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ozone layer. Paul McCartney's "Meat-Free Monday" project is getting institutions
and individuals to look at the environmental devastation caused by
energy-intensive factory farming and to do something about it by reducing meat
consumption. In taking responsibility, President Obama would do well to
announce that he, too, is embracing at least that one baby step.
Those responsible in the corporate world and in government can never truly make
amends. How do you "make it up" to those who are suffering and dying in agony
out there at this very moment or to those who have already lost their lives or loved
ones? However, before looking away from the umpteenth heart-wrenching photo
of an oil-coated pelican, the rest of us can do something positive and make some
personal choices ourselves so that none of the oil companies will be able to claim
consumer demand as a reason for misbehaving. It's just a thought.
Ingrid E. Newkirk is the president and founder of People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org. Her latest book is
The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights.
Copyright © AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source
and individuals to look at the environmental devastation caused by
energy-intensive factory farming and to do something about it by reducing meat
consumption. In taking responsibility, President Obama would do well to
announce that he, too, is embracing at least that one baby step.
Those responsible in the corporate world and in government can never truly make
amends. How do you "make it up" to those who are suffering and dying in agony
out there at this very moment or to those who have already lost their lives or loved
ones? However, before looking away from the umpteenth heart-wrenching photo
of an oil-coated pelican, the rest of us can do something positive and make some
personal choices ourselves so that none of the oil companies will be able to claim
consumer demand as a reason for misbehaving. It's just a thought.
Ingrid E. Newkirk is the president and founder of People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org. Her latest book is
The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights.
Copyright © AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source
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www.ambiente.us JULY| JULIO 2010
PETA | BP should face cruelty charges
By Ingrid E. Newkirk
BP has more than the loss of human life, livelihoods and tourism to answer for. And so
do the government inspectors who allowed this corporation—as seemingly greedy as
the bankers, mining companies and marine park owners whose careless conduct has
resulted in similar destruction—to put profit over safety.
If the criminal investigation of BP and those who signed off on the drill-site inspection
sheets and safety assurances shows willful fraud and deception, dereliction of duty,
bribes or who knows what else, there is one additional set of criminal charges that
should be added to the list: cruelty to animals. For this is the largest case of cruelty to
animals in U.S. history.
We are being spared, for political reasons, some think, but mercifully perhaps, most of
the photographs of the animals who have died and are still dying, slowly, painfully, not
just coated but drenched in oil. It is hard for anyone with a heart to see the gulls and
pelicans, blinking up through a thick coat of muck that prevents them from flying, eating,
taking a drink of water and escaping the burning heat of summer. It is even too much to
come across a snippet of video that shows a huge rubber-gloved hand gently plucking
a tiny crab out of a puddle of black glop. Only the outline of his body tells you what he is,
although his struggles tell you that he is still alive. For the moment.
For most of the animals, any help is too late. Studies show that even if wildlife
PETA | BP should face cruelty charges
By Ingrid E. Newkirk
BP has more than the loss of human life, livelihoods and tourism to answer for. And so
do the government inspectors who allowed this corporation—as seemingly greedy as
the bankers, mining companies and marine park owners whose careless conduct has
resulted in similar destruction—to put profit over safety.
If the criminal investigation of BP and those who signed off on the drill-site inspection
sheets and safety assurances shows willful fraud and deception, dereliction of duty,
bribes or who knows what else, there is one additional set of criminal charges that
should be added to the list: cruelty to animals. For this is the largest case of cruelty to
animals in U.S. history.
We are being spared, for political reasons, some think, but mercifully perhaps, most of
the photographs of the animals who have died and are still dying, slowly, painfully, not
just coated but drenched in oil. It is hard for anyone with a heart to see the gulls and
pelicans, blinking up through a thick coat of muck that prevents them from flying, eating,
taking a drink of water and escaping the burning heat of summer. It is even too much to
come across a snippet of video that shows a huge rubber-gloved hand gently plucking
a tiny crab out of a puddle of black glop. Only the outline of his body tells you what he is,
although his struggles tell you that he is still alive. For the moment.
For most of the animals, any help is too late. Studies show that even if wildlife
rescuers capture an oiled bird in time, before much damage has been
done, the terror of being handled by a predator, of being force-fed, doused
and scrubbed, is too much for their pounding hearts to endure. Even if they
survive the trauma of being cleaned and re-cleaned, it is suspected that
most die after their release.
And in this case, one must ask, "Where can they be released?" Many birds
mate for life; others are lost without their flocks. Their nesting grounds now
lie under the oil slick; their friends and family are dead or dying. What is
there for them to return to?
And what of the turtles, dolphins and―dare I write it―the whales?
Cetacean experts do not expect whales to escape this slick completely.
Once killed for their own oil, will they now be killed by ours?
And don't laugh, but what of the fish? As inconvenient as it may be to think
about it, given the seafood buffets of summer, studies show that fish feel
pain and fear just as acutely as mammals do.
Whether or not BP is charged with cruelty, there are many things that we
can and should do other than just pointing a finger. Some suggestions are
to provide less support to oil companies by consuming less oil, by buying
fewer oil-based plastic goods (the beaches of Hawaiian atolls are inches
deep in discarded plastic) and by following the recommendations recently
issued by the United Nations and going vegan in order to save the
waterways, forests and
done, the terror of being handled by a predator, of being force-fed, doused
and scrubbed, is too much for their pounding hearts to endure. Even if they
survive the trauma of being cleaned and re-cleaned, it is suspected that
most die after their release.
And in this case, one must ask, "Where can they be released?" Many birds
mate for life; others are lost without their flocks. Their nesting grounds now
lie under the oil slick; their friends and family are dead or dying. What is
there for them to return to?
And what of the turtles, dolphins and―dare I write it―the whales?
Cetacean experts do not expect whales to escape this slick completely.
Once killed for their own oil, will they now be killed by ours?
And don't laugh, but what of the fish? As inconvenient as it may be to think
about it, given the seafood buffets of summer, studies show that fish feel
pain and fear just as acutely as mammals do.
Whether or not BP is charged with cruelty, there are many things that we
can and should do other than just pointing a finger. Some suggestions are
to provide less support to oil companies by consuming less oil, by buying
fewer oil-based plastic goods (the beaches of Hawaiian atolls are inches
deep in discarded plastic) and by following the recommendations recently
issued by the United Nations and going vegan in order to save the
waterways, forests and
Miami's Gay Performing Arts Festival July 7-11, 2010 outinthetropics.fundarte.us |
