Wonderful News – The Scottish Government Has Given In and Halted Live Calf Exports.

23/9/20.

Breaking news in from Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) – London.

Dear Mark,

Amazing news: the Scottish Government has halted live calf exports.

After our gruelling, six-month legal battle, the Scottish Government has now accepted that live calf exports that breach maximum permitted journey times – a regular occurrence since April 2019 – can no longer be tolerated.

It has therefore instructed that no further applications for unweaned calf exports that breach these rules should be approved – effectively halting the current trade.

This is a huge victory for calves – and it’s all thanks to the support of people like you.

We are pleased to announce that, after a gruelling legal battle, the Scottish Government has finally stopped live calf exports.

Having spent six months defending the inhumane export of unweaned calves to Europe, they have conceded that this trade was being conducted in breach of the legislation on the protection of animals during transport.

With backing from our dedicated supporters, we launched Judicial Review proceedings to challenge the lawfulness of this practice back in February. Both the Scottish and UK Governments resisted for several months – wasting taxpayers’ money – shamefully defending a trade which can see calves go for 23 hours without food and often water.

In a major U-turn, the Scottish Government has now instructed the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which is responsible for approving export journeys, to not approve any further applications for unweaned calf exports that breach the time limits in the regulations.

“The Scottish Government’s conduct during this dispute has often fallen far short of that expected from a responsible authority,” said Peter Stevenson, our Chief Policy Advisor. “They have neglected to disclose key information, run misleading arguments, and despite export journeys exceeding the maximum permitted travelling time since at least April 2019, that these journeys were exceeding the maximum permitted travelling time, they failed to act and did not issue an instruction to halt the trade until over a year later. Above all, they have vigorously defended this cruel and unnecessary trade.”

Over several decades, millions of British calves have been forced to endure long, inhumane journeys to Europe for slaughter and fattening. We have fought this all the way. The ending of calf exports from Britain represents a turning point in the battle to stop this horrific trade.

“We welcome this decision that means thousands of calves will be spared such gruelling journeys every year,” said Natasha Smith, our Senior Campaigns Manager. “However, it is outrageous that it took legal action and years of argument to bring the Scottish Government to this point.”

Whilst this is a major victory for the welfare of Scottish calves, the policy must now be secured by legislation. The Scottish Government has promised a public consultation on banning journeys over 9 hours for calves, and the UK Government has previously committed to a separate consultation on live exports. Similar consultations in the past have yet to yield results.

“More consultations and empty promises are not enough,” Natasha continued. “We need new legislation to protect animals from this cruel and unnecessary practice once and for all.”

Now, our fight continues far beyond the courtroom. We will not stop until there is a complete ban on live exports from the UK for slaughter and fattening.

You have helped achieve justice for calves. A huge thanks to every person who has donated, emailed politicians, or even joined Kent Action Against Live Exports to protest the sailings in person.

Read more about our Judicial Review proceedings here.

Regards Mark

Austria: Prince hunter arrested!

The Welf Prince Ernst August von Hannover, 66, was arrested in Austria on Monday evening (September 7th).

This was confirmed by the Wels regional court.

Reason: There should be reports against the nobleman for coercion, threats, and property damage.
A spokesman had told the “Bild” newspaper after the incident that all points should be charged together.

Prince Ernst August would then have threatened up to three years in prison.
The Wels public prosecutor had ordered the arrest of the prince, which was then carried out on Monday (September 7th).

The scandal prince was kept in custody for two days.

Now he’s out, but he has to adhere to the judge’s requirements.
One of his employees has reported against the Guelph Prince.

Ernst August von Hannover is said to have threatened her and her husband with hounding a group of thugs and smashed a window with a traffic sign. The police moved out on Monday because of “suspicion of coercion”. …

Since the 66-year-old had already attacked a police officer in July, the officers carried body cameras to record the arrest.

The German nobleman caused a stir several times in the past few months. After the attack on the police, Ernst August von Hannover was briefly admitted to a psychiatric ward. Just a week later, it hit the headlines again.

