Shark finning infographic by ripetungi.
MANDATORY REBLOG
This sounds like a lot, but it’s true. An estimated 100,000,000 sharks per year are killed, threatening many species with endangerment or extinction.
(via moreanimalia)
Source: ohplesiosaur
How to kill an octopus according to Josh James
This disgusting video shows survival expert Josh James - aka the Kiwi Bushman - killing a giant octopus “humanly”. For him, the best technique is simply to chew its head off:
“To kill them, you bite them right between the eyes…because that’s where the brain is. Now that folks, is how you kill and octopus”
Yeurk !
(via passionate-sharks)
Source: gentlesharks
Teacup dogs
1. Teacup dogs are the result of questionable breeding practices
The issues with these dogs begin before they are even born. Teacup dogs can naturally occur as “runts of the litter,” but more often they’re the product of intentionally breeding two undersized dogs. Because the mother dog is so small, she can only whelp a couple of puppies at most and there’s a greatly increased chance of complications. In other words, breeding teacups is extra risky for both the mother and the puppies.
That’s not the worst of it though. Because the dogs are in high demand and can sell for thousands of dollars, there’s a huge incentive for unethical breeders to produce these dogs any way they can. This could include breeding dogs that are closely related, or even deliberately stunting a puppy’s growth through starvation or other revolting methods.
Fraud is another issue. There is no officially recognized teacup breed, and typically no guarantee that the tiny puppy you get from the breeder won’t grow up to be a standard-sized dog. It’s all too easy for someone to pass a puppy off as a bonafide teacup when it’s really just a few weeks younger than advertised.
Of course, with any dog breed, there are going to be irresponsible breeders. However, because many reputable dog breeders refuse to sell teacups, this market in particular is wide open for sleazebags.
2. Teacup dogs suffer from a litany of health problems
Every breed is prone to certain diseases and disorders, but the list of issues for teacups is long and severe. In one category, there are health issues directly related to their unnaturally small size. In another, there are problems that come from inbreeding and other sketchy practices of backyard breeders. Thanks to all of these issues, teacups as a group don’t live as long as their normal-sized counterparts.
No article about teacup breeds can fail to mention hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which can cause seizures and death if not carefully monitored. Many teacups have to be fed several times a day (or more) precisely for this reason. Even when they don’t suffer from life-threatening conditions like this, they often have digestive troubles that are a chore to manage.
Other common health issues include liver shunts, hydrocephalus (water on the brain), heart problems, and respiratory problems. Anyone considering a teacup should factor in the potential for higher-than-normal vet bills – not to mention all the frustration and heartbreak that comes with owning a chronically ill pet.
3. Teacup dogs are too fragile for this world
If you’ve ever lived with a small dog, you know that they’re often just big enough to get on and off the couch (in fact, older dogs often need help). Now imagine the couch is two or three times its size. Welcome to the world of the teacup dog.
Micro dogs are easily injured, especially when jumping or dropped from heights. This makes them a singularly horrible choice for families with young children, who will naturally want to carry around the adorable little critter (a tragedy waiting to happen). Other dogs – particularly big dogs – can also inadvertently harm a teacup dog.
Like all small dogs, teacups also have a tendency to get underfoot. The difference is, you’re less likely to see them, and more likely to cause an injury when you kick or step on them.
Photo and info [source]
And someone’s experience with a teacup dog, having bought one without prior research.
avianawareness: BLEACHING AND PAINTING OF PARROTS
This brings me to tears. All because of greedy bastards and an uninformed bunch of consumers.
These parrots are seen in clandestine bird markets all over South and Central America. Many of the birds smuggled into the USA are likewise impaired.
All die
The process of bleaching is excessively cruel. The parrots’ head is literally dunked in chlorine. The same stuff that cleans your toilets or bleaches your hair. Besides bleaching the feathers it also damages the eyes, skin, lungs and digestive tract of the parrot, which, if not killed directly, will develop secondary problems which are eventually fatal.
The chemical dye that is successively used to produce the yellow colouring adds to this. Slowly poisoning the parrot every time it preens. The traders in these birds even induce this cruelty on unweaned babies as witnessed by the last bird in the image.
Few of the people that buy these birds are inclined to go to a specialised avian vet to treat the bird, if such a vet even exists in their country.
Veterinarian Dr. Pat Latas of the Arizona Bird Clinic produced these images. He finds these birds, smuggled from Mexico, for sale at swap meets and flea markets across the USA.Why dye an already beautiful parrot?
This question must come to mind. These parrots are already beautiful with their contrasting white, red and green markings. Why bestow such cruelty on them just to add yellow?
Popular folklore in South and Central America has it that Yellow-headed parrots are the best talkers: “Loro hablando". True, the Central American Yellow-headed Amazon parrot (Amazona oratrix) is known as one of the best mimics of the parrot family. But the Yellow-headed Amazon is almost extirpated by the constant onslaught of the wild bird trade. They are hard to come by thus very expensive.
By dyeing the head of other parrot species yellow they can be made to look like the good talking Yellow-headed parrots and be sold at a far better price. So much better as to compensate for the many birds lost in the procedure.
Trough this wasteful practice more species of parrot get threatened by the wild bird trade, species that traditionally were not targeted by the pet industry. White fronted amazons are naturally nervous birds with little pet potential. Now they too disappear from the Mexican countryside and turning up in the illegal trade in the USA and elsewhere because they are be made to look like other birds.
via cityparrots.orgI know this is tough to look at, but please be strong enough to spread information like this. Let the world be made aware, and possibly be able to do more to help prevent things like this. It just takes the right person, one spark to catch…
:I I’d say I’m surprised at the lengths some people will go to … but I’m not :(
(via moreanimalia)
Source: avianawareness
