Susan Hated Literature

It’s strange, the things you see on television. And I don’t mean on that home of the weird and exploited, C4, but on your mainstream, prime time telly. Last night we watched Silent Witness. Now, I’m not a huge fan, it is more ‘dmother’s sort of thing. She likes her crime dramas. But anyways, I wasn’t in Sligo which is where I’ve seen the odd episode before, but there was nothing else on. Or we weren’t bothered flicking. Something like that^[1]

The BBC are currently showing repeats, these were all on last year, the one last night was called Schism and featured an animal rights group raiding an experimentation lab, in connection with tests that they were doing trying to find a vaccine for H5N1. Remember that do you? The bird flu that was going to bring an end to all humankind. Well it is only killing furrin types, so mothing to worry about.

Back to the show. The strange thing was that in the end [spoilers ahoy, but it isn't really a spoilery show so not hiding them] this mainstream, prime-time show^[2] showed young girls being totured and killed, by state agents. Okay, so they never came out and said “working for the govt” but the anti-terror dude who showed up^[3] to investigate was clearly id’d as a spook,. That’s not the US racist slang word, btw, it just means spy.

So here we have a programme showing extremist animal activists being killed by big business/medicine/government agencies. And not in an X-Files, conspiracy-type show, but an average, everyday, crime show.

I’m still not particularly fond of the show, the characters are a little meh, but the plots are vaguely interesting, and kudos for the showing of dead bodies, nipples and all without ever seeming over the top, or gratuitous.

While I’m here, I see that Neil Marshall’s The Descent has finally been released in the states. This was out here^[4] last year, but has had its ending snipped for the US release, and is prompting much discussion over at Rogerebert.com

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So there I was, browsing the Irish Blogs aggregator thingie, when I came across this animal rights site. The reason it caught my attention was that the campaign being posted about is an anti-circus one.

Since the launch of our campaign with Animal Defenders International we have been able to show the public the true findings of a secret investigation into the dark, cruel side of circuses

Personally I haven’t seen any of these secret investigations, but for the sake of argument lets pretend I have. *imagination turned on*
So now I’m conflicted. I’m totally opposed to animal cruelty, and would hate to see any animal mistreated, but come on, the only reason to go to the circus is to see the animals. Heffalumps and performing dogs are the attractions. Not the clowns. Not the acrobats. Sure they can be entertaining, but if there isn’t an elephant it isn’t a circus.

So a question for the animal defenders people, is it the abuse you want to stop, or jut animals in circuses?

If it is just the abuse then I think a campaign to have an organisation something like they have in the film industry would be more useful. You know that disclaimer that goes on the end of films that have had animals, like the American Humane’s “No Animals Were Harmed” statement.

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Shamelessly lifted from DjMargra’s stuff’n’stuff comes the news that Ireland is the puppy-farming capital of Europe, mainly because of our lack of regulations.

Ireland is a haven for puppy farms because not a single piece of legislation exists to control them or protect the welfare of the dogs, besides the Dog Act Ã? intended for pet owners, not commercial operations that operate in a grey area of legitimacy. Nothing limits how long the dogs may be bred, or how many times. They can be kept in any enclosure; there’s no rule that they must have outdoor runs or in the case of indoor breeds that they be kept warm indoors. EU chickens have more rights; livestock farmers have more legal responsibilities (sub’s req’d)

Check out the letter campaign to the minister for the environment here

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The Last Waterloo Cup was a show on the BBC during the week. All about, as you may have guessed, the waterloo cup. So what is the Waterloo Cup? Well, it was an annual festival of greyhound coursing, but this is the last year it is going to be held as hunting with dogs has been made illegal in Britain.

Now, on a gut level I dislike the idea of coursing for sport. I mean, how can it be enjoyable to watch two dogs chase after, and rip apart, a hare? But watching some of it… It looks fantastic. The dogs are shit fast, and unlike greyhound racing, they have to swerve and turn because the hare can turn, at speed, in a body length. The dog cannot.

I’ve read, but don’t know how accurate these figures are, that one in five hares is caught and killed by the greyhounds, and that it can take up to 30 seconds for the hare to die.

Now, is that any crueller than shooting? Where you might wound an animal and end up leaving it to a lingering death?

I don’t think I’d ever be a fan of coursing. But I’m not sure if I agree with the ban as it seems to be in Britain (or is it just England?). I mean, is it wrong to use dogs if you are hunting for food? And not just for flushing purposes?

Of course, if, as it seems, the Irish Hare population is in danger of extinction, then surely we in Ireland should introduce a law to protect the animal rather than one which simply bans everything?

As far as I know coursing is legal here, but the dogs are muzzled. And I’ve seen pictures of muzzled dogs chasing lures, which seems a bit bizarre. Still, just like the “people out of work” argument used in relation to fox-hunting, can’t they just organise drag-hunting or lure coursing?

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I know, I should be concerned about animal welfare, and the fact people may die, but a story about “Armed and dangerous killer dolphins” just strikes me as hi-larious

Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US navy’s cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying ‘toxic dart’ guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet’s smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing

In other news, Tyrone won the All-Ireland. I was a bit disappointed, seeing as was cheering Ciarraí Abú, but Tyrone were the better team, and more than deserved the victory. Course, I’d be a lot happier with Tyrone’s victory if they’d only have a wee word with Mr. Mulligan about that hair

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