Read more and see videos at:
Spain: Live Export Latest 1/3/21 – Animals Being Unloaded for Slaughter, Probably 2/3/21. – World Animals Voice
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Read more and see videos at:
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
With thanks as always to Stacey at ‘Our Compass’ – Our Compass | Because compassion directs us … (our-compass.org)
Regards Mark
Remember:
‘One mans terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’
“A particularly brutal process called “ventilation shutdown,” or VSD. Workers sealed off airways while pumping steam into the barns, intensifying the heat — over the course of many hours — to the point at which the pigs died from suffocation and/or hyperthermia”.
MARCH 1, 2021
Source The Intercept: “…making it quite possible that some pigs survived, and are therefore buried alive or crushed by the bulldozers that haul away the corpses.”
Let’s be clear: all animal slaughter is inherently abusive and cruel and causes fear and suffering regardless of how humans, who will never be subjected to the same violent fate, define it. Those who are horrified by ventilation shutdown yet not “commonly accepted” forms of slaughter are actually just using one form of cruelty to justify another.
Please visit HERE to learn of the violence inherent in the animal exploitation industry regardless of how you define such, and before you reject footage as “the exception” (it’s not) or based on vegan “propaganda” (versus nothing provided by the animal exploiters) just remember: the “animal agriculture industry” relies on and actively pursues consumer ignorance, willful or not, and DO NOT release their own footage. Ask yourself why that is: if they are humane, they can prove it, but are unable to, and rather than use funds supporting “humane treatment” they use money to hide their deception, cruelty, greed, and intentional participation in abject suffering. That is why you will never see the an-ag industry actually demonstrate “humane treatment” before or during the killing; they instead hide the barbarism and focus on those who are exposing it.
Who’s the terrorist? SL
Source The Intercept
By Lee Fang
Last June, Noel Williams, the chief operations officer of Iowa Select Farms, a powerful pork company and the largest in Iowa, pulled into the parking lot of an empty housing complex typically used for the firm’s immigrant workforce.
He was there to transport Lucas Walker, a former truck driver for Iowa Select, to a meeting with Nick Potratz, an FBI agent from the Des Moines office of the bureau. That’s according to Walker, who had recently tried to report Iowa Select, his former employer, for mistreating animals. After The Intercept published leaked video of pigs being killed off en masse, Walker came under scrutiny.
Now, the FBI had a favor to ask: Would Walker become an informant? More specifically, they wanted him to help in an effort to investigate and undermine an activist group that had become a thorn in Iowa Select’s side. They even asked if he’d be willing to sell drugs.
The saga that brought him into contact with the FBI began when the 26-year-old grew frustrated with his former employer, Iowa Select, which is headquartered in his hometown of Iowa Falls. Walker thought the company was blatantly disregarding state “double stocking” rules, which limit the size and number of pigs that are held in an intensive animal feeding facility, letting overweight pigs crowd into pens far too small to hold them.
He was tired of what he saw as frequent rule-breaking and disregard for the well-being of the tens of thousands of hogs raised by Iowa Select. The company, in his view, seemed hellbent on expansion and profits, leading to rampant overcrowding and water pollution. That rapid expansion led to the annual production of 1.5 billion pounds of pork a year, a global leader before the pandemic. The novel coronavirus, however, closed regional slaughterhouses, creating a glut of pigs.
He decided to speak out and called state regulators.
Walker doesn’t fit the profile of an animal rights activist. The central Iowa-raised truck driver, who jokingly refers to himself as corn-fed with beer running through his veins, is a fervent Trump and NRA supporter who has spent years working in the state’s maze of hog production facilities. He describes himself as independent-minded with libertarian instincts, with a bit of a contrarian side suspicious of organized power.
“I’m not necessarily animal rights by any means,” said Walker in an interview with The Intercept. “I have a cattle herd — small calf herd — and my wife and myself have some free-range pigs ourselves.”
“It was a moral issue at the heart of it. … I’m the kind of person who knows right from wrong. It was a principled thing.”
Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources, the local farm regulator, Walker felt, did not seem to care about his concerns over the phone or show any interest in enforcement on a company like Iowa Select. Iowa, followed by North Carolina and Minnesota, is the largest pork-producing state in the country and infamously deferential to industry. Iowa officials have faced criticism for failing to regulate concentrated pork facilities for water pollution and poor animal welfare standards.
Jeff Hansen, the founder of Iowa Select, built the pork powerhouse first as a salesman, helping distribute modern farrowing crates, automatic feeders, and other livestock equipment to other pig farmers in the state. He built two companies at once: a turnkey construction firm known as Modern Hog Concepts, which helped farmers upgrade their barns into modern factory farms, and Iowa Select, which raised pigs for slaughter.
Along the way, as he grew his business empire, Hansen built close connections with Iowa’s political elite. In 1994, during a cycle in which Hansen was one of the largest campaign contributors to then-Gov. Terry Branstad, he had set aside employee money for campaign contributions to local Republicans. The resulting scandal forced lawmakers to return campaign funds to Iowa Select, but the company continued to grow.
The owners of Iowa Select, Jeff and his wife Debra Hansen, are still among the largest campaign contributors in the state, and close to Gov. Kim Reynolds. A recent donation of $50,000 brought the total the couple has donated to the governor to nearly $300,000.
The governor has maintained cozy ties to Iowa Select. Shortly after her election in 2018, Reynolds volunteered to auction off her time as a gift to the Hansen family foundation. In the early days of the pandemic, her administration arranged a Covid-19 testing site at a corporate office used by white-collar Iowa Select employees and foundation employees, raising concerns with one Polk County supervisor of special treatment for the campaign donor.
And Kayla Lyon, who Reynolds appointed to run the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which inspects hog farms for compliance with animal welfare and environmental rules, is a former dairy industry official and agribusiness lobbyist. Lyon, in her previous capacity as an influence peddler in Des Moines, had worked to pass the 2012 “ag gag” law that criminalized recording at farm facilities, according to lobbyist disclosures. Lyon lobbied at a time when Iowa Select’s lobbyists in Des Moines pushed for the bill, records show.
The impetus for that bill, which was designed to criminally prosecute whistleblowers at factory farming operations, also started in part with Iowa Select. The year before the bill was signed into law, an animal rights activist group, Mercy for Animals, released an undercover video that showed Iowa Select workers ripping the testicles from conscious piglets, removing tails with dull clippers, and scores of sows in small confinement cages, appearing to suffer from untreated sores and other wounds.
The law, though later overturned by a federal court, was the first of its kind and rapidly inspired copycat legislation across the country.
Walker’s failed attempts to reach regulators, to report overcrowding in Iowa Select facilities, didn’t surprise him. “The DNR wasn’t very interested in talking about it,” said Walker. “They’re too big to be regulated.”
“There have been no recent enforcement actions against Iowa Select Farms. Nor are we aware of any complaints or allegations made to the DNR,” Alex Murphy, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said in an email to The Intercept.
