http://www.care2.com/news/member/579168353/981537

Bush Administration Finalizes Rule; Blocks Crucial Polar Bear Protections US Politics & Gov't  (tags: Polar bears, endangered species, Endangered Species Act, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Defenders of Wildlife, environment ) Maggie - 13 minutes ago - defenders.org The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FW announced today that it will deny the polar bear the appropriate and necessary protections of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). “This rule makes a mockery of the Endangered Species Act, our nation’s

Cat killer sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison
Animal advocates urged longer term
By John R. Ellement
Globe Staff / September 5, 2008
Email| Print| Single Page| Yahoo! Buzz| ShareThisText size – + An East Boston man was sentenced yesterday to 2 1/2 years in prison by a Suffolk Superior Court judge who had been urged by cat lovers to impose a tougher sentence on Luigi Epifania for killing a cat and setting its corpse on fire in 2007.

Epifania was convicted by a jury last month of the malicious killing of a domestic animal and arson for the death of Nunu, a neighborhood cat.

He confessed to detectives that he stomped the animal to death, set it on fire, and tossed its remains through the window of a Princeton Street apartment building.

In letters sent to Superior Court Judge Charles T. Spurlock, five cat lovers demanded the maximum sentence of five years in jail for the June 13, 2007, attack. One letter warned that Epifania could be on his way to becoming a serial killer.

Epifania did not address the court, but his lawyer, James N. Greenberg, told Spurlock his client was in the throes of a heroin addiction at the time of the cat's death and other acts of violence in which Epifania participated.

"The media is here looking for a monster," Greenberg said of his 25-year-old client in court. "He is not a monster."

Greenberg said outside the courtroom that Epifania was familiar with the cat and had often fed the animal.

Greenberg said he was convicted of the charge based on a taped confession coerced out of him by Boston police detectives.

Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Yaw Gyebi urged Spurlock to send Epifania to state prison for two to four years for the cat killing and the arson, which caused property damage.

Speaking from the bench, Spurlock acknowledged getting the letters and reading them.

One woman wrote: "It is up to humans to protect all animals on this earth. I beg of you to sentence him to the fullest degree."

Another woman urged Spurlock to ignore Epifania's assertions of heroin addiction and to keep in mind that FBI studies show men who abuse animals eventually attack humans.

"Clearly this man has a violent nature, one he needs to be punished for," she wrote. "Mr. Epifania has shown he fits this pattern of cruelty toward animals leading to violence against humans . . . Please in the name of Nunu, a harmless feline, punish Mr. Epifania to the fullest extent of the law."

The judge did not address the letter writers' requests in his sentencing. He told Epifania that his problem was chronic substance abuse and that he better change his ways.

"Drugs are his problem," the judge said from the bench. "He's got a problem and he's got to address it. He's got to stay clean."

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals supported the judge's decision to imprison the East Boston man.

Epifania was also sentenced for attacking a man with a knife and a hot frying pan on June 11, 2007, in East Boston.

Spurlock gave Epifania five years' probation for the attack on the man with mandatory attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, along with drug testing once released from custody.

The judge warned Epifania that he will personally monitor what happens, and cautioned that he could be sent to state prison if he violates his probation.

With credit for the 437 days he spent at the Nashua Street Jail awaiting trial, Greenberg said Epifania should be released from the South Bay House of Correction in about three months.

"In this day and age we like pets more than people," Greenberg said.

Sunday, 20 May 2007
Mars has abandoned its plan to use animal products in chocolate,
apologising to vegetarians who organised a campaign against the
changehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mars-we-were-wrong-to-use-animal-products-449653.html

This is the link to a great video I received. It is the cutest thing

http://bl118w.blu118.mail.live.com/mail/ScanAttachment.aspx?messageid=4d31a318-35b0-41ad-86b4-cd3b293b1b7d&bissafe=True&attindex=0&cp=1252&attdepth=0

August 22, 2008
World's largest bear sanctuary welcomes two new residents

Max and Ursula, two blind bears who had spent their entire lives in captivity, are enjoying new lives of freedom at WSPA's bear sanctuary in Romania. Max had been taken from his mother as a cub and kept in a cage as part of a roadside tourist attraction for 13 years, while Ursula lived in a barren pen at the Bruhusi Zoo for 26 years. Both bears are now settling in at the sanctuary with the 32 other resident bears who have also been rescued from lifetimes of abuse and misery. Like the other bears, Max and Ursula will now be able to swim in freshwater ponds, forage for food, and climb trees for the first time in their difficult lives.

Read their stories and watch a video of Max's first steps at the sanctuary >>



http://www.wspa-usa.org/newsletters.cfm?action=act_newsletters_redirect&broadcastID=628&linkID=11474&ID=112091&link=http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/2488_blind_bears_start_new_lives_in_world_s_largest_bear_sanctuary.cfm

OMG I just received this by email....sometimes it is good to hear good news too...

don't miss!:

Irish Otters'Tale

I saw that a lot of people have posted very interesting news, which are important to share (the one about Gwyneth Paltrow was a shock   ) so I will gather them here. This post has gone unnoticed but I think it would be a good idea to post news here from now on, and to keep the petitions topics for petitions as much as possible,so to have an easier work when signing.

Thanks a million for your patience and understanding

Posting news was a great idea, keep it up!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/06/nude-olympic-swimmers-ant_n_117276.html

Gold Medalest swimmer supports Peta to bring the issue of fur to China.

Please post here good or bad news relating to animal and environmental issues.