I am a Blogger Buddy! A dear friend of mine, Kyra (you may remember her from this post, or this post), of The Scribe's Desk, has asked me to be a guest blogger for her "Blogger Buddy Thursdays" today. I am so excited! I have never guest blogged before, so this is a first for me. Please go on over to her site and have a look around. She is an excellent writer and a fantastic blogger, she's been at it for years (and she even has her own children's book out, called Tale of the Lost Swan Egg, which is wonderful). I love her blog and her writing and I bet you will too. I am very honored to have my post up on her site today. I hope you enjoy it : )
Here is a wonderful message from my favorite Earth activist, David Suzuki. I remember seeing him speak when I was a teenager. Our school's Environmental Club went on a field trip to Vancouver for an environmental conference. It was so great to leave my small little town and go on an outing to the big city. I was really moved hearing him talk about environmental issues and things that we could do to help our planet. And even though that was probably about twenty years ago, and I don't really remember it that well, I was left with a lasting impression of who he was and how I could be a part of something bigger. He inspired me to get involved and really care about what is going on around me. At the time, I didn't know that I would later go on to complete the Environment Studies Program in college and become passionate about environmental issues. I remember thinking that it was just going to be a fun day out, with my school. I didn't realize how hearing him speak would spark a whole lifestyle change and influence me to be a better person, but he did and I am so grateful. I don't know if you've ever seen his show, "The Nature of Things," but every time I watch it I am reminded of how knowledgeable he is and how much he's done to change our world for the better. If there weren't people like him around to inspire us, then I think the planet would be in an even worse state, than it is right now. So thank you, David Suzuki, for everything you've done for this precious planet we live on, and may many more people heed your brilliant words and implement the change we need to save our Earth.
I love stories with a happy ending. 59 year old Anne, the last British circus elephant, has been released to a better home. Her story was a harrowing tale. One with horrible beatings by a circus worker. She was kicked and hit and beaten with a pitchfork and other implements. Luckily it was caught on film byAnimal Defenders International (ADI) who secretly filmed the abuse from January 21st to February 15th of this year.
After the video footage was released to the public, the Romanian worker was fired from the Bobby Roberts Super Circus, but that did not stop the a huge and justified public outcry. Anne's owners, Bobby and Moira Roberts, then decided to do the right thing and finally let Anne be moved to a more suitable home.
Activists had been fighting for years to have her moved, because over half a century of working for a circus and being kept in a small metal compound or in tiny transport containers, have left her muscles weak and her body riddled with arthritis. She is an elderly elephant that deserves to retire.
Finally, she has her much deserved retirement. On Sunday, April 3rd Anne was moved to the 900 acreLongleat Safari Park in Wiltshire. Right now she has a 13 acre enclosure, that will later have central heating, a wading area and swimming pool, and proper fencing built for her and other rescued elephants.
Here are some pictures of her happy and playing in her new enclosure.
Longleat staff say she is settling in and seems to be adjusting well. Watch this video of Anne in her new home.
It makes me so happy to see justice brought to this poor animal. She deserves to live in the right kind of environment, where she can be cared for properly and just be an elephant. Now she doesn't have to work the rest of her life away. To find out more info about Anne's plight see the Daily Mail's stories here and here. And visit Longleat's website for further updates.
Also, here is some other good news, which was brought about by this story. Britain is planning to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. See the full story here.
I am so happy that the CRTC is withdrawing it's proposal to allow lies in the news in Canada. People responded to this proposal with a huge public outcry and it worked. Almost 100,000 people signed a petition to stop this, and the CRTC listened. What a relief! It makes me feel like the people can make a difference! Check out the article:
