Animal

To: La Société du Vieux-Port de Montréal Pétition pour que les chiens en laisse soient admis sur le territoire du Vieux-Port de Montréal tout en restreignant leur accès en avant-midi seulement en période de grand achalandage, soit entre le 24 juin et la Fête du Travail (see english below) Le gouvernement fédéral possède la totalité des berges du Vieux-Montréal. Sa Société du Vieux-Port, qui gère les biens de Sa Majesté, ne tolère aucun chien, en laisse ou non, sur son territoire. Sur le site Web de la Société du Vieux-Port, on y lit : «pour des raisons sanitaires et de sécurité, les chiens ne sont malheureusement pas tolérés sur le site des Quais du Vieux-Port.» («Quais» signifie tout le territoire du Vieux-Port) Un fait demeure : le chien fait partie de la vie de nombreux Montréalais et, avec notre population vieillissante, ce nombre ira toujours en s’accroissant. C’est aussi le cas chez les résidants du Vieux-Montréal, voisins immédiats du Vieux-Port, où l’on compte beaucoup de chiens. À la recherche d’un compromis, le 20 juin 2006, notre association de propriétaires de chiens du Vieux-Montréal (clubcaninvieuxmontreal.org) transmettait une proposition à la Société du Vieux-Port. Nous leur demandions la permission d’utiliser une parcelle inoccupée de leur vaste territoire, couverte de gravier et isolée des résidences, pour qu’on y aménage une aire d’exercice canin. Nous ne demandions aucun investissement. Nous en prenions la totale responsabilité et, de plus, nous informions la Société du Vieux-Port de notre intention de travailler avec les autorités pour trouver des moyens d’inciter les maîtres délinquants – une minorité – à ramasser les excréments de leur animal. Malheureusement, le 29 septembre dernier, la Société du Vieux-Port nous communiquait son refus. Non seulement ont-ils refusé notre proposition mais, récemment des panneaux indiquant l’interdiction aux chiens ont été ajoutés et, même si vous êtes seul avec votre chien à 6h du matin dans un Vieux-Port désert, chien et maître sont chassés. Les dirigeants du Vieux-Port semblent avoir une aversion particulière envers les chiens. Pourtant, parmi leurs visiteurs assidus tels que les itinérants, les gens qui nourrissent les mouettes, les fêtards enivrés, les drogués, etc. les chiens ne sont certes pas la plus grande nuisance ou menace. Côté sécurité, la plupart des maîtres de chiens vous diront se sentir bien plus en sécurité avec leur chien dans le Vieux-Port, surtout tôt le matin. Les chiens sont nos compagnons, ils font partie de nos familles, de nos vies, de nos marches quotidiennes. Les chasser ainsi d’un territoire invitant naturellement à la marche nous semble tout à fait discriminatoire. SVP Signez notre pétition et invitez les membres de votre famille, vos collègues, vos amis à la signer aussi. MERCI! http://www.petitiononline.com/ouichien/petition.html -------------------------------------------- PETition In order for dogs on leashes to be admitted on the Montréal Old Port territory, while restricting their access to mornings during the busy peak season, between June 24 and Labor Day The Federal Government owns the entire river bank of the Old Montréal. Their Old Port of Montréal Corporation, manages the Crown property and it does not tolerate any dogs, on leash or not, on its territory. It is written on the Web site of the Old Port of Montréal Corporation : “Unfortunately, for sanitary and security reasons, dogs are not allowed on the premises of the Quays of the Old Port.” One fact remains : dogs share the lives of many people in Montréal and, with our aging population, their numbers will keep on growing. This case is similar in the Old Montréal, immediate neighbors of the Old Port, where there are many dogs. In search of a compromise, on June 20, 2006, our dog owners association of Old Montréal (clubcaninvieuxmontreal.org) delivered a proposition to the Old Port of Montréal Corporation. We asked them to grant us permission to use a small part of their vast territory, made of gravel and isolated from the residences, and make it a dog park. We did not ask for any investment. We offered them to take the entire responsibility for the park. Furthermore, we informed the Old Port Corporation of our willingness to work with the authorities in order to find a way to control delinquent dog owners – a minority – to pick-up after their dogs. Unfortunately, on September 29, the Old Port of Montréal Corporation sent us their negative answer. Besides this simple refusal, they seem to have reinforced the rules by recently adding new signs indicating that dogs are not allowed on the Old Port territory. Even if you find yourself completely alone with your dog on a leash at 6 a.m., dog and master will be hunted out. The Old Port managers seem to have a particularly strong aversion towards dogs. Among the regular visitors on their territory like the homeless, the people who feed the seagulls, the drunk, the drug users, etc. dogs are certainly not the worst nuisance or threat. For security, most of the dog owners feel much more safe with their dogs while walking on the Old Port territory, specially early in the morning. Our dogs are our companions. They are part of our families, our lives, and our daily walks. To hunt them out of what seems to us as a natural place to walk, is discriminatory. PLEASE Sign our petition and invite your family members, colleagues and friends to do the same. THANKS! Sincerely, The Undersigned http://www.petitiononline.com/ouichien/petition.html

Barn fire kills 40,000 chickens The Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, July 24, 2007 A fire last night at a large egg farm in Lyn, Ontario, near Brockville, destroyed a barn and left 40,000 chickens dead. Leeds County OPP and the Elizabethtown-Kitley Fire Department were called to Burnbrae Farms last night around 10:50 pm. Constable Wayne Scott of the OPP said the barn lost in the fire was valued at $1.2 million and the chickens around $200,000, bringing the total losses to an estimated $1.4 million range. Because of the size of the fire and the dollar value of the losses, the Fire Marshal's Office was called in to investigate. Causes of the fire are still unknown, but police say it is not considered suspicious. The investigation is ongoing.

