From The Pew Environment Group, The Pew Charitable Trusts…
Sharks have roamed our oceans since before the time of dinosaurs, but their long reign at the top of the ocean food chain may be ending. The onset of industrial fishing over the past 60 years has drastically depleted their populations. Of the shark and ray species assessed by scientists for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 30 percent are threatened or near-threatened with extinction.
Shark finning –- the practice of catching a shark, slicing off its fins and then discarding the body at sea -– takes a tremendous toll on shark populations. Up to 73 million sharks are killed every year to primarily support the global shark fin industry, valued for the Asian delicacy shark fin soup.
In general, sharks grow slowly, mature late and produce few young over long lifetimes, leaving them exceptionally vulnerable to over exploitation and slow to recover from depletion. As key predators, their depletion also has risks for the health of entire ocean ecosystems. For example, tiger sharks have been linked to the quality of seagrass beds through their prey, dugongs and green sea turtles, which forage in these beds. Without tiger sharks to control their prey’s foraging, an important habitat is lost.
Canada has the longest coastal line of any country which is home to 27 different shark species. Canada has a legitimate shark fishing industry and foreign vessels are not closely monitored, possibly resulting in shark finning, For these reasons, Shark Fin Free Calgary encourages supporters to sign a federal petition to change the Fisheries Standard that will protect all sharks in Canadian waters until they are at least of reproductive age. This petition can be found along with our petition to the city of Calgary on our website and at various locations around the city.
Shark fin is served in over 30 restaurants* and other establishments that we are aware of right here in Calgary! Additionally, many restaurants not advertising shark fin on their menus, will often make it available for special order for banquets and other events. For every soup bowl not sold, a shark ultimately gets saved. Although it may not be heavily advertised, shark fin soup is popular throughout Canada. When the buying stops the killing can too!
And here’s how they suggest you can help:
To learn more about the local efforts to stop shark finning, visit Shark Fin Free Calgary‘s website.
*independent survey
Things seem quiet in Mirror these days after the dog poisonings in April. However, what has changed?
Last I knew, there was to be a town hall meeting in Mirror between residents and officials to discuss the poisoning deaths of 13 dogs and what was going to be done about it. But last I heard, the meeting never happened.
When the first reported poisoning of dogs happened a year ago, one RCMP officer involved in the poisonings talked with Daisy Foundation’s Heather Anderson. At that time, Heather pointed out research that shows a link between animal abuse and abuse of people. The officer rather sarcastically asked Heather if she was suggesting that there was a serial dog killer in Mirror. Her reply was, “Yes!”
A year passed and in April, at least 13 dogs died from poisoning in an overnight period. Coincidence? Or serial dog killer? My bet is on the latter.
It’s been a few months now and as expected, the hysteria has mostly subsided. People have returned to their normal lives. But what about the families victimized by the poisonings. At least one family lost dogs they had added to their family after their previous dog had been poisoned a year back. This family has again been victimized, traumatized and hurt. I wonder how they are doing these days?
Well, I think it’s time to shake out the rug and see what has settled underneath. Let’s not wait another year or even another season to see if the killer strikes again. Let’s raise some awareness.
I am asking the people of Mirror who have lost a pet to the poisonings to send me their story (Enable Javascript to see the email address) and a photo of their beloved dog. Let’s see if we can’t renew our search for justice and move forward to some resolution beyond what we have right now.
Recently, in Jerusalem, a judge sentenced a DOG to be stoned to death…. by local children.
The dog wandered into a financial court and would not leave. A judge recalled a curse that had been placed on a secular lawyer who insulted the court two decades prior. The curse was that the lawyer would come back as a dog. And therefore this dog that wandered in that courtroom most assuredly must be the cursed lawyer. A court manager told Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot the stoning had been ordered as “as an appropriate way to ‘get back at’ the spirit which entered the poor dog”, according to Ynet.
Really???
I believe in reincarnation, but I also believe it is possible that the dog just wandered into the court room. Simple as that. And for that he deserves such a heinous death?
And even beyond this most inhumane method of killing, I am dumbfounded that the stoning would be ordered to be carried out by children. We work so hard with our youth to teach them to respect all life. This includes animals, yet this village wants its children to pick up stones and hurl them at a defenseless dog until he is dead?
