England / China: CIWF (England) Work On All Fronts To Improve Pig Welfare In China – With Great Results.

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

Mark (SAV) and Philip (CEO CIWF) have campaigned together for around 25+ years on a variety of farm animal welfare issues; especially live transport and intensive farming.  Mark keeps Phil informed of farm animal welfare issues in Serbia; especially as Serbia is now an EU Candidate Country. 

CIWF have been working a lot to improve the welfare of animals in China; especially Pigs as over half the worlds population live there in some of the most basic and terrible conditions.  Below are a few points relating to CIWF’s work in China, and at the very end we have provided a link where you can read on and select many more CIWF posts on the issue of Chinese animal welfare work.

Now we have our global map up and running again we can see where all our visitors are located.  It is great to see that we now have some visits from people located in China – something we have not had before.  Hence the reason for this post – we hope that now our Chinese friends will view what we are providing and will get further information and links about people and organisations working in their country to improve the welfare of farm animals – SAV.

 

Above – Mark (SAV) with the CIWF tour truck that campaigned for better farm animal welfare all over the EU.

Pictured in the Netherlands at a Goat Farm.

 

“Hugely damaging to the environment; it’s affecting people’s lives every day.”

China: The most populous country on the planet; home to half the world’s pigs; and the epicentre of an unprecedented surge in mega-farms.

I took on the role of investigative journalist to find out what’s really going on. It was a journey that brought me face to face with the jaw of the Asian tiger; a mighty powerhouse already exerting big influence on the shape of farming tomorrow.

Join me (Phil) over the next couple of weeks as I uncover the stark reality in China, for animals, people and the countryside.

Half the world’s pigs are farmed in China – the vast majority in appalling conditions. This massive industry is not only responsible for untold cruelty but is polluting waterways and forcing people from their land.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_NNDG5tHx4

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Our distinguished guests were led by Ms Xi Chunling, founder and executive president of the China government-backed International Cooperation Committee on Animal Welfare (ICCAW). Ms Xi was accompanied by deputy director, Mr Wan. It was also a great privilege to welcome Mr Zhou, the vice president of the China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation (CAPIAC), an influential body who support the joint ICCAW/Compassion project.

So what is it we’re trying to do? Well, put simply, we are working with the authorities in Beijing to encourage the adoption of higher welfare practices for pig farming. What a proud moment then to recognise the first group of pioneering farmers there with our prestigious Good Pig Production Award! All the recipients have pledged to make a real difference to the welfare of their pigs by using higher welfare alternatives to confinement systems like sow stalls and farrowing crates where the pigs can’t turn around.

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/philip-lymbery/blog/2014/09/compassion-celebrates-higher-welfare-pioneers-in-china

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/philip-lymbery/blog/2015/05/in-china-what-will-the-future-look-like

 

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Having just attended our Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards in Paris, I’m even more excited about the potential opportunities for improving the lives of farm animals in China through work with food companies.

As I wrote before, we launched our Good Pig Award programme in Beijing last week at the ‘2013 Animal Welfare and Animal Products Quality Safety Forum’, which we co-hosted with the International Cooperation Committee on Animal Welfare (ICCAW).

I’m looking forward to building on this further to bring the benefits of better animal welfare standards to China and to working in partnership with ICCAW to help companies and producers to play their part in benefitting the lives of farm animals and improving food quality.

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/philip-lymbery/blog/2013/11/moving-forward-in-china

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I have some hugely exciting news – we have just launched our Good Pig Award programme in China!  In the country that is home to half the world’s pigs, our work to persuade food companies to step up their animal welfare standards couldn’t be better placed.

The unveiling of the Good Pig Awards for China took place at a well attended conference in Beijing, organised by the International Cooperation Committee of Animal Welfare (ICCAW), newly inaugurated with the backing of China’s Ministry of Agriculture.

As Compassion in World Farming (Compassion) was proud co-host with ICCAW, I had the great honour of giving an opening address.  My colleague, Phil Brooke, also gave an excellent presentation on what we mean by animal welfare and the kind of improvements that companies must demand if they are to win one of our internationally recognised awards.

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/philip-lymbery/blog/2013/10/pig-welfare-programme-launched-in-china

 

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Compassion in World Farming’s ground-breaking work with major food companies on raising animal welfare standards has taken a new leap with the launch of its ‘Good Pig‘ Award programme in China.

