In maybe the most blatant animal abuse industry that still exist today; Shark Fin soup has taken it’s first major blow as both Oregon and California will prohibit the sale of shark fins in the new year (2012).

As you may know this Asian delicacy is just the fin of the shark. To keep up with the demand, the fishers for this product cut off the fins and throw the shark back into water. Sometimes they do this with hundreds or even thousands of sharks at a time.

Hats off for CA and OR for stepping up on this ridiculous Asian ritual.

An underground animal rights group is threatening to spread rat poison in Toronto’s Chinatown and poison food at Mandarin buffet restaurants, the head of the Toronto Chinese Business Association told The Huffington Post Thursday.

Barbara Chiu, the group’s executive director, said she received a letter in the mail Tuesday from an organization calling itself Animal Liberation Canada/USA upset with the group’s decision to fight a city of Toronto ban on the sale of shark fins.

“They see us, the Chinese, having lost the battle in the shark-fin ban … And at the end of the letter it mentions that they are going to spread rat poison in Chinatown and in a particular Chinese restaurant as well,” Chiu said. “They mentioned a Mandarin restaurant, you know the Mandarin Buffet?”

“We are a radical group of “concerned” who protect all wildlife. Warning to y’all. We now have folks in your Chinatowns spreading rat poison on meant, fish, fruit and vegetables. Hopefully some of you will be sick as a dog, which by the way you animal killers eat as well,” the letter states.

Police were notified on Wednesday and the issue was passed along to the hate crimes unit, Chiu said.

The letter begins: “Hey, how’s it going guys? I see you lost the big shark fin ban in Toronto. Thank God, less sharks suffering a painful death in the hands of you barbarians.”

It continues: “You gooks come over here and don’t speak a word of English and don’t teach your kids English. The only English you know is, “you give me free.”

Chiu told HuffPost vicious and insulting letters are nothing new.

“We have been receiving a lot of hatred emails since we have been voicing out for the Chinese businesses but those emails are just hatred emails insulting Chinese, that is totally fine with us but this one is a threatening mail with criminal activities that they intend to do to Chinatown so we just want to make it aware to the businesses in Chinatown,” she said.

The letter ends with: “Our head office in the USA will be supplying us with e coli virus. Let me warn you don’t eat at the Mandarin restaurants.”

Aaron Ma, the dinning room manager for Mandarin’s Yonge Street location told HuffPost he hadn’t heard of any threats but wasn’t particularly worried.

“This is news to me,” he said.

Animal Liberation Canada/USA may be aligned with the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) a leaderless group known of its violent and criminal actions.

“We don’t know who they are…for obvious reasons they remain anonymous,” said Will Hazlitt, of the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, a group that is not directly related to the AFL.

Hazlitt said his group relays messages on behalf of the ALF when they receive anonymous tips about their campaigns. He said he had received nothing relating to Toronto’s Chinatown.

The community is “absolutely worried” about the letter’s threats, said Justin Poy, of the Fair and Responsible Governing Alliance, a group just formed to fight against what they believe are irrational bans such as on the shark fin.

“There will always be people and groups who hate and have prejudice. This kind of ban just incites them and gives them a reason, a purpose to target particular groups,” he said.

“Nobody has come forward to take responsibility for the letter. We hope that it is just a hoax, that it is just an individual who is a little bit off and venting whatever beef they have against the Chinese people but, you know, this kind of letter is quite scary.”

“We don’t want to alarm anybody…We certainly hope that it will not curb anybody’s desire to go to a Chinese restaurant.”

As you celebrate the holidays with family, friends and those adorable companion animals known as pets, you should be thrilled to learn that the distant cousins of your pets have just won a historic victory. West Hollywood, California, recently passed a first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of fur within its city limits, effective in 2013.

West Hollywood City Council member John D’Amico, who spearheaded the ordinance, told me, “We didn’t want to be a city that supported the raising of animals to be killed just for fashion.”

Well put. If you wouldn’t want somebody skinning your dog or cat for their fur, then why would you allow the same horror to befall other equally sentient beings? The raccoons, foxes, beavers, chinchillas, minks, rabbits, and yes, sometimes even dogs and cats that are killed for fur are not very different from your beloved dog or cat. They all have eyes, ears and hearts. They all experience pain when they are physically maimed. They shake with fear when they experience terror.

“I am just so baffled by this. This is pure politics at its worst,” the executive director of the Fur Information Council, Keith Kaplan, said.

But there’s nothing to be baffled about. Historically, the exploitation of animals is driven by the desire for profit. And throughout history, the most predictable argument against progress toward civility is that change is going to cost us money.

Opponents claim nearly half of the 200 apparel stores in town sell at least some fur items.

