Below you can see the latest court / trial updates to the situation in Canada regarding Luka Magnotta.
– March 2013:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/member-of-luka-magnotta-s-legal-team-withdraws-1.1194668
Our SAV past posts associated with this case:
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http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/13/world/asia/pigs-china-river/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
By Madison Park and Dayu Zhang, CNN
March 14, 2013 — Updated 0518 GMT (1318 HKT)
Hong Kong (CNN) — A Chinese farm admitted to dumping dead pigs into Huangpu River, which had about 6,000 bloated carcasses pulled from its water this week, state media reported.
The pig farm in Jiaxing City said it dumped carcasses in the Huangpu River, raising concerns about the quality of water supply.
The labels in the ears of the pigs indicated the city as their birthplace, according to Xinhua, the Chinese state-run news agency. The city is south of Shanghai, in the Zhejiang Province.
Earlier, local Chinese media had suggested the dead pigs had come from the area with local officials blaming dumping on “local pig farmers who lack awareness of laws and regulations.”
The city’s government said a total of 70,000 pigs died from “crude raising techniques and extreme weather” at the beginning of the year, according to Xinhua. But it also insisted that the collected corpses were disposed safely.
The selling of diseased pigs appears to be a bigger problem in the area as on Wednesday, a court in Zhejiang Province, issued prison sentences for 46 people convicted of selling meat from diseased pigs, Xinhua said.
The sentences ranged from six months to 6 and a half years in prison, the report said.
Shanghai water concerns
The “dead pig dumping scandal” in Shanghai has been growing since Friday, Xinhua reported.
Chinese officials have said they expect to find more carcasses in the river — but they insist the Shanghai water is fine.
The scandal has incredulous residents one-upping each other on the country’s popular microblog service, Sina Weibo.
“Since when is finding dead rotting pigs in a major river not a public health problem?” Weibo user, xxx asked. ” Answer: When this happens in China.”
A report in the Shanghai Daily newspaper earlier Wednesday said that no pollution had been found in the river.
“Since apparently, the water has not been contaminated, big leaders, please go ahead and have the first drink,” Weibo user,@_Nina_Burbage quipped.
However, a later water sample was found to contain a porcine circovirus, Xinhua said.
The World Health Organization says there are two types of porcine circoviruses, but neither is known to cause disease in humans.
An official from a Shanghai water plant was quoted in Xinhua saying, “If the water is contaminated, we will put more the disinfectants and activated carbon to purify the water.”
‘Dead pigs all around’
Sanitation workers, clad in masks and plastic suits, have been fishing the bruised pig bodies surfacing in the Huangpu River. The pink, decomposing blobs have wreaked foul odors and alarmed residents.
“There were dead pigs all around and they really stunk,” one local resident told CNN. “Of course, we’re worried, but what can you do about it? It’s water that we have to drink anduse.”
If the water treatment process is very effective and can handle the sudden glut of contaminants, it’s possible to minimize the impact, said Julian Fyfe, a senior research consultant specializing in water quality at the University of Technology Sydney.
However, “most treatment plants would not be designed to accommodate that level of shock loading. It’s such an unusual event,” he added.
Fyfe spoke in general terms about water quality issues, as he is not involved with Shanghai’s water treatment.
“If they are chlorinating heavily, which a lot of places may do, especially if they’ve got a very polluted water body to start with, then the effects could potentially be small,” Fyfe said.
Pig corpses that have been in the water for days would leak blood, intestinal fluids and other pollutants, which could alter the taste and color of tap water.
Many residents have begun drinking bottled water due to fears of contamination, according to the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper.
Ripe for satire
The agricultural commission in China said it had tested organ samples from the pigs and the results suggested the animals had contracted a porcine circovirus.
On Tuesday, national officials acknowledged the pig incident in a press conference Tuesday.
“According to monitoring statistics, there’s no evidence to show that there’s an outbreak of any major animal epidemics,” said Chen Xiaohua, the national vice minister of agriculture. “But in the meantime, the incident shows how we need to improve our work in the future.”
The situation appeared ripe for satire.
A movie poster for “Life of Pi” was doctored and replaced with “Life of Pigs,” with the main character’s boat filled with dead pigs, and the water dotted with the bruised corpses.
One weibo user joked: “I finally figured out why drinking boiled water makes me gain weight — because it is in fact pork soup!”
Local authorities say they’re looking into how the pigs ended up in the river.
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RAINFOREST ACTION ALERT PLEASE SEND, SHARE, LIKE, FORWARD!
