Vegan News 2.27.13

The Horse Meat Scandals Reveal We Are More Psychologically Screwed Up Than We Realized About Eating Animals.  “Everyone’s getting upset because horses are turning up in our dinners rather than cows. But is it possible that this ‘scandal’ is revealing more about our relationships with animals and conflicts in our inner psyches, than the nutritional content of our meals?  We develop relationships with certain animals, such as horses, dogs and cats, so we assume they have ‘minds’. But other animals, such as cows, are not kept as pets or companions, and therefore we decide they are ‘mindless’, in comparison to horses.  A series of recent psychology experiments demonstrates the mental somersaults we are prepared to turn in order to eat some animals, while befriending others.”

‘Robosparrow’ Created from Dead Bird.  “Scientists at Duke University in North Carolina worked with engineering students and a taxidermist to operate the wings of a deceased swamp sparrow.  They programmed simple Picaxe computer chips, and built a tiny linear motor to fit inside the cavity of the bird they named Robosparrow.  They were studying male aggressive behaviour among the species.  The bird was attacked regularly whether it waved its wings or not, the researchers found.”  Perhaps because the sparrows knew it was a robot with dead bird wings??

Appeals Court Rules US Whaling Foes are Pirates.  “A federal appeals court has declared the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to be modern-day pirates and ordered the anti-whaling activists to stop confronting Japanese ships in the waters off Antarctica.  A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and rebuked a lower-court judge in Seattle, who had sided with Washington state-based Sea Shepherd and dismissed a lawsuit filed by Japanese whalers seeking to halt the protests. An international treaty allows governments to kill whales for research.”

Man fined $85,000 for killing whooping crane, has rifle confiscated.  “South Dakotan man Jeff Blachford, aged 26, has been handed a stiff sentence that includes $85,000 in restitution and 2 years probation for violating the Federal Endangered Species Act after he shot and killed an endangered whooping crane, reports Wildlife Extra. He will also be required to surrender his firearms, as well as be prohibited from hunting, fishing or trapping within the U.S. for the next 2 years.  The penalties have been applauded by officials with the International Crane Foundation, who hope that the sentencing will make reckless hunters across the country think twice before setting their sights on an endangered species.”  Personally, I’m waiting for the day for an $85K fine for killing any animal- just saying.

And in other “vegan” news…

Vegetarian rocker Morrissey canceled a Jimmy Kimmel appearance because he didn’t want to share the stage with other people who consumed animals.

Photo credit: Tom Spender via Flickr