Posted on April 25, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Vegan Faces
We have had a really nice e mail from (Mum) Lynette telling us that the family have enjoyed and tried a few of the Vegan dishes that we have covered on the site.
Lynette says to us:
“My family is making an attempt to go vegan, and we thought your page was really cool. My son’s have been spending quite a bit of their computer time looking at vegan recipes and tips for people trying to adapt- they mentioned how much they enjoyed your page, and I thought you’d like to hear!”
We sure do – that is what the site needs, some positive feedback about some of our posts.
Both Alex and James (Lynette’s boys) have teamed up and sent us another great link which we have said we will share on the site; form them to us to you ! – It is about some really cool vegan recipes that Alex and James have found and are currently checking out.
Here you can see and make a whole range of great vegan food – the soup list looks really great – we need to try those.
Lynette and the boys tried the Banana Berry Breakfast smoothie at the weekend and the reports back are that “it was great” !
So thanks Alex and James for sending us some more great cruelty free grub; as you can see here we have made a post of your info for the world to see – check it out to see where your info is going at https://clustrmaps.com/site/h5no
The link is really cool – thanks boys and mum; we are sure that with all this great vegan food we can convert a lot more people. There is a great deal of good feedback on Veganism from all over the world – it is ‘the’ business to be involved with at the moment.
Posted on April 19, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
UPDATE 20/4/18
Further to our post and the letter to the OIE below, we would like to offer our thanks to animal supporters who have supported our issue by copying and sending additional copies of the letter to the OIE and others. This has come as a surprise to us, but we very much welcome the additional support.
Thanks go to the following campaigners for supporting us:
Chantal Buslot – Belgium
SANG
Maria Schneider, – Germany
Anneke Andries, – Netherlands
Hennie Oosterman; David Weisman; Susan van Ockelen; Jeanet Verweij; Miranda van Ittersum; – Netherlands.
Jean S.; Armand Beaufort; Lisette G.; Aurelie B.; Cheryl Minottes; – France.
Yvonne Suters; Inge Schroeder; Wolfgang Beckingen; Mireille Dautz; – Germany.
Tina Bartels; John Summers; Henry T.; Vickey Osborn; Teddy Miller; – United Kingdom.
Amanda Fields; Jurgen Sorens; Rita Suffolk; Mary Dalton; Joseph Pritchard; Kimberley Fields; – USA.
Simon Sears; Beverly Woods; Anita Brewer; Daniel Russell; Petra Stafford; – Australia.
Andrea Sreiber – Serbia
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Hi all; this is Mark;
First; there have not been many posts on the site recently, and I apologize for this.
The reason is that we have been very busy re Serbian animal campaigning – I will try to cover what we have been doing as quickly as I can; with additional attachments as necessary.
Overview – Both the Serbian government / authorities have a illegal approach to (stray) dog and cat management which is completely different to us. We work within the law and try to promote it; they work against the law. You can read more about Serbian animal law at https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-serbian-animals/ which is on our site.
So; time again for another gripe in speaking out for animals in Serbia. The OIE – or ‘World Organisation for Animal Health’ (Health ??) has a website which can be viewed at http://www.oie.int/ The attitude of the OIE in the Balkans has been very much one of allowing stray dogs to be killed under the guise of ‘disease control’. Naturally, this works perfectly for the Serbian government and regional authorities who wish to kill off as many strays as the can – and reap the financial rewards that are associated with doing this.
Our view, which is supported by Serbian law, is different. We do not feel that healthy stray animals should be murdered just to comply with the term ‘disease control’. As you can read in https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-serbian-animals/ since 2005 there have been national (Serbian) laws which should give the right of life and protection to stray animals. Despite being ‘law’; the government and authorities have ignored our suggestions of a national sterilisation approach which would gradually reduce stray animal numbers; in favour of an attitude of killing as many strays as they can. This works in several ways in their favour – they get a ‘head count’ financial reward for every animal which they kill (up to 500 Euros per animal); and by not sterilising as we suggest; they have a continual source of new strays on the streets to catch and kill for this financial ‘bounty’. Some people may thus be getting very rich financially our of adopting this attitude; we have a tendency to call it ‘corruption’.
