Animals suffer the effects of Fukushima nuclear devastation

The Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan has taken a massive toll on animals. The fate of wildlife is largely unknown, but domestic pets and livestock continue to suffer.  

Livestock were forcibly abandoned and left behind to starve. Cows contaminated with cesium five times the permissible level have been slaughtered. Buried in the ground, their radioactive carcasses will continue to contaminate the land for decades if Chernobyl is any indication.  

Family pets were left behind, tied, abandoned in homes, or left to roam the streets in search of food. Their owners were forbidden to return or were allowed to make brief visits to feed them, often too late.

A rabbit born without ears is stoking fears of birth defects and genetic damage among humans while whales have been caught that are found to be contaminated with radioactive cesium.

In the event of US reactor accidents, citizens are encouraged to evacuate with their pets. However, evacuation shelters and most hotels do not allow animals. Livestock, of course, cannot be evacuated.

Sign our petition to protect animals from nuclear devastation by supporting safer renewable energy.

Update on July 25, 2011 by admin

On July 18th, Reuters also reported on the radioactively contaminated beef in Japan, in an article entitled "Fukushima: 554 cows fed contaminated feed shipped."

Nuclear Power: Radiation Found in Two Japanese Whales

"Leaks from a damaged nuclear power plant may explain why two whales caught along the northern coast had traces of radiation, AP reported on Wednesday.

'Out of 17 minke whales caught off the Pacific coast of Hokkaido, two showed signs of radioactive cesium-- about one-twentieth of the legal limit, according to fishing officials." Third Age

Earless baby bunny near Fukushima Daiichi stokes fears of radiogenic mutations

A baby bunny apparently born without ears (photo at left) in the town of Namie, near the massively leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, has raised concerns about mutagenic effects caused by radioactivity in the environment. Naysayers abound, despite evidence of genetic mutations in animals (such as a two headed calf) and plants (including deformed flowers) in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island meltdown collected and documented by Mary Osborn; numerous scientific studies showing adverse impacts on wildlife populations in Chernobyl contaminated regions, such as on birds by Dr. Tim Mousseau of the University of South Carolina; and, further back in time, an epidemic of ewe deaths in southwest Utah immediately downwind of the Nevada Nuclear Weapons Test Site. An excellent book by John G. Fuller, "The Day We Bombed Utah," published in 1984, recounts how Mormon sheep farmers experienced unprecedented sheep and ewe deaths in the early 1950s, shortly after nuclear weapons blasts upwind in Nevada. The farmers sued the Atomic Energy Commission for damages. AEC research scientists swore, under oath, that they had no evidence that radioactivity could cause such a die off in sheep and ewes. However, over a quarter century later, it was shown by the sheep farmers and their attorney that the AEC had lied -- they had conducted experiments on sheep at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State: they observed die offs very similar to what occurred in Utah. The same judge who had presided over the original trial heard the new evidence as well, and ruled that the AEC had perpetrated a fraud upon the court. Fuller also wrote "We Almost Lost Detroit," published in 1975, about the 1966 partial meltdown at the Fermi 1 experimental plutonium breeder reactor in Monroe, Michigan.

Update on June 10, 2011 by admin

And see news story.

Radioactive contamination of Japanese beaches may deter swimmers during summer tourist season

No Nukes on the Beach! Thanks to the Supertubes Surfing Foundation, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa for the wonderful image, used as a logo for Radioactive Waste Action Day organizing several months ago!NHK World of Japan reports that officials of Ibaraki Prefecture, south of the catastrophically leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, have begun radiation monitoring on 17 beaches. They hope to quell the fears of swimmers, surfers, and other visitors ahead of the vital summer tourist season. It has long been known that "radioactive stigma effect" -- not only after catastrophes, but even after smaller accidents or even during "routine" nuclear activities -- can harm other economic sectors, especially ones like agriculture and tourism, over entire regions. Clean, safe, and ever more reliable and cost effective wind turbines, on the other hand, have been shown to attract tourists!

"Radiation under ground and in the sky, animals and birds who live nearby are dying"

40 years ago, Marvin Gaye was a wee bit ahead of the curve when he wrote his environmental anthem "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)," released as the #2 track on his What's Going On album. "Mercy Mercy Me" was released on June 10, 1971, and shot to the top of the charts, becoming one of Gaye's most popular songs:

"Woo ah, mercy mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east
Woo mercy, mercy me, mercy father
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas, fish full of mercury
Ah oh mercy, mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Radiation under ground and in the sky
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying
Oh mercy, mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from man can she stand?
Oh, na na...
My sweet Lord... No
My Lord... My sweet Lord"

Although Gaye's reference to radiation almost certainly alluded to nuclear weapons testing, it certainly resonates still, given what's happening at Fukushima Daiichi, as well as commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe (Tim Mousseau's ornithological studies in the Chernobyl Dead Zone show that indeed, "animals and birds who live nearby are dying"), not to mention "Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas" from the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster a year ago, and "fish full of mercury" from the continued burning of coal.