As the country that is home to half the world’s pigs, Compassion’s latest initiative couldn’t be better placed.

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2013/10/compassion-launches-awards-in-china

 

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Pig carcasses are supposed to be disposed of by burying. However, land is limited. It’s not unusual for farmers to dump unwanted dead animals into rivers. One Chinese news source states the “dumping of dead pigs in rivers is common among Jiaxing villagers due to over expansion of the hog industry and a lack of burial sites”.

According to local officials, “the reason for the pigs’ death is the cold weather but many don’t believe this”, Jeff told me. “If the pigs can still be sold to market, it doesn’t make sense for farmers to dump them into the river for nothing”.

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2013/03/chinas-river-of-pigs

 

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Check out loads more from CIWF and their work in China for better animal welfare at  https://www.ciwf.org.uk/search/?q=ciwf+china

 

 

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Sri Lanka: Animal Welfare Bill Not Yet Enacted After More Than A Year – Lets Get It Enforced !

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

 

 

The Animal Welfare Bill was approved by the Cabinet on 13 January 2016, but one year later it has not yet been enacted by Parliament.

Let’s get it enforced!

Background:

After almost a decade of tireless campaigning, and several appeals from animal welfare groups and 30,000 citizens including you, the Animal Welfare Bill was finally approved by Sri Lanka’s Cabinet on 13 January 2016. The Bill was originally presented to Parliament by Ven. Athuruliye Rathana Thero in 2010 as a Private Member’s Bill in an attempt to persuade the then government to take it up as government business, but there was no progress. In 2012, through a court case, animal welfare groups were able to draw the attention of the government to this Bill, yet the progress was slow and after a campaign in October 2014 where over 30,000 citizens signed an appeal to the President and Prime minister, the bill was finally passed.

Current status:

12 months later the Bill continues to languish within the political and bureaucratic process without much interest or urgency to present it in Parliament for enactment. 

What can you do about it?

We feel enough time has passed now. Let’s raise our voices once again to urge the government to get the much needed Animal Welfare Bill  enacted so that we will have laws in Sri Lanka which protect our animals from the horrendous acts of cruelty they are increasingly being exposed to.

What we advise is for you to please write in to the below officials and request they expedite the process so that the animals of Sri Lanka can be protected by law. We believe all sentient beings deserve the right to live without cruelty and suffering in Sri Lanka which is their home as much as it is ours.

Writing directly to the below mentioned officials will ensure that our collective voices will be heard. Please ensure you write to all 3 parties below. You can use the same email messaging below and simply update the ‘Salutation’ to ‘Honorable President’, ‘Honorable Prime Minister’ and ‘Honorable Minister’.

President : ps@presidentsoffice.lk
Prime Minister : info@pmoffice.gov.lk 
Rural Economic Affairs Minister : secretary@reco.gov.lk

You can also message them directly on Twitter with the following message:

“I am disappointed that the #Animal Welfare Bill has still not been enacted in parliament. I urge you to speed up the process.Thank you”

President : @MaithripalaS
Prime Minister : @RW_UNP

Here is an example of the letter / email you can send:

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Honorable Sirs;

RE: THE ANIMAL WELFARE BILL

As you are aware, Sri Lanka’s Animal Welfare Bill which received Cabinet approval on 13 January 2016 is yet to be passed by Parliament, giving it the force of law.

Today, our animals –  stray, captive, domestic or wild, face many  difficulties at the hands of humans. They are beaten, abused, exploited, stoned, shot, trapped, killed, neglected  and exposed to many other forms of cruelty daily.

We are a compassionate nation and our government claims to be a compassionate government. But compassion needs to be demonstrated through action rather than just words.  There is no more time to lose. The time to act is now.

I humbly request that you do what is needed to speed up the process so that the long outstanding Animal Welfare Bill is finally enacted in Sri Lanka so that it becomes law. Any nation and especially one with our heritage must show commitment to animal welfare and there is no better way of demonstrating that , than by ensuring  that this Bill is enforced without further delay.

I along with many of Sri Lanka’s citizens would like to create an environment where animal lives are protected by law so that they too have the chance to live their lives in peace in our beautiful country.

Yours sincerely,

<Your name>

 

 

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