Update: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed these comments to the Humane Society. It was in fact The American Humane Association, a separate organization, which spoke out against the producers of The Hobbit. The Humane Society emailed us that “The Humane Society of the United States is not affiliated with AHA and we have not made a comment about the film or the unfortunate death of these animals.” We are sorry for the confusion and for misattributing those comments.

Apparently 27 animals died on a farm that was connected with production for The Hobbit, including three horses, over a dozen chickens and several goats and sheep. Some of the deaths sound like neglect and abuse, including a horse being tied up by its legs for hours, and chickens dying due to exposure. Other animal deaths were due to the poor conditions on the farm where the animals were being kept. The farm had a lot of dangerous terrain like sinkholes, creeks and dropoffs. Even more horses suffered injuries that were serious but not fatal. Four horse trainers repeatedly warned production that the animals were in danger, but their pleas fell on deaf ears and more animals needlessly died. It’s very sad and seems more than preventable. (You can read more about it here.)

Of course PETA weighed in on this early, and now a more legitimate animal rights organization, The American Humane Association, has condemned the production company. Representatives from The American Humane Association did visit the set in New Zealand to make sure animals were being treated properly. They signed off on production, but didn’t see the poor conditions where the animals were being housed until many animals perished.

In light of the shocking revelation that 27 animals died during filming of the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the American Humane Association has issued a statement slamming the safety on the blockbuster movie set.

“The injuries and deaths of animals living at the working farm where some of the animal actors from The Hobbit were also being housed were needless and unacceptable,” said the association, which has protected more than a million animals and claims to have a 99.98 percent safety record, in an e-mail to RadarOnline.com.

“The organization renewed its call to the entertainment industry asking for additional jurisdiction and funding to keep animal actors safe not only while they are working on set, but off set as well to address illegitimate suppliers of animals and to ensure proper training, housing and retirement of these important and beloved co-stars of film and television.”

The AHA had previously come under fire by PETA as despite there being a representative at the Wellington, New Zealand, filming location, wranglers revealed shockingly dangerous conditions on the farm, that was filled with bluffs, sinkholes and other “death traps.”

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, four of the trainers on Peter Jackson’s latest installment of the fantasy franchise became whistleblowers and divulged details including the deaths of three horses and numerous sheep, goats, and chickens, sparking an investigation by PETA spanning several months.

In defense of their staff member, the AHA President and CEO Dr. Robin Ganzert revealed to Radar, “We are currently only empowered to monitor animal actors while they are working on production sets. We do not have either the jurisdiction or funding to extend that oversight to activities or conditions off set or before animals come under our protection.

“There are too many incidents off the set and this must stop. It is vital that we work with the industry to bring the kind of protection we have for animals during filming to all phases of production.

“Because of American Humane Association’s monitoring of the animal action, which included having a licensed veterinarian on the scene, no animals were harmed on set during filming of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

“However, upon learning of injuries and deaths of animals while being housed at a working farm 186 miles from the main set and 26 miles from the soundstage, American Humane Association went beyond its jurisdiction and authority to visit, examine and make safety recommendations and improvements to the farm. These recommendations were implemented a year ago, bringing a higher level of animal welfare to all animals living on the site into the future.

“We owe it to these hard-working and beloved members of our community, just as we work to take care of their human counterparts,” Ganzert concluded. “Anything less is unacceptable.”

PETA sent a letter to Oscar winning director Jackson highlighting the multitude of horrors on his movie set, and after receiving what they described as a “thoroughly unsatisfactory response” from Jackson, PETA will now be protesting the world premieres of The Hobbit in New Zealand, England and the U.S and demanding a date of when they might hear the outcome of Jackson’s own internal investigation.

[From Radar]

This story is confusing, particularly that it’s coming out now when production is well over, and when improvements were supposedly made to the animals’ living conditions over a year ago. (Although for once I agree with PETA protesting something.) What I want to know is how bad things have to be on a farm for that many animals to needlessly die? It sounds like the trainers made it more than clear that animals were in immediate danger but that nothing was done at all until the American Humane Association got involved again. Honestly it makes me want to skip this film, although it’s going to be such a blockbuster I’ll have a hard time staying away.

Production was permanently shut down on HBO’s Luck after three horses died on set. Many more animals died here and no one in charge took it as a wake up call and just pressed on. Other than the bad publicity, I doubt that the production company will face any consequences here. This movie is going to make a ton of money and they couldn’t be bothered to spend just a tiny fraction more to make sure their animal actors were safe.