Walker, aware that he had few outlets for help, turned to the internet to research whistleblowing resources for factory farms. That’s how he found Direct Action Everywhere, the Berkeley, California-based group that has worked to expose the shocking treatment of animals in factory farms.
Continue reading on page 2
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | 1 Comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Kevin Lemke with “Good Luck” – This is about more than a mere rule violation – it’s about cruelty to animals.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Please add your voice to the Anna Maria petition at petition: Nearly 2,500 cows are sick and dying after having been stranded at sea for 2 months and counting, demand help! (thepetitionsite.com) and leave a comment on this in the box – thank you.
Spanish officials recommend 864 cows that have been at sea for two months are no longer fit for transport
More than 850 cattle that have spent months adrift in the Mediterranean are no longer fit for transport and should be killed, according to a confidential report by Spanish government veterinarians.
A lawyer for the cattle ship’s management company told the Guardian on Saturday that he planned to resist the move, even as a video from the port appears to show preparations being made to unload the cattle.
The cows have been kept in what an animal rights activist described as “hellish” conditions on the Karim Allah, which docked at the south-eastern Spanish port of Cartagena on Thursday after struggling for two months to find a buyer for the cattle.
The report, compiled after Spanish officials were able to board the vessel earlier this week, said that the captain had told them of 22 deaths among the 895 calves on-board.
Another nine cattle were not accounted for, it said. The ship’s management said the calves, all bulls, are about seven to eight months old now.
The report concluded that the animals had suffered from the lengthy journey and were generally in a poor state. Some of them were unwell and not fit for transport outside of the European Union, nor should they be allowed into the EU, it said. Euthanasia would be the best solution for their health and welfare, it concluded.
The animals were rejected by several countries over fears they had bovine bluetongue virus. The report did not say if the cattle had bluetongue disease but it noted a range of other skin, eye and leg conditions including alopecia, flaking, scabs and joint inflammation compatible with septic arthritis.
The lawyer, Miquel Masramón who represents the ships’ management company, said on Saturday that it appeared preparations to kill the cattle were being made at the port. In a video Masramón sent to the Guardian, a metal ramp can be seen leading down from a ship toward a series of metal containers lined up along a dock wall.
The lawyer said the ship’s managers will attempt to resist any move to unload the cattle and that he is in the process of contacting Lebanese authorities. The vessel is owned by Khalifeh Livestock Trading and managed by Talia Shipping Line, both based in Lebanon, while the cattle are owned by a third party.
“In the video you see the closed containers, they are not for living livestock,” said Masramón on Saturday. “We have no official information, but we think they will discharge the animals and then kill them with electrical guns.”
He added that blood samples taken from the cattle on Wednesday night by Talia Shipping Line, to test for a bovine disease called bluetongue, had been blocked at the port by Spanish authorities and were not allowed to proceed to a lab for analysis.
The insect-borne bluetongue virus causes lameness and haemorrhaging among cattle but does not affect humans. The Spanish ministry’s report counted 864 animals alive on board the Karim Allah this week. Twenty-two cows had died at sea with two corpses still onboard, it noted, adding that the remains of the others that died were chopped up and thrown overboard during the journey.
Spain’s agricultural ministry did not reply to a request for comment on Saturday.
Masramón previously told the Guardian the shippers aimed to resell the cattle outside the EU if they tested negative for bluetongue. Talia Shipping Line estimates that current losses on the cattle transport could be up to €1m. Spanish authorities have said the company was also liable for the cost of killing the animals and destroying the carcasses. The company estimates this will cost them a further €1m.
“We are trying to resist, if they take the animals, and to get a new private expert animal health report,” said Masramón. He added, however, that if Spanish authorities were to remove the animals on health grounds they would probably succeed.
“In my opinion the animal health regulations will prevail [over maritime ones] and they, [the] Spanish officials, will be able to take the animals and cull them,” he said.
Masramón said although he was not an animal health technician, he did not agree with the official Spanish veterinary report released on Friday. “From what I understand, none of the diseases [noted in the report] are worth euthanizing the cattle for. They are normal after two months at seas and the animals could recover.”
In an interview, a source close to a second cattle ship, the Elbeik, which has similarly been at sea for two months since leaving the Spanish port of Tarragona with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows, said he was watching the Karim Allah developments closely.
The Elbeik is currently moored off the Turkish Cypriot port of Famagusta having loaded animal fodder and straw. The source said that once the loading was complete, the Elbeik would probably sail to Greece to load bunker fuel for the ship.
Asked about apparent moves by the Spanish authorities to begin unloading and killing the cattle, the source said the health problems identified by the official Spanish vet report could “easily heal”. He said the decision, if taken, to kill all the animals was “amazing”. He added: “If the animals can heal why would they want to do that?”
Below – EU Animal Crisis Management – Mr Bernard Van Goethem – Does not react when there is an ‘Animal Crisis’;
More like:
Filed under: farm animals, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Please add your voice to the Anna Maria petition at petition: Nearly 2,500 cows are sick and dying after having been stranded at sea for 2 months and counting, demand help! (thepetitionsite.com) and leave a comment on this in the box – thank you.
WAV Comment: we have been attempting to give the latest updates on the situation of the stranded and abused cattle for a few weeks now.
See Search Results for “karim allah” – World Animals Voice for Karim Allah
See Search Results for “elbeik” – World Animals Voice for Elbeik
There is an old saying which goes “a picture says a thousand words”. Have a look at these 2 pictures of the ‘Karim Allah’: are they not fairly indicative of the majority of the live animal transport maritime situation now ? – rust bucket ships that should have been scrapped years ago still transporting innocent, sentient beings to their (often) barbaric deaths the world over.
Have a look at this picture – this is Mr Bernard Van Goethem.
Here below is the structural chart for the Commission of Health and Food Safety – Sante. Mr Van Goethem is the ‘leader’ responsible for ‘Crisis Preparedness in Animals’, which includes ‘section G2 – Animal Health’. You can see all of this on the right hand side of the chart.
Health and Food Safety Organizational chart link – https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/organisation_charts/organisation-chart-dg-sante_en.pdf
Further; on the Health and Food Safety site they make the following statement; and we include the link as proof:
https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/welfare/practice/transport_en – it says:
Animal welfare during transport
In 2015, the European Commission launched a three-year Pilot Project aiming at improving animal welfare during transport by developing and disseminating Guides to Good and Best Practice for the transport of the main livestock species.
In September 2017, the contractor of the project published five extensive guides to good practices (only in English) as well as 17 technical fact sheets focusing on the most practical information in A4 format. Fact sheets are available in eight EU languages (English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Spanish).
This publication is followed by a road show in eight Member States and presenting the guidelines to the professionals concerned (transporters, drivers, farmers, official veterinarians, etc.). The project will also produce five videos (one per species in eight languages).
For more details please visit the Project website.
See the final report
Council Regulation EC 1/2005 defines the responsibilities of all actors involved in the transport chain of live animals entering or leaving the EU. It lays down efficient monitoring tools and stricter rules for the transport and for the specific checks to be carried out by officials. It also provides for non-discriminatory inspections of animals, means of transport and accompanying documents.
