Posted on August 24, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
A gang of poachers is said to have killed more than 100 animals, including protected birds of prey.
The gang is said to have been active in the districts of Gmunden, Salzburg-area in Austria.
The police also found dozens of firearms.
The poachers were equipped like members of a special military unit. Rifles, silencers, and night vision devices were used to shoot everything during night operations which is not allowed.
The list of slain animals is long!
At least 26 deer, gray and little egrets, beavers, foxes, buzzards, goosander, brown hares, pheasants, weasels, muskrats, crows, pigeons, jackdaws, jays, sparrows, green and black woodpeckers, house sparrows, blackbirds, squirrels, and brown trout were killed without to pay attention to any restrictions or closed seasons.
Beavers, foxes, squirrels, blackbirds – almost everything was poached
Frozen wildlife in the house
The police have been looking for the accused, who are between 19 and 52 years old, for months.
A 27-year-old was the first to go online during a traffic check in the early morning hours of June 1st in the Gmunden district.
He had a hunting rifle in his car, and in his house, there were frozen wild animals and some hunting trophies.
Further investigations led to more and more poachers, and house searches revealed more and more illegally hunted animals. In addition, 78 firearms of all categories, several thousand rounds of ammunition of various calibers, 31 silencers, night vision devices, and thermal imaging cameras as well as extensive equipment for self-production of ammunition were seized.
1. Expensive telescopic sights, night vision devices, thermal imaging cameras, 31 silencers, 78 rifles, and several thousand rounds of ammunition!
Who can afford that?
Guess!! people from the military.
2. “The perpetrators explain the offenses because of their interest in hunting and weapons. The awareness of injustice is likely to be very low,” says a district inspector.
Is it different by hunters?
Of course not.
Hunters also kill pregnant animals, mother animals, young animals, pets, stray animals …everything that moves.
Hunting is murder, hunters are murderers, it doesn’t change whether the murder is committed by the poacher or the hunter.
3. (the best at the end): “Among the victims are nine owners of hunting grounds who want to be compensated with around 15,000 euros” !!!!
For those who didn’t understand: the poachers have murdered in foreign territories! that annoyed the hunters, who had leased the territory, then they demanded that the “others” have to pay for it.
The financial loss counts for the hunters, not the animals!
Compensating hunters as victims because others have murdered their animals and not themselves, that’s what I call an indictment of the government and the media.
This is an issue which has been a ‘battleground’ for UK animal campaigners and the official British government Defence Ministry for many years. As an animal activist; I have been involved with this in the past as I feel the use of bearskin is completely unnecessary now days; and has been for many years.
If London soldiers (and others) have to parade around in furry hats; then let them; fine; I have no objection to that; but all I say is that with the progress in faux fur over the years; there is no need now for real bearskins to be used in a soldiers hat. The wearing of bearskin caps goes way back to 1815 when the British fought at Waterloo; have we not moved on a bit since then ? – over 200 years later ?
I have argued the case for a ban on real bearskin with my MP in the distant past; and have always had the reply of ‘indigenous peoples need to get the skins’ as (in my opinion) an excuse for the unnecessary killing of bears. That is what it comes down to – the slaughter of bears to make hats – it is unnecessary in 2020 as there are a lot of options available that do not involve any cruelty.
Fur farming was banned in the UK some 20 years ago; and we as Brits are well proud of that. Tribute must go to Mark and the team at ‘Respect for Animals’ who undertook a fantastic campaign to achieve this. His work continues everywhere – find out more at http://www.respectforanimals.org/
From what we now understand, once the UK has finally left the EU next year (20201) and is not bound by single market (EU) rules; new legislation could be introduced (in the UK) to ban the use of real bearskin in the guards hats. It may seem a bit confusing – the UK formally left the EU at the start of 2020; but it is now in a ‘transition period’ (during 2020) with the EU where trade deals are going to be negotiated and set. This is to allow trade between the UK and the EU; so at the moment, despite leaving the EU, the UK cannot really introduce its own legislation; free from the rules of the EU, until new trade negotiations are completed this year (2020). Issues like animal welfare are included in the negotiations; and with higher, good welfare standards than in some places within the EU; UK activists do not want to see the UK lowering standards to those of some EU nations with issues such as intensive farming and fur.
