Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"The Greater Akashic System" – July 15, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Lightworkers, Intent, To meet God, Past lives, Universe/Galaxy, Earth, Pleiadians, Souls Reincarnate, Invention: Measure Quantum state in 3D, Recalibrates, Multi-Dimensional/Divine, Akashic System to change to new system, Before religion changed the system, DNA, Old system react to Karma, New system react to intent now for next life, Animals (around humans) reincarnate again, This Animal want to come back to the same human, Akashic Inheritance, Reincarnate as Family, Other Planets, Global Unity … etc.)

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
American zoologist played by Sigourney Weaver in the film Gorillas in the Mist would have been 82 on Thursday (16 January 2014)

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Montreal horse-drawn carriages take one last lap

Yahoo – AFP, Anne-Sophie THILL, December 27, 2019

A horse-drawn carriage passes by in a street of Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada
on December 22, 2019.Montreal's horse-drawn carriages will be taken off the roads
on December 31, ending a long feud between the city and coachmen and a
quaint means of local travel that dates back to the 1600s. (AFP Photo/Eric THOMAS)

Montreal (AFP) - To tourists they are a time-honored, charming way of seeing the sights but animal rights activists say Montreal's horse-drawn carriages are a cruel and unnecessary relic of yesteryear.

A longstanding feud between the coachmen and their critics looks set to end however with the unique mode of transport set to disappear from the streets of Canada's second city by year end.

"You can pet him if you want," Nathalie Matte tells onlookers attracted to her hoofed beast with its flowing mane and tail.

In the heart of Montreal's Old Port neighborhood, a half dozen horses and carriages are lined up outside the Notre Dame basilica, waiting for riders.

A group of tourists, tempted by offers of a languid and comfortable ride along cobblestone streets, and a complimentary blanket across their lap on a cold winter's day, snap pictures.

Horse-drawn carriages line up in front of the Notre-Dame basilica in Old-Montreal, 
waiting for tourists in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on December 22, 2019.Montreal's 
horse-drawn carriages will be taken off the roads on December 31, ending a long
 feud between the city and coachmen and a quaint means of local travel that dates
back to the 1600s. (AFP Photo/Eric THOMAS)

The carriages this time of year are decorated with red ribbons and fir branches to mark the Christmas holidays.

"It's a unique way to see the city rather than just taking the bus or the subway," says Mujtaba Ali, 29, who is visiting with family from neighboring Ontario, as he steps off a carriage.

Horses and landaus -- four-wheel, convertible carriages named after the German city of their origin -- are a part of Montreal's cultural heritage, says owner Luc Desparois.

"They've been around as long as Montreal has existed," he told AFP.

The Quebec city was founded by European settlers in the 1600s at the site of an indigenous village inhabited as far back as 4,000 years ago -- although the landau itself was invented in the 18th century

City Hall has ordered an end to the tourist rides out of concern for the horses. In 2018, the council passed a by-law banishing horse-drawn carriages, starting in 2020.

Two horse-drawn carriages pass by in a street of Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
on December 22, 2019.Montreal's horse-drawn carriages will be taken off the roads 
on December 31, ending a long feud between the city and coachmen and a quaint 
means of local travel that dates back to the 1600s. (AFP Photo/Eric THOMAS)

The death of a horse in 2018 while pulling a carriage was the last straw for animal rights groups, and prompted mayor Valerie Plante to speak out against the carriage industry, saying it was no longer welcome in Montreal.

The decision will put some 50 coachmen and their horses out of work.

Animal welfare

"It is a tradition that has long been appreciated but today I think it is time to move on," said Jean-François Parenteau, the city's pointman in the case.

The city, he said, must "show concern for the animals."

His comments drew praise from Galahad, a Quebec association for the protection of horses, which lobbied for the ban. Its founder Chamie Angie Cadorette said the horses faced tough working conditions.

"It is not just an hour a day. It is eight hours a day, going up and down roads in traffic," she said, accusing horse owners of neglect.

"They say they are mistreated. Prove it," retorts Desparois, who recently lost a legal challenge to the ban.

A coachwoman puts a cover on her horse while waiting for tourists in freezing 
temperatures in Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada on December 22, 2019.Montreal's 
horse-drawn carriages will be taken off the roads on December 31, ending a 
long feud between the city and coachmen and a quaint means of local travel 
that dates back to the 1600s. (AFP Photo/Eric THOMAS)

City Hall, under pressure from activists, had long sought to ban the carriages, but until now had managed only incremental steps, such as requiring horses be taken off the road when summer temperatures soared.

That did not satisfy animal rights groups.

In April, to prevent out-of-work horses from ending up at slaughterhouses, the city said it would pay the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Can$1,000 (US$760) for each horse offered a refuge or adoptive family.

As of December 16, only one application to join the program had been made.

The offer is a "total insult" for Desparois, owner of the Lucky Luc stable, which has a total of 15 horses and employs 15 coachmen.

"You could offer me $10,000 tomorrow morning and I would not sell them to you," he said, adding that after 34 years in the business his animals mean more to him than money could.

After the ban comes into effect, the "king of horse-drawn carriages" -- as local media has dubbed him -- plans to take his horses to other nearby communities or maybe even to Ottawa.

Coachwoman Nathalie Matte, 52, who's about to lose her job after Montreal's 
horse-drawn carriages will be taken off the roads on December 31, waits for 
passengers in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on December 22, 2019.Montreal's 
horse-drawn carriages will be taken off the roads on December 31, ending a long 
feud between the city and coachmen and a quaint means of local travel that 
dates back to the 1600s. (AFP Photo/Eric THOMAS)

Neither option, he says, will be as profitable as rides in the Old Port, where he charges Can$53 per half hour ride or Can$85 for an hour with an average of two to seven rides per day.

Older coachmen will simply take early retirement. Others will likely leave the profession.

"I won't have a choice but to quit. I won't have the means to move to Ottawa," said Nathalie Matte, 52, a coachwoman who plans to return to a previous job as a groom.

City Hall, meanwhile, is working on a retraining program to help coachmen transition to other tourist jobs.

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