Also, director Peter Jackson has adopted three pigs used in the film. Did he do it because he loves pigs or was it damage control? Is he going to eat them as meat? I have no problem with that if they’re treated well, I’m just asking.

Blake Shelton has a long, well documented drinking and tweeting problem, to the point where his wife Miranda Lambert has called herself a “twittow,” or Twitter widow. (I know, it’s stupid.) Blake’s latest Twitter controversy involves him bragging about running over a box turtle in Oklahoma and wondering aloud if they’re endangered in that state. (From what I could find, they’re not, they’re just threatened depending on the species.) When people tried to call Blake out for harming wildlife he got all defensive and angry, and ultimately tried to claim that he wasn’t even in Oklahoma and was making a joke. Weak. Put down the Barcadi and step away from the Blackberry.

On July 27, Shelton made the odd choice to boast about how he deliberately ran over a turtle with his car:

@blakeshelton
“Does anyone know if the Eastern Box turtle is protected in Oklahoma? If so I didn’t just swerve to the shoulder of the road to smash one…”

Not surprisingly, the Twittersphere responded with concern and anger. NPR blogger Barbara J. King replied to Shelton’s tweet, asking if it was a bad joke:

“That turtle’s life meant something- was your tweet a bad joke? Why would you be so cruel to a living being?”

Shelton, in return, told her to “Shut up...”

After that remark, Shelton was inundated with angry tweets, most of which he flippantly responded to, but later he responded with increasing hostility to a user named @turtlefeed, who was repeatedly tweeting about Shelton’s perceived apathy toward animal life. Sheton wrote:

“Hey @turtlefeed. Before u make an even bigger dipshit of urself you should research on how much money I have raised to feed homeless animals,” adding, “Hey @turtlefeed.. I solely have raised over a million dollars in animal rescue/conservation alone… How much have you raised? Oh. Ok. Next!”

Watching a Twitter fight between a celebrity and their followers is always simultaneously amusing and depressing, but in a series of tweets, Shelton finally broke down and said he was joking about killing the turtle:

“The best part of all of this is that the dumb asses didn’t even look to see that I’m not even in Oklahoma today!! I’m in North Dakota!! Do they even have turtles in North Dakota?!!! God almighty!!! What’s wrong with people?! Get a life!! Get a job!! Get laid!! For once!!!” He later added, “For the last time I didn’t hit a turtle! I haven’t seen a turtle! So please all you turtle freaks go back to eating your boogers!! It’s ok.”

Shelton got so much flak, both for his joke and for the way that he responded to critics, that he was finally forced to apologize for having a poor sense of humor:

@blakeshelton
“Ok.. Now that “Turtle-Gate” is over I want to apologize for my ignorant joke.. I never ran over a turtle. It wasn’t even possible.“

[From Huffington Post]

I don’t get it. If he didn’t kill a turtle why was he acting like he did until people responded negatively? Sure he likes to hunt, but in my mind that’s different, that’s killing an animal for meat, not just because you can. Although a lot of people do it for sport of course. I never really hunted or understood the appeal of hunting, but I’m a meat eater and am not against it as long as the animal is used for meat.

I live in the country in Virginia, and I’ve “saved” a few box turtles who have wandered onto the road. If you’re driving and there aren’t any other cars around, it’s just the right thing to do to move them to the side. Box turtles don’t hurt anyone, and they’re actually kind of cute. Plus they move slow so it’s easy to rescue them. (I once even “saved” a snapping turtle, although all I really did was stop. The next dude who stopped had big protective gloves and a box and stuff. He was the one who moved it to the other side of the road. There’s no way I would have done that on my own.) I’ve never personally seen anyone swerve to deliberately hit a turtle, although a friend of mine claims to have seen people do it. It just seems like such a stupid, redneck thing to do, nonetheless brag about as if it were funny.

My dad saved this little guy below a couple of years ago, and I took these photos. My son loved this turtle and called him “boxy.” He hung out at my parents’ pond for a little while before he decided to head off into the woods nearby.

These photos are notable for two reasons. One, Alessandra Ambrosio just gave birth on May 7th, only two months ago. And her body has already bounced back to “bangin’”. The second reason why these photos are notable: Alessandra has a tiny little dog, who you can see in these photos. Her puppy is dyed purple and pink. As you can imagine, PETA had a sh-t fit.

