R.I.P. Great Animals - 2016

Several remarkable animals passed in 2016, as well as the many people we know about. Read about those animals here.

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Great New Year News for Elephants!

Today, China announced a complete domestic ivory trade BAN in 2017! A major win for elephants!

http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/ban-ivory-trade-china%E2%80%99s-new-year-present-elephants

Happy New Year!

May ALL beings be happy, free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

More Good Quotes

"If your love is true love, it will benefit not only humans, but also animals, plants, and minerals. When you love one person, it’s an opportunity for you to love everyone, all beings. Then you are going in a good direction, and that is true love.

"Cultivating the four elements of true love—loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity—is the secret to nourishing deep and healthy relationships. When you practice with these elements regularly, you can handle the difficulties in your relationships and transform the suffering you feel inside. You become like a Buddha. You love everyone and every species." - Thich Nhat Hanh

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - M. Gandhi

"If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu." - Elizabeth Warren

Let's give every being a voice.

May all beings, without exception, be happy and free.

Saving Half of The Earth

It's looking more clear that by 2020, two-thirds of wild animals on our planet will be gone. Life is being extinguished as fast as when the dinosaurs disappeared. Unless we stop this tragedy, the Earth’s delicate biodiversity could completely collapse, leaving our planet deathly silent and uninhabitable for humans.

Scientists say our best chance to save our ecosystems and 80-90% of all species is giving them enough safe space to thrive, then nature uses its wisdom to regenerate. It's being called The 50% Plan. To get this off the ground we have to show our governments now that people overwhelmingly want to protect 50% of Earth from deforestation, dirty energy, and industrial fishing and agriculture. 

Here's a petition: https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/protect_half_our_planet_loc_sus/

Learn more:

Could we set aside half the Earth for nature? (The Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/jun/15/could-we-set-aside-half-the-earth-for-nature

How do we achieve the goal? (Nature Needs Half)
http://natureneedshalf.org/nature-needs-half/how-do-we-achieve-the-goal

Conservation: Glass half full (Nature)
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v531/n7593/full/531170a.html

Sixth Wildlife Mass Extinction May Happen in 2020, Experts Say (Nature World News)
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/30805/20161027/year-2020-era-wildlife-mass-extinction.htm

Don't Mourn, Regenerate!
https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/message-marrakesh-don%E2%80%99t-mourn-regenerate

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

What A Fish Knows

For those who eat fish, consider this book and the author's recommendation that - because fishes, have individual personalities, feel love and emotions and understand their world in much the same ways as we - one should "do your homework" to learn about how the fish you want to eat were raised, captured, killed, etc. and decide if you are ok with that whole process before voting with one's dollar for that kind of activity.

Jonathan Balcombe's book is called What A Fish Knows.

Toward the end of the NPR interview program "What A Fish Knows" (here), Jonathan reminds us that none of us have any say over the form (family, gender, even species) in which we are born, and this should inspire great empathy for others.

"I think that recognizing that animals have a proper place in the Earth is the next great social movement for our species."

May all beings be happy and well.

Stunning Loss, Some Gains

While we can readily project that the results of the 2016 US Presidential and Congressional elections will make life harder for most beings on Earth over the coming years, news from the election was not all bad.

In fact, many local election results supported animals in some meaningful ways, showing that compassion did factor into the election.

Read HSUS President Wayne Pacelle's report on his blog.

May all beings be happy and well, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Buddha Wisdom

May all beings be well and happy, free from suffering and the causes of suffering. SVAHA

Update on World's Vertebrate Loss

My sense that we are in trouble - big trouble - solidified when I read a report in 2014 that since 1970, humans had wiped out just over 50 percent of all of Earth's non-human vertebrate creatures. 

Intuition tells me (and I am confident I am not wrong) that humans cannot survive on Earth once we have lost all (or virtually all) other vertebrate life, because the life-sustaining functions of our biosphere depend upon ecosystems mostly intact, even if not healthful.

We (some humans) might be able to survive that loss, but it would be just that: survival. My sense is that most will question whether there remains any value in living in a world in that condition. Aside from the sheer physical and health challenges that would result, we would also be reckoning with the moral dilemma of having destroyed so large an amount of living beings. When we consider that all Life is truly One, we will find ourselves living out the final breaths of global suicide.

My "Doomsday Dharma" (my proposal that we ought to begin to stop trying to "save" the world and begin to learn to love and care for one another as we find ourselves in this hospice situation together) was predicated on this group’s 2014 report about the loss of 1/2 of the earth’s vertebrates. Today's update predicts a much more rapid die-off than I had envisioned just two years ago. 

This October 2016 report suggests that we will lose fully 2/3 of all vertebrate life as soon as only 3 years from now! That is much more rapid than even my own most dismal assessments, where I had calculated maybe 30 to 40 years for total vertebrate loss. Based upon this new report (assuming current trend in rate of loss), the most generous projection for a habitable Earth may be down to 25 or fewer years.

Shocking. Sad. 

And a wake-up call to begin learning to love and care for one another now more than at any other time in human history.