Bravo Monsieur le Professeur

Pour nous contacter: Jacques Cerf, auteur Courriel: jcerf@foiegrasquebec.com Les éditions Carte Blanche Héléne Rudel-Tessier, directrice Courriel: carteblanche@vl.videotron.ca www.carteblanche.qc.ca

Prison Sentences Symbolize Decline of Radical Environmentist Movement July 23, 2007 — By William McCall, Associated Press EUGENE, Ore. -- More than a decade after they began setting fires across the West, remnants of the radical Earth Liberation Front stood before a federal judge, one by one, to hear her decide: Had they committed acts of domestic terrorism? First, Stanislas Meyerhoff. Quiet, shy, his hair turning gray at 30, the slightly built Meyerhoff was dwarfed by the angular expanse of the courtroom. "I was ignorant of history and economy and acted from a faulty and narrow vision as an ordinary bigot," Meyerhoff said, in May. "A million times over I apologize ... to all of you hardworking business owners, employees, researchers, firemen, investigators, attorneys and all citizens whose property was destroyed, whose holidays were ruined, whose welfare was thwarted, and whose sleep was troubled." And so a violent chapter in the environmental movement ended -- with a whimper. Once feared by some and admired by others for their willingness to use any means necessary, these militants are in decline. "Radical environmentalism failed," said James Johnston of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. "Whether radical environmentalists admit it or not, they failed." Although crimes by environmental and animal-rights militants still occur, they have been sporadic. And although authorities cannot declare victory over radical militants, the movement has been significantly weakened. Johnston and other activists, community members, investigators and experts agreed that environmental protest by arson had pretty much run its course long before "Operation Backfire," a joint task force of federal and state agencies, began making arrests in 2005. They say the environmental movement remains strong -- building on the work of grass roots activists, or supporting mainstream advocates such as former Vice President Al Gore, or going deeper underground to avoid the fate of the 10 activists brought to justice in Eugene. "The environmental problems on the planet aren't getting any better, they're getting worse," said Jim Flynn, former editor of the Earth First! Journal and a veteran of protests in Eugene. "People will do what it takes to either try and stop environmental degradation, or draw attention to it." But by 2001, the movement was already over for most of the ELF cell known as "The Family." Bound by youth, idealism and frustration over the ineffectiveness of more traditional environmental protest methods, they had turned to secret meetings, codes and stealth attacks on private and public property, setting fires in the dead of night to draw attention to their cause. Among other targets, they ignited logging trucks, a slaughterhouse, SUVs at a car dealership, ranger stations and a government lab, causing $40 million in damage from 1996 to 2001. The largest chunk of that damage was done in October 1998 to a ski resort in Vail, Colo., by William Rodgers, the man at the heart of the cell. Short, red-haired and intense, Rodgers ran down a mountainside from bucket to hidden bucket of diesel and gasoline, setting them aflame while a young woman he had recruited, Chelsea Dawn Gerlach, waited for him in the truck they had used to transport the fuel. Rodgers is dead now, committing suicide in an Arizona jail cell just before Christmas in 2005. He had been working at a book store he co-founded when an informant in Eugene set off a series of arrests. During the heyday of "The Family," Rodgers was an influential and charismatic leader. "He was a zealot in the classic sense of the word," Johnston said. For some, it went beyond charisma. He had what was called a "Svengali-like hold" on Gerlach, who was a 16-year-old high school student in Eugene when she first met Rodgers at an Earth First! camp in Idaho. She developed a crush on the 28-year-old man who had adopted the nickname "Avalon," after the mythical island where King Arthur went after his death. Gerlach immersed herself in Rodgers' writings about sabotage and incendiary devices, progressed to participation in planning and strategy for "The Family," then moved to roles in arson that "ran the gamut and included research, reconnaissance, lookout, device-assembler, driver and communique writer" -- all according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors, the source of much of what is known about the ELF cell. When the group broke up in 2001, Gerlach became romantically involved with another co-defendant, Darren Thurston, who helped her support herself by selling marijuana and ecstasy until her arrest in December 2005. By the time Gerlach was sentenced this May, her tone was contrite and repentant. Like many of her co-defendants, she claimed she had changed her ways. "It's very clear to me now that if you want to live in a world of peace and equality, you need to embody those qualities in your own heart and actions," Gerlach, now 30, told the judge. "I am grateful I have been given this opportunity to reconcile my past." Gerlach was among eight of the 10 members of "The Family" who apologized or repudiated their roles -- including Meyerhoff, who had been her boyfriend at South Eugene High School and got involved with ELF because he had fallen in love with her and wanted to prove himself to her as an "eco-warrior." Meyerhoff also had a desperate need to be accepted, seeking a surrogate family with his activist comrades before he abandoned the cause to find a life for himself, eventually enrolling in college in Virginia to study biomedical engineering. Kevin Tubbs, a Nebraska native who once worked for PETA organizing demonstrations against killing livestock, also got involved in arson as a way of proving himself, in his case, to win back a girlfriend who began an affair with another activist. When Tubbs found a new love in 2001, he told his fellow arsonists he was leaving the movement to start over and have a family. Others also chose different paths after what they considered mere flirtation with the radical tactics of their small, tightly knit cell. Kendall Tankersley was about to enter medical school when she was arrested in 2005. Daniel McGowan, a latecomer to "The Family" who also began his activist career in animal rights, went back home to his native Brooklyn to work for social justice causes, such as prisoner rights. He had married and says he had put his brief experience in Oregon behind him. Thurston, a Canadian animal rights activist turned environmentalist, presented letters from family and friends saying he dreams of returning to Canada and working with computer technology. The portrait that emerges is a band of young people, compassionate toward animals, seeking direction in life, looking to impress each other and reinforce their own sense of self-worth as much as they were looking for a cause. Mostly, they were desperate for attention for that cause. "I think that's really what all these actions are about -- is really getting public attention to some of these issues," said Flynn, who was once repeatedly splashed with pepper spray as he doggedly resisted arrest during a 1997 protest to prevent the removal of some old trees considered a landmark in Eugene. "If we were able to affect policy change through more legal means, then certainly that's the way these people would go," Flynn said. "Nobody enjoys being underground, and that lifestyle." U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales saw "The Family" in a much different light, calling the case "the largest prosecution of environmental extremists in U.S. history" who were responsible for "a broad campaign of domestic terrorism." U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken agreed -- to a point. She ruled some of their crimes fit the federal definition of terrorism but others didn't; she imposed sentences ranging from 37 months for Thurston to 13 years for Meyerhoff. McGowan, the son of a New York City police officer whose family witnessed the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, says comparing burned trees and SUVs to terrorism cheapens the meaning of the word. "It's hard to stomach being from New York and seeing the effects of terrorism ... and then to be called that and to know that's going to chase you the rest of your life," McGowan said. He points out that nobody was ever hurt in any of the 20 fires set by ELF members, although McGowan agreed with prosecutors there was always a risk. "But the reason people were not hurt, aside from luck, is because great care and attention was taken," McGowan said. "These are a group of people who are very, very much about preserving life." One of the lead investigators in the multi-agency "Operation Backfire" task force was Bob Holland, a veteran Eugene police detective who spent years tracking down "The Family." Holland said there are radical activists who are still underground, although he predicted that any violent protests in the future would more likely be carried out by individuals rather than groups, because groups are only as strong as their weakest member -- a lesson learned from the Eugene case that he also hopes serves as a deterrent. But he agreed that the Eugene group was driven largely by their need for camaraderie and a common cause at a unique moment in the history of the environmental movement. "These people were so disenfranchised," Holland said. "And they met each other and found out they weren't the only people who felt this way." Source: Associated Press Contact Info: http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=13179

