2010 – The International Year of Biodiversity
Last week, British environmental critic and guardian journalist George Monbiot posted on the newly state-sanctioned ‘pro-active non-selective badger cull‘ in Wales to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis, despite ample scientific evidence suggesting that this practice actually increases its spread, sardonically reminding us that 2010 is indeed the International Year of Biodiversity. In many ways, it seems funny that 2010 should be the one we choose to be the year of biodiversity, given that there has never been a year in human civilisation with a lower number of species across the planet. In light of this contradiction, I thought now might be a good time to remind ourselves of the link between meat eating and biodiversity. Read more…
Guest Post: ‘I Want to Hug You and Squeeze You into Itty-Bitty Pieces!’
by Daniel Meyrowitz
Daniel is a 4th year student at the University of Auckland, doing conjoint degrees in Law and English Literature and is currently a student in Animals and the Law.
Warner Bros creation Elmyra Duff of Tiny Toon Adventures is both amusing to watch and interesting to think about as a tool for social critique. Elmyra is modeled as a sort of female version of Elmer Fudd, ‘wabbit’ hunter and arch-enemy of Bugs Bunny. Instead of resorting to obvious forms of violence, as Elmer does, Elmyra chooses rather to love animals, although the net result of animal suffering is probably the same in both cases. Elmyra, however, is far more complicated in her motives and methods. Elmer Fudd hunts rabbits. It is simple and without equivocation. Elmyra, complete with her iconic gerbil skull placed in the middle of her hair ribbon, is a potent symbol for a more ubiquitous form of animal abuse. Elmyra’s abuse is pernicious, owing to the fact that it masquerades as animal love. Elmyra is a pet owner and collector. Elmyra loves pets. We all love pets. But all that love comes at a cost. Read more…
Guest Post: Pedigree at What Price?
by Jessica O’Connell
Jessica is a 5th year student at the University of Auckland, completing conjoint degrees in Law and Arts. She is in the transition from vegetarianism to veganism. She also enjoys sports such as kickboxing and tennis.
British Bull Dog
A close friend of mine mentioned that she was thinking of buying a bulldog the other day. They’re a good size for the amount of space she has, they make great companions, and they’re adorable. It got me thinking about the bulldog, a long suffering canine plagued by respiratory illness, skin disease, and joint problems (to name a few). How did this happen? If pedigree dog breeding is, as breeders would have it, about breeding away from defects and towards a healthy, ‘perfect’ looking specimen, then how have bulldogs ended up in such dire straits? Read more…
Links for January 2010
'Enviropig' by Nathan Meltz
- Sociological images interviewed artist Nathan Meltz about his pieces on industrial farming.
- No Right Turn accuses MAF of looking the other way on animal cruelty, noting that less than 0.5% of the complaints they receive lead to convictions. They suggest that MAF should take or a proactive role, and that if they don’t, the people responsible should be sacked. The trouble is, the problem is not just with MAF’s tiny animal welfare unit. The problem is also with the Ministry, tasked at once with protecting animal exploitation and animal welfare, and unwilling to invest a reasonable amount of funding in animal welfare. The problem is with the successive governments that have created and tolerated this situation. The problem is with the police not being trained in their powers under the Animal Welfare Act 1999. The problem, I suggest, is ultimately that most of our society doesn’t take animal welfare at all seriously. Read more…
An Open Letter to Your Local Cafe: Cater to Vegans
I’m fed up. I’m normally very positive when it comes to food, and coffee. My diet is the (vegan) opposite of James’ porridge-and-apricots hike: Varied, spicy, and (too often) pricey fare. On the weekend, I often relax by visiting a cafe with a friend or a novel. When I need to plan my time in a busy patch, an espresso and my diary is the go.
And I think that it is easy to make, and to buy, varied and enjoyable vegan food in Auckland (and in Hamilton, Wellington, and Christchurch, if not elsewhere in New Zealand). There are a lot of vegan options in cafes and restaurants. Sure, it’s not New York and it’s not Melbourne (If anyone reading this wants to open a Lord of the Fries franchise in Auckland: I and my friends will keep you in business. Not joking.), but it’s not bad.
Cafes, however? I’m going to be honest. Most of the time, they don’t capitalise on the vegan market well enough. That’s not good for veganism, not good for vegans, and not good for cafe owners. Read more…
My Upcoming Date with Bob Barker…
I won’t lie. I’m a HUGE Bob Barker fan. 
Most New Zealanders probably have no idea who Barker is – though you may have seen his cameo in Happy Gilmore, where he beats up Adam Sandler (apologies for the poor video quality) – but as a boy growing up in Canada, Bob Barker played a big role in my early life. Back when our television only picked up 3 or 4 channels – in the 70s and 80s – Barker was the host of one of North America’s most famous game shows: The Price is Right. Barker was an institution, hosting the show for thirty-five years. My grandmother – like many grandmothers – was a big Price is Right fan, as well as a huge Barker fan, and I have fond memories of watching the show with her as a child.
