vegansaurus!
07/27/2012
It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! WOOHOO!
Good news: A judge has rejected the foie gras industry’s attempt to put a hold on California’s new law banning the force-feeding of ducks (and selling products from force-fed ducks).
More good news: North America’s largest foodservice distributor, Sysco, is the latest food giant to come out against gestation crate confinement of pigs.
In response to the gestation crate debate, the National Pork Producers Council’s communications director was seriously quoted in the National Journal this week saying: “So our animals can’t turn around for the 2.5 years that they are in the stalls producing piglets…I don’t know who asked the sow if she wanted to turn around.” (No, this isn’t a quote from 30 years ago—it’s July 24, 2012. Seriously. Yes, I know.)
Amazingly, USDA put out a newsletter this week including a mention of the health and environmental benefits of Meatless Monday. This of course drew immediate outrage from the meat industry and its allies in Congress (Rep. Steve King from Iowa tweeted that it was “heresy”), prompting USDA to immediately remove the newsletter and announce that it wasn’t properly vetted. Lots of coverage on this, though the national AP story put it best when it aptly concluded, “The USDA often promotes the beef industry by encouraging Americans to eat meat.” (NPR and NY Times had good coverage, too.)
Video of the week: Best way to prevent dog shedding… (Or, if you want to upset Rep. King, feel free to share HSUS’s fun Meatless Monday video online today!)
∞ posted at 11:54 by laurahooperb 
The news you need: Rescued piglet is adorable. »
Holy crap this piglet is cute! Look at these other pics by photographer Jo-Anne McArthur. They are amazing. I love the ones in the pet carrier, he looks so tiny! This is Sir Edgar Francios. He fell off a truck in Quebec and somebody saved him and now he lives at Snooters Farm Animal Sanctuary in Ontario. Behind him is Pook, a puppymill rescue. Pook! Is that a belly band? OMG POOK! I can’t believe they put up this pic of you, you must be embarrassed. Don’t be, a lot of great individuals can’t control their bladder.
∞ posted at 07:26 by youtalkfunny 
04/16/2012
Rescue piglet and dog are bff! Try not to die! How cute is the piglet climbing on the dog? Hilar! Poor guy though, he was pretty roughed up in that one picture. Wait, you mean pigs used for food aren’t treated well? Stop the press!
Let’s pretend they didn’t name the pig Mu Shu and just watch the pup try to keep up with the giddy piglet. To think, that cuteness could have been bacon. What a lucky guy! Fuck bacon eaters!
∞ posted at 06:58 by youtalkfunny
04/13/2012
Are you ready to drop dead of cuteness? I know I’ve said this before, but I sincerely mean it this time. Vice’s The Cute Show has MORE FOOTAGE of the orphaned wild board piglets and their foster mother, Baby the French bulldog, at the Lehnitz animal asylum in Germany.
In addition to the rambunctious little bitty piggies, you get to see some of the other residents of the sanctuary! Rescued animals! Interspecies love! You can’t handle how sweet this all is!
∞ posted at 11:14 by seriousmeaveness 
02/16/2012
This is Baby the French bulldog and her newly adopted wild boar piglets! The video is very cute; They say just about any orphaned animal that comes in, Baby is there to cuddle it. Oh Baby, you are too much!
∞ posted at 08:51 by youtalkfunny
02/14/2012
Pigs from Brightside Farm Sanctuary frolicking is like a VALENTINE TO MY HEART. I love you, rescued piglets. I love you so much that there isn’t enough room in my heart to contain my love and it must spill out onto my face in the form of smiling like a g-d idiot. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY TO EVERYONE EVERYWHERE!!!
Also, if you want to dramatically up the awesomeness of your viewing experience, listen to this. Whitney vs. Robyn, the two best bitches of all time. I’ve been staring at this photo and chair dancing for the last hour. Bosses, fire me immediately.
∞ posted at 10:39 by laurahooperb
02/02/2012
![This is Bubbles, a member of this year’s Puppy Bowl’s Piglet Pep Squad. HI BUBBLES! Buzzfeed got to visit the studio in Manhattan where Puppy Bowl was filmed and hang out with the puppies, kittens, and piglets participating in Puppy Bowl VIII.
I have several thoughts about this. First, why wasn’t Vegansaurus invited? Megan Rascal single-handedly runs our NYC HQ and that girl loves pigs. Yes, the likelihood of her putting a piglet in her purse and making a run for it would’ve been high, but can you blame her [Ed. note: I would do it. -Megan]? Look at those FACES.