May all beings be well and free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Make McDonald's Make Meatless

Sign this petition to encourage McDonald's to make a meatless burger, in part to accommodate Millennials, 12% of which are vegetarian: https://www.change.org/p/mcdonald-s-it-s-time-for-a-healthy-meatless-option

May all beings be happy and free!

Racing Extinction and SAM

Racing Extinction: A powerful new website and film: http://racingextinction.com/

And SAM - Social Action Machine: https://socialactionmachine.com/

Join me in signing up and participating in more actions to help save our beloved, divine Biosphere!

May all beings be well and happy.

Oct 4: Feast of St Francis and World Animal Day

Two celebrations of animals happen on October 4th: World Animal Day and the Feast of St Francis, a day in which some churches offer blessings for animals and pets and animal welfare, rescue and education are highlighted.

Let's hope that any "feasting" that happens on this day is fully vegetarian!

World Animal Day: http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/about_us
Feast of St. Francis: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/st-francis-assisi-feast

Here are some things you can do:

Read this article about a Buddhist who liberated rabbits (click here).

Make a donation to World Animal Protection by Oct 6 and your donation will be matched, dollar for dollar! https://www.worldanimalprotection.us.org/donate-today

May all beings be well and happy!

Anthropocene Anthropodenialism

I've thought this for years: we are intently looking for "aliens" while myriads of species have yet to be discovered here on Earth.

Recently, we discovered a new species and it went immediately onto the Endangered Species list. There are surely, and will be many more, entire species that we wipe out before we ever discover them.

This comes in part because of our misunderstanding of our place on this animal planet, and therefore our relationship and responsibility toward others.

Of course, animals have every right to be here as we have. I don't like the insistence of those who continue to say that we are the pinnacle of conscious evolution, nor ideas that we are the only beings who can "understand" our divinity. We may be the ones who have most forgotten it, based on how we behave toward others.

Here's an enjoyable article worth the read. It includes numerous links to other important and moving reports, articles and videos.

"Even Charles Darwin was ridiculed for claiming the lowly earthworm showed intelligence. Darwin pointed out that humans are animals over a century ago, but today he'd still face the same anthropodenialism.

"This outdated notion is based on a fundamental fallacy that assumes our unique form of intelligence makes us this planet's only true beings.

"The more we actively observe altruism and justice and pain and love and fear and play and politics and romance and commitment all around us, the harder it is to maintain a destructive distinction between us and them. And the more we click, the more clearly we see the fundamental problems of the Anthropocene Era and its rising seas, poisoned waters and mounting extinction.

"At long last, science is finally proving something millions of humans who live with 'pets' have known for years -- that animals are 'people,' too."

Read more....

May all beings be well and happy.

Fasting For Farm Animals

There is a movement and you can sign to pledge you will fast on Oct 2 in protest of the slaughter and treatment of farm animals! 

http://www.dayforanimals.org/unite

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

BBC - Horses Can Communicate With Us

No surprise for those of us with close relationships with animals, this BBC Science report about findings that may offer more tools and awareness for those concerned with animal welfare:

Horses have joined a select group of animals that can communicate by pointing at symbols.

Scientists trained horses, by offering slices of carrot as an incentive, to touch a board with their muzzle to indicate if they wanted to wear a rug.

The horses' requests matched the weather, suggesting it wasn't a random choice.

The scientists hope that other researchers will use their method to ask horses more questions.  Read more....

Might we also be able - and willing - to ask questions of animals like cows, pigs and chickens?

May all beings be well and happy.

Dog-levity - Hilarious!

Karaniya Metta Sutta

"Wishing: In gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born —
May all beings be at ease!"

"Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings"

~ (excerpts from:) Karaniya Metta Sutta: The Buddha's Words on Loving-Kindness

Listen to "Sangha 'Round The Campfire" on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCPYcfvLl1U

May all beings be loved. May all beings be happy and well.

After The Harvest

A compelling and touching article by Robert Jensen, "After the harvest — learning to leave the planet gracefully" http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/harvest-learning-leave-planet-gracefully/

I share Koplin’s sense of our responsibility here and can relate to this; this is central to my own sense of what needs to happen now:

“He loved people and planet in a way that made him yearn for a graceful, peaceful ending, much as one wishes for a graceful and peaceful ending for a person coming to the end of an individual life.”

I would go further than the following, though:

“Koplin told me that he remembered the moment as a young person when he realized that every human being’s brain worked the same way, which meant that every human being alive on the planet had the capacity to experience exactly the same range of emotions as he did.”

I feel confident that I have direct experience that all animals also feel the same breadth – and probably similar depth – of emotional experience as humans feel. To whatever extent I feel despair, it is about how brutally we treat our animal brothers and sisters – having killed off 51% of all vertebrate life on Earth since 1970 – as well as how we are misusing the Earth herself. My pessimism for the Earth’s future centers around the loss of that Life, which – because we know we are One with all Life – is actually suicide.

We are now in hospice, or should be, all of us together.

“I’m the positive one — by placing my faith in our collective ability to bear the truth that is beyond bearing, I am affirming the best aspects of our humanity, just like my friend Jim Koplin.”

