Animal Liberation Movement

It would take far more than the space allotted here to comprehensively describe the philosophical and ethical debates that have contributed to the foundation of animal law. Suffice to say that although in the law animals are regarded as the property of human animals, yet in being accorded some protection against mistreatment and cruelty, it could be said that animal law has an ethical, or moral, cornerstone that other property law does not have. If there is such a cornerstone, it would be due at least in part to a recognition that animals are sentient beings, just as human animals are. In fact, the Australian government has as its blueprint for the development of animal law in Australia a statement that it is concerned with humane treatment of 'sentient animals', and a recognition that '[a]ll animals have intrinsic value' (at the time of writing this article, it is unknown whether we are referring here to the present or past government).

That's all well and good, one might think. As a result, a range of animals are being protected against cruelty and increasingly harsh penalties are being imposed on those that break that law. Our domestic animals are given today the protection that humans like slaves, women and children have been deprived of at various times in history (as they too were considered 'property' and denied legal personhood). However, there are far, far more sentient animals being denied protection against cruelty than those that are protected; in fact, the extent of suffering deliberately imposed on some animals by humans, and their sheer numbers, makes that moral cornerstone appear very shaky indeed.

Animals continue to suffer acutely in puppy or kitten mills, in battery cages, pig pens and other factory farming situations, on live transportation ships, on the recreational hunting grounds, and in research laboratories.

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Animal Kingdom Classification

At least 1.5 million different kinds of Animal have been identified by scientists and more are identified every year. The total number of animals in existence may be as high as thirty million, which means that the task of identifying and locating all the Planet Earth's fauna may never be complete. In order to make sense of this diversity, biologists use formal classification systems, in which all the past and present known life is named and organised into groups. Each type of animal is given a unique species name and placed into the group where the species to which its evolutionary development suggests that it is most closely related.

Modern scientific classification dates back to the work of a Swedish botanist and explorer called Karl Linnaeus (18th Century). He devised a system whereby all organisms are classified by two part scientific names written in Latin. The first part of the name refers to the genus to which the animal belongs and the second part denotes its species; this system remains in force today and is understood by scientists all over the world. As well as labelling all living things it shows exactly where a species fits into the living planet.

In scientific classification the species is the basic unit. Species are organised into groups called genera and these are organised into families. This system of groups continues working upwards through orders, classes, phyla and finally into kingdoms. Kingdoms are the largest group and also the highest level in the hierarchy.

Each of the groups in the hierarchy has a common ancestor, which becomes increasingly remote from a species with each higher level of the hierarchy. Identification of the groups is an important part of the classification process and often involves difficult and complicated research.

Traditionally species are defined as groups of living things that share a set of characteristics and that are able to interbreed in the wild. It is sometimes difficult to determine if a group fits the definition so scientists prefer to determine species by examining genetic data. However genetic data does not solve all the classification problems because it still has to be decided if two animals' genes are close enough to warrant their being classed as one species.

Nearly all of today's animal groups were identified before genetic analysis became available. The groups were established on the basis of anatomical evidence both in living species and in those species preserved as fossils. Anatomical studies can be useful in tracing the path of evolution because they can show how certain body parts have been modified, sometimes greatly, for different uses.

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Animal Kingdom Horse

Have you always been led to believe that a soul was just something you have? It is yours, like your hair is yours and it depends if you're having a good or a bad hair day whether you think having a soul is good or bad too. Well, if you continue to see your soul as just a possession of yours that you can't see in a mirror, then you'll not ever come to truly understand your spirit. To understand your soul better, you need to turn your thinking about it around. We know that despite our advanced intellect, humans are still a part of the animal kingdom-so think of yourself as a horse. Like humans, horses have a body and a brain in their horse head. People have bodies and organic brains too, but I still want you to envision yourself as a horse because I'll use that equine form to illustrate how the soul factors in.

