Federal Judge Strikes Down California's Ban on Foie Gras

Well, for once a bit of decent political news out of California.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Foie gras can go back on California menus, judge rules":

Foie gras can go back on the menu.

U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson issued a ruling Wednesday overturning California’s law banning the sale of the fatty goose liver.

“I’ve been jumping up and down for about 90 minutes,” said Napa Valley chef Ken Frank, who was not a party to the suit, but has been active in the pro-foie-gras movement.

Foie gras was outlawed in California by a bill that passed the state Legislature in 2004 and went into effect in 2012.

The ban had been challenged by the Hot’s Restaurant Group in California (which includes Hot’s Cantina in Northridge, Four Daughters in Manhattan Beach and Hot’s Kitchen in Hermosa Beach); Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a producer in New York; and a group of Canadian foie gras farmers called Association des Eleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Quebec.

The judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it interferes with an existing federal law that regulates poultry products.

Last year, the courts rejected a different argument against the state ban -- that it improperly tried to regulate interstate commerce. But the new argument -- referred to by lawyers as “preemption” -- succeeded. The state could appeal Wilson’s ruling, but, for now, foie gras devotees can celebrate.

“Foie gras is legal in California and will be on my menu tonight,” said Frank, chef at La Toque restaurant. “I haven’t been without foie gras a single day since the ban went into effect, but tonight is the first time I’ve been able to charge for it.”

Frank had been sending diners complimentary servings of foie gras along with a glass of wine and a card explaining that “this is a gift and an act of political protest against a law we think is unwise."

“Tonight we’re going to tear the cards up and have a hell of a party.”

A coalition of animal rights groups, including the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Humane Society, released a joint statement vowing to appeal. “The state clearly has the right to ban the sale of the products of animal cruelty, and we expect the 9th Circuit will uphold this law, as it did in the previous round of litigation. We are asking the California attorney general to file an immediate appeal."...

Yes, because no one hates a good, righteous food-loving party as much as tantrum-throwing leftists.

Still more.

Karla de los Angeles Gored Twice in Mexico City Bullfight

I don't know. Maybe this isn't the best sport for women?

At London's Daily Mail, "Heels over head: Female bullfighter gored TWICE by the same animal while going for the kill."

Prices for Wholesale Eggs Expected to Rise 10 to 40 Percent in 2015 as California Animal Welfare Law Kicks In

The chickens should be treated decently, although remember, with progressives, everything they do forces higher costs on society. Everything. It never stops. Never.

At LAT, "Egg prices likely to rise amid laws mandating cage-free henhouses":

If your eggs seem a little pricier, consider the recent changes on Frank Hilliker's ranch.

In the last six months, the third-generation egg farmer in central San Diego County has reduced his flock by half and embarked on a $1-million overhaul of his henhouses to make them more spacious. Customers are now paying about 50% more for a dozen eggs from Hilliker's family business at around $3 a carton.

It's all to comply with a landmark animal welfare law that takes effect in California on New Year's Day. Voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 2 in 2008 to effectively abolish the close confinement of farm animals in cramped cages and crates — a practice that animal advocates say causes needless suffering and boosts the likelihood of salmonella contamination.

But to ensure the well-being of California's 15 million laying hens, consumers will probably have to pay more for the supermarket staple. Prices for wholesale eggs are expected to rise 10% to 40% next year because of infrastructure upgrades and the reduction of flocks to provide animals more space, according to Dan Sumner, an agricultural economist at UC Davis.

Already, the specter of California's regulations are believed to be contributing to record prices for eggs. The average wholesale cost of a dozen large eggs hit a peak of $2 on Thanksgiving Day — doubling in price from the start of November before settling this week to about $1.40. It comes at a time when soaring meat prices are expected to help push U.S. egg consumption to its highest level in seven years.

Adding to the pressure is increased demand for U.S. eggs in Canada and Mexico, where domestic poultry and egg industries are battling bouts of avian flu.

"It's sort of a perfect storm," said Ronald Fong, president and chief executive of the California Grocers Assn., who doesn't expect a significant egg shortage next month, but is less clear about changes in retail prices.

California's rules are rippling beyond its borders. No state consumes more eggs — and about a third of its supply must be imported. Iowa, where laying hens outnumber people 2 to 1, sells about 40 million eggs a day to out-of-state buyers.