It looks like this Angel is barking up the wrong tree.

Alessandra Ambrosio is used to turning heads every time she steps out on the street, but it seems the Victoria’s Secret supermodel drew the wrong kind of attention when she took her dip-dyed pink and purple pooch for a walk in Malibu on Thursday.

The brunette beauty and mom of two came under fire from animal rights advocates PETA after photographers snapped photos of Ambrosio carrying her fashion-forward dog to a lunch date with long-time fiance Jamie Mazur.

“What most people don’t know is that dyeing a companion animal’s fur can cause the animal stress and can lead to complications or allergic reactions that endanger the animal’s health.” PETA said in a statement.

“Our dogs and cats love us regardless of how we look; why not extend the same kindness to them?” the statement said.

But if the model, 31, was concerned about her furry friend, she didn’t show it.

[From The NYDN]

PETA also had a fit when Emma Watson was seen out with what turned out to be a friend’s pink-dyed puppy. Basically, PETA’s latest mission in life is yelling about people dyeing their dogs. I don’t really have a strong opinion either way – I think dyeing a dog is dumb, for sure, but I’ll buy that it’s not harmful to the dog if the owner makes sure that the dye is organic. I have to admit, though – Alessandra’s puppy is EXTREMELY cute. I’m not even a small-dog person and I want to cuddle this puppy. Is it because the puppy is pink and purple? Not really. This puppy just has a really sweet face.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, WENN, PCN.

Have any of you been watching HBO’s “Luck”? From what I’ve read, It’s about a recently paroled mobster (Dustin Hoffman) who gets into the horse racing business, and sketchiness ensues. Nick Nolte also stars as a horse trainer. The first season has been airing since early February, with the pilot debuting in mid December. I have HBO, but I usually either DVR the shows I’m watching or use HBO Go, and I have to admit that I have no recollection of the show whatsoever. It just didn’t register with me. (Maybe that’s because I have blinders on and am so focused on the upcoming premiere of “Game of Thrones.”)

Well a third horse just died on the set of “Luck,” after producers were blasted for two earlier premature deaths of horses used in the show. The series was just canceled and production for the second season was totally shut down. There are two more episodes set to air in this season and that’s it. The ratings for “Luck” are consistently about double to triple the ratings for another new HBO series, the critically acclaimed “Enlightened.” So while ratings may have played a small role in the show’s cancellation, it seems the fate of the poor horses were what really pushed it over the edge. Here’s more:

Following the deaths of three horses on the set of its racing drama Luck, HBO announced Wednesday that it will cease all future production on the series.

Executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann made the decision “with heartbreak,” according to a statement from HBO.

“We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horseracing anywhere with many fewer incidents than occur in racing or than befall horses normally in barns at night or pastures,” reads the statement.

“While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won’t in the future. Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision.”

The latest death of a horse came Tuesday, when a 5-year-old thoroughbred reared back and hit its head after a fall, sustaining a severe injury that led to its euthanization.

The American Humane Association insisted that filming involving horses cease, but shooting on the second season of the series continued without horses while the investigation proceeded. Groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for the show to halt all production.

“The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers,” Milch and Mann said in the statement. “This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future.”

[From People]

Radar Online has a very extensive analysis of just why so many horses were dying on set. They talked to a VP at PETA, though, so take this for what it is. According to the “equine expert” at PETA, Kathy Guillermo, it was more about the fact that the horses were retired race horses whose bodies just weren’t up to racing again. The horses were apparently compelled to race when they were put on the track, just due to their years of training, and the poor creatures weren’t up to it. Radar also interviewed a veterinarian, who said “Looking over the necropsy forms, it appears to me that these horses had been retired for a reason so I think that people are right to have raised concerns over the show. We all make mistakes and this is a big one on HBO’s part from the horse’s perspective.” That’s sad, and you would have hoped that they would have used more fit and younger horses at least after the untimely deaths of the first two. It never happened though, another horse died, and the show had to be shut down. They probably just used old horses because it was cheaper.

Also, I really like Nick Nolte and I’m kind of sad for him, too. He’s got a ton of movies coming out this year and he was just nominated for his third Oscar, so it’s not like his career is suffering at all though.