Of course, that’s hardly the only reason for my being a big Bob Barker fan. He was perhaps the first prominent celebrity to take up the animal cause, ending every one of his shows with a plea to pet owners to get their pets ’spayed or neutered’. But Barker went much further than that. He put his money where his mouth was, and unlike many celebrities who offer time and energy regarding specific causes, Barker’s focus has been animal law, with him correctly reasoning that we need lawyers who understand how animals are treated by the law in order to move the movement forward. In addition to numerous other donations to animal related causes, Barker has stimulated the study of animal law in the USA, and inferentially, around the world. From the ALDF web page: Read more…
Guest Post: Veg*nism: A Diet of Low Hanging Fruit
by Jeremy Nagel
Jeremy is a fourth year Bachelor of Environmental Science student at Monash University (Australia). He has been vegan for four and a half years and enjoys sport, particularly running and cycling.
With the Copenhagen climate change summit ending with a generally accepted (if unratified) consensus that emissions cuts of at least 20% will be required by 2020 in order to avoid dangerous climate change, governments around the world are looking for ways to transition to a low carbon economy. It is often said that the best way to cushion the initial blow will be to ‘pick the low hanging fruit’ – ending blatantly unsustainable practices, for which there are readily available substitutes. Adopting energy efficiency initiatives, for example, could allow for as much of 29% of the US’s carbon emissions to be mitigated while generating a profit in the process.[1]
It is interesting to note that a measure that could deliver emissions reductions of a similar magnitude and could arguably be simpler to implement has not even been mentioned at the large climate talks and has received scant attention in the literature. This measure is veg*nism.
According to the UNFAO report Livestock’s Long Shadow,[2] animal husbandry contributes 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. While it would be overly simplistic to suggest that if the world’s population went vegan overnight, the spectre of global warming would creep back into its cupboard, it is nonetheless true that a plant based diet places considerably less stress on the environment. Read more…
Cubicle (Factory) Farming and Ministerial ‘Call-Ins’ of Resource Management Consents
Late last year, I posted on the euphemistically-named ‘cubicle’ farming of dairy cows proposed in the pristine McKenzie Basin.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has today recommended that Environment Minister, Nick Smith use his call-in powers under the Resource Management Act 1991 (the RMA) to make a decision on the consents. The Act states:
Section 141B – Minister’s power to call in matters that are or are part of proposals of national significance
In deciding whether a matter is or is part of a proposal of national significance, the Minister may have regard to any relevant factor, including whether the matter—(a) has aroused widespread public concern or interest regarding its actual or likely effect on the environment
Why is this of interest in a blog about animal law?
Well, although about 75% of the large number of submissions received by the Canterbury Regional Council mentioned deleterious effects on the cows, the question has been raised as to whether animal welfare issues can be legitimately considered as an ‘effect’ of dairy farming for the purposes of resource management consents.
The Council has received legal advice that they can not, nor can they provide grounds for a ministerial call-in.
The Council’s Chief Executive, Dr Bryan Jenkins, has said that the animal welfare issue is more appropriately dealt with under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (the AWA). He also suggested that a stronger argument can be made for damage to New Zealand’s reputation in international dairy markets being an ‘effect’.
This is all the more incredible if we look at the statutory definition of “environment” in the RMA: Read more…
Right Wing Vegans?
Stephanie is currently a student in Animals and the Law at the University of Auckland, Faculty of Law, and a guest contributor to the Solution. Students from this class will be contributing blogs to the Solution periodically over
the next month.
There is a stereotype of the vegetarian-going-vegan animal rights enthusiast of being a left wing voter. Even my closest right-wing friends and family members joke about me being a ‘socialist’. I cannot convince them that I actually agree with them politically. A barbeque interrogation about why I am not tucking into a juicy steak seems to inevitably lead to questions concerning my political views, much to my friends’ bewilderment when they hear the unexpected: I’m right-wing, but don’t eat meat.
Yes. I fall on the right of the political spectrum, and in general, I believe in the free market. It promotes efficiency, hard work, innovation, and self-reliance. Excellent. Read more…
MAF’s ‘Arms Length’ Approach to Prosecutions
Just last week, we posted about the SPCA’s difficulties in pursuing prosecutions under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (the AWA). An article in the Herald on Monday (‘Hundreds of Cases of Livestock Mistreatment Reported’) highlights just how little the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), is doing by way of prosecutions. But, as the Police generally do not prosecute animal welfare offences, MAF is the other main body, along with the SPCA, that is empowered to prosecute under the AWA.
In the year to November 2009, MAF received 689 complaints about the mistreatment of animals, and investigated 615. They brought two prosecutions.
In 2008, there were 948 complaints in total, of which 824 were investigated. No prosecutions were brought.
So, out of 1439 investigations in two years, only two resulted in prosecutions. This is a rate of less than 0.4%.
Curiously, the story was re-spun the next day with the title: ‘Big Fines for Farmers Who Let Their Livestock Starve’ moving the sentences imposed to the head of the article and the fact that there were only two prosecutions in two years to the second half of the piece. Read more…
