This covers many international organisations – and especially those which have a website for visitors to find out more about their campaigns.
All website links are given for each – so just click on the link and away you go !
We think several of them may be new to many of you; but hopefully this listing will show that there are animal welfare people the world over.
This listing has taken quite a lot of work to produce, and we know that it is far from complete – we have missed some groups for sure. So, if you know any and want them added, please mail their name and web links to us via the ‘Contact’ link.
Posted on March 8, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
We have some great news – even though it is associated with the places of death – slaughterhouses.
The UK government has now announced that it will be going ahead with plans to make CCTV mandatory for all slaughterhouses in England.
The announcement follows a public consultation process. There were opver 3,800 responses to the consultation from the general public; with just 5 opposing the proposals. Thus a staggering majority of more than 99% of those consulted were IN FAVOUR of mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses.
The new law associated with this is hoped to come into force during Spring 2018. Slaughterhouses will be given 6 months to comply with the new requirements.
Efforts are now being increased in the rest of the UK. (For overseas visitors, the UK is literally a ‘United Kingdom’ which comprises of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each member of the UK has its own independent Parliament and makes legislation for its own nation. Ie. laws in Scotland do not automatically apply in England – independent parliaments decide what each nation will do).
In Scotland, there is a lot of work being taken to make CCTV compulsory here also – and a win soon is expected. Wales and N. Ireland are a bit further away from intoduction; but with England now making CCTV compulsory by law, it is hoped they will soon follow.
We abhor slaughterhouses and everything involved in animal slaughter. But we also accept that some people wish to continue eating meat, and all the time this is the case we have to accept it. We will continue to push for a veggie / vegan diet policy which removes the need for killing of animals for food.
Whilst the new English government plans will allow slaughterhouse vets (compulsory) to have unrestricted access to all CCTV footage; Animal Aid will be pushing for an independent body that could undertake spot checks.
Yet another example of something that the EU should be introducing as standard. They do not really seem to care. With Brexit the UK is taking back control of its own laws. This is yet another example of what Brexit allows for animals, and why the UK wants to be EU regulation (or no EU regulation) free.
Posted on March 7, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
SAV Comment – Seems like a great idea. Especially if an additive could be put in the food also to effectively sterilise the animal. We understand that this type of sterilisation procedure is currently being trialled in some parts of Romania. If Turkey and Romania can take action, then why not Serbia ? – this method below solves 2 issues; it recycles plastic waste (which we all want) and encourages the public to do it, and at the same time it helps to feed the stray animals of the city.
Will Serbia attempt something like this or is corruption in Serbian authorities still meaning that the only way they make corrupt money is to continue capturing and killing stray dogs ? – like a Medieval approach !
The simple machine will provide a steady source of sustenance to the animals, who often rely on the area’s residents to feed them. It’s also bringing some positive change to a place where the fate of stray animals has not always been a happy one.
These complaints have led the Turkish government to draft a law which would require thousands of stray dogs to be transported to a “wildlife park,” removing the animals from the urban environment which they have adapted to, Deutsche Welle reports. Dogs have also allegedly been the targets of poisoning campaigns, according to the Associated Press.
The Pugedon vending machines aim to give these stray animals a brighter future, while also encouraging its users to get in a healthy recycling habit.
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Although the Serbian system promotes the Shinters (dogcatchers) to its citizens as the only way to keep them safe; when you look a little deeper you find there are lots of other solutions to orally sterilising stray animals:
A government Ministry and the vets and associates that advise it, should really be using public funds to research and develop strategies for the long term reduction of stray animal numbers – and by this we mean a ‘No Kill’ approach.
As the Serbian government and its authorities never seem to publish or provide details of these alternative ‘No Kill’ methods; one has to ask if the continual rounding up and killing of stray dogs (for a dividend) is the financially viable way for some, rather than resolving citizens concerns regarding the number of strays on the streets.