And I, too, am more optimistic than pessimistic. While I feel we have no long-term future on Earth, I believe that we can learn to truly love one another and become kind to one another. If not, this whole experience will in a sense have been a waste. The Eternal Dharma is the Message of Love, only Love. If we can “save ourselves” in any meaningful sense of that, I will be by our capacity to uncover and act from genuine Love for all beings.

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and causes of suffering.

PS: And this, just in: Scientists find that at the current rate of destruction, the planet’s wildlands will be gone within 50 years.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/09/08/10-percent-worlds-wilderness-has-disappeared-20-years?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2016-09-09

Message from Chief Arvol Looking Horse

Please read this critical message.

Along with finding alternative forms of energy, we need to drastically reduce consumption of energy, including water, while reducing output of toxins into the air, water and onto the land.

Factory Farming consumes vast amounts of water, strips natural green lands (animal habitats), and results in pollution of air (methane) and water and land (waste products). Over fishing is contributing to the destruction of our waterways and ocean ecosystems.

Along with meditating together on our interconnectedness, actions like reducing the amount of energy and water we use and reducing the kinds of Earth- and ocean-damaging foods we eat are essential for our children’s future.

One big step, also a compassionate one, is to limit consumption of factory farmed and ocean harvested animal products.

May all beings be well and free from suffering.

Love,
Shivadam


http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/08/26/important-message-keeper-sacred-white-buffalo-calf-pipe

Important Message from Keeper of Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe
Chief Arvol Looking Horse
8/26/16

I, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations, ask you to understand an Indigenous perspective on what has happened in America, what we call "Turtle Island." My words seek to unite the global community through a message from our sacred ceremonies to unite spiritually, each in our own ways of beliefs in the Creator.

We have been warned from ancient prophecies of these times we live in today, but have also been given a very important message about a solution to turn these terrible times.

To understand the depth of this message you must recognize the importance of Sacred Sites and realize the interconnectedness of what is happening today, in reflection of the continued massacres that are occurring on other lands and our own Americas.

I have been learning about these important issues since the age of 12 when I received the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle and its teachings. Our people have strived to protect Sacred Sites from the beginning of time. These places have been violated for centuries and have brought us to the predicament that we are in at the global level.

Look around you. Our Mother Earth is very ill from these violations, and we are on the brink of destroying the possibility of a healthy and nurturing survival for generations to come, our children's children.

Our ancestors have been trying to protect our Sacred Site called the Sacred Black Hills in South Dakota, "Heart of Everything That Is," from continued violations. Our ancestors never saw a satellite view of this site, but now that those pictures are available, we see that it is in the shape of a heart and, when fast-forwarded, it looks like a heart pumping.

The Diné have been protecting Big Mountain, calling it the liver of the earth, and we are suffering and going to suffer more from the extraction of the coal there and the poisoning processes used in doing so.

The Aborigines have warned of the contaminating effects of global warming on the Coral Reefs, which they see as Mother Earth's blood purifier.

The indigenous people of the rainforest say that the rainforests are the lungs of the planet and need protection.

The Gwich'in Nation in Alaska has had to face oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, also known to the Gwich'in as "Where life begins."

The coastal plain is the birthplace of many life forms of the animal nations. The death of these animal nations will destroy indigenous nations in this territory.

As these destructive developments continue all over the world, we will witness many more extinct animal, plant, and human nations, because of mankind's misuse of power and their lack of understanding of the "balance of life."

The Indigenous people warn that these destructive developments will cause havoc globally. There are many, many more indigenous teachings and knowledge about Mother Earth's Sacred Sites, her chakras, and connections to our spirit that will surely affect our future generations.

There needs to be a fast move toward other forms of energy that are safe for all nations upon Mother Earth. We need to understand the types of minds that are continuing to destroy the spirit of our whole global community. Unless we do this, the powers of destruction will overwhelm us.

Our Ancestors foretold that water would someday be for sale. Back then this was hard to believe, since the water was so plentiful, so pure, and so full of energy, nutrition and spirit. Today we have to buy pure water, and even then the nutritional minerals have been taken out; it's just empty liquid. Someday water will be like gold, too expensive to afford.

Not everyone will have the right to drink safe water. We fail to appreciate and honor our Sacred Sites, ripping out the minerals and gifts that lay underneath them as if Mother Earth were simply a resource, instead of the source of life itself.

Attacking nations and using more resources to carry out destruction in the name of peace is not the answer! We need to understand how all these decisions affect the global nation; we will not be immune to its repercussions. Allowing continual contamination of our food and land is affecting the way we think.

A "disease of the mind" has set in world leaders and many members of our global community, with their belief that a solution of retaliation and destruction of peoples will bring peace.

In our prophecies it is told that we are now at the crossroads: Either unite spiritually as a global nation, or be faced with chaos, disasters, diseases, and tears from our relatives' eyes.

We are the only species that is destroying the source of life, meaning Mother Earth, in the name of power, mineral resources, and ownership of land. Using chemicals and methods of warfare that are doing irreversible damage, as Mother Earth is becoming tired and cannot sustain any more impacts of war.

