Posted on November 2, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
An excavator constructs a canal in recently cleared land in an oil palm concession owned by PT Andalan Sukses Makmur (PT ASMR) concession, a subsidiary of Bumitama Agro Ltd. The area is near Kumai Seberang village, next to Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan.
This handout image taken on November 19, 2007 shows an orangutan with an injection dart in his side – given to make him sleep before rangers relocate him to another place on Borneo island. In the middle of Borneo island, the struggle against the deforestation is lead by Yayasan Orangutan Indonesia (Yayorin) who convinces indigenous people not to sell their lands to palm oil companies, which is vital to the orangutan. At the end of 2008, more than 15,000 hectares of the community forest in Central Kalimantan have been sold for palm oil plantations threatening the livelihood of 2,500 people. RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE GETTY OUT AFP PHOTO/HO/CENTER FOR ORANGUTAN PROTECTION (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)
Dear Mark,
124,000 signatures in just a few days — Thank you!
Burger King is feeling the heat, and today, we’ll make sure to grill BK on Twitter.
Burger King’s executives and investors are gathered in Kissimmee, FL, in part to roll out a new marketing campaign: the #WhopperChallenge. This is the perfect opportunity to publicly tell BK’s decision-makers that it’s time to go deforestation-free.
Can you join the Twitter mass mobilization? Please click on the tweet to share it with your followers:
Want to use your own language? Just make sure to use #WhopperChallenge in order to jam Burger King’s marketing.
Thanks for all that you do,
Hanna, Fatah, and the team at SumOfUs
P.S. If you don’t use social media, please forward this email to your friends to show how together, we’re pushing Burger King to end deforestation in its supply chain.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere ! | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 2, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Dear Mark,
It is my great pleasure to thank you for your generous support of our forthcoming documentary on wildlife killing contests, and to update you on the film’s status.
We are in the final stages of post-production and hope to finish the documentary by the end of the year. We will show the film in states with active campaigns that challenge the practice of wildlife killing contests.
And we’ve completed some additional hard-hitting interviews including one with Lucy McKay, a Native American from Northern California who offers compelling words about killing animals for fun and prizes. You can watch Lucy here.
The film also benefits from the powerful narration of celebrated actor, poet and Project Coyote Advisory Board member, Peter Coyote. You can see Peter in this short video appeal.
We are especially grateful to the Animal Welfare Institute, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Fund for Wild Nature, and Patagonia for their strong support of this film. We expect the film will do much to help raise public awareness (and indignation) about the targeting of coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and other species in killing contests. This brutal practice is legal in every state across the U.S. except California, where, in 2014, Project Coyote and allies convinced the California Fish and Game Commission to close loopholes allowing such heinous contests.
We will make the film available to every activist and wildlife advocate who wants to raise awareness of killing contests in their community and state. Ultimately, each one of us must stand up for wild predators by publicly denouncing this bloodthirsty “sport” and demanding its end. Project Coyote carries the voices of all of our supporters as we make forays into political and public arenas to do just that. If you can, please consider donating to help support Project Coyote’s campaign to bring an end to killing contests. You can do so safely and securely here.
Again, thank you so much for your support. We’ll provide further updates on the film as we finalize venues for distribution.
With gratitude,
Camilla
P.S. This issue is gaining national exposure, as demonstrated by this recent New York Times Op-Ed written by best-selling author Dan Flores, entitled “Stop Killing Coyotes.”
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, HUNTING - Primarily UK and Germany, VIDEOS | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 2, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
China animal groups leading mall bear campaign
02 November 2016
Fifty of China’s animal groups are now leading the campaign calling for Grandview Mall in Guangzhou to close its aquarium and free the animals it keeps.
This includes Pizza – a polar bear that has made worldwide headlines, prompting over a million signatures requesting his release.
There continues to be an offer from Yorkshire Wildlife Park to rehouse Pizza. It’s an offer that is yet to receive an official rejection though reaction from Grandview has been largely negative.
Previously Animals Asia met with Grandview bosses on two occasions to discuss the possible release of Pizza citing welfare concerns, while suggesting short-term solutions to improve her care. As a result of these meetings, Grandview installed basic enrichment items and a snow machine to help improve Pizza’s conditions.
Animals Asia’s offer of further assistance also remains open, although the we maintain the bear requires better facilities than can ever be available in her present location.
Confusion remains over Grandview’s plans to both expand their facilities and increase the number of animals in their care. Criticism of their animal welfare standards prompted suggestions that it had stalled. However, Grandview bosses still appear bullish about expansion plans.
Unfortunately, while Grandview has prompted vast opposition in China and internationally it appears to continue to be commercially successful. While criticism continues in Chinese media it does not appear to be affecting crowds as yet.
