah up to my mum's house for Christmas. I wish I got this in one shot but they wouldn't go near eachother. Just stared at eachother from either side of the room. When the finally did go near eachother, it was either her growling at him or him slapping her away with his paw. What an interesting day this was, at least I had the family together for Christmas.

Join the ark here

A bit of a mix...

2008-06-18T22:23:00.006+10:00

A Brisbane man cut off his 8 week old American Staffy pup's ears in an attempt to make the dog look "tougher", back in 2007. No pain relief or sedation. The maximum penalty so the news reports state is a $75,000 fine and 2 years imprisonment.

I see many acts of animal cruelty reported on television and in the newspapers. Another case not long ago of a teenage boy also from Brisbane who kicked a kitten to death after it approached him. His sentence was overturned as his lawyer argued "his client was severely punished when compared to six Townsville-based soldiers escaped jail who escaped jail in 2004 after pleading guilty to setting a litter of three-week-old stray kittens on fire before running them over."

I do believe tougher penalties need to stand. These animals don't have voices and are totally dependant on us to care for them, just like an innocent child is. No person or animal deserves abuse.

However with all the horror and cruelty in there world there is also such beauty and kindness. It amazes me as I research these acts of cruelty, the stories that I find about the people that help these creatures in these situations. All their time and effort and every dollar they have to save helpless animals.

I guess I don't really want this post to be a negative about the lack of strict penalties that get handed down in Australia against animal abuse, (which is totally true, but I don't want all my posts to be negative) but more a post so say Thank you to those volunteers and workers that dedicate their lives to helping those who don't have a voice, like the people that are acting as foster parents for this little pup with no ears. He was taken from a cruel owner to live the rest of his life with a family that will love and respect him.
So today or tomorrow, spread some love to the animal community. .
If its a cuddle to a companion, a pat to a dog walking down the street or just watching and appreciating the native wildlife around you. Trust me it will make you feel glowing inside.

Sleep

2008-06-18T21:58:00.003+10:00

My internet is back. I'm busy catching up on reading blogs. Hope I sleep well tonight like this fellow looks like he is. http://www.koalahospital.org.au

No Internet

2008-06-16T17:13:00.001+10:00

Hello Hello,

Just a quick post to say my home internet is down at the moment so I have just been checking my blog at an internet cafe. Thank you everyone for your comments and sorry for the lack of my comments. I look forward to catching up on some blog reading (your blogs that is) on my next day off, Wednesday :)

Interesting Fact

2008-06-14T23:50:00.003+10:00

"For a [female] cheetah the real danger is not losing a kill but losing her cubs. Ninety-five percent of cheetah cubs die before reaching independence." text and picture from National Geographic.