I ask you to join me on this endeavor. Our vision is for the peoples of all continents, regardless of their beliefs in the Creator, to come together as one at their Sacred Sites to pray and meditate and commune with one another, thus promoting an energy shift to heal our Mother Earth and achieve a universal consciousness toward attaining Peace.

As each day passes, I ask all nations to begin a global effort, and remember to give thanks for the sacred food that has been gifted to us by our Mother Earth, so the nutritional energy of medicine can be guided to heal our minds and spirits.

This new millennium will usher in an age of harmony or it will bring the end of life as we know it. Starvation, war, and toxic waste have been the hallmark of the great myth of progress and development that ruled the last millennium.

To us, as caretakers of the heart of Mother Earth, falls the responsibility of turning back the powers of destruction. You yourself are the one who must decide.

You alone – and only you – can make this crucial choice, to walk in honor or to dishonor your relatives. On your decision depends the fate of the entire World.

Each of us is put here in this time and this place to personally decide the future of humankind.

Did you think the Creator would create unnecessary people in a time of such terrible danger?

Know that you yourself are essential to this world. Understand both the blessing and the burden of that. You yourself are desperately needed to save the soul of this world. Did you think you were put here for something less? In a Sacred Hoop of Life, there is no beginning and no ending.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse is the author of White Buffalo Teachings. A tireless advocate of maintaining traditional spiritual practices, Chief Looking Horse is a member of Big Foot Riders, which memorializes the massacre of Big Foot's band at Wounded Knee.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

May we all re-gain this innate understanding and capacity for compassion!

See this heart-melting video about a 4 year old and why he became vegetarian.

May all beings be well and happy.

A Spiritual Awakening

HSUS's Wayne Pacelle will be joining Oprah Winfrey on this Sunday's episode of "Super Soul Sunday" on OWN. Wayne writes:

Oprah and I share the belief that our lives are forever enriched by the many animals in our world. We are in the midst of a growing global consciousness when it comes to our treatment of these wondrous creatures. On "Super Soul Sunday," I sit down with Oprah to discuss my new book, "The Humane Economy," as well as this unprecedented spiritual awakening in our treatment of animals, and how it’s one of the fundamental questions in our society. 



Watch an exclusive clip of our conversation» 

I hope you will join us in this conversation and tune in this Sunday, August 21 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on OWN for a conversation that everyone should hear. 


May all beings be happy and free!

Cashew the Cow and Vegan Cheese

On a small dairy farm in Pennsylvania, a Jersey cow welcomed her first calf – a baby boy with an inspiring story detailing the difference that compassion makes. From his first moments, little Cashew knew nothing but love from both his mother and his owner, a kindhearted woman who started the dairy with her husband because she loved cows and wanted to see them treated well. As a vegetarian, she wanted to be a different kind of farmer; she didn’t want to follow industry standards which dictate that the boys, who cannot produce milk, are slaughtered for veal or cheap beef in order to sustain profits.

Read more....

May all beings be well and happy!

World Elephant Day!

World Elephant Day is Friday, August 12th.

How will you celebrate and spread awareness on this special day?

Launched in 2012, World Elephant Day continues to shine global attention on the plight of African and Asian elephants.  Honoring this special day provides us with an opportunity to bring the world together to help conserve and protect elephants from the numerous threats they face each and every day.

Learn more....

May all beings be happy and free!

Help Protect Big Cats

Camera CATalogue - a new website from Zooniverse and Panthera that allows citizen scientists like you to protect big cats by simply looking at and identifying photos of wildlife!

Today, Panthera works in 50 countries around the globe to protect big cats and their vast landscapes. Motion-activated camera traps are used to count cats and their prey species, identify where they live, and determine how conservation efforts are helping to protect these animals.

These cameras produce thousands of images of fascinating animals, from the iconic leopard and rhino to the lesser-known aardwolf and civet. While certainly high-tech, these cameras do not distinguish between animal species. That is why we need your help to identify the big cats and other wildlife in these photos.

Log onto the Camera CATalogue now and help identify the amazing wildlife in these camera trap images. It’s a fun way to spend a few minutes (or a few hours), test and improve your animal knowledge (who knew what a gemsbok was?!) and support efforts to better protect leopards, other wildlife and their landscapes…without ever leaving your chair!

Get started right now at www.zooniverse.org/projects/panthera-research/camera-catalogue

May all beings be happy and free!

The Rights of Nature

Visit the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and sign the pledge!

May all beings be well and happy, free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Shop With Your Heart

Dear Animal Lover,

The ASPCA, long known for its great accomplishments in stopping and also helping to prosecute animal abusers, has a new campaign which engages your shopping dollars in the cause of kindness to animals.

If you purchase meat, eggs or dairy, you have more power than you know. By buying welfare-certified animal products, or more plant-based products, you send a strong message to food companies that you care about the treatment of farm animals.

Will you sign the "Shop With Your Heart Pledge" with me?

http://www.aspca.org/shopwithyourheart

May all beings be well and happy!

New Movie: At The Fork

If you eat meat (or even if you do not), please consider watching this new movie, which follows the track of how your meat gets to your table, then share with friends.

