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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Zoe loves.........

her round faux fleece bed. She is one of the "great whites" (officially called the New Zealand "breed"). She loves to lounge in her bed unless she is given free-run time outside. There, once she gets oriented to the grass and sky and breeze -- then she is off. Watching her move is an exhibition of lumbering grace. When one of the "great whites" does a binky, it seems almost as if the earth trembles.
Zoe  
These bunnies were originally bred for their flesh and their fur. Now they are also extensively used in grotesque and unnecessary "tests" for various products and medicines.


Zoe is a fortunate bunny, because she lives at Heartland Rabbit Rescue....many of her fellow "great whites" are not so lucky.
Zoe up close
Avoid the use of products from companies that test on animals, please. Help out your local animal rescue organizations by adopting from them, if you can't adopt then foster....if you can't foster then volunteer....if you can't volunteer then donate. Do all of these if possible.

Zoe, like most "domestic" animals, has an ancestral line that was pushed (by humans) in a direction that eventually made the "domestic" being dislocated from their place in nature. Zoe, and others like her would have little chance of surviving in the world if she were on her on.

She and countless others "domestic" animal people have had their birthright (the opportunity to live their lives on their planet without being dependent on those not of her kind) taken from them and now must depend on beings from a different species.

When I see Zoe, I see the results of human greed and thoughtlessness and arrogance. Zoe is a wonderful being and I care for her greatly.....but she should not exist and all human animals owe her and all "domestics" an immeasurable debt for the unfathomable wrongs we have visited on her and all the others. Shame on us.

Humans that allow, encourage or profit from the continued reproduction of domestic animals are simply perpetuating a crime of gargantuan dimensions.

10 comments:

Krissa said...

She is so beautiful! Looking at her relaxing there makes me feel peaceful so thanks for the photo and thanks Zoe for a calm moment (I don't get enough of those). ... The dependence of our furry friends on us is something that goes through my mind a lot. It evolved from being upset about 'cat food' - where it comes from, I mean - to the realization that if by some wonderful miracle slaughterhouses closed, we've messed it up so bad that the cats/dogs/and many others in our families would be in big trouble. It is so sad and so wrong. And it's another one of those issues that my brain just spins because of. ... I read that bunnies don't have eyelids and that's how they were singled out to be tested on for the eye irritation. That just breaks my heart. I know I'd be preaching to the choir so I'll skip my harangue about how unnecessary and horrific those product tests are. I am so glad for Zoe and all the others who are fortunate enough to not suffer in labs. And I am glad for the happy moments they have even though us humans have fixed it so they can't live in the world without our 'help' and support.

veganelder said...

Thanks Krissa for commenting. Rabbits do have eyelids, I have seen several "reasons" given why rabbits are used for these tests....I suspicion it all comes down to money...rabbits can be obtained fairly cheaply. Humans ought to test on themselves if they want to find out the impact of something...leave the other animals out of it. Zoe does not wear mascara and so she (nor her fellow bunnies) should not be made to find out if it is bad for your eye.

Let the person that created the product test it on themselves. Likely much less crap would come to market.

I too am glad Zoe is in a place where she is safe and has her beloved bed.

Christina said...

Zoe does love her comfort. I cant blame her. I have seen so much attitude towards the big white kids from even folks that have nothing to do with testing on animals. Comments like "their red eyes are scary". PFFFT! Their eyes are beautiful and as a little girl named Sarah put it...."their eyes sparkle like rubies"

White bunnies like Zoe and black bunnies like Mojo are the most commonly put to sleep in animals shelters. I guess they arent cute enough? Define "cute".

It is very easy and very affordable now to buy products that arent tested on animals.

Krissa said...

I totally agree that humans should only test on our own if we are going to do those stupid, unnecessary tests. If someone needs to be told not to get shampoo, bleach, dish washing soap, laundry detergent or anything else in their eye - hmmm, well if I finish that sentence I'm going to open the door to a touchy subject. But I can not believe that companies and government agencies are allowed by 'the people' to do these horrific tests "for our own good". There's a little thing called common sense. Of course with our litigious society there are liability issues and that's another driving force behind these hideous tests, but again, that's a whole other subject. The circle comes back again to greed and the almighty dollar. Sigh. The poor living things on this planet caught up in our madness. How very sad. ... On a different note, I wonder where I read that about rabbits' eyelids because I didn't think it sounded right. And I've seen them sleep so I didn't know what that was all about, but it doesn't help them when they're being tested on. The testing issue is actually what led me to become vegan. So thanks for shining a light on it with this post.

veganelder said...

Thank you for commenting Christina...the "great whites" and the "great blacks" are among my favorites....but all the bunnies are terrific beings.

veganelder said...

Thanks Krissa for your follow-up comment. What you may have read about eyelids probably had to do with what is called a third eyelid or the nictitating membrane. This is an eyelid that is transparent and exists in full or vestigial form in many birds and other animals. This allows protection and moisturizing of the eye without losing vision.

Rabbits have a full transparent eyelid (in addition to a full outer opaque eyelid). This sometimes results in a rather startling look when a bunny sleeps with only its transparent eyelid closed....especially if they are lying on their side - they look as if they are dead because they are motionless with their eyes open...spooky the first time you see it.

Krissa said...

Oh my gosh - that maybe explains it and it's even worse than I thought. The inner transparent eyelid that the rabbits have (thanks for the updated comment with info) probably makes the (insert curse word here) testing even worse!!! :( I either remembered incorrectly or the info I read way back when was totally wrong, but I know it had to do with their eyelids in connection to the *tests*. Well, I'd rather know the truth than ignore it, but this is another one of those things that's going to stick in my mind and wake me up at night. My heart breaks for the souls languishing in agony in the labs.

Bea Elliott said...

Immeasurably "gargantuan dimensions" - Indeed.

So I'm Thinking Of Going Vegan said...

Well said veganelder! And thankfully even many nonvegans realize that testing is just plain wrong.

veganelder said...

Thanks Bea and SITOGV for commenting. The useless infliction of undeserved misery is maddening and stupefying to me.

What must go on in the emotions and minds of the people that work in places or profit from organizations that do these things. If karma exists, then woe be unto them.