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May 26th, 2010
We Animals FUNDRAISER, May 29th, 6pm




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Hi everyone,

A group of amazing people are holding a fundraiser for We Animals this weekend.
Saturday, May 29th at 6pm.
Nulogy Loft
183 Bathurst St, 4th floor
north of Queen St. W

It will be a fun evening including:
an exhibit of We Animals photography, a silent auction of prints, clothing, jewelry, spa treatments, getaways at hotels, etc. Lots of fun stuff! Also, a foosball tourney and a poker tournament too!

There will be food and wine.

Come one come all!
Please invite your friends,
and please RSVP to info@weanimals.org

By supporting We Animals, you`re supporting over 30 animal welfare organizations who benefit from the free photos that promote their work, and you also help raise awareness about animal issues around the globe.

If you can`t attend the event, please consider making a small donation via Pay Pal at open link

Thanks everyone!

For the animals,
Jo-Anne

(In this photograph, Cambodian Free the Bears staff member plays with a rescued asiatic black bear cub. open link)


May 26th, 2010
A Tribute




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I attended the 2009 Canadian Purina Hall of Fame awards a few weeks back. To be sure, there were some bright and compassionate animals awarded for bravery. One dog in particular, named Chance (see photo), had spent two days and nights in a snow storm with a young autistic boy who had got lost in the forest near his house. The dog never left the boy's side, not even for food, water or shelter. Only when there was no hope left for the boy, who eventually succumbed to hypothermia, did the dog return home. When Chance received his medal, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Many animals deserve our recognition, not just those we keep like family members as "man's best friend". There are billions of animals each year who serve us and yet remain voiceless, faceless, unrecognized. These factory farmed animals, who also have personalities, desires, fears and compassion, live short and painful lives so that we, and our dogs, may consume them at the lowest possible price. There are no rewards for these animals.

There are few tributes to factory farmed animals, least of all from Purina.

So, this is mine, to all the rest.


May 21st, 2010
More information about the wildlife situation in the Gulf




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There are oiled birds being rescued in the Gulf of Mexico as we speak. However, the majority of them aren’t saturated in oil and only have their chests or bellies tainted. If a bird becomes badly oiled, this can cause hypo- or hyperthermia, depending on whether they are wet or how high the Gulf heat climbs. The Tri-State bird rescue teams are situated at 4 locations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and are equipped for worst-case scenarios. Everyone’s hope is that the birds will stay clear of the oiled areas, but this is next to impossible due to the size of the spill, during a time when birds are nesting and rearing young ones. Please visit open link if you are interested in helping wildlife during this time of crisis, which might well be one of the worst environmental disasters this world has seen.
In this photograph, two rescued and de-oiled brown pelicans rest and recuperate in privacy at the Fort Jackson Tri-State rehab center.


May 20th, 2010
There's no more hiding the oil




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Experiencing the oil spill first hand has left me feeling really sick about the future of the wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. On a clear day when the ocean waters were smooth and compliant, our Tri-State bird rescue boat went out into the Gulf. The previous day had been stormy, the ocean turbulent. As a result, the waves had coughed up a coast line's worth of tar balls which coated beaches, barrier reefs and the bayous with thick orange oil. Out in the waters, balls of oil floated everywhere and we understood why so many of the birds we'd seen had orange-coated chest feathers. In this photograph, a local Vietnamese fisherman, Phuc Nguyen, scoops up a barrel full of oil for closer examination.


May 20th, 2010
Tri-State Bird Rescue Team




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On May 17th I joined Tri-State Bird Rescue and US Coast Guard folks on their boats. Each day, rescue teams go out into the Missisissippi River and the Gulf of Mexico in search of oiled and injured birds. What we saw were many oiled birds, but only on their bellies. They were still able to fly, though they were preening the oiled areas often. This in itself doesn’t bode well for the birds, because they are ingesting the oil while preening. The oil spill is getting thicker and more apparent along the coast, so the birds will continue to be effected. In this photograph, Jaime Stich combs the oil-spattered beaches for injured or oiled birds.

If you are interested in helping wildlife during this crisis, here are a few links:
People protecting Animals and Their Habitats open link
Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research open link
International Bird Rescue Research Center open link
And the BP volunteer response program, open link