$350 million of Biden’s INVEST in America Act isn’t for people. It’s for wildlife that needs help crossing the road. By Ben Goldfarb Nov 12, 2021, 10:00am EST
Fifty miles east of Seattle, a bridge crosses a steep stretch of Interstate 90 known as Snoqualmie Pass. This is no ordinary bridge, meant for automobiles or pedestrians. Covered in topsoil, boulders, and seedlings, it is intended to convey wild animals from one side of the highway to the other — and it’s working.
Since 2018, when the bridge opened and the first animal, a coyote, scampered over the six lanes below, the structure has carried creatures as large as elk and as small as toads. And it should attract even more users as the seedlings grow into trees and animals acclimate to its presence.
“As we get more shade, it’s going to be different,” Patty Garvey-Darda, a Forest Service wildlife biologist, told Vox during a recent visit to Snoqualmie Pass. “Hopefully someday we’ll see the exact same species up here as we see in the forest.”
The Snoqualmie Pass bridge is one example in a broader category of infrastructure, known as wildlife crossings, that help animals circumvent busy roads like I-90. Crossings come in an array of shapes and sizes, from sweeping overpasses for grizzly bears to inconspicuous tunnels for salamanders. A body of research demonstrates that crossings can reconnect fragmented wildlife populations while protecting human drivers and animals alike from dangerous vehicle crashes. “This structure is paying for itself because of the accidents we haven’t had,” said Garvey-Darda, as trucks roared by 35 feet below.
The construction of such crossings has never been more urgent. Roadkill rates have risen over the past half-century; today, around 12 percent of North American wild mammals die on roads. And new satellite tracking and genetic technologies have revealed subtler harms. Busy interstates prevent herds of elk and mule deer from migrating to low-elevation meadows in winter, occasionally causing them to starve. In California, freeways have thwarted mountain lions from mating, leaving the cats so inbred that they’ve fallen into an “extinction vortex.” Wildlife crossings allow animals to find food and each other across sundered landscapes and help them access new habitats as climate change scrambles their ranges.
Greek Yogurt, popular among many people yet consequential effects on the environment and dairy animal lives. Its a plight to the rights and welfare of the animal and human life. You may think it’s a healthy snack, yet in reality, it is not. With information at the fingertips, it’s not difficult to find out what Greek Yogurt is made of. Most of the ingredients are downright disgusting and even barbaric.
As with many yogurts, a majority of Greek varieties add gelatin, which is made by boiling animals’ skin, tendons, ligaments, or bones. A majority have also added carmine to make the yogurt appear to contain more fruit than it does.
What is Carmine? Carmine is a dye that’s found in some food products to create a red color. The food colorant is also called cochineal extract, which comes from the insect species Dactylopius coccus Costa.
These cochineal bugs used to harvest carmine are mainly harvested in Peru and the Canary Islands, where the insects live on prickly pear cacti. Carmine uses dates back to the 1500s when the Aztecs used these insects to dye fabrics. You may understand the use of insects to make dyes back when resources were limited, but what’s the purpose of carmine food dye today? The main purpose is to make packaged foods appear more vibrant. So you may wonder: Is it really necessary to kill thousands and thousands of insects just so our foods appear redder?
The red dye is used in a range of food and cosmetic products, including: Candy Ice cream Children’s snacks Cake mix Juices Burgers Sausages Yogurt Lipsticks Eyeshadows Shampoos Lotions Pill coatings Indigo Carmine is another type of dye that’s also made with carminic acid, but it does not derive from cochineal insects.
Other reasons to avoid a majority of Greek and Regular “Dairy” Yogurt – Dairy yogurt is made from cows or other animal milk. Just as with human mothers, cows produce milk only when they’re pregnant and nursing. A majority of Dairy farms repeatedly impregnate mother cows. A majority of dairy farmers take the animals’ newborn babies away and then steal the milk that was meant for them. Selling it for a profit to make said yogurts. Profiting off of animal suffering.
Environmental and other Hazards For every ounce of Greek yogurt, companies are producing 2 to 3 ounces of acid whey, a coproduct that can’t simply be dumped or tossed, because it would be toxic to the environment. In 2016 alone, it’s estimated that the United States produced more than 150 million gallons of acid whey. So what are companies doing with it all? They’re paying animal-agriculture operations to take it off their hands and mix it into fertilizer and animals’ food. One major Greek yogurt maker stated that more than 70 percent of its acid whey ends up in food for farmed animals, meaning, that even the animal agriculture industry, beyond even dairy farms, is profiting from Greek yogurt. Whilst not only destroying the environment, however, profiting from animal suffrage.