I presume you know what a centaur is. It is a magical creature of legend that has the four-legged body of a horse but it also has a human upper torso where the horse's neck and head should be. I had you imagine yourself as a horse but now I want you to be a centaur instead. However, in that centaur form, were you to look at yourself in the mirror you would only see a horse's head. Have you got the picture? You're a centaur and your intellect is centered in the centaur's head, and your eyes can see your body is that of a centaur but a mirror only shows you as a horse. The horse's head is located about where your human bellybutton is but you definitely feel your thinking is being done above there, in your centaur head. Is my depiction confusing? You are a centaur in a way. You are more than a horse. The horse does still live in the same body as you do and it has its horse brain functioning in its horse head. You live in the horse's body but your thinking occurs in the centaur head. Do you have the picture clearly in your mind now? I'll now put you back into your human form to explain the soul.

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World Animal Liberation Week

If you feel helpless when it comes to animal rights, perhaps you should consider joining a local animal rights group, or if one doesn't exist, start your own! One of my favorite times of the month is I attend the local Animal Liberation meetings. It is a great chance to be around like-minded people and think of ideas to help animals. It is amazing how when we all put our heads together we can get things done. Jobs like making placards are so much more fun when you are in a group. You can also do things just for fun, like hold a vegan pot luck, or BBQ, making it a great chance to socialize.

Not only can you organize leaflet drops, stalls and protests as a group. You can also enjoy the company of other animal activists and feel good knowing you are taking action for something you believe in. If you live in Australia you can check out Animal Liberation and Animals Australia websites to see whether there is already an animal action group in your local area. If you live elsewhere just Google animal rights organizations in your area and see what comes up. You can also contact organizations like PETA to see whether they can put you in touch with a local group.

If there is no group local to you, then you can start your own. You may wish to contact a large organization such as PETA, so you can use their pamphlets etc for leafleting and join in their action network. The other option is to start your own general group and not affiliate with just one organization. Some people prefer to start a group specific to one area of animal activism. For example, an anti fur group or an anti-vivisection group. This is good for people who feel strongly about these issues, but not so much others.

Finding People to Join Your Animal Action Group, If you already have a group of friends who want to help animals then that is a great start, but ideally you want as many people to come together as possible to make the group really effective.

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Animal In The Sea

As the name signifies, nothing that has life can flourish in the Dead Sea. It is a massive water body that stretches for about 77 kilometers (48 miles) long and 5 and 18 kilometers (3 and 11 miles) wide. Lying calmly between Jordan and Israel, the lake houses a variety of minerals that are found on the surface of the earth such as sodium, calcium, magnesium and silica. These minerals get carried into rivers and ultimately in the sea when ever it rains, along with rainwater. The two most widely found elements in this Sea are sodium and calcium, which when combines form salt, making the water salty and due to this salinity, Dead Sea creates an extremely ruthless ambiance where animals cannot survive and flourish.

As far as the point of life in the Dead Sea is concerned, the only supportive statement comes from the source bacterium Haloarcula marismortui. It is one of the two species of bacteria that live in the Dead Sea. However, in the region scattered around Dead-Sea, a number of animals originating in Africa can be found, as this area was once a part of the north-eastern corner of the African continent. With the ongoing process of desiccation, a desert belt is formed which eventually isolated the animal population here from its original home. In fact, from this category of animals, the most popular habitant of Dead Sea region is the Rock Rabbit, a social herbivore. The mammal has pads on its short toes that help it climb easily in the rock fissures.

Although the Dead Sea region is specifically categorized as barren land, the rift does support a migration platform for nomadic birds, predators and others that fly to cover the distance from Africa to Northern Europe. These birds glide over the air currents in the mountain corridors, where a few get misled due to the blue color of the river, thinking it be a sweet water lake. These misguided birds come to rest on the Dead-Sea and finally close the chapter of their lives.

Further, the drift of continents cleared the way for Asiatic animals' entry and disturbed the African element that was unable to find survival with the changing climatic conditions. Many animals like crocodile, the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus got vanished from the region. The other African species restricted themselves to the area that still has some minimum possible conditions for endurance.

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