Posted on January 23, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
In early 2019, observers attended seven jallikattu events in the following locations: Alanganallur, Avaniapuram, and Palamedu in Madurai district; Keelapanaiyur and Viralimalai in Pudukkottai district; Ulagampatti in Dindigul district; and Alagumalai in Tiruppur district.
The eyewitnesses confirmed that bulls are poked and jabbed with sticks and sickles, hit, jumped on, tackled, bitten, and otherwise mistreated.
Exhausted and dehydrated animals were forced to participate in jallikattu after standing in queues overnight – for as long as 16 hours – without adequate shelter or sufficient water or feed. They were yanked roughly by nose ropes, causing their nostrils to bleed, and many collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration after the events.
The mental and physical torture bulls are subjected to are in apparent direct violation of many regulations.
Nobody wants to kill the bull here, as is the case with the Spanish Corrida. Nevertheless, the animals suffer a lot. In order to make the bulls aggressive, they are sometimes given alcohol or rubbed with chilli in the eyes. Bulls have even been tortured with electric shocks to the testicles.
The well-known animal rights activist and politician Maneka Gandhi said: “The bulls are kept in dark rooms for weeks, they are given alcohol to drink and beaten. When released into an arena, dozens of drunken young men throw themselves at them and try to tear their horns away. Bulls are killed. People die”!
In 2014 the Jallikattu were banned by the Indian Supreme Court, at the request of animal rights activists.Two years ago, the state government reintroduced the tradition after thousands of people protested!! Things have changed, because under the pressure of the Tamil people from the same court it was canceled.
In January 2018, the AWBI issued guidelines for the conduct of jallikattu events and shared them with Tamil Nadu officials, advising them to share the guidelines in turn with authorities throughout the state.
Rules listed under the Tamil Nadu PCA (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules, 2017, and the AWBI’s 2018 guidelines are brazenly violated.
Exacerbating the problem is the fact that none of the regulations hold jallikattu organisers or bull abusers suitably accountable or liable for punishment. This loophole in the legislation gives them a free pass to continue abusing bulls and putting humans in harm’s way.
The documented findings and evidence of abuse prove that no amount of regulation can prevent cruelty to bulls during jallikattu events.
The mental and physical torture bulls are subjected to are in apparent direct violation of many regulations.
Documented photographs by PETA India from Avaniapuram, Palamedu, Alanganallur, Thirunallur and Maravapatti show how brutal it was. The video shows how bulls are pulled by ropes in their noses until they bleed.
The organizers beat the animals, bite them and break their bones. And that’s just the part that happens outside the arena.
It’s not hard to see that bulls used for jallikattu don’t race for fun. The spectacle relies on physical and psychological abuse to instigate bulls – who are naturally nervous prey animals and not anatomically suited to running – to spar or race.
All one has to do is look at photographs or videos from jallikattu events to understand how vicious the practice is. Shouting mobs of participants beat, bite, and whip bulls so that the animals sprint to escape the violence – and spectators often hit them as they flee, too.
An explanation is given for this! – Indian bullfighting today also reflects the contrast between powerful landowners who breed the bulls and send them into battle, and poor peasant boys who, in this way, protest as fighters against the traditional social order.
At Jallikattu, bulls are let into an arena where people pounce on them to hold on and sit on them. It was only five years ago that the highest court in India banned this practice because it violated the Animal Welfare Act. But in 2017, the state of Tamil Nadu decided to allow Jallikattu again, so it took place in several locations again in January.
Since the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act 2017 was passed, at least 43 humans (including 11 spectators), 14 bulls, and one cow have been killed during these events.
Deliberately tormenting bulls – who are nervous prey animals – is inhumane. During jallikattu events, participants poke and jab bulls with sticks and sickles and stab, hit, bite, jump on, and tackle them. Many bulls sustain broken bones and severe injuries, collapse from exhaustion and dehydration, and even die.
The Supreme Court recognises that using them for spectacles like jallikattu and races – forcing bulls to run for their lives by frightening and hurting them – is inherently cruel, and it rightfully upheld a ban on their use in performances in 2014.
Yet the torture and abuse continue to this day, despite a public outcry, animal protection laws, and the threat to both animal and human safety.
Now help us stop the cruelty to animals at Jallikattu. Sign the PETA India petition and tell everyone!
My Comment: I purposely posted the video (above) from the San Fermin bull rush in Pamplona. Because I immediately thought of this bull rush when I saw the video from India.
Terrifyingly similar! obviously globalization also exists in cruelty to animals.
It is not a tradition! it is the other word for cruel mass entertainment as we know it in many countries.
Anyone who tortures or murders animals in the name of tradition still lives on the trees, and this means at least half of the world’s population.
‘A whole sheep for £18’: how live exports are hurting farmers in Romania
Country’s lack of meat processing facilities means livestock must be shipped to international markets – at a high cost to both shepherds and welfare
Gheorghe Dănulețiu, also known as Ghiță Ciobanul (Ghiță the shepherd), has more than 500,000 followers on Facebook after he featured in an advertising campaign that went viral, but he leads the modest life of a traditional shepherd.
Looking after 1,500 sheep in western Romania, Dănulețiu’s life changes with the seasons. During lambing in spring, he barely sleeps four hours a night while in winter he leads his sheep in a three- to four-week journey from the mountains down to graze in the valleys.
Even when the temperature drops below -30C(-22F), Dănulețiu sleeps next to his animals, wrapped in his sheepskin under the starry sky and ready to protect his flock in case of a wolf attack.
“I inherited this [role] from my father – who had a few hundred sheep – but I also love it, I love animals,” Dănulețiu says.
However, like all Romanian shepherds with small and medium-sized flocks, Dănulețiu is struggling in a market dominated by a few live animal exporters, big farmers and hypermarkets.
“The sheep trade has become a mockery,” he says. “We sell a sheep for 100 Romanian leu (about £18). I can’t afford to pay good salaries and I can’t find workers any more – young people see that it’s all going downhill. I have the impression that this is political, that they’re trying to destroy the sector.”
Posted on January 22, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
I rarely eat meat …
I only eat organic meat …
I only eat meat from animals I know …
I only eat meat from the farmers in the village …
I only eat local meat …
Endless excuses. In the end, someone else always dies.
There will never be animal welfare in factory farming! The meat eaters should finally stop soothing their consciences with this illusion!
The extent of animal suffering on Earth has reached dimensions that are hard to grasp. More than 150 billion animals are slaughtered every year.
The industry that benefits from the exploitation and abuse of animals is hiding behind a wall of secrecy. The less the meat consumer knows about it, the easier it is to make him a collaborator.
“I worked in the industry, could write a book about it! If you say something, you will be violently silenced and threatened with dismissal”, says a slaughterhouse worker!
With meat production of around 8 million tons, Germany is the largest meat producer in Europe and the fourth largest in the world. Pork is produced the most!
Every day, 48,000 pigs end up in the dumpster with full consciousness; they are waste and are not used.
This meat is promoted with tax money!
The number one largest meat producer in the world is China with an incredible production of almost 80 million tons of meat. China is also the largest pork consumer in the world, with an average consumption of 32 kilograms of pork per person.
The USA has almost twice as much meat production as Brazil and is the second largest meat producer in the world – at around 40 million tons. Pork and chicken dominate the market here, which can also be easily seen in the per capita consumption. The USA has an average consumption of 45 kilos of chicken per person.
Now we come to the top 3. With a production of around 23 million tons,Brazil is not only the third largest meat producer in the world, but also the largest meat producer in South America. Similar to Argentina, Brazil is not only known regionally, but even internationally for its beef. After Argentina and Uruguay, Brazil therefore has the third highest per capita consumption of beef.
Worldwide, 21 million male calves are murdered annually. They are seen as “waste products” of the dairy industry. It is well known that millions of day-old chicks are killed as “surplus laying hen production”.
Less known is that there is a similar problem in dairy farming.
Like male entry chicks, male calves are killed immediately after birth.
New figures show that around 95,000 male calves are disposed in Germany every year.
This year: Europe citizens’ initiative “end the cage age” reached 1.2 million signatures.
We are still waiting for the 1.2 million EU citizens to meet their request.
The German Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner wants to extend the crate for pigs for another 17 years!!
Although 1.2 million EU citizens want the opposite.
Those who started the initiative “end the cage age” are gone.
They did their duty, so to speak, and now they are taking care of the good relationships with the new EU Commission boss (and old well-known rivets as Ex-defense minister of Germany) Ursula von der Leyen.
The fatal paradox in the animal rights movement is that we are unable to define and fight our enemies.
And that is because we do not see this struggle as a continuation of the struggle for human rights, that is, as a political struggle against slavery.
We are at war and unfortunately the opponents win.
It must be admitted that one of the greatest gains of the capitalist system is the deformation of this society to cowardly, discouraged, obedient servants!
We are systematically educated every day to be apolitical.
And even worse, we, the animal rights activists are played against each other by the system, with the aim: Divide et impera, divide and conquer!
It is time to leave sentimentalities and system conforming actions aside and focus on the collective and good planed fight for animal rights.
This is our mission, we owe it to the animals because they only have us.
Target: Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum
Goal: Combat climate change and protect our planet from imminent destruction.
Scientists have predicted that the Amazon rainforests could be approaching an irreversible “tipping point” in their survival. The planet as a whole may be approaching this same point of no return. As the leaders of the world’s major economies converge in Davos, now is the time to confront this crisis head-on.
While the World Economic Forum promises a focus on climate change at the Davos meeting, evidence of a true, worthwhile commitment is scarce. Opportunistic politicians around the world are throwing fire on this explosive crisis. The deforestation policies of Brazil’s president contributed to the raging Amazon wildfires of 2019. At the same time, the Australian president’s refusal to address climate change in meaningful ways has only exacerbated the infernos in that region.
And Davos’ 2020 keynote speaker, President Donald Trump, is preparing to tack revoked protections for wetlands and streams on to his 95-and-counting current environmental rollbacks. Just days before the Davos meeting, the president tweeted this mocking “advice” to New Yorkers dealing with rising sea levels: “get your mops and buckets ready!”
Without unified, true global leadership, humanity runs the imminent risk of destroying its own home. Sign the petition below to hold these leaders accountable for ensuring this planet’s future.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Professor Schwab,
The World Economic Forum recently listed climate change as an urgent concern amongst worldwide populations. For all of the differences and conflicts between countries and cultures, we all share this common enemy…an enemy of our own making. The time for talking has long passed, and the time for action is yesterday.
“Stakeholders for a cohesive and sustainable world:” this theme will drive Davos 2020, but a few speeches will not be enough. Do not let any one person co-opt this important summit or detract from its mission. Please carry this mission forward with purposeful intent. Let this annual gathering of world leaders be a starting point for a productive and proactive year where sustaining and safeguarding this world remains a top priority for earth’s economic powers.
On January 16, a judge ruled that dozens of dogs seized by authorities will not be returned to defendant Elmer James Givens Jr.
Givens is suspected of first-degree animal cruelty and animal fighting after a tip led to authorities searching his garage in Tacoma, Wash., and finding 49 pit bulls locked inside small, dark cages. The dogs looked starved and lived in their own excrement.
Malnourished, injured and scarred, the dogs are believed to have been used in dogfighting activities. Authorities uncovered items related to dogfighting at the accused’s home, including first-aid kits, medicines, and training apparatuses.
After being released without charge, Givens went to court to try and convince the judge to return the seized dogs. Fortunately, Pierce County Judge Jeanette Lineberry refused his request because “the court has serious concerns about [the dogs] suffering future neglect or abuse.”
The recent ruling is great news, but no formal charges have been filed against the perpetrator.
A Lady Freethinker petition calling for justice for these maltreated dogs has garnered over 25,500 signatures. Thank you to everyone who signed and supported this ongoing case, but more signatures are needed to ensure that these innocent, abused dogs get the justice they deserve.
Please, sign this petition urging Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett to prosecute the culprit to the fullest extent of the law.
Posted on January 22, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Animal experimenter Logothetis, Director at the Max Planck Institute in Tübingen for biological cybernetics,flees to a country without press freedom and without animal protection law, to China.
In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which likes to print propaganda from the animal experiments lobby, a fan complains about the loss of the “skull drill”Logothetis. One would have misrepresented his animal experiments …
Image: SOKO Tierschutz
So it continues to tinker with the victim myth. So let’s get to the facts.
1) The experiments were carried out illegally under Logothetis, because the voluntary freedom of the animals according to the application and approval was not given, but the experiments were forced through violence, anesthesia or liquid deprivation.
Image: SOKO Tierschutz
2) In the Logothetis laboratory, the monkeys suffered the most severe side effects, such as meningitis, strokes and paralysis, among other things due to sluggish surgical methods and poor hygiene.
Image: SOKO Tierschutz
3) In the Logothetis laboratory, dying, sick monkey Stella was carried out cruel attempts to the end despite the stroke and hemiplegia, even though the animal should have been euthanized. Stella was not an isolated case.
Image: SOKO Tierschutz
4) In the laboratory, an intern without any knowledge was allowed to carry out serious animal tests on rats which were fatal due to the lack of practice.https: //youtu.be/40j3ULTjOs0 ((unfortunately in German!!)
