Mulling Over the Profits in Conservation:
The Scottish island of Mull is making $3 million a year from Sea Eagle conservation. Check it out, as these rare birds look very much like immature North American bald eagles. There is also an African bird that looks like a mature bald eagle (as do some of the other sea eagles around the world).
The Internet Has Killed Off the Beaver:
It's a sad thing to see, and once gone, it's probably gone forever.
Carp at the Supreme Court:
The U.S. Supreme Court has just given the greenlight for Asian Carp to eat everything out of the Great Lakes. God help us all as we will not only lose the sport fisheries in the Great Lakes, we will be clubbed to death as it happens.
National Geographic on Hunters as Conservationists:
A hat tip to Doug at The Harris Hawk blog for bird-dogging me (and now you) to National Geographic's article on "Conserving Hunters." Check it out!
AKC Does Something Right:
Sharpen your skates, because hell has frozen over: the AKC has done something right and will allow mixed breeds to compete with purebreds in Obedience, Agility and Rally. Read all about it. A hat tip to Retrieverman for bringing the good news.
Birds, Alligators and Lungs:
Over at the Southern Rockies Nature blog, Chas has a nice post on the parallel lungs of birds and alligators. Not an accident. Check it out!
Crash test:
2009 Chevy Malibu vs. 1959 Chevy Belair:I used to own a four-door straight-six Chevy Belair, and I assure you that modern cars are better than what we had a generation ago in terms of both auto safety and mechanics. Watch this crash video and believe.
Duck and Cover at the Nuclear Power Plant:
"Two goose hunters caused a security lockdown at the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly plant near Amarillo." Goose hunters? Seriously? Seriously.
D-Day With Three People:
Want to see the entire D-Day invasion created with just three people? Watch this amazing video and imagine how easy it was to fake the moon landing.
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As for the AKC lowering its standards to allow mutts in agility competitions, it's hardly the Great American Mutt Show, an event in which my mixed-breed dog competed on national television for several years.
ReplyDeleteKennel clubs in the US and the UK are under more pressure and scrutiny than ever before. They've had a free ride for about 150 years, doing nothing for dogs (unless you think that dog shows have been more about dogs than people) and in return being considered heroes and experts who can do nothing wrong --- they are, after all, "dog lovers."
Take the example of health and conformation. Not only do they NOT guarantee the health of dogs they rubber stamp as "purebred." They actually insert a DISCLAIMER into their registration material relieving themselves of all responsibility. As a diversion from the sad truth that they FORBID any new club seeking recognition for an aspiring breed from including any health stipulations in that would-be breed's standard, kennel clubs have resorted to some transparent extremes to save face.
The English Kennel Club, for example, gives awards for "Health" only in its annual mock-Crufts competition called "Scruffts." This is a show of cross-breed dogs, a kind of novelty side-line event that is not taken seriously by the fancy. In any event, I think it's ironic that only mutts qualify for "Health" ribbons.
As for the latest transparent attempt of the dog snobs to save face: Don't be fooled. Our mutts don't need a kennel club's approval, and quite frankly, they can do without the charity of breed clubs. Entering dogs in these events is only helping to make the bad guys look good, and harming the dog genome in the process.
Michael Brandow
Author, New York's Poop Scoop Law