Friends don't let friends eat animals!

Visit the website and watch the trailer:

http://attheforkfilm.com/

May all beings be free, well and happy.

Animal Rights National Conference

2016: July 7-10 in Los Angeles. Learn more about this annual event.

May all beings be happy and well!

Vegan Milk and Humane Meats

We're looking forward to trying Ripple Foods' plant-based milk. Check out this great info!

The Bay Area fosters a culture of forward thinkers and new ways to solve problems in our world, including in our food system. Ripple Foods is one such startup in Silicon Valley hoping to disrupt the dairy industry with pea protein.

The company joins a growing list of game-changing food startups that have launched out of the lab and into the consumer market in just the last few years. Memphis Meats uses animal cells to make lab-grown beef, Impossible Foods makes a plant-based burger and Clara Foods uses yeast to produce egg whites without the chicken.

We’re told milk does a body good, but the dairy industry can be a dirty business, polluting our environment and pumping large amounts of methane into the air — the biggest contributor to global warming. And Ripple founders wanted to do something about it, so they turned to the humble pea.

Read more....

May all beings be free, well and happy.

The Chicken

May all beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Sad, But True (Almost)

Actually, far more people get off easy for abusing animals than are ever punished for it.

Let's stop abusing all animals, eh?

May all beings - without exception - be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Emotional Lives of Animals

Based on award-winning scientist Marc Bekoff’s years studying social communication in a wide range of species, this important book shows that animals have rich emotional lives. Bekoff skillfully blends extraordinary stories of animal joy, empathy, grief, embarrassment, anger, and love with the latest scientific research confirming the existence of emotions that common sense and experience have long implied.

Explore The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff

May all beings everywhere be happy and free!

Metta Day

metta (Pali: "love; loving friendliness, loving kindness")

"Be kind to all creatures; this is the true religion." - the Buddha

May all beings be well and happy!

The Bug Vac

Some time after I stopped killing bugs altogether (except the occasional aedes aegypti mosquito*), I discovered a device that has become one of my very favorite tools: the Bug Vac. 

Its purpose is more to do with helping children humanely capture, study, and release insects and arachnids, but it works wonderfully as a household "pest" removal system.

With a wish to do no harm, this well designed insect vacuum-catcher has never harmed a single creature in all the many hundreds I have captured and relocated to the outdoors over the years.

If you too would prefer not to kill spiders, flies and other small critters that you don't want in your house, the Bug Vac will prove well worth every penny of its already low price!

It's extremely effective and also energy efficient. I only recently replaced the slightly worn down AA batteries I had been using for about 10 years' time.

Look at the Bug Vac at Amazon.com. While similar devices are offered, this is the one I recommend.

May ALL beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering!

---

* I more and more make exception with the unfortunate aedes aegypti mosquito, non-native, invasive species and confirmed vector of diseases including West Nile, Yellow Fever, Dengue and more recently, Zika. Prevention of breeding is far more effective than killing them, though. Learn more...

Summer - Too Hot for Dogs!

Sadly, I see people walking their dogs in Phoenix when it is over 100 degrees outside. These are people who - giving the benefit of doubt - probably have not lived in the Valley very long.

If you can't hold your palm comfortably against the ground indefinitely, then it is too hot to walk your dog!! You have shoes. At these temps, your dog's feet will become painfully blistered, requiring a trip to the vet and follow-on treatment.

The ground surface temps may be as hot as 120 or more, while the near-ground temperature that the dog experiences is at least 11 degrees warmer than the temperature the person experiences!

Even worse and so tragically, really unconscious people may leave their pets (and even their children!) in cars in the summer in Phoenix, resulting in many deaths and serious injury each year.

If you see a pet in danger in a car, you can respond in various ways. Here is a great report from our local TV news about what you can and should do:

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/what-to-do-if-you-see-a-pet-in-a-hot-car

May all beings be well and free of suffering and the causes of suffering! SVAHA

More Great Orgs

Check out the wonderful work of these fine Orgs:

ChimpHaven.org

AnimalPlace.org

May ALL beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Wayne's Blog

Visit the Humane Society of the US's president Wayne Pacelle's blog for lots of info, news and resources to help support animal well-being and happiness worldwide.

http://blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2016

May all beings be well and happy!

Report from the Mosque: Animals in Islam

Last night, we attended an open house at a Mosque here. The purpose was for people to come and learn about al-Islam.

Toward the end of the Q-and-A period, I asked the Imam (pic, above) the following question, which went like this:

"Asalaam aleikum. (He and most attendees responded, 'Waleikum asalaam'.) Hindu people hold the cow as sacred, as Divine Mother, almost like how Christians might view Mary. I grew up here, and most people I know keep pets in their homes - cats or dogs and such - and cherish them, consider them part of their family. My wife and I have a dog who is our 'child' in a very meaningful sense. I am wondering if in the Hadith or Qur'an there is any mention of our proper relationship with animals, and if you would speak to that?"