Image: SOKO Tierschutz
We have reported about this several times in the past:
5) There was a severe outbreak of disease (TBC) in the Logothetis laboratory and potentially dangerous diseases for humans, including multi-resistant germs. However, hygiene was poor and was not taken seriously.
6) These bad practices have a long tradition. A notification by an authority was pending against the institute under Logothetis in the period 2010-2012.
This ad was due to poor practice, poor knowledge – for example in surgical sutures that had bad consequences for an animal.
The only answer to these facts came in the form of a dirt campaign by animal experiment fans.
Instead of facts and arguments, there were lies, murder and even a crime. A senior MPI employee was convicted of pretending to be a criminal offense. She had claimed to have been attacked by animal rights activists (!!!)
It is logical that Logothetis, after retiring and after the majority of German researchers rightly refused to support him, seeks refuge in a country without animal welfare law, criticism and free media.
Because there he can drill monkey heads free and continue his bad research without obstacles.
He does it like other industries that go to China to exploit people uninhibitedly or to poison the environment. In this case with animals only.
But he shouldn’t be wrong!
Animal torture cannot hide in China either.
And Logothetis should not be surprised if the determined Chinese want to see success, and will not be fed off with almost nothing for decades, like the Germans with their taxpayer millions. Some innovative young researchers in China will shake their heads in disbelief at what has been bought from Germany.
My comment: Logothetis: “My research was destroyed with strong effects on my health. !! I would have liked to have stayed in Germany, but given the circumstances, it is no longer possible for me to continue my work in Tübingen”.
We can breathe a sigh of relief and just say: One less asshole in Germany’s laboratory industry!
As far as I know, no more monkey trials will take place at the MPI in Tübingen in the future.
Posted on January 21, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
As it says in Article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty:“… animals are sentient beings. The overall goal is to ensure that the animals do not suffer any avoidable pain or suffering. ”
The Spanish Galgeros don’t give a shit about it!
A cruel fate awaits over 50,000 galgos in Spain at the end of the hunting season.
They are traditionally bred for hunting and used for pleasure and greed by the so-called galgueros (hunters). Without food and water, the galgos live their sad lives in dirty, narrow bunkers without daylight.
Every day is hell for them.
They are always the same pictures: Galgos, emaciated to the bone, whose ribs can be counted with the naked eye. Then there are those with obviously broken legs and open flesh wounds as well as those for whom – hung on the tree – tragically all help comes too late.
These pictures can only mean one thing: The hunting season in Spain is officially over.
The hunting season with galgos goes from October to late January, but their abuse is ubiquitous all year round.
But at the end of January, when the hunting season ends, the situation for the galgos gets worse than ever.
What now with the many hunting dogs that are no longer needed? Nobody wants to bear the costs for food, accommodation, water and veterinarian until next year. Then these animals are killed en masse.
New mass graves are discovered every day with galgos.
In Spain, the Galgo is pure goods. Its value depends on its performance. In the classifieds market, the price starts with one euro for a Galgo puppy.
Animals that have won a few races or have champions in the ancestral row quickly make it to a few thousand euros.
Training takes place behind cars and motorcycles in summer.
Hunting and coursing for four months, always running, rushing, hunting, alone, in pairs, in a pack, four months of top performance. And top performance takes a toll.
The dog is too tired? Take another one!
The dog is too slow? Take another one!
The dog got hurt? Take another one! It’s about honor, it’s about pride, no galguero can get along with two dogs, an average of 10 to 15 are used per season by a galguero …
Animals that no longer achieve the desired performance are disposed of ice cold. The galgueros break their legs so that they become useless.
They throw them into wells where the galgos starve to death.
The hanging of the galgos even has a name, “tocar el piano”, in English “playing the piano”, since the galgo just touches the ground with its paws and struggles for its life, like when a piano player hits the keys, but it does is not a game, it is a cruel, cowardly murder by hand of a brutal, human scum!
The galgo hangs strangled from a tree so that it can barely tap its feet on the ground. Not so that he can survive, but so that he can prolong his agony himself a little.
The dog was hung up because it did not catch a rabbit while hunting. This goes against the hunter’s pride and must be paid for with death.
Hunting with the Spanish greyhounds “Galgos” is prohibited in the rest of the EU. Only not in Spain.
You can see that this is systematic cruelty to animals by the fact that around 50,000 galgos dangle from the trees every year.
The protest against the handling of greyhounds is getting louder and louder: In a petition called “Galgo Massacre” to the European Parliament, animal rights activists, for example, ask EU politicians:
“Stop hunting with Galgos in Spain.”
The international petition the Change.org platform has already been signed by more than 127,000 people.
Hunting with galgos is particularly widespread in the regions of Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla and León, Madrid and Andalusia, i.e. in the middle of the country and in southern Spain.
The dogs are kept in remote crates in the hinterland where tourists don’t notice!!
Hunting is a popular sport in Spain, a license is easily available. But hunting events across Spain have also become big events that serve entertainment and machismo.
Animal rights activists appeal to the European Parliament
The protest against the handling of greyhounds is getting louder and louder: In a petition called “Galgo Massacre” to the European Parliament, animal rights activists, for example, ask EU politicians: “Stop hunting with Galgos in Spain.”
The international petition the Change.org platform has already been signed by more than 127,000 people.
And I mean…There has never really existed a civilized Spain.
The Spanish Inquisition was founded on November 1, 1478.
It was only abolished on July 15, 1834 under Isabella II.
How much does it do? 365 years !!
The 320 years of the Conquista y Colonización and the 36 years of the Franco dictatorship naturally have to be counted towards this.
The “few” million murdered indigenous of Latin America are also due to the civilized Spain.
Because the Spaniards always claimed that the Indians had no soul and were not part of the human species, they also played executioners in this continent.
That was the black past, but the present doesn’t look better.
50,000 galgos per year brutally executed by hunters and breeders in Spain.
Approximately 200,000 animals are abandoned each year.
In Spain, an animal is thrown onto the street every 6 minutes, the official number of strays is 200,000 per year, but the dark number is much higher.
According to RSPCA statistics, Spain is the country with the highest animal cruelty rate in Europe.
Don’t forget the bullfighting – in November 2013, the corrupt People’s Party, together with the bullfighting mafia, declared animal fighting to “world heritage”.
We must also mention other blood fiestas! the Toro de la Vega, the Toro del Fuego, the slow death of horses in Galicia due to wooden truncheons, they are also part of the “cultural heritage” of the country!
The Bullfights in Spain – under the guise of “agricultural subsidies”- are financed with our money, from the EU’s subsidies pot.
According to a Spanish MP, around 130 million euros flow from the EU to Spanish bull farmers each year.
Around 27 million euros of this comes from Germany.
A little hope arises after the election of the new government, in which the left-wing party “Podemos” also participates.
Not that we have had any great support for animal rights from the left to date … but at least we have one less fascist government in Europe.
‘It would be kinder to shoot them’: Ireland’s calves set for live export
It would be “kinder to shoot” the hundreds of thousands of unwanted male dairy calves due to be born in Ireland this year, rather than export them to the Middle East or let them die on the farm, experts have told the Guardian.
Irish farmers have hit a streak of gold on dairy exports, and as a result the industry has rapidly expanded, with the national dairy herd rising from about 1m in 2010 to 1.6m this year.
But that creates a whole new problem. Dairy cows generally give birth every year in order to maintain their milk output. But male dairy calves are no use to the farmer as they cannot produce milk, which means that Ireland will need to deal with as many as 800,000 unwanted male calves this year, in what has been described by the Irish agricultural press as a “calf tsunami”.
A Chinese theme park has triggered a wave of outrage on social media after it forced a pig to bungee jump off a 68-metre high tower.
Video footage shows the pig tied to a pole, carried by two men to the top of a tower before being pushed off.
The theme park located in Chongqing said the stunt was held to mark the opening of the new bungee attraction.
Local media outlets said the pig was sent to a slaughterhouse afterwards.
The stunt caused anger online – reflecting the growing importance of animal rights among China’s population.
The theme park has since put out a statement, saying that it accepted the “criticism” it had received.
“We sincerely accept netizens’ criticism and advice and apologise to the public,” it said. “We will improve [our] marketing of the tourist site, to provide tourists with better services.”
‘Vulgar marketing tactic’
The incident took place on 18 January at the Meixin Red Wine Town theme park in the sprawling Chinese municipality of Chongqing in south-western China.
The publicity event – which organisers called the golden pig bungee jump – was held to celebrate the opening of the theme park’s bungee attraction.
The pig, which according to local reports weighed 75kg (165 lbs), is seen being pushed off the tower with a purple cape tied around its shoulders. In one video of the incident, what sound like pig squeals can be heard.
What happens to the pig afterwards is not shown, though many local media reports say it was eventually sent to a slaughterhouse.
Animal cruelty is not punishable by law in China. However, there has been growing awareness of animal welfare issues in recent years.
Though a handful of people defended the incident on social media, saying it wasn’t any different to “killing a pig for food”, the majority of users condemned the company’s actions.
“This is a super vulgar marketing tactic,” said one commenter.
“Killing animals for consumption and treating them cruelly for entertainment are two different things,” another said. “There is no need to torture them like this.”
Animal protection organisation Peta condemned the incident, calling it “animal cruelty at its worst”.
“Pigs experience pain and fear in the same ways that we do, and this disgusting PR stunt should be illegal,” Jason Baker, Peta senior vice-president of international campaigns, told BBC News.
“The Chinese public’s angry response should be a wake-up call to China’s policy-makers to implement animal protection laws immediately.”
Further reading – The mentality of the theme park CRETIN management has made the news in many UK press articles – here are some:
Posted on January 20, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
In New Zealand, Rodeo becomes an entertaining family day where burly participants imitate their Texas counterparts by throwing ridiculous big hats are tying into an arena and torturing three-month-old calves to impress the audience.
It’s time to end rodeos in New Zealand. That’s what many are saying as rodeo season in the island nation starts again.
Hundreds of people have gathered at local rodeos around the country to protest the sport’s cruelty and abuse towards the animals required to perform.
Join them in their protests. Add your voice by signing the petition and demanding that New Zealand ban rodeos on a national level!
For the riders and the spectators, rodeos are just a fun game. But for horses and cows, it seems like a matter of life and death.
They are prey animals, so when they feel another living being on their backs, they can only imagine that their lives are in danger. Imagine that feeling – would you want another living being to feel that, day after day?
For those animals that don’t cooperate, rodeo riders use various tools to get them to buck and put on a good, entertaining show.
They may prod them with an electric shocker to provoke a buck, poke them with spurs, or fit them with “flank straps” – a rope tied tightly around the animals’ abdomen.
If handlers and riders need all these horrible tools just to make an animal jump, that should tell you that it is not a great experience for the animal.
But even worse than the pain they endure, some rodeo animals never make it out alive. According to Safe, an animal protection organization, four animals died in rodeos just last year. That’s four animals that were used as tools and then discarded once their use had expired.
This “sport” is cruel and should be outlawed. It’s just that simple. Tell New Zealand that there is no bucking reason to abuse animals.
Sign the petition and ask for the sport to be banned nationally.
My comment: Just like rap music, rodeo is a product of American “pop culture” that New Zealand has adopted with open arms. So it’s not a tradition at all, it’s an import. Bad examples are quickly adopted by people, good ones are not.
Cruelty will always have its supporters. It always has and it always will. Rodeo (this primitive demonstration of Cowboy’s potency) has worked hard to expand its support base.
They call this animal abuse a “sport”, but these brutal shows are part of the entertainment industry. It is often also a matter of gambling, such as greyhound racing, horse racing and so is rodeo too. The people involved in riding the rodeo animals are fit and healthy young people who want to signal and prove their potency.
It’s very clear that rodeo is a sadistic act of torturing animals.
Without pain, distress and fear, these animals could not be ridden.
The rodeo animals are victims of abuse and anyone who loves animals should boycott this brutal theater of indigenous cowboys.
Every year in the UK, the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) has a special weekend where everyone is invited to participate. It is called the Big Garden Birdwatch; https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/ and it allows anyone to spend just a hour in their own garden; or from the house etc; to log and count the types of birds which are visiting the area. We are all ready to do our bit; taking part in this free count, which only takes an hour of time; a yet provides a huge amount of data to scientists who research how bird numbers and species are increasing or declining across the whole of the country.
What’s also very important – it links people with garden birds; tells them about care and how to provide types of food for the different types. A big win-win for the garden birds of the UK; and with over half a million people signed up for this years event, the data provided by the watch will be a massive insight or window into the bird situation in the UK.
There is still time to take part if you live in the UK – just follow the links we have given below;
Happy watching – Mark (WAV).
For over 40 years, we’ve (RSPB) have been asking you to count the birds in your garden – and you’ve been brilliant at it.
With over half a million people now regularly taking part, coupled with 40 years worth of data, Big Garden Birdwatch allows us to monitor trends and helps us understand how birds are doing.
As the format of the survey has stayed the same, the scientific data can be compared year-on-year, making your results very valuable to our scientists.