As we saw a few days ago, Duchess Kate’s first royal Christmas seemed to go very well. She got lots of attention in her plum coat and coordinating hat, she wore her seemingly new Christmas gift earrings (green amethysts!), and she looked happy. But all was not perfect in The Queendom of Waity. Animal-rights activists had basically come out and said that they would be putting a fatwa out on Kate if she participated in the royal family’s annual Boxing Day pheasant shoot. So what did Kate do? She went to the hunt, but she “stayed in the background,” not participating in the blood sport. Good for Kate? I don’t know. It seems like the animal-rights people are gloating, and they feel like they have leverage on her now.

Kate Middleton has declined to participate in the Royal Family’s traditional Boxing Day bird shoot. The wife of Prince William reportedly went against protocol and opted to “stay in the background” following pleas from animal rights organizations to step out of the Sandringham Estate celebration.

“At the moment Kate is very much the bright new star of the Royal Family and the Palace is keen for her to keep her nose clean,” a source told the Daily Star. “Activists have begged her not to join the shoot. No-one wants to see her caught up in a scandal so soon.”

Middleton’s move has been commended by a number of charity representatives, with the League Against Cruel Sports commenting: “We are pleased that Kate has decided not to take part in the annual bloodbath.”

PETA further praised the Duchess of Cambridge for continuing the anti-bloodsport sentiments held by her late mother-in-law Princess Diana.

“The Royals have always had a hard time adjusting to social value,” president Ingrid Newkirk commented. “Rather than emulating Diana the Huntress, perhaps the British public is seeing a new Kate who is taking after Diana, the Princess of Hearts.”

Prince Philip was absent from the Boxing Day shoot due to his hospitalization for a blocked coronary artery. He was discharged this morning (December 27) after recovering from heart surgery.

[From Digital Spy]

“No-one wants to see her caught up in a scandal so soon.” Is it really a “scandal” to take part in the royal family’s annual Boxing Day activities? She would have been criticized if she had taken part, but it wouldn’t have been a “scandal,” it would have just been a (minor) animal-rights controversy. You know I’m no Kate-defender, but I dislike how the animal-rights groups are using poor Kate. She’s damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t, and why is only HER participation an issue? What about the other members of the royal family?

So… in my opinion, the only real “scandal” Kate is currently embroiled in is The Great Weave Scandal. I still have concerns that Kate is employing weaves and extensions. Oh, and let’s not forget The Raccoon McWaity Scandal. I wonder what her eyeliner budget is? Why doesn’t anyone think of the poor, victimized eyeliner?

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame.

The story of all the slaughtered exotic animals in Ohio makes me incredibly sad, especially after seeing the photo of the poor creatures laid out dead on the grass. You wonder if authorities could have handled it more humanely and if the lives of those endangered animals could have been saved. It’s no one’s fault except for the awful man who collected them and set them free, and police were just trying to make sure that no one was harmed. I wonder if they could have done it differently and asked for large animal veterinarians to help before they shot them dead, but it’s hard to judge from the outside. The Human Society has issued a statement that they “do not fault [authorities] for using lethal force” in that case. This article on CNN explains how tranquilizer darts don’t work as effectively or quickly as we might think, and can actually agitate animals and make them more dangerous. Cops may have legitimately feared for their lives and the lives of nearby citizens and may have had no other way to defend themselves than to put the animals down.

A lot of people are saying that no one should have been permitted to privately own that many exotic animals at once, or really at all. I guess they’re relatively simple to obtain at auction and there are no regulations against ownership of wild animals in Ohio. Never one to pass up an opportunity for publicity, rabid animal rights group PETA is asking the upcoming Cameron Crowe film, We Bought a Zoo, to include a warning against ownership of exotic pets in its promotional materials and on screen during the credits. We Bought a Zoo is out on December 23, 2011 and stars Matt Damon and Scarlet Johansson.

Based on Benjamin Mee’s memoir, the film stars Damon as a father who moves his family to the countryside to help save a struggling zoo. Johansson plays a keeper at the animal park, which is home to an assortment of lions, tigers, zebras and bears, among other creatures.

PETA says it has sent a letter to Zoo director Cameron Crowe urging him to include a warning at the end of the movie about the dangers of owning wild animals.

“We Bought a Zoo conveys the misleading and downright dangerous message that no special knowledge—just a lot of heart—is needed to run a zoo,” PETA’s Lisa Lange said in a statement.

“As the tragedy in Ohio gruesomely illustrates, wild animals aren’t Disney characters. They have very special needs that all too often aren’t met by people who buy them on a whim because they think it would be cool to own a tiger.”