Under a separate bill signed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010, all shell eggs arriving from other states must also comply with Proposition 2 by Jan. 1, 2015.

That requirement set off a barrage of lawsuits, including one from six leading egg-producing states. Missouri, Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska and Oklahoma invoked the constitution's interstate commerce clause by arguing that California was interfering with their local egg industries. The suit, which was dismissed by a federal judge in October, is being appealed...

More.

Big Cat on the Loose in Paris

Apparently, it's not a tiger. But still.

At Telegraph UK:

Soldiers called in to help hunt for the Disneyland Paris "tiger", with fresh paw prints spotted after beast apparently crossed a major highway and slinked past a petrol station.

Police and soldiers hunting for a large cat believed to be on the loose near Paris have shut down a motorway service station after the beast was spotted there a day after it was first seen near the Disneyland theme park.

Motorists were warned to be extra vigilant on the busy A4 motorway after a driver first spotted what he described as a “wandering animal” before dawn on Friday at the service station.

Paw prints believed were later found on the grounds of the service station.

However, the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife said it is not a tiger but some other sort of (as yet unidentified) feline. They base their statement on analysis of its paw prints.

More at London's Daily Mail, "Camera footage captures big cat stalking across a car park near Disneyland as police marksmen continue hunt for 'aggressive and adventurous animal'."

L.A.'s Venomous White Cobra Sent to San Diego Zoo

The snake was putting a little fear into the local community where it went missing, with good reason. How'd you like to get nipped by that thing?

At LAT, "White cobra caught in Thousand Oaks arrives at San Diego Zoo."

Racing Shut Down at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club After 10 Horses Die

From Sunday at the New York Times, "Worries About Surface at Del Mar Track."

And at the O.C. Register, "What's wrong at Del Mar? 10th horse dies on track."

Heinous Video of Extreme Animal Cruelty: Fish Taken Out of Water to Smoke a Cigarette

This mad me very sad, and angry, at the Mirror UK:

Video of fish smoking CIGARETTE sparks fury among animal lovers http://t.co/hdnNhIJFZX pic.twitter.com/4UX8rlj2Am

— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) August 4, 2014

Pamplona Bull Runner Gored Right Through the Leg!

One of the worst scenes out of Pamplona I can remember, and I blog this every year. Man.

Watch at the video below.

London's Daily Mail has the stop action photos, with the man horribly gored: "Gory scenes in Pamplona: The eye-watering moment a runner was gored through the leg during the final running of the bulls at Spain's San Fermin festival."

L'Oreal Fires 17-Year-Old Axelle Despiegelaere Amid Big-Game Hunting Controversy

The little lady's cute as a button, but once it came out that she's an avid big-game hunter, the L'Oreal contract was finished.

No matter if she joked on Facebook or not, the left's outrage machine would have destroyed her budding modeling career either way.

At London's Daily Mail, "She’s not worth it! L’Oreal cuts ties with Belgian World Cup fan whose good looks swept the Internet after controversy over her hunting trip photographs":

Cosmetics giant L'Oreal has severed ties with the Belgian World Cup fan who won a modelling contract after being spotted in the crowd after it emerged she is a fan of big game hunting.

Axelle Despiegelaere, 17, caught the world's attention after being photographed cheering on her national team in the Group H match against Russia - with the image widely shared online.

But L'Oreal has confirmed that the modelling contract it awarded her as a result of her new-found fame has already been cancelled after a photo emerged of the teenager posing with a rifle and a dead animal in Africa.

Keep reading.

More at NewsBusters, "ABC Cheers Woman's Modeling Contract, Ignores That It Was Revoked After 'Hunting Americans' Joke."

Pink the Pelican Returns to the Wild

Well, here's a happy ending. Hopefully this bird will stay healthy.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Pelican whose mutilation sparked outrage is released into the wild."

And at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, "This pelican named Pink was mutilated and left for dead in Long Beach. Today he flew to freedom."

Oakland Eco-Fascists Slammed for Caring More About Baby Herons Than City's Homeless

You have to read to believe it, but then again, it's Oakland, right next door to Berkeley, a.k.a, Moscow by the Bay.

At the New York Times, "Birds Leave Nest Involuntarily, and Oakland Fumes":

OAKLAND, Calif. — It started as a well-intentioned attempt by the United States Postal Service here to rid its trucks of bird droppings: A tree trimmer was hired to prune the lush ficus trees that grow next to the post office’s parking lot, not far from City Hall. But in the course of the job, five baby black-crowned night herons fell from their nests and were injured.

