"animals" news and stories

You have probably seen cartons of eggs in the store from "free range" or "cage free" hens, but what about all those other eggs on the shelves? At stores like Wild Oats and Whole Foods, only cage-less eggs are sold, but by some estimates, the eggs from caged hens in an ordinary grocery store could be more than 80% of those on the shelves. Eggs from caged hens are not labeled in any particular way, leaving consumers with the impression that the eggs have a blank slate. In other words, if it doesn't clearly state the eggs' origin, consumers aren't going to spend too much time thinking about it even if they don't support caging chickens.

At least, this is the theory put forward by Washington DC council member Jim Graham, who is proposing a law that would require supermarkets to display signs stating that "Eggs may be from caged hens" on displays of eggs not labeled otherwise. He says that this would increase consumer awareness for the issue, which is receiving more and more attention from animal rights groups, as well as individuals who are "interested in protecting animals"

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It's something of a mystery as to where the FOX network gets some of their programming ideas, so the original inspiration for this particular segment is anyone's guess. Since Takeru Kobayshi can out-eat just about anybody, FOX decided to have him face off against a Kodiak bear - an 8-ft tall, 1000-lb animal - in a hot dog eating competition.

The clip is pretty funny, actually. The announcers treat it almost like a wrestling match and the best line is when they start to talk about the bear's technique vs. Kobayashi's. "[The bear] has a very different approach to eating. See, he looks away and he takes a break. He doesn't know it's a competition. He's just a natural eating machine." For his part, Kobayashi definitely knew it was a competition and didn't take his eyes off the bear.

Who emerged victorious? You'll have to watch the clip to find out, but I will say that someone is already eagerly awaiting a rematch.

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Even though this is a story about an animal and we primarily concentrate on food for people here at Slashfood, it could be used to teach a valuable lesson to kids whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs.

An 18-ft long python was rendered unable to move after swallowing a pregnant sheep whole. Pythons do not eat more than once per week and when they do, they can unhinge their jaws to devour the first thing they come across. This particular python was captured by firefighters in Kuala Lumpur where it was blocking the road after its meal and is now being held by conservationists.

In the past, pythons have encountered some serious problems when they have employed poor judgment in food choices. Last year, for example, a surgeon (also in Kuala Lumpur ) had to operate on a python to remove a queen-sized electric blanket that it had consumed. A snake in Florida actually exploded after attempting to eat an alligator.

The lesson is to really consider your food choices. Even though you may not explode after having that triple hot fudge sundae, it might be best to stick to a single scoop just to be on the safe side.

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A bill that bans the sale of horses for human consumption passed in the House yesterday and is an important step in protecting an animal that is an icon of American culture. Though they are classified as livestock, most regard horses are companion animals due to the unique working relationships that they form with people, through work as cart and police horses and their performance in sports and recreational activities. There are three slaughterhouses in the US, all foreign-owned, that process horse meat for human consumption in places like Japan and parts of Europe. About 90,000 horses from the US are killed each year, either at those plants or after being shipped across borders to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada.

The bill still has to pass through the Senate before it becomes law, but this is generally regarded as a huge victory for those in the horse industry - except for those who profit from the horse slaughter industry, of course - across the country.

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In the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, a group of approximately 40 demonstrators gathered to protest the sale of cat meat at the Fangji Cat Meatball restaurant. Protestors initially demanded that any live cats on the premises be freed or turned over to them, but the shop owner had already removed them from the premises. Instead, a search of the kitchen revealed cat meat and a whole, skinned cat in the fridge, which reduced some of the protestors to tears. The restaurant was chosen as the site of the protest because workers at the restaurant had been seen killing cats in the street, something which concerned parents said was traumatic for children attending school nearby.

The owner of the shop defended the sale and consumption of cats - which are, along with dogs, considered to be traditional, comforting fare in the province - but said that he would close his shop.

Perhaps due to outside influences and the increasing popularity of having dogs and cats as pets, the animal rights movement is gaining momentum in China. An increasing perception of these animals as companions and not food could eventually put a stop to the practice all together.

A local beauty queen, who participated in the protest, even urged people to "stop eating cats and dogs and become civilised."

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