Cull 

36 creative works found

• Portfolio Clean Out - Your Vote Counts
  by Craig Goldsmith

  I’m looking for nominations of what to cull out of my portfolio, I have my eye on a fair bit of my earlier work which well for me isn’t u…

  I’m looking for nominations of what to cull out of my portfolio, I have my eye on a fair bit of my earlier work which well for me isn’t up to scratch. My difficult is I find myself to be my toughest critic so I’d like to open this up to anyone that wants to name any images they think don’t belong, I’ll compare that to my own list and then let the culling begin. I currently have 75 works for sale and I don’t know that feels like too much so I’m looking to cullt 10-25 at a guess, that said I don’t want to be like a overzealous gardener and prun it back to hard. So feel free to jump in and nominate any number of shots to go up onto the chopping block, if a image has already been nominated still list it as more votes will spell doom for the image in question.

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  Why Me
  by dawndavies

  baby seal. / Dawn’s website / for other items see my zazzle.com site under dawnmcininch / / /

• Save the Seals by Boycotting Some Simple Things
  by Crockpot

  One of the most effective ways to get people to listen is to stop giving them money. Here’s a list of places (taken from “www.canadianse…

  One of the most effective ways to get people to listen is to stop giving them money. Here’s a list of places (taken from www.canadiansealhunt.com) to start. 1. Avoid all Canadian seafood. / This is to apply economic pressure to Canada. Some of the largest consumers of Canadian seafood are Red Lobster, Long John’s Silvers, and Costco. All of these companies should therefore be avoided. 2. Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd society is calling for a boycott of Costco. / Costco sells seal oil capsules. Costco has refused to remove these from their shelves. We fully endorse this decision. 3. Avoid traveling to Newfoundland. / This is to apply economic pressure to this province. 4. Boycott fashion houses that profit from seal pelts. / These are: Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Birger Christensen, New Vogue, and Vogue Furriers. 5. These companies all profit from selling Canadian sea food and should be boycotted: / Acadian, Atlantic Pearl, Bay Shore, Blue Royal, Breakwater, Brunswick, Cape Cod, Canadian Cove, Century Seafoods, Classic (from Beothic), Clearwater, Deep Sea, Doyle, Fisherman’s Finest, Fishery Products International (FPI), Fogo Island, Harbour View, Highliner Foods, Island Pride, Luxury (from Beothic), Northland, Notre Dame Seafoods, Ocean Choice, Ocean Elite, Ocean Leader, Ocean Queen, Ocean Select, Oram’s Choice, Quinland, Quin-Sea, Sea Best (from Beaver Street Co.), Seafreez, Sea Fresh, St. Paul’s, World Catch, and, lastly, Violet brand. 6. Boycott any store that sells herbs that are made from seals. / These products are Terra Nova, Canomega, and Omegavite. Thanks for reading.

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  Please Don't Hurt Me
  by Crockpot

  Every year sealers bludgeon seals with clubs and “hakapiks” (clubs with a metal hook on the end), drag conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, and toss dead and dying animals into heaps and leave their carcasses to rot because there is no market for their meat. Seals are also shot, but bludgeoning is preferred, because pelt buyers deduct money for every bullet hole in a seal’s skin. Veterinarians who studied a past hunt concluded that the hunters failed to comply with Canada’s basic animal welfare standards and that 42 percent of the seals appeared to have been skinned alive. Despite Canada’s ‘new and improved’ methods being implemented this year, sealers are still slaughtering these pups in the same way they have for previous years. It’s unconscionable. For more information, please visit any of the following websites for first-hand accounts and ways you can help save the seals. Sea Shepherd HSUS Canadian Seal Hunt Anti-Sealing Coalition If you would like to get more involved, please join us here on Red Bubble in the Voices for Animals group. The more supporters we have, the louder our collective voice will be!! All proceeds will be donated to Sea Shepherd.