Ok; so now we need to give people the facts. Slavica has worked brilliantly hard to draft out a letter re this issue. We have then taken this draft and attempted to make it read better English. Slavica’s letter defined all the legal Serbian legislation with regard to the supposed ‘protection’ of Serbian strays – ie what the Serbian law says on paper and which the courts should work to re legal issues. We took the letter further by making suggestions of the ‘rule of law’ which is required to be shown by any member state wishing to join the EU. Serbia is one such country; it is currently an EU ‘Candidate Country’ applying for EU membership.
The EU ‘rule of law’ issue is an important one; as it requires that any state seeking EU membership needs to show / prove that it is enforcing all of its own national laws. If it cannot do this, then effectively EU membership should not be permitted. As we have always shown since the foundation of SAV back around 2005; Serbia has been NON Compliant with Serbian law regarding the treatment of stray animals. So, this new letter needed to make this clear.
A formal letter was produced which has now been presented to the Serbian government. Copies have also been provided to the EU ‘Enlargement Commission’ who are responsible for new member states. We suggested in our review of the draft that certain contacts at the EU dealing specifically with the ‘rule of law’ be informed of this current situation of non compliance. This has been done.
You can see a full copy of Slavica’s letter here – along with an additional copy of the letter which has been presented by the ‘No Kill Coalition’ who are based in the capital of Serbia; Belgrade.
So, here we now have it. A formal letter of the current situation for Serbian animals and the non compliances with existing Serbian laws sent to all those who should be informed of the situation; and this includes the OIE.
In an additional way, via Slavica also, we have today (19/4) been provided with a copy of the formal EU Progress report for 2018 in relation to Serbia.
A copy to this is given here if you wish to review:
This official report from the EU on the situation in Serbia is not especially good, and in many ways backs up what we have been saying for many years especially with regard to corruption.
On pages 20 and 21 there is a lot which shows that corruption is still prevalent within Serbia, which comes as no surprise to us. The EU had made several suggestions to attack this; and hopefully we would like to see actions regarding animal welfare get involved with this anti corruption policy.
Now that all the evidence has been provided to both the Serbian government, and more importantly, the ‘rule of law’ enforcement personnel in the EU; we can only hope that the evidence and non compliance with national legislation will work in favour of the animals in the future.
Who knows, we may even see the day come that we have campaigned for over so many years – the day when national stray sterilisation, vaccination and microchipping takes priority over the corrupt and money making attitude of many officials who simply want to undertake a stray dog kill approach as we are currently experiencing.
Stray sterilisation is the way to control and eventually eliminate stray animals on the streets. A policy which is better in the long term for all – strays and humans.
Whatever; our fight to be a voice for the voiceless will continue what ever happens in the towers of importance.
So, as a farmer, why would you bother reading this? How could the views of a rock star on Bovine TB be worth squat? Especially a rock star who has been widely accused of caring more about the welfare of wild animals than the welfare of farmers?
Well, it’s no secret that about 7 years ago I came into the beleaguered world of Dairy Farming intent on saving the lives of British badgers. I and my Save-Me CEO Anne Brummer pitched in, and after spending much time with farmers, vets, scientists as well as animal campaigners, we quickly realised that campaigning, petitioning, and shouting abuse wouldn’t help anyone. The first time I walked a grazing field with dairy farmer Jan Rowe in front of TV cameras I vowed I would make every effort to help find the truth about Bovine TB, and find a proper solution to this tragic farming problem in a way that was acceptable to all parties. So our mission has been to save not only the badgers but the cows and the farmers too.
Seven years later, thousands of badgers have been killed, along with a cattle regime of test and removal, with infected animals identified with the TB skin test. It’s increasingly apparent to all but the last die-hards, that Britain, using these methods, is failing in the battle against bTB.
In fact, our failure to effectively manage bovine tuberculosis in our farm animals and wildlife is a tragedy and a scandal.
Farmers feel powerless to deal with this disease, being compelled to follow a policy which they know is inadequate to even control its spread, let alone eradicate it by the target date of 2038. Exasperated and frustrated, it’s no wonder that they vent their anger on the badger, in a witch hunt which has alienated farming from much of the public, who see this operation as barbaric, and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
It’s actually a bit too glib to blame the farmers. And the witch-hunt analogy is not as specious as it might seem. It’s about beliefs. If in 2018 we believed that some women became possessed by the Devil, and brought blight to our crops, disease to our animals, and death to our children, and there was no way to safeguard all that we love other than burning these women at the stake, there is no doubt that we’d be doing just that. And we’d be saying “Well, we have to something … doing nothing is not an option”. Only when it becomes obvious that these burnings as a policy are not solving the problem would we stop and look for a different solution. The definition of an idiot, after all, is someone who keeps doing the same thing and expecting a different answer.
A recent paper by Brunton et al (ref) confirmed that after the first two years of this badger cull, it was not possible to confirm any overall improvement in the prevalence of TB in cattle when farms around the cull zones as well as inside them were included in the count. This was predicted by the conclusions of the RBCT report, on a government-backed experiment: the Randomised Badger Culling Trial concluded after 10 years during which 11 thousand badgers were killed, that “culling badgers can make no meaningful contribution to the control of bovine TB in cattle.” But the Powers That Be weren’t listening. They cherry picked bits of information out of context and thought they knew better. So badger killing, along with a notoriously inaccurate skin test in cattle, became the principal ‘tool in the box’ deployed in the fight against bovine TB. Is anyone really surprised that it’s not working?
We at Save-Me felt it was time for a radical review of how we are tackling this disease, wherein all the interested parties could come together without prejudice and plan a practical, effective and popular way to control TB in both our cattle and badgers. Our recent successful seminar in December demonstrated the cooperation that is possible between what has been perceived as groups and interests with opposing views; an immediate result of the conference was the beginning of a consensus and the novel scenario of animal campaigners and scientists cooperating with farmers and vets in new approaches.
The fact that culling badgers has not solved the problem indicates that other solutions must be found. From now on, for the time being, at least, it will be pointless to argue the issue of whether the contribution to cattle re-infection from badgers is small or non-existent. It makes perfect sense to control infection in badgers by vaccination and look harder for mechanisms of infection within the herd.
This is exactly the approach which has been adopted by West Country vet Dick Sibley on a Devon farm stricken by TB. For the last three years, we as Save-Me have been collaborating with Sibley on a project to eradicate TB, which has already achieved some success. The deal we struck was that Sibley identifies and eliminates hidden sources of infection in the herd, and we manage the badgers, by surveying them, vaccinating them and monitoring them. Disease levels in both populations are constantly monitored using novel tests which look for the TB pathogen itself rather than the animal’s reaction to it, which is how the current skin test works.
As an aside, it’s worth noting that until very recently we were unable to vaccinate the badgers because the vaccine was in short supply worldwide. However, this did not preclude an effective TB control plan for the cattle herd, where the main source of infection resided; undetected and unrecognised. It soon became obvious that the problem was being propagated by infected cows, not infected badgers. Logical, robust controls applied to the cattle achieved great success in reducing the infection in the herd in the first couple of years, without any interventions with the infected badgers.
Why are Sibley’s methods succeeding where others have failed? Sibley has credentials as part of the team which successfully introduced and popularised Johne’s Disease control a few years ago. He applies the same logic to bTB. He says :
“The common issue is the contamination of the environment with the infective organism, Mycobacterium bovis, which poses a biosecurity risk to both cattle and wildlife. So rather than polarising the debate around the culpability of the badger in creating this risk, we need to look at the bigger picture and see where this environmental contamination may be derived, and how we can manage it. The use of novel, more sensitive TB tests have shown that there is a reservoir of infection in both the adult cow herd and the badger population around the farm. We consider that the cattle problem is far more significant than that of the badgers, but fully accept that both must be tackled effectively.”
But here we come to an elephant in the room. It’s called SLURRY. When we began our discussions with Dick Sibley, one of his first admonishments to us was “How can I in all conscience ignore the possible risk from badger excrement in fields where we are growing crops for feeding the cattle?” We had to concede, and this is why we agreed to embark on badger vaccination. But in looking around the farm for possible sources of infective organisms, we naively asked the question “What happens to the slurry?”
We discovered that twice a year, three and a half thousand tons of cow excrement is pumped out on to the fields where maize is being grown for feed. Is the slurry processed first? No – it’s raw, and this might be OK if there were no infected and infectious cows shedding into this reservoir. But Sibley’s enhanced testing regime had proved that there were just such undetected animals in the herd. Sibley did the maths on probable levels of the infective organism on those maize fields. The levels are hundreds of times greater than could be caused by the small (and localised) badger latrines. Little wonder that the Badgers got infected. But the cows are also eating infected food. Worse – on some farms, the same slurry is actually pumped into the fields where cows are grazing! Worse still, some farmers are pumping slurry from other farms on to their fields. And worst of all, perhaps, where does this slurry end up? In the water courses, heading down the valley to the next farm. In future years, I believe people will say, incredulously, “… and they still thought it was the badgers ? !”.
There’s a lot to think about here, but I now believe that despondent talk about “there’s no silver bullet” will soon be considered out of date. A solution must and will be found, and we will NOT have to wait til 2038. The solution will be found in the herd.
And for now? No more mud slinging. Just constructive cooperation towards a REAL solution to the problem of bovine TB. And no more badger killing. The witch hunt is no longer supportable as a solution.
Posted on March 30, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Subject: For the animals every day is a ‘Good Friday’
“Easter triumph of Love, Pessach holy …”
Easter is coming in a few days, like every year.
And it is always accompanied by some thousands of tons of blood and flesh of massacred animals creatures, so that we do not forget a bloodthirsty tradition which although is not ours, anyway and because of our insatiable oral lust, even unites us with all religions, when it comes to the tasteful treats of animal corpses.
“Easter! day of joy and love, corpse eaters of all countries, unite! “
May be, in no other holiday season do we find such shocking and inhuman expressions as in the “celebration of Love”: “milk lamb, with neat tender meat like butter, from free country attitude, 3 euros a kilo”!
And while they are almost all busy finding the best corpse at the best price to sign an outdated religious tradition with the blood dripping from the mouth of the contract obedience, some others are standing at the opposite, and thinking with disgust: “I could puke”.
Not just some sensitive philosophies, some reactionary.
The advanced are these, the innovators, some ethically developed people, the deniers of violence, pain, animal crime, – those who do not participate in the circus of Easter bloodshed this day.
Easter Lamb – Take Your Choice !
To them I address today my message!
Do not waste indignation and anger on the empath less people, the unworthy, the barbarian.
Do not give up your principles, because you are afraid to be excluded from the festive table.
It is not your duty to give a “logical” answer as to why you are not eating the same as the corpse eaters at Easter.
We are not the ones who have to explain why we are not murdering, why we do not torture, why we do not deprive the lives of some creatures with the fascist logic of the stronger.
These other are the killers, they must be accountable.
Against the thousands of babies who, with their consent, are slaughtered raw and unconscious in the name of love, and in the name of a god.
And if some of them would call the slaughter of the lamb at Easter as a symbol of honor to Christ, who was crucified for us, I would answer them that Christ chose it alone, but nobody asked the lamb.
We, therefore, who stand on the opposite side, the observers of this shameful and unjust slaughterhouse of this day, are not alone, we are many.
A billion vegetarians and vegans live on the planet, a billion people who refuse to fill their stomachs with animal corpses.
And every day we grow stronger.
“Do not kill” says the fifth commandment and up to date it concerns only murder of human beings.
We have extended this commandment and also kept it for non-human animals.
That’s why we will give lives in this Easter, in this year again, we will not waste lives because of some ‘tradition’.
Consequent with the rules of an anti-racist ethics that recognizes and respects the right to life, freedom, joy for every living being.
I wish all readers and friends from SAV a bloodless Easter;
Venus
Above – Easter Bunny
Below – Easter Slaughter.
Children Enjoy The Results Of Their Easter Bunny Hunt
we are inviting everyone to make immediate contact with the Serbian embassy in ’their’ nation to send a letter of protest. Use the links below to find ’your’ embassy in your country. This is followed by a Sample Letter which you can copy; or amend as required.
To find your national Serbian embassy; contacts and their e mail addresses; use the following sites:
SAMPLE LETTER TO COPY AND SEND; or amend to your own requirements.