I haven’t the words to explain which part of this story is the most upsetting to me. There is absolutely NOTHING in any of it that makes any sense.
Since the story has circulated the globe, the judges in Jerusalem are now denying this sentence was ordered. And here’s why this may be true:
There must also be witnesses to the event. What event could the possessed dog, or the lawyer for that matter, have done to deserve death besides being secular—a crime not among the 18 professed crimes in rabbinic law punishable by death? Had the lawyer truly committed one of these crimes in his human state he would have been tried pre-dog transcendence.
What is among the 18 crimes is witchcraft and necromancy—cursing a dead man guilty of being a pest into the body of a dog most certainly falls under these crimes meaning the judge who carried them out is the real perpetrator.
The manager of the court says, “They didn’t issue an official ruling, but ordered the children outside to throw stones at him in order to drive him away. They didn’t think of it as cruelty to animals, but as an appropriate way to ‘get back at’ the spirit which entered the poor dog.”
“An official ruling” is key in capital punishment under any religious or secular law and using stones to drive something away is much different than using stones to kill it. And asking children to take part in the matter seems incredibly irresponsible and quite frankly, unlikely.
reprinted from Death and Taxes magazine
Last I heard, the dog managed to escape.
More articles about this story
We received the following email over the weekend. It tells a terrible story that we wish was not true. If you have any information about this dog or other similar animals from the area, please call the RCMP in Claresholm at 403-625-4445 immediately.
I was just with the RCMP from Claresholm on the phone.
My daughter found a dead dog outside of the town of Granum and sent me a picture. It looked like it was very fresh, the skin was missing like somebody had skinned it, very clean cut from neck to buttox. His meat was still red colored, no damage to the body other than the missing skin. Fresh probably from today as coyotes would have found him if he would have been there longer.
The police [were] not able to help me and said the killings in Mirror probably have nothing to do with this dead dog but if another dog shows up dead, they will open an investigation… The dog’s body was found just outside of Stavely East. Black in color, young one if you ask me. Again no injuries to the dog. The picture looked like he had been placed there after being skinned.
My first reaction is that nothing will happen until ANOTHER dog is found in a similar situation? Why is that? Is this crime not heinous enough or concerning enough to warrant an investigation?
When Heather Anderson spoke with RCMP last year about the dog killings in Mirror, the investigating officer asked, So you are telling me that we have a serial dog killer in Mirror? Well, I think the facts from a couple weeks ago bear out the answer quite loudly. YES! You have a serial dog killer in Mirror.
And let’s not forget that research does show a link between this kind of abuse and abuse to humans.
EVERY one of these cases should be investigated BEFORE something worse happens.
If this had been a child or an elderly person found skinned and left by the side of the road, would we have waited for another victim to be found before we started an investigation? If it had been the dog of the mayor or the chief of police or someone else prominent, would we be waiting for the next one?
This seems like a case of JADed justice – i.e., JUST A DOG justice. The value of their life is really no less precious than our own. Life is the only thing that really is ours and it should be respected.
It’s been a year since the poisoning of dogs last was news in Mirror. At that time, approximately 20 dogs were poisoned with a chemical typically used to kill gophers.
Over night last night, 14 dogs died from poisoning.
Calls starting coming in to the RCMP in Bashaw about 9:30 this morning and continued throughout the day. As of early Saturday evening, 13 deaths have been confirmed and a 14th is believed also to have been poisoned. All of the dead dogs were found in fenced-in yards or on their owner’s property.
It is thought that something the dogs ate contained an unknown substance. Toxicology reports from veterinarians to verify the substance are pending.
Please keep an eye on your dog(s) and do not leave them unattended in your yard.
Anyone with information or anyone who believes their dog has been poisoned is urged to call Constable Duek with the RCMP in Bashaw at (780) 372-3793.
Mirror is about 215 kilometres northeast of Calgary and about 66 kilometres East of Red Deer.
The following are a few of the symptoms of dog poisoning that you can look out for. A lot of these symptoms are quite similar to those in human poisoning, and some of them can be indicative of other conditions and ailments.
Some symptoms are extremely specific. For example, rat poison can prevent blood clotting which can mean that small injuries become quite serious, and if ingested it can cause internal bleeding which if not treated quickly enough can lead to death. Sometimes internal bleeding can be diagnosed by blood in the dog’s urine.