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  Do we not bleed?
  by Crockpot

  If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? -Shakespeare Every year sealers bludgeon seals with clubs and “hakapiks” (clubs with a metal hook on the end), drag conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, and toss dead and dying animals into heaps and leave their carcasses to rot because there is no market for their meat. Seals are also shot, but bludgeoning is preferred, because pelt buyers deduct money for every bullet hole in a seal’s skin. Veterinarians who studied a past hunt concluded that the hunters failed to comply with Canada’s basic animal welfare standards and that 42 percent of the seals appeared to have been skinned alive. Despite Canada’s ‘new and improved’ methods being implemented this year, sealers are still slaughtering these pups in the same way they have for previous years. It’s unconscionable. For more information, please visit any of the following websites for first-hand accounts and ways you can help save the seals. Sea Shepherd HSUS Canadian Seal Hunt Anti-Sealing Coalition If you would like to get more involved, please join us here on Red Bubble in the Voices for Animals group. The more supporters we have, the louder our collective voice will be!! All proceeds will be donated to Sea Shepherd.

• Gucci Stops Selling Seal Fur!!!
  by Crockpot

  After hearing from thousands of PETA supporters, Gucci has announced that it will not sell seal fur. Now we must push the company to be i…

  After hearing from thousands of PETA supporters, Gucci has announced that it will not sell seal fur. Now we must push the company to be innovative, ethical, and animal-friendly by not causing other animals to suffer for fur. Ask Gucci to go fur-free today! Tell Gucci to Stop Selling All Fur! Cruelty-free Clothing Guide Sign the Petition Against the Seal Hunt Take the Fur-Free Pledge

• Sea Shepherd Crew Attacked - UPDATE!
  by Crockpot

  Sea Shepherd News / News Releases / 04/14/2008 Canadian Mounties Seize the Sea Shepherd vessel Farley Mowat On Saturday, armed Roya…

  Sea Shepherd News / News Releases / 04/14/2008 Canadian Mounties Seize the Sea Shepherd vessel Farley Mowat On Saturday, armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) stormed and seized Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s ship the Farley Mowat. All of the Sea Shepherd crew were brought into Sydney, Nova Scotia by the Canadian Coast Guard late Saturday night. Captain Alex Cornelissen and 1st Officer Peter Hammarstedt were detained and charged with allegedly approaching within ½ nautical mile of the seal slaughter. They appeared in court on the morning of April 13th. They are expected to be released on bail today. The rest of the crew-members are currently waiting at the court house on a hunger strike in solidarity with Captain Cornelissen and 1st Officer Peter Hammarstedt. The Farley Mowat remains in the custody of the Canadian Government. It has not yet been determined whether the government intends to permanently confiscate the vessel. The Farley Mowat was documenting the cruel and inhumane slaughter of seals in international waters—not Canadian waters— at the time of the boarding. “It is these images of brutal sadistic slaughter on the ice floes that Canada is desperate to keep hidden,” said Captain Paul Watson, Founder and President of Sea Shepherd. “What the Sea Shepherd crew have witnessed over the last two weeks has exposed the lies of Canadian government claims that the seal slaughter is humane. Canadian Minister of Fisheries Loyola Hearn authorized an assault on a Dutch registered vessel in international waters in order to detract from the tragedy his department was responsible for two weeks ago when four sealers drowned while under tow by the Canadian Coast Guard.” In Canada it is illegal to film, photograph or even witness a seal being killed without permission of the Minister of Fisheries. Hearn said that the action was taken to protect the safety of the sealers. Captain Watson responded by saying, “The sealers have nothing to fear from our cameras and everything to fear from Canadian government’s incompetence. So far Canada has been responsible for four deaths while we were simply taking pictures of sealers inhumanely killing seals.” NOTE: A special poll was conducted to find out what people thought – whether it was right or not for the RCMP to board the Farley Mowat. The results are shocking. Sea Shepherd News / News Releases / 04/12/2008 Seal Defenders Attacked! / The Farley Mowat Has Been Illegally Stormed and the Crew Assaulted At 0700 Hours (PST) and 0800 Hours Atlantic time the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel Farley Mowat was attacked by officers from two Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers the Des Groseilliers and the Sir Wifred Grenfell. Captain Alex Cornelissen informed the boarders that the Farley Mowat is a Dutch registered ship in international waters and that Canada had no legal right to restrict the free passage of the vessel through international waters. The ship was in the Gulf of St. Lawrence well beyond the Canadian twelve mile territorial limit. Captain Paul Watson was speaking by phone with Farley Mowat communications officer Shannon Mann when he heard the voices of men screaming for the crew to fall to the floor. The men carried guns according to Mann and could be heard by Captain Watson threatening the Farley Mowat’s crew. As Captain Watson was speaking with Shannon Mann, the Satellite phone went dead and nothing more has been heard from the Sea Shepherd crew. The Farley Mowat was documenting violations of the humane regulations and gathering proof that the seals were being killed in an inhumane manner. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is assuming that the video tapes will be seized by the Canadian authorities. There are 17 crewmembers onboard the Dutch registered Farley Mowat from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, South Africa, Canada and the United States. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been cut off from communication with the crew and has no information on where the vessel will be taken. Sea Shepherd has no information on the condition of the crew and the Society is deeply concerned for their crew. “This is an act of war,” said Captain Paul Watson. “The Canadian government has just sent an armed boarding party onto a Dutch registered yacht in international waters and has seized the ship. Considering that the mission of the Farley Mowat was to document evidence of cruelty by sealers to support a European initiative to ban seal products, I can predict that the Europeans will not be very pleased with this move and most likely this move by Loyola Hearn will guarantee that this bill is passed. In other words the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has just handed us the victory that we were looking for.”

