Cecil the Lion

Cecil, a beloved lion, known by all for his black mane was lured out of his protected habitat in a Zimbabwean national park by a Minnesota dentist, Walter Palmer, and his guides, and killed. Not just killed - but shot with a bow and arrow and left in pain for 40 hours until put out of his misery via gunshot. 

courtesy google images

The fact that Cecil was used to tourists and trusted them to some extent, relegates this heinous act to that akin to those characteristic of a canned hunt, which is not even considered a sport by other sport hunters, and an act of extreme cowardice and overcompensation. It is certainly not a fair fight.

What is really disturbing is his defense. In a statement to the media, Palmer claimed that he didn't mean to kill Cecil specifically, and that, whoever he killed, he killed legally. As to the latter, not so fast- as his guides were arrested for poaching. As to the former - unbelievable! 

How many prosecutors would release a murderer from culpability because he said "I intended to kill someone, just not the guy I killed". The answer is the precise amount of tolerance and leniency the world should give for such behavior.

Charges Filed Against Holiday Humane Society Fake Veterinarian

UPDATE: CONVICTED!  Menjivar, 52, pled no contest to one count of unlicensed practice of veterinary medicine. Judge Leland Harris sentenced Menjivar to 36 months of probation, 30 days jail, 500 hours of community service and 16 sessions of animal cruelty counseling. Menjivar is scheduled to surrender on October 16, 2015. 

Congratulations City Attorney Mike Feuer and Supervising Attorney Don Cocek for prosecuting the case!

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer has brought charges against Hector Antonio Menjivar, of Holiday Humane Society, for allegedly posing as a veterinarian and operating an unlicensed after-hours veterinary clinic in Van Nuys. The amount of pain and suffering caused to the pets and their human companions is unimaginable. 


It is particularly despicable, if Mr. Menjivar was using the humane society as a shield to deflect suspicion. My heart goes out to those pets and families who were caused pain by this organization and urge anyone else who may have so been harmed to contact the City Attorney. It is, of course, a good idea to research a veterinarian or clinic before bringing in your pet, especially if you are quoted a price that is too good to be true.

We commend Mike Feuer and Deputy City Attorney Don Cocek, Supervising Attorney of the City Attorney’s Animal Protection Unit, for protecting our animals from harm as well as those of us who love them.

My first haiku - maybe!

After a weekend of watching too many news shows - the following haiku came to mind:

Self deport, Self heal, Self fund - Selfish

Once so declared, government and charities can just pack up, and I can go back to watching television.

Bull!

Courtesy google images

Like most "sport" hunting and canned hunts, there is no "sport" or real bravery in bullfighting. The bull is weakened, confined, repeatedly stabbed (causing great blood loss) by a group of picadors, and practically dead before the matador even enters the arena to finish the job. The matador dances around and essentially kills the pre-killed blood soaked bull. It is not about sport or bravery but show business and bloodlust as evidenced by the fact that there is a premium on fights involving white bulls as blood shows up better on their skin. After all, the color of the bull should not matter if the "fight" were about skill and not the summary killing of a pre-killed animal.

Contrast this with the running of the bulls going on now, where the bulls are healthy, very much alive, blessed by the clergy and startled into running through city streets where civilians, not matadors, engage with them. Of course there are always goring incidents and other injuries. So the trained brave matador takes on a virtually dead bull, where an untrained college student takes on a full strength herd of charging bulls. You know the matadors would never do that!

Now, let's look at California, where bullfighting, both regular and bloodless (Velcro tipped "swords" stick to a corresponding Velcro blanket on the bull) are illegal. Both are considered cruel as even in the bloodless fight there is a lot of tormenting and pain caused notwithstanding the fake swords. Yet, in California, a bloodless bullfight can (and does) occur every year"in connection with religious celebrations or religious festivals". (Penal Code 597m)  Ergo -bloodless bullfighting without religion is a crime. Bloodless bullfighting with religion is a family outing.

Every legislative season I try to find a lawmaker willing to repeal the religious exemption as the relationship between religious practice and the activity seems tenuous at best. None are up to the challenge as there are heady constitutional arguments involved and no guaranteed kill.

Clearly, we need a college student and not a matador for this fight.

Protect your spcaLA donor dollars from "poachers"!

spcaLA officer to the rescue!

We are now seeing ads for an aspca event in Los Angeles and other cities. Understand that it is not connected to your spcaLA and our pets, and that your funds will go to New York. In fact, this is true anywhere in the country. They are not an umbrella organization with "chapters" anywhere, but they do poach support from the local spcas everywhere.

place your spcaLA friend for life here!

None of this would be so bad if the aspca put a meaningful disclaimer on their ads and fund raising materials so that the public would not continue to be misled. They have been repeatedly asked to do so and have refused. On the other hand HSUS, also not an umbrella organization, did the honorable thing. They have put such a disclaimer on their ads! aspca should learn from this.

What is the aspca afraid of? Is nearly 200 million dollars in the bank not enough? Is the only way they acquire donors is to fool them into thinking they are a national umbrella? Are they worried that if donors knew that they stopped investigating animal cruelty, that they payed 9.5 million dollars to Ringling Brothers in a law suit for improperly paying a witness, or that they count on this misconception to raise funds, that people will donate locally instead?

The only way to overcome this is to be informed and therefore not fooled. Perhaps asking them nicely to follow the example set by HSUS could work too - miracles do happen.