EU countries are required to submit to the Commission, by 30 June each year, an annual report for the previous year on the non-discriminatory inspections together with an analysis of the major deficiencies. Click here to access the annual reports.
In order to reduce the administrative burden on EU countries, Commission Implementing Decision 2013/188/EU, which came into force on 1 January 2015, established an harmonised model form for the annual reports.
We at WAV, as of 28/2/21, make the following statement: Is the situation where hundreds of live EU animals have been stranded in the Mediterranean on 2 different ships not a ‘crisis’ ? – and should we have not seen intervention by the EU ‘Crisis Preparedness in Animals’ team, led Mr Mr Van Goetyhem, on this issue several weeks ago ? If this is not a crisis, then what is ?
If the EU crisis team are not going to get involved and take action at times of a crisis, then what is the point of them even existing ?
As you can see from the various EU links above; they at EU Commissions are specialists at blowing their own trumpets; leading the reader / web site visitor all over the place to find information (or maybe confuse them !) on their highly constructed, expensive, and detailed website; (at EU taxpayers expense); in some wildly bland attempt to make the reader think that they are completely and utterly in charge of the situation when it comes to controls and regulations for the welfare of animals in transport.
Well they are not – the website and all the sub sections and statements are simply massive smokescreens because they, the EU Commission, are utterly incapable of having any controls over the international situation of ensuring live animals welfare during transport throughout the EU, and way beyond into third countries such as Turkey and Libya.
In the past, and going back more than a decade, we have called for the resignation of Mr Bernard Van Goethem – Mr Van Goethem Resign Now !! | Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
This was in relation all those years ago to the EU having no control of the welfare of animals during transport; here is a video produced at the time to show that:
Here are a few other links we published on this issue at the time:
So what changes over all these years at the EU ? – very little it seems. Plenty of waffle; plenty of PR; plenty of web news; people are doing this, and people are doing that; when in reality, nothing actually changes for animals in transport.
As you can see in the above links, in the past we have called for the resignation of Mr Van Goethem; we think that with these terrible situations over the last few months and not a whisper from the EU on the crisis from the crisis management section of the EU Commission; maybe it is time to get another petition underway calling for resignations due to incompetence. When we get this organised we will publish.
Regards Mark
Latest news:
Saturday 27/2/21:
More than 850 cows that have spent two months at sea on a ship crossing the Mediterranean are facing slaughter, following a report from Spanish vets.
The cattle have suffered “hellish” conditions, according to animal rights activists.
The Karim Allah vessel originally left the Spanish port of Cartagena to deliver the cattle to Turkey but were refused entry due to fears over bluetongue.
The insect-borne bovine virus causes lameness and haemorrhaging among cattle but does not affect humans.
After being turned away from Turkey, owners failed to find a new buyer for the animals.
The ship was subsequently rejected by several more countries, even to replenish animal feed, leaving the cows to go several days with just water.
The ship became a pariah vessel and it has now returned to its starting point in Cartagena.
The confidential report by Spanish government veterinarians and seen by Reuters says the animals have suffered from the long journey and should be killed.
While it did not confirm whether the animals were suffering from bluetongue or not, it said they should not be allowed into the EU.
Ownership of the cattle is unclear.
Animal rights activist Silvia Barquero, director of the Igualdad Animal NGO, called the crossing “hellish” for the cattle and questioned what had happened to the waste produced by the cows during the crossing.
“We are sure they are in unacceptable sanitary conditions.”
Twenty-two cows are believed to have died at sea, and while 20 of the corpses have been chopped up and thrown overboard, two dead cows remain on board.
A lawyer representing the ship owner Talia Shipping Line, which is registered in Lebanon, said he believes the slaughter will now definitely go ahead.
Meanwhile, a second ship, the ElBeik, which also set sail from Spain in December with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows, is currently moored off the Turkish Cypriot port of Famagusta.
The agriculture ministry has been approached for comment
Filed under: farm animals, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
This is just a test post as we have had some computer problems – but it is very latest news and current – Regards Mark
Livestock company still hopes to find a buyer for animals on board ship for two months, after rejection by Turkey and Libya
The manager of a ship that has spent months at sea with hundreds of cattle on board has accused Spanish officials of failing to answer his call for help and of threatening to kill all the livestock if the ship enters port.
The Karim Allah is one of two vessels that left from different ports in Spain before Christmas to deliver cargoes of young bulls, but were refused entry by various countries including Turkey and Libya, owing to suspected outbreaks of the bovine disease bluetongue onboard both ships.
The vessel is owned by Khalifeh Livestock Trading and managed by Talia Shipping Line, both based in Lebanon, while the cattle are owned by a third party. The ship took 895 male calves on board at the Spanish port of Cartagena in mid-December and sailed for Turkey.
However, the Karim Allah’s manager told the Guardian that a mistake on the Spanish government’s animal health paperwork led Turkey to reject the cattle, fearing they may be infected with bluetongue.
Attempts to sell the animals to buyers in Libya also failed and the Karim Allah eventually travelled back to Spain. The ship has been docked just outside Cartagena since Sunday. Only 15 animals are dead, the manager said, and the rest are in good health.
“We remain at anchor outside Cartagena port because first the Spanish authorities told us we could not enter. That was on Sunday or Monday,” said Majed Eid, Talia Shipping Line director.
“Then the Spanish authorities said we could enter [the port] but that all the cattle – they are all bulls about seven to eight months old – must be slaughtered,” said Eid. There has been no mention of vets inspecting the ship or testing for bluetongue, he added.
“We do not want to slaughter the healthy animals. That is the proof of the good care we have taken, only 15 dead after more than 60 days at sea. We expected people to thank us, not criticise us,” he said. “We are crying out for help but the Spanish government is not helping us. No one is helping us.”
Eid said the cattle shipment first ran into problems in Turkey due to an error in the Spanish authorities’ paperwork. “That was why the cattle were not accepted in Turkey or Libya, due to fears they might have come from a bluetongue area.”
Eid said the priority was to test the cattle so healthy animals can be certified and new buyers found. “We want to do blood tests to prove they are free of bluetongue then we can find a buyer. We don’t want to kill healthy animals. We expected Spain would want to help us with the blood tests but they are not helping, it’s very complicated.”
Miquel Masramón, a lawyer for Talia Shipping, said that blood samples were taken by a private company from some cattle on the ship on Wednesday evening. “According to the vet team no symptoms of bluetongue were found and test result will be known in 24 to 48 hours,” he said.
Legal documents, received last week by Masramón from the Spanish Animal Health Authority and seen by the Guardian, say the cost of slaughtering cattle re-entering Spain in this situation must be borne by the companies involved.
Masramón estimates the cost of slaughter and carcass disposal will be more than €1m (£860,000). “This should be added to the losses already suffered with unpaid demurrage [a charge payable to the owner of a chartered ship on failure to load or discharge the ship within the time agreed] and expenses which we estimate now at another €1m,” he said.