With results from so many gardens, we are able to create a “snapshot” of bird numbers across the UK.
For four decades, the Big Garden Birdwatch has highlighted the winners and losers in the garden bird world. It was one of the first surveys to alert the RSPB to the decline in the number of song thrushes in gardens. This species was a firm fixture in the top 10 in 1979, but by 2019 numbers of song thrushes seen in gardens had declined by 76%, coming in at number 20.
Your results help us spot problems, but more importantly, they are also the first step in putting things right.
It’s so easy to take part. An hour with the birds is a wonderful opportunity to sit back, relax and spend time with nature. So, pop the kettle on, put your feet up and start counting!
Watch the birds for one hour
Choose an hour between 25 and 27 January to watch the birds in your garden or local park.
Count the most birds that land at once
Only count the birds that land in your garden or park, not those flying over. The same birds may land more than once, so you can avoid double counting by recording the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time – not the total number you count over the hour.
Tell us what you saw
Every count is important, so don’t worry if you don’t see anything. Observing which birds aren’t around is as important as seeing the ones that are. You can submit your results online at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch from 25 January until 16 February.
If you’d prefer to send us your results by post, you can download a submission form from rspb.org.uk/birdwatch. Please make sure you post your findings back to us by 11 February.
Posted on January 20, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
From Anonymous for the Voiceless
Regarded as a historic sport, boar hunting—popular in some countries of Europe and Asia, and in many US states—is the practice of hunting wild boars, or feral pigs.
Either killed for their flesh, for fun, or for “population and crop control”, they are commonly hunted using either trapping methods, or with hunting dogs.
Two types of dogs are used, bay and catch dogs. Bay dogs will find, chase, and alert hunters to the boar, whereas catch dogs will do just that, catch the boar.
They will use their weight and teeth to immobilize the boar so that they can be captured by the hunter.
In both methods, the individual will remain trapped until the hunter ultimately ends their life.
This isn’t sport. This isn’t necessary.
And I mean…Hunters plan their hunt very carefully – and they happily wipe out life after life to fulfill their own abnormal desires.
These people are murderers, they passionately collect corpses.
Taking a life serves to satisfy your own selfish and sadistic desires. They carefully plan their intoxication and then kill over and over again with no prospect of an end.
Like serial killers!
These people are among us. They are military officials, veterinarians, gynecologists, dentists or lead scout groups. A whole range of factors such as genes, family relationships, upbringing, intelligence and opportunities form a psychopath.
And hunters are psychopaths! Their brains are literally less “turned on” than the brains of normal people.
Both – the serial killer and the violent and cunning hunter think they have something important to share. Brain abnormalities are strikingly common in serial killers.
Violence leaves traces in the brain after a short time.
When hunters encounter opposition, they quickly come up with terms such as “regulate stock”,“environmental protection” and “nature conservation”. But if you love and want animals as such, let them live in peace instead of dismembering them!
All they “win” is the disgust of other people, because the most understand that hunting is a pastime for psychopaths and have acquired the hatred and rejection of this society themselves.
Posted on January 19, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
“The truth wins, but it can only win if it is told”!!
Wow! Over 10,000 farmers are currently traveling to Nuremberg.
With over 5000 tractors. It will be demonstrated against the federal government’s new agricultural package.
On Tuesday, farmers and farmers from all over Germany want to demonstrate in Berlin against the current agricultural policy: Numerous tractors from Franconia have also taken the star trip.
The new agricultural package it`s not exactly an ingenious construct, but that means a little more environmental, nature and animal protection.
The farmers consider this an economic boycott and demonstrate.
At the same time, the farmers no longer want to be called animal torturers and environmental polluters.
If they don’t give a shit for environment and animals, what else are the farmers?
If I am not an animal torturer, I do not use animals for my economic interests.
Breeding animals alone is a pain because the animals are bred for top performance and after a few years they are sent to death, to the slaughterhouse without having lived a third of their life at all, because they are no longer profitable!
That is why there have been so many animal welfare violations in farmers lately … because they all love their animals …..?
The farmers are the ones who poison wells, which compact soils in such a way that they destroy their essential storage capacities and biological habitats, and who practice something like systemicbiological terrorism through the increasingly extremist energy crop monocultures.
For organizational reasons, but also due to the lack of pasture land, the turbo cows spend the few years of their miserable life exclusively in the playpen, without ever entering a pasture.
The amount of slurry generated by these companies is enormous.
As a rule, farmers do not have large enough agricultural areas on which manure / liquid manure could be applied as fertilizer.
Several times a year, oversized quantities are therefore disposed of in areas that are much too small, which has catastrophic consequences for nature.
And yet, more and more dairy farms are enlarging their herds to well over 500 to over 1,000.
(In 0:19 seconds video time you can read the ridiculous slogan: “We don’t give a shit about animals and the environment”!)
We let the farmers demonstrate.
With their turbo tractors – subsidized by the EU – and their anti-social slogans, they downgrade their actions themselves to an environmental political farce.
Posted on January 19, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
By Mark – It is a day of celebration for English AR groups today who have campaigned so hard for this very day for so long. When I was younger (yes there was a time !) – probably about 25 years or so ago; Joanne, myself, Trev, Matt, Patrick, and others all used to head off to demos in our County (Kent – England); to protest at the use of wild animals in circuses all those years ago. ‘Santus Circus’; https://www.santuscircus.com/about-us and https://www.santuscircus.com/ – a long time French circus; would come to England, and ‘our’ county (and very nearby London) all those years ago with their acts which included wild animals – Elephants, Tigers, Hippo; other wild cats, camels; etc. Note that in their site now (links above) there is no talk of wild animals having to be used for stupid tricks for an even thicker audience !
We had big bust ups with them regarding their use of wild animals in performances at the time; there were punch ups, a lot of teasing from both sides and basically, a great mutual hatred of each other. I can well remember we often took down their big fence banners and then when we re-visited to demo; would wave the banner holding chains complete with a scrap of the banner attached. They were never impressed; often going into orbit; but then nor were we having to witness the conditions in which travelling wild animals were being kept; and being abused to perform crappy tricks.
My best memory is of one of our group; Pat; taking his shoes off to show a clown that his shoes were Veggie shoes and were not made of leather – there was great shop in Brighton where you could go and buy – https://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk/ . The clown was obviously questioning Pat about having (in the clown’s opinion) leather looking shoes. Pat by his actions made the bloke look like what he portrayed; a clown ! – no mate, they are veggie shoes; and I will show you the internal label to prove it !
Finally after all these years, the punch ups, the abuse and threats, but combined with massive support from our English public, the ban has finally come into place today – 19/1/20. Decades too late, but finally our efforts have been rewarded by official government legislation. We cannot not let this go without saying our thanks to Government Minister (Mike) Gove …
… who over the past few years has worked massively hard to get this legislation introduced and into law – so thanks Mike, Job Done – wild animals no longer performing stupid tricks under the treat of a beating and use of bullhooks; it is time for us today to look back and reflect on another great chunk of news in British animal rights; wild animals in circuses where they belong – in the history books !
Every second spent was worth it 100 times over !
Regards Mark
The British government has banned the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in England.
The use of wild animals by travelling circuses will be banned from 2020, the Government has pledged, following a long-running campaign by animal welfare advocates to outlaw the practice.
Ministers have been promising to implement a ban for five years, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed one will come into place by 19 January 2020.
“The current Regulations expire on 19 January 2020. The Government does not intend to renew the Regulations as it intends to ensure that a legislative ban is introduced by then. The Regulations will then be allowed to expire,” the report reads.
Activists have long accused circuses of beating, starving and keeping their animals in unsanitary conditions while they are made to perform for crowds.
We congratulate the UK Government on consigning this outdated act to the past where it belongs.”
Similar bans have recently been passed in Ireland and Scotland, and are under discussion in Wales.
Wild animal circus acts are opposed by both the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) and the British Veterinary Association, which stated: “The welfare needs of non-domesticated, wild animals cannot be met within a travelling circus – in terms of housing or being able to express normal behaviour.”
Coming into effect in January 2020, the Wild Animals in Circuses (No. 2) Bill comes after more than 20 years of investigations and campaigns by animal protection organisations.
Given the constant travel and their temporary nature, circuses cannot provide animals with adequate facilities to keep them physically or psychologically healthy. There have also been repeated exposés of physical abuse behind the scenes in circuses, after which the public turned its back on this cruel multi-million-pound industry.
Posted on January 19, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Maxi wants to live – like many thousands of other fox pups in Germany.
In Kahlgrund in Bavaria, the hunters’ association organizes their “predator game weeks” exactly between the mating and setting time of the foxes – from the last week of January to March 6th.
This means that in January tons of fox males are legally shot, which are necessary for the rearing of the young animals. It can also be assumed that female parents and numerous highly vulnerable abilities will also be shot by mid-February at the latest.
Together with the Fox action alliance, we appealed to the chairman of the Kahlgrund hunting association, to the responsible mayor of Alzenau and to the district administrator … and received no response.
Now we are starting a petition to the responsible minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) in Bavaria and to Dr. Andreas Treitl, the chairman of the hunting association.
Our goal is a year-round closed season for foxes and the end of the current predatory game weeks, no later than mid-February.
The fox hunt is ecologically senseless and only means that the natural birth control of the animals is suspended and the average age of the foxes is now less than two years.
Fox weeksor whatever these hunts are called are not at all compatible with the idea of animal welfare.
They cause fox pups to freeze or starve.
“So it has been proven that in January and February the fathers of the future generations of foxes, and at the latest from mid-February also the fox mothers of the pups (who are already waiting under construction) are shot. “Image: Michael Hamann
Please support us and sign the petition from Wildlife Conservation Germanyand the Action Alliance Foxhere.
The hunting law dates from 1934, that means from the Nazi era, and has never been amended, so it has long been outdated.
In the past, the forest murderers / hunters spread the fairy tale about rabies in all media.
Because rabies has not been in Germany for many years, suddenly the hunter comes up with the idea that it is the fox tapeworm that can be so dangerous for people. So they can to execute the animals easier!
Because hunters are not only professional killers, they are also professional liars.
How primitive and brutaly this minority of our society is, be shown by the fact that they brutally and ruthlessly murder the fox, even though it belongs to the group of canids (dogs).
And dogs are also used to kill this species. On the one hand, the hunters keep dogs and use them for hunting, and on the other hand they kill their relatives, the foxes, without a valid reason.
It’s about a pure lust for murder.
What I have been able to find so far (here in the high Black Forest where I live there are plenty of hunters) is that old, ramshackle high seats are not removed, but individual parts can still be found in the forest.
It is not uncommon for nails and screws to stand up, so that when wild animals step on such wood parts, they are injured.
We live in a banana state, in which some lobbyists use all possible means to keep the 1934 hunting law alive (which allows hunters to seize foreign property) and constantly try to take advantage of gaps in their favor and thus live out their lust for murder how it suits them.
Now look at the picture and then someone wants to get upset about torn animals from the wolf?
I think of executions and gassings in the concentration camp.
From Mark – I am adding more to this post by Venus as I was very involved with German ‘Fox Week’ in the past. I worked with a German activist (D) and we managed to get the exclusive photographs of animals dead in the wheelie bins, and skinned foxes, which you can see in the links below.
Beautiful animals, which just adds to the frustration of this event and shows the reality of what the hunters have to do to get a ‘kick’ – they are nothing more than blood junkies.
These are not all the posts which I did on SAV (my other site), but they give a good insight into what we did re investigations.
I wont say ‘enjoy’ as there is nothing to relish about all these links – just see the reality of the Fox Week and what it brings for German wildlife.
Posted on January 18, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
In the country, serious consideration is now being given to minimizing the wolf population.
In Tyrol there are around 68,000 sheep on 400 alpine pastures. According to the Agriculture Council, 58 animals were harmed last year (!!!) (295,000 sheep and lambs and 55,200 calves were slaughtered in 2018 in Austria, note from Venus)
“That is a rather small percentage, but the sheep farmers are unsettled,” said agricultural councilor Geisler. “But it is not so much a financial issue, it is also about the emotional stress on the farmers (!!!)
For this reason, a pragmatic approach should be chosen for this topic, which “divides society”, said the Agricultural State Council.
What is a pragmatic approach?
Four pastures were examined for the study. According to the study authors, the results range from a relatively simple feasibility of herd protection to no feasibility at all.
The costs would amount to eleven to 80 euros per sheep and year. For example, the Seeben Alm near Ehrwald would incur a total cost of 25,000 euros per year.
The biggest challenges in Tyrol are the hospitality and the change in the structure of the alpine pasture, explained Daniel Mettler from the Agridea Institute.
In Switzerland, where different legal frameworks apply than in Austria, it was seen that herd protection also had limits, said Mettler. The wolves would also learn to circumvent the measures.
“It would therefore make sense to combine the measures with targeted killings and a regulation of the wolf population,” added Mettler.
Agricultural councilor Geisler:“Wolf is no longer in danger of extinction” (!!!)
In the future, one or the other shot will be needed, said the deputy governor. In addition, the population of wolves has now grown to around 30,000.