• HSUS Update on Seal Hunt
  by Crockpot

  Over the past few weeks, th…

  Over the past few weeks, the world has watched in horror as Canadian sealers brandished clubs and rifles, brutally slaughtering thousands of defenseless pups, most only a few weeks old. As you read this today, the commercial seal hunt has moved farther north where the killings will resume – with sealers allowed to kill 275,000 seals this year. Because of your support, we have achieved many landmark victories in our campaign to save the seals – and our efforts are reaching a critical mass. This year, it is clear that the end of the seal slaughter is finally in sight. How far we’ve come – and the progress we’re making / Here’s the most exciting piece of news: the European Environment Commissioner has announced a plan to ban the trade in all seal products originating from inhumane hunts. This builds upon the historic declaration by the European parliament in 2006. If an EU-wide ban is enacted, the fashion houses serving the main markets for seal skins today – China and Russia – would be forced to stop, and millions of baby seals would be saved from cruel slaughter. In the meantime, many nations have either banned seal product trade or announced their intentions to do so. They include: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Panama, Mexico, and the United States. Just the potential for an EU ban on seal products has saved thousands of seals already. Prices paid for seal skins this year have declined so much that most sealers have chosen to stay home. / Together, we’re making progress to protect these wonderful animals and end the cruel Canadian seal hunt. / Photo: The HSUS To tell the EU that you strongly support a total ban on trade in seal products, please sign our petition here. And we have more good news. The HSUS-led boycott of Canadian seafood in the U.S. has attracted more than 618,000 individuals, 3,500 restaurants, and major grocery chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. With more than 80% of Newfoundland’s fishing revenue coming from shellfish and less than 3% from the seal hunt, we have tremendous leverage as consumers to end this hunt! Fishermen are fast realizing they stand to lose more from killing seals than they will ever hope to gain.

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  Stop the Killing!
  by Crockpot

  Every year sealers bludgeon seals with clubs and “hakapiks” (clubs with a metal hook on the end), drag conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, and toss dead and dying animals into heaps and leave their carcasses to rot because there is no market for their meat. Seals are also shot, but bludgeoning is preferred, because pelt buyers deduct money for every bullet hole in a seal’s skin. Veterinarians who studied a past hunt concluded that the hunters failed to comply with Canada’s basic animal welfare standards and that 42 percent of the seals appeared to have been skinned alive. Despite Canada’s ‘new and improved’ methods being implemented this year, sealers are still slaughtering these pups in the same way they have for previous years. It’s unconscionable. For more information, please visit any of the following websites for first-hand accounts and ways you can help save the seals. Sea Shepherd HSUS Canadian Seal Hunt Anti-Sealing Coalition If you would like to get more involved, please join us here on Red Bubble in the Voices for Animals group. The more supporters we have, the louder our collective voice will be!! All proceeds will be donated to Sea Shepherd.