In this context, the public announcement by a consortium of Chinese animal welfare groups is significant. It’s important that Chinese animal lovers continue to be heard on domestic animal welfare issues.
Meanwhile Pizza bear has become a figurehead for the wider issues of animals being used commercially in China. This includes facilities such as malls, theme parks and safari parks as well ongoing concerns over animal performances, which are ongoing despite a ban.
Animals Asia’s Captive Animal Welfare programme continues to focus on all animals suffering hardship throughout the country as a result of poor facilities and care. That includes supporting animal groups to improve lives and also maintaining dialogue directly with captive animal facilities in order to improve care.
Pizza bear has brought increased scrutiny on projects across China and it’s hoped that this focus will ultimately make them less palatable to investors, public planners and general public.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering) | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 1, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Posted on October 31, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Update 1/11/16.
Mark,
The SumOfUs community has known for a long time that bee-killing pesticides are decimating pollinator populations. And it turns out that agro-chemical giants Syngenta and Bayer knew it too — but kept it secret from the public.
That’s right. Thanks to Freedom of Information Act requests, previously unpublished field trials commissioned by the two neonic manufacturers have been released showing that two neonic pesticides seriously harm bee colonies in high concentrations.
The studies are particularly damning because they prove that neonics don’t just harm bees at the field level, but can harm the entire colony.
Both Bayer and Syngenta have long minimized the clear impact neonic pesticides have on bees — and now we know they knew it all along.
Just recently, Syngenta claimed that none of the field tests it commissioned found that the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam — the very chemical in this study — “damages the health of bee colonies.” Yet this newly uncovered study clearly suggests otherwise.
This isn’t the first time that key research into the effects of neonics on pollinators has been suppressed. Earlier this year, under pressure from Agro-Chemical corporations, the USDA was accused of silencing concerns from its own scientists that neonics were devastating bee populations.
This silence and suppression of science that could save the bees needs to end right now. Bayer and Syngenta need to prove to us they have nothing to hide with the safety of neonic pesticides. It shouldn’t take Freedom of Information requests to do that.
The big chemical companies can’t have it both ways — if the pesticides are as safe as they like to say they are, then it should be a no-brainer to release the field data. And if in fact there are deep concerns, the public deserves to know.
More than one third of the world’s supplies relies on pollinators. Here at SumOfUs we’ve been fighting tirelessly to make sure the destruction stops now, from supporting independent field research, to supporting the legal defense of scientists who’ve been muzzled, to showing up in person at Bayer’s doorstep. And last week, we helped raised vital funds to keep this campaign going. [a]
Together we’re stopping the world’s biggest companies in their tracks as they endanger the health of pollinators, our food supply, and our environment. Now, let’s make sure that Bayer and Syngenta can’t suppress science any longer.
Thanks for all that you do,
Paul, Rosa, Toni, and the rest of the SumOfUs team
**********
More information:
—————————————- Update Finishes ————————–
The next few weeks are crucial to stop the nightmare merger between Bayer and Monsanto. We need to get our message to regulators right now.
Please call on EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager and Head of the antitrust Authority in the U.S. Department of Justice to stop this merger from hell.
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Mark,
In just a few weeks Bayer and Monsanto are getting ready to file their
merger with antitrust authorities in Europe and the U.S..
If they succeed, we are facing a nightmare scenario: more bee-killing
neonics in our fields, more toxic glyphosate on our plates, and more
corporate control over our food supply.
Regulators can still stop this merger, but they’re already getting
hammered by corporate lobbyists pressuring them to back off.
That’s why we need to move fast — antitrust regulators have a limited
amount of time to take action, and the clock is already ticking.
With your help and the donations of thousands of generous SumOfUs
members around the world, we have already made great strides to stop
this merger from happening.
We hired some of the world’s top legal minds to prove that the merger is
a disaster, in violation of antitrust law and simply can’t go ahead.
We’ve published the results as a legal white paper and you have tweeted
and emailed the European and US antitrust authorities in a massive public
outcry against this deal.
We made sure that everyone from the Financial Times to Bloomberg reported
on our white paper.
We’ve turned up at any public event Bayer and Monsanto are planning to
protest this merger. Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo even shared the campaign
with his followers.
But to convince the regulators to step in, it will take a massive grassroots
outcry right now.
A Bayer-Monsanto merger is not inevitable.
We have seen again and again what happens when powerful corporations get
their way. The merger wave has led to banks deemed too big to fail and only 6
big big agrochemical corporations controlling almost everything we eat.
Farmers are being squeezed too, with higher prices and fewer choices.
It sounds grim — and it is — but we know we can stop this merger.
We did the impossible in 2014 when SumOfUs members helped stop Comcast
from acquiring Time Warner in an unprecedented takeover.
It was the Department of Justice that laid the finishing blow — but it was tens
of thousands of SumOfUs members and our allies us who made it happen.
Thanks for all that you do,
Paul, Anne, Toni and the rest of the SumOfUs team
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Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere ! | Leave a comment »
Posted on October 31, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
This handout image taken on November 19, 2007 shows an orangutan with an injection dart in his side – given to make him sleep before rangers relocate him to another place on Borneo island. In the middle of Borneo island, the struggle against the deforestation is lead by Yayasan Orangutan Indonesia (Yayorin) who convinces indigenous people not to sell their lands to palm oil companies, which is vital to the orangutan. At the end of 2008, more than 15,000 hectares of the community forest in Central Kalimantan have been sold for palm oil plantations threatening the livelihood of 2,500 people. (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)
Mark,
Orangutans, sloths, and jaguars — Burger King’s palm oil policy is putting endangered species at risk by failing to protect invaluable tropical forests.
Despite years of public outcry, Burger King has failed to commit to a deforestation policy that protects tropical forests. These forests are destroyed to plant more soy and palm that ends up in Burger King’s supply chain.
Deforestation accounts for an incredible 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Competitors like McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts have committed to eliminating deforestation from their supply chain. It’s not only unconscionable that Burger King’s parent company Restaurant Brands International has failed to do the same — it’s just bad business.
It’s high time RBI do the same to protect tropical rainforests and the amazing wildlife they are home to.
Last year, Burger King scored a woeful 10/100 on the Union for Concerned Scientists’ palm oil scorecard.
Burger King promised to review its rainforest policy back in 2010, but has instead spent the last six years contributing to the destruction of tropical forests, adding to global warming emissions and decimating the habitats of already-threatened species.
There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers and 1,500 Borneo pygmy elephants left in the wild because of irresponsible palm oil policies. Their homes are being destroyed to make room for palm oil sold to major global brands like Burger King.
We know that when we come together, we have the power to shift even the biggest corporate players. Just last year, we pressured McDonald’s to commit to 100% sustainable palm oil by 2020. That’s why we’re now pressuring Burger King’s parent company RBI — which also owns Tim Hortons. We want RBI to know that consumers across the world are demanding it adopts a No Deforestation policy before it’s too late.
Thanks for all that you do,
Hanna, Fatah, and the team at SumOfUs
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on October 30, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
I want to thank Venus for sharing her wonderful experience with us all.
Hi Mark,
That is the story with the fox, which I had promised you to send.
Best Regards
Venus
In the village where I live, in southern Germany in the middle of the Black Forest, I am surrounded by “wild” animals.
We have formed a group of four people, and we feed the wildlife. Above all, we want to save foxes, which are hunted most in Germany.
Two years ago, in the area where I was responsible, I always saw a fox at night. When I went up to the mountain she was there, I could see her eyes in the dark and when it was full moon, she herself too. She was waiting for me, she knew the time, animals have an inner clock.
In that evening I came home late. It was a polar night, – 15 C showed the thermometer and we had full moon. I quickly carried my boots, took the pot with the food and came out. Nothing moved, it was an absolute silence, the snow was ice under my feet and reflected everywhere a hard, white light.
I slowly came up the mountain. Just before I reached the accustomed place, I stopped! There were not only two eyes to be seen, there were 10 or maybe more. Except eyes, I could see nothing else. What was that? I wondered. A herd perhaps? I dared a few steps forward. And then, under the moonlight I could see that not only the fox was there, but her whole family.
She had brought her whole family this evening to introduce them to me. For a few minutes we all remained motionless, the little ones too. They were beautiful, incredibly beautiful. Perhaps the mother made the first night-expedition with them, which belongs to the training! Maybe she wanted to introduce me her whole family. No one dared to take the first step. I decided to take some steps backwards. I slowly emptied the pot of food on the snow and took the path back.
A few weeks after this incident, the food in the forest remained untouched. It was clear, my fox was no more there. One of the men’s our teams said we must search the forest. Maybe he was shot, then we’d have to worry about the little ones. But we have not found a dead fox.
Today I still go up and still leave food there. One woman, neighbor of our small village told me that it is forbidden to feed wild animal and she will denounce me to the police.
I said she should do it. It is indeed forbidden, but this law have made some psychopaths who call themselves “hunters”, and have desire to kill.
I practice my law: “The measure of all things is the life, is not man” And my duty is to protect this life.
Venus
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, SUPPORTERS, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 