The Imam gave a pretty sweet answer. Between my poor hearing and his accent, I did not catch every word, but I got most of it. The Imam began his answer by saying it was a very good question and that he appreciated it. He explained that though Muslims are not vegetarian, they do keep Halal and Kosher rules, partly to ensure compassion for animals. He explained that Mohammed stopped the practice of using animals for "target practice" and that he told people who ride camels to get down off of the camels when they stop to meet, in order to let the camels rest; also, that no animal - bird, fish, etc. - should be killed or harmed in any way, aside from for eating them.

Afterwards, in the fellowship period, several people approached me to follow up. One was a US soldier who had served in Iraq since after the Gulf War who said he is going vegetarian now because he has come to see that "it is not right to kill and eat animals when we don't need to." Two separate Muslims came to me (one Egyptian, the other white American) with the following two stories from the Hadith:

There was a very bad criminal who one day found a cat out in the rain and took it into his home to dry and warm it, feed it, care for it, and that ALL of his previous sins were wiped clean by this one act. In the other version, it was a prostitute who saw a thirsty dog trying to get water, so she gave it water and all her sins were wiped clean.

Nice!

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

World Animal Protection

We are World Animal Protection

We end the needless suffering of animals
We influence decision makers to put animals on the global agenda
We inspire people to change animals' lives for the better
We move the world to protect animals

Visit their site.

May all beings be happy and free!

If A Tree Falls

This 1988 song by Bruce Cockburn so beautifully, powerfully speaks.... And yet, so many years later, the "cortege rhythm" continues unabated....

The forests fall. Please listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErS9HCh8GfE

Rain forest
Mist and mystery
Teeming green
Green brain facing lobotomy
Climate control centre for the world
Ancient cord of coexistence
Hacked by parasitic greedhead scam -
From Sarawak to Amazonas
Costa Rica to mangy B.C. hills -
Cortege rhythm of falling timber.

What kind of currency grows in these new deserts,
These brand new flood plains?

If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
Anybody hear the forest fall?

Cut and move on
Cut and move on
Take out trees
Take out wildlife at a rate of species every single day
Take out people who've lived with this for 100,000 years -
Inject a billion burgers worth of beef -
Grain eaters - methane dispensers.

Through thinning ozone,
Waves fall on wrinkled earth -
Gravity, light, ancient refuse of stars,
Speak of a drowning -
But this, this is something other.
Busy monster eats dark holes in the spirit world
Where wild things have to go
To disappear
Forever

If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
Anybody hear the forest fall?

May all beings be well and happy.

Goldfish Compassion

I can never forget the sad, but surprising and beautiful story about my goldfish.

I had rescued some "feeder fish," and they lived happily in my pond where they grew quite large. There were five, and one developed a classic case of "fin rot." In order to treat it, I set up a relatively shallow temporary hospital tank near the pond and put this fish in. I turned away to attend to something, and this was a mistake. The fish, unbeknownst to me, leapt out of the tub onto the dry patio. I returned a few minutes later and discovered, to my horror, the fish barely flopping and a bit parched. I quickly dispatched it back into the pond with the other fish, then watched hopefully to see if it would survive.

Very much to my surprise, I observed the other four fish swimming near the injured one. Working together, they proceeded to support their companion from underneath as they pushed him around near the surface of the water! They worked as a team, some supporting the fish from underneath, others flanking him, and taking shifts as they moved the injured fish forward so that water would move through its gills. Weakly, it struggled to survive, barely able to move its fins and gulp water as the diligent companions continued to offer their emergency services. I watched, amazed, for nearly a half an hour as this scene continued.

As with most fish, and certainly these, feeding time is a time of frenzied focus as they rush to eat their fill. I wondered if these, both the injured one and its helpers, needed to eat, and whether, if I fed them at this point, the helpers would abandon their friend for the food. As they had not been fed that day, I needed to feed them, anyway. I put the usual amount of flakes onto the surface of the water. But, surprisingly and very much out of character, not a single fish endeavored to eat a single morsel of the sinking food flakes. They, instead, continued to buoy the injured fish about near the water’s surface for many ensuing hours without so much as taking a bite!

Sadly, their efforts would fail. I later found the injured fish at the bottom of the pond. As I buried him pond-side, I reveled in the amazing lesson I had learned about the capacity for fish to exhibit compassion and self-sacrifice. What else could explain this behavior?


May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Our Ideas About Animal Intelligence

Frans de Waal has a new book, Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are? Right on point, as that is the better question than "are animals intelligent?" or "how intelligent are animals?" and such.

The following excerpts (with my editorial comments) are from an interview with the author, which I recommend reading, if not his books as well.

“What if instead, this whole business is more like a bush, with cognition taking different forms that are often incomparable to ours?”

I have been aware of this problem for years, and our anthropocentric ideas that animal “intelligence” is to be measured against or compared with ours. That is way off track. (I wrote about this years ago and will post more of that to this blog in the coming months.)

“We need to become more focused on those animals than ourselves, and not necessarily make every comparison with ourselves the most informative.”

Exactly.

“...each species is different and each species depends on what they do and what they need to know. It's very hard to say which one is smarter, and that sort of comparison is not even relevant.”

