Choose health, not poison

23 November 2020

20,000,000 waterbirds dead. 400,000 tonnes of lead.
The poisoning continues despite legal obligation to phase out lead shot in wetlands 20 years ago, when the 2000 African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement deadline passed. This week MEPs have the opportunity to ban lead with a workable proposal that benefits people, animals & nature and help banning lead gunshots.

The health of European citizens, biodiversity and the environment is at stake as a result of the use of toxic lead gunshot. The Commission is seeking to repair this through a ban on the use of lead gunshot in wetlands.

A very small proportion of EU citizens release 1000s of tonnes of toxic lead gunshot into the environment year on year. This is despite excellent non-toxic alternative gunshot types being available which are comparably priced and in common usage in many Member States.

The price of the toxic pollution is currently being borne by:

One million waterbirds poisoned to death annually, millions more suffering;

People exposed to lead gunshot in their food – of particular importance to children and pregnant women due to impacts of lead on the developing brain;

Soils contaminated and then poisoned for future agricultural use.

Wetlands International, together with Conservation without Borders, Eurogroup for Animals, European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Migratory Birds for People and WWT urge you to end this old-fashioned polluting habit and support the proposal from the Commission to ban use of lead gunshot in wetlands as a significant step to a toxic-free future.

 Read more

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Leading Animal Protection groups join forces for animal testing bans

23 November 2020

Following calls from EU authorities for cosmetics ingredients to be tested on animals, Europe’s leading animal protection groups have sent a joint statement to MEPs urging them to uphold the groundbreaking cosmetics testing and marketing bans.

Even though the testing of cosmetics ingredients on animals is banned under the EU Cosmetics Regulation, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Commission (EC) argued that even ingredients used exclusively in cosmetics may still be tested on animals under the REACH regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) if there is a possibility of workforce exposure during the manufacturing process. For cosmetics ingredients also used in other types of products, tests on animals may, they say, be required regardless of any potential for workforce exposure.

It is imperative that the purpose of the Cosmetics Regulation – that cosmetics products are safely brought to market using only non-animal data – be met without compromising the bans. For ingredients marketed under the Cosmetics Regulation that have a history of safe use by consumers and of controlled handling on the factory floor, robust protection of both workers and consumers is already enabled through a variety of non-animal assessment methods and the careful application of exposure assessments. When regulators decide that a new ingredient cannot be brought safely to market without animal testing, its introduction should be delayed until additional non-animal test methods are available.

The recent administrative decisions are not the end of the road for the cosmetics testing and marketing bans. We maintain that new safety assessment data for cosmetics substances imported into, manufactured or sold within the EU may only rely on non-animal assessment methods. The wishes of citizens and legislators are clear: ECHA and the European Commission must be held accountable and compelled to uphold the terms of the EU cosmetics animal test and marketing bans as originally intended.

As animal protection organisations, we call for the European Parliament and the European Commission to ensure that the following mandates are urgently carried out:

• The EU bans on animal testing for cosmetics and the marketing of ingredients tested on animals must be fully upheld and implemented as intended by the legislators. 

• EU test requirements – including requirements set out in REACH – must not undermine the bans but instead must apply a substance-tailored approach to ensure consumers, workers, and the environment are protected without further tests on animals. 

• The European Commission must devise a robust testing strategy for cosmetics ingredients using only available non-animal assessment strategies so that the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability reflects the overwhelming support for strengthening – rather than weakening – the protection of animals in Europe. 

The joint statement and list of signatories can be seen here.

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The Cologne Administrative Court has banned 132 pregnant cattle from being transported to Morocco on the grounds that the cattle there are often not slaughtered in accordance with animal welfare standards.

The 132 Holstein cows were pregnant and, according to the carrier, should go to a Moroccan dairy farm. The judges didn’t believe that, however.

According to the court order, the sales contract and the logbook show that the buyer was a slaughterhouse.

Berlin, November 24th, 2020:
PROVIEH welcomes the decision of the Cologne Administrative Court to ban the export of live animals to Morocco.

Before the Cologne Administrative Court decided in favor of the ban, the veterinary office had initially refused permission to transport the pregnant cattle to Morocco.

Two exporters had sued against this – and lost in an urgent procedure.

The transport planned for November 18, 2020, was not allowed to take place because the judges in Morocco feared that the animals would be slaughtered in a manner that was not appropriate to animal welfare.

