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Shocking documentary reveals the cruel reality behind the export of horse meat from Argentina
29 September 2020
AWF
The film that seeks to put pressure on the Argentinian government to immediately ban equine slaughter and the export of horse meat, shows the work of the NGOs Fondation Franz Weber in Argentina, Tierschutzbund Zürich (TSB) in Switzerland and our member Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) in Germany.
At present, Argentina exports 60% of the horse meat consumed in the world; however, its consumption within the country is prohibited and there are no specific places where horses are raised for this purpose. So where do the 200,000 horses that are slaughtered annually to produce the meat exported to the European Union come from?
Premiering globally today and produced by the multimedia company Posibl, the documentary “Cinco Corazones” narrates the true and cruel reality behind the lives of Argentinian horses, which suffer all kinds of abuse from their birth to the moment of their death.
Equine slaughter has been practiced in Argentina for more than 100 years. Despite the closure of some slaughterhouses that used to carry out these cruel practices, four plants are still EU-approved and export around 10,000 tons of horsemeat to Europe each year.
“Stolen horses, discarded sport horses, mentally and physically destroyed rodeo horses, worn-out blood mares and rubbish-collection horses are collected by dubious horse traders and sold on to slaughter“, says Sabrina Gurtner, project manager of AWF|TSB, who has been investigating the cruel production of horsemeat in South America since 2012. Their dignity is not even respected at the end of their lives, when these horses are slaughtered and transformed into meat, a product destined to enter the European market. “So far, the EU Commission has only stopped the import of horse meat from Mexico and Brazil. Import bans against Argentina and Uruguay must urgently follow”, Sabrina Gurtner calls upon the European Commission.
So far, the EU Commission has only stopped the import of horse meat from Mexico and Brazil. Import bans against Argentina and Uruguay must urgently follow.
Sabrina Gurtner, Project Manager of AWF|TSB
“In 2017, we began a deep investigation that lasted 3 years and revealed the extreme cruelty suffered by horses in Argentina. Cinco Corazones is a film that forces us not to be indifferent to their pain and to redouble our efforts so that these nefarious practices end. Argentinians deserve to know what happens to horses in their own country, and Europeans deserve to know the atrocities hidden in the meat they put on their plates and in their mouths. It is time to say enough and to allow this noble animal to live in a noble society too”, says Martin Parlato, CEO & Founder of Posibl. and Director of the film.
The film shows shocking images of the equine slaughter and of what happened in the “field of horror” in Ezeiza. It narrates about the theft of horses, the complicity of the authorities and the cruel business of blood farming for eCG production. As stated by the Argentinian actress and animal rights defender Liz Solari, who also provided the voice-over for the documentary: “Cinco Corazones is a documentary that awakens, disturbs and deeply shocks you. It is essential to see it”.
In turn, the film also shows the work of activists and various NGOs based in Europe and Argentina, who have worked for years to obtain a ban on equine slaughter for human consumption abroad. “The horse today is the victim of all kinds of abuses based on the absolute denial of its natural ethology. Locked in pits, living in isolation, used for work, they end their lives most of the time bled to death in a slaughterhouse and their body in pieces displayed in the shelves of European supermarkets… There is nothing worthy in the deal that we give them. Abolishing equine slaughter would be a fundamental step to give back these animals what we took from them. And it would prevent hundreds of thefts of horses that are sold to slaughterhouses”, expressed Alejandra García, Director of the Equidad Santuario and Director of Franz Weber Argentina.
Regards Mark
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Sharing for Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA).
All phots courtesy of KARA.
Odo-dong dog farm in Paju was operated by an illegal pig farmer who fed animals nauseating food wastes. This dog farm was not even identified by the city of Paju when the first African Swine Fever outbreak occurred last year in South Korea.
After inspecting the dog farm, KARA paid a visit to Paju City Hall and strongly protested the fact that the site, which was feeding animals with unknown food wastes, was becoming a serious quarantine problem. We also complained that leaving the dogs unattended obviously constituted animal abuse. Paju, however, responded that there was no abuse at the site and the dog farms were not subject to quarantine. Meanwhile, the dogs continued to disappear.
It was only when people, supporting KARA, began to file e-People petition complaints that the City of Paju began to take action. KARA was finally able to go to the site yesterday with a city official and get a waiver of ownership of the dogs, and at last rescue the remaining seven dogs.
Three of the dogs rescued were siblings about 4 months old – brown haired Annie, May, and Sean. Each time we visited the dog farm in the past, these three young puppies had been left eating disgusting food waste, locked in a raised wire cage, without a sip of fresh water to be found.
Dark-haired Judy, Bonnie, and Hobbs also look like siblings. They are estimated to be between one and two years old.
Bobby, appearing to be about eight years old, is the oldest dog rescued yesterday. His teeth are severely worn, presumably because he had been biting on the iron bars of the cage for a very long time. How long had it been since Bobby had been dragged to that dog farm and locked in a cage biting at the iron bars until his teeth were worn down? The poor animal also had a wound on his leg, likely from the sharp wires sticking out all over the inside of the cage.
After their rescue, Annie, May, Sean, Judy, Bonnie, Hobbs, and Bobby were given baths and received medical care. They no longer have to eat rotten food waste. They don’t have to lick their wounds or gnaw at the iron bars of the cage.
Dozens of empty spaces were found at the rescue site. The owner himself admitted that before he was caught there had once been dozens of dogs on the farm, and that they had been sold as “dog meat.” The dog farm in Odo-dong has now been closed down.
And yet, there are still too many dog farms in Paju alone, and the city persists in responding passively. KARA will continue to speak out until the final demolition of the cages left at the Odo-dong site; until the fate of the missing dogs has been determined; and until the Paju administration reverses its passive attitude.
We’ll be back with more details on the seven rescued dogs. We ask for your support to provide for the futures of Annie, May, Sean, Judy, Bonnie, Hobbs, and Bobby, who have been saved thanks to the actions of many caring people.
Click HERE to see more photos.
KARA is funded entirely by donations.
To support & donate to KARA via PayPal, please click this link.
👉 https://www.ekara.org/support/donate 🐶🙏🐕🐱
KARA is an animal rights group that has received perfect scores in non-profit transparency evaluation and is fully committed to honest donation management through external accounting audits.
Petitions Page: Click on each line to sign.
Please aupport the excellent work of KARA with a donation if you can – thanks.
Regards Mark
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Following on from the great news yesterday from France – https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/09/29/breaking-29-9-20-fur-free-alliance-announce-victory-france-to-ban-fur-farming/ we can inform you of even more great news today; 30/9/20.
After decades of massive pressure from PETA and other activists, Nordstrom has just announced that it will stop selling fur and exotic skins!
PETA’s campaign urging Nordstrom to go fur-free started back in the 1980s—when we made it a major target for Fur-Free Friday. The company dropped fur from its own line in 2006 but continued to sell fur in clothing from other brands, including Canada Goose’s coyote fur–trimmed jackets. PETA supporters took tens of thousands of actions to urge Nordstrom to ban fur.
The company’s decision to drop exotic skins follows PETA investigations exposing the cruelty involved in every alligator-skin watch and snakeskin purse as well as a trend in which companies like Calvin Klein and Chanel have gone exotic skins–free.
If you’ve ever taken a stance against the cruel fur and exotic-skins industries, you’re a part of this victory—so thank you!
Please take a moment to thank Nordstrom and urge it to go even further—by eliminating wool, leather, and all other animal-derived materials.
Nordstrom Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Nordstrom
Thank you for your compassion for animals.
Sincerely,
Peta.
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EP Animal Transport Committee meet for the first time
28 September 2020
The ANIT-Committee has not yet published a timetable for upcoming activities but among the important next steps to take will be the appointment of the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs of the investigation report.
During its constitutive meeting on 23 September, the Committee of Inquiry on the protection of animals during transport (ANIT) elected Tilly METZ (Greens/EFA) as its Chairwoman. The competing candidate for chairperson was Sylvia Limmer (ID, DE).
Marlene Mortler (EPP, DE), Anja Hazekamp (GUE/NGL, NL), Mohammed Chahim (S&D, NL) and Martin Hojsik (Renew, SK) were appointed as Vice-Chairs. Together, the Chairwoman and Vice-Chairs will make up the bureau of the Committee, elected for the whole mandate of one year.
Almost half of ANIT’s 30 Members and 25 substitutes are also Members of the EP Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals which was a driving force in calling for its creation. The Committee of Inquiry was established by a very large majority during the EP’s plenary session in July 2020 upon a request presented by 181 MEPs to the Conference of Presidents (EP President and leaders of political groups in the House).
The Committee’s main objective will be to look into alleged violations in the application of European Union law governing live animal transport both within and outside the Union. For this, they can consult experts and stakeholders and invite them for public hearings or carry out themselves study trips (COVID-19 pandemic allowing) to see the situation on the ground. The results of the inquiries and assessments will be the basis for an investigation report which will be adopted at the end of ANIT’s one-year mandate. This report can be used as a source document for the urgently needed revision of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations.
The ANIT-Committee has not yet published a timetable for upcoming activities but among the important next steps to take will be the appointment of the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs of the investigation report.
A first attempt to create an EP Committee of Inquiry on animal transport dates back to 2017. At the time, it was supported by 223 MEPs from all parties and political groups. However, the EP Conference of Presidents, upon request from the Agriculture Committee, rejected this request opting for a less costly solution with an EP report on the implementation of Council Regulation No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport within and outside the EU, (2018/2110(INI))
This report, drafted by Animal Welfare Intergroup Member Jørn Dohrmann MEP (ECR, DK), was adopted at the end of the last Parliamentary term. It specifically recommends in its article 22 that the “Parliament establishes a committee of inquiry on the welfare of animals during transport within and outside the EU as from the beginning of the next parliamentary term in order to properly investigate and monitor alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport. The current ANIT Committee is therefore also a consequence of this recommendation expressed by the EP during the former term.
USEFUL LINKS:
Parliamentary Magazine’s article
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‘Our research findings may come as a surprise to many…it identified a new class of casual consumer who are reducing their meat consumption much more rapidly than thought’
23 HOURS AGO
People across Europe are reducing their meat consumption ‘much more rapidly than thought’, according to new research published by New Food Magazine.
Dutch firm ingredients firm Griffith Foods has undertaken a Pan Europeansurvey looking into consumer behaviour, polling around 4,000 people in the U.K, Germany, France, and the Netherlands.
The organization says the emerging flexitarian market – of people who actively want to reduce their meat intake and try alternative proteins – is larger than previously thought.
The survey found that consumers want more ‘adventurous’ vegan and veggie options made available – with different cuisines including Asian and Mediterranean on offer rather than just standard veggie burgers.
“Our research findings may come as a surprise to many, especially as it identified a new class of casual consumer who are reducing their meat consumption much more rapidly than thought,” said Wim van Roekel, president, Griffith Foods, Europe & Africa, said.
“That has major implications for food retail manufacturers and producers, and their response to capture and cater to this newfound mass market.
“It’s exciting for our customers as this new demographic, still in its infancy, has a big appetite for choice and change.”
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Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 