Second, these piglets come from Ross Mill Farm, and that is unfortunate. Puppy Bowl puppies are all shelter dogs. Puppy Bowl kittens are all shelter kittens. Why not borrow piglets from a farm sanctuary? Or, you know, not include animals people can’t adopt? I am not complaining about pictures of adorable piglets! But I don’t like to put up photos of zoo animals, however devastatingly cute, because zoos are (mostly!) animal prisons, and I don’t like Animal Planet’s encouragement, however implicit, to buy piglets.
You guys, my enthusiasm for Puppy Bowl is dampened. This is depressing! Yes, Ross Mill Farm appears to keep excellent facilities; they seem to have a process in place to screen potential pig-owners, including a fostering program and an adoption program, which is awesome! But they also breed pigs for pets, while encouraging adoption. I’m torn. One thumb up? Man I hate having a conscience.
[all photos by Amy Sly for Buzzfeed]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyr322VDfV1qzq14lo1_r1_500.jpg)
This is Bubbles, a member of this year’s Puppy Bowl’s Piglet Pep Squad. HI BUBBLES! Buzzfeed got to visit the studio in Manhattan where Puppy Bowl was filmed and hang out with the puppies, kittens, and piglets participating in Puppy Bowl VIII.
I have several thoughts about this. First, why wasn’t Vegansaurus invited? Megan Rascal single-handedly runs our NYC HQ and that girl loves pigs. Yes, the likelihood of her putting a piglet in her purse and making a run for it would’ve been high, but can you blame her [Ed. note: I would do it. -Megan]? Look at those FACES.
Second, these piglets come from Ross Mill Farm, and that is unfortunate. Puppy Bowl puppies are all shelter dogs. Puppy Bowl kittens are all shelter kittens. Why not borrow piglets from a farm sanctuary? Or, you know, not include animals people can’t adopt? I am not complaining about pictures of adorable piglets! But I don’t like to put up photos of zoo animals, however devastatingly cute, because zoos are (mostly!) animal prisons, and I don’t like Animal Planet’s encouragement, however implicit, to buy piglets.
You guys, my enthusiasm for Puppy Bowl is dampened. This is depressing! Yes, Ross Mill Farm appears to keep excellent facilities; they seem to have a process in place to screen potential pig-owners, including a fostering program and an adoption program, which is awesome! But they also breed pigs for pets, while encouraging adoption. I’m torn. One thumb up? Man I hate having a conscience.
[all photos by Amy Sly for Buzzfeed]
∞ posted at 05:29 by seriousmeaveness
01/05/2012
Some unsuspecting people find out pork comes from PIGS! They get so mad! Who knew?
∞ posted at 12:57 by youtalkfunny
12/13/2011
Who likes adorable baby animals frolicking with good-looking dudes? YOU DO. WE ALL DO. So let’s enjoy these piglets and kids that Animal Place rescued from some shitty pumpkin patch last month. The pumpkin patch people used their “baby animal petting zoo” to lure customers, and planned to send all four little bitty babies to slaughter as soon as they closed the patch for the season.
Animal Place is the best, you guys. Let’s e-snorgle some animals together! Also if you’d like to adopt the goats, too late because Marji says they were adopted with five other rescued goats! Cool.
∞ posted at 15:50 by seriousmeaveness
12/02/2011
Gestation-crate ban, interspecies love, and Chick-fil-A sues a vegetable: It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s time for the next installment of Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! This week, it’s the Crazy Edition! Because the whole world is NUTS! Next week, we’ll have a graphic and it’ll BLOW YOUR MIND. For now, take it away, Paul!
In an article about HSUS’s efforts to ban gestation crates and veal crates in Massachusetts, the Farm Bureau made it quite clear where it stands. About veal crates, their president argued, “I don’t know how a calf feels about it. We put kids in car seats and kids scream, but there is a safety factor. Is that inhumane?”
If that’s not crazy enough for you, this one may as well be an Onion article. If only it were. Chik-fil-A is suing a guy in Vermont for hand-stenciling t-shirts that read “Eat More Kale.” Consider me buying kale today.
Another crazy idea: banning photography of factory farms. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune had an important article about “ag-gag” efforts by the agribusiness industry to ban undercover investigations of factory farms.
Finally, do you think it’s crazy to invite a Jew to speak at the Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship about faith and farm animal protection? Well, here you go: a video of my speech there last week. If you can stand listening to me for an hour or want to subject any of your family or friends to that, have fun!
Video of the week: Want to see two piglets and a dog playing in a living room? You’d be crazy not to.
∞ posted at 12:49 by laurahooperb