Maria Boada Saña, a vet with the NGO Animal Welfare Foundation, said it was good news that so many cattle were still alive. But she said it was unlikely the animals were in good health. “They might not have bluetongue, but that does not mean they are healthy,” she said.
Boada Saña said she believed slaughter, rather than another attempted sale involving further sea transport, was a better option for the cattle. “We are calling directly for euthanasia. They have been adrift for two months. The [animal] transports we see might take a week or so and that already means the animals arrive in poor condition, so imagine two months.”
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Spain’s agriculture ministry said the Karim Allah was free to enter Cartagena if it wished, but would not comment on the legal documents sent to Talia Shipping indicating the cattle would have to be immediately slaughtered.
A second livestock ship, Elbeik, which left the Spanish port of Tarragona carrying 1,776 animals on the same day as the Karim Allah, is at anchor in Turkish waters off the coast of Cyprus. It too was turned away by Turkey and Libya due to bluetongue fears.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Spain’s agriculture ministry described the ships’ plight as a “failed operation by a Spanish exporter, who was going to sell the animals in Turkey, then tried unsuccessfully to sell them in Libya”.
The spokesperson added that the Karim Allah, “now arriving in Cartagena, left Spain with animals that had the corresponding health certificates and which were from areas free of bluetongue. The animals therefore left the port of Cartagena in good health.”
Masramón told Spanish media that the certificates noted that some of the cattle were from Aragon, one of the regions that saw an outbreak of bluetongue late last year. As it couldn’t be shown that the cattle came from a place that was more than 150km from the source of infection, the cargo had been rejected. He confirmed they had been able to obtain fodder for the animals in Sicily, but not unload them.
The ministry has said the Elbeik was also carrying cattle from bluetongue-free areas.
In a second statement on Thursday, the agriculture ministry said: “The master of the vessel Karim Allah has been requested to take appropriate measures to allow inspectors to board the vessel safely. This request has not been complied with by the captain of the ship by the deadline, which was today, 25 February, at 11am.”
It added that Spanish maritime officials have now, “prohibited the ship Karim Allah from leaving the port until the appropriate inspections and actions have been carried out on the vessel.”
Filed under: farm animals, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | 1 Comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | 1 Comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
The cattle ship Karim Allah docked in Tarragona, Spain, 2020. Photograph: Animal Welfare Foundation/Tier Schutz Bund Zurich
WAV Comment – BIG thanks to ‘The Guardian’ (London) for sticking with, and reporting on this incident so very well over the last few months. Click on our live export tag Live Transport – World Animals Voice to read all the previous news from the Guardian (and more) about this most disgusting business in sentient beings.
Two livestock ships have been refused entry to multiple countries on health grounds since leaving Spain in December
One of two livestock ships at sea since mid-December with thousands of cattle on board is now at the Spanish port of Cartagena, but the fate of its cargo is unclear.
The two vessels left from different ports in Spain before Christmas to deliver their cargoes of animals, but were each refused entry by various countries including Turkey and Libya, owing to suspected outbreaks onboard both ships of the bovine disease bluetongue.
Spain’s government and the country’s largest association of beef producers, Asoprovac, have both said the cattle came from areas free of bluetongue.
On Tuesday, the Spanish news agency EFE reported that although Turkey had originally agreed to take the cattle, satisfied they were bluetongue free, the animals were rejected on arrival because of disease fears.
A Spanish government source confirmed that the Karim Allah, carrying a reported 895 calves, was anchored just outside the Spanish port of Cartagena. The other ship, Elbeik, carrying 1,776 animals, continues to sit at anchor in Turkish waters off the coast of Cyprus.
Silvia Barquero, the director of Animal Equality Spain, said she understood that many animals were already dead and any still alive would be “suffering a real hell”.
Official veterinary inspections of both ships had been due to take place late last week in Cyprus and Sardinia, but neither ship approached shore to allow vets on board.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Spain’s agriculture ministry described the ships’ plight as a “failed operation by a Spanish exporter, who was going to sell the animals in Turkey, then tried unsuccessfully to sell them in Libya”. The spokesperson did not respond to questions about animal numbers, conditions on the ships or possible next steps.
The spokesperson added that the Karim Allah, “now arriving in Cartagena, left Spain with animals that had the corresponding health certificates and which were from areas free of bluetongue. The animals therefore left the port of Cartagena in good health.”
Last week, the ministry said the Elbeik, which left from the Spanish port of Tarragona, was also carrying cattle from bluetongue-free areas.
Maria Boada Saña, a vet with NGO Animal Welfare Foundation, said she feared that at least 100 animals on the Karim Allah were already dead.
“The Karim Allah arrived Sunday night at Cartagena, sailing away from a planned veterinary inspection Saturday morning in Sardinia,” she said.
She added that a Spanish agriculture ministry source said that although the ship was in Spanish waters, it had not yet requested entry to Cartagena port.
“That means we have no idea right now if animals are alive or dead,” said Boada Saña. “Other sources, though, have told me the Karim Allah has not asked for animal feed. To me, the way it sailed away from an inspection, the way it is waiting and not asking for food probably means most of the animals are dead.”
Dead animals would have to be removed from the ship by hoist and the operation could take at least a day, or much longer, depending on numbers, said Genoa-based lawyer Manuela Giacomini.
In a related development, a Spanish government source confirmed that Cartagena port had temporarily suspended the departure of livestock ships until the Karim Allah docks. The vessel continues to be anchored in front of the harbour and the decision to enter the port was up to the owner of the ship, the source added.
Prof Kristen Stilt, director of Harvard’s animal law and policy programme, who is writing a book about the transport of live animals, said it was an inherent risk with live transport that the animals would be rejected at their destination port.
Once labelled as rejected, Stilt said it was “very likely that no other country [would] accept them, as we are now seeing with the two vessels at sea with calves from Spain”.
Another problem for crew and livestock, she said, was the absence of an international arbiter that could assess claims of disease and make a binding determination. The result, she said, was “usually catastrophic in terms of loss of animal lives”.
Dutch MEP Anja Hazekamp said “the only way to stop animal cruelty related to animal transport” was to introduce a total ban on the export of live animals outside the EU.
“Both vessels concerned have EU certificate approvals, which means that they can load European animals and send them to third countries, such as Libya, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia,” she said. “In total there are around 80 vessels with such a certificate.”
Sign up for the Animals farmed monthly update to get a roundup of the best farming and food stories across the world and keep up with our investigations. And you can send us your stories and thoughts at animalsfarmed@theguardian.com.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
From:
FRIENDS OF THE WISCONSIN WOLF & WILDLIFE
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
South Korean Meat Dogs.
View the latest newsletter and actions to take via the following links. \Please watch the video as it shows the reality of what a disgusting animal abuse situation this is.
https://r.newsletter.koreandogs.org/ajc350odtht7e.html?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign=_Dogs_left_to_starve_and_freeze_to_death_on_dog_farm_in_Yeoju_Take_action_to_stop_the_unimaginable_cruelty_TODAY!_&utm_medium=email https://r.newsletter.koreandogs.org/ajcsf8odtht7e.html?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign=_Daegu_Chilseong_Dog_Meat_Market_slaughters_dogs_while_you_wait__Help_stop_the_cruelty_to_our_loving_friends!_&utm_medium=email
Below – ‘Mr Do Nothing – but give False Promises’
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
From our campaigner friends at Animals Australia.
