Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

China Southern Airlines Stops Shipments of Primates for Vivisection

China Southern airlines has announced that it has stopped shipments of primates to laboratories worldwide in response to vigorous campaigning by animal rights organisations around the globe.   Prior to this announcement, China Southern was the only airline in China – and the only major carrier in the world other than Air France – still shipping primates to laboratories.  Air France is now the only major airline left that is willing to ship monkeys, so it will be extremely difficult and expensive for experimenters to get their hands on monkeys. This means that more primates will remain in the wild with their families instead of being trapped and imprisoned at decrepit breeding farms and terrifying laboratories. Please build on this momentum by urging Air France to join every single other major airline in the world by refusing to ship primates to certain suffering and death in laboratories.

HRT and horses urine

New England Anti-Vivisection Society recently supported the rescue of 3 remarkable horses from a pregnant mare urine (PMU) farm. After facing the horrific fate of a lifetime of confinement or slaughter, the trio is now safe in sanctuary.  The oestrogen-rich urine of pregnant mares is a key ingredient in many hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs. Tara would have been repeatedly impregnated her entire life. She would have lived in a narrow stall with limited access to water and chafing-causing urine collection bags attached to her body. She would have watched her male foals be taken from her and sent to slaughter. Her female foals would either share that fate, or be spared only to replace “spent” mothers once they were no longer of use to the industry.  The entire PMU pharmaceutical industry is unnecessary because plant-based and synthetic HRTs with comparable benefits and risks are readily available.  NEAVS is working to end the use of horses in HRTs.  If you take HRT check that it isn’t using PMU.  There are better alternatives.

End to US cosmetic tests

A groundbreaking new bill could bring about an end to tests on animals for cosmetics products in the US.  Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia has introduced the Humane Cosmetics Act, which, if passed, would make it illegal to conduct tests on animals for cosmetics in the US and to sell cosmetic products that have been tested on animals. This would be huge. The US market is enormous and influential, so banning these cruel and archaic tests would save countless animals from having chemicals rubbed on their skin, dripped into their eyes or forced down their throats in painful and deadly experiments. The ban could also have a wider impact, sending a clear message to international companies that they need to throw their weight behind the use of humane, non-animal testing methods. Since March 2013, selling cosmetics products containing ingredients that have been tested on animals has been banned in the European Union, making it clear that these horrific experiments are on their way out.

Australia will recommence exporting sheep and cattle to Egypt after the government struck a deal with Egyptian importers on animal welfare standards. It’s been two years since cattle was last exported to Egypt after shocking footage of cruelty at two Egyptian abattoirs. It led to an industry-wide live trade suspension.

England (UK):  Roll out dropped

Plans to roll out the controversial badger cull pilots nationwide across England have been dropped by Owen Paterson after a damning independent report found the shoots were not effective or humane. The 2 pilot culls, in Gloucestershire and Somerset, will continue with improvements recommended by the independent expert panel (IEP), including more and better-trained marksmen. But plans to start badger culls in 10 other areas have been abandoned, the environment secretary announced, telling MPs he was taking the responsible approach.  The shadow environment secretary, Maria Eagle, said the abandoned roll-out was a humiliating climbdown for Paterson. “Consistent with his inept handling of this shambles he has put prejudice before science, secrecy before transparency, conflict before consensus and posturing before good policy,” she said.  Prof Rosie Woodroffe, a leading badger expert who conducted a landmark decade-long trial of badger culling, said even the 2 pilot culls should be halted. ” The culls were dismissed by senior scientists as “mindless” before they started and have provoked huge public opposition since, and led to ministers losing a vote in the House of Commons. Paterson said he accepted the IEP recommendations to “improve the accuracy and field-craft” of shooters. He added that if the free-shooting of badgers could be “perfected”, he still wanted to see the culls rolled out in the future. Paterson previously said he wanted 40 culls across the nation.  Opponents of the cull have argued that vaccination of badgers and cattle is a better strategy and Paterson said: “I am proposing a scheme for [badger] vaccination projects around the edge of the most badly affected parts of the country, in an attempt to create a buffer zone of TB immunity to stop the disease spreading further.” He also said large-scale field trials of cattle vaccines were being designed, but said a usable vaccine was many years away.  Opponents have also argued that stricter testing and controls on cattle movements are the key to cutting TB. In Wales, where a planned badger cull was abandoned, the number of cattle slaughtered has fallen from 11,671 in 2009 to 6,102 in 2013, a 48% drop, following more stringent testing. The number of cattle slaughtered in Great Britain fell by 15% in 2013 following some new controls being introduced in England.  The campaigner and Queen guitarist Brian May said: “I am disgusted that David Cameron and Paterson insult us all by continuing this spectacular failure.”