To ???? – this will depend on the nation in which you live and ‘your’ Serbian embassy.
Ambassador of Serbia
URGENT REQUEST :re the Serbian ban on fur farming that is to take effect
Excellency,
We are writing with regard to the Serbian ban on fur farming that is to take effect on January 1st 2019. We were alarmed to find that the Serbian legislation to end fur farming was discussed during a regular meeting of the Sector for Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the National Assembly of Serbia, held on 20 February 2018. In accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2009, the Serbian ban on the widely-condemned practice of fur farming is due to become effective in 2019. In the last nine years Serbian fur farmers have thus been given the opportunity to transition to a more economically stable and sustainable industry. With less than one year left before the transitional period runs out, any change to the previously agreed upon legislation would raise serious questions regarding the Serbian legislative process.
The fact is that, in the last two decades, 16 European countries have voted for legislation to end or limit fur farming, most recently the Czech Republic and Germany. Due to the significant ethical concerns and serious animal welfare problems associated with fur farming, legislation to ban the cruel practice entirely has been passed in the United Kingdom, Austria, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia, Czech Republic and in the Walloon and Brussels regions of Belgium as well as in San Francisco and other cities in the United States, which recently banned entirely the sale of fur. Even in Norway and in Denmark – the heartlands of the fur farming industry – legislators have taken steps, to either ban the industry entirely (Norway) or partially (fox farming is banned in Denmark), on the grounds of animal welfare. Hungary is another country where a partial ban on fur farming is in place.
Due to stricter welfare regulations, fur farming has been entirely phased out in Switzerland and partially phased out in Sweden, where neither foxes nor chinchillas can be bred for fur. Recently the German government voted for stricter regulations that will see fur farms in Germany close their doors by 2022. Furthermore, debates on fur farming bans are currently ongoing in Poland, Luxembourg and Belgium. Public opinion polls consistently show that fur farming is considered unacceptable by the majority of citizens in countries across Europe. There is an increasing awareness on animal welfare issues and ethical concerns on the uses to which animals are put in society. It is therefore of upmost importance that political discussions on chinchilla farming are factually correct and supported by science. Both the short-tailed chinchilla and the long-tailed chinchilla are listed as critically endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources List of Threatened Species. Short-tailed chinchillas are considered to be extinct in Bolivia and Peru, but are suspected to be recovering in other areas. In 1996, there were only 42 colonies of long-tailed chinchillas left, and the population has declined ever since. The fur industry’s claim that breeding chinchillas for fur benefits the conservation of the species is incorrect, indeed it is the fur trade itself that is responsible for the depletion of the species.
Given the fact that chinchillas are the only animals raised for fur in Serbia, it is important that scientific facts on chinchilla farming are taking into consideration when fur farming legislation is at stake. A large number of veterinarians and animal welfare experts agree that it is impossible to ensure the welfare of chinchillas in factory farms. Keeping chinchillas in small cages prevents them from running and jumping (a species-specific behavior of chinchillas), and from engaging in social behavior that would satisfy their natural needs. Although chinchillas in nature are monogamous, under fur farming conditions they are forced to mate with multiple males, by wearing a polygamous necklace that restrains them from moving. Furthermore, the unnatural conditions in which chinchillas are kept and bred causes stress related abnormal stereotypical behavior, fear, reproductive disorders and offspring mortality. The natural life expectancy of chinchillas is between 10 and 20 years, but chinchillas bred for fur live 8 months on average. To prevent damaging their pelts, chinchillas are electrocuted on Serbian fur farms, a killing method that is widely condemned as inhumane.
Animal fur is a non-essential fashion product which cannot be produced in an ethical way. Animals bred for fur are kept in tiny wire mesh cages for their entire lives and killed by inhumane, painful methods. In today’s society, modern consumers are increasingly aware of the animal welfare problems on fur farms and are not willing to buy products of extreme animal cruelty. Consequently, an increasing number of international fashion houses are making commitments to drop animal fur from their collections.
We urge Serbia to stay true to your legislative commitment to ban the farming of animals for fur. We ask that you uphold the wishes of the public and the politicians who voted in favor of the Animal Welfare Act 2009 and end this internationally condemned industry from operating in your country, as previously agreed, by January 1st 2019.
