Zanesville, Ohio

I think we all agree that what happened in Zanesville was an unmitigated tragedy. This tragedy occurred as a result of both an underlying belief and an overlying lack of regulation caused by that underlying belief.

I think with hindsight everyone can agree that having private ownership of exotic animals is a bad idea. There was a distinct lack of regulation of the facilities, especially considering the person responsible for these animals had been in trouble previously for his lack of proper care. But how exactly did a facility that posed such an obvious threat skate by with so little regulation?

The real culprit in this tragedy is the entire concept of ownership of animals. Had these animals been transported to a canned hunt to be mercilessly gunned down, we probably never would have even heard about them. Under current law, almost all animals share their status with a mailbox, and are no more than pieces of property to be disposed of at their “owner's” whim. As long as that underlying belief is maintained any regulation of what can be done with animals will be superficial and nearly impossible to enforce.

If we are to really change things and prevent these types of tragedies from occurring in the future, we will need to rethink the status of animals in our society. Only by recognizing that animals are living and breathing creatures that can feel pain and suffer, or feel joy and contentment, and basing our laws and regulations on this fact, will we be able to move beyond the current system of horrendous abuse, whether by factory farm or the type of exotic animal park that existed in Zanesville. It is time for us to move beyond the old belief of an animal as a piece of property, and to recognize that these are living, thinking and feeling creatures worthy of our respect, and not so different from us.

A More Acceptable Vaccine

As many vegans know, current flu vaccines are produced using eggs, as they have been for over fifty years, even though for many years the technology has existed to produce vaccines through the use of cell cultures. The egg industry is forcing those who want to take a basic preventative healthcare measure to support their industry, while at the same time actually harming our ability to deal with a flu pandemic.

The use of cell cultures, already approved in Europe, is more efficient over the long run, and actually produces a vaccine that is more efficacious. It also eliminates a modification step necessary to grow the virus in chicken eggs, and production can be ramped up much more quickly, meaning a much quicker response time if a pandemic involving a novel strain occurs. It also eliminates reactions that occur in a significant portion of the population due to hypersensitivity to egg products.

So why isn't an egg-free vaccine available in the U.S.? This is mainly due to lobbying efforts by both the vaccine and egg industries. The initial switchover will be expensive, and the vaccine industry is unwilling to invest in the equipment necessary for the new production methods. Once the superiority of cell-based production is proven, it will be impossible for them not to switch to the new method. Therefor, by preventing the new method from being used at all, they prevent comparisons from taking place, and can stick with their antiquated methods.

The egg industry uses this issue as the basis of one the most cynical public relations campaigns imaginable. While they lobby to keep an antiquated system that makes our nation's healthcare system more vulnerable to a flu pandemic, they then blame animal activists for “endangering” our vaccine supply by working to make egg production more humane.

The solution to this problem is simple, we need to work to make sure that the use of cell-based vaccines is approved here in the U.S., as it has been in Europe.