bTB cattle sold on (UK)

A major veterinary investigation is underway after a number of herds across Britain tested positive for bovine TB following a dispersal sale from a Cumbrian dairy herd.   More than 100 animals were sold at the end of February at a market in Cheshire to buyers from across England, Wales and Scotland.  After some of the cattle sold were found to have tested positive for bTB, AHVLA launched a nationwide operation to trace, isolate and test all animals from the sale, alongside increased surveillance in surrounding herds.  The incident has generated significant concern among Government vets and the farming industry and raised fresh questions about the effectiveness of TB surveillance in England’s 4-year testing areas, where pre-movement testing is not compulsory.  The disease has been confirmed at the Cumbrian farm which sold the cattle and it has been placed under movement restrictions. TB testing of neighbouring holdings within a 3km radius is underway.   An AHVLA spokesman said: “AHVLA has taken robust and rapid action to identify all animals originating from this herd so they can be isolated and tested for TB.”  He said it was too early to comment on the likely number of herds involved, or how this could have happened with a herd originating in the relatively clean 4-year area.  “This incident highlights how serious a problem TB is for all cattle farmers, regardless of where they farm,” he said.  The incident will prompt further debate about cattle TB controls as Defra publishes its long-term TB eradication strategy for England, which covers TB testing and movement controls and includes a proposal for compulsory post-movement testing in the TB Low Risk Area.

1 in 10 people in Sweden is a vegetarian or vegan,

a survey has found. There has been a 4% increase in the number of Swedes adopting a meat-free lifestyle over the past 5 years, according the study commissioned by Animal Rights Sweden (Djurens Rätt).

Above – USA:  This is in Oregon, and each crate has a calf in it, taken from their mourning mother, 1 hour after they were born. Their mother had enough time to clean up the birth, lick and initially bond with them, before they were taken away to live in these boxes, destined to die in about 6 weeks, barely able to move to make their “meat” tender until they become veal steaks. Meat eaters…are you proud?  Rense.com

Ag-gag – A diverse coalition of civil rights, animal protection, labour, and environmental groups, and a journalist have filed a lawsuit to strike down Idaho’s new “ag-gag” law as unconstitutional.  Idaho’s governor “Butch” Otter (the same man orchestrating the annihilation of wolves in Idaho) just signed “ag-gag” into law in Feb. But the coalition is moving quickly to overturn this dangerous bill because it’s a direct attack on whistleblowers, investigators, and journalists. Most importantly, laws like this are an attempt to keep everyone from knowing what really takes place behind closed doors on factory farms and slaughterhouses.

 Chicken suffering

One of Canada’s biggest chicken producers will have to spend at least $1m over 3 years to ensure compliance with federal rules after an Ontario judge convicted it of causing undue suffering to the birds.  In a case closely watched by animal-rights groups, Ontario Superior Court Justice Nancy Kastner also fined Maple Lodge Farms $80,000 on 2 of 20 counts of failing to transport chickens humanely. Kastner placed the company based in Brampton, Ont., on 3 years probation, suspending the other 18 counts for the duration. Among conditions of probation, the company will have to make public the convictions, sentence and measures it is taking to avoid further offences by “prominent” website posting. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency charged Maple Lodge Farms under the Health of Animals Act with cruelty to chickens after 2,000 of the birds died on 2 trips to slaughter in the winter of 2008-2009. In her decision, Kastner said “lack of adequate training, personnel, or equipment” contributed to the high mortality rate of the transported birds.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »

Photo: Reuters.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/04/10/all-states-countries-and-cities-ban-orcas-captivity?cmpid=tpanimals-eml-2014-04-12-orcas

April 10, 2014 By David Kirby

David Kirby has been a professional journalist for 25 years. His third book, ‘Death at Seaworld,’ was published in 2012.

More than 2,100 dolphins and whales are being held in captivity at 343 facilities in 63 countries around the world, with the highest numbers of dolphinariums located in Japan (57), China (44), the United States (34), Russia (24), and Mexico (24), according to the Born Free Foundation.

This week, a vote on a California bill that would ban orca captivity was delayed by 18 months, pending an interim study. But, if it passes, California will join a growing list of U.S. states and localities and at least 14 countries that have outlawed the captive display of orcas, dolphins, and in some cases, all wild animals.

Herewith, all the locales around the world that forbid the keeping of orcas in tanks for the amusement of paying customers.

United States

California

On Feb. 24, 2014, a proclamation declaring that all dolphins should have the right to freedom was passed by the Malibu City Council and subsequently signed by Mayor Joan House. “Whales and dolphins are known to be highly intelligent and emotional creatures,” it declared, “and therefore deserve the right to their own freedom and lives.”