Thank you for your attention to this very important and urgent matter.
Respectfully,
Your name and nationality (and e mail addy if you wish).
Posted on March 23, 2018 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
We are not a specialist organisation which campaigns against the fur trade; but we do know a few who do ! – we have always supported a fur farming ban anywhere and everywhere; as you can see on this site. So when the issue of problems with the proposed Serbian fur farming ban came up; we were happy to become involved and call on our specialist friends to help us with a campaign. Here is the result:
For many, many weeks now, SAV have been directly working covertly with specific Serbian campaigners; the leading UK anti fur organisation; ‘Respect for Animals’ http://www.respectforanimals.org/ and the ‘Fur Free Alliance’ https://www.furfreealliance.com/ regarding the situation for animals used in fur production in Serbia.
By current legislation, Serbia is supposed to ban fur farming from 1/1/19. Effectively it has the rest of this year (2018) to be allowed to continue with fur farming. After that the ban should come nationally into force. The Serbian law for animal welfare states that under Article 89; the breeding of animals for fur production is forbidden from 1/1/2019.
Above and below – Inside a Serbian Chinchilla Fur Farm.
Despite the industry having the past 10 years to accept and undertake changes in accordance with the legislation banning fur farming; some politicians and all of the fur breeders in Serbia want the law to be changed; effectively banning the ban. One MP, and the person who is also the President of the Committee for Agriculture, Mr Marijan Risticevic. wants the proposed ban to be stopped and for fur farming to continue after 1st January 2019. Effectively they want to change national Article 89 legislation after 9+ years specifically for their own interests.
According to the animal welfare law of 2009 to which the fur ban relates; Article 7 point 37 declares that the BAN on the breeding of animals for fur (Article 89) will commence on 1/1/2019.
As animal welfare campaigners; we are fighting for the fur ban to remain in place for the 2019 introduction. After all, the industry has had 9+ years to date now to prepare itself for the ban.
Firstly, we need to give some information on fur farms within Serbia:
According to information we have, there are currently 32 Chinchilla farms in Serbia where the animals are used for fur (garment) production. Each of these farms has different numbers of animals; but 2,500 (per farm) is not uncommon.
We can say the fur farms above seem to be officially documented by the Ministry as fur farms. What does not appear to be documented is:
The maximum capacity for each of the farms; and how many animals are actually kept there at the present time
There appears to be nothing written about the origin of the animals kept on the farms (see CITES etc below); including their sex; where they are skinned or what is done with the animal carcass after the pelt has been removed. The issue of carcass disposal is important as it may relate to contamination of water tables used for human water consumption.
An original request was made for work permit information of all these farms back in June 2015. It was only in August 2017 that the information requested was provided by the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture; even then only after the Commissioner for information of public interest demanded that the Ministry forwarded this information.
Serbian campaign group EPAR asked that the veterinary inspection section of the Ministry to visit all of the 32 fur producing farms
From the visits, they also asked that the government inspection team(s) establishes the origin of each individual Chinchilla animal and the origin of the first pair of chinchillas at each farm.
Chinchilla it must be remembered is an ‘Alohtone’ species to Serbia; which means that it is not natural to Serbia. Alhotone species have come into human activity within Serbia; and as such, they are living outside of their native or natural distribution range. In other words, Chinchilla used for fur production in Serbia are not a native animal species within Serbia.
Chinchilla are native to the Andes mountains regions of South America.
The chinchilla has the densest fur of all mammals that live on land. The chinchilla is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who once wore its dense, velvet-like fur.
A single, full-length coat made from chinchilla fur may require as many as 150 pelts, as chinchillas are relatively small. Though it is illegal to hunt wild chinchillas in South America, the wild animals are now on the verge of becoming extinct because of continued illegal hunting. Domesticated chinchillas are still bred for fur.
Serbian campaigners asked the Ministry to provide CITES documentation proof for the import of every animal which was not born in Serbia; but instead imported into Serbia. CITES is the ‘Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species’ of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.