PETA has asked Crowe to also insist that 20th Century Fox, the studio behind the film, include warnings on all marketing materials, including movie posters.

There are up to 15,000 captive big cats in the U.S., mostly privately owned, according to the animal rights group.

A rep for Fox did not immediately comment.

[From E! Online]

I hate that I’m defending PETA here, but it’s actually a reasonable request and they’re not mocking anyone or sounding especially rude in the letter they’ve sent to Crowe. (That we can tell.) It’s not like they’re calling for a boycott of the film, or the movie to be pulled or anything. Compared to some of the crap they usually pull, this is pretty “tame.” It’s also quite clever, for PETA, in that they’re using a recent event to raise awareness and sympathy without alienating people by condemning anyone. I’m sure they’ll do something next week that’s just as outrageous as we’ve come to expect from them, though.

Here’s the trailer for We Bought a Zoo. It looks really good and that child actress is adorable.

Note: these photos are from 2008, well before this trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed. Credit: WENN

I know that I should get mad about more important stories, and I do, but this one upset me so much that I wanted to write about it. Remember how that killer whale at Sea World dragged a trainer to her death last year? That was witnessed by spectators including little kids at a Sea World performance, with the tape released online and shown on TV. It was pretty terrifying and sad to see a woman who dedicated her life to caring for marines animals get killed by one. That was in late February, 2010 and many animal rights activists, including actor Eli Roth, urged Sea World to reconsider their policy of keeping such large dangerous marine mammals in captivity. Well not only has Sea World not heeded anyone’s wishes, they’ve put that exact whale, Tilikum, back to work doing shows. Tilikum has killed two other people in his lifetime along with his trainer.

All 12,000 pounds of Tilikum will be on display when he performs in the “Believe” show this morning.

In a statement, executives from SeaWorld defended Tilikum’s reentry into the performing world saying it “is an important component of his physical, social and mental enrichment.”

Tilikum has been connected to the death of three humans. The last death was on Feb. 24, 2010 when Tilikum used his girth to snatch trainer Dawn Brancheau’s ponytail, pull her underwater and shake her violently until she died.

The death was caught on tape and watched by horrified spectators…

In August, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that Seaworld showed indifference or intentional disregard for employee safety by exposing workers to drowning hazards when they interact with killer whales.

The agency fined SeaWorld $75,000 and recommended that trainers not be allowed to have any physical contact with Tilikum unless protected by a physical barrier.

In response, SeaWorld officials say they are building fast rising false bottom floors capable of lifting whales and trainers out of the water in an emergency.

[From ABC]

Sea World is like “whatever, we’re building something at some point that might prevent someone from dying maybe.” Only they don’t have those “fast rising floors” built yet and are putting this whale back in the shows so it can earn its keep. If you saw that tape that lady was killed in a few moments. Some trick floor that isn’t even ready yet wouldn’t have prevented her death.

I get that you can’t just take a whale that’s lived in captivity all its life and put it back in the ocean. You can make the decision not to put it in a live stage show when it’s killed three people though. I’m never going to visit a SeaWorld park and I would encourage everyone to consider whether they want to spend money there.

While I think it’s pretty dumb to wear fur at this point, I also think it’s kind of mean to pick on poor Queen Elizabeth II. QEII wore some kind of (fox?) fur hat on Christmas day, plus a coat with a matching fur trim. And now PETA and various British animal rights groups are all up in arms. QEII is really old, though – my point being that she probably still thinks she’s living in a time when fur trimmings are considered the height of fashion. Plus, it’s really cold. What is she supposed to wear to church, polar fleece? Eh. Here’s more from The Daily Mail:

The Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall came under fire from animal rights campaigners ­yesterday after they both wore fur hats on Christmas Day. The Russian-style hats they wore to attend a church service in ­Sandringham with other members of the Royal Family were made from fur from different types of fox, claimed experts.

Andrew Tyler, director of Animal Aid, said: ‘This strikes me as an ostentatious display of cruelty. To parade fur in 2010 says something unpleasant about the person wearing it.’

The Cossack-style hat worn by Camilla was made from ‘vintage fur’, by designer milliner Philip Treacy, using a piece of fur which had previously belonged to the duchess’s mother.