Very recently; the UK government DEFRA; (Department for Food, the Environment and Regional Affairs) confirmed a sale ban which could raise standards (laws) further with regards fur products by the introduction of new laws; once the UK is completely free in 2021. The ban could affect both new and vintage coats, and also see shops selling decades old furs from being sold. Many areas in London are already not selling any fur products; a move which we welcome.
DEFRA said in their statement: “the UK has some of the highest welfare standards in the world and this is both a source of pride and a clear reflection of British attitudes towards animals. Fur farming has been banned in this country (UK) for nearly 20 years, and at the end of the transition period we will be able to properly consider steps to raise (our) standards even further. This is something that the Government is very keen to do”.
We at WAV would also include here the issue of live animal exports. Under current EU rules, the UK cannot introduce an individual state ban on live animal export; but this will be possible in 2021; post trade negotiations; when the UK is free from the shackles of the EU and can make its own legislations. In 2021 we are hoping that with campaign pressure and the vast majority wish of the British people voicing opinion against live export, the UK government will ban the export of live animals to Europe by (primarily) the Dutch and that the UK will formally stop this disgusting trade in sentient beings that we have been directly involved with for decades.
Read more on the Dutch association with UK live animal exports here:
Back to bearskin hats for soldiers. It is thought that the British Army purchases between 50 and 100 skins each year.; at a cost of around £650 per skin. HIS UK which is being consulted on the issue, stated that there could be ‘pragmatic exemptions’ from outdated fur being worn; such as with hats already in use by the military. But any ban on fur could apply under normal circumstances to charity shops, vintage fashion shops, anything in fact both on the high street or online which relates to fur.
Plans should take place in 2021 to have consultations on the issue; with an opportunity for both business and the general public to have their say. Even now, 81 MP’s and over 750,000 Britons support a ban on the sale of fur. Through effective and educational campaigning; the AR movement and organisations such as ‘Respect for Animals’ have won in the desperate attempt by the fur industry to withdraw itself from the animal suffering and grim truth that we all see regarding fur and fur farming.
Mark at WAV says – you cannot meet the complex behavioural and biological requirements of highly active and highly inquisitive animals such as mink, foxes and raccoon dogs by keeping them in the utmost deplorable conditions which we have all seen and posted about regarding fur farms. It is a simple fact; no amount of any PR spin by the fur industry and the animal killers will change that. A fur ban is not simply a fur wearing ban; it is about the saving of and the sparing of millions of animals the excruciating torment of confined life on a fur farm. It is time for the UK government to acknowledge the very strong British public opinion that any trade in the fur industry is cruel and unacceptable. It is time for a complete ban in every way as soon as the chance arises in 2021.
But until the UK officially leaves the EU on 31st December 2020, it cannot implement a unilateral ben on the fur trade and all its associated products. We understand that any new / future law would need most importantly to protect animal welfare, and that a draft government Bill / documentation on the fur ban has already been produced by HIS UK with the government. Meetings to date between parties have been described as ‘productive’.
A spokesperson for the British Fur Trade Association has said that ‘it beggars belief that in the middle of a pandemic and a recession, the government is secretly working on plans to ban the fur in people’s wardrobes. He went on declaring that fur is a natural and sustainable product that comes from highly regulated (??) and humane (???) sources which have increased sales by over 200% in recent years due to their ‘popularity’. Also declaring that the government needs to reject the pressure being exerted by ‘animal rights groups’ and instead focus on issues that actually matter to people !
So, no win for either at the moment; although it seems very much like the UK is coming out on the side of fur bearing animals. We at WAV fully support this approach. and we look forward very much to 2021 for many reasons. If we get a full fur ban in every way in the UK, and also stop by law the export of live animal exports, then things are moving on positively big time.
The government has a choice; it listens and acts on behalf of the people, or the people throw them out when they have the chance. A simple choice; and we hope they listen to the wishes of the vast majority of the British people.
Posted on August 23, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
We at Doctors Against Animal Experimentsare committed to modern animal-free research and medicine. Animal experiments must no longer have a place in the 21st century!
The US company Covanceoperates in Münster, Germany, one of the largest animal testing laboratories for monkeys in Europe.
Every year up to 2,000 monkeys are killed here in excruciating toxicity tests.
Covance is thus the largest “monkey consumer” in Germany!
Now the group wants to expand: A new building for animal stalls is to be built, an advertisement is looking for animal care personnel (!!!)
Animal experiment factory “Covance Laboratories GmbH” in Münster, Germany
So soon more monkeys will suffer and die here!