“The decision of the Cologne Administrative Court evaluates PROVIEH as a success for animal welfare. There is a very high probability that the cattle in Morocco would have been slaughtered under conditions that were contrary to animal welfare, ” comments Patrick Müller, Head of Capital at PROVIEH.

“The decision was intended to encourage other veterinary offices not to process any transports that are expected to contain animal welfare violations en route or in the destination country.

We finally need nationwide uniform regulations for animal transports so that there are no more blatant misjudgments, such as the one from the Potsdam Administrative Court a few weeks ago, where the transport of pregnant cattle was permitted with reference to the EU regulation.

The European regulation for the protection of animals during transport must also be interpreted uniformly and completely in terms of animal welfare. “

Time and again, massive animal welfare violations occur in the case of live animal exports.

Problems arise from the fact that the animals are not regularly and insufficiently fed and supplied with water, even at high temperatures.

Supply breaks are not observed, appropriate supply stations, especially in third countries, are not approached or do not even exist. In the EU, the regulations are completely inadequate, but compliance with these minimum requirements is not even ensured in third countries.

The applicable law is repeatedly circumvented when live animal exports to third countries: The animals are often declared as breeding animals, although experts doubt that the animals are actually used for breeding.

Usually neither the climate is suitable, nor is there a suitable food base for the animals in the destination country.

The animals are “consumed” within a short time and are often slaughtered under dire conditions.

This has now also been recognized by the Cologne Administrative Court, at least in the case of a transport to Morocco.

For more…at https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/11/24/germany-transport-ban-of-132-pregnant-cattle-to-morocco/

 

And I mean…“The transport of certain animals is prohibited according to the EU directive and the related regulation (EC) No. 1/2005.

This applies to very young animals, for example, calves under ten days old, piglets under three weeks old, and lambs under a week, unless the distance is less than 100 kilometers

The EU regulation also prohibits the transport of pregnant animals in the last phase of pregnancy and for one week after birth. “

The larger the EU becomes, the greater the distances over which animals are traded.
For example, calves are sold to Spain from the age of 10 days. A trip that takes two to three days from Germany.

Although according to the EU statute it is forbidden to transport calves in long distances if they are less than 14 days old.

If the calves come from Eastern European countries, the journey time is correspondingly longer.

And there are other transport routes. Namely those to countries outside Europe.

What happens in slaughterhouses in third countries has been documented for years, how the animals are mistreated on the transports, and how cruel are the methods with which they are ultimately slaughtered.

Nevertheless, neither the corrupt German federal government nor the unsuitable European Commission does anything to prevent this unnecessary (and illegal) cruelty to animals.

As in many areas, the German government has totally failed in the area of ​​animal welfare. Why?
Because factory farming is wanted by the government and will continue to be subsidized with billions in taxpayers’ money.

Although the meat is cheap and almost every second pig ends up in the garbage, the large surplus of meat is exported abroad and the keeping conditions for the poor animals have hardly or not at all improved, new factory farms are being approved more and more.
This is totally sick.

But these are the excesses of damn capitalism. Money rules the world and the unscrupulous owners of the agricultural corporations who trample animal welfare can go on as they want.

We welcome the decision of the court, but the fate of animals during animal transport should be regulated by a uniform law and not be dependent on private decisions.

Because then we cannot talk about effective animal welfare, but only about nice judges.

My best regards to all, Venus

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EU / Romania: Live Export from Europe to Third Countries is Booming Despite Tragedies. – World Animals Voice

Live export from Europe to third countries is booming despite tragedies

23 November 2020

Animals International

Press Release

1 year after the live export vessel MV Queen Hind capsised killing thousands of sheep no one is held responsible. Eurogroup for Animals and Animals International, its member organisation in Romania, today remember the thousands of sheep who endured the most horrible death a year ago in the Romanian harbour of Midia.

For immediate release: Brussels, Bucharest 24 November 2020

The tragic anniversary is the opportunity to remind the lack of action by the Romanian Government and the EU Commission which led this barbaric trade to continue, with over 4 millions cattle, sheep and goats being shipped in despicable conditions to countries where animal welfare doesn’t meet the European standards.

Romania alone experienced a major raise in live animal exports since the Queen Hind capsised, with more than 2 million animals leaving the country by sea to reach North Africa and the Middle East, a journey that may take up to three weeks. 