“The wolf is no longer in danger of extinction. We have to think about the protection status,” Geisler asked.
Discussion is welcome
Geisler therefore called for a socio-political discussion. “If society wants wolves to be there, you also have to finance the measures,” emphasized the deputy governor. A pilot project for herd protection is to be started in Tyrol. “We will make offers to individual alpine pastures,” said Geisler. For the time being, however, there were no more concrete plans.
For the President of the Tyrolean Chamber of Agriculture, Josef Hechenberger, there are “still many unanswered questions” (??) after the presentation of the study, such as the financing of herd protection and the training of the staff.
However, Hechenberger welcomed “the concrete directive for legal kills.
“Herd protection without regulated launches will not work, concrete guideline for legal kills at state level is now inevitable”, says Hechenberger.
WWF strictly against shooting down
The WWFgave a clear rejection of inventory regulation.
“These are shooting fantasies,” said Christian Pichler, wolf expert at WWF. With only 30 to 35 wolves in Austria and three to four proven wolves in Tyrol, the demand for hunting is absurd. “Especially since this is not permitted under current European nature conservation law,” said Pichler.
My comment: For sure! The lust killer lobby has prevailed again. Shooting only deer, wild boar, foxes and rabbits will get boring in the long run. Nice to shoot wolves again, that’s fun !!!!
“But it is not so much a financial issue, it is also about the emotional stress on the farmers”. Question: And if the farmer takes the sheep to the slaughterhouse, is the emotional stress gone?
“The wolf is no longer in danger of extinction. We have to think about the protection status” Question: The harmful, destructive, and barbaric human species is not threatened with extinction either, should we start shooting?
One thing is certain, the wolf may kill beyond its needs, but usually many other forest dwellers benefit from it, i.e. an absolutely social system. Wolfg is therefore an important link in nature’s system. On the contrary, the human species is what the earth could do without. The human race is that has no social role in nature. Otherwise people could disappear from the picture without affecting the ecosystem.
No animal can be as cruel as humans. Cruelty is not a concept from nature, this concept belongs exclusively to humans.
Well now we can provide you with a final ‘Good News’ report for the very small amount of survivors of the consignment. There were concerns at the time that the surviving animals, after such an ordeal, would still be put on another export consignment and shipped off to their deaths in the quickest time possible. Well all that has now changed – some good news for once ! – Regards WAV.
180 Sheep Destined for Slaughter Given Second Chance After Cargo Ship Capsizes
Nearly 200 sheep have a new lease on life after surviving a disaster at sea, and now get to live out their lives in peace at farm animal sanctuaries.
Last November, the Queen Hind cargo ship capsized near the Romanian coast while carrying around 14,000 sheep. All of the ship’s crew members survived, but thousands of sheep lost their lives due to drowning, injuries, and exhaustion.
The ship sinking merely expedited the grim fate of thousands of its passengers as they headed toward Saudi Arabian slaughterhouses. Fortunately, 180 of these gentle creatures withstood the tragic event long enough to be rescued.
The rescuers, also members of animal welfare groups, lobbied for the sheeps’ liberation from the meat trade. Granting their request, Four Paws and their Romanian partner ARCA are working to find sanctuaries to provide homes for the surviving animals.
“We are happy that the Romanian authorities placed the sheep in our care and will continue cooperating with them closely,” said Four Paws Head of the Disaster Relief Unit Jackson Zee. “Shortly after their arrival, our team on-site began to examine them and determine their future care. So far, they are mostly in good condition. Now, they can rest and recover from all the suffering they’ve had to endure recently.”
The sheep are safe at a farm near Bucharest, receiving veterinary treatment. They will remain at the farm until permanent living situations are secured, which shouldn’t be difficult considering numerous individuals and rescues have already come forward to offer new homes for the rescued animals.
For the 180 sheep that overcame the odds, the story ends happily ever after, but for the thousands who died, this tragedy is a powerful reminder that animals are not safe during long-distance transport.
“Our association is shocked by the disaster,” said president of Acebop Mary Pana. “If we cannot protect livestock during long-distance transports, we should outright ban them.”
The easiest way to avoid contributing to such cruelty is to leave animals off your plate and choose plant-based foods instead.
Posted on January 18, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
We would like you to support this petition by signing and sharing as much as you can – we have made no changes to the wording or anything else associated with it – we are simply giving the link
– Thanks WAV.
Imprison the serial rapist of dogs of Bariloche!
Addressed to: Public Ministry of the Province of Rio Negro
Do you have to go prisoner this sick, how will anyone rape an animal, and go unpunished? How are we going to allow this person to continue raping dogs without doing anything? It is good that marches are made to demand justice, but it seems that this is not enough. Everyone knows this person, they call him the Paraguayan and it is not the first time he does something like that.
A witness said that “I was raping the Negrita, who is a beautiful dog and a love. All Bariloche is trying to rescue her. I found him in the act, I was already watching if I saw him, because with many neighbors we are trying to rescue the dogs he has, the brown and the bold one. My indignation was so great that when I took the picture, I kicked the rapist, but since the dog was stressed and nervous about what she lives with this sadist every day, she bit me instinctively, ” she detailed.
I want this mentally ill person in jail to stop raping dogs, this has to end, we want Justice to act!
Posted on January 18, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
We were recently contacted by a fellow activist named Craig, the following is part of the message sent to us:
My name is Craig — Co-Owner & President of Jet Pet Resort, and Release The Hounds. We’ve helped care for animals for over 20 years.
I’m reaching out to you today because I know your publication has touched on animal cruelty efforts in the past.
I’ve been working with a team of web developers and designers to create an animal cruelty awareness interactive, to bring awareness, and solutions, to the HUNDREDS of cases of large-scale animal cruelty all around the world.
We’ve just launched the early version of it that you can find here:
Animal cruelty is a huge problem, as I’m sure you know, and it’s going to take a combined effort to make people aware of it, and also, informed on what they can do to combat it.
In the interactive we’ve created, we’ve included as many of the reported cases of large-scale animal cruelty as possible, and most importantly, included how the reader can contribute to fighting animal cruelty. (Where they can donate, suggested lifestyle changes, brand selection, etc.) We’re just going to keep improving and adding to it over the coming months, and years.
As a fellow animal activist, I would greatly appreciate it if you could bring awareness to this project, or a shoutout on your social platforms. If you could help share and spread this project in any way, it would make a big difference!
Thank you for taking the time, Keep fighting!
So, we are more than happy to give the link once again:
and we wish Craig and his team all the best in getting all that they need for the site.
As he says, this is currently an early version of the site, but it should give you a insight into what will come. We have written back to Craig and supplied him with links to both WAV and our sister site, SAV. There is a lot of archive data for both, especially on SAV which dealt primarily with stray animal issues in the Balkans. Here is the SAV link again:
We hope that you can check it all out at your convenience, and maybe even help with supplying information from your area of the world so that any of us can add info to the sites in helping animals.
What happened to Martin isn’t just a story — it’s reality. All they wanted was to stay together 💔
Experimenters tortured them and made them watch each other suffer 😔
“The story of cancer research is the story of how to cure cancer in mice. We have been curing cancer in mice for decades, but it just doesn’t work in humans”.
(Dr. Richard Klausner, director of the American National Cancer Institute).
“The reason I’m against animal testing is that they don’t work, they have no scientific value. The results of animal research cannot be extrapolated from humans, and every good scientist knows that. Since animal testing is worthless and leads to quackery in medicine and I have to be against quackery, I am against animal testing, as a scientist”.
(Prof. Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn, Professor of Preventive Medicine in University of Illinois (Chicago)
But we know it: animal experiments and propaganda campaigns for animal experiments are carried out with public funds.
Even we, the opponents of animal experiments, unwittingly finance this crime with our taxes.
State and industrial support provides the animal experimentation lobby with enormous financial, poolitical and media-effective funds.
The population becomes stupid due to the permanent systematic agitation.
The ethical and scientific arguments of the animal experiment opponents have almost no chance against this overpowering lobby. It’s about a lot of money, it’s about billions in the pharmaceutical industry and in university research laboratories, and nobody voluntarily separates from that.
This is also the reason why the majority of the animal test results are not published, but disappear in the duplicate.
No people who still practice these cruel witch trials have the right to call themselves a cultural people.
A missing farmer is feared to have been eaten by his own pigs after neighbours discovered human bones on his land.
Detectives say the man, in his 70s, is believed to have been eaten at some point between New Year’s Eve and January 8 by the pigs that roamed freely around his property.
Lubin District Prosecutor Magdalena Serafin told Gazeta Wrocławska the man – who has not been named – was last seen alive on December 31 at his farm in Lubin, around 260 miles west of Warsaw in Poland.
The man – who lived alone – was almost entirely eaten, with just a few bones and skull fragments remaining. It was not immediately clear how the man died with officials suspecting either a heart attack or a fall. A neighbour called police after finding the bones while fetching water from a well next to the man’s home on Wednesday last week.
Investigators expect it will be difficult to determine the exact cause of death. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday this week and the findings are yet to be published.
The farmer’s animals will be examined by a vet to determine any further clues, authorities said.
According to the Gazeta, the two large pigs and around a dozen piglets owned by the farmer will most likely be put to sleep.
Posted on January 17, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
At the Union County Sportsmen’s Club in Millmont, Pennsylvania, a morbidly obese bear named Dillan is suffering from painful dental disease inside a small, concrete-floored cage.
ACTION:
Please ask Gov. Tom Wolf to use his power to help secure Dillan’s transfer to an accredited sanctuary immediately and ensure that authorities hold the club accountable.
Posted on January 17, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Yesterday, Member States unanimously supported a Commission proposal consolidating the protective measures in relation to outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) of subtype H5N8 in the four affected Member States (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania). The virus, likely introduced by wild migratory birds which can carry it during their seasonal movements, and shows no indication of harm to human health at present, was first reported in Poland on 31 December 2019. It has caused a total of 16 outbreaks of HPAI in poultry farms, affecting a variety of poultry species (ducks, geese, turkeys, hens). The measures aim at protecting the rest of the EU and third countries ensuring continuation of safe trade without jeopardising the sanitary status of the EU. Such Decisions are usually recognised by third countries, which import from non-affected parts of the respective Member State and the rest of the EU. So far all affected countries have taken all necessary measures.
For more information (including a map of the areas concerned):
We exploit marine life on such a large scale that we can’t even truly quantify it, as when they are pulled from the water, the haul is measured in weight units, rather than number of individuals.
They are killed in much greater numbers than land animals, but so often their struggles go unnoticed.
Fish are pulled from the water, and will struggle to breathe before being killed.
They are generally killed by either freezing them to death in ice water, poisoning them with carbon dioxide, stabbing, or using a quick blow to the head or a strong electrical current to knock them unconscious before piercing their brains or letting them bleed out.
Some fishing vessels deem it more efficient, however, to just let the fish suffocate on the deck.
Crustaceans will be taken from their home, often captured via nets, and have their body parts tied together, so they are unable to move.
Then, usually after being transported and displayed for many days, are boiled alive or hacked apart with knives whilst fully conscious (and in the case of crabs, sometimes even microwaved alive).
Make no mistake, there are hundreds of species of marine animals that suffer because of us.
And the question always comes up when I say I don’t eat animals: “but fish do, right?”
Without any knowledge or interest in the world’s marine life, every illiterate person believes that fish have no nervous system, no pain, so we can massacre them.
And we do it.
To such an extent that we cannot write the numbers of the victims ourselves.
And because of the shit that the media propaganda about animals and their suffering gives us every day, we don’t see this suffering as it is, but as we are:
As Ignorants, exploiters, annihilators of all other beings.
The Italian fashion house Versace has banned the use of kangaroo skin for its luxury leather products collection. The move follows pressure from the animal rights’ group LAV, which said more than 2.3 million kangaroos in Australia were killed each year for commercial purposes.
Versace did not comment but gave LAV permission to make an announcement.
Simone Pavesi, a representative of LAV, said: “We have been corresponding with Versace over email and they confirmed that in 2019 they stopped using kangaroo skin. We welcome this as a sign of responsibility, today more than ever. The fires that are devastating Australia add to the massacres of hunting, with dramatic consequences for the kangaroo population.”
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The EU is Australia’s largest market for kangaroo meat and skin, with Italy being the biggest importer of the skin. A number of Italian sports brands use the skin in the manufacture of football boots.
The sportswear company Diadora was the first firm to succumb to pressure from LAV and ban its use last year. Like Versace, Diadora kept its announcement low-profile.
“We do not have an official statement on this matter but we can confirm the definitive stop of the use of kangaroo leather starting from the 2019 collections,” Versace said in an email to the Guardian.
Pavesi added: “We showed the companies images and videos of how kangaroos are killed in such a brutal way. They understood the gravity of the situation and perhaps preferred not to give too much prominence to the fact that they were using kangaroo skin.”
LAV has also urged the Italian government to ban imports of kangaroo skin and written to Australia’s ambassador in Italy, Greg French, calling for a ban on kangaroo hunting.