Covance Inc. is one of the world’s largest contract research organizations with offices in 20 countries. The branch in Münster specializes in reproductive toxicity tests on monkeys.
Pregnant monkeys are often given drugs or chemicals pumped into their stomachs or injected into the bloodstream daily to see the effect on their offspring.
The consequences can be stillbirths or malformations.
The substances are also given to male monkeys to test their fertility.
Such toxicity tests on our closest relatives are ethically unjustifiable and scientifically nonsensical, since the results only say something about the reaction of the monkeys, but do not allow predictions for humans.
In 2017,experiments were carried out on 3,525 monkeys in Germany, 2,137 of them in North Rhine-Westphalia (60%), for which Covance is mainly responsible.
We urge the authorities not to approve the expansion of Covance!
And I mean…Unfortunately, most of us forget the scandalous video from 2003.
The video showed, among other things, that the monkeys not only have to live in appalling conditions, they are also subjected to painful routine interventions every day.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the primates are being abused in the most brutal way by the staff.
Day after day of suffering without end.
One gets the impression that doctors and staff are dangerous psychopaths with sadistic tendencies.
COVANCE is a US company headquartered in Princeton,New Jersey.
It is one of the world’s largest of its kind and is represented in 20 countries.
And now the German government, the majority of which consists of pharmaceutical lobbyists, wants to expand Covance’s torture activities with a new Dachau for primates. We have to prevent that!
Around 87% of the animals come from outside Europe.
These were almost exclusively long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), also known as long-tailed macaques.
The main exporters of long-tailed macaques are China and Mauritius.
The island nation sells thousands of monkeys to the animal testing industry in the US and Europe, including Germany, every year. The Noveprim breeding facility in Mauritius is 47% owned by Covance.
The monkeys are kept here in structureless mass cages and reproduced for sale.
In 2017, 3,525 experiments were carried out on monkeys in Germany, including 87 on monkeys, 250 on New World monkeys (e.g. common marmosets), and 3,176 on Old World monkeys (e.g. long-tailed macaques, rhesus monkeys, baboons).
800 monkeys were reinstated from the previous year so that 2,725 animals were added in 2017.
Animal testing is a billion-dollar business, especially for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Animal experiments are not carried out for the benefit of humans, not about curing diseases, not about our health.
Careers for torturers and billions for the pharmaceutical mafia, that’s why animal experiments!
Germany is developing into the largest animal testing laboratory in the world.
“once upon a time, there was a land of poets and thinkers! now we are leading in the export of weapons and animal corpses”
Posted on August 23, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Summer is wasp time: As every year, from August onwards the black and yellow insects cavort more and more at barbecue parties, at the coffee table, at a picnic in the park or behind the counters of the bakeries.
During these days, the hard-working workers of the “Common Wasp” and the “German Wasp” mainly throw themselves on lemonade, ice cream, and cake.
Wasp sharing a pop drink.
For many people, the uninvited guests cause fear.
The bad reputation of the wasps is not justified, because the actually harmless and very useful insects are only looking for food and usually only sting when they feel threatened.
Nadja Michler, specialist advisor for wildlife at PETA, has put together some simple tricks for peaceful coexistence between humans and wasps.
“Wasps are very extraordinary creatures in many ways”. Some species use saliva and wood chips to produce a paper-like material that they use to build their nests. The workers are tirelessly busy tending to the larvae, bringing in food, expanding the nest and defending it.
They really deserve a sweet treat in between, ”says Nadja Michler
This is how animal lovers can keep wasps away:
–Distraction feeding: a bowl of overripe fruit placed at a safe distance distracts the animals. Grapes are particularly good.
My comment: “It’s just annoying, such an unnecessary insect,” I hear people complain regularly in summer.
Animals never have bothered me, people bother me.
A large colony of wasps has been billeted on our terrace under the awning for years.
Our roommates, the wasps: Image: Venus
Every year, around the beginning of June, our roommates start the renovation work. Because storms and rain, up here in the Black Forest, where we live, damage their house, so everything has to be restored.
Diligent, calm work processes take place intensively that do not disturb anyone.
But people always feel threatened by other animal species.
When we sit on the terrace, they come to us and taste what they want from our offer.
And they leave again, they have no interest in human animals, they have obviously understood the dangers that come from them and avoid them.
The photo was taken with great difficulty because this year the net was well hidden under the wooden beams.
We’re glad to have the colony with us by mid-November, until then we will hear its quiet hum and discreetly observe the hard-working roommates at work.
