h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I had no idea about the badgers and orangutans(sp?).Unfortunately I already knew about the seals.

I'm glad that there are people who recognize and bring attention to these problems. to you for caring.

Hi, FF,

Thank for your comments. The seals are certainly grabbing the headlines again, and I read today that the UK is as responsible for the trade as anyone. I didn't know when I wrote that article that Seal Oil is used in many health supplements, being high in Omega -3, just what we are all being encouraged to take. You live and learn!

The Orang Utans are suffering partly as a result of the surge in the use of Palm Oil in so many, many products. Forest is being destroyed to make way for Palm Oil plantations. It is used in so many products it is almost impossible to avoid.

We can but try to make a difference. As for unsubbing from Real Life - let me know when you find out how to do it and I'll join you!!

Websailor

I'm working on it.

I don't understand why people think it's a good idea to kill diversity. I don't think lack of awareness is the only problem either. People want these products and they want them cheap. They want it badly enough that they don't care where it's from but if they're not careful it'll all be gone. Not to mention the sufferring involved!

One of the things that has been really bothering me lately is dog fighting. I didn't know until recently that it was going on here in Canada. It's truly disgusting and I can't figure out what I can do about it.

Hi, FF,

Canada is not alone in experiencing dog fighting. Take a look at this:

http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=NewsFeature&articleId=1144060325019&marker=1

Doing anything about it is difficult and best left to the professionals, unless you have information of use. The people involved here are the same kind of people who indulge in badger baiting, cock fighting and other 'outlawed' so called sports and are often dangerous people.

Like you I despair that people put profit, and cheap goods ahead of our wildlife. Very short sighted, not to mention cruel.

I console myself that there are millions of people around the world like you and me, that do care. Things have improved but it is such slow progress.

I see you are in Ontario. I am following the progress on the Net of Operation Migration, the Whooping Crane re-introduction , based in Toronto. Are you aware of it.? It is most interesting.

to have to go but that wretched Real Life is calling.

I didn't know about it. I'm actually in Toronto now too. I'll have to find out more. for sharing!

I used to volunteer with the OSPCA before I moved but there isn't one close to me now. The move was bad timing because they busted a puppy mill right after I had to quit and I'm sure they had their hands full!

I've been trying to think of ways to maybe spread awareness but I've been more geared towards domestic/companion animals because I know more about them. I've considered standing outside a well-known and scummy petstore whose name I cannot mention and giving out information on puppy mills. I've also considered printing out information on taking care of rabbits properly and asking petstores to give it out when people buy their "easter bunnies".

And I know I'm going to regret this but what is badger baiting?

What are puppy mills? Are they what we would call puppy farms where puppies are bred and sold for profit without any human socialising, care, health checks, or interest in where they are going? They are often found to be sick, and die quickly. Wicked. Many pet shops here in the UK are not the caring responsible people they should be either.

Badger baiting is when men with dogs dig out badger setts and send the dogs in. As you can imagine the dogs are vicious, and the Badger, which has very strong jaws is trapped, angry and frightened. They usually fight to the death, the dogs getting badly injured too. What they get out of it I do not know, except that as in many of those criminal activities, there is betting involved.

It is easy to think it is a sick world we live in, but I suppose it has always been the case, it is just that with world wide communication we know more about it now. Quicker too.

You can find what is happening with Operation Migration here:

http://www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html

Their Canadian HQ is in Port Perry.

The dedication of this team and its' supporters restores your faith in humankind.

Websailor

Thanks for the link!

Yes, that sounds the same as puppy mills. They're usually inbred and live in tiny cages. My aunt had a boxer that she adopted from Boxer Rescue that was an exbreeder at a puppy mill. As a result she has HUGE nipples from being overbred/milked and the way they breed them is that they tie the females front end down so that they can't move and just their backend is sticking up and they whip them. She has scars all over her from the whipping and a couple marks that look like cigarette burns or something. She's the biggest suck now but when my aunt first went to adopt her she lunged at her throat. They went through months of training and interviews and things before Mia could go home with her. My aunt said it was harder than adopting a child.

The badger baiting sounds horrible! Just last month I learned about hare coursing which is just as bad.

Yesterday I was at a certain store that's big in Canada and the US that sells everything including fish. Usually I've only seen them with golfish but this one had bala sharks, plecos, mollies, cichlids, a type of cat fish, pond fish, silver dollars and others. It looked pretty good though the fish looked healthy and clean until you get away from the fish area and across from the toy aisle where they keep the betta. One of them was in less than an inch of water in it's little plastic container. We just happened to have a camera with us so we snapped a couple pictures of him. I also informed the lady who was helping us with some other fish and she must have misunderstood me because she did nothing and told me a story of a woman who complained of the same thing and was even threatening them if they didn't put more water in. She also went on to tell me that customers will occassionally cut the heads and fins off of the betta or put them in with each other to see them fight to the death. So maybe they should be kept with the other fish and not across from the toys?

Anyways, this is getting a little long.

I don't think Hare coursing is quite as bad as the other things. At least the animal has a fighting chance of escape(I think)!

I used to keep and breed tropical fish, but I never had Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta). They are beautiful. They are shallow water fish, but it depends on the definintion of shallow, I suppose.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/anabantids2/p/betta.htm

They must have some pretty sadistic customers!!

Websailor

The scary thing is it's likely kids doing it.

I have a beautiful white betta so I've done lots of research on them.

My grandfather used to breed all kinds of fish.