In 2018 Versace banned the use of real fur in its products. Donatella Versace, the company’s chief designer and vice-president, told the Economist’s 1843 magazine: “Fur? I am out of that. I don’t want to kill animals to make fashion. It doesn’t feel right.”
A year earlier Gucci announced that it would go fur-free, joining other fashion brands including Armani, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren.
The continuing Australian bushfires have killed a huge number of animals, including kangaroos, koalas and other wildlife. “This is a real environmental catastrophe that risks erasing many animal species from the face of the Earth,” said Pavesi
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Versace has been praised by animal rights campaigners for banning use of kangaroo skin in its collections.
Following the news that an estimated one billion animals have lost their lives in the fires, it has been revealed that Versace has ceased the use of kangaroo skin in its ranges, following the Italian fashion house’s 2018 pledge to ban all use of fur.
Only now does it come out that an injured animal was killed by a police officer with a submachine gun. With multiple shots, it was Massa.
After the fire in the Krefeld zoo on New Year’s night, there were previously unknown, dramatic scenes: a seriously injured gorilla had to be killed by a police officer in the morning by several shots from a submachine gun because the veterinarian was unable to put the animal to sleep.
This emerges from a report by the Interior Ministry to the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament.
The police have now justified the fatal shot as necessary.
In a message, it says: “Our colleagues were not only authorized to kill the animal by shot, but also obliged to do so.”
Otherwise, the officials could have made themselves punishable under the Animal Welfare Act. As the zoo announced on Wednesday, a veterinarian had put two other seriously injured animals to sleep.
Anesthetic did not work with gorilla
“Because of the severity of the burn injuries with extensive skin damage, the anesthetic did not fully develop in a male gorilla, so the fastest redemption of the animal by shot with the help of the police was the ultimate ratio,” said the zoo.
The zoo did not say which animal it was. It was Massa!
The zoo director was already familiar with the events at the first press conference on New Year’s Day. “For the emotional protection of the people involved (veterinarian, zookeeper, police) it was decided jointly with the authorities involved not to communicate this information,” said the zoo in the message.
The fire in the monkey house killed more than 30 animals. Two chimpanzees survived injured. According to a message from the zoo in early January, they are on the mend.
“Immense emotional stress” (!!!)
According to the Interior Ministry, police officers had already posted around the monkey house with submachine guns during the fire to stop injured or panicked animals to protect the emergency services. This did not happen.
According to the report, the rescuers assumed that all animals were dead. Around 8:00 a.m., two seriously injured animals were found, of which the veterinarian put an orangutan female to sleep.
The officer killed the gorilla after being released by the police leader.
With the 34-year-old shooter, several intensive talks were held in the following days out of care, the report goes on to the state parliament. “The report by the Ministry of the Interior only gives an idea of how stressful the effort must have been for the fire, rescue and police forces and the zoo staff,” said Verena Schäffer, the Green Party spokeswoman for the Greens.
In fact, the “emotional strain on all emergency workers and zoo staff was immense,” (!!!)the report said.
“During and after the assignment, the emergency services and staff were offered psychological support.”
Meanwhile we read in the press: “Krefeld Zoo opens again after the tragedy”!
My comment: The animals have no escape route, they were locked up and were therefore burned alive when the fire broke out. There was no fire extinguishing system.
Armed forces were waiting outside to shoot them, who would find an escape route.
An incapable veterinary doctor is unable to put a gorilla to sleep, in Germany today and here in 2020!
But our police was able to kill defenseless animals in cold blood.
Reporting is beginning to take on ridiculous features. What’s next? Why this information now? What should that tell us?
That the police officer is unable to work due to a post-traumatic stress disorder, and is therefore sent to Majorca to do dolphin therapy ???
After this tragedy, everyone has serious thoughts and worries about the enormous proportion of psychopaths in the police force.
By the way, these psychopats are supported by a perpetrator-friendly “Cretin Society”, who feed this prison with their money and visits, and can’t wait to visit the surviving inmates of the zoo again.
Posted on January 15, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Big result ! – well done people, your voices and protests are being heard – WAV.
We have wonderful news to share with you!
King’s College London has become the first university to declare an end to the cruel forced swim test, in which mice and other small animals are subjected to a terrifying near-drowning experience.
This news comes after PETA provided King’s with evidence that use of the test has repeatedly wasted animals’ lives, public funds, and research hours – all of which screams bad science.
King’s joins Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, AbbVie, Roche, AstraZeneca, and other top pharmaceutical companies in banning the forced swim test after talks with PETA or our affiliates.
But pharma giant Eli Lilly is refusing to commit to banning these cruel experiments. Please tell the company that nearly drowning small animals has no place in drug development:
Urge Pharmaceutical Giant Eli Lilly to Ban the Near-Drowning of Animals
The “forced swim test” is a widely used experiment that’s as cruel as it is worthless.
Experimenters put mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, or gerbils in inescapable containers filled with water. The panicked animals try to escape by attempting to climb up the sides of the beakers or even by diving underwater in search of an exit. They paddle furiously, desperately trying to keep their heads above water. Eventually, they’ll start to float.
Some pharmaceutical companies have used the test when developing treatments for depression, even though it has been shown that it doesn’t accurately predict whether a drug will work as a human antidepressant.
The forced swim test is bad science. It does nothing more than terrify animals and delay the development of effective new treatments for depression that are so desperately needed. After discussions with PETA US, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson announced that they’ll no longer conduct or fund this cruel test. Roche also stated it has discontinued its use of forced swim tests after hearing from PETA US, PETA Switzerland, and PETA Germany.
Take Action Now!
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly are refusing to commit to banning it. Tell them what you think about that by taking action below.
Posted on January 15, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
One of America’s Largest Dairy Companies Has Filed for Bankruptcy
Borden Files for Bankruptcy
One of the oldest and largest dairy companies in the United States, Borden Dairy has filed for bankruptcy—saying it has been hurt by the staggering drop in consumption of cow’s milk. Here’s the scoop.
By Hannah Bugga – January 13, 2020
One of the oldest and largest dairy companies in the United States, Borden Dairy has filed for bankruptcy. With a history dating back to before the American Civil War, Borden says it has been hurt by the staggering drop in consumption of cow’s milk.
As people become more aware of the negative health and environmental effects of dairy, they’re consuming less cow’s milk and turning instead to all the delicious plant-based milk on the market. As a result, the number of producers of cow’s milk is dwindling, increasing the wholesale cost of cow’s milk. Last year, more than 2,700 dairy farms went out of business, and since 1992, 94,000 dairy farms have stopped producing milk. Borden Dairy CEO Tony Sarsam said in a statement
Despite our numerous achievements during the past 18 months, the company continues to be impacted by the rising cost of raw milk and market challenges facing the dairy industry
Borden isn’t the first major dairy company to fall on hard times. In November 2019, Dean Foods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Owner of familiar dairy brands Dairy Pure, Organic Valley, and Land O’Lakes, the 94-year-old company and largest milk producer in America blamed the “accelerated decline in the conventional white milk category.”
While Borden and Dean Foods struggle against the country’s shift away from dairy, other companies are adapting. Known as the “oldest dairy west of the Rockies,” Giacomazzi Dairy recently sold the last of its cows to focus on growing almonds. Manager Dino Giacomazzi said in an interview:
Our facility is very old and inefficient to operate so we had to make a decision about investing in upgrading the facility and doubling the size of the milk cow herd or doing something else, and basically, we decided we were going to invest in our land and plant more almond trees and just continue farming without the cows.
Cows used for dairy are treated like mere milk-producing machines—constantly cycling through pregnancy, birth, and milking until their bodies give out or their milk production is no longer profitable. Help the world move further away from this cruel industry by choosing more plant-based foods! Get recipes, tips, and more in our FREE Vegetarian Starter Guide.
I think the vast majority of the planets citizens now know what a complete ignorant fool Scott Morrison is – bowing to the lobbyists and coal mining industries, whilst largely ignoring the evidence provided by ecologists, environmentalists, naturalists, protectors of the environment and animal welfare organisations. Well, now he has a problem in Australia; and he and his government are the root cause of it.
Morrison and his government will go down in history – not for the good things (are there any ?) that they have done; but for the fact that their policies have led to Australia experiencing the worst fires in its history – destroying the homes and estates of countless Australian citizens as well as being responsible for the total destruction of an ecosystem and the animals in it – maybe 1 Billion by now !! – all because him and his cronies that he calls ‘a government’ want to sit there and pose with lumps of coal.
Are we not also witnessing this with other (lets not call them) leaders of the world’s nations – ‘Trump Digs Coal’ for example. Maybe his paybacks are waiting in the wings at this very moment !
The saddest part of all this is that just a few dimwits at the top – people who ‘we’ are supposed to put our trusts in to protect and listen to us, are failing to both protect and listen; and as a result; they are destroying the planet and its inhabitants ‘for all mankind’.
Morrison we detest you – you are an eco terrorist of universal magnitude; and hopefully when all this is over, if it will ever be; the Australian people will have the balls to erect a huge monument to you and your failures outside of the national government HQ; so that all can see what happens when an ignoramus and his lobbyists ignore all the evidence presented to them; and only put their own self interests ahead of this.
Have a look at a few of our recent posts – ignoring what the rest of the worlds press and media have to say about it all !
Below is an e mail that has just arrived at the office. They are not our words; but we repeat the entire mail and links for you to read. We think that a lot of this is very true – what about you ? – if you do, then please support the petition – Note: it CAN be signed by non Australians (such as ourselves) who wish to be a voice for the innocent peoples and animals of Australia. Here below is the mail in full:
Thinking of the good folk of Australia; and very much thinking about the millions of animals now dead due to asshole regulations by an asshole so called ‘government.
Regards Mark.
Dear Mark,
Scott Morrison is failing to address climate change, failing to lead and failing to keep us safe. He physically turned his back on people in fire ravaged communities.
Now he’s turning his back on renewable energy – by watering down the Renewable Energy Target and letting the Australian Renewable Energy Agency run out of money.
After public pressure from bushfire survivors, emergency service leaders, and GetUp members, Morrison says he wants to “evolve” his position on climate change1 – at the same time his government is quietly killing off support for renewable energy.
We can’t let him get away with this bait and switch.
The very fact that Morrison is acknowledging the role of climate change in the bushfires shows he’s feeling the pressure. So if we call out his hypocrisy now we can force his hand to save these critical supports for renewable energy.
He says he wants to take “practical steps” to help people. But the most practical thing to do when faced with a national emergency is to stop making things worse.
While the country burns, the Coalition is letting Australia’s only renewable energy agency run out of money, and undermining our international obligations with dodgy accounting tricks.2
Meanwhile, they continue to subsidise the fossil fuel industry to the tune of $29 billion dollars3– effectively paying for the emergency they say they want to address.
But the Liberals are divided, the Murdoch press is on the backfoot, and everyone from state governments to global hedge funds are calling for significant government action.
If we can translate the anger and frustration we’re feeling right now into a set of clear and common sense demands – we can raise the bar on Morrison’s climate concession.
This bushfire season has been relentless. It’s taken 27 lives, destroyed thousands of homes, and shuttered countless farms and small businesses. It’s also killed billions of native animals, and destroyed the habitats they rely on.
We can’t expect this government to keep us safe – but they should stop endangering us by:
Adopting a more ambitious Renewable Energy Target
Extending and expanding funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency
Ending subsidies for fossil fuel corporations that are contributing to the national emergency we’re in
The time for excuses is over. This needs to be a moment of reflection, and commitment from Federal Liberal MP’s –if they believe the science, they should prove it with action.
Educational Series: Australia’s Fires Are Burning Animals to Death
By Nick Engelfried
Covering an area thirteen times larger than that burned during California’s worst fire season, and 46% bigger than the land affected by last year’s Amazon forest fires, devastating bushfires are raging across the continent of Australia, endangering people and animals alike. As of mid January over twenty-five million acres–an area the size of the U.S. state of Virginia–had been scorched by the Australian fires. A much larger area has been affected by the resulting clouds of smoke. Around 2,000 houses have been burned to the ground, and at least twenty-five people have died as hundreds of thousands more were evacuated from dangerous areas. But the largest toll of all has been taken on Australia’s non-human inhabitants, the rich diversity of animal species who call the continent home.
Australia has been geographically isolated from the rest of the world for many millions of years, allowing one of the planet’s most unique assemblages of plants and animals to evolve there. A few, like kangaroos and koalas, are well-known and beloved by people all over the world. However, the vast majority of Australia’s unique species are much less famous. Scientists estimate somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 animal and plant species–about five percent of all species in the world–live on the continent. More endemic species (those found nowhere else in the world) are found in Australia than any other country. Almost ninety percent of all mammals, reptiles, and amphibians in Australia are not found anywhere else, and close to half its bird species are likewise unique.
Australia’s geology and climate also help make it different from any other place on Earth. It is the driest habitable continent, with large areas being characterized by desert and other arid ecosystems dominated by vegetation adapted to survive with little moisture. Perhaps not surprisingly, seasonal fire cycles are a natural part of many such ecosystems–but this year’s fires have reached a whole new level of destruction with little if any precedent. It’s also clear what one of the major contributing factors to this disastrous season has been: climate change.