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  Do we not bleed?
  by Crockpot

  If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? -Shakespeare Every year sealers bludgeon seals with clubs and “hakapiks” (clubs with a metal hook on the end), drag conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, and toss dead and dying animals into heaps and leave their carcasses to rot because there is no market for their meat. Seals are also shot, but bludgeoning is preferred, because pelt buyers deduct money for every bullet hole in a seal’s skin. Veterinarians who studied a past hunt concluded that the hunters failed to comply with Canada’s basic animal welfare standards and that 42 percent of the seals appeared to have been skinned alive. Despite Canada’s ‘new and improved’ methods being implemented this year, sealers are still slaughtering these pups in the same way they have for previous years. It’s unconscionable. For more information, please visit any of the following websites for first-hand accounts and ways you can help save the seals. Sea Shepherd HSUS Canadian Seal Hunt Anti-Sealing Coalition If you would like to get more involved, please join us here on Red Bubble in the Voices for Animals group. The more supporters we have, the louder our collective voice will be!! All proceeds will be donated to Sea Shepherd.

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  Save Our Seals, Part I
  by Voices4Animals

  Every year sealers bludgeon seals with clubs and “hakapiks” (clubs with a metal hook on the end), drag conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, and toss dead and dying animals into heaps and leave their carcasses to rot because there is no market for their meat. Seals are also shot, but bludgeoning is preferred, because pelt buyers deduct money for every bullet hole in a seal’s skin. Veterinarians who studied a past hunt concluded that the hunters failed to comply with Canada’s basic animal welfare standards and that 42 percent of the seals appeared to have been skinned alive. Despite Canada’s ‘new and improved’ methods being implemented this year, sealers are still slaughtering these pups in the same way they have for previous years. It’s unconscionable. For more information, please visit any of the following websites for first-hand accounts and ways you can help save the seals. Sea Shepherd HSUS Canadian Seal Hunt Anti-Sealing Coalition This project, S.O.S. (Save Our Seals) is something our group has been working on for several weeks now. All proceeds from sales will be donated to Sea Shepherd. If you would like to get more involved, please join us here on Red Bubble in the Voices for Animals group. The more supporters we have, the louder our collective voice will be!! Thank you to the following Voices for Animals artists that made this project possible: Angela F. / Bethwyn Mills / Carmen Mandel-Cesareo / Chris Coetzee / Crockpot Productions / Cynthia Adams / Danae Leach / Dawn Davies / dimarie / dropSoul / Eric Allen / Eyal Nahmias / hahpistuff / Jocelyn Hyers / Leah Jaarveth / lexa dedman / Lloyd’s Journey / Matt Tworkowski / Patricia Anne McCarty / pinkyjain / Rhonda L. Hall / Sarah Bentvizen / Tom Godfrey / Tommy Jo / yanmos

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  Save Our Seals, Part II
  by Voices4Animals

  Every year sealers bludgeon seals with clubs and “hakapiks” (clubs with a metal hook on the end), drag conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, and toss dead and dying animals into heaps and leave their carcasses to rot because there is no market for their meat. Seals are also shot, but bludgeoning is preferred, because pelt buyers deduct money for every bullet hole in a seal’s skin. Veterinarians who studied a past hunt concluded that the hunters failed to comply with Canada’s basic animal welfare standards and that 42 percent of the seals appeared to have been skinned alive. Despite Canada’s ‘new and improved’ methods being implemented this year, sealers are still slaughtering these pups in the same way they have for previous years. It’s unconscionable. For more information, please visit any of the following websites for first-hand accounts and ways you can help save the seals. Sea Shepherd HSUS Canadian Seal Hunt Anti-Sealing Coalition This project, S.O.S. (Save Our Seals) is something our group has been working on for several weeks now. All proceeds from sales will be donated to Sea Shepherd. If you would like to get more involved, please join us here on Red Bubble in the Voices for Animals group. The more supporters we have, the louder our collective voice will be!! Thank you to the following Voices for Animals artists that made this project possible: Angela F. / Bethwyn Mills / Carmen Mandel-Cesareo / Chris Coetzee / Crockpot Productions / Cynthia Adams / Danae Leach / Dawn Davies / dimarie / dropSoul / Eric Allen / Eyal Nahmias / hahpistuff / Jocelyn Hyers / Leah Jaarveth / lexa dedman / Lloyd’s Journey / Matt Tworkowski / Patricia Anne McCarty / pinkyjain / Rhonda L. Hall / Sarah Bentvizen / Tom Godfrey / Tommy Jo / yanmos

