Gallery
Animal Rights
Mother Earth
Celebrating Animals
Portrait
Healthy Rooster
Crayon & Acrylics
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
Hens at factory farms spend most of their lives in tiny overcrowded cages. Life is not kind to them. They suffer until their last moments. When their role as egg-laying machine ends, they are treated like waste. In fact, they are literally called “waste” since their price as meat is higher than the cost for slaughtering.
Many of them are severely injured when they are roughly stuffed into narrow containers before transport to slaughterhouses. Inside the trucks they experience pain for long periods of time.
No mercy is given at the slaughter house. They are not killed right away. They are often left overnight during freeziing winter and hot and humid summer without water and food. Their injuries are not treated. The cages are stacked on top of each other. Hens in lower cages are covered by broken eggs and the blood and feces of other chickens.
The Last Day of Hens
Crayon & Acrylics
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
Debeaking
Nearly 84 percent of hens at Japanese egg factory farms are debeaked (2014*). Debeaking is widly practiced in the world to prevent hens pecking each other. However, pecking is the natural behavior of poultry. Poultry spend the large amount of their time pecking. The number of time a chicken in a healthy environment pecks is about 15,000 times a day. Making it physically impossible for chickens to peck is torture.
It is common that factory farmers do not use anesthesia when they debeak chicks. Beaks are full of nerve endings and blood vessels, so chicks must suffer from extreme pain during debeaking. It causes chronic pain.
Healthy Roosters
Crayon
Debeaking and Battery Cages
Crayon & Acrylics
Battery Cage 1
In the EU, battery cages were banned and the requirement for the space for each hen became much bigger in 2012. In Japan, about 94 percent of eggs were produced in battery cages (2014). Most egg producers in the world still use battery cages. Also meat chickens are raised in tiny cages. It is for nothing else but greed for profit and demand for cheap eggs and meat that such cruel treatment still widely exists.
In the tiny cages, chickens cannot perform their natural behavior, for example, pecking, spreading their wings, dust bathing, and perching. The cages are often stacked on top of each other. Therefore, the chickens are constantly under extreme stress, and many of them are weak and sick.
Recently, there have been some positive movement regarding the rights of chickens due to slow but growing consumers' awareness of animal welfare. MacDonald has decided not to sell the meat of chickens raised in battery cages. However, most countries still import and export poultry meat produced in factory farms using those cages.
Battery Cages
Crayon & Acrylics
392 X 542 mm
( 15.4 X 21.3 in)
Battery Cage 2
The annual consumption of eggs in Japan is about 330 per person. Japanese people can purchase eggs at a relatively low price. A low price often means unethical production.
Chickens in a battery cage are forced to live in a space equivalent in size to a B5 sheet of paper, 257 X 182 mm (10.1 X 7.16 in), until the end of their short lives. Since the space hens can move is so small, they are under enormous stress, and they eat less. For the egg farmers, less cost for bird feed means more profit.
A cage is placed at an angle of 8 to 12 degree so that eggs roll and are collected easily. The flooring is very painful. It is metal wire mesh panel. The space between wires is wide.
Approximately 98 percent of eggs produced in Japan are produced in battery cages.
Moreover, about 5,000,000 male chicks are killed daily.
Dream Box
Crayon & Acrylics
Every year, many unwanted dogs and cats are killed in gas chambers ― they are called “dream boxes” ― in Japan. They are suffocated to death by carbon dioxide. It is slow and painful death. Many of them suffer for over 15 minutes. The governement-run animal control centers exist in every prefecture.
Over 43,000 cats and dogs are cruelly killed in these boxes (2017). People bring their pets to be killed for different reasons: for example, some people say their pets are old, obedient, wild, sick, or troublesome.
It is too easy to buy pets at pet shops. There are no background checks or pre-purchase inspections. No pre-purchase pet-buyer education is required. People purchase pets like buying new clothes. They do not think about where the cute puppies and kittens come from. Many of the puppies and kittens are from malicious breeders whose dogs are cats are treated as breeding machines.