A decent government would look at all methods of reducing stray numbers over time; as per the oral sterilisation methods given in the above link. As we have always said, the continual killing of strays never resolves the stray population ‘problem’; (after all these years, and if it was effective as the government tell their citizens; would this method have not shown dramatic results by now ? – we suggest they look at the above graphic – an additional 67,000 dogs from one pair in 6 years – we have been campaigning on this for 12 years; and there are more than 1 pair of dogs in Serbia !) as other strays enter a ‘cleaned’ area – filling the void left by catch and kill methods.
Simple but effective oral sterilisation should be addressed much more by the Serbian government. If we can find the above through a simple web search, why cant they ?
Where is all the ‘continual kill’ policy money going ? – into misleading the public by telling them that this is the only way we, the government, suggest.
Not true; there are now alternatives as you can read above.
Will the Serbian authorities look at alternatives to resolving the stray numbers issue ? – NO; we are making money just fine thanks – Status Quo !
We immediately wrote to DG Sante at the EU Commission; Animal Transport Guidelines Project and the Eurogroup for animals;
We said in our post of 20/2 – We will publish their responses if we get one.
We asked a simple question – that being
– why then if everything is so good, are we witnessing so many EU animals suffering in transport on the journey to Turkey ?
Under Regulation 1/2005, the EU regulation allegedly ‘protecting’ animals during transport; all livestock drives have to pass a competence test and be ‘certified’ to ensure the ‘welfare’ of animals they transport in their vehicles. Seems they have gone off track when it comes to care for EU animals being transported to Turkey, as the video shows. So then the EU should be prosecuting those who do not comply – yes ? – not making new cartoons about drivers taking care !
So we have given our requests a few weeks; and true to form, nobody has bothered to come back to us and express their reasons and support for the new video put out by the Animal Transport Guides Project.
And so now we are waiting on our UK MEP’s to see if they can obtain any response from the authorities as to why around 70% of livestock vehicles inspected at the Bulgarian / Turkish border were seen to be non compliant with the Regulation 1/2005 which the EU thinks will ‘protect’ animals during transport.
So, why has nobody responded to us ? – maybe they are finding it really difficult to answer the question of a 70% failure rate when their EU certified drivers should know all the rules and be fully compliant with Reg 1/2005. Remember, as part of 1/2005, all livestock drivers are supposed to be fully certified so that they know the law about transporting live animals.
This lack of responses by ALL parties just goes to show that as we have said before, the EU wants it all to look good on paper and in videos, like this new one intended for ‘competent drivers’ who should already know the law. The sad fact for the animals involved is that all the time, the EU and its associates such as the ATGP and the Eurogroup, simply turn in the other direction when pushed hard with real questions relating to real experiences and encounters at borders. Such is the real reality of EU live animal transport.
All the time the EU turns its head away from the reality and fails to prosecute hard for offences; the sad reality is that things will not change, no matter how the EU wishes to ‘dress it all up’ to look good with new videos and guidelines.
As always, the EU has, does, and will continue to fail live animals in transport.
And with no responses from anyone; is it any wonder that people say the animal Mafia is at work within the EU to ensure the trade continues despite the irregularities and non compliances with the regulations.
Posted on March 5, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Animal Welfare: Commission designates its first European Union Reference Centre
Today, following a public selection process, a consortium formed by the Wageningen Livestock Research (the Netherlands), the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (Germany) and the Department of Animal Science at Aarhus University (Denmark) has been designated as EU Reference Centre. Laid down in the Official Controls Regulation (Regulation 625/2017) which harmonised EU rules along the agri-food chain, this first Centre will focus on pig welfare. Improving the enforcement of the legislation of pigs is one of the Commission’s priorities in the area of animal welfare. The Centre will provide technical support and coordinated assistance to the Member States to carry out official controls on animal welfare. It will also contribute to the dissemination of good practices, as well as carrying out scientific studies, training courses and disseminating research and information on technical innovations.
Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis welcomed this designation, stressing that “this is another illustration that the EU remains, at international level, at the forefront in developing high animal welfare standards. After the establishment of the EU Platform on Animal Welfare in 2017, today marks another milestone since this is the first time that an EU Centre is devoted to support Member States in the application and monitoring of animal welfare rules within the Union”.
“another illustration that the EU remains, at international level, at the forefront in developing high animal welfare standards” – Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis.
Obviously he has not seen, or does not want to know about the suffering of live EU animals as they are transported by road to Turkey. Their suffering is anything but ‘high animal welfare standards’.
Commissioners turning the other way as usual whenever serious welfare concerns are shown.
The following show pig ‘welfare’ within the EU as we have exposed in recent posts.
China’s Meat Consumption Continues to Drop as Interest in Veganism Soars
An article by Business World has revealed that “health-conscious” people in China are driving the once meat-heavy nation to a more plant-based way of living.
Currently, China is the world’s largest market for beef, poultry and pork, Business World point out. However, according to the publication, the most populated country in the world is “steadily growing wary of meat”.
After China’s health industry released new dietary guidelines suggesting reduced meat intake, China’s markets for several products, including pork, beef and poultry all declined, Business World report.
Concurrently, as meat intake declines, veganism continues to grow. While recent figures of veganism in China are unknown, the article highlighted data from 2014 which suggested that the vegan population in China had exceeded 50 million people.
Dairy Farms Make More Than Half of New Zealand Lakes ‘Unswimmable’
Dairy farming is polluting New Zealand’s lakes, making over half completely “unswimmable”. Government data released back in 2013 stated that around 60% of the countries’ lakes and rivers were not safe for humans to submerge themselves in.
The situation since then, it seems, is hardly improving. According to The Economist, around 6.6 million cattle are currently farmed in the country. This hugely outweighs their human population, which stands at roughly 4.7 million.
One of the problems is nitrogen-rich bovine urine, a catalyst for toxic algae. If contaminated water is consumed by somebody who is pregnant, it can have catastrophic and potentially fatal consequences for the unborn child. It can cause what has been named “blue baby syndrome”, a condition that has been known to kill animals such as dogs in the past. Another issue is manure, which can contaminate water sources with dangerous bacteria like E.coli.
Vegan Musician Moby to Donate 100% of Album Profits to Animal Rights
Vegan musician, author, restaurateur, and prominent animal rights activist, Moby, say that all of the profits from his new album will be given to animal rights organizations. Profits from his upcoming live shows will also be donated. The album, “Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt,” is due for release this coming Friday.
The album is Moby’s 15thstudio album and follows previous political album releases including 2016’s “These Systems are Failing” and 2017’s “More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse.”
The album cover appropriately for “Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt” features a father cow reading to a baby calf designed by Matthew Grabelsky, a Los-Angeles-based artist.
Coconut Bliss Expands Vegan Ice Cream Bar Line With 2 New Flavors
Certified organic vegan ice cream brand Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss is gearing up for ice cream season with the addition of two single-serve frozen dessert bar treats drenched in Fair Trade certified chocolate.
The two new flavors bring the company’s frozen bar selection to eight varieties. The two new bars, Raspberry Acai in Chocolate and Vanilla Island, pair classic flavors with the company’s signature creamy coconut ice cream and a crunchy chocolate shell. The Raspberry Acai bar marries two popular berry flavors with dark chocolate in a delicacy the company says “will enliven your taste buds with its exotic flare.”
Beyoncé Advocates Benefits of Vegan Diet to 112 Million Fans
As the countdown to Beyoncé’s Coachella 2018 performance is officially ON, after being replaced last year when she was extremely pregnant with twins Sir and Rumi, Beyoncé has shared photos to her 112 million Instagram followers proving exactly why she’s Drunk In Love with a vegan diet. Of course, the health benefits of eating plant-based food looks Flawless on anyone, especially the famed international celebrity.
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 