New Blog~

If you think that Organic and GMO foods are not a high stakes industry,
please do take a look at this picture.

Credit: Compiled by Stephanie Ladwig-Cooper

If you might have wondered where I have been, this is where:
http://organicopinion.wordpress.com/
It was the result of a bad shopping excursion that was the very last straw.
Hope you enjoy it!

Murdered, why?

Our beloved Gopher Tortoise Harriet, on her way back to her tunnel after eating.

Yesterday our local news, as usual, found a heinous, outrageous story about an animal that had been tortured and killed.
It had been murdered.
The animal at the center of this media firestorm, was an Endangered Gopher Tortoise.
As it was airing  yesterday,  I looked out the kitchen window at our beloved Harriet who was sitting under the tree, munching quietly on a tiny plant.
She looked so peaceful, so happy.
She does not know that she  is one of the lucky ones.
Many in this state are not, they do not have a safe place to live where they are not disturbed.
Gopher Tortoises here are continuously being uprooted at the whim and pleasure of greedy developers who want to build new Condos, new Shopping Centers, new anything, new everything.
Just build baby!
And get  ” those damn turtles out of their way,  they have things to build! “
Because they are protected, they are supposed to be moved as new things are built.
Do we really believe that they truly care if a Tortoise accidentally gets buried alive in the process?
Oops!
My heart broke for the one that was tortured, who suffered and died.
I said a small prayer for it and then immediately became angry for what has now become so common here and elsewhere in the world, constant, unnecessary, violence directly aimed at innocent animals who cannot fight back, or defend themselves.
Why has this abuse against animals become so commonplace, have we all become immune to it?
Are we all now completely desensitized?
This should come as no shock, considering the fact that nearly 100%  of every news story, every single day, is about violence.
Two things are now quite apparent to me and they should be to you as well.
Our News media here in Florida seems to be obsessed with stories that involve an animal being hurt.
We also have some very sick people living in this state, who seem to take great pleasure in harming  animals.
Were those who committed this terrible crime hardened criminals?
No.
Were these gang members meeting an initiation requirement?
No.
The dastardly perpetrators in this case of vile and extreme  evil,  were two teenage girls.
Their reason.
Only they know the answer to this.
Threats have been  made against the girls and their families.
FWC are naturally deeply involved and the father of one of the girls has made an understandable comment that there will be ” no more Facebook or Smart phones “ in their house.
He will allow the local Law Enforcement and the Legal System to take its course.
The entire series of event surrounding this despicable crime should be making an even bigger case for a return to some sort of morality, humanity and just plain compassion in people today.
Where,  as a species, have we gone wrong, that now our children are doing these kinds of things to not only innocent, but Endangered Creatures, that have no way to protect themselves.
So, what started out yesterday as a local horror story, has now become a Global Horror story, as it has been picked up by News agencies everywhere.
How we must look to the world?
What must they think of us?
As Parents, as Humans, we had better take a long, hard cold, look in the mirror.
Our lack of Humanity and Compassion has come home to roost.
Are our children now capable of murdering wild things, just for the pleasure of watching them die?
Dear Parents, dear Readers, will you please talk with your children and ask them what they think about this story?
If we are to survive as a species, we had better start finding out who and what we really are.
And what we are capable of doing to innocents?
We had better have an answer to this question:  Murdered, why?
 
There are three links below, I want nothing more to do with this story:
Two girls face threats after torturing and killing turtle in Florida
Florida teens face charges for torturing, killing threatened tortoise, posting video online
Florida Girls Light Tortoise on Fire, Set Off Hunt for Vigilante Justice

Guilty!

