Statistics

This blog had 1,530 visits during November, which is an average of 51.0 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 73.6.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from December 2004.

Anniversary

I started this blog 11 years ago today. It's not quite dead, because I still post statistics every month, but I no longer post anything substantive. Evidently, some people still find its posts useful.

Statistics

This blog had 1,201 visits during October, which is an average of 38.7 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 57.5.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from November 2004.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from October 2004.

Statistics

This blog had 812 visits during September, which is an average of 27.0 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 44.9.

Statistics

This blog had 660 visits during August, which is an average of 21.2 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 27.9.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from September 2004.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from August 2004.

Statistics

This blog had 763 visits during July, which is an average of 24.6 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 34.5.

Statistics

This blog had 842 visits during June, which is an average of 28.0 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 46.8.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from July 2004.

From Today's New York Times

To the Editor:

Once again people associated with the animal rights group PETA (letter, June 19) have tried to disparage the commitment circuses have for animal care and conservation. Despite the claims made in the letter, circuses like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey are dedicated to providing the very best of care for all our animals, especially the Asian elephant. Rather than adopt stringent United States animal care standards, which Ringling Bros. fully supports, officials in Mexico City unnecessarily banned circuses with animals.

In the United States, 10 million fans a year see a Ringling Bros. performance, and their No. 1 reason for coming is our animals. Rather than rely on PETA’s rhetoric, circus fans should come and see for themselves how all our animals are thriving at the Greatest Show on Earth.

STEPHEN PAYNE
Vienna, Va., June 19, 2014

The writer is vice president, corporate communications, for Feld Entertainment, parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

From Today's New York Times

To the Editor:

Re “Worry Under the Big Top as Mexico City Moves to Ban Circus Animals” (news article, June 15):

Mexico City joins the growing list of cities that have banned the exploitation of animals in circuses. Several countries, including Austria, Bolivia, Colombia, Greece, Peru, Britain and Paraguay, have already imposed or approved bans. Why is the United States lagging so far behind?

Our elected officials must recognize that beating elephants with bullhooks—heavy batons with a sharp metal hook on the end that can tear elephants’ skin—and whipping tigers until they cringe and cower, are ethically indefensible.

When not performing, animals spend most of their lives caged or chained in tractor-trailers and railroad boxcars while traveling from city to city. They have none of what makes their lives worth living: roaming freely, controlling territory, socializing and simple autonomy.

The trend is undeniable: The days of hauling and hurting animals in the name of entertainment are quickly coming to an end.

JENNIFER O’CONNOR
Staff Writer, PETA Foundation
Norfolk, Va., June 16, 2014

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from June 2004.

Statistics

This blog had 1,513 visits during May, which is an average of 48.8 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 66.4.

Statistics

This blog had 1,721 visits during April, which is an average of 57.3 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 78.8.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from May 2004.

Statistics

This blog had 1,520 visits during March, which is an average of 49.0 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 66.0.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from April 2004.

"They Die Piece by Piece"

Here.

From Today's New York Times

To the Editor:

Re “They’re Going to Wish They All Could Be California Hens” (front page, March 4):

While the conditions in California’s colony cages are certainly better than those of the barren battery cages used for 90 percent of egg-laying hens in this country, they still involve cramming 60 animals into a wire cage, each bird with just 116 square inches in which to live her entire life

At Farm Sanctuary, we spend our lives with hens, and we can attest that chickens are individuals with needs and personalities, just like the dogs and cats most readers will know a bit better. It is no more acceptable to confine 60 hens for their entire lives in a cage that you report is “about the size of a Ford F-150 pickup truck’s flatbed” than it would be to treat 60 cats similarly.

Compassionate consumers can take a stand against this cruelty by choosing vegan options.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH
Senior Policy Director
Farm Sanctuary
Washington, March 4, 2014

To the Editor:

The humane laws for hens in California that provide them more space in which to live should be countrywide. Chickens deserve to live humanely. That’s the least farmers can do.

People seem to lose sight of the fact that these are sentient animals, not food machines! The same goes for pigs and cattle that are exploited and forced to live in substandard conditions.

Congratulations to California for being so compassionate and leading the way.

ELAINE SLOAN
New York, March 4, 2014

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from March 2004.

Statistics

This blog had 1,204 visits during February, which is an average of 43.0 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 78.4.

Statistics

This blog had 1,134 visits during January, which is an average of 36.5 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 82.3.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from February 2004.

According Animals Dignity

In this New York Times op-ed column, Frank Bruni predicts that our understanding of and concern for animals is only going to grow as scientific advances help us to understand the rich psychological and emotional lives of animals. Tom Regan was right: Many of the animals we routinely exploit are experiencing subjects of a life just like us.

Lions

Statistics

This blog had 1,754 visits during December, which is an average of 56.5 visits per day. A year ago, the average was 81.7.

Ten Years Gone

Here are the posts from January 2004.