People power stops new live export business in its tracks
A plan to begin exporting live animals from Namibia to Kuwait has been quashed thanks to a united, global effort drawing attention to the suffering caused by the trade.
The idea that when one door closes another opens, is mostly reassuring. But when it comes to the global live export trade, this universal truth is the reason we need to remain ever vigilant. You see, as countries have become clued-up to the cruelty inherent to live export — and widespread opposition to it — live exporters have found it harder to shore up business.
When Australia restricted sheep exports during the dangerous northern summer months, exporters knocked on Romania’s door. And Animals Australia was there. When Romania began questioning the trade, they went to South Africa. Again, we were already there. When South Africa’s NSPCA took the battle to stop the trade all the way to the High Court, it was abundantly clear: this global trade in animal cruelty is well and truly matched by a global effort to stop it.
From Australia to New Zealand to Brazil to South Africa and to dozens of countries throughout Europe — there is a powerful, international collaboration of groups and individuals working together to save animals from this ruthless industry.
And it’s a compassionate effort that has just paid off in Namibia, with new plans to begin live export from the Southern African nation put on hold indefinitely.
The business plan put forward by Tradeport Namibia proposed to import 70,000 live sheep, 50,000 goats and 5,000 cattle from South Africa and Botswana for live export from Namibia to Kuwait.
As exposé after exposé has revealed — it’s a sea journey fraught with risk for the animals who would be confined in cramped and stressful conditions for weeks before facing terrifying fully conscious slaughter upon arrival.
A rapid-fire public and media education campaign was launched in Namibia to highlight the reality of live export for the animals. In its submission objecting to the business plan, Namibia’s SPCA noted that the trade undermines Namibian laws and standards and that allowing live export would:
And the warnings have been heeded. In announcing that plans to export live animals would be ‘put on ice’, Tradeport Namibia noted the strong opposition, locally and internationally, to the export of live animals and that the company did not want to be involved in a business that will attract widespread outrage.
A united global front is turning the tide on live export. We don’t always win, but we are always there. And every action you take to support these efforts takes us another step towards shutting the door on this industry, for good.
Check it out in full via:
People power stops new live export business in its tracks | Animals Australia
Regards Mark
Power to all the good people !
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
WAV Comment – we are covering a lot at the moment re live exports. This is not current news but goes back to November 2019 when the ‘Queen Hind’ sank shortly after leaving the port of Midia in Romania; allegedly carrying 14,600 destined for slaughter in Saudi Arabia.
For information; it would appear that several secret decks were found on the vessel during attempts at salvage; and that in fact, many more sheep had been carried to those declared officially. Naturally, Romania has denied this, and the EU being the EU, has dragged its heels in every respect with regard to getting official information about this.
The only information to emerge since the sinking has been the discovery of secret compartments onboard with dead animals inside, by the company hired to remove the ship from the water.
Read more at:
We have no faith in the Romanian system or what its government says. They are certainly not the best animal welfare nation on the planet. With our experience in live animal transport, we would have no surprise whatsoever that additional (secret) decks were fitted into the vessel; simply to increase numbers and to obtain more profit. Was overloading due to the secret decks the reason that the Queen Hind capsized shortly after leaving Midia, we ask ?
Have a read of the information and links to that we have supplied below. If we ever witness the EU taking action against Romania regarding this incident then it could be considered progress. When everyone keeps quiet and ‘below deck’ about the realities, it could be said that there is a cover up. Please read the info and make your own decisions.
Despite promises from the Romanian government that the results of the capsize will be published on the Ministry website; our search today (24/2/21) has still revealed nothing.
Regards Mark
Discovery by salvage divers off Romania raises new questions over EU exports of live animals
Secret decks for extra animals have been found in a livestock carrier that sank off the Romanian port of Midia in November drowning thousands of sheep, according to the company carrying out the massive salvage operation.
Only 180 sheep survived out of the 14,600 initially believed to have been onboard the Queen Hind, which was carrying them from Romania, the EU’s biggest exporter of the animal, to Saudi Arabia.
But the revelations about secret decks are likely to increase the death toll by several thousands, and raise fresh questions on whether overloading was to blame for the capsize.
The vessel was left on its side in the water as it sank not far from port, with sheep corpses piling up around it. Images of the tragedy made headlines worldwide and led to renewed calls by animal activists to impose a ban on live exports from Europe to non-EU countries, particularly the Middle East and north Africa.
The Romanian national daily Adevărul reported on Sunday that the firm that won the auction to bring the vessel to shore, Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP Offshore), made its first attempt on Saturday but operations were halted after the crane’s cables were unable to bear the load.
Gabriel Comănescu, GSP’s president, was quoted by Adevărul as saying that “during the operation, the divers entered the water, [and] found additional decks.
These additional decks also have animals on board”.
Comănescu added: “There are decks not included in the cargo plan, they are undeclared. It is the problem of the authorities to find out why they were loaded and why they were not included in the cargo plan. It’s a big question. There is a much larger load than over 14,000 sheep.”
Gabriel Paun, of Animals International, said the revelation “confirms our initial suspicion that the vessel capsized because of overloading”. He added: “We are outraged that this came out from the company bringing the vessel back to the shore and not from the Romanian government itself.”
Animals International said it will file complaints to the EU commission and the Romanian prosecutor’s anti-corruption department.
“[GSP] came with the right equipment last week and they tried to lift it up with a crane and bring it to the shore,” Paun said. “They had calculated that the ship was full of water and animals, so they were prepared to lift more [weight] but still the cables broke.”
He had been told that the head of the company had sent down divers to investigate, and discovered secret decks loaded with thousands of animals.
Brian da Cal, UK director at the animal welfare organisation Four Paws, said he feared that the death of thousands of sheep could have been avoided.
“The allegations regarding hidden decks on the ship are of huge concern and strengthens our calls for an outright ban of long-distance transports of live animals and a maximum of eight hours transportation duration. No matter how strict the rules may be and how tragic this accident is, mass deaths like this are becoming more common.”
He said Four Paws was able to rescue 254 sheep from the half-sunken ship but several died later of exhaustion and injuries – 180 survived and are now being kept in a location north of Bucharest.
Paun said: “We’re saying that Romanian authorities are not to be trusted because this vessel has been inspected by the Romanian government [and] they’ve missed the extra decks which were not in the cargo plan.”
Paun said Romania exports about 3 million sheep annually. European live animal exports rose from a value of $1bn (£800m) in 2000 to $3.3bn in 2018.
An official from the Romanian national veterinary and food safety authority, in comments carried by Adevărul, appeared to dismiss the allegations and said the vessel was heavier because “dead sheep do not have the same weight as the live ones”.
A border police spokesman also dismissed the story as speculation.
