encourage biophilia

I had a slug in a bag of carrots the other day. It was stuck to my finger and I didn’t know what it was so I flung it into the sink. There, I identified it. It survived the fling alright. So I picked it up on a tissue and showed it to my roommate, who was saying “ew!” I told her about how they eat with a proboscis. As it was at rest on the tissue, it got curious and poked out its eyes and mouth and started looking around. I put it outside. She said she thought banana slugs are gross. Good protein for the food chain, though.

What about Whale rights? What about Snail rights? What about Seal rights? What about Eel rights?...What about Moose Rights? What about Goose Rights? What about Lark Rights? What about Shark rights?...What about Goat rights?...What about Frog rights?...What about?...What about?

Moondog (Louis Hardin) H’art Songs 1978

Sniffer dog Toby takes lead role in bumblebee conservation

In the long grass near the edge of a small loch, Toby the springer spaniel is hard at work. Harness on, head down, he zigzags through the undergrowth until something stops him in his tracks. He puts his nose to the ground, tail flicking frantically. Before him, hidden in the vegetation, is a remnant of a bumblebees’ nest.

time since I posted anything on this but an interesting article at the BBC site has just caught my eye.

Bees join hunt for serial killers

This “geographic profiling” works so well in bees, the scientists say future experiments on the animals could now be fed back to improve crime-solving.

Should I make a goal of writing a newspaper column about animals and their various intersections in our lives? Or is that already being done?

piece in today’s Independent about the therapeutic benefits of animals: Heal, boy

I must say that I am very aware of people with their animal companions, it’s a beautiful thing I think.

I love hearing the birds sing in the Spring.

Research finds birdsong trigger

Scientists found cells near the pituitary gland release a hormone in the spring in readiness for mating.

The Roslin Institute near Edinburgh and Nagoya University in Japan

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1223820220080212?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Because VictoriaPL doesn’t like dissent or facts (purchasing puppies is not a limiting factor in developing police dogs; not all puppies in a litter succeed, adding to the homeless problem directly or by displacement; “free” animals and the will to breed are the ultimate cause of homelessness and the absence of which is the ultimate solution), she deleted my posts and blocked me from responding here.

When it comes to animals, do we have the right to do whatever we want, without dissent or argument? Or do limits apply only to children and servants, the only others who are under our control and power?

Would you not call this kind of behavior, the rationalizations for and the rejection of anything against what she feels like doing, selfish? Strikes me that way. Maybe someone should tell her.

I should try to get his old shows on DVD or somewhere and watch them, because I never really did. But here’s an article that celebrates him:

http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/omag/ss_omag_200705_mbeck_f.jhtml