The Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program and the National Institutes of Health have agreed to implement new technologies that will allow for the phasing out of animal testing.
Today is the final day of voting in the Ideas for Change in America competition, one of those massive online voting thingies. The top ten ideas will be “presented to the Obama administration.” This may not actually mean much (if I mail a letter to the White House, I’m presenting an idea), but the site is generating a lot of attention and discussion. Whether we can directly influence Obama’s agenda or not, wouldn’t it be nice to get some pro-animal items to win this contest?
You can vote for all four of these (not just one):
We blogged it a few weeks ago, but this is worth another mention. If you are anywhere near New York City, and you care at all about animal issues, you are a fool and a loser if you don’t visit Banksy’s “Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill” at 89 7th Avenue between West 4th and Bleeker Street.
The shop touches on humans’ exploitation of animals for food, chemical and behavioral testing, fur, and entertainment. I’ve never been a big fan of Banksy’s drawing/stencil work, but this show is just great, conceptually technologically, and aesthetically. It’s subversive and clever, sure, but also quite touching and unnerving.
It’s great how it’s just a store-front. I suspect most visitors stumbled upon the place, rather than seeking it out. Even if you don’t think you like or understand fine art, you’ll be OK here. It’s just a mock store, with animatronics, just like at Disneyland.
The show closes on October 31st, Halloween. The price and the hours are friendly–free admission, open 10am-midnight. Go!
(There’s lots more there than what’s in the video.)
Guerrilla artist Banksy has opened his first official exhibition in New York yesterday. “Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill” is at 89 7th Avenue between West 4th and Bleeker Street. The fake pet shop he’s created aims to question “our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming.”
A giraffe at a circus in Amsterdam led a jailbreak, helping 15 camels, 2 zebras, and some llamas and pot-bellied pigs escape. (They were later recaptured.) Anyone have links to pictures or video of this?
The New Scientist tells us that “Rhesus macaques have been shown to possess yet another numerical talent once thought unique to humans – they can simultaneously count audible beeps and dots on a computer screen.” Good to know, but can we stop experimenting on them, please?
Ryan from VegBlog points us to a list of “The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1” and notes “17 of the top 20 (and 9 of the top 10) are vegan. Show this to the next dummy that says, ‘Being vegan is too expensive.’”
Lewis Cicero of Fairfield, Connecticut faced either execution or declawing after scratching some of his human neighbors in 2006. His guardian Ruth demanded a trial on criminal charges. The case was just dismissed, as Lewis has kept out of trouble under house arrest.
Boing Boing Gadgets points us to this fake Louis Vuitton Piglet Dog purse by artist Meryl Smith (see picture). I don’t know where she falls on animal issues, but a lot of her work is animal-related, and her sad greyhound piece The Last Race is pretty affecting.