The Guardian has contacted MGM Marine Shipping, the management company behind the Queen Hind, for comment. The Romanian embassy was also approached.
Secret decks found on ship that capsized killing thousands of sheep | Romania | The Guardian
More…
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/extra-decks-found-on-capsized-livestock-carrier
Extra Decks Found on Capsized Livestock Carrier
Salvors working on the capsized livestock carrier Queen Hind claim they have found extra decks on the vessel.
The Palau-flagged Queen Hind capsized shortly after departing the Port of Midia in Romania on November 24 last year. While the crew escaped safely, only 180 of 14,600 sheep were saved. Salvors Grup Servizi Petroliere (GSP) claim that there could have been more sheep lost, as divers found that the extra decks had animals on board.
Divers were sent to investigate after cranes were unable to lift the vessel as planned. Cables snapped under the extra weight which could mean that several thousand more sheep were onboard than previously reported. The salvors claim the extra decks were not documented on the cargo loading plan.
The claim that extra sheep were on board has been disputed. Local media reports cite an official saying that the salvors may not have accounted for the extra weight of water-logged sheep; the salvors dispute this. Additionally, it has been noted that exact counts of sheep are not made at boarding.
The Guardian reports Gabriel Paun, a spokesperson for Animals International, saying the vessel was suspected to have capsized due to overloading. Animals International plans to make a formal complaint to the European Commission about the case.
https://safety4sea.com/secret-decks-found-on-capsized-livestock-carrier-off-romania/
Secret decks found on capsized livestock carrier off Romania
Casualties | 05/02/20
The livestock carrier was heading from Romania to Saudi Arabia, when it overturned just off Midia Port, Romania, on 24 November, with approximately 14,600 sheep and 22 crew members onboard. The crew was saved but only 180 sheep survived.
However, the recent revelations by the salvage company on extra decks are likely to increase the death toll by several thousands, and raise fresh questions on whether overloading was to blame for the capsize, The Guardian reports.
In particular, the salvage firm Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP Offshore), halted operations Saturday, after the crane’s cables were unable to bear the load, the Romanian national daily Adevărul reported.
As such, the divers entered the water and found additional decks, which also had animals onboard, Gabriel Comănescu, GSP’s president, was quoted as saying.
There are decks not included in the cargo plan, they are undeclared. It is the problem of the authorities to find out why they were loaded and why they were not included in the cargo plan. It’s a big question. There is a much larger load than over 14,000 sheep,
…he stressed.
Meanwhile, this news re-surges initial suspicions that the incident occurred due to overloading.
In light of this, animal welfare organization Animals International said it will file complaints to the EU commission and the Romanian prosecutor’s anti-corruption department.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Foto: Miguel Roberts/dpa
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Project Jonah volunteers tried to pull the pilot whales back into the water on Monday Source: AFP / HANDOUT
The scientists suspect that the animals have orientation problems as a reason for stranding or that animals want to come to the aid of their previously stranded conspecifics. Source: dpa / New Zealand Doc, Matt Nalder
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | 1 Comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
From ‘The Guardian’, London – brilliant as always.
Our (WAV) recent posts on this:
EU sends sick cattle to Libya – World Animals Voice
Thanks to Jane for the latest.
Concern mounts for welfare of more than 2,500 livestock on two vessels off Italy and Cyprus after bluetongue outbreak
Thousands of cattle remain stranded at sea on two livestock ships that left Spain in mid-December, as campaigners desperately seek veterinary support for the animals.
The two vessels were bound for Libya but owing to an onboard outbreak of the bovine disease bluetongue were refused entry at multiple ports, said Maria Boada Saña, a vet with Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), which has been tracking the ships via maritime websites.
On 19 February the website myshiptracking.com showed one of the ships, the Elbeik, anchored off the coast of Cyprus, and the other, Karim Allah, off the coast of Sardinia. The vessels left the Spanish ports of Tarragona and Cartagena on 18 December respectively.
A spokesperson for Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said the ships’ situation had “nothing to do with the actions of the Spanish administration” and had left the country with health certificates and had come from areas free of bluetongue.
They added that officials were monitoring the vessels’ movements and were in contact with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the European commission “to find a solution to the situation”. A spokesperson for the commission said the Spanish authorities were willing to receive both ships back.
Boada Saña said marine traffic websites indicated that the Elbeik had about 1,700 cattle on board and the Karim Allah almost 900. The Spanish authorities did not respond to questions about animal numbers.
Given the Karim Allah’s proximity to Italy, Manuela Giacomini, a Genoa-based lawyer who works with AWF, said she filed a request with the Italian health ministry asking it to perform an urgent veterinary inspection of the ship in collaboration with Sardinia’s port state authority in Cagliari.
Olga Kikou, the head of Compassion in World Farming EU, lodged a similar request that asked the Cypriot authorities to arrange an urgent inspection of the Elbeik.
Cyprus’s chief veterinary officer said the Elbeik was being monitored, adding that when the vessel approached Cypriot waters, the country’s authorities would “proceed accordingly with checking this case”.
Kikou, who is in Greece, said the most immediate priority was that veterinary services boarded the ships to “check the animals and euthanatise any that are suffering. The conditions inside the ship cannot be good after two months. And then a solution needs to be found between the different authorities to determine next steps for any animals that can be saved.”
An email from the the International Maritime Organization said its seafarer crisis action team was aware of the situation and that it was concerned for the “wellbeing of seafarers and the safety of navigation [and] in this case also the livestock”.
Asked for comment on the two ships, the OIE said in an email that it was “in contact with the concerned member countries and also with our regional offices” to “minimise negative impact on animal welfare during transport operations and emphasise the joint responsibility of all people involved in the different stages of the transport”.
Tilly Metz, the Luxembourg MEP who chairs the European parliament’s animal transport inquiry committee, said this was “yet another live animal transport scandal involving ships. After the 2019 tragedy of the [Queen Hind] ship, which capsized with 14,000 sheep on board, now allegedly over 2,600 bovines [are] stuck on two vessels wandering from port to port in search of help. How can it be that there is no contingency plan in case of diseases or other unforeseen events?”
Metz said a key animal transport problem was that time spent on the ship was considered “resting time” and not “transport time”.
“This means there is no limit as to how many hours animals can be on these ships: days, weeks, even months. Many consider this to be a legal anomaly and a loophole in the rules on the protection of animals during transport,” she added.
This case, she said, “proves again a ship is not a floating stable. It is an unnatural, often stressful, overloaded and understaffed environment, with inherent risks such as disease outbreaks, feed shortages and refusals to unload”.
Attempts to contact the ships owners and operators by phone were unsuccessful.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | 2 Comments »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Health experts call for regular testing of staff and animals after coronavirus found at 400 breeding units across Europe
All mink farms are at risk of becoming infected with Covid-19 and spreading the virus, and staff and animals should be regularly tested, EU disease and food safety experts said on Thursday.
Mink are highly susceptible to coronavirus, which spreads rapidly in intensive farms that often breed thousands of animals in open housing caged systems (outdoor wire cages covered with a roof). Humans are the most likely initial source of infection.