At first there were reports that the birds had been fed into a wood chipper — not true — and from there the story took on a life of its own. Residents and city officials called for avian justice. Bird lovers from France, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine and even New Jersey signed an online petition with the headline “Oakland Chainsaw Massacre” that called on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to press charges against the perpetrators.

They have gotten their wish and more: The tree trimmer, Ernesto Pulido, 26, is staring at a possible federal charge of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

“I’m not a gangster,” said a contrite Mr. Pulido, who has visited the bird shelter where the victims are recuperating and voluntarily paid $2,500 for their medical care. “I’m just a guy who’s making a living day to day.”

Since the incident in early May, Mr. Pulido has moved his pregnant wife and young daughter to another house, he said, because he was receiving threats. He added that he loved animals and was raised in Mexico with more animals than people.

But in Oakland, a city that has been rapidly gentrifying, concern for the birds runs very high — higher, some people complain, than concern for the city’s large homeless population. Downtown Oakland has long been known for its high crime rate and gritty urban feel, despite the recent arrival of young people and food lovers, whose presence has prompted some people to call the city “the new Brooklyn.”

Wendy Jackson, executive director of the East Oakland Community Project, which provides housing for the homeless, said that when people help baby birds, “it feels pure to them.” Their attitude toward homeless adults is less charitable: “They think those adults should be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” she said. “Often, that is not possible.”

More.

Shoot, they'd murder the homeless before they'd lift a finger against those birds.

Environmentalists are fascist totalitarians. This story is utterly disgusting.

GoPro Video of Kevin Richardson, the 'Lion Whisperer'

I've never seen this, despite the video being viewed over 15 million times on YouTube.

Via Debra Burlingame.



RELATED: At ABC News, "1-Minute Video Shows Why GoPro's IPO May Be Hot."

Ringling Brothers Gets $16 Million in 'Vexatious' Animal Rights Blowback

At the Wall Street Journal, "Lawsuit Losers Pay" (via Google):

Animal-rights groups that made phony claims of abused circus elephants continue to pay for their bogus litigation. On Thursday Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, announced a legal settlement under which it received $15.75 million from the Humane Society of the United States and other animal-rights groups. This follows a 2012 agreement by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to surrender $9.3 million to the producer of family-friendly entertainment.

The activist groups aren't settling out of a spirit of generosity. They're paying up because Feld exposed their payments to a former circus employee who offered false testimony. And as Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia noted last year, "the plaintiffs were unable to produce any credible evidence that any of them had standing to pursue their claims." He called their lawsuit "frivolous, unreasonable and groundless" and ordered them to pay Feld's attorneys fees. Total settlements of roughly $25 million now cover the costs of a defense that began in 2000 when the activists first lobbed their spurious claims...

Now that is the way to do it --- punch back twice as hard.

Also from Michael Rubin, at Commentary, "Dishonesty Has Cost for Radical Animal Activists":

The U.S. District Court ruled that the Humane Society’s case was “frivolous,” “vexatious,” and “groundless and unreasonable from its inception.” The settlement also covered a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case that Feld Entertainment had filed after they discovered that the Humane Society and co-complainants had paid a witness and then tried to cover that up.

Dishonesty. The calling card of the radical left.

L.A.'s P-22 Mountain Lion Exposed to Rat Poison

This story is such a downer.

I blogged this beautiful beast last October, "Mountain Lion P-22."

But now at LAT, "Household rat poison linked to death and disease in wildlife":

The mountain lion known as P-22 looked majestic just a few months ago, in a trail-camera photo shot against the backdrop of the Hollywood sign.

But when a remote camera in Griffith Park captured an image of the puma more recently, it showed a thinner and mangy animal. Scientists sedated him and drew blood samples. They found evidence of exposure to rat poisons.

Now, researchers say they suspect a link between the poisons and the mange, a parasitic skin disease that causes crusting and skin lesions and has contributed to the deaths of scores of bobcats and coyotes. A National Park Service biologist applied a topical treatment for mange and injected Vitamin K to offset the effects of poisoning.

The condition of California's famous cougar is likely to intensify the debate over the use of rat poisons in areas of the state where urban living collides with nature.

Keep reading.

And see the graphic on how large predators are poisoned.