1 in 4 NYC Adults Have Elevated Mercury By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 23, 2007 Filed at 6:58 p.m. ET NEW YORK (AP) -- A quarter of adults in the city have elevated levels of mercury in their blood, linked to how much fish they eat, according to survey results released Monday by the health department. Rates were higher among more affluent residents compared to those in lower income groups and were high among Asians, who eat more fish, the survey showed. While mercury at the levels found in New Yorkers doesn't really pose a risk for most adults, the city suggested that children under 6 years old and pregnant and breast-feeding women avoid fish with high mercury contents over concerns that it increases the risk of cognitive problems in children. ''It's not bad for the average adult who isn't reproducing,'' said Daniel Kass, assistant commissioner for environmental surveillance and policy at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. ''For a brief period of life, during pregnancy, while breast-feeding, it would be best to keep mercury levels down.'' The health department released a brochure to inform people about the issue. It tells pregnant and breast-feeding women which types of fish have the lowest mercury counts and can be eaten more often and which should be eaten rarely or not at all. Pregnant women could eat tilapia, herring or whiting up to five times per week because those fish are very low in mercury, based on an adult serving size of 6 ounces, the health department said. But they should not eat Chilean sea bass, swordfish or fresh tuna, which are too high in mercury, it said. The mercury information came from the city's Health and Nutrition Examination Survey done in 2004. The survey, modeled on one done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the first one of its kind done by a city, the health department said. Among the survey's findings: -- New Yorkers in the highest income bracket averaged mercury levels of 3.6 micrograms per liter, compared to 2.4 micrograms per liter in the lowest income group. -- Asian women had mercury levels at 4.1 micrograms per liter; and among foreign-born Chinese women, 66 percent had mercury levels at or above 5 micrograms per liter, the point at which it must be reported to the state for monitoring. -- Among women in the 20-49 age bracket, the average level was 2.64 micrograms per liter, compared to a national average of 0.83 micrograms per liter among women in a similar age group. Kass highlighted that fish has health benefits and that the city was in no way recommending that people stop eating it. He said the concern was making sure pregnant women had the best information. ''It's so easy to maintain a healthy fish diet without burdening your body with a lot of mercury,'' he said. The health department brochure says to avoid fish caught in the East or Hudson rivers or in New York Harbor, which may have other contaminants. The brochure, available through the city's 311 telephone information hot line, comes in English, Spanish and Chinese. Kass said that since the mercury levels were higher among Chinese women, the health department would be reaching out to groups that work with the Chinese community to make sure the word gets out. The health department also is planning a study of fish eaten in Asian communities to test them for mercury levels. ------ On the Net: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: http://www.nyc.gov/health http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Mercury-Levels.html?ex=1185854400&en=4ba5d905842b6870&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Most slaughtered whales 'pregnant' July 24, 2007 - More than half the whales killed by Japanese whalers in the Antarctic last summer were pregnant, the Humane Society International (HSI) said today. The group said that of the 505 Antarctic minke whales killed, 262 of them were pregnant females, while one of the three giant fin whales killed was also pregnant. The findings came from a review of Japanese reports from their most recent 2006-07 whale hunt in Antarctic waters and were released ahead of the resumption of a Federal Court case the HSI is taking against Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd. Japanese whalers take hundreds of whales each year in Antarctic waters for so-called scientific study purposes. "These are gruesome statistics that the Japanese government dresses up as science", HSI spokeswoman Nicola Beynon said in a statement. She said the HSI was hoping the court would set a date for a full hearing of the case at today's directions hearing. "The full hearing will be to determine whether Japanese whalers are in breach of Australian law when they hunt whales in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in Antarctica and whether the court will issue an injunction for the hunt to be stopped," Ms Beynon said. "HSI will ask for the final hearing to be held as soon as possible before the hunt starts up again this summer. "It has been three years since HSI launched the case and many hurdles have been overcome to get to this point. "It horrifies Australians to know that pregnant humpback whales breeding in the warm waters off Australia this winter will be targeted by the Japanese hunters in Antarctic waters this Christmas." AAP http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/most-slaughtered-whales-pregnant/2007/07/24/1185043072017.html ----------------------- http://www.hsi.org.au/

Rats and cats work to sniff out mines Tue Jul 24, 7:08 PM ET BOGOTA, Colombia - Who says Tom and Jerry can't be friends? For the past year, a special Colombian police unit has been locking rats in cages with cats as part of a project to train the rodents to sniff out the more than 100,000 landmines planted mostly by leftist rebels across this conflict-wracked Andean country. Bringing the rats face to face with an enemy allows them to stay more focused once they are released, veterinarian Luisa Mendez, who's been working with the animals for two years, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Here the cats play with the rats instead of attacking them," Mendez said. "The cats wear shields on their nails so they can't cause any injuries and as a result the rats feel comfortable playing around them." The rodents are taught to freeze in front of mines, but had difficulty staying put for fear of being attacked by predators. Col. Javier Cifuentes, who oversees the project, said the rats' success rate in mine detection is 96 percent. Unlike dogs, the rats weigh a lot less and therefore don't trigger explosions. Colombia is home to the world's largest number of land mine victims. Last year, there were 1,108 victims, or about one every eight hours, the government says. Nearly a quarter of the victims die from their injuries. The nation's rat project was recognized last month as one of the five most innovative projects at a conference of behavior psychologists in Mexico, and its initial findings will soon be presented at a similar conference in Argentina. VOIR PHOTO http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070724/ap_on_fe_st/odd_colombia_landmines