Unusually high temperatures and severe drought–exactly the kinds of conditions scientists predict will become increasingly common with climate change–helped set the stage for the 2020 bushfires. An ocean current oscillation event known as the Indian Ocean Dipole has also played a role. Occurring in years when the eastern Indian Ocean is significantly warmer than the western part, a “positive” Ocean Dipole causes rain patterns to shift westward, away from Australia and toward Africa. It’s therefore no coincidence that while Australia has been experiencing record-setting droughts over the last few months, parts of Africa have been drenched in floods and torrential rainfall. Climate scientists predict these positive Ocean Dipole events will become more common as a result of climate change caused by human activity.
The outlook for Australia’s wildlife under such a scenario looks grim. Many millions of animals have already been killed by this year’s fires, with some estimates putting the number at more than a billion. While such predictions come with a high degree of uncertainty–it’s unclear how many animals may have been able to escape by running or flying from the blazes–what is certain is the fires have been a disaster for animals who in many cases already face multiple threats to their survival. Logging, conversion of natural ecosystems to agricultural land, and the introduction of non-native species like domestic cats have decimated native animals in Australia, including charismatic species like the koala. This makes them all the more vulnerable to being wiped out by a single disaster like this year’s fires.
It may be months before we know the true extent of the bushfire animal casualties. However, there can be no reasonable doubt that as the climate crisis gets worse, more animals will be put at risk. Nor are the negative effects of a warming climate in Australia limited to fires. Warming of the oceans combined with ocean acidification–a process caused, like climate change itself, by the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere–have already devastated one of the country’s most spectacular natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef. To take just one more example, this January a record-breaking heat wave caused the deaths of at least 23,000 spectacled flying fox fruit bats who were unable to stand the searing temperatures.
In Australia, climate change is not a distant concern for future generations to deal with; its deadly effects are being felt right now. Despite this, the Australian government is one of the most backward in the world when it comes to confronting the climate crisis. Along with the United States and a few other major polluter countries, Australia was one of the main opponents to forward progress at the 2019 U.N. climate negotiations meeting in Madrid. While Australia is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels and has one of the world’s larger per-capita carbon footprints, the country’s human population is so small it contributes only about one percent of global carbon emissions. You might therefore think its inaction on climate change isn’t such a big deal–but Australia’s impact on global efforts to reduce carbon pollution actually involve far more than the fossil fuels burned within its borders.
Much of Australia’s greater climate footprint comes from fossil fuels that it exports to other countries–particularly China and the nations of Southeast Asia. Australia is one of the world’s largest coal exporters, and is planning to open a massive new coal mining project known as the Adani Mine. By exporting fossil fuels abroad–and by pushing for weaker agreements in international climate talks–Australia’s government is worsening the climate crisis that has seen the country go up in flames.
So how sure are we that climate change really is mainly to blame for the bushfire crisis? The answer is: about as sure as it’s possible to get. While it is always difficult to link a specific weather event to a larger trend like climate change, factors like drought linked to the Ocean Dipole event described above have clearly been a major cause of conditions that made the fires possible. This hasn’t stopped climate change deniers from deliberately spreading misinformation. A Queensland University of Technology study using a Twitter bot-detection tool found that a high percentage of claims on Twitter attempting to blame arson for the fires are linked to bot or troll-like accounts. This suggests an organized misinformation campaign whose goal is to cast doubt on the link between climate and fires by suggesting that arson is mainly responsible instead.
Fortunately, animal lovers who care about the living creatures caught up in Australia’s massive fires can help in multiple ways. Donating to organizations working to contain the fires or rescue animals from the flames is one obvious step, but there is much more we can all do. If you are on social media, use your account to push back against the claims of climate deniers and draw attention to the real cause of the bushfire crisis. And perhaps most importantly of all, let your elected officials (whatever part of the world you live in) know you want action to stop climate change from getting any worse. Koalas, kangaroos, and countless other amazing Australian animals are counting on us.
Posted on January 14, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
WAV Comment – we fully support the work and efforts that are being put into this site. As the site says; there is no excuse for animal abuse. We welcome this work and especially think that the archives given will help many organisations with their work in fighting animal abuses.
The aim of The Cruelty List UK is to collect information on animal cruelty prosecution cases in the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Our case database #TheList already contains details of hundreds of convictions and, sadly, is being added to all the time.
Each year the RSPCA investigates over 140,000 complaints of cruelty and neglect in England and Wales. The Scottish SPCA (SSPCA) receives around 1,000 reports of animal cruelty every week while Northern Ireland’s USPCA has averaged three reports per day since 2011.
In 2017 the RSPCA secured 1,492 convictions by private prosecution. Neither the SSPCA nor the USPCA bring prosecutions but still play a crucial role in bringing animal abusers to justice.
The main focus of the Cruelty List UK is on the abuse of companion animals – dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, reptiles and so on – though we also highlight prosecutions involving wildlife – badger crime, for example – and farm animals, including slaughterhouse cruelty.
Animal abuse is a serious crime worthy of harsh punishment
As it stands punishments meted out by the courts to animal abusers are woefully inadequate with offenders commonly receiving suspended prison sentences, paltry fines and nominal bans on keeping pets. One of our key aims is to campaign for stronger penalties for animal abuse. A lifetime disqualification order should be mandatory in EVERY case. Are these people really capable of being reformed? We think not.
We think it important that the names and faces of convicted abusers remain in the public eye long after details of them and their crimes have been consigned to newspaper archives.
The information which we publish here may also be a useful resource for pet rescue organisations.
Dozens of captive elephants in Thailand are finally free to roam.
The Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai has decided to unshackle the pachyderms at its park. Animal rights activists accused camp owners of inflicting “psychological anguish” on the elephants by forcing them to perform for tourists.
The activists, who called the practice “cruel,” shed light on the attraction in November, and claimed that baby elephants had been “ripped from their mothers” and forced to learn tricks, such as painting, kicking soccer balls and throwing darts.
Maesa’s managers now allow several of their elephants to wander the grounds freely, with plans to do the same for all 77 of the animals at their park, according to executive officer Anchalee Kalamaphichit.
“The center has been criticized for a long time about how we chain the animals in here, so we decided to free them,” she said in a statement to Vital Press. “We are glad that they appeared to be happier living without chains and their mahouts, so hopefully we can free the rest of them soon.
“However, living freely is a new thing to these elephants,” she continued. “They need time to adapt into their new way of living, so we chose to start with the eldest and friendliest of the elephants.”
British animal rights organization Moving Animals, who called out Maesa’s treatment of the elephants, said the news is “incredible.”
“Their compassionate decision sends a powerful message to the elephant tourism industry and sets a clear precedent for change,” said its founder Amy Jones.
Last year, Moving Animals shared a video of elephants at the camp swaying and moving uneasily, a “clear sign of the psychological anguish they face,” it said. The video shows them being dragged by their ears and disciplined with sharp bullhooks — a tool used by elephant handlers that resembles a sharp, metal spear.
They further decried the practice of separating calves from their mothers, forced to endure “the traditional and brutal, days or weeks long, process of breaking a young elephant’s spirit.”
Jones added that new ethics guidelines from ABTA, the UK’s predominant travel association, concerning animal abuse at tourist attractions was a step in the right direction.
“We are hopeful that more and more tourist attractions will make positive changes, so that no animals have to suffer for tourists’ entertainment,” she said.
Moving Animals has called for a full ban on “unethical” elephant tours to “places like Maesa Elephant Nursery.”
Put MEP’s and Commissioners in a Cage for 24 hours; and then see how quickly things would change !
WAV Comment: I (Mark) am getting on my soapbox here about this; sorry if I have different views to others, but knowing the EU and how it operates; I don’t think we will see that much in the way of change. Nice words and PR’s; and a pile of EU ‘officials’ working day and night to dress it all up; for basically nothing – which means nothing being done in the way of progress for the welfare of animals in Europe.
Have animal welfare / rights organisations across the EU been saying this for years – that ‘conventional rabbit cages have worst welfare score’; and have they not supported this attitude with vast amounts of evidence / proof of the cruelties involved ?. We note that this report says that ‘conventional cages have the worst overall welfare impact score’ – it says nothing about banning them, just simply that ‘it includes recommendations to improve the welfare of these animals in all the systems currently available in the EU’.
In other words; and in my opinion only for this article, the EU ‘policy’ has basically no intention of ‘ending the cage’ as proposed by campaigns by animal welfare groups across Europe. At best, it is regarded by us as a kind of ‘tinkering round the edges’ strategy; which largely keeps current systems; whilst saying to citizens and the welfare groups that ‘improvements have been made’ !. Oh yeah, like what ? – Rabbits; the most farmed animal throughout Europe, we suggest, rabbits we still be kept in cages throughout the EU, and really the EU will have masses of new ‘yukspeak’ legislation that does very little, changes very little; but keeps the farmers and their lobbyists happy – and that for them is the main thing.
Have we not seen the ‘EU approach’ to all this in the past ? – ‘battery cages’ for chickens suddenly take on the new EU name of ‘enriched cages’ – and they move from each bird in an enriched cage now having at least 750 square centimetres of space rather than the old minimum for ‘battery’ cage systems, which was 550 square centimetres; or in other words, roughly the size of one A4 sheet of paper per bird, for their entire lives !
Read – Enriched cages condemned – CIWF – one of the UK’s leading farm animal welfare organisations:
Lets move on to another ‘farm animal welfare’ issue that the EU is involved with and ignores the wishes of its citizens on – Live Exports (live animal transports). Have a look at all the people in Europe calling for change:
Well, the reality is that despite the ‘demands’ of the European Parliament; the EU Commissioner(s) have the final say; and again in this case, they ignore the wishes of the EU citizens in favour of what is best for them; their own nation, and their lobbyists – and that in a nutshell means ‘NO Change’.
Here we are in January 2020 and nothing has changed regarding live animals being transported across / or from the EU to third countries since the Regulation (1/2005) of yes, 2005.. Reg 1/2005 is still the antiquated ‘bible’ which transporters never adhere to, and now we see the EU trying to invent new words and policies to make ‘live animal transport’ things a bit better, whatever that means ! – basically; the EU does not change to the wants of its citizens; it ignores them and does only what it wants at the demands of the un elected Commissioners.
Another example; Tell me about Monsanto / Bayer and the grip that lobbyists have within the EU – you can read a lot of this in our past posts in the subject. In Austria last month, we had:
Austrian leader blocks ban on weedkiller glyphosate, citing technicality
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s caretaker leader on Monday made clear she would not sign into law the European Union’s first national ban on the weedkiller glyphosate due to a technicality, infuriating environmentalists while delighting farmers’ groups.
A large majority in parliament and, polls suggest, the public support banning the chemical because of fears it causes cancer. Austria, a popular tourist destination for its Alpine landscapes, also devotes the largest share of its farmland to organic agriculture of any EU member state.
We call the ‘technicality’ another name; and that is ‘lobbyists’. All the time the EU sucks up to them and the industry, there is no chance of change, despite what the citizens want. You could say that this is enough to make people want to wave goodbye to the EU; for all its inactions – and you know what, wow, yes, that is exactly what the UK will be doing at the end of January this year.
Taking back control; away from all the EU cow poo.
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EFSA concludes conventional rabbit cages have worst welfare score
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published three scientific opinions on the welfare of rabbits kept in the EU for meat consumption. The conclusions show the need for the European Commission to use this scientific evidence to enact long overdue legislation for rabbits and end caged systems. At the same time, the opinions demonstrate the urgent need for better training of staff during stunning and slaughter of rabbits.
Rabbits are the second most farmed species in the EU in terms of numbers, but there is no species-specific legislation protecting their welfare in the EU. EFSA assessed and compared the welfare of rabbits in different production systems – organic, outdoor, floor pens, elevated pens, enriched cages and conventional cages – and concluded that conventional cages have the worst overall welfare impact score. The overall welfare impact scores suggest that animal welfare in organic systems, on the other hand, is generally good. EFSA’s Opinion includes recommendations to improve the welfare of these animals in all the systems currently available in the EU. To facilitate the assessment of the welfare of rabbits kept in different systems it also recommends standardizing the use of validated welfare assessment protocols suitable for on-farm use throughout the EU.
Secondly, in response to two mandates, one from the European Parliament and one from the European Commission, EFSA also assessed the welfare problems like to occur in rabbits during slaughter and killing operations. In its Scientific Opinion ‘Stunning methods and slaughter of rabbits for human consumption’, the Authority identified ten welfare consequences resulting from 32 hazards that rabbits can be exposed to before and during slaughter (i.e. during pre-stunning, stunning and bleeding). These are consciousness, not being dead, thermal stress, prolonged thirst, prolonged hunger, restriction of movements, pain, fear, distress, and respiratory distress. 25 out of 32 of the hazards originated from staff, with most being attributed either to a lack of appropriate skills or to fatigue.
