Posted on October 24, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
against circus / stop cruelty to animals
…Elephants are born in the wild for living free.
The circus owners enslave them very early, as children, they separate them from their mother and for a lifetime they turn them into stupid clowns,
who have to do stupid shows
for stupid parents
who drag their children to the circus,
so that both sides have stupid fun with the suffering of the animals.
That keeps this business going, they have the greatest responsibility.
In chains,
trained with heels or whips so that they obey,
transported back and forth …
animals are the slaves of the circus industry.
Boycott all circuses that work at the expense of animals
Educate your children properly and explain to them why they never have to go to a circus,
where animals are kept captive.
Posted on October 24, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Finally, an important blow was made against the bullfighting lobby!
In the context of the EU agricultural reform (which is not a reform at all) the animal rights activists prevailed and achieved a narrow majority for the cancellation of the bullfighting subsidies!
This is a sensation because up to now there has been a majority in favor of maintaining all attempts to stop these EU subsidies.
Leading Spanish politicians are family members themselves with bullfighting breeders.
The amendment was approved by 335 votes in favor, 297 against, and 60 abstentions, thanks mainly to the European left.
With 335 to 297 votes, the EU parliamentarians have now for the first time in the history of Europe effectively decided against this animal cruelty, which in some countries has even been celebrated.
But the image of bullfighting has deteriorated over the past few years thanks to the efforts of tens of thousands of animal rights activists and the public’s pity for the bulls has steadily increased.
Anja Hazekamp from the Dutch Animal Welfare Party fought against bullfighting for years together with the Spanish Animal Welfare Party.
This time, Francisco Guerreiro, who was elected to the European Parliament for the Portuguese Animal Welfare Party, tried it – and it worked!
At least for now, because the topic is not yet through. The Spanish government is expected to do everything possible to circumvent this decision.
And the bullfighters association has already announced that it will file a lawsuit against it.
Hopefully, in the end, morality and common sense will prevail in Europe!
And I mean…For the first time, we get a positive surprise from the EU front!
Parliament has noticed that it is backward when animals continue to be tortured for fun in the 21st century and that this is also financed with public money.
With this cruelty to animals, Spain brings up the rear in Europe when it comes to animal welfare.
We are proud and grateful to Anja Hazekamp and her fighters from the Animal Welfare Party of Holland, and thanks to the Spanish Animal Welfare Party and of course to Francisco Guerreiro from the Animal Welfare Party of Portugal.
We get confirmation that if we unite we can achieve something.
Bullfights like in Spain will not last long for animal welfare reasons.
The corrida is not just a spectacle, but archaic cruelty to animals, the corrida is death.
And a spectacle that drains the cultural reputation of an entire country into the mud.
Posted on October 24, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
The province of Guadalajara has experienced a traumatic episode.
The Nature Protection Service of the Civil Guard is investigating the appearance of numerous canine corpses in an area of the Montezarzuela urbanization in the town of El Casar.
The bodies of at least 20 animals have been thrown into the sewer inside sacks,some decapitated to prevent their identification through the microchip.
As detailed in a press release by the Civil Guard, it is urbanization whose construction was paralyzed, leaving only the roads and the sewage system built and where everything indicates that it has been used by many people as a place to dispose of dead domestic animals.
The proceedings began after a complaint filed by the Association ‘Amores Peludos’ whose collaboration with Seprona has been essential for the successful completion of the proceedings.
Two agents of the Civil Guard examining the animal remains found. CIVIL GUARD
Once the skeletal remains had been collected, some put in sacks, others scattered inside the sewer and even several decapitated corpses, Seprona specialists have carried out the obtaining of the data of the animals and their owners through the identification system individual of CLM animals (SIIA-CLM) to file the appropriate administrative complaints.
Legislation on animal health and municipal ordinances require the owners of domestic animals to notify the competent administration of the deaths of the animals for their corresponding discharge, as well as to proceed to the disposal of the carcasses in an established manner, usually in a licensed incinerator.
Los cadáveres de los animales habrían sido arrojados al alcantarillado en el interior de sacos, algunos decapitados para impedir su identificación a través del microchip. pic.twitter.com/I5AVkjajbq
In addition, dead animals can pose a risk to animal health, public health, or the environment. In this case, the fines can amount to 3,000 euros.
From the Civil Guard, they stressed that “society needs to evolve and develop and one of the characteristics that make this difference compared to the most primitive societies is to protect animals more”.
“Dead animals should be treated with respect, they should never be abandoned. Let your advice, vet, or Seprona know and they will tell you how to behave,” they advised.
And I mean..It is not certain that the dogs have been disposed of as dead.
But even in the case of an illegal cemetery, there are two fundamental problems to be considered.
The one problem is the judiciary, which is usually criminal-friendly, and most perpetrators get away with a fine of a few hundred euros.