But the law doesn’t go into effect for nearly two years. D’Amico says that’s plenty of time for stores to cycle out their fur inventory. They can either sell it off fast or — better yet — donate it to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA in turn gives the furs away to the homeless.

The councilman told me he believed the ban will ultimately bring West Hollywood much more business than it will lose. He is working to develop a “fur-free shopping day,” he said, and a yearly fur-free event, leading up to the time when the ban kicks in.

He also plans to leverage the global attention that the fur ban has garnered to draw sympathetic shoppers to West Hollywood. There are obviously cruelty-free alternatives to fur that are very functional and warm the body even more than fur. Those can be, and are, sold for profit.

Some wonder, well, if you take the anti-fur argument to its logical conclusion, is banning the sale of leather next? D’Amico responds, “Incremental thinking about the way we are in the world is important and has always been important and this is an example of it.”

Unfortunately, fur is still flying off the racks. It’s a billion dollar industry. To those who say, “I love animals, but –” I say, check out the facts. Do you even have the stomach to watch a minute or two of these innocent creatures — who have done nothing to humans — trying to bite off their own legs because they’re stuck in excruciatingly painful leg hold traps? Or how about watching the electrocution of fur-bearing animals on so-called fur farms? I’ve seen both. As an animal rights activist, I’ve supported the documentary “Skin Trade,” which shows it all. The images haunt me, particularly when I see women head to toe in fur.

Irish statesman Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Well, the good people of West Hollywood have actually done something. They’ve gone out of their way to fight for the most voiceless in our world — animals. D’Amico hopes the state of California will one day follow suit and start turning the West Coast fur-free. But even though he knows of no other city that is considering a similar ban, he hopes — as do I — that West Hollywood’s action has sparked a collective re-examination of a practice that many believe has no place in the 21st century.

Prisoners in ice, more than 100 Beluga whales in far eastern Russia risk death unless rescued soon.

The flock of gentle ghost-white whales was trapped in ice floes in the Sinyavinsky Strait off the Bering Sea near the village of Yanrakynnot, said a statement from the Chukotka Autonomous Region.

Fishermen reported that the whales were concentrated in two relatively small ice holes, where, for now, they can breathe freely. But the Belugas’ chance of swimming back to water is slim due to the vast fields of ice over the strait.

The whales have little food, and the ice flow is increasing, the statement said. They are at risk of rapid exhaustion and, ultimately, death by starvation or suffocation. Trapped whales are also susceptible to predators like polar bears and killer whales.

The Chukotka Autonomous Region government has sought help from federal authorities and asked for an icebreaker to help rescue the Belugas. A rescue tug, Ruby, was in the area helping a Korean cargo ship that ran aground on the southern coast of Chukotka but it would take one and a half days for it to reach the whales, the statement said.

Trapped belugas are a frequent phenomenon in the Arctic waters but are not often detected by people. In Chukotka, the last relatively successful case was recorded in 1986, when an ice-breaker helped free trapped beluga whales.

Feld Entertainment Inc., which produces the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, has agreed to pay $270,000 for allegedly violating the Animal Welfare Act on several occasions from June 2007 to August 2011, according to a USDA news release.

The USDA can levy fines of up to $10,000 per violation of the act.

“This settlement sends a direct message to the public and to those who exhibit animals that USDA will take all necessary steps to protect animals regulated under the Animal Welfare Act,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release.

Feld Entertainment officials settled in lieu of a hearing and agreed to implement new training protocols for any circus employees who handle animals, the statement said.

“We look forward to working with the USDA in a cooperative and transparent manner that meets our shared goal of ensuring that our animals are healthy and receive the highest quality care,” Kenneth Feld, the company’s CEO, said in a separate statement.

As part of the settlement, the company admits no wrongdoing or violation of USDA policy.

The settlement comes in the wake of a federal appeals court dismissal of a lawsuit against Feld Entertainment filed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Animal Protection Institute.

The lawsuit alleged that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in violation of the Endangered Species Act and that the circus systematically abuses and exploits elephants by using metal bullhooks to guide and control the animals, as well as chaining their legs while they are not performing.

The lawsuit was dismissed in October on the grounds that the two animal protection organizations did not have the standing to bring the lawsuit against Feld Entertainment because they could not establish legal “injury” to themselves.

If your horse were stolen, became seriously ill, or worse, could you afford to replace the horse with another horse of equal value?

If your answer is no, a horse insurance service will help protect what you have invested in your horse. Horses can take decades of time and money to raise yet all of this work can be taken away quickly by a thief, illness, or by a injury to the horse or person riding it. Consider what happens if someone gets injured because of your horse. You might have to pay out tens of thousands of dollars for medical expenses, lost work, ect. Owning an expensive animal, does not always mean you can afford that kind of expense. With quality horse insurance you can feel safe that you will get through these difficult predicaments with piece of mind.