Trois baleines prises au piège 24 juillet 2007 Trois signalements de baleines prises dans des engins de pêche ont été reçus par le Réseau québécois d'urgences pour les mammifères marins. Au Labrador, un rorqual a finalement été retrouvé mort, empêtré dans des filins. Au large de Blanc-Sablon, un petit rorqual a réussi à se libérer seul des filets dans lesquels il s'était emmêlé. Selon les témoignages, la baleine s'est blessée à la bouche. Enfin, au sud de l'île d'Anticosti, des pêcheurs ont repéré une baleine prise dans les câbles des casiers à homard. Quand les pêcheurs sont revenus sur les lieux, la bête avait disparu. Personne ne sait si la bête a réussi à se libérer ou si elle s'est noyée. Le Réseau québécois d'urgences tente de trouver des solutions pour réduire ce type d'accidents tant au profit des baleines que pour celui des pêcheurs dont le matériel est perdu ou endommagé. http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/est-quebec/2007/07/24/006-baleines-prises.asp

Oui il a eu chaud surtout quand il a vu son long cou qui se tordait pour essayer de lui happer les doigts Il est plus brave que moi, même si je faisais celle qui l'était J'étais étonnée de voir une si longue tête sur une tortue. On dirait un serpent... C'est sûrement pour ça qu'on l'appelle aussi chélydre serpentine !

11-07-2007 Les pompiers de la municipalité de St-Honoré de Shenley ont du combattre un incendie dans une porcherie. Près de 200 cochons ont péri dans les décombres. La foudre serait en cause...(J'ai peut-être déjà posté cette nouvelle dans cette rubrique- à vérifier)

20-7-2007 Un incendie a éclaté dans une ferme du rang de l'Hétrière Ouest à St-Charles de Bellechasse. Plus d'une centaine de vaches laitières ont péri dans cet incendie dont l'origine serait accidentelle On n'en a pas du tout parlé dans les journaux... Trouvé sur le site 911 http://www.zone911.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2287&Itemid=1 ----------------------- Et en voici une autre dont on n'a pas non plus parlé dans les journaux: 17-07-2007 Un conducteur de semi-remorque a perdu le contrôle de son camion sur la route 235 à St-Pie près de St-Hyacinthe. L'accident est survenu dans une courbe près du rang Double. Des dizaines de cochons étaient à l'intérieur de la remorque et une dizaine ont péri alors que les autres ont été sauvés et embarqués dans un autre camion. Le conducteur s'en est tiré avec quelques égratignures... Trouvé dans Zone 911 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17-07-2007 Une violente collision est survenue vers 22 heures sur la route 173, route du Président Kennedy à St-Henri/Québec. Deux véhicules ont percuté 2 chevaux qui se trouvaient en plein milieu de la route, sans surveillance. Sur le coup, l'un des deux chevaux est décédé, alors que l'autre, blessé a été retrouvé un peu plus tard non loin des lieux. zone 911

Moi non plus je ne savais pas que nous avions de si grosses tortues au Québec ! Lorsque j'ai vu cette premiere tortue, j'ai même pensé qu'elle pouvait être perdue... qu'elle appartenait peut-être à quelqu'un ! Toutes les tortues du Canada sont en voie d'extinction et cette tortue est particulièrement vulnérable car elle est utilisée dans la cuisine asiatique pour faire de la soupe ... «aphrodisiaque»