The other problem is the silence of the population in the case of animal abuse, people are intimidated not to testify as a witness, or they will not endanger the “good” relationship with the neighbor.
A population that is passive against animal suffering, that is permanently divided and kept in fear, is the enemy of animals.
And we cannot expect that people will change their moral principles of themselves.
Only severe punishment can change it.
And the civil courage of courageous citizens of society.
Posted on October 23, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
What’s going on with Germany’s farmers ?!
In Baden-Württemberg,south Germany, a country butcher stunned his cattle with gunshots from a long gun.
Outwardly, the farm presented itself as an idyllic butcher’s shop, but behind the facade, the animals stood in their own feces.
Before being slaughtered, he stuns them with shots from a long gun – absolutely illegal.
“It was filmed in secret for three weeks,” says Philip Hermann from the organization Butcher Against Animal Murder. “This is a trustworthy butcher who runs a family farm. The keeping of the animals and the slaughtering process are so cruel that it is hard to imagine.”
Some explanations about the video:Philipp Herrmann visits the crime scene with the journalist, where the organization “Butchers Against Animal Murder” secretly filmed the “animal-friendly” stable for three weeks.
He himself used to be a butcher, today he campaigns for animals.
The farmer shoots and does not hit the cow. She falls on the floor with full consciousness.
He doesn’t shoot again until two and a half minutes later.
In addition, because there are other animals around, there is a risk of accidents, according to the veterinarian and animal welfare officer.
The cow is then carried to the slaughterhouse with a crane, and you can clearly see that it was not completely hit by the farmer’s shots, so it is still alive.
The recordings show that it is not re-stunned.
The cow is cut up in this condition, although it is completely smeared with feces. Violation of the hygiene regulations
You can see how the animals are kept in the excrement up to the knee.
The vet doctor finds the images shocking.
The reporter then visits the butcher’s shop, which delivers “own” meat.
She orders turkey steaks and asks if everything comes from one source.
The butcher proudly says: “It’s all our own production, we do everything ourselves, we have our own farm, if you need something for Christmas, you would get it too”.
When the reporter leaves the shop, you can see how many meat eaters are waiting to buy meat from the farmer next door without suffering.
Or rather, to pay dearly for the farmer’s lie.
You can then see in the recordings with what good conscience these consumers can buy the turkey from this “animal-friendly” farm
The turkeys are slaughtered without anesthesia. Their necks are twisted and left bleeding on the ground.
When confronted with the farmer, he claims:” I almost always hit when I shoot, the one in the video was just an exception. I did everything to make the animals feel good”.
As soon as the activist says that he cuts the turkeys himself and makes them bleed and suffer, he replies … no, he doesn’t … “this is all an exaggeration … the activist should leave the court, immediately”!!
Although he hired his lawyer to take over the matter, he couldn’t help much too!
The veterinary office has revoked his license to slaughter animals.
And he has to hand over the animals by the end of the year.
Only the butcher’s shop remains open !!
Maybe he comes up with the idea of transforming the butcher’s shop into a barbershop.
Well Alexandra (animal rights) has now been in contact with us from Hungary to inform us that a petition has been started in Hungary for the elephants.
Also, next Monday (26/10) they are holding a demonstration about this in front of the Ministry of Agriculture building. Please support them if you cn.
Note – for the petition, you can provide your details; but then a new link is e mailed back to you which you need to confirm before your name is added to the petition.
Posted on October 23, 2020 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
All eyes on EU court for decision on religious slaughter
22 October 2020
Stunning animals before slaughter and avoiding unnecessary suffering is surely the least we owe these fellow sentient beings.
The practice of pre-stunning is mandatory throughout the EU.
Although the EU Animal Slaughter Regulation allows for a ‘religious exception’, it also expressly enables member states to adopt “national rules aimed at ensuring more extensive protection of animals at the time of killing”.
That’s how Denmark, Sweden and Slovenia were able to ban slaughter without stunning.
However, today a compromise between a religious exception, allowing slaughter without stunning, and an outright ban of the practice is close to reach.
EU court adviser backs ritual animal slaughter without stunning
By Reuters Staff
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU judges should strike down a Belgian law requiring all animals be stunned prior to their death, which has effectively outlawed slaughter according to Jewish and Muslim rites, an EU court adviser said on Thursday.
Gerard Hogan, an advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union, said an EU law of 2009 set out that animals should normally be stunned before they are slaughtered, but made a clear exception for slaughter prescribed by religious rites.
EU judges typically follow the opinions of advocate generals although are not bound to do so. They would normally deliver their ruling in two to four months.
The case came to the EU court in Luxembourg after a 2017 decree in the Belgian region of Flanders to amend its law on protection and welfare of animals by requiring all animals be first stunned.
Jewish and Muslim association challenged the decree and Belgium’s Constitutional Court referred the case to the EU Court of Justice.