Armed with a baseball bat, he allegedly drove to the police station and threatened officers there to kill them (!!!)

wildbeimwild.com

And I mean…“Hunting is a subsidiary form of human mental illness,” said Theodor Heuss!

And obviously, someone who massacres animals in the forest develops himself into one who loses empathy and compassion for his fellow human beings.

My best regards to all, Venus

Live Exports – KLTT sells twin-tiered live export ship.

AL_SHUWAIKH another 4

https://www.farmonline.com.au/story/6930681/kltt-sells-twin-tiered-live-export-ship/?cs=4698

KLTT sells twin-tiered live export ship

Aidan Smith19 Sep 2020

KUWAIT Livestock Transport and Trading (KLTT) – Australia’s largest buyer of live sheep – has sold its twin-tier livestock vessel the Al Shuwaikh for an undisclosed amount.

KLTT’s Western Australian subsidiary, Rural Export and Trading WA managing director Mike Gordon said a Jordanian company, Al Delta Company, purchased the vessel about two weeks ago.

The Al Shuwaikh was due to be phased out from the Australian trade because of new marine orders that prohibited twin-tier vessels from operating in Australia beyond January 1, 2020, without an exemption.

Until now the vessel did have an exemption but it was only used for sheep.

A clause in the paperwork was discovered only when it was pointed out to the company by agriculture department officials, that denied them the ability to load cattle on deck five, costing KLTT $1million per voyage from WA.

Mr Gordon said the 34-year-old Al Shuwaikh was “due to be retired”.

He said the company would continue to service Australia “for the foreseeable future” with its two remaining vessels, the Al Messilah and the newly-purchased Al Kuwait, the world’s largest livestock carrier.

Mr Gordon said the vessels would be spaced to run back-to-back trips from September 16 to May 30, 2021, until the northern hemisphere summer moratorium prohibited trade to the Middle East (June 1 to September 15).

The company would also divert the vessels to South Africa when needed.

Two other twin-tier vessels had been servicing the Australian market – the Maysora and the Bader III.

Livestock Shipping Services, which owns these vessels, had cut the upper deck from the Bader III but decided to utilise the vessel in other markets.

Farm Weekly understands that the company has applied for an exemption for the Maysora to continue to service Australia in the short-term, however it’s last known position was off the coast of north-west Africa.

Just a few of our (WAV) past posts related to the AS:

Regards Mark

Tragic – 380 whales have died after becoming stranded off Australian coast. Mass Rescue Attempt To Help Survivors.

TOPSHOT - This photograph taken on September 21, 2020 shows a pod of whales stranded on a sandbar in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania. - Up to 90 whales have died and a "challenging" operation is underway to rescue 180 more still stranded in a remote bay in southern Australia on September 22. Scientists said two large pods of long-finned pilot whales became stuck on sandbars in Macquarie Harbour, on Tasmania's sparsely populated west coast. (Photo by - / POOL / AFP) (Photo by -/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

380 whales have died after becoming stranded off Australian coast

Officials believe that the new group of the whales found stranded are mostly dead, and cannot be rescued.

Around 380 whales have died after becoming stranded in an inlet off the coast of the Australian island of Tasmania, according to officials.

In the remote town of Strahan, rescuers had been scrambling to save the survivors among what was thought to be 270 pilot whales on Monday, from a beach and two sandbanks.

STRAHAN, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Marine rescue teams attempt to help save hundreds of pilot whales stranded on a sand bar on September 22, 2020 in Strahan, Australia. More than 200 pilot whales are stranded on a sandbank at Macquarie Harbour on the west coast of Tasmania, with rescuers desperately trying to save the whales as more than 90 are feared dead. (Photo by Brodie Weeding/The Advocate - Pool/Getty Images)

Read it all at:

https://news.sky.com/story/almost-500-whales-now-stranded-on-australian-island-of-tasmania-12079113

Tackling respiratory diseases with advanced non-animal models.

respiratory – Google Search

Respiratory System: Facts, Function and Diseases | Live Science

Tackling respiratory diseases with advanced non-animal models

21 September 2020

A new JRC study describes almost 300 non-animal models used for research on respiratory diseases and the development of new drugs and therapies.

Respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer are the most common of all diseases and causes of death worldwide.

However, over 90% of new candidate drugs fail to make it through clinical trials and gain market approval. Although there are several reasons for this, limitations of animal models to capture critical aspects of human physiology and disease are being increasingly cited as a critical issue.

Attention is shifting therefore to non-animal models and methods based on human relevant tools and thinking to advance our understanding of respiratory diseases and offer new hope to patients.  

The study, coordinated by the JRC’s EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM), has produced a unique knowledge base that contains detailed descriptions of nearly 300 non-animal models being used for respiratory disease research.

The knowledge base is in an easy-to-use spreadsheet format and is freely available to download from the EURL ECVAM Collection in the JRC Data Catalogue.

In building the knowledge base, over 21,000 abstracts from the scientific literature were screened and from these, a total of 284 publications were selected that described the most representative and innovative models.

“To our knowledge this is the first time that such advanced non-animal models used in biomedical sciences have been systematically collected and analysed”, comments JRC scientist Laura Gribaldo. “It’s been a real challenge to put all the information together in a structured and easily accessible format since there is a huge amount of heterogeneous data out there spread over a plethora of different scientific journals and electronic resources.”

To our knowledge this is the first time that such advanced non-animal models used in biomedical sciences have been systematically collected and analysed.

Laura Gribaldo, JRC scientist

Regards Mark

New Zealand: Live Export – It Is Not Worth the Suffering.

From our live export campaigner friends at SAFE in New Zealand:

Kia ora Mark

Tens of thousands of animals have died in live export disasters over the last decade.

Animals are exported alive from New Zealand for breeding due to a loophole in our law. These animals are transported in dangerous conditions on open sea voyages or by air. When they reach their destination, they are likely kept and slaughtered in ways that are illegal in New Zealand.
 

Live export is not worth the suffering. 
 
SAFE has launched an ambitious international campaign to put pressure on Labour leader Jacinda Ardern to impose a complete ban on all live export.

This advertisement is running in the Guardian online and will be seen by hundreds of thousands of readers across the UK and Europe.

Jacinda Ardern is known around the world for being a good leader and in Aotearoa New Zealand for putting kindness at the forefront of her values. Sadly, that kindness does not extend to animals.
 
The appalling human and animal suffering that happened when the Gulf Livestock 1 sank cannot happen again.
 
Jacinda Ardern needs to know just how many people care about animal welfare, and that the world’s attention is on how New Zealand handles this disaster. Our international reputation depends on it.

SAFE has run an advertisement in the Guardian newspaper so that people around the world can ask Jacinda Ardern to extend her kindness to animals and ban live export once and for all. You can help by sharing this advertisement with your friends and family via email and social media.

Share the advertisement now:

This year, approximately 65,000 cows have left our shores. There are significant risks to the welfare of farmed animals transported by ship, especially over long distances. The Pacific Ocean is renowned for rough seas that can cause the cows to suffer seasickness and be thrown around and injured. The rough seas, unnatural diet, high stocking densities and heat stress all have a negative effect on these animals, with some suffering injuries and others dying on board.

Once the journey is over, they may well end up confined in concrete factory farms for the rest of their lives, never to set foot on grass again. Then, when no longer deemed profitable, these cows will be killed, most likely by methods so cruel they are illegal in New Zealand.
 
We need to keep up the opposition to this cruel trade, and we can’t do it without you. Please make a gift today towards SAFE’s international campaign so we can continue to shine a spotlight on New Zealand’s cruel live export trade.

Animals need us to all work together to end their suffering.
 
Let’s ban live export – once and for all.  

Debra Ashton
Chief Executive Officer

Donate and give a gift to the campaign:

Show Jacinda that live export harms New Zealand’s reputation:

Regards Mark