I reblogged this yesterday and tagged it “desktop background” and then couldn’t start thinking about it so I made it my wallpaper and I will be real with you he is straight up chilling
Y'all they reintroduced kākāpō to mainland Aotearoa and I can’t get over the photo of this little guy preparing for his Air New Zealand flight. They packed him snacks??? His water bowl says “only top quality”??? You’re so right babe he is top quality 🥺🥺
Okay, I know people as a general rule tend to not care about invertebrates as much as cute, fuzzy mammals, but this is a must-read if you care about animal welfare. The short version is that horseshoe crab blood has been used for decades in medicine as a way to test whether something is truly sterile; the blood clots in the presence of bacteria. Since then millions of horseshoe crabs have been captured and drained of blood, even though a synthetic alternative was developed a few years ago.
They go through a pretty brutal experience in the process. They’re caught by fishermen who often throw them by their tails into a pile in the open air, and they’re then trucked to a bleeding facility where they’re strapped down and their blood is removed with needles jabbed directly into their hearts. Over half their blood may be taken, after which they’re supposed to be returned to the ocean. However, it’s likely many of them never make it back, instead turned into fish bait and sold by the same fishermen who caught them in the first place.
Apart from the fact that this is a horrific thing to put any animal through, the attrition due to fatalities has put a serious dent in horseshoe crab numbers. This is compounded by massive habitat loss, pollution, and the capture of horseshoe crabs as food, particularly as the females of one species are considered a delicacy. And other animals that rely on horseshoe crabs are suffering, too. The American rufa subspecies of the red knot, a medium-sized shorebird, is critically endangered as the horseshoe crab eggs it must have in order to successfully complete migration have become increasingly scarce, and it is likely the bird will become extinct if trends continue.
While there are guidelines for medical horseshoe crab harvest, they’re considered optional. The few laws that exist are poorly enforced. Short of a complete ban on horseshoe crab blood in favor of the synthetic alternative, these animals are in very real danger of going extinct after a history spanning over 400 million years on this planet.
Thankfully, this article is not the first to bring forth the issues surrounding horseshoe crab harvest. Here are a few resources for further information and action (US based, though horseshoe crabs are threatened throughout their entire range):
somehow not a disability aid because neurodivergences aren’t real disabilities 🤡
i’m entirely unsurprised that the “brains aren’t part of the body” people don’t consider neurodivergences real disabilities and don’t consider items that help with neurodivergence real disability aids.
like bitch. every single item that helps with a disability is a disability aid, you all are just stuck in some medicalised version of disability with no space for anything else.
autism is a disability and if stim toys help with sensory overload, they’re disability aids
adhd is a disability and if stim toys help with focus they’re disability aids
bfrbs are disabilities and if stim toys help with compulsions theyre disability aids
trauma disorders are disability aids and if stim toys help with being triggered they’re disability aids
personality disorders are disabilities and if stim toys help with emotional regulation they’re disability aids
The only tiktok trend that matters is people filming those easter chickens and then going “who did ____ without permission?” and one of the chickens is so fucked up and its obvious who the answer is and the intro to You Gotta Move by Mississippi Fred McDowell is blasting
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