Massive Chinese Dam Threatens Cambodia’s Cardamom Rainforests
By Rainforest Portal a project of Ecological Internet: http://www.rainforestportal.org/ with John Seed, Rainforest Information Centre: http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/
March 14, 2013
TAKE ACTION to ensure Cambodia’s Cardamom rainforests remain standing:
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/sendsm.aspx?id=cambodia_dam
The Areng Valley in the Cardamom Mountains of south-west Cambodia is threatened with flooding by a Chinese hydropower dam. This biodiversity gem – home of the Siamese crocodile and indigenous Khmer Daeum – is to be destroyed for a relatively small amount of electricity. Standing large, connected, and ecologically intact old-growth forests are required for local and global ecological sustainability and well-being.
Please send the following alerts to protect old-growth rainforests as well:
Tell Avon, New Jersey: Old-Growth Rainforest Boardwalks Cause Abrupt Climate Change
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/sendsm.aspx?id=rainforest_boardwalk
Protest Tasmanian Old-Growth Logging in Proposed World Heritage Area
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/sendsm.aspx?id=tasmania_forests
Ecuador Tribe Will “Die Fighting” to Defend Rainforest #IdleNoMore
http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/sendsm.aspx?id=ecuador_oil
—
Please support Ecological Internet’s campaigns to protect and restore old
forests at http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/donate/
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, LETTERS | Leave a comment »
For explanation: the here used term “Swabia” refers to Baden-Wuerttemberg, with Stuttgart as its capital.
It is interesting to note that there is no mention of other “game”, which is also shot in high numbers in Germany and consumed (except for foxes, where the fur is used) – sold via local shops and in local restaurants. Deer also dig for food at this time of year. The following pics have been taken in the local forest (Southern Germany).
Below – The remains of locally shot boar/deer – Jan. and Feb. 2013.
Normally only the head, legs and skin is discarded in the waste bins.
The meat is sold locally by shops for human consumption and also used in local restaurants.
12.03.13
Even 27 years after the reactor catastrophe at Tschernobyl the effects are measurable. After a boar hunt near Augsburg all shot animals had to be disposed of: the sows very heavily contaminated.
Wild boars in the forest. By foraging for food they plough through the ground. There, especially in mushrooms, a lot of radioactivity is still concentrated.
37 radioactive Swabian wild boar make the Greens feel uneasy. The animals had recently been shot during a “Saujagd” (boar hunt) near the city of Augsburg. All 37 were afterwards disposed of due to a too high exposure dose, said Christine Kamm, with the Augsburg Green party.
The readings came up with Caesium-137 values of 10,000 becquerel per kilogram. From 600 becquerel onwards game is declared unfit for consumption, said a representative of the Augsburg regional environmental authority.
The reactor catastrophe at Tschernobyl in 1986 is still considered the main source for Caesium pollution. The radioactive metered values for the recently shot 37 sows are even higher than those of previous measurements, said Kamm. “The values rise, although the radioactive half-life of Caesium is 30 years”:
The Greens intend to submit an inquiry to the state parliament in order to find out if Swabian sows are a special case and how many radioactively contaminated animals have been shot in the last 5 years. Boars shot during hunts must be presented to a certified measuring body – unless the hunter intends to consume the meat himself.
The high level of contamination of these 37 Swabian boars may also have seasonal reasons. Caesium-37 is measured for the most part in the surface soil of the forest, said a representative of the environmental authority. In years with a good food supply the boars ate mostly acorns and beech nuts. In bad years the boars took to ploughing through the ground looking for mushrooms. “This can lead to fluctuation between years”.
The state authority conducts radioactivity measurements of its own within the framework of the precautionary radiation protection legislation (Strahlenschutzvorsorgegesetz). From 1st of March 2012 to 1st of March 2013 only 12 of 136 examined sows tested positive for elevated radiation. One of the animals came from Swabia, the other 11 from Bavaria.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering) | Leave a comment »
The RSPCA has campaigned for ‘cruelty-free’ cosmetics for 30 years and from 11th March 2013, new EU legislation will ban the sale of cosmetics which have been newly tested on animals within the European Union. This means that multinational companies can’t avoid a test ban in the EU by carrying out tests in other countries – if their products or ingredients have been newly tested on animals then they cannot be sold in the EU, no matter where in the world testing took place.
This ban is a landmark for animals and we hope it will send the message to other countries, and to companies operating outside the EU, that animal testing in the name of beauty is not acceptable.
