Animal Earth Human

Barbara Borzymowska

Warsaw’s Bookseller’s Club saw an unusual book launch. “And the dog sits and looks / A pies siedzi i patrzy” is poetry written by Barbara Borzymowska, a poet, architect, psychotherapist and graphic.

Borzymowska became a recognizable animal rights activist after publishing her shocking “Prayer of a Horse Going to Slaughter”. The new book contains various poems calling for humanitarian treatment of dogs. The project was carried out in partnership with Eulalia’s Animals Foundation started by Eulalia Wojnicz in 1998 in Masuria; graphic design by Katarzyna Gubrynowska.

The book and the idea behind it are supported by many Polish celebrities including Karolina Wajda and Wojciech Malajkat who both contributed to the book launch. Its aim is to spread awareness about the cruel treatment of animals, especially dogs and horses. The co-authors of the project say they hope to reach children in rural communities who are not taught how to respect animals. The publication was sponsored by Polish News Agency (PAP) and International Paper-Kwidzyn.

www.polishmarket.com

Working Donkey and Tourist

By SHANKAR ACHARYA
PARSA, April 25 - An animal rights group has adopted a novel way to raise awareness on the need to treat animals humanely. To mark the World Veterinary Day, it rallied mules, donkeys and horses on the streets of Birgunj Sub-Metropolis, Parsa, on Saturday.The animals participating in the rally were sporting a string of slogans but the message was loud and clear: They were asking for love, care and respect. The owners and masters were holding placards and banners that vividly described the plight of their animals.

Birgunj is known for its famous cart rides. Hundreds of families make their living by operating horse and donkey-drawn carts. According to estimates, there are over 850 cart operators in Bara and Parsa district, of which 450 ply the roads of Parsa alone. The rally, organised under the aegis of Animal Health Training and Consultancy Service Centre in support of the UK-based Brook Hospital for Animals, was aimed at raising awareness on animal rights on the occasion of the Veterinary Day. Various programmes are held across the globe on April 25 to mark the World Day for Animals in Laboratories. Mustafa Hawari, chairman of the Birgunj Cart Operators Association, concedes they cannot eke out a living without these animals. “Forgetting this fact, people treat these animals cruelly. I’m sure after today’s rally they will have a change of perspective about not just only horses and donkeys but all animals.” The rally organisers also provided “special lunch” to the horses and donkeys along with their masters for their participation in the rally. “Through programmes like these, we have been trying to drive the point home that these animals need timely and nutritious food and proper care,” says Dr Dinesh Tiwari, Bara-Parsa coordinator of the centre.

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=191193

By James Vicini
Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:44pm BST

WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday that it would decide whether a federal law that makes it a crime to sell videos of animals being tortured or killed violates constitutional free-speech rights.

The high court agreed to hear a U.S. Justice Department appeal defending the 1999 animal cruelty law after it was struck down for infringing free-speech protections.

A U.S. appeals court declared the law unconstitutional and overturned the conviction of a Virginia man, Robert Stevens, who sold three videos of pit bulls fighting each other and attacking hogs and wild boars.

His conviction in 2005 was the first in the country under the law. Stevens had been sentenced to 37 months in prison.

By a 10-3 vote, the appeals court rejected the government’s argument that, for the first time in more than 25 years, there was a new category of speech not covered by constitutional free-speech protections. Usually, videos and other depictions are protected as free speech, even if they show abhorrent conduct.

In 1982, the Supreme Court last made an exception and ruled that free-speech rights do not apply to certain sexual depictions of children.

Congress adopted the law in 1999 in an attempt to stop people from profiting by the interstate sale of depictions of unlawful torture and killing of animals.
Laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with various other federal laws, already prohibit animal cruelty.

Justice Department attorneys said Congress, in adopting the law, also is aimed at videos in which women in high-heeled shoes crush small animals as a type of sexual fetish, sought to stop a unique and reprehensible type of criminal conduct.

They told the Supreme Court that the animal cruelty law should be upheld just like child pornography laws. The justices are expected to hear arguments in the case and then rule during their upcoming term that begins in October.

KENDRAPARA, April 10: Despite a groundswell of opinion against animal sacrifice, reports of mass animal slaughter during the Chaitra Purnima rituals yesterday were received in Kendrapapara today.

The sacrifice was reported from the Satabhaya Panchuvarahi shrine in this district. A buffalo and about 57 goats and sheep were slaughtered en masse at the shrine. “We launched a mass campaign for the discontinuation of the customary killing of mute animals before the deities. We urged the Kendrapara district administration to ensure that animal sacrifice that violates the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act does not recur. But superstitious belief prevailed over the activists’ campaign as nearly one hundred animals were put to death amid frenzied religious celebration,” said animal rights activist Mr Bijoy Kabi.

Locals said this custom has been practiced since time immemorial. There is a general belief that these rituals will invoke a divine blessing, saving natural calamity-prone areas from disaster. The practice of animal sacrifice, according to locals, is in accordance with an age-old ritual followed by worshippers of the Shakhti cult. This practice is observed twice a year during Durga Puja and Chaitra Purnima.

www.thestatesman.net