And information for everyone: Wasps are protected under the Federal Nature Conservation Act; as wild animals, they must not be deliberately disturbed, caught, injured, or killed.
Their nest must not be destroyed either.
In addition, certain wasp species are under special protection, such as the hornets.
Posted on August 23, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
For the dogs boiled alive in Korea
For the dolphins eviscerated in Japan
For the whales hunted by the Norwegians
For the bulls stabbed to death in Spain
For the donkeys worked to death in Nepal
For the foxes and the badgers torn apart in England
For the elephants maimed and shackled in India
For the bears and the bison and the wolves shot in America
For the seal calves clubbed to death in Canada and Iceland
For the rabbits skinned alive in China
For the kittens and puppies starving in Serbia
For all the animals in labs, in zoos, in factory farms, and in circuses
For every animal on the Earth that has to endure the cruel silence of human indifference
I shall be their voice – Mark Stewart
And I mean…we will continue to oppose the daily genocide against animals. The right to life, freedom, integrity, protection must be due to all species. Not a privilege of the ruler.
We fight for basic rights for all feeling, thinking individuals.
Nobody may be disadvantaged or preferred because of their species.
Posted on August 22, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
WAV Comment: Congratulations, the citizens of France have had their say – and the voice is clear and effective.
As always, the governments seem to be living in a different world to ‘their’ people. The option – vote them out at the earliest convenience !
More than two thirds of French citizens want better animal welfare
19 August 2020
An unprecedented survey carried out by Fondation Brigitte Bardot and IFOP in August 2020 reveals that French citizens want better protection for animals.
A few weeks after the launch of a shared initiative referendum (RIP) on animal welfare, the results of the survey carried out by our Member Fondation Brigitte Bardot and IFOP confirm the interest shown by French citizens in topics related to breeding, hunting, animal experimentation, wild animals used in circuses, intensive farming, illegal pet trade and slaughter without stunning.
The survey was carried out between August 5 and 7, 2020 with a sample of 1,009 people representative of the French population. The results of the survey were covered by Le Monde and show a strong support from French citizens to improve laws regulating the welfare of animals in France.2/3 of citizens want to see an improvement in the protection of animals in France, despite the lack of political ambition of the government.
For Cristophe Marie, spokesperson of Fondation Brigitte Bardot, “These results bear witness of the interest of the French in the animal condition and the need to start a transition towards production methods that are more respectful of animals, but also towards the abolition of the most cruel practices, such as slaughter without stunning or hunting with hounds.“
The difficulty is that our young president is pursuing an old-fashioned policy, under the influence of hunters and the FNSEA (National Federation of Farmers’ Unions). These lobbies, with their support from high places, thwart any positive development, making France the red lantern of the animal condition in Europe.”
Cristophe Marie, Spokesperson of Fondation Brigitte Bardot
THE SURVEY:
82% of the French are against hunting with hounds;
82% in favor of a ban on the use of cages within the next 5 years;
91% in favor of making outdoor access compulsory for all farmed animals within the next 10 years;
86% in favor of making the stunning of animals before slaughter compulsory in France (without exception for halal or kosher slaughter);
77% in favor of banning the breeding of animals for the sole purpose of marketing their fur;
70% in favor of a commitment by the public authorities to finance the development of alternative methods to animal experimentation;
73% in favor of banning animal testing within the next 10 years;
72% in favor of banning the sale of pets through social networks, online platforms and pet shops;
84% in favor of the obligation to sterilize stray cats with financial participation from the municipalities;
73% agree that the public authorities should support circuses professionals in the transition towards circuses without wild animals.
Posted on August 22, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
We had a very nice e mail from Jessica this morning (21/8) who is a student working on a college journalism capstone project. Jessica’s aim is to build awareness on the immense suffering caused in the Foie Gras production process.
Jessica says to us: I’m writing to you because I want to help prevent the suffering of ducks and geese in inhumane food production.
We have immediately sent on all of Jessica’s info to our friends at CIWF in London – https://www.ciwf.org.uk/ and also provided Jessica with their Foie Gras website link; https://www.ciwf.org.uk/search/?q=foie+gras so that she may get extra info here. Philip, the CEO (and personal friend) at CIWF has come back and informed us that a team member will be providing further assistance.
In the meantime, you can check out Jessica’s Foie Gras site by clicking on the following links;
Beavers, foxes, squirrels, blackbirds – almost everything was poached
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 