They also asked for photo documentation of the conditions under which animals were being kept on fur farms in Serbia. This was to take into account the water provided and what was done with ‘dirty’ water from the farms; the methods of killing used on each farm and also what chemicals (including their waste products) were used on each farm. Lots of very specific and detailed information was requested.
Now we are very pleased to launch the petition to keep the Serbian ban from 1/1/19.
Here is the link on the Respect for Animals site which you sign.
Please note that after you have given a few basic details to sign, you will also need to complete the Verification code which is shown before you can send the petition in your name. This is important and must be done to add your name to the petition.
Please crosspost the petition link to all your contacts and get them to sign.
Thanks SAV, Slavica and ‘Respect for Animals’.
Potpišite ODMAH i podržite zabranu uzgoja životinja radi krzna u Srbiji!
Zbog nedavnog velikog napretka pokreta protiv krzna u Srbiji, industrija krzna trenutno vrši ogroman pritisak na Vladu Srbije kako bi se odložila zabrana uzgoja životinja radi krzna (koja treba da stupi na snagu 1.1.2019. godine) – prateći primer Bosne.
Na skorašnjem sastanku Odbora za poljoprivredu, šumarstvo i vodoprivredu Narodne skupštine Srbije, održanom 20. februara 2018, šireni su propaganda i dezinformacije u vezi sa uzgojem činčila radi krzna. Pošto bi se glasanje Skupštine u vezi sa amandmanima moglo odviti kroz par nedelja, moramo biti brzi. Već smo pisali srpskim političarima, a srpskom parlamentu je poslato i pismo od strane Fur Free Alliance – međunarodne koalicije za borbu protiv krzna.
Potrebna nam je vaša pomoć u potpisivanju pisma ambasadi Srbije kako bismo zajedno ubedili Vladu Srbije da ostane pri Zakonu o dobrobiti životinja iz 2009. i proglasi kraj uzgoju životinja radi krzna 1.1.2019. godine.
Uzgajivači krzna u Srbiji hoće da odlože zabranu za 10 GODINA. Molimo Srbiju da proglasi kraj ove industrije koja se osuđuje širom sveta (na osnovu prethodnog dogovora) do 1. januara 2019. U ime životinja koje pate, PRIDRUŽITE NAM SE.
PISMO AMBASADI SRBIJE: CEO TEKST (letter of the Embassy of Serbia: full text )
Obraćamo vam se u vezi sa zabranom uzgoja životinja radi krzna u Srbiji koja treba da stupi na snagu 1. januara 2019.
Uznemirilo nas je otkriće da je pomenuta zabrana bila predmet rasprave tokom redovnog sastanka Odbora za poljoprivredu, šumarstvo i vodoprivredu Narodne skupštine Srbije, održanog 20. februara 2018.
U skladu sa Zakonom o dobrobiti životinja 2009, zabrana uveliko osuđivane prakse uzgoja životinja radi krzna u Srbiji treba da stupi na snagu 2019. godine. Srpski uzgajivači krzna su, dakle, u prethodnih devet godina imali priliku da pređu na ekonomski stabilniju i održiviju delatnost. Bilo kakva promena prethodno dogovorenog zakona manje od godinu dana do isteka prelaznog perioda povlači ozbiljna pitanja u vezi sa srpskim zakonodavnim procesom.
Činjenica je da je, u poslednje dve decenije, 16 evropskih zemalja izglasalo zakone kojima se zabranjuje ili ograničava uzgoj životinja radi krzna, najskorije Češka i Nemačka. Zbog značajnih etičkih briga i ozbiljnih problema dobrobiti povezanih sa držanjem životinja radi krzna, zakon o potpunoj zabrani ove okrutne prakse usvojen je u Velikoj Britaniji, Austriji, Holandiji, Sloveniji, Hrvatskoj, Makedoniji, Češkoj i u dve regije Belgije, Valoniji i Briselu. Čak i u Norveškoj i Danskoj – srcima industrije krzna – zakonodavci su počeli sa preduzimanjem mera da ili potpuno (Norveška) ili delimično (uzgoj lisica radi krzna je zabranjen u Danskoj) zabrane industriju krzna, na osnovu interesovanja za dobrobit životinja. Mađarska je još jedna zemlja u kojoj je na snazi delimična zabrana uzgoja životinja radi krzna.