Liver Let Die A visit to the nation's largest foie gras farm sheds light on a growing debate. by David Snyder FAIR OR FOWL: A Hudson Valley employee performs gavage, the process of tube-feeding ducks to produce foie gras. Photo By: David Snyder Feathers are flying in the battle that will determine whether you can serve foie gras in Philadelphia. The bill Councilman Jack Kelly proposed last year that would ban the sale of foie gras — the fattened livers of ducks and geese — will reportedly not be addressed until at least January. Regardless, animal rights activists are protesting restaurants in Center City, arguing that gavage, the tube-feeding process used to fatten the birds' livers, is inhumane. A local animal rights group, Hugs for Puppies, and its director, Nick Cooney, are fronting the crusade. The group's literature contains photographs of ducks in vomit-covered pens; other images feature what appears to be a dead bird with food caked in its mouth, along with a caption suggesting that the animal died by suffocating on regurgitated food. But is that really how the ducks are treated? I wanted to find out for myself, firsthand. So I arranged a visit to Hudson Valley Foie Gras in Ferndale, New York, the largest of the three foie gras farms in the country. Terry McNally, co-owner of Fairmount's London Grill, joined me on the trip. Last month, the only foie gras dish she served was a hanger steak with foie gras green peppercorn butter. It was enough to attract protesters. According to McNally, their tactics have ranged from chants and name-calling (addressing individuals as "duck rapists") to firing bullhorns directly in her face. Other restaurant owners have taken foie gras items off their menus, but so far, McNally hasn't backed down. "We don't believe that, overall, we should be told what to eat," she says. As we talked on the drive, it became clear that there is more at issue than animal welfare — the way McNally sees it, her business is at stake as well. London has 70 outdoor seats that she needs to turn over at least twice a night to make payroll. "With the bullhorns and the screaming, you can't sit there and dine," she says. "That's taking money away from the waiter and from us." McNally believes the protesters' tactics cross the line. On one occasion, she says, the protesters insulted a diner by calling her fat. And they're also rattling McNally's employees. She's installed video cameras at her restaurant and may seek an injunction to curtail protests. (I planned to ask Cooney to respond, but he failed to show up for our pre-arranged interview. He later contacted me to explain that he missed our appointment due to being in jail for an unrelated protest. The charge was later dropped.) McNally and I arrived at the farm around noon and met Izzay Yanay, co-owner of Hudson Valley. A former member of the Israeli Defense Force, Yanay projects an intense, almost defiant pride when showing off his farm. "Make them come — all of them," he says. He's entertained roughly two tours a week for the past 20 years, hosting chefs and journalists alike. He promises unrestricted access and encourages me to take pictures. Dr. Lawrence Bartholf, a practicing livestock veterinarian who operates independent of the farm, accompanies us. Bartholf often chaperones Hudson Valley tours to answer questions related to the birds' physiology "It's one thing to use facts to argue a point," he says. "But when [protesters] use outright lies and distortions and half-truths, that's where I draw the line." Ducks and geese have a natural ability to store fat in their livers for use during migration. Since the time of the pharaohs, people have been tube-feeding birds to stimulate that ability and eventually harvest their livers for consumption. Hudson Valley uses only the male Moulard, the offspring of a female Pekin and a male Muscovy. Unlike geese and pure-bred ducks, the Moulard is disease-resistant, less fragile and less nervous around humans. Our first stop is the nursery. Scores of hatchlings, barely one hour old, mill about. A small piece of plywood divides the room, separating us from the chicks. As soon as we walk in, they swarm toward us. "They're looking for any kind of guidance," Yanay says above their chirping. "They will lose that behavior in a couple of days." To illustrate this, Yanay takes us to another nursery room where the ducks are a week old. When he walks into the room, the ducks scurry away. When McNally cradles one of the chicks, Yanay tells us what he explains to kids who pet the ducks on the head to show affection. "A mother duck doesn't pet her ducks on the head," he says. "If you really want to show affection, puke in his mouth." We all laugh at Yanay's rehearsed joke, but it's a lesson necessary to understanding gavage. "Why am I saying that?" he asks. "Because ducks are not people." Bartholf echoes the point when we arrive at the next building. After four weeks in the nursery, the ducks arrive here, where they will stay until they are 12 weeks old. Inside, it's dark, cool and dry — but the ducks appear to be comfortable. Yanay says they prefer it. "People would like it to be lighter and warmer, but they don't understand duck management," Bartholf explains. "We make a big mistake when we transfer our preferences onto another species." At 2 p.m., the real show begins —Yanay takes us to watch the gavage process. The room houses four rows of pens. Each pen is 4 by 6 feet and contains 10 to 11 birds. There are approximately 350 ducks in the room and each one is at least 12 weeks old. The pens are remarkably clean; they sit above long troughs that channel away waste. Huge fans are churning, keeping the room cool. Once the ducks arrive here, they're fed dry pellets made of corn and soy three times a day for the next 28 days, at which point they'll be slaughtered. During that period, the amount of food they are given will increase gradually from 80 grams to 400 grams. More importantly, the ducks will be fed by the same person throughout the entire process. Stress in ducks can be assessed by measuring levels of corticosterone (a hormone produced in the adrenal gland) in their blood. Bartolf cites recent studies by Dr. Daniel Guémené, the leading expert on the physiological effects of gavage, showing that ducks with babies in the wild were under more stress than the ducks being fed through gavage. "Nature herself has a situation more stressed than we have here," he explains. Studies have also shown that as the ducks become more familiar with the human feeder, they become less stressed. To ensure that the workers will not miss a single feeding, Yanay provides free housing on the farm. Employees also have an incentive to treat the ducks with care — their bonuses are tied to the number and quality of the livers they deliver. We watch as one of the workers climbs into a pen to begin the feeding. "The question you have to ask yourself," Yanay says, "is not what you would feel, but how do you see that these ducks feel." I was not sure what to expect. But what happened next, quite frankly, was anticlimactic. The feeder sits down on a plastic stool and corrals the ducks behind a piece of plywood to segregate the ducks once he begins to feed them. He picks up a duck by the neck, places it between his legs and carefully slides a stainless steel funnel into the duck's esophagus, which is expandable and lined with cornified epithelium (layers of tough, callous skin). Unlike humans, ducks have no gag reflex. The feeder then uses a cup to pour a calculated amount of food into the funnel. A small motor inside the funnel turns an auger to distribute the food quickly. Bartholf notes that the ducks can still breathe while the tube is in their mouths because, unlike humans, a duck's windpipe opens in the middle of the tongue. He then removes the tube, moves the duck aside and reaches behind the panel for another duck. : David Snyder The whole process lasts roughly 15 seconds. I watched the process over and over — with different feeders and with ducks at various stages of the 28-day cycle — carefully inspecting every angle. It was the same each time: The ducks were unfazed, almost comfortable in the routine. Was I missing something? The feeding looked nothing like the videos on the activists' web sites or the literature distributed at local protests. There was no regurgitation. No signs of mistreatment. No signs of suffering. Were the feeders merely on company manners? Unlikely — feeding these ducks appears to be an acquired skill that is not easily faked. Turns out we weren't the only ones enlightened by the tour. Two weeks earlier, restaurateur Danny Meyer — owner of New York City's Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern, among other award-winning restaurants — visited Hudson Valley with two of his chefs and one of his general managers. "We felt ignorant having only read and heard things about foie gras production," Meyer shared via e-mail. "We wanted to see the farm for ourselves so that we would be able to intelligently inform ourselves on such a personal choice." After visiting, Meyer says he's comfortable with his restaurants serving foie gras. "Based on what they saw and felt, to a one, every person has chosen to continue to serve foie gras," he added. "Based on what I experienced, I am fully at peace with those choices." (editorial@citypaper.net) http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/07/05/liver-let-die

