Animals

Dutch artist Bart Jansen is under attack after images of his flying helicopter cat went viral on the Internet this week. Jansen created the bizarre cat helicopter after his pet Orville was killed by a car. According to media reports, Jansen kept Orville's body in a freezer for about six months, before taking him to a taxidermist and attaching a plastic propeller to each of his four paws. Then he put a remote control engine inside the stomach of the cat, and after a few false starts, the "Orvillecopter" achieved lift-off.

I read with disgust your story on the blessing of the animals ("Man's Blessed Friends," Times Valley Edition, Oct. 12). With all due respect to Msgr. Francis J. Weber, I would like to challenge the Catholic view that animals have no souls. Animals have given their lives for humans throughout the ages. Look into the eyes of a cat, dog or horse and I challenge you to tell me it has no soul. Have you ever watched the faces of the subhumans watching a cockfight, pit bull fight or bullfights, many of which are held to celebrate some religious holiday?

Among the year's major animated releases (and award contenders) are sequels in billion-dollar franchises, an expansion of a beloved Dr. Seuss book and an irreverent claymation pirate adventure. There are prehistoric animals battling other pirates who sail ships of icebergs; New Yorker animals joining the circus to escape an indestructible, Edith Piaf-belting Frances McDormand; and a moonstruck loser named Charles Darwin. 'The Pirates! Band of Misfits' The stop-motion pioneers at England's Aardman Animations made their first foray into high-tech, with 3-D and extensive computer-generated imagery, for "The Pirates!

The concept of making the Los Angeles Zoo a "world-class facility" goes against the evolution that is taking place in the conservation of species around the world ("Zoo Struggles With Problem of Gorillas in the Midst of Visitors," Dec. 18). The millions of dollars it will take to recreate simulated havens for captive animals would be far better spent in restoring their natural habitats. Zoos, born of the menageries of kings, should become sanctuaries for abused and discarded animals that cannot be returned to the wild.

Re "Stray animals need help," Column, Oct. 27 Kudos to Sandy Banks for her article on the conditions in South L.A.'s crowded animal shelter. Brenda Barnette, the general manager of L.A. Animal Services, has not provided an adequate explanation for why things have not improved, and surely other officials also must be held accountable. It makes me so angry to think of all the money spent on political advertising when it could have been spent on clinics for the poor, children's school lunches or, yes, animals in dire straits.