Posted on January 25, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
All photos – CIWF.
Relating to our recent posts on this issue:
SAV Comment – Lets have so glimmer of faith in the new band of experts which has been formed under the EU ‘Platform For Animal Welfare’ as we describe in the following post. This is the first real and very important test to actually see if the EU IS LISTENING to its citizens; or once again, even with the new reports and facts and figures, are we going to be ignored ? – We are watching very closely.
UPDATE on Campaign – 25/1/17.
From CIWF (England)
Today (25th January), Members of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee have voted in favour of a report that may pave the way for the protection and improvement of the welfare of Europe’s 320 million* farmed rabbits.
A key opportunity to improve rabbit welfare
Currently, over 99% of rabbits farmed for meat in the EU spend their lives confined in tiny, barren cages, unable to express their natural behaviours. This vote is the closest we have come to securing new legislation for Europe’s farmed animals in over a decade.
Unfortunately, the amendment that includes legislation did not pass at this stage. However, we will continue to push for species-specific legislation in the Plenary session in a few weeks.
We have been working hard for many years to improve the welfare of rabbits farmed for meat across the EU. In 2012 and 2014, we exposed their terrible plight through undercover investigations and achieved mass media coverage of both investigations, helping to raise awareness of this cruel trade.
Last May we presented our 600,000 signature-strong petition to Europe’s Agriculture Ministers, calling for an end to the farming of rabbits in cages and recently asked children throughout the EU to send in rabbit drawings of how they believe rabbits should be kept. We delivered these drawings to MEPs, ahead of today, urging them to vote in favour the report. We are pleased that many MEPs have listened and taken action on a number of the amendments that will improve farmed rabbits’ welfare.
Emma Slawinski, our Director of Campaigns, says: “Today we have overcome the first hurdle on the path to ensuring higher welfare conditions for rabbits.
“It is encouraging that the majority of MEPs voted in favour of the report presented by MEP Stefan Eck (GUE), recognising the need to move away from the obsolete cage system for rabbits – bringing rabbit farming into the 21st century.”
Ending the cage age for Europe’s rabbits
Following today’s Committee vote, the report – which is backed by many scientists – will be voted on in the Plenary session of the European Parliament in a few weeks.
It is essential that MEPs vote in favour of the report – proving that they do listen to the calls of citizens, and not special interest groups that wish to maintain existing cruel standards for rabbits. We remain hopeful that they will vote for an amendment in favour of the introduction of legislation to improve welfare for rabbits.
Our CEO, Philip Lymbery says: “This is a major step forward for the rabbits of Europe and has brought farmed rabbits to the forefront of the public and political agenda.”
*Estimated FAOSTAT figures for 2010-13
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on January 25, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Dear Mark — Founder ‘Serbian Animals Voice’,
On lion farms across South Africa, lions are bred to be killed and exploited.
The cubs are used in a tourist trade of “eco-petting” and “lion walks” to support these breeding centers. When the cubs outgrow their “cute and cuddly” stage, they’re killed — either in “canned” hunts for trophies or for their hides and bones.
South African officials want to provide a stamp of approval by issuing an export quota for 800 lion skeletons every year.
The crushed up bones of various big cats are in high demand in Asia, where they are used to make tonics such as “tiger wine.” Consumers mistakenly believe this cures pain and disease, or works as an aphrodisiac, but no scientific evidence supports these claims.
The lions caught up in this cruel industry never experience being lions. They’re confined behind fences, in tiny camps often in completely abnormal social groups, for their entire lives. They’re often malnourished and forced to live in small spaces littered with their own waste.
Not a single captive-bred lion has ever been successfully released into the wild. These poor animals are then shot and killed for profit. You only have a short amount of time to act.
Thank you for caring about animals.
Sincerely, Andrew Rowan
President and CEO Humane Society International.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, HUNTING - Primarily UK and Germany, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on January 25, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Next month, thousands of rural villagers in India will travel to the Chinchali Fair, a four-day festival celebrating the goddess Mayakka Devi. But for bullocks, horses, and ponies, the journey will be nothing to celebrate.
They will pull heavy carts hundreds of miles along rutted roads, their muscles straining every step of the way.
Many will endure this gruelling trip without rest or even the most basic care – and to force them to move faster, particularly as they tire, many will be beaten or whipped along the way. The journey for them will be painful, and some will die before it ends.