Gestation Crate
Crayon & Acrylics
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
A gestation crate is a sow stall. Pregnant sows are kept in the stall about 114 days. The size of each stall is almost the same as the size of a sow, 60 X 180 cm (23.6 X 70.9 in). Sows are not allowed to turn around or even look back. The floor is made of slats so excrement is easily disposed. Because sows are constantly under enomous stress, sows in crates show abnormal behavior, for example, chewing when they have no food, drinking water excessively, and gnawing at railings. Also many of them suffer from serious illness, like urinary-tract infection, skin lesions, decreased bone density, cardiovascular problems, and joint problems. Many countries and regions have banned the use of gestation crates. However, the complete elemination of all gestation crates from the supply chain is unlikely to happen soon. Most Japanese pig farms (88.6%) use the crates.
Dolphin Captivity
Crayon & Acrylics
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
The environments of dolphins in captivity are completely different from their natural environments. Dolhins in the wild swim about 72 km (about 45 miles) each day. Compared to wild dolphins, dolphins in captivity, if they are lucky, are allowed to move in less than 0.000001% of their space. Dolphins are extreamly intelligent animals. They have very complex social lives. In a tiny space, it is impossible to sustain their natural social behavior.
Dolphins rely on ecolocation to understand their surrundings. When the sound waves dolphins create bounce back from the concrete walls of their tanks, they get confused and frustrated.
Unlike dolphins in natural environment, dolphins in captivity are forced to put their bodies above the surface of the water to perform tricks, for example, kissing the audience and performing in shallow water. By doing so, their own heavy weight slowly puts pressure on their internal organs.
Never go to see dolphin shows. Taking your children to a dolphin show means teaching children they can ignore animal abuse for entertainment.
Fishing Line
Crayon, Acrylics, & Fishing lines
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
Many fishing lines get caught on rocks or other objects submerged in the sea. People pull the lines until they break. Many fishing nets are torn and left behind in the ocean or on the beaches. Modern fishing lines and nets are made of plastic. It takes estimated 600 years for monofilament fishing line to decompose. Many birds, turtles, sea mammals, and fish are killed by the fishing lines and nets every day. Broken fishing lines can wrap around birds’ wings, legs or other body parts. It cuts off the blood circulation.
My husband I went to find fishing lines for my drawing. Unfortunately, it did not take much time or effort to find them on the beach near our house.
Fishing Line
Crayon, Acrylics, & Fishing lines
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
Many fishing lines get caught on rocks or other objects submerged in the sea. People pull the lines until they break. Many fishing nets are torn and left behind in the ocean or on the beaches. Modern fishing lines and nets are made of plastic. It takes estimated 600 years for monofilament fishing line to decompose. Many birds, turtles, sea mammals, and fish are killed by the fishing lines and nets every day. Broken fishing lines can wrap around birds’ wings, legs or other body parts. It cuts off the blood circulation.
Cat: Dream Box
Crayon, & Acrylics
500 X 1085mm
(19.7 X 42.7 in)
During WWII, across German-occupied Europe, Nazi Germany systematically murdered about six million jews. The Nazis murdered many of them in gas chambers in Auschwitz. The desperate Jews scratch the walls of the gas chambers with their fingers. These scratches are reminders of people who died in agony.
Many Japanese cities kill cats in gas chambers that are euphemistically called ‘Dream Boxes.’ Deadly carbon dioxide gas asphyxiates stray dogs and cats. It is a slow and painful method of death by suffocation. Sometimes, it takes 20 minutes. Between April 2017 and March 2018, more than 13,000 adult cats and 21,600 kittens in Japan were killed this way.
Dog: Dream Box
Crayon, & Acrylics
500 X 1085mm
(19.7 X 42.7 in)
During WWII, across German-occupied Europe, Nazi Germany systematically murdered about six million jews. The Nazis murdered many of them in gas chambers in Auschwitz. The desperate Jews scratch the walls of the gas chambers with their fingers. These scratches are reminders of people who died in agony.
Many Japanese cities kill dogs in gas chambers that are euphemistically called ‘Dream Boxes.’ Deadly carbon dioxide gas asphyxiates stray dogs and cats. It is a slow and painful method of death by suffocation. Sometimes, it takes 20 minutes. Between April 2017 and March 2018, more than 7600 dogs in Japan were killed this way.
Sea Turtle
Crayon, Acrylics, & Plastic bag
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
Plastic has only been mass-produced since the 1940s, but it’s having a devastating impact on sea turtles.
Research suggests that 52% of the world’s turtles have eaten plastic waste. Floating plastic bags resemble jellyfish, algae, or other creatures that make up a significant component of the sea turtles’ diets.
All sea turtle species are at risk from plastic. Turtles are dying every day because of our plastic trash.
Just one plastic item can be a death sentence for many sea turtles. Sharp plastics can rupture internal organs, and bags can cause intestinal blockages leaving turtles unable to feed, resulting in starvation. Even if they survive, consuming plastic can make turtles unnaturally buoyant, which can stunt their growth and lead to slow reproduction rates.
(https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-do-sea-turtles-eat-unfortunately-plastic-bags)
Bee 1
Crayon & Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
Over the last few decades, the dramatic drop in the population of bees has increasingly been of concern because of the vital role they play as pollinators. Without bees, many of the world’s most important crops would fail and directly affect the food supply of humans and countless other species.
Pesticides
Exposure to pesticides is a crucial cause of pollinator decline. Glyphosate (the most commonly used weed killer) can impact the gut microbes of bees, which can have devastating implications for their health.
Monoculture
Monoculture is bad for the environment and production through effects on soil quality, erosion, plants and animals, and ultimately declining crop yields. Numbers of wild pollinator and parasitoid insects (unmanaged insects that enhance yields through pollination and biological control) increased with plant diversity.
(https://www.earthday.org/fact-sheet-bees/)
Bluefin Tuna 1
Crayon & Acrylics, Net
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
The bluefin tuna is a long-lived and slow growing species, including mainly three subspecies, namely Southern bluefin tuna, Pacific bluefin tuna and Atlantic bluefin tuna.
These three are all on the Red List of Threatened Species issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with Southern bluefin viewed as critically endangered, Pacific bluefin as vulnerable and Atlantic bluefin as endangered.
John Tanzer, director of the marine program at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International, said this endangered situation “is mainly a result of the Japanese eating habits.”
The breeding population of the Pacific bluefin tuna has fallen to a theoretically estimated 2.6 percent of the pre-fishing level, he said, while between 80 percent and 90 percent of the Atlantic subspecies hunted used to serve Japanese dinner tables.
A recent report released by the U.S. Pew Charitable Trusts, a nongovernmental organization, said bluefin tuna fishing today is three times faster than the sustainable level scientists estimate.
About 70 percent of Pacific bluefin are less than a year old when caught, and 95 percent are caught before they reach three years old, thus damaging the species’ ability to reproduce, according to the report.
(http://www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-03/02/c_136097365.htm)
Bluefin Tuna 2
Crayon & Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
The bluefin tuna is a long-lived and slow growing species, including mainly three subspecies, namely Southern bluefin tuna, Pacific bluefin tuna and Atlantic bluefin tuna.
These three are all on the Red List of Threatened Species issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with Southern bluefin viewed as critically endangered, Pacific bluefin as vulnerable and Atlantic bluefin as endangered.
John Tanzer, director of the marine program at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International, said this endangered situation “is mainly a result of the Japanese eating habits.”
The breeding population of the Pacific bluefin tuna has fallen to a theoretically estimated 2.6 percent of the pre-fishing level, he said, while between 80 percent and 90 percent of the Atlantic subspecies hunted used to serve Japanese dinner tables.
A recent report released by the U.S. Pew Charitable Trusts, a nongovernmental organization, said bluefin tuna fishing today is three times faster than the sustainable level scientists estimate.
About 70 percent of Pacific bluefin are less than a year old when caught, and 95 percent are caught before they reach three years old, thus damaging the species’ ability to reproduce, according to the report.
(http://www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-03/02/c_136097365.htm)
Polar Bear
Crayon & Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
The IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group lists the polar bear as a vulnerable species, citing sea ice loss from climate change as the single biggest threat to their survival. The most recent study (Hamilton & Derocher, 2018)* estimates there are currently about 23,000 polar bears worldwide. But without action on climate change, we could see dramatic declines in polar bear numbers by mid-century.
Other threats to the bears include increased commercial activities, pollution, disease, inadequate habitat protection (of denning and seasonal resting areas), and the potential for over-harvest in smaller or declining polar bear populations.
https://polarbearsinternational.org/climate-change
Cow
Crayon, Pen & Acrylics
765 X 1085 mm
(30.1 X 42.7 in)
Shortly after birth, calves are dragged away from their mother never to be seen again. A cow will have to go through this painful process every year of her life. The milk she produces for her calf is instead taken from her and sold to consumers.