Hogan said the religious exception reflected the European Union’s desire to respect freedom of religion and the right to manifest religious belief in practice and observance despite avoidable suffering caused to animals.
Jewish and Muslim methods of slaughter involves the animals’ throats being cut with a sharp knife, which advocates says results in death almost immediately. Traditionally, prior stunning is not permitted.
Belgian campaign group Global Action in the Interest of Animals (GAIA), whose representatives were present at the court on Thursday, said it was disappointed and perplexed by the opinion, but noted the judges might rule differently.
“How will the court deal with (EU) members that have for years had general bans on slaughter without stunning: Denmark, parts of Finland, Slovenia and Sweden?” said GAIA lawyer Anthony Godfroid.
All eyes on EU court for decision on religious slaughter
The popular image of a ritual killing is that of a butcher restraining an animal to expose its throat, covering its eyes with its ears while muttering prayers to calm it.
Sadly, this is far from the experience of animals being killed without pre-stunning for halal or kosher meat, where they are strung up and knifed in a relentless industrial process.
By now technological development makes it possible for animals to be butchered humanely, while still preserving religious freedom (Photo: Lukas Budimaier)
Even when their throat is cleanly cut, the massive injury triggers a barrage of sensory information to the brain, meaning their last, long minutes of consciousness as they bleed out are filled with pain and terror.
Stunning animals before slaughter and avoiding unnecessary suffering is surely the least we owe these fellow sentient beings.
That’s why the practice of pre-stunning is mandatory throughout the EU.
Although the EU Animal Slaughter Regulation allows for a ‘religious exception’, it also expressly enables member states to adopt “national rules aimed at ensuring more extensive protection of animals at the time of killing”.
That’s how Denmark, Sweden and Slovenia were able to ban slaughter without stunning.
However, today a compromise between a religious exception, allowing slaughter without stunning, and an outright ban of the practice is close to reach.
This is the method known as reversible stunning, which renders the animal unconscious for the time it takes to cut its throat while respecting the religious requirement of it remaining alive so the blood is pumped out by its still-beating heart.
According to well-established scientific evidence, this method is not only less traumatising for the animal and makes its handling easier for the butcher, but it is also accepted by a growing number of representatives of these religious communities.
However, reversible stunning now faces a major legal challenge across Europe.
After the Flemish region introduced reversible stunning in 2017, various Jewish and Muslim associations contested this decree before national courts and sought its total or partial annulment.
The case reached the Belgian Constitutional Court, which referred the matter to the European Court of Justice for a final decision.
What’s at stake in the present case is not a ban on religious slaughter, but whether a member state may adopt measures to improve the welfare of animals being slaughtered in the context of a religious rite – the aim of the Flemish legislation in requiring the animal to be reversibly stunned.
Not only does this method meet religious community requirements to have animals alive at the time of the throat cut, but it is also proportionate to its declared goal to protect animal welfare while guaranteeing the religious liberty and freedom contained in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Reversal on reverse stunning?
However, in a recent opinion, though seemingly favourable to the adoption of other technical conditions to minimise the suffering of animals at the time of the killing, a member of the Court of Justice of the EU – Advocate General (AG) Hogan – proposed that the court should find that member states were not permitted to implement reversible stunning.
The opinion argues that the ‘religious exception’ was intended to “grant more specific protection to the freedom of religion” in this context and that when establishing stricter national rules, member states must “operate within [its] confines”.
Yet this appears to overlook the fact that the EU legislation submits the adoption of stricter national rules to only one condition, that the importing country – in this case, Belgium – does not prevent the circulation of animal products from another member state with a laxer regime, i.e. meat from animals that were not stunned before slaughter.
There would be no need for this provision to exist if countries were entirely bound by the ‘religious exception’.
We disagree with the contention that the “preservation of the religious rites of animal slaughter often sits uneasily with modern conceptions of animal welfare” and that as a result, the court should not allow member states to “hollow out” the ‘religious exception’. Technology and best practices are there to guarantee that both interests can be reconciled and respected.
Far from being motivated by Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, the Flemish decree prescribing reversible stunning is the outcome of long-standing consultations with the relevant religious communities in an effort to strike a new balance between the exercise of religious freedom and animal welfare.
The acceptance of reversible stunning appears all the more important when analysing the broader context: in Europe, there are many more animals slaughtered without stunning than those needed, but no labelling is required for such meat.
This situation severely affects EU consumers’ right to know if they’re buying and consuming meat that might be derived from animals that have not been stunned before killing.
When these religious traditions were established, there were well-founded sanitary reasons for encouraging people to shun the flesh of animals they could not identify as being recently alive. But advances in food safety have long made such practices redundant.
By now technological development makes it possible for animals to be butchered humanely, while still preserving religious freedom. It is time for European law to recognise it is no longer acceptable to deny them a kinder end to their lives.
against circus / stop cruelty to animals
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 