Foie Gras Fracas BY AMY SMITH jULY 23, 2007 Dylan Carrico paints over graffiti at Aquarelle. Photo By John Anderson Animal rights activists who vandalized at least seven Downtown restaurants that sell foie gras or veal may be unintentionally hog-tying the efforts of a separate animal rights campaign that is focusing exclusively on banning the sale of foie gras. "Obviously it's somebody who has their own agenda, because we're only working on getting foie gras off of restaurant menus," said Noah Cooper, a co-founder of the fledgling Central Texas Animal Defense. "We're not currently working on any veal campaigns." Cooper denies any connection between his group and the serial saboteurs who spray-painted obscenities on the facades of several Downtown dining establishments after closing time July 2 or early July 3. The vandalized businesses range from homegrown fine-dining bistros to chain restaurants that lean more heavily toward veal dishes. The graffiti guerrillas used a bright-orange water-based paint that is reasonably easy to scrub off of most surfaces. However, one of the restaurant victims, Aquarelle, required more than $100 worth of work to repair the damage to its turn-of-the-century home, which includes the original double doors imported from England. Only the two locally owned businesses – Aquarelle, at 606 Rio Grande, and Jezebel, at 914 Congress – filed vandalism reports with the Austin Police Department, and they initially were believed to be the only targets. Fox News Austin reported Monday, however, that five other restaurants were also tagged during the same spray-painting spree and that the culprits posted photos of their "work" on the Internet. These restaurant targets included Eddie V's, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Fleming's, Truluck's, and Spaghetti Warehouse, which offers veal parmigiana on its menu. Cooper, an Austin newcomer from Florida, says he's never heard of some of the businesses, namely because they fall outside of his group's single-issue menu item – foie gras. "I don't condone vandalism," he said. "We would much rather focus on reaching out to these restaurants and their customers." The group has written or spoken to the owners of 15 to 20 restaurants, Cooper said. Anti-foie gras vandalism covers Jezebel's windows. Photo courtesy of Jezebel Restaurant Sales of the plumped-up livers of ducks and geese have grown dramatically over the last decade in U.S. fine-dining establishments. As with most other animals raised for human consumption, the foie gras production process isn't pretty. The pricey delicacy arrives on one's plate by means of force-feeding the waterfowl – typically duck in the U.S. – with a pneumatic tube in order to fatten the liver before slaughter. While the dish has its origins in ancient Egypt, foie gras has long been an important part of France's cultural and cuisine identity. Controversy over the production and sale of foie gras has gained steam in the last couple of years. More than a dozen countries have banned its sale within their borders; California has passed a statewide ban that goes into effect in 2012, and a similar ban is already in place in Chicago, although city officials are mulling a reversal of the ordinance. The national Humane Society has joined other animal rights groups in opposing foie gras, while the American Veterinary Medicine Association is expected to vote on an anti-foie-gras resolution as early as Saturday, during its annual convention in Washington, D.C. The organization has rejected similar resolutions four times, according to the association's website. Because foie gras is more closely associated with high-end diners, it's uncertain whether the protests will have the same impact as the tuna-dolphin debate of more than a decade ago. So far, the Driskill Grill is the only restaurant to stop serving the item. Ron Weiss, owner of the venerable Jeffrey's restaurant, said he considered taking foie gras off the menu but decided to leave it on after doing some research and consulting with the restaurant's executive chef and staff. Cooper, meanwhile, says he'll continue trying to convince the 15 to 20 restaurants on his contact list to stop selling foie gras. He says his group is taking a different approach with Jezebel – twice-weekly pickets in front of the restaurant – because owner/chef Parind Vora refuses to meet with Central Texas Animal Defense. Vora says he's dismissive of the group because "they don't know what they're talking about." The medical-school-dropout-turned-chef says there's no scientific evidence to support the notion that force-feeding ducks is cruel and inhumane. "Their physical makeup is very, very different," he said, explaining, in so many words, that ducks have no gag reflex and don't suffer from the fattening-up feeding process of inserting a tube down their throats. "Compared to other types of animal production, foie gras production is a country club," he said. "It's a very artisan product. You're not throwing thousands of carcasses into a hopper that's going to grind it into meat." Vora opened his restaurant a year ago, to largely favorable reviews. But the twice-weekly picketers are not easy on the independent restaurant, where Vora serves as multitasker extraordinaire. Not only is he the chef and owner of the business, but he also cooks all the dishes on the menu. "I'd rather not have this kind of publicity," he said of the recent media coverage. "I'd rather be able to go on and run a restaurant and have it do well or do bad based on the merits." Aquarelle co-owner Teresa Wilson said that while she was very angry when she saw the orange-splattered defacing of her restaurant (where veal is currently absent from the menu), her mood improved considerably just hours after cleaning up the graffiti mess. "That Tuesday night," Wilson said, "we sold out of foie gras." Copyright 1995-2007 Austin Chronicle Corp. All rights reserved. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:501927

Opinion Lettres: Foie gras et intelligence Frédéric Dupuy, Montréal, 10 juillet 2007 Édition du lundi 16 juillet 2007 Ainsi donc, le RAG, un groupe de promotion du végétarisme et de défense des droits des animaux, a semble-t-il découvert quelques pratiques pas très reluisantes chez un des principaux producteurs de canard gras de la province. Il y a des lois et des normes en matière d'élevage d'animaux de boucherie et, si l'entreprise visée les enfreint, qu'elle en paye le prix. Il me semble en effet aller de soi que nous devons le plus grand respect aux animaux qui finissent dans nos assiettes. Là où l'on commence à sentir la supercherie, c'est quand on consulte le site Web de ces vertueux chevaliers de la table végétarienne: une enquête québécoise sur le foie gras (majoritairement en anglais) tient plus du film d'horreur de propagande que de l'investigation sérieuse et la rubrique foie gras (en français, quel effort!) est, pour qui connaît le moindrement le sujet, d'une objectivité qui ressemble à celle des désormais célèbres Minutes du patrimoine. On n'échappe pas non plus à la liste des glorieux pays, villes ou États qui ont banni le foie gras de leur sol (on notera avec une pointe d'humour l'exemple de la ville de Chicago, connue évidemment pour sa contribution à la gastronomie mondiale et pour le grand cas qu'elle fait de la qualité de vie dans ses élevages de poulets, de porcs, etc.). Des méga porcheries, de l'élevage en batterie des volailles, du confinement des volailles au Québec, nulle trace dans le discours du RAG... On fait ce qu'on peut pour se donner de la visibilité, peu importe la grossièreté du procédé... Je suis tout à fait d'accord pour que les éleveurs d'animaux de boucherie se conforment à des normes exigeantes en matière de qualité de vie des animaux dont ils ont la responsabilité... J'aimerais aussi que l'on fasse appel à mon intelligence lorsqu'on veut promouvoir une cause. Les gens ne sont pas des imbéciles, ce que le RAG ne semble pas avoir compris. http://www.ledevoir.com/2007/07/16/150467.html

AFP - Jeudi 19 juillet, 13h17SEOUL (AFP) - La soupe de chien est la "meilleure cuisine" qui puisse se déguster durant les fortes chaleurs estivales, a décrété jeudi l'agence officielle nord-coréenne KCNA. La "boshintang" (littéralement "soupe de santé") fait la joie des "ouvriers en sueur dans les restaurants traditionnels de la capitale Pyongyang", assure le porte-parole du régime communiste. La soupe de chien, dégustée quasi-clandestinement en Corée du Sud capitaliste voisine, a pignon sur rue en Corée du Nord. Selon les transfuges, elle est même devenue un mets de luxe dans le pays en proie à une pénurie alimentaire chronique. Egalement appelée "dangogi" ("viande exquise"), la soupe de chien avait été popularisée par le fondateur de la Corée du Nord, Kim Il-sung, père de l'actuel dirigeant Kim Jong-il. http://fr.news.yahoo.com/afp/20070719/tod-coreenord-gastronomie-animaux-insoli-7f81b96_1.html