Denmark, the world’s largest exporter of mink fur, announced that it would cull up to 15 million mink in November, after discovering a mutated variant of the virus that scientists feared might have jeopardised the effectiveness of future vaccines.
As of January 2021, the virus had been found at 400 mink farms in at least eight countries in the EU and European Economic Area – 290 in Denmark, 69 in the Netherlands, 17 in Greece, 13 in Sweden, three in Spain, two in Lithuania and one each in France and Italy.
While mink-related variant viruses were a risk to human health, experts from the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) concluded in a new report that, “so far these have not shown to be more transmissible or causing more severe impact compared to other circulating Sars-CoV-2”.
The World Health Organization warned this week that the risk of Covid-19 spreading from fur farms to humans and wildlife remained high.
EU experts have now called for weekly testing of animals at all mink farms and frequent testing of everyone in contact with the creatures to ensure the early detection of infection and reduce the risk of disease spread. As mink are usually farmed in open housing systems, the close contact between the animals may help spread infectious diseases.
A number of countries, including Denmark and Sweden, have suspended mink farming after outbreaks of Covid-19. And in the US, officials have recommended workers on US mink farms be given a Covid vaccine as a priority. Breeders expect that a vaccine, currently in development, will be available to use on mink in April or May.
Mark Oaten, CEO of the International Fur Federation, said he supported the testing of workers and mink, “as long as it is reasonable”, but he opposed weekly testing. “It might be that you do more regular testing in areas where Sars-CoV-2 has been detected, and less in areas with no infection. It is not a one-size-fits-all. It would depend on the density of farms in the area too.”
Mink producers said the price of pelts was rising despite fears around Covid-19 and calls for a ban on fur farming to reduce the risk of disease spread.
“We don’t see any further threat to the fur industry from Covid-19 and the price of pelts is rising. It is at about $30 (£21) per pelt and we expect it to be about $40 by this time next year. We are beginning to feel there may have been an overreaction in Denmark [in terms of the Covid related cull],” said Finnish fur auctioneer Magnus Ljung, the CEO of Saga Furs.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Demand for cow’s milk is declining and plant-alternatives sales have surged…
As public opinion continues to shift, increasing numbers of people are falling out of love with dairy products. Enter Februdairy…
Recent years have seen a significant shift in consumer attitude towards dairy, as more people understand the environmental, health and animal welfare issues associated with the industry.
The UK is now drinking 50 percent less milk than they were in 1974, according to a report by Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
The UK’s leading vegan campaigning charity, Viva!, has investigated countless British dairy farms and exposed the brutal reality of the industry – helping many people make the switch to dairy-free.
An increasing number of dairy-alternatives are widely available including cheeses, yogurts, milks, and chocolates. Most supermarkets have their own ranges of vegan food – proving these products are big business.
Although the milk market is much bigger, valued at over £3 billion, demand for cow’s milk is declining and plant-alternative sales have surged 10 percent over the past two years.
It’s undeniable, dairy-free sales are booming and show no signs of slowing down. Considering these factors, it comes as no surprise that the dairy industry is desperately trying to claw its way back into public favor.
Februdairy is a social media campaign created by the dairy industry in a desperate attempt to boost sales and portray dairy in a more favorable light. This is the industry’s fourth annual campaign and is pitched as a direct response to Veganuary.
This year Veganuary announced a record number of sign-ups with a whopping 400,000 people going vegan for a month. Milk producers, pro-dairy consumers, and industry experts, are encouraged to create and share pro-dairy content during the month of February on social media using the hashtag #Februdairy.
When the campaign launched in February 2017, the vegan community commandeered the hashtag to highlight the darker side of the dairy industry, where pain and suffering is an everyday occurrence.
Social media has played an instrumental role in the rise of veganism. It’s clear vegans are well versed in using it as a platform to educate and inform others.
A slew of animal rights advocates and groups such as Viva!, Animal Equality, and Animal Aid, use Februdairy as an opportunity to expose the cold-hard facts surrounding dairy production .
This doesn’t go down well with the dairy industry….
Februdairy: A Desperate Attempt To Promote The Declining Dairy Industry (plantbasednews.org)
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Norbert says: I’m a wildlife manager
Conservationist Animal rights activist butcher Hygiene specialist Veterinarians Dog leader ecologist biologist Epidemiologist Snipers police officer |
He has worked hard to achieve this 2000 for the hunting license 8 hours of nature conservation 4 learning hours of hygiene law 4 hours of study on wildlife diseases 4 lessons “everything about dogs” 16 hours of learning hunting law 02 lessons in gun law And of course weapons, binoculars, etc. |
He now shoots the four-legged family members of others.
He controls and instructs others in the forest
He pays no dog tax and is a dog expert
He gets a 25% new car discount
He tells other epidemiological tales of rabies, owls, and fox tapeworms
He rescues fawns and shoots them four months later
He is suing photographers who use telephoto lenses to disrupt wildlife
Norbert is a nature and animal rights activist
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
The inhabitants of more than 100 villages are being impacted by the PHC oil palm plantations (© RIAO-RDC)
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Read it all here:
Report: We urgently need to move to plant-based diets | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
The new short film Moving Animals documents the excruciating journey animals face in their transport from factory farms to slaughterhouses.
Produced by We Animals Media, the film follows the work of award-winning photojournalist and author Jo-Anne McArthur. McArthur has spent over a decade documenting the horrors animals endure around the globe. She welcomes viewers into her world:
Join me as I climb transport trucks, and stay quietly and diligently with animals as they go to slaughter. Join me in the dusty roads and at my little hotel room editing desk, as Miguel and I discuss animals, animal photojournalism, and ultimately, kindness.
Animals suffer long, grueling journeys to slaughter, up to 28 hours in the United States, with no food or water. And transport trucks are not built to protect animals from harsh weather. During summer, temperatures in the trucks rise to well over 100°F. Many animals suffer heat stress, asphyxiation, and heart attacks.
In winter, farmed animals endure below-freezing conditions and are exposed to snow, rain, and frigid winds. Some die from hypothermia, and others even freeze to the floors or sides of truck beds. McArthur stated:
We have enough photos in the world of beautiful wildlife. We get it. It’s time to show the harsh reality of how the rest are living.
Shot and produced by filmmaker Miguel Endara, Moving Animals focuses on the plight of cows. The film documents cows so weak from long journeys that they can’t even lift their heads. McArthur captures heartbreaking images of desperate cows sticking their tongues through the bars of a truck in an attempt to eat the leaves off a nearby tree.
According to McArthur, when she started documenting farmed animals 10 to 15 years ago, no one was interested in her stories. Now, she is seeing concern for animals making its way into mainstream newspapers around the world.
We can all help spread awareness of animal suffering. Share this powerful film with your friends and family, and follow We Animals on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Of course, the best thing we can do for animals is choose plant-based food. Download our free Vegetarian Starter Guide to learn how.
