Animal Issues in the News

ANIMAL ISSUES IN THE NEWS

The National Geographic channel recently aired a program titled “Unlikely Animal Friends” which profiled some unlikely cross species pairings which showed that, for animals, being social works and can lead to the fulfillment of each others needs.

The most astounding and difficult to explain story was the African lioness and a baby antelope. They walked together and slept together in an example of the complex emotions between animals. It was thought that maybe the lioness had suffered a loss and was grieving when she adopted the baby antelope which would normally have meant prey to her but this time meant baby.

Then there was the rescued baby hippo put into an enclosure with a 130 year old tortoise. The tortoise taught Owen, the hippo, to eat food and Owen groomed the tortoise. They were also seen sleeping and cuddling together.

A relationship developed instantly, upon their first sight of each other, between a young urangutan and a hound dog. They played together all the time and also hugged and shared food with each other. Another unlikely pairing was between a four ton elephant and a 30 pound dog. They were devoted to each other and in each other’s company day and night.

And lastly was the relationship between a cat and a crow who played hide and seek, wrestled, and ate together.

All are examples that can revolutionize our notions of love. We see that animals can show attachment and devotion, and remembrance.

On the cover of Time Magazine (August 31 edition) was a photo of a package of ground beef and the title of the lead article, “The Real Cost of Food” and a sign on the meat package reading: “WARNING: This hamburger may be hazardous to your health. Why the American food system is bad for our bodies, our economy, our environment.”

The article makes the point that the way we in this country farm now is destructive of the soil, the environment and our bodies. Pigs, chickens, and other food animals are raised in confined pens packed in very tightly on factory farms. (They are just a commodity with no real life and a terrible death.) To prevent these animals from getting sick in such crowded quarters they are dosed with antibiotics. They are fed on corn that is grown with the help of government subsidies and tons of chemical fertilizers. Excess fertilizer as well as animal waste eventually gets into our rivers and into the ocean where it kills fish.

The article concludes that Americans are addicted to meat which contributes to our obesity epidemic.

The film “Food, Inc” released in theaters in June is also about our nation’s food industry. Filmmaker, Robert Kenner exposes the highly mechanized industry that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, the USDA and FDA. The film makes the point that America’s food supply is controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit before consumer health, before the health of farmers and workers, and before the welfare of our environment. It reveals some shocking truths about what we eat and how it is produced.

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