After being torn away from their mothers, calves will spend much of their lives in extreme confinement. In fact, most will spend the first 2 to 3 months of life confined in lonely barren hutches, fed a diet of milk replacer while humans drink the milk intended for them.
Over 90% of U.S. dairy cows are confined in primarily indoor operations, with more than 60% tethered by the neck inside barren stalls, unable to perform even the most basic behaviors essential to their well-being.
As cows get older they undergo a series of painful mutilations:
Branding: Workers heat iron bars in open fires and burn the flesh of young cows. These untreated wounds are ripe for infection.
Dehorning: To remove an animal’s horns, workers cut them out or burn off delicate tissue. A cow’s horns are full of blood and hypersensitive nerve endings but this is done without any anesthesia.
Tail docking: Another common practice is for cows to have their tails removed. They will either be cut off with shears or, in some instances, workers will wrap wire or rubber bands around the tail.
(https://animalequality.org/issues/dairy/#:~:text=Cows%20in%20the%20dairy%20industry%20suffer%20their%20entire%20lives.&text=Just%20like%20humans%2C%20cows%20only,that%20ends%20with%20their%20slaughter.)
Butterfly 3
Crayon & Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
Western butterfly populations are declining at an estimated rate of 1.6% per year, according to a new report to be published this week in Science. The report looks at more than 450 butterfly species, including the western monarch, whose latest population count revealed a 99.9% decline since the 1980s.
(https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210304145405.htm)
Animal Rights/ Animal Welfare 1
Pens & Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
Save Earth/ Respect Life
Around 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emission come from livestock production. In addition, billions of animals are raised and killed in factory farms. They are raised in an environment where even the basic behaviors are constrained. There is no room to stretch limbs or wings, and no daylight. Chicken beaks are clipped, tails are cut and teeth are pulled out without anesthesia.
Animal Rights/ Animal Welfare 2
Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
Save Earth/ Respect Life
Around 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emission come from livestock production. In addition, billions of animals are raised and killed in factory farms. They are raised in an environment where even the basic behaviors are constrained. There is no room to stretch limbs or wings, and no daylight. Chicken beaks are clipped, tails are cut and teeth are pulled out without anesthesia.
Butterfly 4
Crayon & Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
Western butterfly populations are declining at an estimated rate of 1.6% per year, according to a new report to be published this week in Science. The report looks at more than 450 butterfly species, including the western monarch, whose latest population count revealed a 99.9% decline since the 1980s.
(https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210304145405.htm)
Bee 2
Crayon & Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
Over the last few decades, the dramatic drop in the population of bees has increasingly been of concern because of the vital role they play as pollinators. Without bees, many of the world’s most important crops would fail and directly affect the food supply of humans and countless other species.
Pesticides
Exposure to pesticides is a crucial cause of pollinator decline. Glyphosate (the most commonly used weed killer) can impact the gut microbes of bees, which can have devastating implications for their health.
Monoculture
Monoculture is bad for the environment and production through effects on soil quality, erosion, plants and animals, and ultimately declining crop yields. Numbers of wild pollinator and parasitoid insects (unmanaged insects that enhance yields through pollination and biological control) increased with plant diversity.
(https://www.earthday.org/fact-sheet-bees/)
Rabbit 1
Crayon & Acrylics
1085 X 765 mm
(42.7 X 30.1 in)
The European-centered rabbit-fur trade likewise breeds and raises rabbits in factory-like conditions. The rabbits are bred frequently, live in crowded cages. The bare wire mesh cages in which they are kept hurt their paws, which have no pads.
The use of rabbits in biomedical and product testing is a longstanding and well-known practice. The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) reports that in 2004, the number of laboratory rabbits in use was over 260,000, and some 43 percent of those individuals were subjected to tests that caused pain, distress, or both, sometimes without any drug relief. A previous Advocacy for Animals post described a very common test on rabbits, the Draize test: “A chemical, such as a cosmetic or pharmaceutical agent, is applied to the skin or eye of a rabbit.
Rabbits are also used in vaccine, cardiovascular, reproductive, and other kinds of research, subjected to stress tests and infected with sexually transmitted diseases.
(https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/rabbits-the-poster-child-for-animal-rights)