Bolivian circus lions flown to U.S. sanctuary
Twenty-five Bolivian circus lions rescued from poor conditions arrived in the United States on Wednesday, bound for a Colorado wildlife refuge.
Dubbed "Operation Lion Ark," the 14 males and 11 female cats arrived at Denver International Airport on a jet chartered by Animal Defenders International (ADI), a British-American venture that advocates circus animal rights.
"This has been a dream for so long, to empty a whole country of its circus animals," ADI president Jan Creamer told a crowd of about 100 who assembled at a United Airlines hangar to watch the event.
Former game show host Bob Barker, a longtime animal-rights activist who funded the relocation, was on hand to welcome the cats alongside actress Jorja Fox of TV's CSI franchise.
Workers unloaded the animals in individual crates amid applause from animal-rights advocates in attendance.
The Cruelty of Animal Lovers--From Leafy Greens--Feb. 15, 2008
safe on American Soil."
CSI television show actress Jorja Fox points with television personality Bob Barker to a jet containing 25 lions rescued from Bolivian circuses coming on a jet to Denver. Click Jorja fingertip to enlarge.Charlie is a dog.
Estimates of the number of (human) orphans in Iraq run from a low of 500,000 to a high of 4.5 million as of January 2008.
Closer to home, there are two bakeries in Alexandria, Virginia that cater to dogs: Madeleine's Dogs and Barkley Square Gourmet Dog Bakery & Boutique. A "Madeleines Dog Bone Birthday Cake" costs $25.00.
As of 2007, %5.9 of the population of Alexandria (7,800 people) have incomes below the poverty line. In the United States, living below the poverty line means lacking the resources to meet the basic needs for healthy living; having insufficient income to provide the food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve health.
I like animals. But it isn't compassion that motivates people to rescue animals from Iraq or bake cakes for them. It's selfishness.
We imbue animals with aspects of our own personalities, channeling our identities through animals who reflect these energies back out to us in a way that appeals to us. In other words, the devotion of a dumb animal makes us feel better about ourselves.
That's how we get to a point where we value the life of a dog over the life of a child.
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"We can only hope that if there is any justice in this world, that someday, somehow, folks like Bob Barker, Jorja Fox, Jan Creamer, and the folks who gave money to rescue Charlie will be in a position to have someone reach over them to give a dog a sandwich or build an animal a "bio dome" while they try to stay comfortable living in the street."
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8 comments:
What a really nice post! I believe you said this very well and so glad that someone noticed, pointed this out and said the things you said. Thank you so very much!
Anonymous,
Although appreciated, no thank's is necessary for being a compassionate, realistic member of the human race.
"We imbue animals with aspects of our own personalities, channeling our identities through animals who reflect these energies back out to us in a way that appeals to us. In other words, the devotion of a dumb animal makes us feel better about ourselves.
That's how we get to a point where we value the life of a dog over the life of a child," is a fact that every member of the human race need's to be aware of when they next try to decide "who" has RIGHTS, a dog or a child.
Wade
You could apply this argument to anything. Like why do we spend money on cancer research and other medical research when there are starving children in the world? Do you know how much people spend on cosmetics every year? Sincerely Paul
PS: They used to say this about the space program too-that the money could be better spent helping needy people right here on earth, but when they stopped going to the Moon not one extra dime was spent on starving children. I thought you had a dog Wade? Sincerely Paul
Paul,
I don't think money spent on something helping mankind, is the same thing as money spend on housing and feeding genetically useless animals like the Brazilian lions. What's wrong with "cosmetic research?" You can never have too many blind rabbit's after all.
Wade
Wade, I was'nt talking about the research into cosmetics. I was just talking about the billions of dollars people spend on cosmetics. I see your point though. You could argue that we should all get rid of our cars, and take the bus, and send the money we save to feed starving children, but I don't see it happening. Sincerely Paul
Wade, people waste money on all kinds of things, like wars. 30,000 children die of starvation every day. Bob Barker has nothing to do with it. Sincerely Paul
Paul,
He could help alleviate some of the suffering of the children you mentioned, if the same effort undertaken for animals was undertaken for them.
Wade
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