Why Life Is Hell for ‘Pet’ Fish

Posted November 15, 2013 by Whitney Calk

Before I knew any better, I used to beg my parents to buy me “pet” fish from pet stores. We’d bring them home and dump them into a probably-not-big-enough tank—and for some reason, we found joy in watching them swim in pitiful, endless circles.

Photo: Jelene Morris | CC by 2.0

Back then, it didn’t occur to me that there was anything wrong with condemning a tropical animal, who would swim freely in nature with no boundaries, to life in a 10-gallon glass prison. As it turns out, there is SO much wrong with it.

Now, we know that puppies, kittens, birds, and other animals sold in pet stores come from “puppy mills” and other mass breeding facilities. But where do fish in pet stores come from?

Saltwater Fish

Ninety-five percent of saltwater fish sold in stores are captured from the wild.

Photo: NMS | CC by 2.0

Photo: noricum | CC by 2.0

Photo: Callie Reed | CC BY 2.0

Fishers douse the coral reefs with cyanide, which is ingested by the fish who live there, and as reported in Scientific American, “[t]he resulting asphyxiation stuns some fish and sends others into spasms, making them easy to grab by hand or net.”

Half the affected fish die on the reef, and 40 percent of those who survive the initial poisoning die before they reach an aquarium.

Freshwater Fish

Approximately 90 percent of freshwater fish are raised on farms. Goldfish, for instance, are usually bred in giant tubs in facilities that produce as many as 250 million fish per year.

Photo: akaitori | CC by 2.0

Photo: Fabio Achilli | CC by 2.0

Photo: Katie Brady | CC by 2.0

These animals are sold to pet stores and other shops, and many are doomed to live in plastic bags or bowls, neither of which provides them with the space or oxygen that they need.

Bettas

Pet stores like to promote betta fish as easy “starter pets” who are able to survive and thrive in extremely tiny containers with only a few inches of water to swim around in.

THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

Betta fish are native to Asia, where they live in the shallow water of rice paddies, ponds, or slow-moving streams. Since the water is shallow, it is also warm, which is why betta fish in captivity require a minimum of 10 gallons of water in an aquarium that can be kept heated to at least 75 degrees.

Oh, and if you’re wondering how they get to pet stores, here’s your answer:

Photo: Katie Brady | CC by 2.0

Photo: daryl_mitchell | CC by 2.0

Bottom line: Buying any animals, including fish, from pet stores supports industries that treat animals as nothing more than merchandise and sends a message that animals’ lives are only worth what we’re willing to pay for them.

Please don’t buy fish or support pet stores that sell them.

Read more: http://www.peta2.com/blog/fish-pet-store/#ixzz2lPQ9v1ff

THE TOP 3 OUTRAGEOUS LIES HUNTERS TELL

HUNTER LIE #1 We help animals by keeping their populations in check. If we didn't kill them they would starve from overpopulation. FACT If this were true, there would be piles of evidence [bones/bodies] all over the planet in places where hunters have historically found the habitats and animals too inaccessible to kill. The world would have heard these stories each time scientists discovered closed, ecological loops--islands--of which there are 10s of 1000s on Earth. The biological reality is that if left alone, animal species regulate themselves. These 'controlling' elements are based primarily on food supplies and weather. Conditions which trigger hormonal responses in the females of non-human species. These responses determine whether the offspring will be male or female; how many babies a given animal will have; or if indeed they will have a successful pregnancy at all. Factor in disease and natural die-offs, and if hunting were never undertaken again, the environment would, for the first time in hundreds of years, function as the perfectly synchronized interdependent system Mother Nature intended. "Dis"harmony--overpopulation--is CAUSED BY HUNTING. Species will adapt to FILL a void. These 'voids' are caused by Fish and Wildlife policies which encourage hunters to decimate natural predators, i.e., cougars, coyotes, wolves, etc.-- a standard practice of wildlife "managers" throughout the world. Obviously once predators are removed, if food supplies are plentiful and weather conditions favorable, an overpopulation problem is created. However, if conditions are NOT favorable, a massive environmental disaster, resulting in the starvation of animals targeted by such "management" methods becomes the reality. Wildlife officials KNOW FULL WELL they are manipulating prey species to the point of overpopulation by killing off their natural predators. This is done out of A) GREED. Hunting licenses and other hunting-related revenues bring big bucks into local, state and federal coffers. Because state and federal wildlife "management" are completely CONTROLLED by hunters whose interests are 100% self-serving. The non-hunting public is totally disregarded, and their tax dollars hijacked for wildlife mass murder, with estimates as high as nearly 5 BILLION animals slaughtered annually by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. HUNTER LIE # 2 Without the money we contribute, many of the areas which exist for animal populations wouldn't be there. FACT Every single taxpaying citizen supports our National Parks system, and ALL OTHER PUBLIC LANDS. Hunters contribute with revenues generated by hunting licenses and other hunting related usage fees. Whatever hunters provide in fees is minuscule in relation to what they COST the U.S. taxpayer. POACHING IS RAMPANT. Multiple billions are spent--annually--in manpower and on the increasing decimation of protected and endangered species from hunters' criminal activities, which far outweigh the comparatively tiny contributions of hunting licensing/usage fees. The taxpaying public and wildlife are continually egregiously abused for the sole benefit of hunters. 50% of federally funded wildlife "refuges" regularly allow trapping/hunting within them. This disenfranchises the non-hunting public from enjoying these lands and bastardizes the purpose of wildlife "refuges" which were created to PROTECT the inhabitants. The average taxpayer is forced to support these refuges, which in turn SUBSIDIZES hunters--not the other way around. If most hunters had to purchase this same acreage and maintain its wildlife, few would have the where-with-all to do so. Without taxpayer funding, these wildlife refuges would not exist, and neither would the land hunters exploit at the public's expense. The war on our wildlife is an elitist's game, fully SUBSIDIZED by the abuse of taxpayer money to the tune of BILLIONS annually. HUNTER LIE #3 We are avid environmentalists and conservationists. FACT Hunters claiming to be "caring" environmentalists because they help support green spaces [so does every taxpayer] is like saying you're pro-animal because you support slaughterhouses. Perpetuating the existence of animals for your own benefit [via artificial overpopulation] at the expense of their pain, suffering and death does not make you an environmentalist--only a malevolent opportunist. Hunting/poaching ranks second behind habitat destruction, as the leading cause of global, non-human species loss. Hunting is nothing short of ecological rape and the deluded and depraved partaking in such selfish acts of bloodlust can find no HONEST justification for their crimes. Copyright C 2011 Brennan Browne Shared from Google Keep

The 16 Stages of Going Vegan

Posted November 13, 2013 by Annie Leal
1. You've spent your entire life relying on this theory:

It’s OK—we forgive you. But seriously, what were you thinking?

2. So when you see this, you just laugh:

Photo by: Daniel Lobo | CC by 2.0

3. But then you start thinking, “Wait, what if these people are actually right?”

4. You manage to push the thought aside, but days later, you stumble onto a video about factory farming.

You cry for about 12 minutes straight, then decide that you want to help animals by going vegan.

5. But WTF does that even mean?

6. You’re a little intimidated at first, but the food in the photos looks delicious, so you decide to give it a try anyway.

7. You tell your friends on Facebook, and their reaction is: “WUT?”

8. You tell your family members, and they immediately label it as a phase.

Whatever. You’ll prove them wrong.

9. But then dinner time rolls around, and you can’t think of anything to make. 

                                                                                Photo by: Dave Gingrich | CC by 2.0

10. You start freaking out, but then you remember reading that Oreos are vegan.

Photo by: Rob Boudon | CC by 2.0

You survived this night.

11. But what are you going to have for breakfast? Human beings can’t survive on Oreos alone!

You decide to make your first trip to the grocery store in search of vegan goods. And then it happens: You see the window with the most beautiful view!

Who would’ve thought that your local grocery store sold vegan meat?!

12. You start discovering magical vegan products that just blow your mind.

Every time someone opens a jar of Vegenaise, a baby unicorn gets wings.

13. Your friends are impressed that you’ve lasted so long, but they decide to test you by inviting you out to eat. But you’re not even worried because you’re quickly becoming a master at finding vegan food anywhere.

Check out our vegan restaurant guide!

14. Thanks to you, one of your friends decided to give being vegan a try, and you’re like:

Photo by: Glen Scarborough | CC by 2.0

“Dude, nutritional yeast will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!”

15. You master answering every vegan myth question imaginable.

“But what the f*ck do vegans eat?!”

“People can’t be vegan. I mean, where will you get your protein from?”

Oh, and this chart pretty much sums all of them up: 

16. You realize that helping animals was the best decision that you ever could’ve made.

Not vegan? This is your chance!

Read more: http://www.peta2.com/blog/funny-first-vegan-stages/#ixzz2kdvUulbh