While Romanian authorities insist that the density was 10% less than usual, the company hired to take the ship out of the water found secret decks with extra animals that were not part of the official vessel documents. The Romanian Government has not published their conclusions on the incident’s investigation.

The Queen Hind was overloaded, and animals were sentenced to an unavoidable death caused by greed and corruption. The Romanian Government has made no step forward to end live export and has also failed to progress in its commitment to work towards phasing out the trade.

Commented Gabriel Paun, EU Director of Animals International.

Temperatures in the Gulf may reach 50 degrees Celsius in the shade. Despite evidence of Romanian sheep suffering extreme heat stress, in July the Romanian Parliament passed a new law allowing live exports to take place when temperatures rise above 35 degrees Celsius. Even with the added requirements to shear animals and reduce stocking density by 10%, thisnew law breaches the EU transport Regulation that clearly demands Member States to freeze exports if temperatures soar above 35 degrees. 

This bill was debated after the Queen Hind tragedy and was initially aiming to improve the welfare of exported animals by freezing exports during summer, as Australia has done, and having a veterinarian on board all ships. But interference by foreign animal trading companies in the Parliamentary debates saw the bill watered down in a form that breaches the current EU Regulation. 

The audits carried out by the EC in European harbours indicate major deficiencies, especially in Romania which dedicates more than half of their maritime fleet to export of EU animals to third countries. The Commission concluded that these authorisations were granted superficially and that the fleet endangered animals and crew. 

Moreover, within the Farm to Fork strategy the EC intends to revise the EU animal transport regulation and the EP created the Committee of Inquiry on the protection of animals during transport (ANIT). 

Thanks to the ANIT Committee we believe that MEPs will have all the evidence they need to investigate how Member States apply the current Transport regulation and finally stop live transport in favor of meat and carcasses trade.

Commented Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals.

Animals International and Eurogroup for Animals call on the EU Commission to start an infringement procedure against the Romanian Government for continuously failing to comply with the EU animal transport regulation. 

In the aftermath of the incident Eurogroup for Animals members Animals International and Four Paws were both involved in the rescue operations.

ENDS

Some of our WAV posts associated with this:

EU;; Have the Welfare Lobby Been Saying This for Years ? – DG SANTE audit reveals major problems with live export from Romania ! – World Animals Voice

Romania: The Live Export Sheep Trade Is Killing Farmers -Romania Needs Meat Processing; and Fast ! – World Animals Voice

Breaking – Romanian Government Calls Off Rescue Efforts to Save Sheep Still Alive Inside Export Ship, Despite Claims That Sounds Can Still Be Heard. – World Animals Voice

Syrian Crew; Registered in the Pacific; A Rust Bucket Vessel 40 Years Old, Ignorant Romania ; Useless EU – It All Adds Up to a Cheap and Nasty Live Export Business as We Have Said for Decades ! – World Animals Voice

Well Done France- Imposing a Live Animal Transport Ban in Extreme Heat. But EU, What About the 70,000 Romanian Sheep Being Exported In 40 Degrees Temperatures ? – Time the EU Enforced Its Policies – Hard Action not Soft Talk ! – World Animals Voice

EU: Live Export Latest – MEP Demands Action Against Romania – and … Is the new President-elect of the Commission committed to making a change for animals? – World Animals Voice

Kuwait / Romania: Livestock Ship Watch – 70,000 Live Sheep Exported from Romania en route to Kuwait. – World Animals Voice

Romania: Is Exporting 70,000 Live Sheep to the Gulf. They are Still In Port in Midia (Romania) – More News to Come. – World Animals Voice

Regards Mark

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EU and US block plans to protect world’s fastest shark. – World Animals Voice

EU and US block plans to protect world’s fastest shark

The population of shortfin mako, mainly caught as bycatch but also prized by sports fishermen, is facing an alarming decline

 

Conservationists accused the EU and the US at negotiations of Atlantic fishing nations this week of blocking urgently needed plans to protect the world’s fastest shark species.

The strength and speed of the shortfin mako, which can swim up to 43mph, makes it a target for sports fishermen, particularly in the US, while its highly prized meat and fins have led to the shark being overfished globally – and dangerously so in the north Atlantic.

The population could take five decades to recover even if fishing were to stop immediately, according to scientists at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), a fisheries management organisation.

