Vegan News 5.9.13

7 Dodgy Food Practices Banned in Europe But Just Fine Here. Six of them are directly related to livestock production. “Atrazine, Arsenic in chicken, turkey, and pig feed, ‘Poultry litter’ in cow feed, Chlorine washes for poultry carcasses, Antibiotics as growth promoters on livestock farms, Ractopomine and other pharmaceutical growth enhancers in animal feed, Gestation crates.”

Cold War bunkers offer bats refuge from killer disease. “Scientists have converted two of the 43 bunkers at the former Loring Air Force Base, Maine, which has been a wildlife reserve since the mid-1990s. The artificial hibernacula are designed to safeguard bats from the disease that was first recorded in the US in 2006. White-nose syndrome (WNS) has killed up to an estimated 6.7 million bats so far and is continuing to spread. WNS has been described by some biologists as the worst wildlife health crisis in the US in living memory. It is named after a white fungal infection that appears on the muzzle and/or wings of infected animals. Studies suggest the fungus arrived in the US after it was somehow transported (probably via humans) from Europe or possibly Asia.”

Fly factory that transforms waste into animal feed wins UN innovation prize. Disgusting on every possible level. “A fly factory that transforms blood, guts, manure and discarded food into animal feed has walked away with a $100,000 UN-backed innovation prize.”

VIDEO: Bear kills monkey during bike race at Chinese animal park. “The animals had been forced to ride bikes, in front of a large crowd, around a track. It is not known exactly when the video was shot, but sources say it was filmed at Shanghai Wild Animal Park. Campaign group Animals Asia said it was not the first time the venue had encouraged animal abuse — highlighting its ‘Wild Animal Olympics’ event that got shut down in 2006. The show featured bears boxing one another, kangaroos boxing humans and monkeys lifting weights.”

Vegan students at Calif. high school accused of bullying agriculture students online. “Fox 40 reports the vegan students allegedly have been posting angry words against Elk Grove High School’s agriculture program on social media sites such as Instagram. ‘