You can search Google for more information on horse insurance, or contact your local vet, or contact equine insurance for a quote for your horse insurance service needs.

The first time I heard about pet insurance I was already thinking it was a sure fire money give a way. I was actually thinking of some sort of funeral service type insurance or rare oddity insurance. Recently I talked to a friend about pet insurance and she was actually very glad she had it and explained it’s not about death or even rare situations. Most pet insurance is about when your pet gets sick, injured, or has a disease. For a small monthly fee you can feel good knowing if your pet has a serious health issue you will be covered. After reading these stats on pet medical payments I can see why she loved pet insurance so much.

In 2010 Americans will spend an estimated $9.4 billion on their pet’s healthcare, up from $8.7 billion a year ago, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. Dog owners will pay an average of $211 for basic vet care, up from $156 in 2000. Cat owners will hand over $179 for their pet’s annual medical bills, up from $117.

Most serious pet diseases will run into the thousands easily. Knowing that, a small monthly fee is not a bad idea if you value piece of mind that your pet will be covered if something serious happens. You can get pet insurance quotes online anytime or contact your local vet for more options.

In most cases insurance will cost more then it will pay out. Medical premiums can range from $2,000 to $5,000 over a pet’s average lifespan. In addition, VPI policyholders, for example, pay a $50 per incident deductible and are reimbursed for up to 90 percent of the vet bill, within the limits of the plan’s benefit allowance schedule. With other insurers, deductibles can be as high as $100, and coverage ranges from 70 percent to 100 percent of allowable charges.

So it really boils down to the value of piece of mind and you.

Sometimes the only humane thing to do is to put a dog to sleep. Just three weeks ago, Erica Daniel steeled herself to take that difficult step with Harper, a small puppy in her care.

Daniel, 26, fosters dogs that need serious help, and Harper had come to her in the most desperate of circumstances. On Aug. 31, a woman in Sanford, Fla., first encountered the little dog when she spotted a squirming garbage bag.

“There was a man outside the Save-A-Lot selling pit-bull puppies for $50 a pop,” Daniel explained. “This woman approached him and noticed a noise coming from a garbage bag he was holding. She asked him, ‘What’s in the bag?’ and he said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ ”

The woman pressed the issue and the man opened — and gave her — the contents of the bag. Inside was a puppy so deformed that it couldn’t walk or hold up its head. Shelter workers and veterinarians grimaced when they saw the dog and came to the same conclusion: It really should be euthanized.

That’s when Daniel, a regular at the local animal shelter, stepped in. She decided to take the puppy home for one full and final day of unabashed affection. “I had to show her what it was like to be loved,” Daniel said. “I’d planned on taking her home that night, letting her sleep in bed with us, and having her humanely euthanized in the morning.”

What a difference a day can make. Today, Harper is not only alive — she’s thriving. The frisky gray puppy is gaining more and more mobility each day, to the astonishment of onlookers and medical professionals.

Harper’s rapid recovery began on that initial day with Daniel. The puppy had been born with a condition commonly dubbed “swimmer puppy disorder,” and most dogs afflicted with it don’t survive. The formal name of Harper’s disorder, pectus excavatum, causes puppies to lie flat on their chests with their legs perpetually splayed out, as if they were humans — or perhaps frogs — swimming through water.

“The longer she was like that, the more she stayed in that position,” Daniel said. “It felt like rigor mortis — like her legs might break.”

Despite that, Daniel kept massaging Harper’s tight muscles, hoping to alleviate at least some of her stiffness and pain. Within just a few hours, Harper started lifting her head and looking around. Her front legs became more limber as well, so much so that she tried using them to walk and pull herself around.

Daniel’s reaction: “WHOA.”

Convinced that this determined little dog needed a second opinion, she canceled the following morning’s appointment and made a new, hopeful one with a veterinarian at the University of Florida. At first, the vet described the reasons Harper probably would need to be put to sleep. The list included the likelihood of degenerative bone disease, brain abnormalities and a severe heart murmur.

They decided to do a few tests just to be sure. And, as it turned out, the rumors of Harper’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Her organs were functioning just fine, and she had no heart murmur or serious brain abnormalities. The medical conditions she did have required treatment — but nothing that warranted putting her to sleep.

Some nice people at Hip Dog Canine Hydrotherapy & Fitness in Winter Park, Fla., heard about Harper and donated free hydrotherapy and massage therapy to the puppy. Harper responded remarkably well, and before long she actually started walking.

“She started out on grass, then carpet, then concrete,” Daniel said. “She still can’t walk on tile or hardwood floors, but she’s getting there.”

Bev McCartt, a Hip Dog therapist, explained that swimming has helped teach Harper what her natural gait should be.