Amid pressure from parts of the cosmetics industry to delay the ban, EU Commissioner Borg, who has responsibility for this area did not waiver. This ban will no doubt spare the suffering of many animals, if you would like to thank Commissioner Borg on their behalf, please do so by using the form below…
Please email Commissioner Borg to thank him
From the RSPCA:
Dear Supporter,
It’s finally here! It’s almost 30 years since the RSPCA began campaigning for ‘cruelty-free’ cosmetics. Today (11 March) the ban which prevents the sale within the European Union of cosmetics which have been newly tested on animals, finally comes into force.
The testing of cosmetics ingredients and products using animals can cause significant suffering. The EU recognises that causing animals harm for such a trivial purpose is morally unacceptable. Despite pressure from some parts of the cosmetics industry to delay a sales ban on products tested on animals, the EU Commissioner with responsibility for this area stood firm.
Please email Commissioner Borg to thank him, on behalf of the animals and ethical consumers across the EU.
Many cosmetic companies are multinational but this new legislation means that they can’t avoid a test ban in the EU by carrying out tests in other countries. If their products or ingredients have been newly tested on animals then they cannot be sold in the EU, no matter where in the world the testing took place.
And the good news doesn’t stop there as in response to the EU ban, Israel has introduced its own similar ban, and India has stated their intention to ban the use of animals to test cosmetics. We hope the EU ban will set an example to other countries, and to companies operating outside the EU, that animal testing in the name of beauty is not acceptable.
Thank you for your support!
This ban is brilliant news for the animal welfare but it isn’t the end – there are still many animals being used all across the world to develop cosmetics products that will be sold outside of the EU.
We will soon be taking our message to these countries and companies to ask them to follow the EU lead. We will do our best to keep you posted on this issue.
For the most recent updates and other ways you can help animals, sign up for our campaign updates here.
Thanks again!
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During the next few days (probably 11th or 12th of March), you will see that all the red ‘visitor’ dots vanish from our global clustrmap and that once again it becomes blank.
This is part of the normal ‘annual archive’ system and new visitor locations for the next year (from March 11th / 12th) will start afresh to be shown on the new (initially blank) map.
For the record, so far we have had:
3,237 Comments left on the site.
Copies of recent clustrmaps are published for years below so that you can see how we have ‘spread our wings’ now to be a site regularly visited by supporters from all around the world.
Thank you to everyone – the site started as a simple way of highlighting animal abuses to strays in Serbia following an e mail to me personally from a Serbian campaigner (and now good friend) at the time. I had a think and decided to try and establish an on line campaign group to draw attention to the abuses of stray animals in the Balkans.
I think that combined with the valiant efforts of many Balkans animal welfare groups and individuals, we have at least made some kind of difference. We have not sorted all the troubles; far from it, but we are united in our approach to stand up and be a voice for the silent ones – the animals who need our support.
Animal cruelty and suffering is not acceptable no matter how or where it occurs. We will continue to cover good and bad stories from across the globe; asking you to help us by taking action when necessary.
Thank you for your continued support.
SAV is a completely volunteer run site, which is undertaken when time from other animal work allows, such as the UK live animal exports work / investigations which always take up plenty of time.
Please visit us at ‘Kent Action Against Live Exports’ (KAALE) – http://www.kaale.org.uk to review all of the export investigation work which we are also working on in Europe to stop the live trade in animal misery.
This SAV site is updated whenever time and manpower allows – please stick with us on this.
Special thanks to Diana for all her hard work undertaking research.
Regards Mark – Founder of SAV;
Kent, England UK.
Tabular listing of visitors / nations – getting the animal kindness message across – everywhere !!!