Precisely, yes.

“This movement I feel puts humans in a different perspective and uses animals as a sort of mirror in some sense. I think it has a profound effect on how we look at ourselves and our place in nature.”

YES!

May all beings be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Ghosts of Animals

In a new photo book, Inherit the Dust, Nick Brandt places life-size portraits of animals in the now-industrialized landscapes where they once lived and thrived.

Watch this very powerful 2 minute video:

http://www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio/features/magazine-36234393/36234393

May all being be well.

Good Food

Learn about how our food choices affect our world and the beings who live in it, and explore alternative solutions: http://www.gfi.org/why

May all beings be happy and well!

The Pope Video

Please view - and if moved to, share - this brief, simple, and profound video message from Pope Francis.

http://thepopevideo.org/en/video/care-creation.html

May all beings be well.

Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life

Renowned scientist Edward O. Wilson (whom you may know from his study of ants) has a new book, in which he suggests that we need to set aside fully one half of our planet as natural sanctuary in order to avoid catastrophic destruction of species (including maybe our own) this century.

Watch this brief NewsHour interview:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/how-to-save-life-on-earth-according-to-e-o-wilson/

and buy the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Half-Earth-Our-Planets-Fight-Life/dp/1631490826

May all beings be well!

Thank you, Prince

May all beings be well and happy, peaceful and free!

Whirling Gorillish!

This young gorilla, "dancing," resembles a whirling dervish, turning left, right palm up...

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-36033608

Sweet!

May all beings be happy!

Keepin' It Kind

We aspire to live kind lives, to act kindly and lovingly toward others. What we eat can be an expression of that desire, a way to enact it simply and effectively.

Kristy, the founder of this blog, http://keepinitkind.com, shares this view in a delightful way, with tips on how to easefully accomplish your highest aspirations. Check it out!

May all beings be happy and well.

Happy Cow

Of course, we hope that all beings may be happy and well. That includes animals.

Our choices have effects on the happiness of others.

HappyCow was founded in 1999 as a public service to assist travelers and people everywhere find vegan, vegetarian, and healthy food and helps you make better choices that help animals.

Explore! http://www.happycow.net/about_us.html

May all beings be happy.

Big Day for Hens!

Walmart frees hens from cages!

Walmart, the largest seller of food in the United States, is going 100 percent cage-free with its egg supply. This all but guarantees a cage-free future for hens in the United States. You can read the details of this historic announcement on HSUS' President Wayne Pacelle's blog»

May ALL beings be free!

Hip Hop Vegan

Hip Hop artist Russell Simmons has written a book promoting the vegan diet for "karmic reasons" and he does other philanthropic works for animals. His new book, The Happy Vegan, is available at Barnes & Noble, here.

Learn more: http://www.mercyforanimals.org/rsbillboard

Thanks, Russell!

May all beings be well and happy.

Animal Reunions

This PBS NATURE program, Animal Reunions, shows that all mammals share common emotions (including biochemically, via the amygdala, oxytocin, etc.), and quite clearly love, even between species. Also, mammals share similar behaviors within similar familial structures.

http://www.pbs.org/video/2365690567/

May all beings be happy and well.

Protecting "Protected" Cows

Recognizing that animals are sacred beings, the Ahimsa Foundation for Cattle Protection (AFFCAP) is an independent, third party, non-profit organization which certifies goshalas (Sanskrit: shelters for cows) to a basic standard of care and protection. It does so by registering and inspecting goshalas, while keeping records of every animal for life. This undertaking ensures that: “No animal is being made available, knowingly or unknowingly, for slaughter."

Visit the website and learn about these good efforts to protect cows from slaughter.

And, please do what you can to protect our dear animal friends. It can be as simple as refraining from eating them.

May ALL beings be happy!

Rancher's Wife Goes Vegan

A vegan rancher's wife fell in love with their cows. She sings to them with her
guitar and she started a blog, raising enough money to buy the whole herd from her
husband, saving them from slaughter ...and then he went vegetarian, too!

See the video and story on CBS news

...and the Rowdy Girl Sanctuary website:
http://rowdygirlsanctuary.com/project/vegan-heart-blog-story/

So heartening!

May all beings be well, free, and happy!

Karma's Reunion With Her Mother

This incredibly touching story/video speaks to the love and care between one mother and her child.

Crying Mother Cow Greets Lost Baby In Breathtaking Reunion

"Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."  - Albert Einstein

Please stop supporting the killing of our sister and brother, mother and father animals, and do all you can to help protect them.

May all beings be happy and well, free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Biophilia!

I am delighted to have now learned about the biophilia hypothesis, a proposal that humans have a natural bias toward loving other beings - including not only animals, but also plants - an innate "love for life." The hypothesis suggests that this mechanism has the effect of helping to increase the survival rate across species. The tendency for humans to feel affection toward babies of many non-human species is an example of this.

Biovinity - the word and idea that appeared to me one morning in a dream (October, 2015) - certainly includes this idea and goes further in making the declaration that this innate affinity for other living beings derives from all beings having a shared, essential nature which is divine. In other words, Life itself is Divinity.

