Feature Archives

Food for Life is currently serving more than twenty thousand freshly cooked vegetarian meals per day and is the only aid organization independently providing freshly cooked meals, consisting of rice, dhal and vegetables, directly to the victims in Sri Lanka and India. Often the dry rations that are being distributed from other sources are relatively useless because of a lack of facilities with which to cook. Most of the refugees are women and orphan babies and children and they have taken shelter in hospitals, schools and temples that were not washed out by the waves. Food for Life plans to increase the number of meals they serve as they get more resources and travel to different affected areas. They also supply medical items, sleeping mats, bed sheets, etc, as needed. There are numerous worthy NGOs offering aid to the victims of the recent tsunami that deserve support. For additional information on this particular effort and on how you can assist it, Read More

Also, Animal Heroes: 1 | 2 | 3 · Animal Relief: 1 | 2 | 3

There was nothing soft or cuddly about the fight over furs in Guerneville that started this holiday season, as animal rights activists targeted the newly opened Kings & Queens Vintage Clothing store, which in turn refused to heed activists' calls to stop selling fur. The dispute escalated when about 10 members of Sonoma People for Animal Rights, waving posters and pictures of wild animals suffering in traps, were met by about 20 counter-protesters shouting and carrying signs such as "I like fur" and "I eat meat." After over three weeks of turmoil which has spread to other local businesses, the potentially polarizing effect of the long-term protests have become a concern for many, including the Russian River Chamber of Commerce and other groups. Reports: 1 | 2 | 3

Under the radar — as demos, rallies and dramatic animal rescues take the few headlines vegetarians and animal rights activists ever get — there are robust communities of vegans and vegetarians in the San Francisco Bay Area that do not exist in much of the rest of the country. Vegetarians generally go about their lives as everyone else does — going to school, working, raising families, hopefully volunteering for social justice organizations. But there are several organized vegetarian groups that stay in touch and share information through active email lists, meet to share meals at the many vegetarian restaurants in the Bay Area or at various potlucks, and simply enjoy camaraderie at other cruelty-free activities. Read more

Despite the upcoming ban that goes into effect in California in 2012, foie gras is still being served at Aqua and other restaurants in the Bay Area. Foie Gras is produced through the forced feeding of ducks with high fat foods until their livers expand to up to ten times the normal size, sometimes even exploding. This is considered quite the tasty treat for upscale restaurant goers. Outside of the restaurant, In Defense of Animals (IDA) members show video of a chef who claims in a TV interview that the feeding tubes used to produce foie gras only broach the tips of the birds’ mouths. In the same video the chef is then shown graphic footage by the interviewer of what really happens when ducks have massive amounts of food being blasted down their throats. Read more

Animal experimentation is a multibillion-dollar industry involving a complex web of corporate, government, and university laboratories, animal breeders, and their suppliers. Animal rights supporters and proponents of more-applicable, human-based research held Day of the Dog protests December 1st and 3rd, and a vigil December 6th, against experiments at the University of California San Francisco that will exploit up to 750 dogs over a period of 3 years. Most of the dogs will be surgically implanted with pacemakers and will either die from the ordeal in less than 6 months or be "euthanized" and have their hearts removed for further study. Unweaned puppies as young as one day old are also being used. Animals used in experiments for taxpayer-financed grant money at UCSF include rodents, rabbits, dogs, cats, sheep, pigs, ferrets, squirrels and nonhuman primates. Read More · Photos: 1 | 2

Additionally, a vigil was held the evening of December 1st to honor the 40,000 animals harmed in research across the Bay at UC Berkeley.

Vivesection fact sheets: Wasteful and Unreliable | Alternatives Do Exist

Along with Buy Nothing Day on the "busiest shopping day of the year", activists also targeted stores that sell fur and fur trim last Friday. In San Jose, activists paid a visit to Macy's Department Store at Valley Fair Mall, despite the resistance from managers and mall cops. Hundreds of flyers were passed out, and many people were educated on the barbaric industry of the fur trade. In Santa Rosa, activists converged outside Santa Rosa Mall, alerting shoppers with street theater and signs about the brutal slaughter of seals for their fur and how this ugly trade relates to all fur-bearing animals. In Walnut Creek, BeBe shoppers learned that fur garments come at a huge cost to the animals. In San Francisco, 50 activists converged on Neiman Marcus in Union Square to denounce the fur trade and educate the public.
Reports: San Jose | Portland
Photos: Santa Rosa | San Francisco · Video: Santa Rosa
For information on the fur trade, visit www.FurIsDead.com.

The group East Bay Animal Advocates performed an open rescue, liberating birds after sneaking onto a Central Valley turkey farm. A semiclandestine group, whose primary mission is to liberate farm animals, has performed three rescues since last year, willfully trespassing for what it perceives as a higher moral calling — to save animals from abuse and apply medical support to those in need. The group, which also is known as the Animal Advocates' Animal Bureau of Investigations Team, published photos from two raids on its Web site recently. The group has also worked to document abuses by the farm, dairy, and egg industry. The group faxed a letter to Merced County Animal Control citing animal cruelty laws and posted the farm's name on its Web site beneath photos of alleged abuse.
Read More | Personal Account | EBAA website for more info and pictures