|
Country |
Views |
| United States | 38,025 |
| United Kingdom | 17,425 |
| Serbia | 9,125 |
| Canada | 8,437 |
| Germany | 5,884 |
| France | 4,291 |
| Australia | 3,686 |
| Italy | 3,655 |
| India | 3,219 |
| Netherlands | 3,176 |
| Belgium | 2,034 |
| Austria | 1,774 |
| Spain | 1,276 |
| Greece | 1,259 |
| Turkey | 1,167 |
| Sweden | 1,129 |
| Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic | 1,124 |
| Bulgaria | 1,072 |
| Romania | 1,003 |
| Brazil | 983 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 970 |
| Switzerland | 960 |
| Philippines | 906 |
| Poland | 892 |
| Ireland | 833 |
| Croatia | 822 |
| Hungary | 694 |
| Czech Republic | 692 |
| Portugal | 659 |
| Mexico | 647 |
| Russian Federation | 632 |
| South Africa | 626 |
| Malaysia | 605 |
| Denmark | 571 |
| New Zealand | 552 |
| Thailand | 515 |
| Finland | 498 |
| Slovenia | 494 |
| Norway | 491 |
| Singapore | 488 |
| Slovakia | 482 |
| Israel | 477 |
| Indonesia | 470 |
| Iceland | 450 |
| Pakistan | 448 |
| Republic of Korea | 403 |
| Ukraine | 383 |
| Japan | 358 |
| United Arab Emirates | 307 |
| Lithuania | 296 |
| Hong Kong | 271 |
| Cyprus | 267 |
| Colombia | 250 |
| Argentina | 249 |
| Montenegro | 232 |
| Egypt | 220 |
| Albania | 211 |
| Sri Lanka | 199 |
| Taiwan | 187 |
| Malta | 186 |
| Chile | 172 |
| Mauritius | 166 |
| Nigeria | 165 |
| Latvia | 162 |
| Saudi Arabia | 149 |
| Georgia | 149 |
| Luxembourg | 137 |
| Estonia | 135 |
| Morocco | 131 |
| Viet Nam | 128 |
| Venezuela | 106 |
| Algeria | 102 |
| Peru | 102 |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 96 |
| Puerto Rico | 87 |
| Nepal | 77 |
| Costa Rica | 73 |
| Ecuador | 71 |
| Armenia | 69 |
| Benin | 68 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 64 |
| Azerbaijan | 64 |
| Senegal | 63 |
| Lebanon | 63 |
| Tunisia | 60 |
| Qatar | 59 |
| Togo | 52 |
| Ghana | 50 |
| Bangladesh | 49 |
| Moldova | 47 |
| Jordan | 43 |
| Iraq | 41 |
| Panama | 38 |
| Mongolia | 37 |
| Jamaica | 37 |
| Uruguay | 36 |
| Dominican Republic | 35 |
| Kenya | 33 |
| Kuwait | 32 |
| Myanmar | 30 |
| Belarus | 28 |
| Guatemala | 28 |
| El Salvador | 27 |
| Cambodia | 25 |
| Oman | 23 |
| Ethiopia | 22 |
| Palestinian Territory, Occupied | 20 |
| Bahrain | 20 |
| United Republic of Tanzania | 19 |
| Paraguay | 18 |
| Honduras | 18 |
| Bolivia | 17 |
| Cameroon | 15 |
| Brunei Darussalam | 15 |
| Syrian Arab Republic | 15 |
| Jersey | 15 |
| Nicaragua | 14 |
| Uganda | 14 |
| Monaco | 13 |
| Yemen | 13 |
| Libya | 13 |
| Réunion | 12 |
| Guam | 12 |
| Guyana | 11 |
| Netherlands Antilles | 11 |
| Maldives | 10 |
| Bahamas | 9 |
| Bhutan | 9 |
| Namibia | 9 |
| Grenada | 9 |
| Seychelles | 9 |
| Isle of Man | 8 |
| Gibraltar | 8 |
| New Caledonia | 7 |
| Macao | 6 |
| Kazakhstan | 6 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 6 |
| Suriname | 6 |
| Belize | 6 |
| Guernsey | 5 |
| Bermuda | 5 |
| Guadeloupe | 5 |
| Zimbabwe | 5 |
| Faroe Islands | 4 |
| Burkina Faso | 4 |
| Gambia | 4 |
| Madagascar | 4 |
| Afghanistan | 3 |
| Botswana | 3 |
| Liechtenstein | 3 |
| Angola | 3 |
| French Polynesia | 3 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 3 |
| Haiti | 3 |
| Fiji | 3 |
| Martinique | 3 |
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | 2 |
| Virgin Islands | 2 |
| Åland Islands | 2 |
| Sudan | 2 |
| Rwanda | 2 |
| Mozambique | 2 |
| Gabon | 2 |
| Tonga | 2 |
| Barbados | 2 |
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | 2 |
| Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 2 |
| Saint Helena | 2 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 2 |
| Malawi | 1 |
| Zambia | 1 |
| Mauritania | 1 |
| Djibouti | 1 |
| Cape Verde | 1 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 1 |
| Swaziland | 1 |
| Cayman Islands | 1 |
| Papua New Guinea | 1 |
| Saint Lucia | 1 |
| British Virgin Islands | 1 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 1 |
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 