Last yet not least, Greek yogurt and three times more fats than any other yogurt item. Which we all know causes our body to produce from said fats, cholesterol, and heart issues. This is why I am questioning how these Greek Yogurt products are still on the market – Oh, yeah, that’s right. Profit.
More information on Carmine: https://draxe.com/nutrition/carmine/ This website contains valuable information on Carmin and how to avoid products with Carmine in it. It also gives a list of allergic reactions and or side effects from wearing or Digesting Carmine. Very informative, and a must read.
Russia has started vaccinating animals against coronavirus, officials say.
In March, Russia announced it had registered what it said was the world’s first animal-specific jab.
Several regions have now started vaccinations at veterinary clinics, Russia’s veterinary watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, told local media.
Interest has been shown in the Carnivak-Cov vaccine by the EU, Argentina South Korea and Japan, the agency said.
While scientists say there is currently no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading the disease to humans, infections have been confirmed in various species worldwide.
These include dogs, cats, apes and mink.
The period of immunity after a Carnivak-Cov jab is an estimated six months.
Julia Melano, adviser to the head of Rosselkhoznadzor, said clinics were seeing an increase in vaccination requests from “breeders, pet-owners who travel frequently and also citizens whose animals roam freely”, according to the RIA news agency.
Another vaccine is being developed by the US veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis.
Covid-19 has been a serious problem for mink – semi-aquatic mammals farmed for their fur. Multiple countries have reported infections in farmed mink which, in some cases, have fallen severely ill or died.
Maybe they should stop factory farming animals for their fur, maybe humans should stop hurting animals all together. Yes this Virus can jump from human to animal, as with all viruses they mutate to survive. Although I agree with vaccinating animals to prevent this sickness from spreading to them. I also encourage people to use good hygiene. Washing hands, removing shoes before entering the house/apt. Seeing as shoes can also bring fleas and or ticks inside. I also recommend doing your laundry more often.
A YouTuber has been arrested after attaching his dog to an assortment of balloons and briefly making him fly.
Per reports, including this one from BBC, 32-year-old Gaurav Sharma—whose YouTube channel had more than four million subscribers at the time of the incident—was arrested by police in India following a complaint by the regional animal welfare organization People for Animals.
The Delhi-based YouTube personality was seen in footage taken from a since-deleted video shared to his page letting go of the balloons-attached dog, named Dollar, as the pet briefly floats in the air toward the second floor of a nearby building. At that point, another person catches the dog while it’s floating, prompting audible cheers.
In a follow-up video dated May 23, the popular YouTuber—as reported by NDTV—claimed he had taken “all the safety measures” when planning the widely criticized footage. He also claimed he won’t repeat this type of content in the future, adding that he treats Dollar “like a child.” Judging by the comments on the apology video, however, many people are not convinced.
The pizzly bear is an animal that was first found in the wild in 2006, however, what exactly is a pizzly bear?
A Pizzly bear or Grolar Bear, is an offspring of a Polar and Grizzly bear. These bears have been found in the wild and some in captivity. The reason for the hybrid is do to not only climate change yet the destruction of their habitats.
When Was The First Pizzly Bear Discovered? The history of the pizzly bear goes all the way back to 1936, due to an accident at a zoo. The zoo was the United States National Zoo in Washington DC. At the zoo, a male polar bear and a female grizzly bear got together and mated.
The male polar bear made its way into the female grizzly bear’s enclosure. They soon mated, with the result being that the female had three cubs. These three cubs grew to adulthood, later mating themselves.
This incident proved two things. The first was that polar bears and grizzly bears could mate. Secondly, it also proved that the offspring could mate, which many hybrid animals could not do. Many hybrid animals are born sterile and are unable to create any offspring.
The first Pizzly/Grolar Bear in the wild was discovered in 2006, and confirmed with DNA-Testing. The bear was found near Sachs Harbour, in the Northwest Territories on the Banks Island.
How Many Pizzly Bears Are There? There have been eight pizzly or grolar bears either killed by hunters or live-captured. These eight species identified include four first-generation pizzly bears with a 50:50 split between a grizzly and polar bears. One female polar bear was the mother of all four first generation pizzly bears.
The second set of hybrids identified included four backcross individuals with a mix of 75:25 in favor of grizzly bears. It is believed that a single hybrid (F1) female is the mother of all four of these backcross individuals.
After the first pizzly identified in 2006, the next was a suspected polar bear killed in 2010. The father of this bear was a grizzly bear, and the mother was a polar bear. All of the offspring relate to a single female polar bear.