New Film Details Animals’ Harrowing Journey to Slaughter (chooseveg.com)
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Help the elephants! Public consultation on new EU measures to ban trade in ivory
16 February 2021
On January 28th the European Commission published draft measures aimed to effectively ban EU trade in ivory.
The draft Commission regulation and guidance are now open for final public feedback before being adopted by the Commission. The period of public feedback will last until 25 February 2021.
Across Europe, ivory continues to be traded online, in auction houses and markets. The EU and Japan are among the last countries with large, legal domestic ivory markets, while other major markets in the USA, China and the UK are now closed or in the process of closing.
Luckily, there is wide support in the EU for the closure of domestic elephant ivory markets, from the EU Council to the European Parliament, and among EU citizens and civil society.
Help the elephants and take part in the EC public consultation.
You have time until February 25th
The European Commission has the mandate to introduce comprehensive measures aimed at closing the EU domestic ivory market, thereby showing global leadership. Only by so doing, the EU will remove any financial value from ivory, reduce the opportunity for new ivory to be laundered through legal markets, and send a clear message to the rest of the world that the EU no longer considers ivory a commodity.
We therefore welcome the European Commission’s draft measures to ban the ivory trade in the European Union (EU) and urge the EU and its Member States to support and implement them without further delays.
We would nevertheless like to highlight the following recommendations for the European Commission’s public consultation:
Read more about Wildlife trade and trafficking.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
App development and digital product company, 3 SIDED CUBE recently conducted a survey with over 2,000 people to provide insights into the public’s opinions and motivations with respect to sustainability and the data found that six in 10 Brits are thinking of switching to sustainability due to David Attenborough and over a third of Brits are avoiding animal products due to his recent film ‘A Life On Our Planet‘ as well as other documentaries like James The Game Changers, famously backed by James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Premiering on Netflix late last year, the WWF and Silverback Films co-produced documentary presents an important message from nonagenarian broadcaster and natural historian Attenborough that humans must make drastic changes to their diets in order to save the planet.
In the trailer for ‘A Life On Our Planet’, Attenborough explains that the films aims to raise awareness among people about the rate at which global warming is happening and press upon the message that the time to act is now. “I had the most extraordinary life. It’s only now I appreciate how extraordinary. The living world is a unique and spectacular marvel. Yet, the way we humans live on earth is sending it into a decline. Human needs have overrun the world.”
Findings from the survey show that Attenborough is right at the top (59%) when it comes to encouraging consumers to be sustainable and shift to a plant-based diet. Over half of British consumers (51%) also feel pressure from wider society and four in 10 (40%) give young Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg credit for helping them switch to sustainable choices in their personal life.
Apart from Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet documentary, data found that the 2018 documentary film about the benefits of plant-based eating for athletes, The Game Changersbacked by James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger was also responsible for people in the U.K. to avoid animal products.
According to a report by the WWF, stopping animal meat consumption by 50% would not only reduce carbon emissions but also save 12,000 species per year as well as 1.72 million square miles of land.
A majority of Brits (77%) understand the importance of changing their lifestyle to become greener with 73% of consumers agreeing that businesses too have a responsibility to minimize their environmental impact and 64% urging the government to frame a new legislation that will ensure that businesses give details about their environmental footprint on the products they’re offering.
In an interview with Plant Based News, 3 SIDED CUBE managing director Richard Strachan mentioned that with influential figures coming ahead to talk about sustainability, the general public is motivated to follow in their footsteps. “Thanks to influential public figures such as David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, Brits are taking the climate crisis much more seriously now. Now is the time to come together and tackle the crisis wholeheartedly. It is not just up to governments; it is up to businesses and consumers as well.”
Data from the poll further found that 61% would like an app to help them make more sustainable buying decisions and 50% call for an app to calculate and understand their personal carbon footprint with more than half of respondents agreeing that technology can be vital for living a sustainable life.
Discussing how this new data will help them in the Ignite program, Strachan added: “These findings show a clear case for the use of technology, specifically apps, to boost sustainable behaviour change and environmental protection initiatives. The technological tools to help consumers be greener are available to us, we just need to start developing and using them as soon as possible. This is why we have launched Ignite. Through this technology, we can empower consumers, businesses and NGOs to help protect ecosystems, be smarter with energy usage, and reduce our carbon footprints. The Ignite program is wholly dedicated to bringing organisations together on these issues and making these apps a reality.”
Attenborough also released another documentary, Extinction: The Factsthat talks about mass biodiversity loss and the consequences that the world will face as a result. Over the course of the one-hour program, Attenborough takes viewers on a journey through scenes of destruction due to activities conducted by humans on Earth.
Another noteworthy mention in a list of sustainable films to watch is Craig Leeson’s documentary A Plastic Ocean and his upcoming The Last Glaciers, and you can check out his interview here where he shares his journey from writing to filmmaking as well as throwing light on the world’s most pressing issues and what can be done to protect the planet, and ultimately, save humankind.
If you’re looking for an app to track your personal carbon footprint, you can check out Singapore-based startup Capture that has created an app that helps users keep track of their climate footprint from their everyday transportation choices, and offsetting their impact through forestry planting projects across the globe.
And if you need an easier way to buy plant-based alternative products, check out this new mobile app FoodForage, which is developed to help vegans and individuals looking to buy plant-based alternative products and offers a feature where you can share your findings with the community.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
When it comes to skincare, you deserve the absolute best. From facials and lotions, to washes, mists, and everything in between, your skin is meant to feel soft, healthy, and glowy all the time. There are so many different skincare products out there claiming to offer these results but feature ingredients that you’ve never heard of, can’t pronounce or have no idea if they actually work. There has to be an easier way to figure out which product is right for your skin needs, right?
Read it all at:
Pholk Beauty Black-Owned Skincare | HelloBeautiful
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Korean Dogs – the dog meat business.
Read the latest newsletter, complete with many actions, by visiting
Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE) is trying to rescue dogs from two illegal dog farms in Gimpo, South Korea. These dogs were left alone to survive on completely rotten and molded food waste that appears to be at least 10 – 20 days old. Scattered among the living dogs were the bodies of those that had already died. CARE came with another dog rescue group You Sachun but the farm owner is nowhere to be found. CARE had received an agreement from one of the dog farms that they would relinquish their dogs yesterday, but the second farm is the one with even more dogs trying to survive in even more horrific conditions, and there is no relinquish agreement with that farm owner. If not rescued soon, it is unknown how long these dogs can survive. This dog farm is no better than a grave for the dogs; these poor animals are so desperate they cried out when they saw the CARE rescuers, begging to be saved. It’s suspected that dogs at some government shelters, instead of being euthanized, were illegally brought here. There are all kinds of dogs here including the dogs who had vocal cord removal surgery. Despite the request for help, the City of Gimpo and the Gyeonggi-do Special Police never showed up. CARE and You Sachun will use all means possible to save the dogs. They are asking us to file a protest with the city of Gimpo and Gyeonggi-do province to help with the removal of these dogs from this dog farm. There are about 60 dogs to be rescued and CARE and You Sachun will try to rescue all of them, provide medical care, and find homes for them. Click HERE to learn more. |
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »