• by Cathryn Wellner
• August 28, 2012

>> More >>

Read more: agriculture, climate, climate change, drought, environmental issues, farming, food prices, global warming, weather

Photos from Thinkstock

Heroes Converge on Hurricane Zone to Rescue Animals

• by Laura Simpson
• August 28, 2012
  
  
  

On the seven year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, many of the heroes who saved animals from the flood waters of New Orleans and coastal Mississippi are back on the scene and already in action. They’re laying hands on dogs and cats being surrendered by families.

This is not an issue of people bringing the pets to safe haven to ride out the storm. This rise comes from people who are leaving their pets behind permanently, and unfortunately, at the worst possible time.

“Yesterday at the Jefferson Parish shelters in New Orleans, we saw a high number of owner surrendered animals,” said Animal Rescue Front Founder Chris McLaughlin. “They have had to shut their doors to any more and have asked for our help.”

Help Has Arrived

Animal Rescue Front was one of the few pearls formed under the crushing pressure of the floods created by Hurricane Katrina. They stayed not just weeks, but months, as they tunneled, rafted, climbed and clawed through every obstacle that stood between them and an animal in need.

Moments ago, it was decided that Animal Rescue Front and In Defense of Animals will be working together to help the animals who will never see their families again, not because they were lost in the flood, but because they were surrendered in sheer anticipation of the storm.

“We have to move these animals out of the shelters so there will be room for the stray and abandoned animals expected in the coming days,” Chris continues.

It’s important to know that there are provisions for animals this time around. Louisiana’s Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain reported today that their temporary shelter in Alexandria is playing host to dogs, cats and other small pets. All of these animals are being cared for until their owners can safely join them again. And some of the human shelters are now welcoming residents with pets.

There is already a significant population of homeless and neglected street dogs and cats in the Gulf region. Flooding will put thousands of those animals in danger and they’ll need both rescue and housing.

How High Will Waters Rise?

According to Weather.com, if peak storm surge occurs at high tide, peak water levels above ground could reach 3-6 feet for South-central Louisiana and the Western Flordia Panhandle and as much as 6 -12 feet for Southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi coast.

The first batch of animals is already set to leave the area. Animal Rescue Front and In Defense of Animals will send the first convoy close to 2,000 miles away to receiving shelters in Portland, Oregon. It is entirely possible that additional groups of animals will be sent to the New England area shelters as well.

“We don’t know what the next 24 hours will bring,” Chris continues. “They are forecasting an 8-12 ft. storm surge with a 24 hour system circulating a potential rainfall of 20 inches. An eye is starting to form and it has set its sights on New Orleans. The foremost question on everyone’s mind is ‘will the levees hold?’ We pray they do and we know what will happen if they don’t. And we can’t let the animals die.”

Animal Rescue Front is a founding member of the Harmony Fund network and all donations today will be applied directly to the transport, rescue and care of animals who fall victim to this emergency. Donations are gratefully accepted here.

Related Stories:

Dog Walks Again on Prosthetic Legs (Video)

Paralyzed and Homeless Gordo the Shih Tzu Gets a Second Chance

Isaac Turns Toward New Orleans, RNC Cancels Day 1

Read more: animal rescue, animal rescue front, harmony-fund, Hurricane Isaac, in defense of animals

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/heroes-converge-on-hurricane-zone-to-rescue-animals.html#ixzz24xBQANMH

Butterball Farm Worker Guilty of Animal Cruelty

A worker caught on undercover video abusing turkeys at a Butterball factory farm in North Carolina pled guilty Tuesday to felonious cruelty to animals.

Brian Douglas was one of six workers facing charges after undercover video shot by the animal rights group Mercy for Animals and published on the Blotter revealed alleged abuse. An MFA activist had worked undercover at the farm for three weeks and documented what the group called "acts of violence and severe neglect." In the video, workers can be seen kicking and stomping on turkeys, as well as dragging them by their wings and necks.

READ the original ABC News report on the Butterball raid.

WATCH footage from the undercover Butterball video.

Hoke County detectives raided the farm on Dec. 28 after seeing the video. During the raid, officials inspected 2,800 turkeys, seizing 28 and euthanizing four.

Douglas will serve 30 days in jail, followed by 42 months of probation. Four other workers were also charged with cruelty to animals, and their cases are pending.

Earlier this year, Dr. Sarah Mason, a veterinarian at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, was suspended from her job and sentenced to 45 days in the Hoke County jail after pleading guilty to obstructing justice and obstructing a public officer. Mason admitted calling a friend who worked at Butterball prior to the December raid. Her sentence was suspended and she will be on unsupervised probation, but she will be required to take two ethics courses.

Officials charged that Dr. Mason, the Director of Animal Health Programs at the Agriculture Department, had called a Butterball veterinarian on Dec. 23 and allegedly informed him that there was an investigation into the farm. Details of the pending raid, according to prosecutors at the Hoke County District Attorney's office, were supposed to be "treated as confidential, and should not be disclosed."

Though she initially told authorities she had not talked to the Butterball employee, Dr. Mason later admitted telling him about the existence of the Mercy for Animals video showing alleged abuse, and telling him that the video had been given to a county prosecutor.

After conducting an internal investigation, officials at the Agriculture Department suspended Dr. Mason for two weeks without pay. "The Department ... found that Dr. Mason did not at first answer truthfully when she was interviewed on Jan. 5, 2012 by Hoke County authorities about a leak of information about their investigation," said the Agriculture Department in a statement. "We were aware that charges could be brought against Dr. Mason as a result of her actions."

But the department's statement also said that Dr. Mason had not explicitly told anyone at Butterball that there was a criminal investigation in progress, "nor was she aware or did she tell anyone that there was going to be a search warrant served at any of their facilities."

In a statement issued through her attorney, Dr. Mason said her rationale for contacting the Butterball veterinarian -- a longtime personal friend -- was to "immediately curtail" any animal abuse taking place. In addition, Mason stated, "I deeply regret the actions I have taken have reflected poorly on the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services." She stated she recognized the "seriousness of the situation."

Mercy for Animals said there had been no insider information about abuse at the facility before the undercover tape was made. "Unfortunately, every time we send an investigator they emerge with shocking evidence of animal abuse," said MFA executive director Nathan Runkle.

"Butterball allowed a culture of cruelty and abuse to fester at its company-owned factory farms," alleged Runkle. "Before ending up in restaurants and grocery stores, turkeys killed for Butterball are routinely crowded into filthy warehouses, neglected to die from infected, bloody wounds, and thrown, kicked, and beaten by factory farm workers."

Butterball, which accounts for 20 percent of total turkey production in the U.S., has said it was "shocked" by the undercover video, is taking the animal cruelty investigation seriously, and has a "zero tolerance policy for any mistreatment of our birds." The company said that as a result of an internal investigation, it is evaluating its animal welfare policies, and has fired "several associates for failure to follow Butterball animal care and well-being policies."

"We are taking steps to help ensure that all new and existing associates have a clear understanding of our animal well-being policies," said Rod Brenneman, president and CEO of Butterball. "In addition to requiring all associates to sign an animal well-being agreement to report abuse immediately, we are performing an intense review across all company operations."

Click Here for the Blotter Homepage.

Assad says Syria is facing regional, global battle

Syrian girl, Haya Khalil, 8, who fled her home in Homs with her family due to fighting between the Syrian government forces and the rebels, looks up, as she and her family take refuge at the Bab Al-Salameh border crossing, in hopes of entering one of the refugee camps in Turkey, near the Syrian town of Azaz, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

BEIRUT (AP) — President Bashar Assad says on TV that Syria is fighting a "regional and global battle" and it will take time for his regime to win it.

In excerpts from the interview with a private Syrian channel to be broadcast in full later Wednesday, the Syrian leader says his regime is "moving forward" but has not won the battle yet.

Rebels are fighting to overthrow Assad, who came to office in 2000 after succeeding his father, the late Hafez Assad who ruled Syria with an iron fist for some 30 years. The Syrian conflict has its roots in a wave of mostly peaceful protests that began last year but later morphed into a civil war.

At least 20,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict, according to anti-regime rights activists.

400 Dead: Darayya Massacre Bloodiest Yet in Syria

• by Kristina Chew
• August 29, 2012

The numbers keep going up.

400 bodies have been found in Darayya, which has been a site of opposition support near the Syrian capital of Damascus. That is twice as many killed last weekend than had been estimated. The killings are being described as the single worst massacre of the Syrian civil war, which is dragging into its 18th month.

Almost 5,000: This is the number of Syrian refugees that the United Nations refugee agency says is arriving in Turkey daily, up from 500 earlier in the month.

200,000: This is the total number of refugees seeking to enter Turkey, with others trying to get intoneighboring Jordan and Lebanon.

Heavy shelling is being reported in Damascus, Aleppo and northwest Idlib.

Call For a “Safe” Zone

At this point, Western powers have all but given up on a diplomatic solution. French President Francois Hollande proposed on Monday that Syria’s divided opposition seek to form a provisional government; while he said France is prepared to recognize it, the US said such a step is premature.

With what is clearly an escalating humanitarian crisis, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has proposed creating a humanitarian “safe” zone under the UN, in which refugees could be sheltered and humanitarian aid distributed. On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that creating such a buffer zone would be impossible, without imposing a no-fly zone would involve the deployment of forces on the ground.

Assad Claims He’s Routing Out Terrorists

In an interview with pro-government TV station al-Dunya, President Bashar al-Assad said thatcreating such a buffer zone “firstly is not on the table and secondly it is an unrealistic idea by hostile countries and the enemies of Syria.” He also said that the military “needs time to win the battle” and said that his government is “fighting a battle both regionally and internationally” against terrorists and others. He also claimed that he was being interviewed from within the presidential palace in Damascus; Assad’s whereabouts have been kept under wraps since a bomb in Damascus killed four senior security issues including his minister of defense in July.

Atrocities in Darayya

Survivors of the killings in Darayya are giving accounts of cold-blooded killings in which members of the militia, the Shabiha, went house to house after — a pattern seen earlier to subdue the uprising — a city was first surrounded and attacked with shelling and tanks for days.

Said a Darayya residen, Abu Mua’tasim, to the Guardian: ”The Syrian army stayed in some of the houses. One belonged to my friend. People were forced to serve them food and tea. Just before they were leaving they killed the people in the house …I know the family.”

Related Care2 Coverage

200 Bodies Found Near Damascus (Graphic Video)

Syrian Refugee Camps: “Not Hell Precisely, But It’s as Close as It Gets”

Syrian Refugee Numbers Swell to 200,000

Read more: arab spring, assad, bashar al-assad, damascus, darayya, mideast, mideast conflict,syria, turkey, united nations

Photo by FreedomHouse2

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/400-dead-darayya-massacre-bloodiest-yet-in-syria.html#ixzz254BtfsEb