If your dog displays any of the symptoms of dog poisoning, you need to seek proper veterinarian treatment as soon as possible. The very first thing to do is call your vet and ask for advice. If your dog has been poisoned, there are things you can do to help, but it depends on exactly what he has eaten. For example, inducing vomiting can help the dog to clear out whatever is causing the problem and a mixture often used for this is made up of a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide and a teaspoon of milk.
You should never try to induce vomiting in cases of chemical poisoning such as cleaning products or gasoline or if the dog is in a stupor. In these cases trying to make the dog throw up can actually make it worse. Always at least ask your vet before trying something like this. It will be much easier if you know the exact cause, but even if you don’t, the vet will be able to tell you what to do.
Research has shown that there is a connection between animal abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, bullying and other forms of violence. Intentional animal cruelty or abuse can be a warning sign that an individual has already experienced violence and may be predisposed to committing other crimes such as vandalism, arson, physical assault and even murder. A child who has abused an animal could be the victim of abuse and are at a greater risk of mimicking the abusive behaviour. If it goes unreported….everyone suffers.
Animal cruelty and/or abuse in the family represents a hierarchy of power and control. It is used to manipulate, control and isolate a victim of domestic violence. Pets are generally considered a part of the family and ultimately can share the suffering that occurs when there is violence in the home. The abuser may use violence, or threat of violence against animals, to terrorize, manipulate and control the human victim. Killing or removing the family pet can isolate the person who is being abused. Some victims will stay in destructive relationship due to threats against, or out of concern for, their companion animals. Animals may even be used to perpetrate sexual abuse. There is strong evidence connecting animals’ abuse, domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse. This sometimes can even escalate to individuals outside of the family.
The Calgary Humane Society undertook a collaborative study with the YWCA Family Violence Prevention Centre, the Sheriff King Home and with researcher Sue McIntosh that was supported by RESOLVE Alberta. The 2001 study showed a direct connection between family violence and animal abuse in Calgary. It also indicated that animal cruelty may be a warning of future violence.
Without intervention, the cycle of violence will continue. It’s important to be responsible and take the opportunity to intervene when people or animals are abused end the cycle of violence.
The story that broke in January, 2011, where an employee of Outdoor Adventures Whistler recounted how he was ordered to kill 100 sled dogs brought to our attention what a simple commodity sled dogs are. When business is good, their life is essentially assured. But when business declines or never materializes as expected, inventory must be cut.
Citing a post-Olympic slump in bookings of dog-sled tours as their reason, a major tour operator in Whistler has admitted that he ordered the killing of 100 dogs. Looking at your pet, can you imagine the mindset that made that decision; the thinking that concluded that killing them was the necessary action to maintain a bottom line for their business. To hell with the fact that these are living beings who have likely served the business well during the busy season. Too cold for me.
I always wonder: did you ask each and every one of them if they wanted to die?
According to Marcie Moriarty, general manager for cruelty investigations with the BC SPCA, it is actually legal to shoot an animal if it dies instantly. But the report on the sled dogs seems to say that at least some of these dogs did not die instantly. Instead they struggled to flee, to try and climb out of the pile of dead dogs.
Least we be shocked into disbelief by this story, we must not forget the race horses slaughtered once they are past their prime or the MILLIONS of healthy cats and dogs killed in our North American shelters every year often due to bored or unprepared owners who abandon them.
Photos of the victims and links to news articles | Vigil info
We probably hear more stories about cruelty against dogs than any other animal. Why? I don’t know, but the stories are sickening and disheartening.
In one case last year, a man severely beat a dog with a flashlight causing serious injuries to the dog. When authorities arrived to investigate, they found the dog sleeping beside the man who had abused him.
There is something in dogs that remains loyal beyond all reason. It’s as though they see something more in us than we do. Or perhaps it is a naivety in their genes that makes them look up to us.
But any abuse against ANY animal must end. Without stronger laws against animal abuse and cruelty, we find that the current pattern of abuse just continues and even seems to be escalating. There have been links made to show that animal abusers can become abusive to people. It’s a behavior that must be amended as soon as possible.
We must not tolerate abuse on any scale.
If you see abuse, report it! There is no excuse for abuse.