What these ideas share most importantly is the recognition of affinity, and each suggests not only a natural inclination, but therefore also a moral responsibility to respect, protect, revere and indeed love all living beings. It is not a new idea; we find this idea in mythologies and mysticism across cultures and far back in time (sanaatana dharma being one obvious example).

Learn more about biophilia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis

May all beings be well and happy!

The Happy Egg Company

Here's a company moving in a good direction toward caring for the animals who earn their money!

Most "organic" egg hens don't go outside :-(. Learn about the labels "Free Range," "Cage Free," "Organic" and more, and take a look at these happier hens and find their eggs for purchase via the Store Locator at their website:

http://thehappyeggco.com/

May ALL beings be happy and free.

Humane Economy

Humane Economy. A new book by HSUS President Wayne Pacelle.

"The Humane Economy is essential reading for anyone interested in animal welfare. This fabulous book reveals the inside story of how the fight against human cruelty to animals is gradually being won and some of the surprising individuals who have helped to make this happen. HSUS's Wayne Pacelle is to be congratulated on writing a fascinating, highly readable, and remarkably comprehensive book, covering animal issues ranging from factory farms to puppy mills, from trophy hunting to genetic modification, from medical and pharmaceutical testing to entertainment. Please help to increase awareness of ongoing animal suffering by sharing this book and encouraging everyone to take some part in creating a truly humane society." 

— Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE; Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace.

May all beings be well and happy.

Ivory Anniversary

The 14th Wedding Anniversary has "ivory" as the theme. Heavens, no!! So, for our anniversary today, we have opted to donate to two Orgs helping to save elephants from ivory poachers. Among all animals, elephants reside in a special place in our hearts owing to their wise and community-oriented nature, their love and care of their children, their sorrow in loss....

Won't you help to protect elephants, too? Consider giving generously.

http://www.elephants.com/
http://worldwildlife.org/

Thank you for anything and everything you do to protect and help our animal friends.

May all beings be happy and free!

Langar

Many of us were deeply moved at the 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions by the immense generosity and inclusiveness of the Sikh community’s daily seva (“service offering”) of langar meals at lunchtime. Langars have been served by Sikhs in all their Gurdwaras for many centuries. They are invariably vegetarian. Of special note here: Sikh people tend not to be vegetarians themselves. But, they are keenly aware that in order to serve others in a beautiful and harmonious way (we know that Sikhs have long played a mediatory role, helping to ease tensions between Hindus and Muslims), they serve only vegetarian meals in order that all may sit together and dine together in peace and above the distinctions that otherwise arise where one group eats the flesh of the animals the other groups consider holy.

My great hope is that we who gather in community will follow in the wise footsteps of our Sikh sisters and brothers (whose living “Guru” is the Granth Sahib, a collection of writings that include substantial Sufi sections, such as by Kabir) and dedicate ourselves to offering only vegetarian food at community tables. With the more recent concern over the well-being of animals in factory farming, an all-vegan fare would go even farther toward the realization of our dedicated prayer:

“May all beings be well, may all beings be happy...”

Good News for Hens, and a Long Way to Go

Here is a letter from the President of the Humane Society:

We’re just one month into 2016, and it’s already shaping up to be a tremendous year for hens!

The list of companies who’ve announced cage-free timelines this year is growing fast: ConAgra, Target, Denny’s (which uses half a billion eggs annually), Wendy’s, Quiznos, Barilla, Campbell Soup, Norwegian Cruise Lines, California Pizza Kitchen and Mondelez (the $30 billion snack food giant) have all joined a landslide of companies in committing to abolish cages for egg-laying hens from their supply chains. 

While cage-free doesn't guarantee perfect living conditions, it’s a dramatic step forward to a better life. Cage-free hens, even in indoor barns, have at least double the amount of space per bird as caged hens, and often much more space than that. In addition, they have the ability to walk, spread their wings, perch, lay their eggs in a nesting area and more -- all behaviors denied to caged hens.

This momentous shift simply would not be happening without you. Your support provides a voice for the hundreds of millions of hens who can’t speak for themselves. And it shows food companies that animals have allies around the world willing to take a stand against cruelty.

Thank you for everything you do for animals.

Wayne Pacelle
President and CEO 
The Humane Society of the United States


May all beings be free.

Michael Jackson's "Ben"

Let us remember, this is a love song to a rat. Having had friendships with many beloved rodents, this song always brings a tear to my eye. "Ben" could just as well be any animal, any pet. Could we still see a song to an animal sung at the Oscars, or have we become too inured to our current global predicament, our artificial and apparently increasing separation from our animal friends?

Listen to "Ben" (click here to view the YouTube video).

May all beings be happy and well!

A Friendship We Can Learn From

It is the story of an animal friendship that was never meant to be.

A month ago, at a safari park in the far east of Russia, a goat was released into a tiger's enclosure as a live prey.

Things haven't turned out as might have been expected for Timur and Amur - and now fans are following the pair's progress via a live webcam.

BBC: 3 January 2016:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35204936?post_id=1543000511_10207863079805240

May all beings be happy!