“Her brain kicked in and by the end of her first session, she was like, ‘Oh, I can do this,’ ” McCartt said. “She’s a walking miracle. She’s a real testament to a dog’s determination to get up and just go.”

Today, Harper is about 11 weeks old, and she’s holding her own playing with the seven other dogs at Daniel’s home. Daniel estimates that Harper should be ready to be adopted in about a month — that is, if she can handle parting with her.

“Right now we’re saying that eventually she’ll be available for adoption because we haven’t made any decisions,” Daniel said. “If I give her up, that will make it possible for me to foster another dog. But she’s like a baby to me. I just don’t know!”

This is not the first time Daniel has taken on an impossibly sad case and witnessed an incredible transformation. In April of last year, she began fostering Dolly, a pit bull that had been used as a bait dog in a dog-fighting ring. Dolly’s injuries were severe; her mouth was so swollen that she couldn’t eat. With careful attention and lots of love, Dolly recovered. Today she’s a happy girl and an American Kennel Club-certified “Canine Good Citizen.” (You can watch a YouTube video about Dolly here.)

Dolly’s saga prompted Daniel to establish Dolly’s Foundation on Jan. 1 of this year. The organization rescues and rehabilitates homeless, neglected and abused American Pit Bull Terriers and other bully breed dogs, and it has plenty of puppies and dogs available for adoption.

“They’re just dogs,” Daniel said of pit bulls, noting the breed’s negative image. “Dogs need love, and they need homes.”

That’s certainly proven true in Harper’s case.

“The whole world was against her, but she’s such a fighter,” Daniel said. “She’s a blessing. She’s awesome.”

Please contact PETA for animal help,t hey have people standing by in most counties.

Animal experts who have been in the rescue trenches during prior hurricanes urge pet owners to follow a number of guidelines, especially now that Hurricane Irene is moving into populated areas of the U.S. East Coast.

The statistics in the wake of hurricanes like Irene are startling. Evacuations from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 left some 1,000 deserted pets to be euthanized for lack of space to care for them. In 1999, more than 3 million pets and farm animals died as a result of Hurricane Floyd.

“It’s essential that you heed local warnings and evacuate if necessary,” Sara Varsa, director of operations for the Humane Society of the United State’s Rescue and Response Team, told Discovery News. “If a situation is not safe for you, then it is not safe for your pets.”

BREAKING NEWS: Track Irene on our storm tracker map and get breaking hurricane news updates.

In 2000, the HSUS and FEMA signed a partnership agreement to encourage and assist people who want to safeguard their pets during a natural disaster. Since that time, it’s become easier to find a shelter that will accept pets. But many still don’t, so Varsa cautions that you must also consider boarding facilities, hotels that take in pets, homes of friends and relatives in safe areas, and other options.

If you can take your pet to a shelter, Varsa said, you should have a carrier or cage as well as a “to go bag to grab” containing an identification collar and rabies tag, detailed identification on all belongings, a leash (or harness for a cat), an ample supply of food, water and food bowls, any necessary medications, specific care instructions and newspapers or trash bags for clean-up.

If you are not forced to evacuate, but are still in the path of the hurricane, she said, “Hurricanes cause pressure changes that pets may detect. Cats and dogs may become disoriented and will likely be scared of any loud storm noises.”

It’s essential, she said, that cats be kept in a comfortable room with the “to go” bag and carrier nearby, while dogs “not be off leash at any time” during the storm.

Jennifer Scarlett, a veterinarian and co-president of the San Francisco SPCA, ran an emergency shelter in Hattiesburg, Miss., during Hurricane Katrina and its devastating aftermath. At least 1500 cats and dogs were under her care at the shelter. Many arrived after “rescue runs,” when volunteers and staff would hunt for abandoned or otherwise remaining pets in storm areas.

Scarlett said that when a cat or dog comes into a shelter, “We take pictures, wash the animal, decontaminate it, and then house it and wait for the owners to show up.”

Identification can be a huge challenge, even if an owner goes to the right shelter to later reclaim a pet.

“We often have to take the photos at night, when the lighting is bad and the pets are scared and may not even resemble their usual selves,” Scarlett said. “It’s a real mess. Had owners microchipped their pets, they would’ve prevented so many problems and likely have been reunited with their dog or cat. Remember that collars can easily come off.”

She urged owners to not leave pets alone at home during storms, even if ample water and food are provided.

“It is always better to take your pets with you,” she said, adding that rescue workers are often later faced with animals suffering from starvation, dogs and cats that have been hit by cars after bolting, or pets that otherwise have been hurt or became ill.

Scarlett”s experience has also taught her a tip not usually seen on most disaster preparedness materials: Add a can of tuna fish, or other food for both humans and pets, to your “to go” bag.

She explained, “Tuna provides protein for dogs and cats, and you can eat it too.”