Hunting animals on the Web, live animal auctions on the Internet, cloning of companion animals - these are just three examples of the egregious misuse of technology against animals that have been in the news recently.
Earlier this month the San Francisco Chronicle reported on a Texas-based Web site that offers computer-assisted remote hunting. A Web camera and gun have been set up on a 336-acre ranch near San Antonio where exotic sheep and antelope are allowed to roam. Both the camera and gun can be manipulated remotely by computer so that paying hunters, sometimes on the other side of the globe, can kill an animal with the click of a mouse. The Web site has drawn outrage from animal rights activists, and bills have been introduced in 10 states, including Texas, to ban the practice. Opponents are also working to make the ban a federal prohibition.
A Florida-based Internet company is auctioning and selling a host of different types of live animals through its Web site - everything from alligators to tortoises. Another well-known Internet auction company is allowing the auction and sale of live animals, especially dogs, on its China site. The same company does not allow live animals, with a few exceptions, to be sold on its American site, but has stated that " ... most transactions in China conclude face to face ... " and that transactions are really "local". Contrary to these protestations, reports indicate that animals are delivered by plane and bus throughout China, putting the pets at risk for infections or injury during delivery.
Finally, the subject of commercial cat cloning has surfaced again. This followed the births, in August 2004, of two Bengal kittens cloned by a Bay Area company, the same company that financed the first cloned cat in 2001. A California State Assembly legislator is now calling for a ban on the sale of cloned or genetically altered pets. In February, Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) introduced a bill (AB1428) to ban the practice, which is unregulated. Levine also pointed to the problem of feline overpopulation, leading to the euthanization of millions of unwanted cats each year.
It is no surprise that the promise of technology can be twisted in ways that do not serve the best interests of society. Courageous individuals have always come forward to combat these anomalies. The people who are working to prevent the exploitation of animals in these three instances deserve our admiration and gratitude.