Le lundi 23 juillet 2007 Une ourse et ses deux petits s’urbanisent La mère et ses deux petits ont été aperçus dimanche soir, vers 20 heures, au sommet du centre municipal de ski. Après s’être gavé de petits fruits, le trio a repris le chemin de la forêt comme il le fait depuis déjà quelques jours. Photo: André Mercier André Mercier Le Nouvelliste Collaboration spéciale La Tuque Depuis quelques jours, le spectacle est quotidien. Une mère ourse de forte stature et ses deux petits, s’offrent un festin de petits fruits sauvages à la vue du tout La Tuque, savourant ce que leur offre la nature à quelques centaines de mètres du milieu urbain. Le trio peut être observé vers 20 heures, en début de soirée. La mère et ses oursons empruntent un chemin qui longe le sommet du centre municipal de ski, font la «cueillette» des petits fruits et disparaissent après une vingtaine de minutes. La mère se dresse invariablement sur ses pattes arrière lorsqu’un bruit lui parvient, cherchant à protéger ses petits de la moindre menace. «Une cage a été installée, mais nous souhaitons qu’ils ne soient que de passage, car il y a un élément important à considérer, la mère est avec ses petits», explique le chef de service du bureau local du ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, Alain Forest, précisant qu’il est délicat de séparer la famille. «C’est un animal sauvage qui est dans son habitat. C’est la saison des petits fruits, alors il est normal d’en voir plus se déplacer», ajoute M. Forest, précisant qu’aucun cas n’a été signalé près des résidences, ce qui changerait la façon d’intervenir des agents de la faune. ... http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070723/CPNOUVELLISTE/70723143/5052/CPNOUVELLISTE

Le lundi 23 juillet 2007 Alerte pour les requins des Galapagos Photo Reuters Agence France-Presse Quito Les requins des îles Galapagos, une des espèces les plus menacées, sont en grand danger après un décret présidentiel en Equateur qui autorise la commercialisation des ailerons à la suite de prises accidentelles, a averti lundi une organisation de défense de l'environnement. «En théorie, n'importe quel type de pêche est interdit dans les Galapagos mais il est difficile de contrôler la capture d'espèces et aujourd'hui, ce décret va générer davantage de pêches illégales dans la zone», a déclaré à l'AFP Ricardo Buitron, coordinateur de projet de l'organisation non gouvernementale équatorienne Accion Ecologica. Au contraire, selon la ministre équatorienne des Affaires étrangères Maria Fernanda Espinosa, le nouveau texte «aidera à la transparence du commerce des ailerons, à éviter le marché noir et à établir des mécanismes de contrôles efficaces». De plus, «les bénéfices que peut générer la vente des ailerons iront directement aux pêcheurs (...) et non aux intermédiaires et aux contrebandiers», a souligné la ministre sur la chaîne de télévision Teleamazonas. Pour Sean O'Hearn, directeur de Sea Shepherd, une ONG de contrôle et de vigilance de l'archipel, le secteur industriel sera le grand bénéficiaire du décret. «Plus de 70 millions de requins sont pris chaque année dans le monde. Avec cette décision, beaucoup se réjouissent et parlent de pêche libre. Les pêcheurs artisans proposeront le produit (l'aileron) aux industriels qui le réintroduiront sur le continent», a déclaré M. O'Hearn au journal El Comercio. Situées dans l'océan Pacifique, à environ 1 000 km de l'Equateur, les dix-neuf îles des Galapagos et la réserve marine qui les entoure constituent un musée et un laboratoire vivants de l'évolution uniques au monde. Les îles Galapagos sont inscrites par l'Unesco (organisation des Nations unies pour l'éducation, la science, et la culture) au patrimoine mondial depuis 1978 et depuis le 26 juin dernier, elles figurent sur sa liste du patrimoine mondial en péril. http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070723/CPENVIRONNEMENT/70723157/6108/CPENVIRONNEMENT

Bonjour les filles, Il y a quelques jours, alors que nous nous promenions en vélo vers Vaudreuil Soulange, nous avons vu 2 énormes tortues. La première se trouvait tout près de la piste cyclable. Nous nous sommes arrêtés pour voir ce qu'elle était en train de manger et il s'agissait d'un morceau de banane qu'un cycliste avait probablement jeté par terre. Comme elle était très très près de la piste cyclable et que j'avais peur qu'elle traverse et qu'elle se fasse happer par un vélo ou encore attapper par un «malfaisant»..., j'ai demandé à Peter de l'orienter de l'autre côté (face au lac) avec son morceau de banane.... P. a tenté de la soulever par en dessous de sa carapace et elle s'est aussitôt mise à sauter et à faire claquer sa bouche... Sa tête au très long cou était sorti et P. a eu peur qu'elle le morde... Je disais à P., «N'aies donc pas peur, une tortue c'est pas méchant...» mais j'avoues que je n'y aurait pas touchée moi-même Au bout de 3 reprises, il a finalement réussi à l'orienter de l'autre côté ! Je n'avais jamais vu une tortue aussi énorme ! P. me dit qu'elle devait peser un bon 40 livres... Malheureusement, je n'avais pas ma caméra ce jour-là pour la photographier. En faisant quelques recherches sur le Net, je viens de la trouver sur un forum d'oiseaux du Québec. Il s'agit d'une tortue happante, qu'on appelle aussi tortue hargneuse ou chélydre serpentine. En revenant de notre randonnée, près d'un resto au bord de l'eau, nous en avons vu une deuxième, sous un érable et aussi grosse que la première ! Voici la tortue en question ET VOICI CE QU'ON DIT DE CETTE TORTUE: «Cette tortue est la plus grosse du Québec et la plus commune. Elle possède une forme très archaïque et est très dangereuse. Elle doit être considérée comme un alligator. Une chélydre de 12 kg (26 livres) peut facilement sectionner un doigt et peut sortir son cou pour happer à près de 45 cm de distance. Elle est omnivore et peut pratiquement manger n'importe quoi, de la végétation à la charogne en passant par des poissons et des canards. On a déjà répertorié des individus pesant 22,5 kg (50 livres). Sa répartition est très vaste. Elle monte jusqu'au Lac-St-Jean mais n'est pas retrouvée à l'est de Québec. » http://reptiledecie.iquebec.com/reptiledecie/tortues.htm

