U.S. National

POET works to protect us
Former OSU quarterback Bill Long and animal-rights activist Rob Russell planted themselves at OSU’s Vet School in the middle of September and swore off food until the university pulls the plug on a “scientifically unjustified and cruel experiment that will cause the suffering and death of defenseless animals,” says Russell.

This is the fifth in a series of protests scheduled by the animal-rights organization POET against Michael Podell’s FIV/methamphetamine research that, if allowed to continue, will infect, drug, and destroy 120 cats at OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Sure I’d rather be sitting down to a pre-game meal on this home game weekend” says 1969 OSU graduate Bill Long who played on both the football and baseball teams. “But knowing that my alma mater is behind this unnecessary killing is killing not only my appetite, but my long-standing school spirit and devotion.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is a national organization looking out for us critters throughout the world. Below is an excerpt from their website about what I believe is an important animal rights issue that many people never considered -- are the animals at the circus happy? Are they actually having fun? Or are they tortured, abused, humiliated and forced to do unnatural acts? There is a growing list of circuses that do not use animals for this very reason. If humans want to dress in sparkly costumes and spin by their teeth high up in air, or wear oversized shoes and noses and squirt water at each other - let them. Leave us out of it!

PETA’s Report

In contrast to the glitter associated with circuses, performing animals’ lives are pretty miserable. Because animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, or jump through rings of fire, whips, electric prods, and other tools are often used to force them to perform. The smaller and poorer the circus, the more limited the animals’ access may be to water, food, and veterinary care.

My dog Champ, a best friend for about 12½ years, died unexpectedly on Sunday (probably just into the ‘wee hours’ of Mon, 3/5), The ‘Little Booger,’ Champ, had kinda dug his stubborn little doggy toes into the Martha Walker Garden Club, the DooDah Parade, The Community Festival, AntiFest, HOT TIMES, and loads of other Community escapades. They will forever be linked to my memories of him.

I was lucky that he was around during the onset of my major depressive swings, mainly in the early Summer of ’97, when I was clueless as to what had hit me. Champ was that little pal, so totally faithful, with that unquestioning love & affection that most dogs, cats & horses have toward their humans (well, assuming that the animal was raised by a humane person). He was always there, sleeping right at my feet, depending on MY love & affection, and always needing to be fed. He was a sentient being. He was there to hang onto when so much else was unclear.

I often wonder how well I’d have hung on without him.

Once, back when I was just a young piglet, I lived with my daddy and mommy in the basement of our house on the near eastside. My dad said good-bye to me every morning before he left for work at the community college. I knew he worked there because he took me to visit a couple of times. One time a little boy there saw me and cried “Look, it’s a plig!” and another time, well, I wasn’t used to elevators so I made a little mess. Anyway, one day after the Big Guy left, I found the back basement door open and ran out into the yard. It wasn’t hard to snout the fence open.

Being the adventurous, impulsive pig that I was, I started to follow my daddy’s trail to school. Needless to say, mommy became hysterical when she saw me high-tailing it down the alley and lured me back with some apples. I shiver to think what would have happened to me if I’d become a statistic that day. Unfortunately lots of other animals think they’re doing the right thing when they leave their house, and become lost.

I also heard of a little pot-bellied pig who was wrapped in a blanket and left in field with a note, “Please take care of me.” Now there’s hope for pets in these situations.

After a so-called moderate administration that is responsible for incarcerating the highest amount of marijuana offenders in history, averaging one arrest every 30 seconds, a complete right wing administration takes its place. So, when Bill Clinton made the sweet gesture declaring that marijuana should be decriminalized during his last weeks in office, it was a little too late to get thanks from the movement. Bye Bye Bill, “Exhale to the Chief.” It is unclear how much worse the attack on marijuana and marijuana users can get. Bush and his “Persian Gulf Syndrome” cabinet inheriting the Clinton ground war in Columbia is a definite worry. Their plan is to reduce tons of marijuana imported from Columbia to merely pounds and to contaminate or kill marijuana with new eco destroying biological fungicides and herbicides recently laboratory developed in Montana. The new chemicals are much worse than the paraquat of the 1970’s. With this, domestic production will increase and so will arrests and the amount of prisons. One must wonder (sarcastically) if Bush will deploy thousands of snitch subversives into metro areas or begin smart-bombing grow houses and head shops.

I, Iggy the Pot-Belly, was saddened to read about the mass beaching of whales in the Bahamas recently. My Daddy told me that pigs are related to whales in a pretty direct way – not that all of us aren’t somehow related from that single organism many years ago. I had to think that whales, who are considered very intelligent mammals, would have to have some really good reason to purposely throw their bodies on the beach to die. I’ve heard of it happening before. I thought maybe there was a message they were trying to send to the rest of us on shore.

The scientific name for whales and dolphins is Cetacea. I guess cetaceans are like pigs, who rose out of the water sometime during “evolution” actually became mammals and could breathe air, but instead of becoming elephants or hippos or wild boars, they went back in the ocean to live. I’d like to believe that was a good decision – except for all the pollution humans have dumped into the water.

Dear Iggy,

Greetings! My name is Floyd. I am a Chinese Water Dragon living in mid-central Ohio. I have quickly become a big fan of yours after reading only two articles written by you in the Columbus Free Press. I cannot begin to tell you how refreshing it is to read an animal rights column written by an animal, for the welfare of all animals!

I have an important animal rights issue to tell you about myself. It is an issue I rarely see anything written about, as well as one of great concern to my parents and myself: The care of reptiles being domesticated in these northern regions which normally belong to warner desert or jungle habitats.