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  Save Our Seals (combined version)
  by Voices4Animals

  Every year sealers bludgeon seals with clubs and “hakapiks” (clubs with a metal hook on the end), drag conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, and toss dead and dying animals into heaps and leave their carcasses to rot because there is no market for their meat. Seals are also shot, but bludgeoning is preferred, because pelt buyers deduct money for every bullet hole in a seal’s skin. Veterinarians who studied a past hunt concluded that the hunters failed to comply with Canada’s basic animal welfare standards and that 42 percent of the seals appeared to have been skinned alive. Despite Canada’s ‘new and improved’ methods being implemented this year, sealers are still slaughtering these pups in the same way they have for previous years. It’s unconscionable. For more information, please visit any of the following websites for first-hand accounts and ways you can help save the seals. Sea Shepherd HSUS Canadian Seal Hunt Anti-Sealing Coalition This project, S.O.S. (Save Our Seals) is something our group has been working on for several weeks now. All proceeds from sales will be donated to Sea Shepherd. If you would like to get more involved, please join us here on Red Bubble in the Voices for Animals group. The more supporters we have, the louder our collective voice will be!! Thank you to the following Voices for Animals artists that made this project possible: Angela F. / Bethwyn Mills / Carmen Mandel-Cesareo / Chris Coetzee / Crockpot Productions / Cynthia Adams / Danae Leach / Dawn Davies / dimarie / dropSoul / Eric Allen / Eyal Nahmias / hahpistuff / Jocelyn Hyers / Leah Jaarveth / lexa dedman / Lloyd’s Journey / Matt Tworkowski / Patricia Anne McCarty / pinkyjain / Rhonda L. Hall / Sarah Bentvizen / Tom Godfrey / Tommy Jo / yanmos

• FINALLY!!! The Seal Collages are DONE!
  by Crockpot

  Whew! My back is killing me and my foot is asleep, but they images are up and ready for you to buy!! Please check them out ~ and ke…

  Whew! My back is killing me and my foot is asleep, but they images are up and ready for you to buy!! Please check them out ~ and keep in mind that 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Sea Shepherd. Sea Shepherd has been making international headlines recently with their no-BS approach to ending the seal hunt. So… without further adieu… I present Save Our Seals by the Voices for Animals group!

• Australian Culling ~ Native Flora & Fauna Vs Introduced Species
  by adgray

  This was going to be a reply to aphoto4you on her work Close Together...