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The majority of mako caught in the north Atlantic in 2019 were landed by EU vessels, mainly from Spain and Portugal followed by Morocco. Most mako sharks are bycatch – accidentally caught by boats hunting different species.

Last year, international governments voted to regulate trade in the endangered species, under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, after the EU co-sponsored a proposal.

But there was no outright ban, and this week Britain – in its first official act as an independent member of ICCAT – backed a proposal by Canada for such a ban. The UK said it was extremely disappointed that no agreement had been reached in 2019.

The EU and the US, however, refused to back the ban, saying it would not in itself stop mako mortality as bycatch. Each suggested separate proposals that would allow boats to continue to land mako in certain circumstances. Given the lack of consensus, the ICCAT committee chairman said he had no choice but to postpone any decision on mako catches until 2021.

“North Atlantic mako depletion remains among the world’s most pressing shark conservation crises, yet the EU and US put short-term fishing interests above all else and ruined a golden opportunity for agreeing a clear and simple remedy,” said Ali Hood, director of conservation for the Shark Trust.

Grantly Galland, an officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts’ fisheries team, said the delay in adopting a ban would speed the decline of a species already at dangerously low population levels.

“The only real advice from scientists to ICCAT is to have a no-retention policy. Another year of catching at the current level will leave the population in the north Atlantic in even worse shape,” Galland said.

Scientists warned last year that the important predator was declining faster than previously thought. They recommended annual landings of mako in the north Atlantic be reduced from 3,000 tonnes to 300, to allow the population to recover.

Ian Campbell, associate director of policy for Project Aware, a non-profit working with sports divers in ocean protection, said: “It has been heartbreaking to watch the US devolve from a global shark conservation leader to a primary obstacle to international, science-based protections for endangered makos.” He urged the incoming Joe Biden and Kamala Harris administration to “restore US commitment to science and the precautionary approach”, particularly for vulnerable marine life.

EU and US block plans to protect world’s fastest shark | Sharks | The Guardian

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USA: Trump is rushing to hold a fire sale of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. – World Animals Voice

Hi Mark,

Just as polar bear cubs are about to be born and begin denning with their mothers, Trump is rushing to hold a fire sale of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

He invited oil and gas companies to identify which areas of the refuge’s coastal plain they’d like to drill, then proposed to toss out rules on offshore drilling. New cubs could one day see oil rigs from their dens.

This pristine landscape is not his to sell, so we’re in court to stop him.

Please support our work to keep drilling out of the Arctic by giving to the Saving Life on Earth Fund. Your donation today will be doubled.

Trump and his greedy friends know time’s running out for them to plunder public lands for personal gain, which is why they’re moving fast to auction off leases to drill in the refuge.

Those leases will make it harder to keep this treasured landscape from turning into an oilfield.

We can’t let them get away with this last-minute money grab.

We’re in court to block more than 1.5 million acres of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from being opened to oil and gas drilling.

And we have a separate lawsuit in the works to stop Trump’s plan to open more than 18 million acres of the western Arctic.

Drilling in these areas will cause oil spills and greenhouse gas emissions already threatening polar bears with extinction. It will also decimate important caribou habitat, including areas where they raise their calves.

It’s obscene that after one of the worst seasons of wildfires and hurricanes in history, the administration’s priority is to worsen the climate crisis by giving handouts to Big Oil.

We can’t let the administration get away with ruining the Arctic refuge on its way out the door.

Please, help our fight for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge today with a matched gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.

For the wild,

Kierán Suckling
Executive Director
Center for Biological Diversity

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I watched today a very disturbing programme on the plastic pollution down the entire lengths of the Wite and Blue Nile rivers.  Microplastics which are in all the fish now swimming the Nile; caught and eaten by people; and the huge, massive plastic dumps on which cows, donkeys and goats are grazing to survive.  Tributaries of the Nile now completely clogged / blocked up with used plastic bags and just the largest amount of plastic bottles you will ever see.  Depressing, real depressing.

It was on ‘Sky’ – and here is the link in which you can see some of the devastation I witnessed in the programme.

https://news.sky.com/story/plastic-nile-pulling-up-plastic-from-the-river-is-horribly-frighteningly-easy-11996674

Here is the trailer video for the programme – https://youtu.be/3Iz1OzZDgUw

“Fish in the Nile have no choice but to eat plastic”.

The thing I find most depressing is that there are some world people who; given their financial status; could pump some money into solving eco disasters such as this.  Instead they become simple losers who do everything in their power to remain non-losers.  For weeks now we have watched with sadness and amazement, the things that one person will do to try and hold on to power; when the good people of the USA have enacted their democratic right and voted to rid themselves of the plague that currently infests the White House.

But, he, the ‘infestation’; is a global warming climate denier, does not give a damn about animals or the environment in general; yet seems to expect; or should that be ‘demand’, that people fully support him ?

He has money which could be put into fighting world climate and eco devastation projects; instead he pumps it all into keeping his own, and his families heads above water; attempting to preserve his status when the democratic right of the American people have told him to take a walk.

His fortune will not solve any eco problems the world has; which is very sad considering that if he really wanted to be ‘liked’ by a lot more; he could easily invest into campaigns to improve the planet and make it a better place rather than the eco disaster it is now rapidly becoming.  So, in my personal view; an idiot who will never get one ounce of respect out of me.  Respect has to be earned; I have learnt that throughout my life trying to be a voice for animals; and to me; he deserves not one ounce of respect; he is simply not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat; he is a Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, being a Brit, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a big time bully.

I think you can guess who I write about !

From supporter ‘Climate Change Take Action Now’ who we thank for drawing this very important issue to our attention.  We are really an animal site; but like all people involved with animals; protection of the environment and the wonderful world we inhabit is all part of the same game.

Regards Mark – and give a shit when it comes to being a voice for the planet and for the environment.

https://youtu.be/K9MaGf-Su9I

Climate change: Europe’s melting glaciers | DW Documentary

It is far too late to save the Alpine glaciers. And now, the dangers caused by tons of melting ice are rising sharply. Every year, climate change is destroying two of the currently 70 square kilometers of glaciers left in the Alps.

The permafrost in the Alps is thawing, and transforming what used to be sturdy slopes into loose screes. In addition, climate change is leading to significantly more extreme weather conditions every year, while heavy rainfall causes serious erosion. The result: avalanches and landslides like those in Bondo, Switzerland, or Valsertal in Austria.
In Switzerland, residential areas are shrinking as people are forced to leave their homes forever. The disappearance of glaciers as water reservoirs is already posing a major problem. Farmers in Engadine, who have been using meltwater for irrigation for centuries, are already facing water shortages. Last summer, they had to rely on helicopters to transport water to their herds in the Grison Alps. Above all, alpine villages depend on winter tourism to survive. Yet experts are forecasting that by mid-century, there will only be enough natural snow left to ski above 2,000 meters, which will spell out the end for about 70 percent of the ski resorts in the Eastern Alps. But instead of developing alternatives, lots of money is still being invested in ski tourism. Snow cannon are used to defy climate change, and artificial snow systems are under construction at ever higher altitudes. As usual, it’s the environment that is set to lose as the unique alpine landscape is further destroyed by soil compaction and erosion. Some municipalities are now working on new models of alpine tourism for the future. As global temperatures continue to rise, the cooler mountain regions will become increasingly attractive for tourists, especially in the summer.

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A few glacier related issues we have covered on WAV in the past:

Switzerland: Pizol glacier: Swiss hold funeral for ice lost to global warming. – World Animals Voice

Tibet: Tibet sees 27.7 percent fall in glacier ice coverage, research finds. – World Animals Voice

Greenland’s Ice Has Melted Beyond Return, Study Suggests. – World Animals Voice

Environmental – The ‘doomsday’ glacier. – World Animals Voice

Climate Change Reconsidered: Science the U.N. Will Exclude from Its Next Climate Report – News on Climate Change

https://youtu.be/jaVL1Ham-4A

Climate Change Reconsidered: Science the U.N. Will Exclude from Its Next Climate Report

“Climate Change Reconsidered II: Physical Science” — produced by a team of 40 scientists — is the newest volume in the Climate Change Reconsidered series produced by The Heartland Institute and members of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC). As in previous reports, thousands of peer-reviewed articles are cited to determine the current state-of-the-art of climate science. This newest volume’s findings challenge the alarmist reports of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose next report is due out later this month. NIPCC authors paid special attention to contributions that were overlooked by the IPCC or that presented data, discussion, or implications, arguing against the IPCC’s claim that dangerous global warming is occurring, or will occur, from human-related greenhouse gas emissions.

 

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