Due to the restricted areas where grizzly bears and polar bears overlap in the wild, the numbers are likely to be low. This is backed up by Robert Rockwell, an ecologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Rockwell says that he doesn’t think there is much pressure for grizzly bears and polar bears to interbreed, stating, “I think the numbers are such that a hybrid would be pretty rare.”
The Habitat of the Grizzly Bears are in the Northern parts of Canada and Alaska. Grizzly bears have been seen as far north as the banks Island and Victoria Island. Grizzlies have also been seen in the province of Nunavut for approximately 50 years or more. These habitats overlap the polar bears, and due to this Grizzlies have roamed into the Polars hunting grounds and feed on the Seals and fish, that polar bears have killed.
Outside of the breeding season usually Grizzlies and Polars are hostile towards each other. When breeding season does happen they are less hostile and more receptive towards one another.
The reason Grizzlies are traveling so far for resources is do to overhunting by people of their food source, and destruction of their habitat, on top of climate change making their prey migrate.
Polar bears are endangered due to the climate change making their habitat unlivable, with melting ice and rising waters mixing with unsalted melted ice, their prey has moved on. Some polars have been caught stuck out at sea on floating glaciers a few kilometers away from their home. Which in turn causes them to starve. Some Polar bears have gone as far as to rummage through towns garbage for food and wind up being killed by civilians.
As for the hybrids they too are endangered due to so few being around and produced by the Polar and Grizzlies. According to the Endangered Species Act, hybrid animals are afforded the same protection in the wild as original species.
Is Hybridization Good or Bad For A Species? In the early 1990s, there were less than 25 Florida panthers in the wild. The USFWS imported eight female cougars from Texas, allowing them to mate with the panthers. Due to this, the population of Florida panthers in the wild has now risen to 160.
However, in the arctic areas, this interference can have some severe consequences. According to Nat Wildlife Preserves and EDA experts, in an environment that is already stretched to its limits. The ecological roles many of these bears play will more than likely have the hybrid animals in said area suffer from starvation, poaching, and otherwise killing each other off for territory.
There are very few options to help these animals, one option is to move the hybrids to a different location and keep trackers on them for study and survivability. Other options is to try and cull the climate change by reducing pollution and ozone repair. Yet this will take years, more than we probably have. As people we also need to remember Animal Lives are important, and must do everything we can do deter poachers/hunters from dwindling the animal population. One day I do hope we can provide sanctuary for all animal kind where people don’t have the ability to destroy.
The Trump administration wants to make it easier for oil companies to drill in national forests by squashing environmental reviews, public comments periods, and any oversight by the US Forest Service.
wallup.net
This would spell disaster for forests and the climate. Putting more carbon emissions in the air and out of its natural forest storage is absolutely the last thing this world or communities need!
Oil and gas developers would then be able to clear huge swaths of forests for toxic well pads, roads, and pipelines without much oversight.
If we’re going to save our special places and tackle the climate crisis, we need to stop dangerous oil and gas production in ALL our public lands and waters.
We need our Rainforests, without them animals would be extinct, air would also be hard to come by. Trees and other plants are what give us Oxygen. Please think of our future, please sign the petition to stop oil and gas drilling in ALL our public lands and waters.
With the recent events that have unfolded, I am really disgusted by the whole situation. A pandemic that could have been prevented if the POTUS took action sooner, and did not evacuate American Citizens from the red zones without quarantine first. (Not Fake News) That’s exactly what he did, before quarantine was even established he allowed them to go to their homes. He also fired the medical experts that could have set up relief for those returning, yet since they were there for the “Obama Administration”, you guessed it, the whole reason he fired them.
POTUS and those in the republican party are refusing to listen to the medical experts, so if ideas do not coincide with POTUS, you become disregarded and attacked. The facts are – Masks and social distance have proven to be effective. Take Pennsylvania for example – cases have gone down because of the Measures the Governor has taken. However, the republican party have been cruel and not leading by example. In fact they have gone without masks for meetings and a majority of them do have COVID-19.
How can people be so cruel to place others at risk to this virus? Does no one understand the severity of this virus? Has no one read the statistics and or long term side effects? Much of the side effects are lung related, losing approximately 45% of lung capacity. I would not wish that on anyone, not even my worst enemy. Yes, sure not everyone gets the severe case of COVID-19 and makes a full recovery, however, what about those who don’t have the immune system to battle this horrid virus? Do we just keep thinking the weak should die off and let the strong survive? How is this compassionate, how is that PRO-LIFE? Simply put it’s not.