Mange leads to death. The animal was captured and treated so he might survive, but it just seems like a bummer for such a majestic cat. But it's gonna happen when wildlife are so close to humans, and we have to control for pests.

More at the National Wildlife Federation, "Los Angeles Mountain Lion Survives Freeways, Now Threatened by Poison Exposure."

Canada's Annual East Coast Seal Hunt Begins

They're so cute too.

At Toronto's Globe and Mail, "East Coast seal hunt starts amid ongoing court case, trade challenge":

The annual East Coast seal hunt starts Monday against a backdrop of ongoing trade and court challenges in Europe and renewed claims from animal welfare groups that the 400-year-old industry is dead in the water.

Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of the Canadian wing of Humane Society International, said on Sunday that only 15 boats have signalled their intention to take part in the hunt, which typically focuses on harp seals off the northeast coast of Newfoundland.

With the market for seal products closed in the United States, most of Europe and Russia, the commercial hunt is a shadow of what it once was, largely surviving on subsidies from the Newfoundland and Labrador government in the past few years, Aldworth said.

“From a market perspective, the seal hunt is very much over,” she said in an interview, adding her group will return to the ice floes to document the slaughter. “Markets around the world have closed ... It’s an industry that’s limping along on credit and subsidies.”

However, the federal government has been steadfast in its support of the hunt, insisting it’s a humane, sustainable and an economically viable pursuit that is important to many coastal communities.

Fisheries Minister Gail Shea admitted Sunday that those opposed to the hunt have been effective in shutting down international markets.

“They have been spreading misinformation about the Canadian seal hunt and Canadian seal products for as long as I’ve been in this position,” Shea said in an interview from Vancouver. “It’s grossly unfair. We’ve done a lot of work in ensuring that our Canadian seal hunt is humane.”

Every seal hunter must be trained on proper killing techniques before they are allowed to take part in the hunt, she said.

“I believe there’s great opportunity in the sealing industry,” Shea said, adding that Ottawa continues to invest in product development.

Meanwhile, the industry continues to push ahead with a court case in the European Union aimed at overturning a ban on seal products, and the federal government is appealing a recent World Trade Organization decision to uphold the ban.

The WTO concluded in November that while the ban undermines fair trade, the restrictions can be justified on “public moral concerns” for animal welfare.

Last month, Canada’s northern development minister said the WTO’s decision had set a dangerous precedent for future trade relations.

More at the Calgary Herald, "Annual East Coast seal hunt starts amid ongoing court case and trade challenge."

PETA's 'Cruelty Caseworkers'

You gotta read this letter.

Wow. This is such an interesting letter. @Peta, can you confirm this is real, and from you? #PETA http://t.co/i4OQYwVJ4O

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) April 3, 2014

Not ethical. Not humane. Simply more leftist hypocrisy and evil.

Matador Enrique Ponce Gored at Las Fallas Festival in Valencia, Spain

At David Jackson's blog, "Ponce “ripped apart” by bull as bullfight goes wrong."

Watch it here.

Canadian Woman Gets Smacked in Face by Whale's Tail

You gotta love it. Apparently she was unhurt.

At BuzzFeed, "Watch a Girl Get Smacked In the Face By a Whale."



Also at CBC, "Hamilton woman gets slapped by a whale."

Crazed Camel Attacks Man in Palmdale

Posted to YouTube here.

Pretty wild.

Man bitten by runaway camel in Palmdale speaks out about terrifying ordeal http://t.co/LMANo0WdGy pic.twitter.com/QpihNGORYF

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) February 16, 2014

.@ABC7 Scenes from the Islamic caliphate apocalypse.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) February 16, 2014

Copenhagen Zoo Puts Down 'Surplus' Giraffe to Prevent 'Inbreeding'

And they fed him to the lions, the ghouls.

Someone, somewhere, would have taken that giraffe. And zoos are supposed to be where we protect the world's wildlife. And screw PETA and all the leftists who think they own these issues. Sometimes common sense tells you simple right and wrong, a fact of life the left ignores in their schemes for global communism.

In any case, I first saw this at Telegraph UK, "Danish zoo shoots giraffe and feeds carcass to carnivores."

And see London's Daily Mail, "How could they? Zookeepers killed baby giraffe with a bolt gun because he was 'surplus'... and then fed him to the lions."

An interview with the director at CNN, "Giraffe Controversy in Copenhagen."

So much for the more compassionate European social model. These zoo people are cold blooded killers.