A spokesman for the Queen said she could not confirm if Her Majesty’s cream-coloured hat and matching coat trim were made from real fur but experts said they were convinced it was. Many fashion designers continue to use fur in their collections, and campaigners have expressed fears that it has come back into style. They have called on celebrities and members of the Royal Family to ‘set a good example’ by ­choosing not to wear animal pelts.

The Queen has worn fur in the past and her official robes for State occasions are trimmed with ermine, the winter coat of the stoat.

Camilla faced anger from animal rights organisations last year, when she wore fur twice during an official visit to Canada. First she wore a grey rabbit stole when she visited Newfoundland, together with a hat trimmed with fake fur. She then donned a calf-length cape lined with grey fox fur. Both pieces were said to have been ‘refashioned’ from vintage fur that had belonged to her grandmother, Sonia Cubitt, Baroness Ashcombe, whose mother, Alice Keppel, was a mistress of Edward VII.

The ethical question of ‘recycling’ vintage fur has split opinion, but Mr Tyler said: ‘It doesn’t matter when the animal was killed, it’s a body part and a product of cruelty.’

In 2000 Prince Edward’s wife Sophie apologised after she was seen wearing a fox fur hat. The Countess of Wessex said her decision to wear the hat on a skiing holiday in St Moritz, Switzerland, was ‘an error of judgment’.

Legislation to ban fur farming in Britain was passed that same year following a lengthy campaign ­highlighting the physical and ­psychological distress suffered by animals in some fur farms.

However, it remains legal to import fur and in China, now the world’s leading fur exporter, millions of animals who are killed for their fur are often skinned alive, according to the campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

A Peta spokesman said: ‘Britain is a nation of animal lovers and more than 90 per cent of Britons refuse to wear fur. We hope that Her Majesty will choose to wear something more humane in future, that better reflects the values of the British people.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Should the Queen “set a good example”? Sure. They’re doing great things with faux fur (I have a faux snow leopard hoodie that the Queen can borrow!), and it would be cool to see the Queen embrace faux fur. Also – we have no proof that she’s wearing real fur, you know? Sure, it looks like real fur, and it probably is. But I await the Queen’s official statement, I’m just saying.

Warning: thinking about this stuff may bother you
Yesterday we heard that Tommy Lee had sent a letter to Sea World accusing them of using cow vaginas filled with hot water to masturbate their captive male killer whales in order to collect their sperm. It was disturbing to say the least, and put some pictures in my head that won’t be easily forgotten. Lee was advocating for the release of Tilikum, a killer whale who has killed three people, including a female trainer earlier this year. In his letter, he accused Sea World of lying when they said that no one was in direct contact with the whale, and claimed that Sea World was still collecting sperm from Tilikum through divers using that bizarre method. Lee admitted to getting his information from PETA, and now Sea World has responded that he was wrong and that they do no such thing.

SeaWorld is finally lashing back at Tommy Lee — claiming the rocker’s allegation that the park uses cow vaginas to “masturbate” their killer whales for sperm collection is “beyond ludicrous.”

A rep for SeaWorld tells us, “If Mr. Lee’s information on Tilikum and SeaWorld’s artificial insemination program for killer whales comes from PETA we’re not surprised that it’s wrong. PETA is as careless with facts as they are extreme in their views.”

As we first reported, Lee had fired off a letter to SeaWorld demanding they release Tilikum the orca back into the wild. In his letter, Lee also stated that he learned the “sick and twisted” info about the cow vaginas from SeaWorld’s own director of safety.

But the SeaWorld rep notes, “The process of collecting semen for [artificial insemination] doesn’t differ in any meaningful way from the techniques employed in managing livestock or other species for zoological display.”

“Contrary to the charges made by PETA and repeated in Lee’s letter, our trainers do not now nor have they ever entered the water with Tilikum for this purpose. The safety of SeaWorld staff and the welfare of our animals are our highest priorities.”

The rep adds, “Whatever his views on SeaWorld, Mr. Lee would be wise to spend more time checking his facts.

[From TMZ]

Ironically, the whale’s name is pronounced “Til-a-come.” Thankfully Tilikum seems to be taking care of business on his own and without a diver’s help. I’m so sorry for making you think of this. All joking aside, the fact that the whale has killed three people is enough to prove Lee’s point that it should not be in captivity. It’s hard to tell what they should do with the creature, though, as it may not be able to fend for itself again in the wild.

