KFC to Offer Vegan Chicken in Canada

After years of dramatic protests outside KFC’s all over the world, the Canadian branch of the fast food giant has cut a deal with PETA to improve its chicken slaughter conditions and introduce vegan options on their menu. That’s right – vegan ‘chicken’, at KFC of all places.

From kypost.com:

“It means more choice for people who are vegetarian and more options for people thinking about it,” said David Alexander, director of operations for the Toronto Vegetarian Association.

PETA will now call off its Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign in Canada, which was supported by many celebrities including Canadians Pamela Anderson and Ryan Gosling. KFC Canada pledged to buy from suppliers who gas their chickens, what PETA calls “the least cruel form of poultry slaughter ever developed.”

PETA will continue to press KFC in the United States and elsewhere to change its slaughter practices – and sell unchicken, as 461 KFC Canadian chain stores have agreed to do.

“KFC is sort of taking a bit of leadership on the issue,” said Alexander, a vegetarian for two years. “We’ve moved beyond the era of the veggie burger, I think.”

Interesting. Using more humane methods to slaughter their chickens is downright awesome, and a huge victory for PETA, who have practically waged war against KFC for decades. It’s awesome to see a big chain agree to rethink their slaughter practices, because, in case you’re ignorant of the issue (as many people go out of their way to remain), they really are disgusting and cruel in most cases.

It’s very surprising that KFC would be willing to offer vegan ‘chicken’, made mostly of soy, at their restaurants – but hey, it’s a good thing. Maybe some meat eaters will even make the switch, if it tastes good enough, and that would mean fewer animals being raised and slaughtered overall. And of course, vegetarians want fast food, too.

Link [kypost.com]
Photo credit: United Poultry Concerns

Great Apes Achieve Rights on Par with Humans in Spain

Exciting news for animal rights activists! Spain, known more for bull fighting than for animal rights, recently approved resolutions that would give great apes the right to life and freedom. This is the first time any such legislature has been approved for non-humans.

From Reuters:

Parliament’s environmental committee approved resolutions urging Spain to comply with the Great Apes Project, devised by scientists and philosophers who say our closest genetic relatives deserve rights hitherto limited to humans.

“This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity,” said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project.

“We have no knowledge of great apes being used in experiments in Spain, but there is currently no law preventing that from happening,” Pozas said.

It will now be illegal and punishable by law to keep apes for circuses, television or filming. It will not become illegal to keep the 315 apes currently in Spanish zoos in captivity, but the bill will require conditions in the zoos to drastically improve.

When I first heard this story I had visions of apes walking around the streets with glasses on, or standing behind the counter at a coffee shop. I’d SO get my drink on there, though it might be a bit unsanitary.

Link [Reuters]

’30 Days’ Sends a Hunter to Live with Animal Rights Activists

At first glance, one might equate the FX show ’30 Days’ with similar set-ups on reality television like ‘Wife Swap’. The purpose is clear from the get-go: to help people with radically different ideologies come to an understanding about each other, and even if they don’t ultimately agree, they’re expected to gain some sense of a middle ground. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. What sets this show apart is that it deals with real issues, and keeps the made-for-TV manufactured drama to a minimum.

This episode, entitled ‘Animal Rights’, puts hunter George Snedeker into the home of Melissa Karpel, an events coordinator for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

“A deer, cow, a chicken… their sole purpose is to feed us,” George says before leaving his North Carolina home for Los Angeles. George’s intention going into this wasn’t to gain some cloud-piercing revelation that would change his life, or even to convince the animal rights activists to agree with his views. All he wanted, he said, was to understand why these people can be ‘so extreme’.

Melissa certainly holds views about animals that are opposite those of George. She firmly believes that animals do not belong to humans for food, clothing, experiments or entertainment. Melissa stated early on that all she wanted was to show George what it’s like to live with a family who happen to be vegans and animal rights activists, but it became clear that she was truly hoping to help George see the light.

Forcing George to dress up in a chicken costume as part of a KFC protest probably wasn’t the best way to get started, and indeed, it set the mood for the week that followed, which was full of angry, emotional arguments between George and Melissa.

Once George started working at an animal sanctuary, he also clashed with director Lorri Bauston, but after his day-to-day work with the animals, George did begin to understand the extent to which animals are mistreated on factory farms. This face-to-face interaction with abused animals is far more effective for the skeptical George than taking part in shouting, overly dramatic protests. Lorri’s insensitive comparison of killing chickens to the Holocaust, however, threatened to derail the progress.

Similarly, when George visited the office of Dr. Aysha Akhtar to learn about animal testing, Dr. Akhtar’s rational explanation of the extremely low rates at which animal testing were even helpful for humans and display of alternatives seemed to make more of an impression on George, who was impressed that he “finally got to talk to somebody that had something besides a rant.”

Seeing the treatment of cows at a dairy farm and the plight of many domestic animals in shelters did help George see the animal rights cause from a different angle. By the end of the episode, George was willingly explaining to strangers in a supermarket how calves on factory farms are crammed into tight spaces unable to turn around. George declared his surprise at the fact that, despite being ‘hard-headed’, he felt that he had been truly affected by what he had learned. George probably won’t stop hunting or eating meat, but he’ll likely think twice about how animals were treated before they end up on his plate.

Ultimately, PETA’s black-and-white views and shove-it-down-your-throat delivery of their message didn’t exactly enhance Melissa’s message. If anything, it damages many efforts to improve the lives of animals because it automatically puts people with differing views on the offensive. Putting PETA activists together with an avid hunter makes for good TV, but the message may have been more effective if PETA were left out of it.

Initially, when the episode first started, I thought that perhaps the producers of ’30 Days’ intended for Melissa to learn that she may want to soften the presentation of her views in order to make a bigger impact, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case. I think that what this episode illustrates by the end, however, is that educating people about the reality of the way animals are treated before they’re on our plates, made into our belts and shoes – or after we drop them off at the pound – is far more effective than stunts and scare tactics.

It’s a shame that the idea of more humane processes for meat and dairy weren’t explored further in this episode, because that’s where I think a true middle ground lies. Humans – as natural omnivores and the presiding predators on the planet – will not be likely to forgo using animals for food and clothing any time soon. However, needless suffering could certainly be eliminated.

In our quest for greater convenience, we have allowed millions of animals to be beaten, electrocuted, blinded, skinned alive, chemically manipulated, crammed into tiny spaces, thrown around like inanimate objects and generally treated like they cannot feel at all. Increased sensitivity to the pain and suffering of animals – and their right to be treated in a way that respects their place on the planet – is the only way to compromise, as George the hunter was able to acknowledge for himself after 30 days.

You can view the episode online at Hulu or just watch here:

Link [Hulu] + [FX]

Gross Olympic Souvenir: Goldfish in a Key Ring

If you were going to fly to China to attend the Olympics this summer, what kind of souvenir would you want to bring home? A t-shirt, a framed photograph? How about a plastic bag full of murky water and a decaying goldfish to attach to your key ring? Sounds like such a wonderful way to remember your great Chinese vacation.

From InventorSpot:

A plastic bag with a picture of Huan Huan, one of the cartoon mascots of the Games, on the outside. And inside: a live goldfish. The bag is part of a plastic key ring. According to the Telegraph story, the bags are sealed, so the fish live in a small pool of water, with little access to air, and no food whatsoever. The goldfish key rings are, of course, not a piece of official Olympic merchandise.

The story quotes a spokesperson from the United Kingdom’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals calling the key chains a gimmick which “show no respect for the animals at all,” though there’s no record of the story on the RSPCA’s web site. A manufacturer of the key chains could not be identified. This could mean the entire thing is a hoax, although there is a picture here of something that looks like a live goldfish in a tiny plastic bag.

A lot of people seem to think it’s a hoax, and we sure hope it is. A few months driving around with that thing on your keys and you’d be sure to end up with rotting fish remains all over your lap at some point or another.

Link [InventorSpot]

Student Group Eats a Cat in the Name of Animal Welfare

A group of students in Denmark have had their Facebook profiles suspended after uploading a video of them eating a cat. The students planned the cat-eating performance as a way to call attention to the plight of food animals such as pigs and cows. The reaction from the community wasn’t what they had hoped for; animal rights organizations are attacking the group for the act, calling it inhumane.

From The Copenhagen Post:

Before ending up on the students’ plates, the main course lived a life as a feral cat. It had been shot by a farmer trying to control the number of cats on his land.

In addition to the 30 pictures that have now been removed from Facebook, the group’s profile also included a recipe for a dish called ‘litter box’.

According to the group, the cat was killed humanely and prepared by a professional chef. They said they had received a few raised eyebrows when plans of their meal slipped out, but were nevertheless surprised by people’s reactions and were ‘disappointed’ that the profile was no longer accessible.

‘We wanted people to think about what it was they were putting in their mouths,’ said Laura Bøge Mortensen, a group member and the editor of Citat, a student magazine that carried an article about the meal.

‘It’s hypocritical for us to spend thousands of kroner on our pets, yet buy the cheapest pork from Netto that comes from pigs that have lived a horrid life. And just why is it that it’s worse to eat a cat than a pig?’

I see their point; I am an animal rights advocate myself, and if it weren’t for my husband, I’d be a certifiable crazy cat lady. I can’t imagine ever eating a cat, but I would never eat a pig, cow, chicken or other animal deemed ‘acceptable’ by society, either - and I do think there’s a big disconnect between how we view treatment of domestic animals vs. animals traditionally raised for food. I think their act of protest is a very gutsy, but in the end a bit too much like a PETA stunt - plus, it doesn’t take into account the fact that millions of cats suffer worldwide due to overpopulation.

If you’re wondering what the cat tasted like, the students described it as “a little like chicken, with an aftertaste of fur. Slightly chewy.” Mmm!

Link [Copenhagen Post]
Photo credit: Flickr user allygirl520

‘Jackass’ Steve-O is Actually Serious about Animal Activism

So, maybe Steve-O is for real about this animal rights stuff. When he became the latest celeb to get naked for PETA’s anti-fur campaign last fall, a lot of people scoffed – I mean, this is the dude that was on the Jackass spinoff ‘Wildboyz’. Goat rodeo, anyone? I, for one, didn’t know anything about Steve-O’s animal activism – I’ve sat through countless hours (my husband is a fan) watching him intentionally harm himself as part of the cast of Jackass, CKY and Wildboyz, so it’s hard to take him seriously. Um, he used Tobasco sauce as eyedrops, and that’s a very mild example.

I was surprised to read Ecorazzi’s write-up about Steve-O rocking a PETA anti-fur shirt at the Maxim Hot 100 Party in Hollywood, California last week:

Daredevil Steve-O arrived to the Maxim Hot 100 Party in Hollywood, California last week rocking a PETA Anti-Fur shirt. No stranger to activism, the Jackass star has participated in many campaigns for the animal rights organization. You can check out some of his work here.

Since ‘Wildboyz’ seemed to make it clear that Steve-O wasn’t too concerned about the welfare of animals, I did a bit of digging before reposting this news, and was again surprised to find this on his personal website, posted on April 5th 2008 after he went to rehab and decided to clean up his life:

I want to make this world a better place and have chosen to do so by living what I consider to be a good life. I wish to lead by example, which is why I no longer contribute to the suffering of animals. I will not eat or wear any parts of the bodies of dead animals (correction: I eat fish). I could make a list of the things I choose to do, but, rther than do that, I will just leave you with the following statement: I am hopeful that I will make you all proud.

Perhaps we should all take this as a lesson: being so incredibly goofy that you would get a huge tattoo of your own face on your back doesn’t necessarily make you a douchebag. Also, crack is whack. Here’s hoping Steve-O stays clean and continues the animal rights work.

Link [Ecorazzi] + [Steve-O]