you could easily ask, what came first the zodiac or the animal? animals have always been an integral part of human life.

the chinese zodiac consists of a circle of animals. this was created in ancient china so that the peasants could better understand the astrology that their emperor (and themselves by extension) practiced so religiously. which incidentally was not based on constellations, but on calendar years. because most peasants did not know how to read or write, an animal was created to symbolize each year. hence we have year of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar.

Up until last year I thought I was a boar. Then I found SUZANNE WHITE’S website and voila, I’m a dog! Turns out… suzanne did a little research (ok, a lot) and found that it was not enough to simply go by the year in which you were born. as in western astrology, you might have been on the cusp, like me. I was born in the first week of the year, so i thought i was the chinese animal for that year. not so. i am actually the chinese animal for the year before. i suggest you make it a life priority to confirm you are the correct chinese zodiac animal!

in western astrology, more than half of our zodiacal constellations take the form of animals. leo the lion, sagittarius the horse/man, pisces the fishes, aries the ram, capricorn the goat, taurus the bull, scorpio the scorpion and cancer the crab. these soular animals are somewhat revered, especially by people like me!

so revered and so abused. the point of my post today is to celebrate WORLD WEEK FOR ANIMALS IN LABORATORIES.

A Landmark Agreement
In February, 2008, three U.S. government agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), signed a five-year agreement to create innovative and animal-free methods to evaluate the safety of drugs and chemicals with the goal of phasing out animal tests entirely.

The NRC’s Groundbreaking Report
In July, 2007, the prestigious National Research Council (NRC) issued a report, “Toxicology for the 21st Century,” which outlines a new approach that would rely less on animal studies and focus instead upon in vitro methods. According to the report, “Over time, the need for traditional animal testing could be greatly reduced, and possibly even eliminated someday.”

Broad and sweeping changes are slowly being realized for animals, and now is the time to speak out. they ARE listening! all it takes is one letter, one phone call, one action… to make a big difference.

click here to see how you can help lab animals.

see how easy it is to shop cruelty free here.

read about the recent government scam over animal testing in the WASHINGTON POST

(photo credit)