On March 6, California state Assemblymember Richard Bloom made international headlines by introducing the Orca Welfare and Safety Act, which would make it illegal to “hold in captivity, or use, a wild-caught or captive-bred orca for performance or entertainment purposes.” The bill would also ban captive breeding and artificial insemination of captive killer whales in California.

New York

State Sen. Greg Ball surprised anti-captivity activists by introducing a bill in February to ban “the possession and harboring of killer whales in aquariums and sea parks” in the state. On March 25, the Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation voted in favor of the bill. New York has no captive orcas, but the symbolic measure is nonetheless being closely watched by animal welfare activists.

South Carolina

In 1982, activist Mark Berman, now at the Earth Island Institute, home to Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project, helped pass the first and only U.S. state law to ban marine mammals in captivity. In 2001, state officials amended the law, limiting protections to just cetaceans after Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia announced plans for a sea lion exhibit. “We will work very hard to defend the law if there’s any attempt to change it further,” Berman said in November 2013.

Hawaii

When a developer proposed in 2002 to construct a dolphinarium at a Maui shopping center, the Pacific Whale Foundation and other groups successfully lobbied the Maui County Council to ban the display of any captive whale or dolphins.

Other Countries

Bolivia

The Bolivian government made history in July 2009 by enacting the world’s first ban on all animals in circuses and other public performance venues. The law was passed following an investigation by the U.K.’s Animal Defenders International, which found widespread abuse in Bolivian circuses, according to The Guardian.

Chile

Chilean law was amended in January 2005 to prohibit the capture or import of any cetacean species, “for public exhibition or any other objective associated to its utilization by man.”

Costa Rica

The government of Costa Rica decreed new cetacean regulations in July 2005 making it  “strictly forbidden” to catch and kill marine mammals, keep cetaceans and other marine mammals captive, or touch, feed, or trap any marine mammal.

Croatia

In July 2009, Croatia’s State Institute for Nature Protection enacted a regulation banning the keeping of cetaceans in captivity for commercial purposes. The only exemption would be for the rehabilitation and return of sick or injured animals to their natural environment.

Cyprus

The nonprofit group Animal Responsibility Cyprus won a campaign to ban the importation of cetaceans in June 2011. The group says it was also successful in shutting down the Ayia Napa dolphinarium, the only one in the island nation, in 1999. “Subsequent applications to open captive dolphin shows were refused by the authorities,” according to the ARC website. “In spite of Cyprus being a popular holiday spot, you will not see any so-called dolphinariums here.”

Greece

A campaign by Animal Defenders International and the Greek Animal Welfare Fund prompted the Greek government to enact a ban in February 2012 on not only dolphin captivity but the use of all animals in circuses. Greek law now forbids using animals in “recreational games, car racing platforms, musical concerts, exhibitions, fairs or other artistic or entertaining festivities.” In January 2014, the law was overwhelmingly upheld by Parliament following a challenge by the Attica Zoological Park in Sparta.

Hungary

This country’s last dolphinarium was closed down and a ban on dolphin imports was imposed in 1992 after “one of the five illegally-imported dolphins from Ukraine died during the transfer, and another within a week of its arrival,” according to the Armenian Weekly.

India

On May 20, 2013, India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests banned the keeping of captive dolphins for public entertainment. A statement from B.S. Bonal of the Central Zoo Authoritydeclared that cetaceans do not in general survive well in captivity. “Confinement in captivity can seriously compromise the welfare and survival of all types of cetaceans by altering their behavior and causing extreme distress,” he said. The ministry even declared that dolphins “should be seen as ‘non-human persons’ and as such should have their own specific rights.”

Nicaragua

On Feb. 2, 2003, Jorge Salazar Cardenal, then Nicaragua’s minister of the environment, confirmed in a letter to the World Society for the Protection of Animals that his country had “banned the use and exploitation of bottlenose dolphins indefinitely.” Salazar added that the law “guarantees that in Nicaragua, these animals will be fully protected.”

Slovenia

According to WDC, Slovenian law “explicitly prohibits” the display of captive dolphins.

Switzerland

The country’s House of Representatives handed a major victory to captivity opponents when it outlawed the “keeping of dolphins in aquariums or for entertainment purposes” in March 2012. The Swiss Senate also banned the importation of dolphins. Meanwhile, the last two dolphins remaining in the country were sold to a facility in Jamaica in December 2013.

Others

A few countries have standards so strict that it is nearly impossible to keep cetaceans in captivity, including Brazil, Luxembourg, Nicaragua, Norway, and the United Kingdom, where the last dolphinarium was closed in 1993.

No company has been able to open in the U.K. since then, “because imposed standards exceed the viability of establishing a dolphinarium in the country,” according to the Born Free Foundation.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »