“What matters is what comes out at the back”, said Helmut Kohl—> German Chancellor until 1998.

We remember his wise words in today’s Corona times

Regards and good night, Venus

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Ravens are considered to be particularly intelligent: They learn quickly and use tools purposefully. One reason the birds are so smart could be because of their long childhood.

Because some corvids stay with their parents for a very long time – and have so much time to learn even complex things in a protective setting.

Cognitive scientists from the German University of Osnabrück and the Max Planck Society have now investigated how clever they actually are.

They compared the physical and social skills of ravens with those of chimpanzees and orangutans.
It was shown that the tested ravens already had a comparable cognitive performance as great apes at the age of four months.

The study was published in the journal “Scientific Reports”.

The scientists wanted to find out, for example, whether ravens know where to find food. To do this, they hid treats in a cup that was hidden between other cups and moved back and forth like a shell game.

The ravens pointed with their beak at the correct cup and pecked at it.

Face recognition

Ravens recognize faces – and in this way identify, for example, “bad” people five years after a trapping operation. Even ravens who had only seen the face once were afraid of those faces later.

By the way, ravens live with the same partner for a lifetime. Each year the couple raise two to five boys who are very carefully looked after by their parents.

Corvids are the front runners among the feathered geniuses.

They can also plan for the future and carefully divide their food over several days or keep provisions. Just like us, humans, only without a refrigerator!

For more…at https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/12/13/ravens-are-as-smart-as-great-apes/

And I mean… The EU Birds Directive stipulates:
(…)
Art. 8: “Prohibited hunting methods: With regard to the hunting, catching, or killing of birds within the framework of this directive, the member states prohibit all means, facilities or methods by which birds are caught or killed in large numbers or indiscriminately or which in certain areas May lead to the disappearance of a bird species, in particular the means, facilities and methods listed in Annex IV letter a)”.
(…)
“Annex IV of the EU Birds Directive lists poisoned bait, blinded or mutilated live birds, night vision devices, etc. also explicitly named trap traps”.

In Germany the hunting season for ravens is allowed from August 1st to February 20th, they can be hunted by the hunters. Live traps are prohibited.
But traps for ravens and birds of prey are legally offered on the Internet.

Crow hunting in Upper Franconia, Bavaria

Like everything in the hunting business, this has to do with hypocrisy and lobbying.

The pursuit palette ranges from shooting and shooting nests to poisoning and trapping: either with manslaughter traps such as Gooseneck or leghold traps (possession permitted, use prohibited) or live traps with decoys (e.g. Nordic crow mass trap with a live decoy pigeon).

Ladder traps (“Nordic Crow Catching”) are usually large facilities that at first glance look like an aviary.

It’s a crow trap-Germany

On the top, these traps have one or more openings that allow a bird to get inside, but then, like a fish trap, cannot find it again. The opening is always provided with rungs and looks like a ladder that is mounted on the “aviary”.

Inside there are either meat baits or live pigeons, crows or magpies. These decoys can be used to catch both predatory birds and corvids.

The ban on trapping birds also applies to the latter, so this type of trap is always illegal.

There are practically no controls for hunters in Germany. In other countries, forest or environmental police have been set up, but in Germany, the hunter can do what he wants.

Of course, there is the Federal Hunting Act and other laws to be observed.

But it works like in almost all areas of life: where there is no plaintiff, there is no judge…

My best regards to all, Venus

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WAV Comment:  We are really pleased to be able to give to Harmony Fund every month – and it is great to see the donations being put to such great use as shown in the video.  We would encourage everyone to give to HF if possible, to make the world for animals a better place – and to fill their bellies !

Those of you who have walked with us on this journey for the past 11 years know that Harmony Fund is a small charity doing BIG things. We throw our arms around underdog animal rescue squads all over the planet, creating circles of care to deliver food, shelter and veterinary care to thousands of animals each month. We recently brought food in for all the dogs, cats and horses at the beautiful Fundatia Sky rescue center in Romania…and it was breathtaking.

Two 18 wheeler trucks drove all the way from Germany to Romania, more than 1,000 miles, with 40 tons of kibble and canned food for hundreds of dogs and cats at Fundatia Sky shelter.  This food will also be shared with many homeless animals in the community.  Pet food is much less expensive in Germany and a higher quality and quanity of food can be bought here, making this the most efficient option. 

But that’s not all. Another 40 tons of locally sourced hay was then brought in for the horses, and they started eating right off the lorries long before the men could unload the bales.  

Watch the video on our website

To give or donate, please click on:

Season of Giving to the Animals | Harmony Fund
 

Thanks

Mark – WAV.

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England: The end of dairy’s ‘dirty secret’? – World Animals Voice

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Animal Outlook Demands Investigation of Bravo Packing

 DECEMBER 11, 2020 ANIMALS,  INVESTIGATIONS,  NEWS LEAVE A COMMENT

Pet food maker Bravo Packing has long, sordid past of filthy conditions, contaminated products

Animal Outlook’s legal team filed a complaint with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDH) regarding Bravo Packing. Bravo Packing (not affiliated with Bravo Pet Foods) produces and distributes food for dogs and exotic animals. The company has a long history of troubling animal abuse allegations and food safety concerns. Yet it has failed to resolve dangerous contamination issues despite complaints, FDA warnings and at least one recall. 

Past violations include exotic animal food made from horses that was contaminated with the euthanasia drug Pentobarbital as well as repeated instances of Salmonella contamination in the plant’s Performance Dog Diet food. Government inspection reports cite egregious violations of food safety protocol, threatening the health and welfare of thousands of people and animals exposed to Bravo’s tainted products. 

Evidence of Salmonella

In October 2020, Animal Outlook obtained a sample of Performance Dog Diet food from one of Bravo’s distributors in California. A laboratory test revealed evidence of Salmonella. This makes four times in as many years that Bravo products intended for animal food were found to contain dangerous contamination.

In addition to food safety issues like those discovered at Bravo Packing, many consumers are unaware that farmed animals suffer immeasurably within the loosely regulated pet food industry. One study found the DNA of eight different species of animals present in a selection of commercial pet foods, including cows, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, geese and turkeys. Many of these animals—often sick, injured, or unable to walk—were deemed unfit for human consumption and their bodies, including “blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, and stomach and rumen contents” make their way into pet food. 

For years, Bravo has used the bodies of horses and cows to produce food in filthy, squalid conditions with utter disregard for the safety of humans and animals alike. Animal Outlook’s complaint urges the FDA and the NJDH to penalize Bravo to the fullest extent of the law, including criminal charges, fines and a permanent suspension of operations. The agencies must act swiftly to protect consumers and their cherished animal family members from Bravo’s reckless disregard for health and safety. 

Animal Outlook Demands Investigation of Bravo Packing | Animal Outlook

As part of our 25th anniversary celebration, all donations made will be matched by a group of generous donors. Your donation today to support our legal team and brave investigators will have double the impact in helping animals. Please visit animaloutlook.org/celebrate25.

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