Zahvaljujući strožim regulacijama o dobrobiti životinja, uzgoj životinja radi krzna je u potpunosti iščezao iz Švajcarske i delimično iz Švedske, gde ni lisice ni činčile ne smeju biti uzgajane radi krzna. Skoro je Vlada Nemačke glasala za strože regulacije koje će do 2022. godine dovesti do zatvaranja farmi krzna u Nemačkoj. Nadalje, pregovori o zabranama farmi krzna još uvek se vode u Poljskoj, Luksemburgu i Belgiji.
Ankete javnog mnjenja konzistentno pokazuju da većina građana zemalja Evrope uzgoj životinja radi krzna smatra neprihvatljivim. Postoji porast svesti o pitanjima dobrobiti životinja i etičkim brigama o načinu na koji društvo iskorišćava životinje. Stoga je od izrazite važnosti da su političke diskusije u vezi sa uzgojem činčila faktualno tačne i naučno potvrđene.
I kratkorepa i dugorepa činčila su na IUCN listi kritično ugroženih vrsta (IUCN – Međunarodna unija za očuvanje prirode i prirodnih resursa). Kratkorepe činčile se smatraju istrebljenim iz Bolivije i Perua, ali se naslućuje njihovo obnavljanje u drugim područjima. Godine 1996. preostale su samo 42 kolonije dugorepih činčila, a od tada je populacija samo opadala. Tvrdnja industrije da uzgoj činčila radi krzna doprinosi očuvanju vrste netačna je, zapravo je trgovina krznom ta koja je odgovorna za smanjenje broja jedinki vrste.
Pošto su činčile jedine životinje koje se drže radi krzna u Srbiji, važno je uzeti u obzir naučne činjenice o uzgoju činčila onda kada se zakon o uzgoju životinja radi krzna stavlja na kocku. Veliki broj veterinara i stručnjaka za dobrobit životinja se slaže da je nemoguće osigurati dobrobit činčila na farmama. Držanje činčila u malim kavezima sprečava ih da trče i skaču (ponašanje specifično za činčile), i da se upuštaju u društveno ponašanje koje bi zadovoljilo njihove prirodne potrebe. Mada su činčile u prirodi monogamne, pod uslovima farmi krzna ženke su prisiljene na parenje sa velikim brojem mužjaka, tako što im se stavljaju ’’ogrlice za poligamnost’’ koje ih sprečavaju u kretanju. Nadalje, neprirodni uslovi u kojima se činčile drže i razmnožavaju prouzrokuju stres, abnormalno stereotipno ponašanje, strah, reproduktivne poremećaje i uginuće potomstva.
Prirodni životni vek činčila je između 10 i 20 godina, međutim činčile uzgajane radi krzna u proseku žive 8 meseci. Kako bi se sprečilo oštećenje kože i dlake, činčile se na srpskim farmama ubijaju strujnim udarom, metodom koja se uveliko smatra nehumanom.
Životinjsko krzno nije neophodan modni proizvod i ne može se proizvesti na etički prihvatljiv način. Životinje uzgojene radi krzna drže se u malenim žičanim kavezima čitavih njihovih života i ubijaju se nehumanim, bolnim metodama. U društvu današnjice, moderni potrošači su sve svesniji problema dobrobiti životinja na farmama krzna i nisu voljni da kupuju proizvode ekstremne okrutnosti prema životinjama. Kao posledica toga, sve veći broj internacionalnih modnih kuća se posvećuje izostavljanju životinjskog krzna iz svojih kolekcija.
Podstičemo vas – Srbiju – da ostanete pri svom zakonu o zabrani uzgoja životinja radi krzna. Molimo vas da podržite želje javnosti i političara koji su glasali u korist Zakona o dobrobiti životinja 2009. i u svojoj zemlji – kako je prethodno dogovoreno, do 1. januara 2019 – okončate ovu industriju koja se osuđuje širom sveta.
While the first observance of a Women’s Day was held on February 28, 1909 in New York, March 8 was suggested by the 1910 International Woman’s Conference to become an “International Woman’s Day.” After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 