  This was going to be a reply to aphoto4you on her work Close Together / It is a gorgeous shot and the debate ensuing was detracting from that. I wanted to clarify my understanding of the whole issue of introduced species vs native fauna & flora First I want to emphatically state – No I’m not defending needless killing … and I would completely agree with leaving nature to deal with nature. But as you should know here in Australia a mere 200 years ago whiteman introduced several species that have been allowed to reproduce in plague proportions that have wiped out habitat and native species alike and fed our own “Rodents” into their own plague proportions! / Rabbits Foxes Grass [and other weeds that were brought as pretty flowers] Cats Rats Mice camels horses cows pigs water buffalo and Cane Toads…. and definitely whiteman! Whiteman have wiped out the majority of the indigenous people [completely from Tassie] and usurped them of their land culture and lifestyle! Whiteman have also rendered many native animals extinct either for their pelts and meat or just by destroying the native habitat to cultivate their own! Our native wildlife have no defenses to the fox. Yes we have dingos [another bronze age introduced species] and Tassie had the tiger but the dingos are north of the “Dog Fence” and the foxes are south of it and the tigers are extinct thanks to whitemen! / The majority of the native animals are not suited to be victims of predators…. that is they are easy prey and by the time they naturally develop the wherewithal to become predator wise there wont be many left! The aristocracy brought Foxes in to “Hunt” .. they would hunt once a year and ignore the foxes who flourished! Foxes go for fowls no probs – and loss of said birds in the beginning was blamed on aborigines not foxes! They also go for sheep easy as pie and they will go for a sick or newborn cow ….. they are scavengers. If you had lived in the outback you would know why roos are the farmers pest! True it is not their fault but they are the scourge of the grazer. Since whiteman cleared the land and cultivated grazing pastures the roos have gone to town on the pasture and as rodents do have multiplied to deal with it! Grass is a weed in Australia and roos keep it short! Nature is dealing with the grass introduced and forgetting we also brought cows and sheep in. Roos have become plague proportions! So farmers are culling roos to allow their stock to feed…. there by feeding whiteman! And when you look at it that is also nature’s work. As for rabbits! My god! I have seen the paddocks looking like the rats after the pied piper! At dusk there are acres and acres of paddocks literally swarming with rabbits who burrow all over, eat everything on top and destroy the soil underneath so that our native flora and fauna die! You cannot eat the rabbits in the bush now they have no nutritional value and spread diseases. At best they make cheep dog-food for the farmer but even their pelt is useless. These rabbits are not bunnies but more like rats! Again they were introduced to “Feed the poor” and because there were no natural predators they flourished to plague proportions very fast and have stayed there in Australia without any way to Naturally control them! And CATS are the new scourge of the native fauna. Cats breed like rodents and whiteman allow them to roam all day and all night! They can travel for miles between coming home for meals if they’re allowed out. Cats can also live quite happilly contained to a house or a room or even an aviary! I have cats and I do not allow them to go outside because I cannot prevent them from leaving my property. We live near a sports reserve park and my cats would kill the native birds and possums there [yes we have introduced birds but our native birds are better adapted to our country and the introduced species are just surviving along side them] Whiteman has even taken cats and dumped them in the bush thinking it was a humane way of getting rid of them! Of course these cats are now flourishing wild cats feeding on our fauna and birds! Our park rangers are culling them too … fancy eating cat? And don’t start me on the Toads wiping out up north! They are destroying the top end from the Queensland sugar cane coast right through into our precious Kakadu! / Go on tell me they love their tadpoles! Every living creature family are attractive to human aesthetics of cute and cuddly when nurturing their young and in their natural habitat this is a wonderful thing, but please remember white man INTRODUCED these Foxes and Rabbits and all the others that I have mentioned and possibly more that have yet reared their ugly heads. So when you take a photo like your wonderful shot here and put it along side the same kind of photo of the lovely bunnies they eat in England/America etc or the native marsupials the foxes feed on in Australia which one do you barrack for then? Australia is an island; detached from the rest of the world for at least 40,000 years most likely ten times as long and our ecology has developed to the elegant balance that it was before whiteman invasion. Yes in the bronze age the Egyptians came and took our gold leaving us with dingos, buffalo turkeys and pigs [and circumcision in the indigenous culture] but that was a very brief invasion and they left / Whiteman however have come a mere 200 years ago and TAKEN OVER! And now we have to deal with the results of such an invasion. And that means culling and controlling the pests and the plagued rodents ….. no matter how sweet and gorgeous they seem to be and includes maintaining our strict quarantine of any entry into our unique and unusual Island …. to safe guard our fragile ecology.

• The Cruelty of Aerial Culling
  by Estelle O'Brien

  I live in a narrow valley surrounded by beautiful mountains with rocky escarpments and rugged steep slopes. I climbed half way up there o…

