Volkswagen Kills Birds for No Reason

FUN FACT OF THE DAY: Volkswagen, makers of wonderfully modern vehicles, is also the direct sponsor of the cruel torture and death of songbirds. YAY! According to animal rights group IDA (In Defense of Animals):

Volkswagen Foundation is paying experimenters at German and U.S. universities to capture and use these beautiful songbirds in worthless experiments that terrify the birds before they are ruthlessly killed for curiosity’s sake. Although the use of any animal for experimentation is objectionable, the thought of birds-who are universal symbols of joy and freedom-captured, caged, terrorized, and vivisected, is particularly heinous. Birds are indeed so fragile that they often die of fright from the capture or transportation process.

These atrocious acts are taking place at the University of Oldenburg in Germany and Duke University in North Carolina. Songbirds captured from the wild and captive canaries and finches are exposed to different light cycles or are fitted with eye caps glued tightly to their heads to block out all light. Researchers then cut the birds’ heads off to slice their retinas out of their eyes, and dissect and study their brains for clues to the secret of migration. The principal experimenters are Henrik Mouritsen of Oldenburg and Erich D. Jarvis of Duke University. Mouritsen’s webpage features his nature photography - apparently he is unaffected by the irony of building his career on capturing and killing beautiful birds.

And before you say, “well maybe it’s for the good of humanity…” listen to the pwn from Neurologist Robert Hoffman, MD:

“This is an excellent example of the type of basic research in neurophysiology where animals are killed solely to satisfy the curiosity of the investigators and their colleagues. It has no conceivable relevance to the treatment of human disease, nor to the development of industrial applications which do not already exist, including such things as GPS systems. The authors of both articles do not even attempt to discuss the potential importance of this line of work, and this is telling. The reason, in my view, is that there is none except for the advancement of their own careers. The use of animals for a project of this type has no ethical justification.” Mouritsen’s webpage features his nature photography - apparently he is unaffected by the irony of building his career on capturing and killing beautiful birds.”

Go here for moar.

While you’re at it, check out the most EMO bird photo series EVAR. Some serious shit man.