Pandemic aside, we then have Police Brutality and lethal force. Yes, more of it is being caught on film. However, it’s not just black lives on the line. White, Spanish and Natives have been cruelly beaten and even have died. Yet the media will not cover that. I want to know why! Why is it the responsibility of ALT-Media to cover these events, when ALT media barely gets any recognition. Since 2017, Whites have been killed by cops 435 times. Spanish 250, Natives 184, and Blacks 340. Other ethnicities – 150. I think we can safely assume, that cops abuse their power and use lethal force on EVERYONE. Everyone is a target where cops are concerned, and it needs to end, sooner the better.
Police Reform has been in the talk for years, and no one could ever agree on a logical way to make reform happen. The fact is police are not trained to deal with mental health issues, or trained to help with disturbances. They are militarized, trained to catch hostile individuals. With police reform, funds would be allocated to social workers, and those in the medical field, which would allow them to be on-call 24/7. On top of this, police would also be retrained. Yet, for some reason – some people see this as a bad thing. It really isn’t, it’s actually a logical and sound way to proceed, to protect people.
With all that aside, I want to address the animal cruelty that took place during the protests and riots. Horses were stoned, by a cruel individual, I don’t remember what state it was, however, how does this help you get justice for anyone? How does tying a dog up and beating him/her to death help either? How is this sending a message for reform or to end brutality with police. It’s not, it’s only making it apparent that you are a sick individual needing to be placed behind bars!
Leave the animals out of this mess.
Unless you are freeing animals from pet shops and finding them homes during this time. Just leave them alone and stop the cruelty. There is way too much cruelty in this world as is. Why add onto the hostile ongoings that are transpiring in front of everyone.
I’m just fed up with it all and I know others are as well. I think people need to be re-educated, period. Humanity has lost their minds, lost compassion and empathy for others. It’s an all about me. myself and I attitude anymore. No one except for a few is thinking – We not me. Truly – this nation is divided. And no POTUS I’m afraid can change this anytime soon.
That’s how much faith I’ve lost.
Black Lives Matter – All Lives Matter Humanity and Animal Life Matters.
Australia currently has an estimated six million stray cats. The Australian government is hoping to poison and kill TWO MILLION of these stray cats, by the year 2020!
The government’s cruel plan includes airdropping poisoned sausages for these cats to eat and painfully die from.
The Australian government has said the stray cats are a threat to native plants and farming. According to the scientists behind the poisoned sausages, the cats would die within 15 minutes of consumption.
Along with this, other Australians are often encouraged to trap and shoot the stray cats dead. In some areas of Australia, the government is offering money as a reward, per slain cat!
I urge you to demand Australia to think of a DIFFERENT and NON-LETHAL way, to stop the extinction of plant life!
If there are two million stray cats, why not implement a trap, neuter, release program instead! This method has been proven to work! Not only will it stop population growth, but it can also help adopt younger cats! Cats between the ages of newborn to 14 weeks old can be successfully adopted with minimal issues.
Other cats from six months to 2 years old can be adopted. It will just takes time to ease them into a domesticated lifestyle. The older cats could be placed in rescue/retirement sanctuaries. These sanctuaries offer a safe place for older cats to peacefully live out their lives. Much like any other animal sanctuary, caretakers are present to care for the animals. These cats would be neutered, vaccinated, fed, and given plenty of room to roam about.
The neuter-release, neuter-adopt, and neuter-sanctuary system, can and would work far better, than the planned murder of two millions cats. While murder is an instant solution for now, those population numbers will quickly rise again. Which will create an endless cycle of killing!
However, capture, neuter-release-adopt-or sanctuaries would permanently solve Australia’s current conundrum.
Please sign your name and urge the Australian government to adopt a non-lethal proposal instead!
“Hunters in Alaska can now track and kill hibernating bears thanks to a U.S. House and Senate resolution rolling back Obama-era regulations against the practice,” reported the Huffington Post.
Allowing these magnificent animals to be killed in such a “cruel, unsportsmanlike fashion is outrageous,” said Brett Hartl, Government Affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Senator Bernie Sanders has been a long-term advocate for animal rights, and has co-sponsored numerous pieces of legislation to protect endangered species, as well as to combat animal cruelty. That’s why we’re asking him to lead a movement in Congress that would restore the Obama-era ban on killing hibernating bears.
Don’t you want to stop this cruel, heartless practice of killing bears while they are hibernating?
Then add your name to ask Senator Sanders to draft legislation that would ban this inhumane practice, before countless innocent wild bears are slaughtered in their sleep!