Photo credit: WENN.com

Warning: the above video shows an animal being killed. If this bothers you, please do not watch it

Yesterday in our story on Kate Gosselin’s miserable attitude while camping with Sarah Palin I mentioned that Palin was shown hunting and killing a caribou in the episode of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” that aired on Sunday. (The Kate Gosselin episode will air this coming Sunday, I was initially confused about that.) You can watch the video of Palin killing the caribou above. Palin was out with her father hunting, and she enthused about how much better she felt after she shot the animal, saying that “when you see that you have a successful hit, it’s a great feeling of accomplishment.” She also said a few words about the animal, “In the words of Ted Nugent, we thank that mighty animal for livin’ a good life, now sustaining a nice family.” She narrated afterwards that “I’m always really happy when I do get an animal because usually my dad is by my side when I’m hunting, it’s like ‘see dad I listened to what you said and I learned something and we accomplished it together.’”

Here’s how I feel about this, and I’ll just get this out of the way. I’m not a hunter, I don’t come from a family that hunts, and my parents are vegetarians. However, I eat meat so I feel I have no room to complain. I understand that animals in factory farming conditions are treated abhorrently, as many of you pointed out in the comments yesterday. At least hunting usually kills them quickly and humanely while they’re in the wild. Is it fair to the defenseless animals? No. Neither is living in terrible factory farming conditions. Hunting is a cultural thing as well, and maybe if my family or friends hunted I would feel differently about it.

PETA has of course chimed in about this scene, and they’re somewhat smug as usual. It’s all to be expected but at least they didn’t go on about it. And also typical is Sarah Palin (her ghostwriter’s) defense of including that hunting footage, in which she calls out anyone who would criticize her for it.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) vice president Dan Mathews released a statement to Fancast sharing his thoughts.

“Sarah seems to think that resorting to violence and blood and guts may lure people into watching her boring show. But the ratings remain as dead as the poor animals she shoots,” the statement said.

Palin, for her part, guessed that the show might make waves and issued several statements of her own on Facebook and Twitter–before the show even aired. “Tonight’s hunting episode ‘controversial’?” she wrote on her Facebook page Sunday. “Really? Unless you’ve never worn leather shoes, sat upon a leather couch or eaten a piece of meat, save your condemnation of tonight’s episode. I remain proudly intolerant of anti-hunting hypocrisy.”

[From Popeater]

She’s egging people on, she has a formula and it usually works for her. Case in point.

Much more amusing are the hunters chiming in on how Sarah came across in that scene – like an amateur! I know nothing about hunting but all this cracks me up given how she’s trying to portray herself.

In this most recent episode, a woman who has blindly championed the NRA and legitimized her frontier-woman status by claiming to be a “lifelong hunter” comes across as anything but.

For starters, Palin and pa head out on a long hunt without bothering to sight in Palin’s rifle, a mistake no serious hunter would ever make. Why Palin’s dad chose for her a “varmint rifle” for a caribou hunt and why Palin, an admitted “moose hunter,” would not question such a gun’s appropriateness is never answered.

From there, numerous bungles along the way to finally downing the caribou show a hunting tourist who, at worst, appears to pose a genuine danger to fellow outdoorsmen.

On Palin’s own Facebook page, a viewer wrote, “What a joke. I was a fan before the show. No one who is a true hunter lets others carry their rifle or can’t load their own shells. Sarah, you are a phony in this area of your ‘skills.”

Several others wondered why Palin, an experienced hunter, didn’t bring her own rifle, pointing out that familiarity with one’s weapon is a core principle of hunting. Another pointed out, regarding Palin’s veteran hunter dad, “I was surprised to see him using the gun as a walking stick.”

Several hunter friends to whom I showed the video were less than impressed. All agreed that she did not look like she had handled a gun many times. One, who just posted his November kill on his Facebook profile, said “I would not hunt with her.”

In the episode, Palin is handed a second gun, which, thanks to good video editing, she uses to down the animal in one shot.

But knowledgeable hunters would have all recoiled in horror watching Palin immediately place her finger on the trigger of the “hot” Savage 110 as it was handed to her. Keeping one’s finger off the trigger until the very moment of the shot is the first lesson any responsible hunter ever learns.

[From TheAwl.com via WeSmirch]

It actually goes on with even more examples that show Sarah Palin doesn’t know how to hunt or handle a firearm. What’s more is that she wore camouflage instead of recommended hunter orange. Isn’t it funny that people on both sides of the hunting issue aren’t impressed?