Mon 9 Jul 2007 Malaysia seizes 900 monkeys from poachers KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has smashed a ring of wildlife smugglers and seized more than 900 poached monkeys destined for China or the Netherlands in what officials called their biggest seizure involving the animals so far, media said. Wildlife officials arrested four men after finding the long-tailed macaques confined in cages and sacks during a raid on a plantation in the southern state of Johor, the state news agency Bernama said on Monday. "We believe the monkeys would end up as food in China, where they are said to be an aphrodisiac, and for laboratory studies in Holland," wildlife official Celescoriano Razond, who led the raid, told reporters. A heap of more than 100 dead monkeys was also found nearby. All belonged to the Macaca fascicularis species, which is native to southeast Asia, and prefers forested areas near water, where it lives off fruit and small animals such as frogs or crabs. Males are taller and heavier than females, with larger canine teeth, but both sexes have tails ranging between about 1 foot (0.3 m) and 2 ft (0.7 m) and usually exceeding the length of their bodies, says the Web site of the National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Some of the starving animals in Malaysia had started eating their newborn offspring in desperation or had hurt each other in fights. "This is highly unusual behaviour among monkeys because they are very protective of each other," Razond, who led Saturday's raid, was quoted by the Star newspaper as saying. The confiscated monkeys, which are worth about 50,000 ringgit (7,217 pounds) on the black market, would be released in stages in protected forest reserves across the nation in order to prevent them being recaptured, Razond added. Three of the four men arrested face charges under wildlife protection laws but the fourth, an Indonesian whose visa had expired, was handed over to immigration authorities. (c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest_international.cfm?id=1070822007 Last updated: 09-Jul-07 14:00 BST

Australian farmers urged to raise kangaroos, not sheep Wed Jul 11, 1:31 AM ET SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian farmers should rear kangaroos rather than sheep because they do less damage to the country's environment, according to a prominent ecologist. University of Sydney ecologist Chris Dickman believes much Australian farmland used for sheep or wheat would be better suited to kangaroos, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Dickman said farmers in areas with low rainfall would receive a better return from kangaroos because they are better suited to dry conditions, the ABC reported. "I think it's a great alternative to start looking at in areas where over-grazing by sheep just hasn't worked and where incomes are coming down where it is not sustainable," he said at a biodiversity conference in Sydney this week. Dickman said overgrazing by sheep eroded topsoil, unlike kangaroos which were light on the environment. However Australians have long believed the country gained prosperity "on the sheep's back" and farmers indicated that kangaroo farming was impractical. New South Wales Farmers Association vice-president Graham Morphett also said there was a lack of demand kangaroo meat. "Farmers are always looking for new ways and new markets. They would do it if it was a possible but I haven't heard of any people changing over," he told the ABC. Australia has almost 60 million wild kangaroos that support a market in meat and other products worth about 200 million dollars (172 million US a year) according to the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia's website. The website www.kangaroo-industry.asn.au lists a range of delicacies for a marsupial menu, including herb and caraway crusted kangaroo escalopes on olive polenta, wallaby bolognese and seared kangaroo with Guinness glaze. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070711/sc_afp/australiaenvironmentfarmkangaroooffbeat

Tout-à-fait d'accord !

Foie gras et violence envers les animaux : Oie Naudière réfute les accusations par Julie Roy Article mis en ligne le 22 juillet 2007 à 16:03 Lisez les 2 commentaires à propos de cet article / Réagissez à cet article Beaucoup de gens ont fortement réagi lorsque la nouvelle sur Élevages Périgord a jailli. Alain Dansereau aurait même reçu une trentaine de menaces de violence et de mort de la part d’internautes. - Photo Julie Roy Foie gras et violence envers les animaux : Oie Naudière réfute les accusations Alain Dansereau, d’Oie Naudière située à Saint-Alexis, condamne les gestes qui se sont produits à Élevages Périgord, mais il n’approuve pas du tout les revendications du groupe Réseau d’action globale (RAQ) qui demande carrément l’interdiction de la production du foie gras. La semaine dernière, le RAG a étalé dans les médias des images sur les activités de la ferme Élevages Périgord, dans lesquelles on voit des animaux qui auraient subi des mauvais traitements. Par le fait même, le groupe a profité des tribunes qui leur étaient offertes pour demander l’interdiction de la production du foie gras, parce que cette industrie serait cruelle pour les animaux. Alain Danserau a vu les images. Il dit avoir été déçu, scandalisé, mais aussi surpris. « Je fais abattre mes oies là-bas et je n’ai jamais vu cela. » Il souligne également que les normes sont sévères quand vient le temps de l’abattage et il se demande si la vidéo est véridique dans son entier. « Je ne sais pas si la vidéo est vraie à 100 %, car il y a des inspecteurs qui sont là en quasi permanence à cet endroit. » Sans pour autant atténuer la portée des images, il souligne qu’aucune entreprise n’est à l’abri de mauvais employés. En ce qui concerne la demande du groupe d’interdire le foie gras, M. Dansereau n’est pas inquiet. « Le foie gras est là pour rester. Ce qui m’inquiète c’est l’ensemble des productions. On s’attaque à nous parce que nous produisons un produit de luxe, mais qui vont être les prochains ? La prochaine fois, est-ce qu’on va s’attaquer au homard que l’on fait cuire vivant ? Est-ce qu’on va demander d’interdire l’abattage des porcs ou des vaches ? » M. Danserau réfute les accusations du groupe qui prétendent que l’industrie du foie gras est cruelle pour les animaux. Il souligne qu’à la suite de l’opération de gavage, ses oies paradent souvent devant l’abreuvoir. Pour prouver ses dires, il invite quiconque à venir voir comment les opérations sont effectuées. Le producteur croit que la position du groupe est extrémiste. « Ils font de l’intégrisme anthropomorphique. Ils prêtent des sentiments humains à des animaux. C’est le syndrome Walt Disney. Qu’est-ce que ces gens connaissent au travail des agriculteurs ? Je ne fais pas souffrir mes oies parce que si c’était le cas, je n’aurais pas de bon foie gras. C’est prouvé, si tu ne t’occupes pas bien de tes animaux, ils ne te donneront pas de bons rendements. » M. Dansereau croit que c’est l’exploitation des animaux par l’homme qui horripile l’organisation. Ce à quoi il répond : « C’est un échange entre moi et mes oies. Je les nourris et elles me donnent du foie gras. Si on prend cela dans une vision plus large, tout ceux qui travaillent pour un patron se font exploiter parce que celui-ci fait de l’argent sur leur dos. Ça n’a pas de sens ». Profitez-en pour aller voter: Devrait-on interdire le foie gras ? La question du net 19 juillet 2007 Oui: 57 % Non: 43 % http://www.laction.com/article-123677-Foie-gras-et-violence-envers-les-animaux-Oie-Naudiere-refute-les-accusations.html