What is Animal Labor? Let’s start with speciesism. Speciesism, as defined by PETA, “is the belief that some animals’ lives and experiences are inferior to those of humans or other animals simply because they are members of a different species, and it underpins all the most widespread forms of animal abuse.” Unpacking this a step […]
Tag: snakes
3 Reasons a Snake in the Yard Might Be a Good Thing
Happening upon a snake in the yard can be a startling—to put it mildly—experience. Whether it’s an evolutionary instinct to jump back at the sight of a snake or another one of those ingrained cultural fears, a close encounter with the slithering kind usually shocks the system, even for those among us who admire the […]
Cancel Next Year’s Rattlesnake Roundup
Each year in Texas, thousands of rattlesnakes are gassed, starved, and killed for entertainment. This event, known as the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, is a gathering place to slaughter snakes. Held in Sweetwater, Texas, a town of 10,500 residents, the roundup brings 25,000 visitors to Sweetwater. About 4,000 snakes are rounded up each year and killed. […]
Exotic Pets Ownership Up By 60 Percent in the UK
New information from Born Free, an animal charity, has found that exotic pets are on the rise in Britain. New survey data found that almost 4,000 wild animals are being kept as pets. This accounts for a 59% increase in exotic pet ownership since 2000, according to Born Free. These animals are kept under license but […]
PETA is Calling to End 2020 Python Bowl Where Citizens are Trained to Hunt and Kill Snakes Inhumanely
PETA is calling for the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee to cancel the 2020 Python Bowl, where people have been asked to hunt pythons in Florida’s Everglades area. Pythons are an invasive species in the Florida Everglades. To encourage Floridians to capture as many pythons as possible, the group promoting the event is offering $2000 […]
POLL: Should the export of snakes to zoos and pet shops be banned?
Kenya has banned the export of various snake species, including the African rock python, to zoos and pet shops around the world after reports of animal abuse and snakes being sold on the black market for their meat and skins. The trafficking of the endangered snakes by cartels is also having a negative impact on […]
POLL: Should the use of exotic animal skins for fashion be banned?
From Balenciaga’s £845-a-pair high-top black python trainers for men to a full-length trenchcoat sported by Rihanna, snakeskin – or python in particular – is having something of a fashion moment. Demand for the luxury patterned leather is riding so high that Kering – the company behind big brands including Gucci, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen […]
Photo: Stunning new pit-viper discovered in Honduras
A stunning new species of pit-viper has been discovered in the cloud forest of Honduras. The venomous snake is described in the journal ZooKeys. The species is named Bothriechis guifarroi in honor of Mario Guifarro of Olancho, a conservationist who was gunned down in 2007 as he was working to set up a reserve for […]