EFSA concluded that the preparedness and performance of staff also plays a crucial role in the case of on‐farm killing for purposes other than slaughter, such as disease control operations, and assessed this scenario in another dedicated Scientific Opinion. It identified 14 hazards which result in five welfare consequences: not being dead, consciousness, pain, fear and distress. Again, the staff were identified as the origin for all the hazards, either due to a lack of skills needed or due to the high kill rate that characterizes these operations and results in fatigue.
For both these opinions EFSA linked the hazards, welfare consequences, animal-based measures, origins and preventive and corrective measures, and also proposed mitigation measures to minimize welfare consequences. In assessing preventive measures, the crucial role played by the staff was also acknowledged.
Posted on January 12, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Tennis star Roger Federer has responded to climate change critics – including campaigner Greta Thunberg – by saying he takes the issue very seriously.
Activists oppose Federer’s sponsorship deal with Credit Suisse over its links to the fossil fuel industry.
Some appeared in court this week after refusing to pay a fine for playing tennis inside Credit Suisse offices in 2018 to highlight Federer’s deal.
Federer did not address the deal directly in his statement.
The activists – most of them students – appeared in court in Renens, Lausanne, on 7 January to appeal against the fine. Some supporters gathered outside holding banners which read: “Credit Suisse is destroying the planet. Roger, do you support them?”
Greta Thunberg – the Swedish teenager who has become the public face of worldwide protests against government policies on climate change – joined the criticism against Federer and Credit Suisse when she retweeted a post from activists 350.org Europe.
The post said loans by Credit Suisse to companies investing in fossil fuels were incompatible with action on climate change and urged Federer to “wake up”.
In his response, the 20-time Grand Slam champion who is in Melbourne for the Australian Open, said: “I take the impacts and threat of climate change very seriously, particularly as my family and I arrive in Australia amidst devastation from the bushfires.”
Federer said he had “a great deal of respect and admiration for the youth climate movement” and was “grateful to young climate activists for pushing us all to examine our behaviours and act on innovative solutions”.
“We owe it to them and ourselves to listen. I appreciate reminders of my responsibility as a private individual, as an athlete and as an entrepreneur, and I’m committed to using this privileged position to dialogue on important issues with my sponsors.”
For its part, Credit Suisse has said it is “seeking to align its loan portfolios with the objectives of the Paris Agreement [to combat climate change] and has recently announced in the context of its global climate strategy that it will no longer invest in new coal-fired power plants”.
Federer is taking part in a fundraising event next Wednesday in aid of relief efforts to address the Australian bushfires which have killed at least 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes since September.
Posted on January 12, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
WAV Comment – I (Mark) have been involved a bit in the past regarding Biosecurity issues on transporters carrying livestock. For proper biosecurity – ie to prevent the spread of disease and infection between animals carried at the same time and also at different times, vehicles by law are to be cleaned out (normally with a pressure spray) and fully disinfected before they take on a new consignment.
As this check was undertaken in the West of England, I would guess that maybe Calves have been involved in the shipments. I cannot prove this; just a gut feeling from experience. Cattle get Bovine TB; and this is a typical way that BTB can be spread from one consignment to another.
As we have long argued, this is happening – 70% of all livestock vehicles stopped were non-compliant with required regulations – and that is more than worrying; especially when many cattle farmers are blaming the Badgers for spreading BTB amongst herds.
Maybe the farmers need to look at their own practices a bit more closely before they start blaming others.
Regards Mark.
‘Filthy’ animal trailer full of poo and muck on M5 seized by police
It was described to be ‘three-inches deep in animal dung’
A disgusting trailer full of poo was seized as part of a joint-traffic operation on the M5.
Devon and Cornwall Police, Trading Standards and the DVSA carried out a multi-agency operation targeting farm vehicles travelling to and from the cattle market in Devon yesterday (Saturday, January 11).
Police said the vehicle was an example of “worst practice, poor potential animal welfare” and had red diesel, which resulted in the vehicle being seized.
Devon Live reports how the back of the trailer was said to have a “filthy animal compartment, three-inches deep in animal dung”.
Police say the vehicle also had defective breaks on the trailer and was “found to be using what is believed to be red diesel” and HMRC are investigating.
Alliance RP Specials tweeted: “Working alongside Trading Standards, (we) stopped this vehicle for routine inspection.
“What you see is possibly worst practice, poor potential animal welfare, poor trailer maintenance and red diesel.
“Thankfully no animals on board. Vehicle seized trailer prohibited. Operation Trailer.”
Rural Affairs Devon added: “This is the second time we’ve deployed Operation Trailer, nine vehicles where issued with prohibitions due to defects, two vehicles were seized for HMRC offences, and 70 per cent of all livestock vehicles stopped were non-compliant with required regulations.
“Please make sure to check your trailer.”
The operation saw nine vehicles issued with prohibition notices, four overweight vehicles/trailers, one tyre offence, one MOT expiry, two livestock trailers unroadworthy.
It also saw a non-compliant horse passport, horses transported with documentation, livestock transported without documentation, trailers not cleaned and disinfected and a trailer leaking slurry onto highway.
Posted on January 11, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Lewis Hamilton says he will donate more than £380,000 to support the fire service and animal welfare charities affected by fires in Australia.
The Formula 1 world champion pledged US $500,000 and says he “can’t help but grieve for the defenceless animals thought to have died” in the fires.
The bushfires have burnt more than 6.3 million hectares across the country and 27 people have died.
Alongside a video of a koala being rescued, the 35-year-old Mercedes driver wrote: “It saddens me deeply to know that over 1 billion animals in Australia died a painful death, no way out, not their fault.
“My love of animals is no secret and I can’t help but grieve for the defenceless animals thought to have died so far, pushing certain species closer to extinction.
“I’m lucky enough to visit Australia often and I know first-hand how beautiful the country is. Keep fighting Australia. I’ve spent some time speaking to people in Australia who are working at the heart of this and I’m filled with admiration for everything they are doing.
“I implore you to join me in thinking about the impact we are having on our planet. Let’s work together to make small changes, and encourage our family and friends to do the same, so we can help shift the direction we’re going in.”
Hamilton’s donation – which is in US dollars and converts to roughly £383,000 – will go to WIRES Wildlife Rescue, WWF Australia and the Rural Fire Service.
Posted on January 11, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Image Credit: Adobe Stock/Galina Barskaya
In a moving display, a herd of 17 Asian elephants visited a deceased herd member’s burial site, in Andhra Pradesh, India, to mourn their lost family member. This heartfelt moment exemplifies the strong social and familial bonds that elephants frequently form.
A day earlier, the herd wandered into a field. One member came into contact with a live cable wire, which tragically electrocuted him to death. Nearby elephant trackers diverted the herd away from the site and buried the poor elephant where he died.
When the surviving herd members returned a day later, they repeatedly circled the burial mound, stampeding the mud and making sorrowful trumpeting noises. After paying their respects, all 17 elephants retreated into the forest.
The emotional event deeply touched onlookers.
“The sentiments of the elephants had moved not only the forest personnel, but also the farmers, who despite suffering crop damage have not made a complaint of it,” Forest Range Officer K. Madhan Mohan Reddy told The Hindu. “We are just bowled over by their gesture.”
Forest officials predicted the herd’s return to the site and took precautions to prevent another tragedy.
“As per our request, the power was disconnected through all low-lying cables across the fields in the vicinity of the mound,” Reddy explained. “The power officials are now increasing the height of the power lines or shifting the locations of the poles.”
Elephants are well-known for grieving their herd members’ deaths for extended periods of time. These rituals and behaviors remind us of their ability to feel complex emotions, a capacity often mistakenly thought of as uniquely human. Elephants clearly experience sadness, love, compassion and distress.
Various other animals, including orcas, humpback whales, lemurs, and chimpanzees, also mourn their dead. Grieving symbolizes the close relationships animals form between family members and helps them achieve closure after losing a loved one. As the recently-observed Asian elephants’ funerary ritual shows, mourning is not a process unique to the human experience.
Posted on January 11, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Image Credit: Jordi Casamitjana/Facebook
After a two-day employment tribunal in the U.K., a judge officially ruled on January 3 that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief, akin to religion, and should be protected by the law.
Vegan zoologist Jordi Casamitjana brought the landmark case to adjudication. He accused the League Against Cruel Sports of firing him after he revealed to colleagues that the company’s pension fund invests in businesses participating in animal testing.
Casamitjana decided to take action and ascertain whether ethical veganism can be classified as a protected “non-religious philosophical belief” and, therefore, be defended by the Equality Act 2010.
In his ruling, Judge Robin Postle pronounced that ethical veganism does meet the criteria required to qualify as a philosophical belief under the act.
“I am satisfied overwhelmingly that ethical veganism does constitute a philosophical belief,” he said, “and it is now a new protected characteristic.”
Casamitjana thinks this exciting new development will help ethical vegans feel comfortable in their beliefs.
“I’m extremely happy with the outcome of this hearing and for the words of the judge who clearly understood what ethical veganism is,” commented Casamitjana after hearing the ruling. “I am not alone. Many people have supported me because they or their friends have experienced discrimination for being ethical vegans. Hopefully, from my dismissal something positive will come by ensuring other ethical vegans are better protected in the future.”
“Better protection means more vegans will be able to be open about their beliefs,” he added. “This can only be a good thing for the billions of animals still exploited by humans, an environment under duress, and stressed public health.”
In February, the tribunal will rule on whether the League Against Cruel Sports wrongly dismissed Casamitjana, discriminating against him due to his philosophy of ethical veganism.
Below are some powerful images by environmental activist Robin Wood however, shows the effects of man’s effect on the natural world in a exceptionally powerful way.
Who wins the Rubber Eco Dodo Award ? – Is It :
David Bernhardt: For suppressing data showing pesticides harm at least 1,400 protected species, Trump’s interior secretary was under inspector-general investigation just four days after he got the job. A longtime lobbyist for polluters, he’s worked for decades to weaken the Endangered Species Act. As our interior secretary, he’s the ultimate fox guarding the henhouse. Bernhardt has launched an all-out attack on protections for America’s wildlife.
Donald Trump, Jr.: Donald the Younger’s never met an endangered species he doesn’t love to cuddle — once it’s dead. A trophy hunter of African elephants, leopards and Cape buffalo, he likes to have his picture taken with their bodies (once, holding an elephant’s severed tail). Recently, in Mongolia, he killed a threatened argali sheep — a species whose population had dropped 50% between 1985 and 2009.
Andrew Wheeler: Former coal lobbyist, now-Environmental Protection Agency chief, Wheeler apparently likes clean air and water about as much as David Bernhardt likes wildlife. A seasoned Beltway insider, he’s rescinded Obama’s Clean Power Plan, brutally overruled scientists, and gutted auto fuel-efficiency standards. He’s also slashed Clean Water Act protections, freeing up industry to destroy wetlands and dump toxic waste into streams across the United States.
Stephen Miller: This far-right advisor to the president is like the long-lost brain Trump never had. Sadly, that brain is racist. Miller has guided American immigration policy into the realm of outright inhumanity. His whispers in Trump’s ear are likely behind a ban on immigrants from Muslim countries, a shameful practice of removing children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, and construction of a destructive border wall across precious wilderness.
A video showing a pack of hunting dogs mauling a roe deer as it tries to escape has been released.
West Yorkshire Hunt Saboteurs recorded the footage on land north of Askham Richard in North Yorkshire on Saturday.
The group claimed the dogs were from the Badsworth and Bramham, Moor/York and Ainsty South hunting groups and were “out of control”.
A spokesperson for the hunt described it as an unfortunate incident, but blamed the saboteurs.
The video showed the deer being caught by the dogs and attacked three times before it manages to escape.
North Yorkshire Police said it had received reports of a deer which had been injured by dogs at about 13:45 GMT on Saturday.
The force said officers had attended the location and appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.
In England and Wales, it is illegal to use dogs to hunt foxes, hares or deer, unless it is defined as “exempt”.
The protesters, who posted the clip on their Facebook page, said the hounds “came across a deer, repeatedly bringing it to the ground, along with killing a rabbit”.
The group said “the dogs were not under the control of either huntsman or whipper”.
TV naturalist Chris Packham also issued a response to the post.
He said: “Distressing footage of some of the hound pack chasing and mauling a roe deer… It’s time for this to end.”
A spokesperson for the York and Ainsty South Hunt said: “We are aware of an unfortunate incident which took place on Saturday, 4th January, which happened purely as a direct result of the actions of the anti-hunting activists.
“These hunt saboteurs were blowing a hunting horn and distracting the hounds which took a few of them off the trail which had been laid for them to follow.
“It is desperately unfair on our hounds if somebody else blows a horn too.”
Target: Daniel Cameron, Attorney General of Kentucky
Goal: Punish man accused of stabbing and skinning several dogs.
Four dogs were allegedly killed and skinned in a horrific case of animal cruelty. A Davis, Kentucky caller sent state authorities to the grotesque and disturbing scene at the home of Jonathan Watkins. Watkins seemingly brandished a hunting knife and wore blood-stained clothes as police approached. Upon questioning, he allegedly confessed that he had killed and skinned four dogs to “make myself a doggy coat.”
The disturbing incident began when police responded to a complaint by Watkins’ neighbor. The neighbor reported seeing what appeared to be animal skins hanging from Watkins’ porch. Watkins had also allegedly bragged to this neighbor that he had been skinning dogs. This claim raised the neighbor’s alarm because several neighborhood dogs had apparently gone missing.
After officers talked to Watkins at his home, the suspect reportedly admitted to stabbing the dogs through the heart. He also apparently claimed “there isn’t anything wrong with me making myself a fur coat.” This case of animal cruelty is reportedly not even Watkins’ first brush with the law. A few years ago, he was accused of shooting and killing his stepfather, but the charges were dismissed.
Sign this petition to demand the legal system do its job this time and punish an atrocious act of alleged animal cruelty.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Cameron,
Several years ago, Jonathan Watkins—a man accused by eyewitnesses of repeatedly shooting and killing his stepfather—walked away from prison time because a judge deemed he “was not criminally responsible.” State legal authorities then refused to seek an involuntary hospitalization that could have at the very least kept this potentially lethal man from inflicting further harm.
Fast-forward to today, and four skinned dog carcasses were reportedly discovered on Watkins’ property….and Watkins allegedly confessed that he did indeed slaughter and then skin innocent neighborhood pets. These animals deserve justice. This time Watkins must not be let off the hook if he is indeed found to be guilty as it seems.
Please prosecute Mr. Watkins to the fullest extent of the law…for the sake of his alleged victims and for the safety of any potential future victims.
Pass the Humane Cosmetics Act to Stop Cruel Animal Testing
A bipartisan bill could finally end cruel and needless animal cosmetics testing in the U.S.
Recently reintroduced, the Humane Cosmetics Act would not only save innocent rabbits, mice and other animals from being tortured and killed in unnecessary experiments, but it would also ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals.
Animals used in cosmetic testing are subjected to excruciatingly painful procedures, like being force-fed chemicals that make them bleed and convulse. The animals may have toxic substances painfully dropped in their eyes or applied to their skin, burning off their fur.
When the testing is over, they are typically killed by decapitation, neck-breaking, or asphyxiation.
“It’s long past time to end cosmetics animal testing in the U.S.,” said Representative Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, in a press release. “Not only is this practice inhumane, but it is also ineffective and costly. Companies across the U.S. now successfully use alternative methods of testing that more accurately predict the effect of cosmetics on humans. This bipartisan bill would protect innocent animals from needless abuse, while modernizing our cosmetics industry.”
Sign this petition to urge Congressional leaders to pass the Humane Cosmetics Act and finally stop the suffering.
PETITION TARGET: District Attorney General Hon. Amy P. Weirich
In a grisly act of animal cruelty, a young woman decapitated her grandmother’s dog Lucy, carved up the animal’s body, and sent photos of the mutilated pet to relatives, reports KKTV 11 and WREG 3.
According to investigators, Smith beheaded Lucy and placed the dog’s head in a dresser drawer. Smith then allegedly cut out the dog’s heart and placed it in her grandmother’s freezer.
An unnamed neighbor stated that Smith had previously displayed alarming behavior while peering over the fence one night and staring at her dog.
“I asked her, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’” the neighbor reported. “She said, ‘Oh, your dog is cold. Your dog is cold.’ That’s the only thing she’d say.”
Smith has already been released on bond and must be prevented from harming more innocent animals.
Sign this petition urging District Attorney General Hon. Amy P. Weirich to to call for a strong sentence that includes intensive psychological treatment for Smith, as well as a lifetime ban on ever going near an animal again.
Posted on January 10, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Dear friends,
I will take a short break from Saturday, January 11th to Tuesday, January 14th.
As soon as I am back, we will deal with the Banana Republic of Germany, there are a lot of misdeeds to report.
Posted on January 10, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Sydney News today: “Nothing kann stopp this!”
A massive wall of fire stretching for miles seen in this extraordinary video shot from a firefighting chooper.
And now the rain comes!!
Breaking: Thousands of people across Sydney are celebrating with cheers and laughter as rain falls across the city. Tonight the prayers of millions were answered. (!!!)
At high-density Bondi Beach in the eastern suburbs, people cheered mid-evening from balconies, as rain fell in the area. Sweet sounds of rain is music to everyone’s ears…
Update from the Bureau of Meteorology: “Tropical moisture could cause some much needed rain over…WA, SA, Victoria, Tasmania and NSW. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like this rain will be heavy enough to put out the fires in south eastern Australia”.
According to the organizers, the Australian Open, which begins on January 20, the first tennis grand slam tournament of the year, is not in danger (!!!)
And I mean...So … the rain will probably solve the problem this time. And after the rain is like before the rain.
The water is running out, even before the fires…
sheep mired in drainage canals at Lake Cawndilla. CREDIT:NICK MOIR
Australia has 160 million sheep and 24 million cattle, 100 liters of water a day needs one cattle, sheep slightly less. It doesn’t take much imagination what these millions of animals can do on the fragile ecosystem of the dry soil.
Even if half of it remains after fires and executions, including camels and kangaroos, the water will not be enough.
Not even for human animals.
What happens when the Darling River dries up? Because like all others rivers, it is pumped for industrial agriculture!
But Australia will continue to breed, torture and produce animals, and will remain among the largest “producers” and exporters of “cattle” worldwide.
Until the next biblical catastrophe comes.
Australia is firmly in the grip of the totally stupid Murdoch press and the lobbyists who want to sell their coal, and apart from these tycoons, nobody will benefit from this, the rest will be satisfied with prayer and rain which unfortunately cannot be bought.
Posted on January 9, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Pester the pig is back to tell shoppers only to buy high welfare sausages – if they still live in the past and eat them !
Pester Pig is Back to Punish the Undiscerning Shopper
Farms Not Factories mascot, Pester Pig, has been campaigning alongside Jerome Flynn, to raise awareness about the lack of pig welfare in popular high street food chains. She is not happy that three-quarters of the popular supermarkets & high street food chains we surveyed sell pork from factory farms. So, when she catches someone buying low animal welfare pork, the punishment has the desired effect! Make sure to give the video a like and share, to remind friends to only buy high welfare.
It’s Time for Real Change on Pig Welfare
Tell the CEOs of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Greggs and Domino’s to only source high welfare pork, by sending them this letter.
Most High Street Chains Source their Pork from Factory Farms
Three-quarters of the 60 high street supermarkets & food chains surveyed by Farms Not Factories sell pork from factory farms. The vast majority of these don’t offer a single high welfare alternative. Pigs reared in factory farms (an intensive farming system that is permitted under the Red Tractor labelling scheme) have to endure permanent indoor confinement in barren, overcrowded pens for their entire lives. Mother pigs are kept in narrow metal cages so small they cannot even turn around for weeks on end.
The Solution
RSPCA Assured, Free Range and Organic all have significantly better standards than the Red Tractor labelling scheme and minimum UK & EU standards. Some well known high street chains have already made the switch to one of these high welfare labels. For example, McDonald’s only sell RSPCA Assured pork across their entire menu and the Co-op only sells Outdoor Bred RSPCA Assured pork throughout their entire own-brand fresh pork range. Pigs on high welfare farms, either outdoors or indoors with plenty of straw, are healthy and more contented. They have enough room to roam and express natural instinctive behaviours such as rooting, nesting and playing.
Posted on January 9, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
It’s good to see concern for the animals suffering and dying as a result of the tragic events in Australia currently taking place, with bushfires raging across the country.
But aren’t there some other species of animal that humans are forgetting? Animals who were being killed in huge number LONG before this event ever took place?
It’s rather strange when a holocaust is taking place, that those complicit in it would choose to ignore the very thing they are taking part in and instead show concern for something that they are far more powerless to do something about.
EVERY WEEK, around 2 billion land animals are murdered in the world’s longest running and most environmentally destructive massacre, with countless marine animals murdered in the process as well.
Animal agriculture is the elephant in the room that our Carnist society chooses to ignore.
So where is the sympathy for the cows, turkeys, salmon, and goats? The pigs, chickens, sheep and tuna? Are their lives worth LESS than those of the koalas and the kangaroos? Do they not matter? Can they not suffer too?
A pig doesn’t want to be in a gas chamber any more than a koala wants to be in a burning tree. Will you be consistent and end your complicity in this? Or will you turn a blind eye to the very suffering you are responsible for and focus only on the events deemed “newsworthy”?
And I mean…Today and here it’s not just about the animals that are burned in Australia and whether they are more or less victims than other animals.
They are, so to speak, the collateral damage of a criminal system that, like everywhere else, serves the meat consumption in Australia.
After all, the genocide in Australia is only the tragic consequence (among other things) of extensive animal husbandry. Like all over the world.
The message from Australia is: either we are radically changing our current lifestyle, or the whole box is falling into the abyss.
As long as the climate played along, no one thought about the effects of factory farming on the climate catastrophes of this planet.
And now Global warming is at every door, Australia is just the most tragic example.
But although in Australia (almost) everyone has experienced it in their own bodies, we see that even in biblical catastrophes people have learned nothing: Instead of rethinking and reducing the number of animals bred, farmers and hunters shoot wild animals such as kangaroos and camels, so that water and feed for the “useful” animals are not scarce!!
As soon as the fires are over, everyone returns to their everyday life and consoles themselves with their favorite saying: “That happens everywhere, there are also climate changes…”
Unfortunately, this is the most tragic message from this story: Disabled, mendacious, opportunistic, exploitative … that’s what we humans are and stay before, like after biblical catastrophes!
Posted on January 23, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Make big polluters pay for mass tree planting, officials say
Oil companies and airlines could fund 100m trees a year, says Committee on Climate Change
The planting of 100m trees a year in the UK to tackle the climate emergency could be paid for by new carbon levies on oil companies and airlines, the government’s official climate adviser has proposed.
The Committee on Climate Change also recommends banning the burning of grouse moors and the sale of peat compost to protect the nation’s bogs, which can store huge amounts of carbon. Voluntary measures have failed, it said.
The CCC’s new report concludes that fundamental changes in land use are needed to cut emissions from farming and get the nation on track to meet its legally binding target of net zero by 2050. It proposes cutting red meat eating by 20%, with the move to more plant-based diets freeing up a fifth of all farmland for new woodland.
The CCC’s plan for slashing emissions from agriculture also requires better management of manure, cutting methane from cattle with better feeds and growing crops that can be burned to produce electricity instead of natural gas.
The plan would cost £1.4bn a year but provide benefits of at least £4bn by cutting global heating and air pollution and improving flood protection and green spaces for people to enjoy. “That, in our assessment, seems like a price very much worth paying,” said Chris Stark, chief executive of the CCC.
Lord Deben, chair of the CCC, said: “This is one of the most important reports that we have ever produced because a change in land use is absolutely essential if we’re going to meet [the legal] requirements of reducing to net zero by 2050. It requires immediate government action. We are in a race against time.”
The UK is preparing to leave the European Union and the bloc’s subsidy scheme, which provides £3.3bn a year to farmers based mainly on the area of land owned. The government has pledged that the replacement scheme will pay farmers public money for public goods, such as tree planting.
The most eye-catching part of the CCC’s plan, according to Stark, is the proposal that new levies on fossil fuel suppliers, airlines and other carbon-emitting industries pay for the tree-planting programme. Farmers and landowners would be paid either via annual auctions of contracts to create woodland or from a carbon trading scheme, the CCC said.
The cost would be about £700m a year, Stark said. “You could imagine a world where that was all paid for from a fossil fuel levy, but that is a decision for the Treasury.” Such a system would mean the polluter pays, said Deben, but the aviation industry would still need to keep emissions at 2005 levels.
The National Farmers Union revealed a plan for agriculture to end its net emissions by 2040 in September, a decade earlier than the CCC plan. It requires no cut in meat eating or livestock numbers and no conversion of substantial areas of farmland into forest. It relies heavily on bioenergy crops removing CO2 from the atmosphere, which is then captured and buried after being burned.
Deben praised the NFU plan as a remarkable change. “NFU president, Minette Batters, has done a very significant job. But the truth is she hasn’t been able to include anything about diet and reduction in the number of animals”, both of which the CCC deem essential.
Stark said cutting the UK’s “scandalous” level of food waste by 20% was vital. Better food labelling and separate food waste collections would help, as well as linking charges for household recycling to the quantity of food waste, the CCC said.
The 20% cut in red meat and dairy consumption proposed by the CCC is much lower than other recent analyses which have indicated 80-90% reductions are needed. “It is some way short of the 80% or so reduction that’s recommended by the public health guidelines for red meat,” said Stark. The CCC focused only on the emissions cuts needed to bring UK greenhouse gas emissions to zero, he said, and not health or other pollution that livestock cause.
Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth
Read more
“There is no doubt we need a major transformation in farming and land use to tackle both climate and nature emergencies,” said Vicki Hird of the Sustain alliance, who welcomed much of the report. But she said the ambition on cutting meat consumption was low and warned that technology that could capture CO2 from bioenergy crops was untested in the UK.
Sandra Bell, campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “The way land is used and abused has been a big contributor to climate breakdown and loss of wildlife, and this is why it needs to change.” However she said the CCC’s woodland creation target needed to be twice as high.
