Posted on January 23, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
As a follow up to our recent news about Ric being held in Japan –
– things have now moved on, with him being told to get out of the country, and banning him re entry for 5 years.
The Taiji dolphin murder – Watch the London Taiji demo which took place on Saturday – 16/1/16 by clicking on the following:
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Japan told Dolphin Activist: Get Out
Immigration officials to deport ‘The Cove’ star Ric O’Barry and bar him from entering the country for five years to campaign against Japan’s annual dolphin slaughter.
Jan 22, 2016
Taylor Hill is an associate editor at TakePart covering environment and wildlife.
Japan has ordered the deportation of dolphin trainer–turned–animal rights activist Ric O’Barry, who was featured in the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary The Cove.
O’Barry, 76, was detained at Japan’s Narita airport on Monday when officials refused to allow him to enter the country using a tourist visa. On Friday, authorities denied an appeal from O’Barry’s lawyer, Takashi Takano.
His son, Lincoln O’Barry, said that since the release of The Cove, which brought international scrutiny to the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, his father gets harassed and interrogated every time he visits the country.
Lincoln O’Barry said Japanese officials initially accused his father of being a member of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, which maintains a constant presence in Taiji, monitoring the dolphin hunt.
“But now, they are saying he lied about where he went the last time he was in the country, so he can’t be trusted this time around,” Lincoln O’Barry said.
In an email to his son, Ric O’Barry said he is being held on “trumped-up charges.”
“For the past 72 hours, I have been behind bars in a detention facility, yet I have broken no laws,” he wrote.
With his appeal denied, O’Barry has been scheduled for deportation and will not be permitted to return for five years. That’s a punishment his son says cannot stand.
“He has been working for 13 years to expose the brutal dolphin hunt there, and this is their latest attempt to shut him out,” Lincoln O’Barry said.
Takano has reportedly filed a lawsuit in Japan to fight the deportation warrant. O’Barry’s conservation group, The Dolphin Project, has started a petition on its website calling for the deportation measures to be dropped.
From Sept. 1 through March 1, fishers on boats drive thousands of dolphins into Taiji Cove, after which they are either sold to aquariums and marine parks or killed for their meat.
“January is typically a brutal month of slaughter in the cove,” Lincoln O’Barry said. According to The Dolphin Project’s count, 418 dolphins have been killed so far this year. “It seems to be adding up to be an especially bad year, and this deportation issue can’t distract from that.”
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Posted on January 23, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Animal welfare is a basic need:
Dutch Presidency pleads for EU action for animals
Posted On 21 Jan 2016
Eurogroup welcomes statements Dutch Chief Veterinary Officer at Animal Welfare Intergroup.
Today the Dutch Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Christianne Bruschke, unfolded the views of the Dutch Presidency on the future of the European animal welfare related dossiers, saying “animal welfare is not a hype but a basic need in our society as fundamental for a sustainable future”. She also stressed that high ambitions in the field of animal welfare should be reflected in EU regulations as individual EU countries are no isolated islands.
Dr Bruschke called on the European Commission to put forward a new Communication on an EU Strategy on the protection and welfare of animals for the period 2016-2020.
In line with the recently adopted resolution of the European Parliament a new Animal Welfare Strategy should ensure the continuation of delivering high animal welfare standards across the Member States. Moreover, the Dutch Presidency would welcome the Commission to examine the perspectives of an updated, comprehensive and clear legislative framework for animal welfare. Such a framework would provide the opportunity to update existing regulations in accordance with new scientific insights, technological innovation and socioeconomic trends whilst addressing shortcomings and omissions.
Furthermore, a new EU platform on animal welfare, of stakeholder organisations and authorities of member states, run by the European Commission, could create more momentum and focus on the animal welfare challenges of the EU.
Such a platform could facilitate discussions and exchange of experiences and best practices on implementation, control and enforcement of animal welfare regulations. The proposal of the platform will be presented at the next Agricultural Council meeting on 15th February.
Moreover, the Dutch Government remains to be a strong supporter of a reduction of transport times of slaughter animals to 8 hours as well as for the improvement of transport of conditions like space allowances. Although not expected during the Dutch Presidency, the European Commission should look into a revision of the current Transport Regulation and the reduction of transport times.
In 2015 Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands filed a formal request for a revision of the Transport Regulation to the Commission. All three governments remain to urge the Commission for a revision.
Another point of attention for the Dutch Presidency is phasing out non-therapeutic mutilations in farming as reducing this practice will improve animal welfare and contribute to a more sustainable animal husbandry. One of the routinely applied mutilations is painful piglet castration. The Netherlands is fully committed to ending surgical castration by 2018, the deadline stipulated in the European Declaration to on Alternatives to the Surgical Castration of Pigs (Brussels declaration).
Together with Germany and Denmark, The Netherlands have urged all involved stakeholders to sign the Brussels declaration and to act accordingly.
ENDS
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For more information please contact:
Magali Vialle
Notes:
1. Eurogroup for Animals represents animal protection organisations in all EU Member States. Since its launch in 1980, the organisation has succeeded in encouraging the EU to adopt higher legal standards for animal protection. Eurogroup represents public opinion through its membership organisations across the Union, and has both the scientific and technical expertise to provide authoritative advice on issues relating to animal welfare. For more information, visit www.eurogroupforanimals.org
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