  I live in a narrow valley surrounded by beautiful mountains with rocky escarpments and rugged steep slopes. I climbed half way up there once to rescue one of my dogs who had gotten stuck on a ledge…the view was like looking down from an aeroplane. It took all of my courage and strength to climb up and I would never have done it if I didn’t love that little dog so much! Living high in the rocky mountain are three families of wild goats. They are lovely animals; intelligent, proud and nimble. They often came down from the mountain to graze in our back paddock and say hello. A year or two ago a neighbour found a kid and brought it to me to rear. I named her Millie (the Kid) and she lived in my chicken house with my chooks. She would jump up onto the roost with them at night to sleep. I soon won her confidence and tamed her and during the day she would play with me and follow me about my garden, helping me to trim the weeds. Goats are smart and funny, they love to interact and play. She was a beautiful friend for a while, she grew up sleek and strong and pure white…and one day she happily ran off with a mob of big black goats. We would catch glimpses of her sometimes high up on the mountain, a white princess among a bunch of long-haired black “bikie” goats! If we called out her name – a shout echoes around the hills- she would raise her head and give a little kick of recognition, as if remembering our kindness when she was an orphaned baby. A couple of weeks ago we had a letter from the Dept of Parks and Wildlife asking permission to shoot on our property, which we declined to give. A ranger subsequently appeared on our doorstep to try to convince us that the wild goats are a menace to society. Their argument is that there is some sort of plant that grows only up on the rugged rocky terrain on the top of our mountain and the goats are eating it. My answer to that is that the bush is so rough and rocky and rugged up there, it is only accessible by mountain climbing and helicopters -who would ever know whether a plant was or was not there? And which beaureacrat who thinks he’s God makes the decision that a plant is more important than an animal? He thought I was mad as a hatter when I told him I would tell the goats to hide- bad men were coming with guns. He thought my husband was even madder when he challenged the prevailing “wisdom” of killing animals from the air. He left without the permission he sought, and advised us that they would shoot around our boundary. The next day we heard the ominous deep ratta-tat of the helicopter as it flew over the mountain. The chopper was so loud it was almost deafening as it hovered above the trees, low enough to cause the leaves to swirl off. We only own the land half way up the mountain…the top belongs to the State Parks Authority and so they swept up and down our fenceline, pausing and hovering every time they saw goats. My horses were terrified, I ran out to their paddock to reassure them and keep them as calm as I could. Pilgrim had been galloping about in fear as the gunshots began, and both horses stood beside me with their heads over my shoulder as chopper thundered around and we heard BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG. Every time there was a rifle shot, the horses flinched in fear. I stood with them with tears running down my face as I heard each shot and thought of my dear little friends up the mountain. After about 45 minutes, their cruel work was done. I couldn’t bear to look, but Dennis had been watching them through binoculars. He saw the goats standing petrified on the rocks and saw them fall one by one, too scared to run away. He saw our little Millie lying on a rocky ledge high upon the mountain. I am crying again as I write about it…it is such a distressing thing to write about. But people should know what is done in the name of “conservation”. For hours afterwards we heard desperate bleating…some were probably injured and lying where they fell… to die a slow agonising death. It is too rough for us to climb to the top and try to help the ones who were gut shot. Even with the high powered army rifle they were using, it is impossible for the rangers to have clean shots from the air. It is so cruel. In Canberra the same week, they were culling some kangaroos, who were “over-grazing the native grasses” What rubbish- kangaroos don’t stay where there is no feed…they move on. But these kangaroos had some animal loving friends who were activists and attracted some publicity…and so the government made them tranquilize the roos before they killed them. Why do they think kangaroos can feel fear and pain… but goats can’t? Because it was done in the nation’s capital in view of the public, humane methods were used…but goats on a mountain where no-one can see what happens, is a different matter. Why is one animals life more important than anothers? Who makes these illogical decisions? I am a realist and I sometimes eat meat, so I am not against killing animals altogether…but only if it is to eat them and only if they are killed humanely. I would never buy caged chickens eggs or eat lot fed beef, both are terrible practices. But I cannot understand why so called civilized people think that aerial culling is acceptable. It is terribly cruel – they have no way of knowing how many animals they left up there injured to die slowly. It is barbaric and should be stopped.

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  I Fell into the Rabbit Hole.........and the People Cull was Over
  by Sally R

  A surreal thought on what could happen if the ‘roos ruled.

• SAVE THE WILD HORSES OF AMERICA
  by C J Hummel - Foxfire Gallery

  Dear all Some of you may have seen the Journal and Petition by Gene Praag: , who is m…

  Dear all Some of you may have seen the Journal and Petition by Gene Praag: , who is making us aware of the BML Bureau of Land Management decision to cull American Wild Horses. My personal view is that outside the USA, the American wild horses are synonymous to the USA , more so than the Golden Eagle. I will not dwell on this too much as Gene Praag has already written about it, but you may wish to support the cause by signing the petition letter on the link in Gene Praags journal or click below. It would be great if you could support this cause and perhaps you wish to add the logo and link to your red bubble profile. here is the code. Please ensure that there is no space between ! and the next character or : and the next character. ! http://dingo.care2.com/c2p/defenders/wildhorses148×200.jpg! SAVE THE WILD HORSES ”: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/266046279 to give you this SAVE THE WILD HORSES* Thanks everyone on behalf of the Wild Horses of America.

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  Elephants like to travel.
  by trebordesign

• 

  Edward Cullen poster
  by llvllagic

  You know how it is. Sometimes you see some picture and you think “I definitely should draw this!!!” This happened with me and this pic. In the beginning I was thinking to paint it digitally. But I realized it looks pretty much like digital/ photoshoped/ like not alive already, which is ok cause Edward shouldn’t be alive anyway lol So I decided to draw it on paper instead. This was my pain in the ass seriously cause I run out of paper I used to use for drawing so I had to buy a new paper. The paper is soooo different! I couldn’t get darker/ kind a closer to the black color I wanted to, the paper just won’t take it. And in the end pencil started to smear everything around. All my hands and face were dirty after drawing lol I don’t want that to happen again. I will not draw anything till I get different paper. Anyway pencils I used was mechanical and normal H (little bit), HB, B and 2B

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  Culling The Herd~ Final Day
  by Susan Bergstrom

  Culling The Herd is a neccessary process in the yearly Buffalo Round-Up, all of the Guest Riders were invited to watch the process on how the State of South Dakota looks after the wellness and health of our National Treasure the American Bison. / The herd swelling to over 2000 was all now safe behind reinforced corrals awaiting the culling process. / This starts with extracting the obvious sick and injured and old aged. Some of the older Bulls and Cows are finally taken out of the herd as living through another season is weighed against selling to private buyers, zoos and feedlots. / / Next comes the seperation of the mature calves from the mothers, this can be pretty emotional and action packed. The calves can be nearly as big as the mother… but it is still her baby and she will do whatever it takes to protect him/her. These mature calves are most likely sold off to private buyers to start new herds…and since Buffalo meat has been found to be a low fat and low cholesteral meat source, some of the mature calves go to feed lots. / The new born calves and toddler calves are left to stay with the mother for another season. The inoculation of the entire herd comes next…Bursiloisis (sp) is the deadly virus that Buffalo contract and can be passed on to cattle…this is a virulent air born virus and can infect and wipe out an intire herd of cattle…and finally the branding and releasing back into the main herd is the last step in the maintenance of one of the largest herds of Buffalo in the world. / This whole process takes many hours and each animal is treated with the highest care and respect. The National Value of this herd is monumental and the humane treatment of these animals is the highest priority. Stay tuned…last day and evening Guest Rider fun captures and more! / Thanks for viewing this series… I WANT MY MOM / A CALMING TOUCH / OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! / I’M OUTTA’ HERE!!! / I’M FREE!! /

• Ruthlessness
  by Debbie Black

  I have culled my folio by 20 images this morning. More to follow most likely. Going for a minimal gallery. So, I have questions: 1…

  I have culled my folio by 20 images this morning. More to follow most likely. Going for a minimal gallery. So, I have questions: 1. What would you like to see STAY? 2. What would you not miss if it were to disappear? I won’t be offended by your answers to the last one, so please…. be ruthless!

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  tree rat
  by Jon Lees

  Grey Squirrel; pest; vermin; tree rat; nuts; wildlife; gardens; parks; farmland; woodland; Sciurus Carolinensis; invasive species; forestry pest; cull; threat; mammal; tail; furry; cute;

• How do you cull your gallery?
  by Bunny Clarke

  I was going through and cleaning out some images that have not been showing well. As I was going through, I noticed some had more favori…

  I was going through and cleaning out some images that have not been showing well. As I was going through, I noticed some had more favorites than comments. I thought :os What is this? Hit and run favorites? Then, I thought… maybe this is a way for a person to mark an image for purchase later. I also checked and saw some of them that have been featured. While they were featured, they still didn’t have many comments. The last item I looked at was the number of views. I had one that had 16 comments, 4 favorites and over 100 views. O_0 Hmmm. What do you do? I was curious how others handle their culling methods. I should mention I’m fairly new to RB. I joined here in Apr 2009.