Image Credit: Bear.org. Changes: cropped, resized, text added.
Lately, there have been many news stories where the dog bites another dog or dog bites a person. Many of these dogs have been “adopted” from a rehabilitation rescue centre. I see two problems here with this issue, as my friend and I were discussing over the phone this morning. Rehabilitation rescue centres are supposed to do background checks of a prospective adopter. Some are failing to do these checks, which leads to these dogs who are still being rehabilitated to be set up for failure. Right, well we can’t all blame the Rehabilitation rescue centres either. When the blame now resides on the adopter for neglecting the past history their new dog has. Think about it for one moment if you would, the title in the rescue centre says “Rehabilitation” – common sense would dictate to you that this dog is in the rehab centre for a reason. An issue with his or her past, that led to this point. Now, if the Rehabilitation centre did their JOB correctly, they would have given you a history of the dog’s issue, so you can take proper precautions to prevent any repetitive issues.
Therefore, as my friend is now facing – if a dog bites your dog and the owner knows this dog has a history of “biting” yet didn’t take proper precautions. Then we have a major issue on our hands and a dangerous situation. I don’t care how big or small your dog may be, all breeds of dogs will have an aggressive streak and will have history, and will repeat the offence if you do not properly take precautions. If your dog bites another dog, then that IS YOUR FAULT, no one else. It is your responsibility as the new guardian to take steps that prevent these accidents! The steps you need to take to prevent these accidents are the following, and yes some of these steps I dislike, however, is necessary.
Muzzles – they are a must do if said dog has a history
Leashing – bite history dogs must be on a strict leashing, hate to say it but it must be 4 to 5 ft and no more. I’ll explain why – this will help you bring the dog closer to you quicker then a longer leash if you suspect your dog is about to lunge. Even if your dog is muzzled they can still do damage!
Avoid – Avoid areas, places and other that would place your dog in a situation that would cause them to bite! For example – if you know your dog is “dog aggressive” STEER CLEAR of dog parks, friends or family with dogs of their own.
If another dog is charging at your dog – You stand firm and calm and yell, NO to the other dog. Sometimes this will stop the charging, other times not. So what do you do in this situation? Well, common sense for those who do walk their dogs daily is to bring deterrents, because as we know, walking our dogs although nice, can be hazardous. Be prepared, bring pepper sprays, or a backpack full of clothes or a blanket.
Pepper sprays – are non-lethal and in most cases will deter the other dog from attacking. While the dog is semi-occupied by the pepper spray, walk away slowly always watching that dog for his next move. If he charges again, the backpack with clothes or a blanket in it should now be placed in front of you as a shield from snapping teeth. Get it? It’s soft non-harmful and will protect you from being bitten. Push the dog back with that backpack, keep at it while keeping your dog from fighting. This will eventually tire the other dog out. Walk away slowly, yet DON’T turn your back on that dog. There is also air horns the loud noise may deter the other dog from attacking. If not then it will surely make them lose focus if they’re already fighting.
These are non-lethal methods, other methods involve walking sticks, break sticks etc. Which is NOT really necessary. These sticks tend to injure the dogs more so than the actual attack. The main thing to prevent any dog attack is to watch for the body language seen in chart below:
If this is the body language you see an unleashed dog having- AVOID, do not even step forward, go the other way while keeping an eye on that dog. Common sense. If you miss these signs (which isn’t even possible!) Then you are placing your dog and yourself in danger, period.
Another scenario – little dog runs up to the big dog in an aggressive stance, and you see this yet do nothing. Well, what do you think will happen? You as a guardian have failed, and in this instance, the big dog will hurt the little dog with one bite. Not to mention, you have just allowed the big dog to initiate a DOMINANT TRAIT, which has just thrown any training you may have done out the window. – Square one all over again.
Yes, I’m one of those “pack mentality” thinking people. Because the fact is, dogs are “pack” animals and having a “pack” animal in your household, you do need to show who the boss is. You should be the alpha and show it in your step/presence by acting quick and smart when these things happen. By STEPPING between your dog and the attacking dog. It is YOUR JOB as guardian and Pack Leader to protect your companion or pack, depending on how many dogs you may have… Any logical behavioral trainer would and will tell you this.
In summary – When adopting any dog with past issues, ask for HISTORY. Be PREPARED, AVOID situations. PROTECT your dog from other dogs. Do your JOB and don’t blame others for your mistakes. It’s YOUR RESPONSIBILITY just as it’s the other person’s responsibility.
Also – If you know your dog has issues with others, ALWAYS HAVE A LEASH ON, period.
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Guardians Of Life 
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