 
Beautiful, Bashful, Black Bear Cubs~
Picture credit:  FWC

I am sure that you all remember the horrific stories written  here about the Seven Black Bears,  that were killed in the Orlando area recently.
It was a sad, sad, sickening thing to have to write about and watch unfold.
Many hearts were broken,  as this story was on the News here nearly daily.
Many were also convinced that a Human was at the root of this, but could not prove it until now.
Finally the answer came and it has been all over our news for the past 24 hours.
First, a local Seminole County couple, Corey Zeak and Lori Clem, admitted to feeding the bears in this neighborhood and pleaded  “no contest”  to the charges against them.
They were fined $200 each and put on six months probation!
Then, a video surfaced of a man shown actually in the act of feeding a Black Bear.
He appeared in  court yesterday,  his name is Eugene Cifers.
And, he has pleaded ” not guilty.”
This man is not some ignorant, uneducated,  thoughtless, reckless culprit.
This man knows better.
Or at least you would think that he would,  considering that he is a former member of the Audubon Board and Save the Manatee Club.
This man has apparently been doing this for quite some time and has shared his both, illegal and stupid actions,  with a variety of people, including his neighbors and even his trash man.
Too many Bears in this state are being killed, either by car strikes, or by being “euthanized”.
The recent  “ donut caper, “  as I like to call it,  to try to  “count”  the numbers of Florida’s Black Bears,  is something I fear may soon lead to a disaster for them.
There are now grumblings or rumblings, of something that I was assured by an unnamed person at the top, would never happen here,  Black Bear Hunting.
In Florida, our hands are now stained with the blood of Black Bears, as it has become a tragic, too common occurrence.
Last week another Black Bear who refused to stay away from people and trouble was put down.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, or FFWC, said that they had no other choice.
The Bear was taken away, or relocated,  repeatedly, but it kept coming back.
Remember what they say,  “follow the food?”
This is what Black Bears and all the wild things will always do, they will follow the food, even though it might kill them.
Only stupid people feed wildlife, because it causes them to behave abnormally, which in turn costs them their lives.
It is not cute, or kind,  to feed them you idiots and you cannot plead ” innocent or no contest.”
These are not teddy bears, toys, or dolls for you to play with.
They are not cute, cuddly, stuffed animals for you to snuggle and then put back on the shelf.
These are wild animals who need to stay apart, or away from us,  if they are to stay alive.
Every encounter that a Black Bear has with a Human, is one more step that it has to unlearn.
If you feed a Black Bear or ANY wild animal and it is euthanized:
You are GUILTY!
 
Places to learn more:
Eugene Cifers: Florida man accused of feeding bears, wildlife officials say they have photo
Officials say photo shows Seminole man is feeding bears
Florida Man Has Been Feeding Neighborhood Bears For a Year, According to Officials
Neighbor of mauled woman in Seminole among three charged with feeding bears
Bear that returned to Panama City is euthanized

Animal Independence Day

Only death awaits him.
Bull fighting still today remains popular in many parts of the world.
Picture credit: Wikipedia

Today is Independence Day in America.
It is a day which gives us all a sense of pride in how much we have achieved since we became an Independent Nation.
Over the past few hundred years we have fought, died and defended our country in the name of Freedom.
But on this Day, I find quite little to feel proud or good about, when it come to the Freedom of America’s,  indeed, the Whole World’s millions of desperate and abused animals.
Who is fighting for their freedom?
Yes, there are many animal activists, wildlife groups and individuals by the boatload, all professing to be doing their very best trying to keep animals out of harms way and alive.
But, on this day, in this country, I ask who will fight for the Freedom of Animals ?
Too many of us use them for our own personal benefit,  without ever giving a thought to whether or not we are harming,  or even killing them.
We have all seen the horse and dog races, the bull fights, the Rodeos, and the terrible fate of the animals involved in them.
We know about the fox hunts, the dog fights, polo matches and most of all, the grisly experiments under the guise of scientific research.
We still in this country,  have too many zoos, circuses and wildlife attractions galore, all of them placing  profit over concern, or well-being, or welfare,  of the very animals that they hold hostage in them.
Thousands, no, millions,  of innocent Animals here and all over the World are continuously being exploited.
They are being murdered, slaughtered, abused and terrorized by ruthless Humans for personal profit and individual gain.
We all know who these people, these groups, these Organizations are, and yet, quite unbelievably, we still support them by taking ourselves and our families there to watch the abuse happen.
We are not only watching, but by our very presence, are willing accomplices, to it.
So many of us  pretend that we truly care for animals, but deep down,  we all know what happens behind the scenes, behind the closed doors,  when no one is watching.
Who will fight for their Freedom on this Independence  Day?
Will you speak out for them?
Will you make a change in your life today, even a small one, that may make their lives better or safer?
If not us, then who?
They have ALL suffered in silence long enough.
Today could be the first Animal Independence Day, together we can, we must make the change.