Your support will give us the resources that we need in order to help Animal Rahat provide injured animals with free veterinary care and relieve animals from the torment of illegal devices. As pictured below, many bullocks sustain neck wounds from yoke spikes or endure the sharp pain of metal nose wires. But at Animal Rahat’s camps, these awful items are confiscated immediately and any resulting wounds are treated. Last year, more than 300 animals were provided with vital medical care.
In addition to offering care and protection to the animals who are forced to make the journey, Animal Rahat provides buses to transport people to Chinchali so that the animals can stay home and rest while their owners celebrate. This year, the group’s other plans for the fair include the following:
Compulsory rest camps with food and clean drinking water for animals will be set up, and travellers will be invited to stop and rest their animals. Last year, Animal Rahat set up three such camps along the routes to the fair and one on-site treatment camp at the event itself – providing almost 4,000 horses, ponies, and bullocks with food, water, and much-needed respite.
Animal Rahat team members will work with local police to ensure that anti-cruelty laws are enforced.
They will confiscate whips, chains, and other illegal devices. Last year alone, more than 200 such items were collected.
Animals suffering from wounds, dehydration, lameness, or other maladies and forms of abuse will be provided with emergency medical treatment.
The bus service will be publicised by hiring performers to stage street plays in numerous villages in advance of the fair in order to show that travelling with Animal Rahat would prevent their animals from suffering.
Billboards will be posted along the routes to show which animal practices are punishable offences under the law.
Your donation to PETA today will help Animal Rahat come to the aid of thousands of working animals during the Chinchali Fair, spare hundreds more the arduous journey by providing motorised transportation, and strengthen the group’s vital work for animals in India throughout the year.
Through the compassion of kind people like you, Animal Rahat is changing people’s minds and improving animals’ lives.
Sincerely,
Ingrid E Newkirk
Founder
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on January 25, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Video link:
SAV Comment – Kent is our home county – the air battles took place above Kent and in the English Channel. British and German air pilots were shot down over the Goodwin Sands which lies off the Kent coast. The sands are a massive maritime burial ground, with thousands of ships and their crews buried under the sands there. We must NOT allow the sands to be dredged for profit – this area is a war grave – keep it like that ! (SAV).
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To reject the licence application by Dover Harbour Board to dredge marine aggregate (sand and gravel) from the Goodwin Sands for their Dover Western Docks Regeneration project
Why is this important?
The Goodwin Sands are a string of sandbanks some 25 square nautical miles in size lying 5 miles off the Kent coast in the English Channel. They are a unique marine environment with a heritage to match.
But this precious habitat is under threat and time is not on our side!
Dover Harbour Board want to extract the marine aggregate from the Goodwins (as they are known locally) because it is cheaper. The purchase price from the Crown Estate who own the seabed is less than from commercial sites, but they are further away. DHB cite the carbon footprint as a reason to take the aggregate from the Goodwins but in reality this is a smoke screen which can be mitigated in other ways.
DHB have now applied for their licence from the Marine Management Organisation. The first public consultation period ended in July but the Environmental Impact Assessment raised so many questions that a second one is now in place. This will run until 16th November 2016. A decision whether or not to grant the licence will be made any time after this, depending on the reactions received.
https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2Fv4GrG3IdBU4%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dv4GrG3IdBU4&image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fv4GrG3IdBU4%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=f40f0a1d121a4c7a99d6f4f6d983e252&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube
Save our Sealife.
The Goodwins are home to a colony of 350 grey seals and the resting place of some 2,000 shipwrecks. Many of the ships were lost with all hands. They are also the spawning and nursery grounds of a variety of local fish and shellfish. The Thornback Ray which is listed as ‘near threatened’ under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 has frequently been sighted there.
The colony of grey seals use areas adjacent to the proposed dredging zone as their ‘haul out’ sites i.e. where they rest on land at low tide. The noise and vibration from the huge dredgers will disturb them in their natural habitat; there is also the possibility of them being injured by collision with the dredgers and propellors as they are naturally inquisitive creatures.
The sands provide shelter to ships in bad weather (in an anchorage known as The Downs) and to the Kent coastline by absorbing the waves’ energy as they pound in from the North Sea. At low tide a large proportion of the sands are exposed and waves can be seen crashing onto them from the shore.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, VIDEOS | Leave a comment »
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 
