Uk (Northern Ireland): Help Save ‘Lennox’ – Sample Letter Below – Please Act Immediately.

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2012/07/02/pardon_lennox/

Efforts For Pardon Of LennoxUnderway, Protests Organized

By North Country Gazette On July 2, 2012

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND

—-A mixture of emotions erupted late Monday afternoon as word spread quickly on Facebook and Twitter that the family of the beloved dog Lennox had decided not to appeal the government’s verdict to kill the dog by lethal injection. http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2012/07/02/no_appeal/

There is no specific date when the euthanization might occur.

Protests are currently being organized for the city of Belfastwith times and dates to be announced. Anyone in the Belfastarea interested in joining a peaceful demonstration in favor of saving Lennox’s life may contact the organizer at slamina2009@gmail.com and/or join the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/389848901062370/

An email/telephone campaign is also underway pleading with key high level authorities inBelfast including the Secretary of State for Compassion, Grace and Mercy in sparingLennox’s life.

A template (Sample Letter) for a “Plea For Pardon” follows. 

It must be individually emailed or faxed and/or calls made to the Secretary of State’s office.

Time is of the essence.Northern Ireland is five hours ahead the Eastern Daylight Time zone in theU.S.

Contact details for Secretary of State Owen Paterson

Westminster

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 5185
Fax: 020 7219 3955
patersono@parliament.uk

Constituency

No constituency office
Tel: 01978 710073
Fax: 01978 710667
owen@shellbrook.demon.co.uk

To: sos@nio.x.gsi.gov.uk patersono@parliament.uk  owen@shellbrook.demon.co.uk  
Cc: peter.robinson@mla.niassembly.gov.uk  

Rt. Honourable Owen Peterson, Secretary of State NorthernIreland.

URGENT PLEA FOR A PARDON/INTERVENTION TO ALLOW EXPORT OF “LENNOX” TO THE USA OR OTHER COUNTRY OUTSIDE THE UNITED KINGDOM WHERE LENNOX HAS BEEN INVITED

– SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you with regard to a travesty about to occur in Northern Ireland and to beg you to please intervene and help save a life.

The life in question belongs to Lennox, a seven year old American Bulldog Labrador Cross who was living happily with his family inNorthern Ireland.  On May 19, 2010,  Lennox was seized by council officials as an alleged “pit bull type” and taken to secluded kennels whilst his owner was issued a warrant of seizure with an incorrect address for another location. 

While incarcerated in undisclosed kennels, Lennox’s family has never been permitted to visit him. It is now beyond two years that his family has not had an opportunity to interact with Lennox. According to the animal behaviourists who have examined Lennox and the various pictures on public view, Lennox’s health has been very much impacted while in custody.  Lennox has lost a lot of his body fur much of it falling in clumps, Lennox has open soars throughout his body, he suffers from an injured neck, he has an unattended bleeding paw, and he is administered anti anxiety medication on a daily basis to help alleviate his stress.

In a desperate attempt to save Lennox, his owner Carolyn Barnes’s supporters have created petitions and videos resulting in worldwide support to bringLennoxhome.

Northern Ireland has yet to fully implement  the same dog legislation as in mainlandUK.  IfNorthern Ireland were to complete the same dog legislationLennox could now be at home with his family.  The USPCA stated that the law inNorthern Ireland could be changed simply and rather quickly by an order in Council.  As it is, Lennox was branded a “pit bull type” by theBelfastCity Council despite a dog license issued yearly for five years by the same City Council who seized him. 

 It must be noted that Lennox never bit or attacked any human or any other animal in all the seven years of his life. There have been two independent comprehensive assessments conducted by professional Animal Behaviourists, – Ms. Sarah Fisher and Mr. David Ryan –  both arriving at separate conclusions confirming Lennox as a harmless, friendly dog posing no danger to humans.  For further reference, Ms. Fisher has made an excerpt of her Lennox examination available to public viewing.

It  must also be added that Lennox’s owners were always thoroughly responsible in their care of Lennox. Since a puppy they had him neutered, licensed, insured, DNA registered, Pet Safe registered and micro chipped. Lennoxnever had a complaint issued against him while living with his family nor was he ever allowed to run free outside of the boundaries of the family home.

If Lennox lived in Southern Ireland where no breeds are nationally banned, Lennox would never have been seized at all. Lennoxhas been offered a place of safety with a reputable rescue in many parts of the world where he could legally live out the rest of his life.  Most recently he was invited by an organization led by the reputable dog handler Mr. Cesar Milan in theUnited States of America.

I understand that you have the power to grant a Pardon and we beg of you to do all within your power to allow Lennox the chance of life by requesting Lennox be granted safe passage to the United States of America or any other country where a rescue placement is awaiting him. 

I am sure you are aware of how emotionally committed good owners are to their pets.  Dogs are part of the families to which they belong.  In this particular case the little girl Brooke Barnes, a child afflicted with asthma and physical disabilities, was very much attached to Lennox and consistently relied and depended upon him for her safety and well being.  Please spare the owner the further trauma of destroyingLennoxso needlessly.  Please Pardon Lennox and allow a blameless animal the chance of life.

 Yours faithfully,   

—————————————————–

Offers  are still before the court by well-known trainers Victoria Stilwell and Cesar Millan for Lennox to be released to them in theU.S.

Additionally, the Canine Justice Network has told the Belfastgovernment, “We here at Canine Justice Network in Cincinnati, Ohiowould like to officially offer a forever home here for Lennox in the USA. We would even pay for the family to come & visit with Lennoxas much as we can. Please share. Thank you all & don’t give up!” http://www.caninejusticenetwork.com/

On June 20, Stilwell told Lennox supporters to “Please keep shouting out forLennox—we have the backing an amazing sanctuary and financial support to get him out—the courts know this yet they will not let him go.  Of course it would be best if he went back to his family and they will keep fighting for him just as we all will”.

After learning of the family’s statement, Monday night Stilwell tweeted, “Please, to everyone who supports @SaveLennox know that I won’t give up. I am deeply committed to him and his family”.

 On June 23, Millan had tweeted that his foundation, The Millan Foundation, “is involved in helping continue the fight to #SaveLennox”.

According to an article later posted on Millan’s website, Jillian Dunn, the executive director of the Cesar Millan Foundation, said she had spoken with Carolyn Barnes, Lennox’s owner, saying “it was our hope that the public uproar and outcry that spans the globe would help guide the City Council and the court to release Lennox and return him to his loving family”. http://www.cesarsway.com/dogrescue/rescuestories/The-Millan-Foundation-Joins-Fight-to-Save-Lennox-pitbull

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2012/06/23/lennox-family-awaiting-reply-from-belfast-cc/

Belfast, let him go.   7-2-12

http://www.examiner.com/article/lennox-s-family-forced-to-admit-probable-legal-defeat?CID=examiner_alerts_article

July 2, 2012

Lennox’s family forced to admit probable legal defeat

In a statement issued by the Barnes family, they have said that based on the advice of their legal counsel, there are simply no more avenues that can be explored through the legal system to bring their precious Lennox home to them. It is beyond comprehension the terrible anguish the family must be feeling in having to come to this difficult decision. You can read the entire statement at the Save Lennox Campaign website here, or at the link provided at the end of the article.

Over the past 13 months, I have covered the heartbreaking story ofLennoxand his family’s fight to have him freed, after being seized based on a seamstress’ tape measure back in May of 2010. Several articles have been published here about him, and each time it seemed that hope for his return to his family grew more and more dim. When the last appeal was heard, and the judge’s original ruling thatLennoxmust be killed was upheld, hearts sank everywhere. It became clear that the journey to haveLennoxcome home was running out of roads to take, and soon no more would be available. That is where the family finds themselves now.

The only option to save Lennox’s life now is if the Belfast City Councill will accept an offer to relocate Lennox to a new home in theUnited States. While the family has never refused to allow this type of relocation, they had focused their energies on trying to get him back to his own home with them where he belonged. Now that it has become clear that option can never come to pass, the hope is that at least he will be allowed to live, even if it means he cannot live with them.

An offer for a new home has been made here in theUnited States, so the decision will now be in the hands of the BCC yet again. Surely they are not so blind to all of the evaluations done onLennoxthat said that he was not a danger to anyone, and that he could be rehabilitated from his long incarceration, and become a normal dog again. While not the perfect answer, at least it would mean thatLennoxcould live out the rest of his natural life, and not have that life snuffed out with a deadly needle, with him never having known love and family again.

The Barnes family has further stated that if the BCC rejects the offer to rehome Lennox, then they will fight for the right to at least go and see their precious boy, and give him a final loving farewell. It would be beyond comprehension to think that after the months and months of battling to save their beloved Lennox, that they would be refused that one small act of compassion. But, this is the Dangerous Dog Act/breed-specific legislation that is in play here, and thousands of dogs around the world have died lonely deaths without ever seeing their families again.

We can only hope that the BCC will show mercy onLennox. This legal battle has taken a toll on the family, and it is certain they are emotionally drained, most especially now that they have to come to grips with this horrible defeat.

We must all now turn our attention to trying to somehow make the Belfast City Council see that relocation is the best option, so that this precious life does not have to end, andLennoxcan at last feel the freedom of being a family dog again.

At this point the family has stated they will provide more information soon. Right now, they are just trying to digest this bitter pill of defeat, and decide how best to proceed. Once information about how to show support for a decision to relocateLennoxis known, it will be published here.

Sweet Lennox, the laws of this world have betrayed you so badly. You have suffered for the past two years for no other reason that the way you look, and the measurements of a seamstress’ measuring tape. You have shown the entire world just how wrong breed-specific legislation and especially theUnited Kingdom’s Dangerous Dog Act really are. Even at that, it seems heels were dug in and it is you who will pay the ultimate price for this incredibly short-sighted legislation that continues to rip families apart, and take the lives of innocent dogs everywhere.

We are so sorry that our voices simply went ignored, and the unfairness ofLennox’s seizure and separation from his family has had no positive resolution. Our hearts ache that he will never again live with the family who loves him so dearly and has fought so hard to bring him home. We can only hopeLennoxsomehow feels the support that has been sent his way all this time, and knows that he is loved by people who have never even met him.

It is a shameful and dark day when a family’s beloved dog gets a death sentence such as this. It is a time when many advocates are ashamed to be a part of the human race. Defeat does not come easily to any of us. Our heartfelt thoughts go out to the Barnes family, and we stand ready to help in any way we can.

Link for Barnes’ family’s statement:

Click here for the Save Lennox Campaign website and the family’s latest statement.

Related links:

Click here for the June 15, 2012 article about Lennox and the appeal rejection.

Click here for the March 30, 2011 article about Lennox.

Click here for the May 19, 2011 three-part series about Lennox’s case.

Click here for the December 6, 2011 Christmas article about Lennox.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, LETTERS | Leave a comment »

Saudi Arabia: More Money Than They Know What To Do With – Yet The Royal Family Approves Animal Abuse Like This ! – Petition and Sample Letter Included.

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION to create international awareness about these blatant animal abuses in Saudi Arabia.

http://www.change.org/petitions/minister-of-wildlife-hrh-prince-bandar-and-riyad\
h-city-municipality-shut-down-fantasyland-zoo-relocate-and-treat-the-rescued-ani\
mals

Info /photos / videos :
http://barenakedislam.com/2012/06/16/saudi-zoo-of-horrors/

http://www.rescuechristians.org/

Shut down the zoo at Fantasyland, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and relocate and treat the rescued animals.

Please sign this petition if you are inside or outside Saudi Arabia and circulate because we need international awareness about these blatant animal rights and law violations in Saudi Arabia. Circuses are illegal in Saudi Arabia, and so is the importation of endangered and exotic animals according to CITES laws. It is also illegal to abuse, sell and make money off of animals according to Islamic laws. However, the zoo at Fantasyland in thumamah, Riyadh Saudi Arabia has lions, tigers, bears, coyotes, hyenas, monkeys in small 3 meter metal cages with no food or water present. With enough signatures, we can ask the Wildlife commission in Saudi Arabia to act upon laws, already in place, but not being upheld about this zoo. Please circulate this information for the ENTIRE world to see, only with local and international pressure will things change. Thank you!

For the truth about this zoo, please look at the videos at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6XEXiXc-bc&feature=relmfu
Please see the blog posts at:
http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2012/06/zoo-of-horros.html
http://abuhuraira.blogspot.com/

Please write/fax/call the Saudi Wildlife Commission:

Highness Prince Bandar bin Saud Al Saud
Secretary General of the Saudi Commission for Wildlife
PO BOX 61681
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Address: PO Box 61681, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, 11575
Web: http://www.ncwcd.gov.sa/  
Direct Fax: +966(01) 4410797
Commission Fax: +966(01) 2121716

SAMPLE LETTER

Your Highness Prince Bandar bin Saud Al Saud,
We would like to bring to your attention the case of imported exotic animals at Fantasyland, Riyadh, Thumamah, Saudi Arabia against CITES regulations. Fantasyland is not a pet shop and does not have legal permission to have these animals. In addition, it is illegal to have circuses in Saudi Arabia, and we have been advised that these animals are often used in a circus. The lions, hyenas, monkeys, dogs and other animals are not well looked after, nor is food and water present. People who visit are shocked that such conditions could exist in Saudi Arabia, the homeland of Islam as you can see on these blogs: http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2012/06/zoo-of-horros.html
http://abuhuraira.blogspot.com/

Furthermore, since the animals have no food, space and have not been cared for, it is dangerous to people, including the families and children who visit Fantasyland. In fact, Asmahan Al-Ghamdi, an editor at Al-Riyadh was attacked by a lion in June 2011. She suffered injuries that wound up requiring surgical attention. No more cases like this should happen as it looks very bad for Saudi Arabia to have a lack of control over these illegal zoos and circuses. In addition, the animals look very thin and may be in need of medical attention according to doctors and veterinarians who have seen the photos. The workers are not trained animal professionals, particularly in the area of exotic animals, and they are afraid of the animals – thus they do not clean the cage or give proper medical care.

As the Wildlife Commission has a responsibility to set good examples, and educate people on correct animal welfare and uphold laws, we are kindly asking for your intervention to release improve the conditions of these animals or release them into the proper hands of international animal rescues for help.

Now that Saudi Arabia is a part of CITES, and already has the high standards of the Quran and Hadith that enforce animal welfare, let’s show the world that Saudi Arabia does support animal welfare and preservation by looking after the animals and observing the international and local laws of animal welfare.

Shut down this Saudi hell hole for animals – NOW !

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, LETTERS | 1 Comment »

Serbia: 06/12: The Stara Planina Campaign Moves On Again With Further EU Commission Involvement.

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

June 2012.

The last few weeks have been busy for everyone involved with the ‘Save Stara Planina’ campaign.

Serbian environmentalists / AR campaigners have now obtained further evidence which shows that some of the construction work undertaken at Stara Planina was in breach of existing legislation.

There is also concerns about the way in which existing environmental legislation, in the form of ‘Article 35’ of serbian law, is being changed to reflect allowances to environmental conditions which environmentalists (and us) consider is due to pressure from the construction industry.

Please click on the following link to obtain a full overview of our concerns:

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/serbia-stara-planina-update-june-2012/ 

And so in addition to this it has been necessary to make further contact with the EU Commission (both for the Environment and also for EU Enlargement) to express ourr concerns over what is happening.

Mark; SAV founder has written on 10/06/12 to the EU; providing up to date information, and also links to past SAV work which we have undertaken with serbian enviironmentalists.

A copy of Mark’s most recent letter (10 June) to the EU can be read by clicking on the following link:

 SAV Version EU Commission Letter

SAV have provided serbian campaigners with full EU Commission contact details, and they will also be making written contact with the EU in the coming week.

We need to expose what excatly is happening to the EU, especially as Serbia is a potential future EU member state – hence us providing data to the Enlargement Commission – the section which associates with future new EU membership.

We have asked the EU Commission to investigate the situation further and report back to us.

We will provide further updates to events as and when we have a response from the EU Commission.

 

 

 

 

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia | Leave a comment »

Ukraine: EURO 2012 – The Animal Killings Continue – All In the Name of ‘Football’.

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01jk4vr/Panorama_Euro_2012_Stadiums_of_Hate/

The EU has been ignored.  The EU shows absolutely no interest in the animal abuse of actual EU countries like Greece and Romania, they are only concerned with farm animals and they dont do a very good job of that either.

Please send a letter to the Ukrainian embassies worldwide via the following. 

Use the flags in the following link to find the details of your ‘local’ Ukranian embassy:   http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/ukraine#

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Sir / Madam,

The requests of the EU to stop stray dog killings has been ignored by the Ukraine authorities, and the slaughtering is still going on at the moment.

I found last week a Russian forum where they are asking for Russians to go into the Ukraine to finish the job off of “cleaning the streets” and being paid. 

This is a new undercover video of the situation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT05XhOX5TQ

‘The People’ (Uk) newspaper did a follow up on this massacre last month in April:

http://www.people.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2012/04/29/ukraine-caught-out-again-over-euro-2012-dog-slaughter-102039-23840991/

and also the ‘Sun’ newspaper (Uk) did another report last month (May) :

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4296093/Pamela-Anderson-to-Euro-2012-football-chief-Michel-Platini-stop-the-dogs-slaughter.html

Today I received the following message from a Ukraine animal activist, she has translated it into English after each paragraph as well, and you can see is desperate that nobody is listening:

“Вчера мне позвонила мама и рассказала шокирующую просто новость. Постараюсь не писать эмоционально, факты – вчера у нас в Виннице на Пирогова УБИЛИ 5 собак. 5 сучек, стерилизованных, живущих там уже долго, их все любили, все кормили, жили они на автостоянке, никогда никого не укусили, и вот вчера им дали куриное мясо, после которого все пять собак умерли в страшных мучениях, захлебываясь пеной…….

My mother called me yesterday and told shoсking news. I’ll try to tell you about it without emotions – only facts. Some people killed 5 dogs in Vinnitsa. 5 dogs who were sterile and not aggressive – they lived on a parking and everybody loved them and feeded. So yesterday someone gave them poisoned meat and these five dogs died in terrifying torment.

Я прошу всех, кто прочитает мой пост, скопировать его себе. Комментировать, отправить его куда-то в сообщества по защите животных, так как я В ШОКЕ. Я даже не знаю, что еще писать. Мне страшно, мне мерзко и смешно.. Страшно, потому что теперь и я хожу по городу и боюсь увидеть умирающую в судорогах собаку. Мерзко – потому что я от всей души, как только можно, желаю такой же мучительной смерти тем, кто убил этих собак. А смешно – потому что Украина лезет в Европу. Чистит улицы, убивая собак, сжигая их в передвижных крематориях, травя, а Европа в это же время в ужасе – пишет петиции, собирает подписи против зверств, происходящих на Украине. Наша страна, как всегда, старается угодить всем, кто приедет развлечься на Евро-2012 и уедет, а на собственных граждан, на детей и всех, кто видит эти кошмары, как всегда, плевать. И, если и укусила бы собака какого-то туриста, его-то вылечат – у них медстраховки есть у всех, бесплатно вылечат. А нам что делать? Наблюдая такое в наших городах?

I ask everybody who are reading my post to copy it, comment it, send it to animal protection organizations. I am shocked. I don’t even have an idea what to write, ‘cause I’m scared and… I find it funny. I’m scared because walking in my city I’m afraid of seeing a dog who is dying. I feel myself nastily because I wish people who killed dogs the same painful death. And I find it funny because Ukraine tries to be European country. Our streets are clean, there are now more dogs on the streets, because all of them were poisoned or burnt in mobile crematoriums. At the same time European people write petitions against the atrocities happening in Ukraine. Our authorities, as usual, try to please everybody who came to Euro-2012. But our authorities don’t care about Ukrainian citizens who observe this cruelty.

Я ненавижу этих мразей. У меня нет слов, мне только что, пока писала всё, что выше, сказали, что и две собаки, которых я кормила раньше всегда возле своей работы, тоже исчезли. Я ждала их неделю, а сейчас написал друг и сказал их больше не ждать……

Я ПРОШУ. Всех, кто может как-то помочь, всех, кто может куда-то написать – в газету, в общество, неважно – прошу, помогите остановить это! Я не прошу не отстреливать бешеных собак, как в Киеве, которые бросаются на людей, я прошу, умоляю всех, кто меня слышит – помогите защитить тех, кто ни в чем не виноват, разве что в том, что когда-то его предка какой-то скот, вроде тех, которые умерщвляют здоровых котов только потому, что они им надоели, выбросил на улицу надоевшего питомца. Люди, мы же сами в этом виноваты, так за что вы УБИВАЕТЕ их сейчас?.. Для кого?. Почему не хвастаетесь перед Европой питомниками, а пытаетесь в нее пролезть, тогда как ВЕСЬ МИР  в ужасе от того, что У НАС  происходит?

I hate these cruds. While I was writing all this words above my friend told me that two dogs that I feeded near my office disappeared. I ask everyone who can help to stop it – please, write to a newspaper or animal protect organization. I don’t ask not to shoot aggressive dogs who are dangerous (like in Kiev) – I just want to protect those who are not nasty and guilty. All their problem is that once it’s parent was thrown out of home by a cruel person. We are guilty in it, so why we kill animals now? What for?.. Why don’t we display shelters for European public?

We try to be a part of Europe while all the world is terrified by the facts of cruelty happening in our country.

Мне стыдно, что я украинка, мне стыдно, что я одной национальности с этими извергами, с этими уродами, с этими скотами.. Мои собаки ждали меня каждый день…. и теперь, из-за того, что мы ждем гостей, больше никто не буде встречать меня, лизать руки, прыгать вокруг, тянуть за рукава и ластится…
I am ashamed that I’m Ukrainian. I don’t want to share my nationality with the beasts who kill animals. My dogs were waiting for me every day… and now because of Euro and tourists nobody will meet me, lick my hands, jump around and fawn…

Всем прочитавшим — помогите остановить этот кошмар. Собаки ни в чем не виноваты, их выкинули на улицы люди — те, которые сейчас так возмущаются большим количеством бездомных животных.

The dogs are not guilty.
They were thrown out be people who cut up rough by great amount of homeless animals now.

Помогите нашим мохнатым братьям. Так как сами мы, похоже, не справляемся, как бы не старались..

Help our brothers. Because we, Ukrainians, are not able to do it ourselves, although we try very hard”

I therefore request that you immediately stop the killing of all stray dogs in the Ukraine.

Your racist attitude has not done your nation any good so far; and the killing of stray dogs only deminishes your reputation further.

I am appalled by your approach to animals; you will never be welcome as a modern EU nation.

Name and nationality.

 

END of Sample Letter

———————————————————————————– 

Dear Ms Shalkivska,
 
Thank you for your prompt response to my email.  I apologise for the fact that my email to you was quite  short and not much detail, but then I was not expecting any reply from the Ukraine authorities, so have been concentrating on more detailed information going to the various international media.    I am very sorry to read that you are not aware of what is happening in the Ukraine with regard to the animals.  Evidently there has not been a lot of publicity in the U.S.A. or you are not kept informed of current events in your country. I imagine the main concern has been the documentaries and reports about the racism on-going in the Ukraine and Poland and so the animals, as usual, take a back seat.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01jk4vr/Panorama_Euro_2012_Stadiums_of_Hate/
 
Many reports, videos, photos and petitions have been distributed around the internet now for months ever since the purchase of the  “infamous furnace” to destroy the animals was known and still the Ukraine authorities have ignored all the protests made to them.  I will post just a few of the links below but there are too many to post all of them.
 
There are many organisations who are aware of the massacre of the animals, including PETA and PETA.Deutchland have even produced badges 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zZXN389vFx0. 
 
Germany, France, Hungary have responded very well with posters and organising protests.  We are all supporting the animal activists in the Ukraine, even the Russians are protesting and have shown news clips on Russia Today TV news.
 
There is no running away from the fact that this is going on so no proof is needed.
 
There was even a Russian forum where they were recently asking for Russians to go into the Ukraine to finish the job off of “cleaning the streets” and being paid.   You need to scroll down under countries, click on UKRAINE, and then the top topic  “Comrades!  Need Help with Euro-2012”  http://vredy.org/
 
 
This is a recent video
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT05XhOX5TQ
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhUzdso7How
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAKSsQw3O2Q&feature=relmfu
 
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_the_killing_of_cats_and_dogs_in_Ukraine_for_the_EURO_2012/?fhFCEab&pv=5
 
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=UkraineStrayAnimals
 
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-killing-of-dogs-and-cats-for-the-european-football-championship
 
http://www.people.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2012/04/29/ukraine-caught-out-again-over-euro-2012-dog-slaughter-102039-23840991/
 
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4296093/Pamela-Anderson-to-Euro-2012-football-chief-Michel-Platini-stop-the-dogs-slaughter.html
 
http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-44952445:em-i-fodbold-har-kostet-9000-hunde-livet.html?forside&ss
 
http://www.occupyforanimals.org/ukraine-the-european-football-championship-and-the-mass-murders-of-stray-animals.html
 
http://stopkillingdogs.eu/ http://www.wahro.org/
 
http://www.piaberrend.org/ukraine-mass-killings-of-strays-are-intensified-in-order-to-show-the-world-a-clean-country-at-eu/
 
Please let me know if you would like any more information,
 
Yours sincerely,
Elaine C.
 
 
 
—– Original Message —–
From: Tatiana Shalkivska
To:   Elaine C
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 9:09 PM
Subject: Re: Ukraine Animal Massacre

Dear Ms.Cole,

This is Tatiana Shalkivska, Press Officer at the Embassy of Ukraine to the U.S.

Yes, I am proud of my country.
And if something goes wrong in my country I and my compatriots should know
about it so that we could fix it.

In this regard, thank you for your message and the images.

The only thing is in Ukraine we do not use the plates shown on the vehicle in the first image.

My assumption is the picture was not taken in Ukraine.
Ms.Cole, I will appreciate if you could let us know where you got this picture from.
Also, why do you believe the first two pictures were taken in Ukraine? Any proofs?

Best regards,
Tatiana

 
On Wed, Jun 6, 2012 at 12:55 PM, Emb USA <embus@ukremb.com> wrote:
 
—– Original Message —–
From:  Elaine C
To: postmaster@ribbon.kiev.ua ; press@menr.gov.ua ; hotline@mfa.gov.ua ; elena@mincult.gov.ua ; press@mincult.gov.ua ; ministry@mon.gov.ua ; press@mon.gov.ua ; yar@menr.gov.ua ; post@dcssm.gov.ua ; press_msms@ukr.net ; themis@minjust.gov.ua ; cos@pol03.gts.lg.ua ; pcgz@gu.kiev.ua ; gc_usc@mfa.gov.ua ; gc_usn@mfa.gov.ua ; consulate@UkraineSF.com ; amboffice@ukremb.com ; emb_us@mfa.gov.ua ; emb_gb@mfa.gov.ua ; gc_sc@mfa.gov.ua ; edinburgh@consulateukr.co.uk
Cc: chefred@taz.de ; explosiv@rtl.de ; info@bild.t-online.de ; info@center.tv ; info@zdf.de ; mail@vox.de ; news@rtl.de ; nachtjournal@rtl.de ; post@express.de ; Punkt12@rtl.de ; Redaktion.extra@rtl.de ; redaktion@jungewelt.de ; redaktion@wdr.de ; userpost@taz.de ; zuschauerredaktion@rtl.de ; zured@daserste.de ; zuschauerservice.n24@n24.de ; redaktion@radiokoeln.de ; redaktion@koelner.de ; online@welt.de
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 12:44 PM
Subject: Ukraine Animal Massacre

Sirs,
 
I hope you are feeling very proud of your country.  The whole World is watching now and has seen on YouTube and Facebook, the terrible videos of the dogs being thrown into the furnace, being poisoned and clubbed to death.  “Cleaning” the streets of the Ukraine in the name of football!!
 
Now we see the official Government vehicle used in the killing of thousands of dogs in Vinnutsja watched by witnesses!

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZESdvfLGKo
 
WARNING Hard Images !!!

It is 3 o’clock in the morning, Andrea comes back from a case where once again a dog has been poisoned. He is very tired because it is getting more and more difficult to find vets who will treat the strays even though they have …no costs. (notice: the dog’s mouth has been tied closed to protect itself not to be cruel because the dog is in agony!!)Part 2: you can hear and see how much this dog is suffering. Andrea reports that the dog has had an infusion and they hope he will survive. He provides the costs of course. Then everything changes, the vet says she cannot keep the dog there because it is a stray and has no papers and therefore has no right to be in a clinic!! At 2 o’clock in the morning. Andrea reports there was an argument between the volunteers and the vet – he is going to officially report the incident!!! Anyway the animal welfarists have to take the poor suffering dog with them. Unfortunately at this hour they can’t find a clinic which will take over this case, so they spend the night with the dog in the car, hoping that the clinic will take over the treatment in the morning and that the dog survives the ordeal. Andrea, who is pretty exhausted, finishes the video and says it would be a terrible blow if strays can no longer be treated because they have no papers and therefore no rights.
Please support WAHRO and the work of volunteers and don´t forget the local animal shelters.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, VIDEOS | Leave a comment »

Serbia: ** Save ‘Stara Planina’ Update ** – June 2012. Serbian Environmental Protection Legislation Has Been Changed Twice In The Last Few Years, Simply To Satisfy The Requirement of Investors, Or At The Personal Request Of Companies – Here Are The Real Facts !

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

As can be seen from all the previous SAV links provided at the end of this news, we have been helping Serbian campaigners / environmentalists to be active with the campaign to save Stara Planina from environmental destruction for quite a while now.  For them this campaign has been one of over four years.  Please look at the individual links to witness how a beautiful area full of flora and fauna is being systematically destroyed – lost forever – there are many, many photographs; please take your time to witness the environmental destruction that is happening – approved and with the full approval of the Serbian government.

31/05/12 – The following report arrived at SAV within the last few days from Serbian environmental campaigners.  We are reproducing the report in full, with no editorials apart from additional bolding and underling of text in areas which we consider are especially important.

We have given our information in the past (November 2011) regarding Stara Planina to both the EU Commission for the Environment – Commissioner Janez Potocnik, and also to the EU Commission for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy – Commissioner Stefan Fule.

Copies of both the response provided to us by the EU, and also that provided to the EU (Nicholas Hanley) by the Serbian Ministry of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning are provided below:

Below – the two page response to the EU by the Serbian Ministry of Environment, Mining

and Spatial Planning

 

Below – the two page response by the EU to SAV regarding the issue of Stara Planina:

We question the comments made by Assistant Minister Pokimica in his letter to the EU (first above), where it is declared:

“the Ministry of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning pays special attention to this sensitive and very important issue for our country, in particular since it affects both, the status of biodiversity and ecosystems and sustainable economic development of the entire country.  Furthermore, the Government of Serbia reconfirmed the tremendous values of protected areas in recently adopted national strategy for Biodiversity Conservation and also in the new law of Nature protection which is harmonized with relevant EU legislation in this field”.

From the latest information provided to us from environmental campaigners (and reproduced below), it would appear that the policy of the Serbian government is to actually ensure that the Article 35 which has been used for environmental protection in the past, and which has now been modified twice in the last 3 years, has been amended specifically for the benefit of investors, at the personal request of companies which have already made illegal constructions previously on protected natural areas (Stara Planina, Kopaonik, Golija etc…), and in forbidden areas, breaching the laws on the Environment, Planning and Construction.

One could argue that this is hardly reconfirming the alleged government policy of “the tremendous values of protected areas”.

Please review the latest report from the Serbian environmentalists / campaigners and make your own views on the situation.

We have been to the EU about this issue before, and we will now be going back to the EU regarding this latest report from environmental campaigners in Serbia.  Further, we will be in contact with Green MEPs making them fully aware of this current situation from a government which declares it is “harmonized with relevant EU legislation in this field”.

Maybe the actual reality is that Serbian ministries wish to change the laws and get illegal constructions under way PRIOR to becoming an EU member state – a case of doing the damage now before we are prevented from being allowed to do it in the future !

There is a lot associated with this current situation, and we will be providing further information very soon in associated posts on this site.

SAV.

———————————————————–

Here is a copy of some of the data we have been provided with by Serbian environmentalists. 

This is an un-edited copy of the information provided.

————-

Dear Mark,

As we have promised, if we receive new proof of the breach of laws, during the construction of the mega ski centre in the Park of Nature “Stara Planina”, such an information, we shall immediately forward to the EU, relevant Commission, Mr. Nicholas Hanley, Mr. Janez Potochnik and Mr. Barosso.

Since our Ministry for the Environment, Mr. Nebojsa Pokimica, assistant to the Minister Dulić sent a report to the EU Comission, to Mr. Hanley that there was no breach of laws during the construction of the mega ski centre on Stara Planina, we acquired different information and in our view, consider it necessary to inform the truth to the EU Commission and Mr. Hanley. 

At the end of last year, we were in doubt and filed a complaint on the 21st of November, 2011, to the relevant government officials about the construction of the hotel on Jabučko Ravnište, construction of the gondola and ski lift with four seats to “Babin Zub” which are under construction and last winter in function. Relevant to this and for the construction of the partition on the Debesticka River on Stara Planina, and making the artificial accumulation for the needs of artificial snow, we filed a complaint (in Attachment).
 
On the 20th of December, 2011, we sent an urgent request to:  Inspection of the Environment, Construction Inspection, and Urban Inspection of the Ministry for the Environment, Minining and Spatial Planning. In Belgrade, as officially they must act since these are their fields of responsibility.

On the 27th of December, 2011, we sent our request for the information of Public Importance, ie. copies of our log/notes on the behaviour of the Inspections.

Only on the 10th of April 2012 have we received only a partial answer on the issue brought by the Construction Inspection for the removal of the objects of the four-seat lift and gondola, as they have been constructed without lawful construction agreement.

For the hotel on Jabučko Ravnište, we have received no reply and we suspect that it has been constructed also unlawfully.

We question the legality of this hotel, as no evaluation of its impact on the environment has been analysed (as officially required ba law in Serbia) and further more, there was no infrastructure, electricity, water etc. necessary by Serbian Law (at least on paper), necessary for the construction of such an object in a protected area as is the Park of Nature “Stara Planina”.

The construction of this hotel and mega ski centre was paid out of the budget of Serbia, Public Company “Ski Resorts Serbia”, which with the money of Serbian tax payers together with the violation of laws, built and destroyed the officially protected natural site. Only the hotel on Jabucko Ravniste was constructed with an amount of about 35.000.000 EUR!!!!

We requested by official means on the 27th of December, 2012, copies of reports-agenda on the activities of the Construction Inspectors, but as we have not yet obtained them, we spent a lot of time waiting for this information.

Now we send part of the information received from the Ministry, proving that our suspicion on the legality of this construction is really illegal.
 

Due to the fact that we have not received the information, we filed a complaint to the Office for Information of Public Importance and we must now wait. This Office is burdened by many files including those from citizens, and we wait when the Office will act and force the Ministry to forward us this information.
 
As a supplement, we send the translated text forwarded by an official person from the Ministry  of Environment, Mining and Spatial planning, Belgrade, responsible for handing out information of public concern, Radmila Padežanin, via email.
 
What we wish to point out to the EU Commission is the fact that the Law for the Protection of Nature from the year 2009, (Official Gazette RS No 36/2009) has been changed already twice, for the requirement of investors, on personal request or companies, which already made illegal constructions previously on protected natural areas (Stara Planina, Kopaonik, Golija etc…), forbidden areas, breaching the laws on the Environment, Planning and Construction etc. 

For the first time, the Law on Nature Protection has been changed, amendments to the Law (Official Gazette RS No 88/2010) the Article 35 has been changed concerned with the regime of protection in the already protected areas. With this, various activities have now been allowed in the II and III degree of protected areas, previously not allowed by laws in 2009, Gazette 36/2009. 

By these new by-laws, all illegal actions have been actually legalized and the investors have spare time to apply and legalaize their activities.

As a supplement we send the disputable Article 35 of the Law on Nature Protection (“Official Gazette RS” No 36/2009 and 88/2010) which by changes and amendments of the Law in 2010, severely degraded and reduced the protection in the already lawfully protected natural areas.

Formulations used to express all that is allowed but restricted, without specifying to whom and how, opens the door to corruption and invites to the further destruction of protected natural sites. 

By changing and amending the Law of Nature Protection, (“Official Gazette RS” No 88/2010), according to Article 35, in the areas designated as the II degree of protection, it is not forbidden ie. one may dam waterways, create hydro accumulations for various purposes, meloration, construction of hydroelectric plants, construction of tourist capacities-hotels, construction of ski lifts, construction of tourist, traffic, energy, communal and other infrastructure. construction of housing objects, fishponds, agricultural farms, farms for breeding domestic and wild animals, hunting, fishing, collecting mushrooms, other plant and animal species, explotation of rock, clay and other natural raw materials, the formation of forest and agricultural monocultures, application of chemicals and introduction of alochton species.

According to the same Article 35, in areas designated as degree III of protection, it is not forbidden to construct industrial and energy projects, asphalt bases, tourist capacities and ski resorts, infrastructure objects, warehouses  for industrial goods and building materials, holiday houses, exploitation and processing of raw minerals, forming areas for processing garbage, construction of habitation areas and the widening of construction areas, hunting, fishing, formation of agricultural and forestry monocultures, application of chemical compounds etc.
All this additionally legalizes the current state in protected natural areas, which in the meantime, various individuals and companies did and built illegally and for years destroyed these natural areas.

There is no protected natural site in Serbia that has not been destroyed in these ways, which were legalized by Law in 2010.

More than 90% of the protected areas in Serbia are now in the categories II and III.

It is a fact that in Serbia only 6% of the territory is protected as natural heritages; aiming at saving the biological and environmental diversity and general natural heritage and that these 6% under protection have already been divided under various regimes of protection, in which the I regime occupies only 0.50% of these 6% of protected areas !!

Under the current laws, in the II and III regime of protection, numerous activities are allowed, making it impossible to protect these regions, including those under regime I.

All this is in practice not mentioned and there is general chaos in all the protected areas, all this is now being currently legalized

Besides all this, our Government has in April 2012 brought a new Decree on the regimes in protected areas, although it already entered the pre-election campaign, and such actions are not acceptable.

This Decree additionally degrades the valuable natural heritages of the I degree of protection, confirming and explaining how the natural sites of I degree will be degraded and initiating further, with confusion allowing everyone to act at will with various permissions, spurring new corruption already in existence, not only in this case, but within Serbia as a whole.

Nature protection has been reduced to satisfying megalomaniac requirements of suspectful capital of the “ Business sector”.

The decree concerning the regime of protection published in the Official Gazette 31/2012 enabled that protected areas may be further destroyed in various ways, and that the energy lobby and similar lobbies, have open doors for the further destruction of the environment and protected areas (just to mention, Serbia is the top country in wasteful energy consumption).

The new Decree on the regime of protection, with which new problems are opened, as the Decree is in contradiction with Laws and Acts of proclaiming a protected area, opens the door to increased corruption etc.

The situation is precarious for many already existing protected areas in Serbia, since it is now allowed to perform activities in regimes II and III which have up to now been forbidden.

This will destroy the small areas and the protection of regime I. If all above listed activities are now allowed in areas designated as II and III, the question arises how much territory is really protected.

Also it is a question if protected natural sites under the circumstances really deserve to be considered as protected under the designated categories.

Although only 6% of the territory of Serbia is protected, there are endless attempts to build and destroy just in these regions.

A much higher percentage of Serbian territory deserves protection. Unfortunately, the Government is not interested in increasing the areas deserving protection.

All these activites show that our Government opened a new season and gives support for the destruction of the remaining protected natural areas. Applying such measures as proposed by current Laws is unacceptable and will result further degradation of the biodiversity for which the protected sites were established in the first place.

It should be mentioned that a number of professionals, including expert Serbian meteorologists, warn that in the future, Serbia will be faced with droughts, due to general warming, lack of water, reduced agriculture production etc.

For the Government, this warning is not enough and the next plan is to build a ski resort on Radan Mountain close to Kosovo. This mountain is in the warmer South, and only 1409m above sea level.

One should really pay attention to how donations are spent, what activities are undertaken with this money and is it used for the further destruction of the Serbian Environment, not to mention the possible corruption behind all this.

*** All these activities and Laws should be carefully analysed by the responsible bodies of the EU and corrections should be made by the Serbian Government before any further financial aids are allowed or talks of membership in the EU continue. ***

As a supplement, we send all articles of the Law on the Protection of the Environment and copy of the Official Gazette RS with the published amendments and regimes of protection.

——————————————————————-

Links to previous SAV posts relating to Stara Planina. 

Please look at the photographs within them to see how beautiful natural environments of both flora and fauna are being systematically destroyed:

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/serbia-eu-environment-and-eu-enlargement-commissions-stara-planina-serbia-update-december-2011-do-eu-commissioners-speak-the-truth-or-simply-weasel-words/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/serbia-and-the-eu-does-the-eu-dog-wag-the-environmental-tail-or-the-serbian-government-eu-accession-tail-actually-wag-the-eu-dog/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/eu-serbia-are-they-both-leading-us-up-the-environmental-garden-path/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/serbia-does-it-now-realise-that-law-implementation-is-a-serious-issue/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/serbia-stara-planina-update-the-governments-illegal-environmental-destruction-continues-full-news-and-pictures-in-this-post/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/serbia-campaign-for-the-protection-of-zvezdara-forest-in-belgrade/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/golema-reka-draft/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/240809-global-launch-of-campaign-to-save-stara-planina-animals-and-plants-international-supporters-your-individual-help-is-essential-please-copy-and-send-letter-given-in-post-below/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/serbia-save-stara-planina/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/stara-planina-200809-few-days-till-launch-of-next-campaign-phase/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/serbia-campaign-to-save-flora-and-fauna-at-stara-planina/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/serbia-more-major-environmental-destruction-planned-your-help-needed-to-raise-global-awareness/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/serbia-please-give-your-petition-support-to-save-serbian-beautiful-river-rzav-from-government-and-industry-abuse/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/serbia-beautiful-environmental-region-of-serbia-to-become-ski-centre-please-read-and-take-action/

Below – Pictures from Stara Planina prior to the Government of Serbia changing the environmental regulations for its own convenience – as the above photos show, we have now entered a time when:

“the Government of Serbia reconfirmed the tremendous values of protected areas in recently adopted national strategy for Biodiversity Conservation and also in the new law of Nature protection which is harmonized with relevant EU legislation in this field”.

Hmm  !!!

 

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia | Leave a comment »

Sea Shepherd Update – 22/05/12 – Greetings From Germany by Captain Paul Watson.

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

 

http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2012/05/21/watch-captain-watsons-press-conference-outside-preungesheim-prison-1381

http://www.seashepherd.de/news-and-media/news-120521-1.html

May 21, 2012

Watch Captain Watson’s Press Conference Outside Preungesheim Prison
After spending 8 days in the custody of German authorities, Captain Paul Watson has been released on bail.  Immediately upon being released Captain Watson and his attorney, Oliver Wallasch spoke to the media outside the Preungesheim Prison in Frankfurt, Germany. The extradition process is still set to take place. It is an unprecedented move for a non-German national to be released on bail during an extradition proceeding.  The Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt confirmed together with the General Public Prosecutor that the authority to end the extradition proceedings belongs to the German Minister of Justice, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger.

————————- 

http://www.seashepherd.org/commentary-and-editorials/2012/05/22/greetings-from-germany-537
 
May 22, 2012
Greetings From Germany
Commentary by Captain Paul Watson

I would like to thank everyone around the world for the incredible support over the last week that I spent in a Frankfurt prison. It is greatly appreciated. The people of Sea Shepherd Germany have been wonderful and I have been happy to see so much support from supporters in Costa Rica and around the world also.

We have an excellent worldwide legal team working hard to resolve this legal issue. I am confident that this team will do the very best they can on every front involved with this case.

Although I have no reason to believe that the Costa Rican legal system would not give me a fair trial, my concern is not for the judicial system, but for the reality that the shark fin mafia of Costa Rica has a price on my head and a Costa Rican prison would provide an excellent opportunity for someone to exercise this lethal contract against me. We have cost the shark finners a great deal of money over the last two decades and they want their revenge. I would need absolute assurance that the Costa Rican authorities would not place me in the position to jeopardize my safety when I return to Costa Rica to prove my innocence in court.

There are two very important points that I would like to make. The first is that although my arrest and detention have been a focus of this incredible support the fact is that this is not about me. It is about our oceans and the ever-escalating threat of diminishment of the diversity of life in our seas. It is about the sharks, the whales, the seals, the sea turtles and the fish. 

This is an opportunity to shine an international spotlight on what is happening to the sharks and especially to illustrate that there are elements in Costa Rica responsible for a great deal of the illegal trafficking in shark fins.

Secondly, I want to make it very clear that whatever happens to me will not affect our campaigns. I have delegated the responsibility of commanding our ships to my very capable captains and they will be defending sharks this summer in the South Pacific and the whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The Cove Guardians will return to Taiji, Japan in September to defend the dolphins.

Fortunately, Sea Shepherd is now much bigger than myself and even more fortunately; the reality is that we now have a legion of passionate, dedicated, courageous and resourceful volunteers around the world. If I am prevented from serving on the front lines upon the high seas I will serve as a symbol of resistance to the destruction of our oceans from inside a prison cell.

Power and greed do not surrender easily and history has shown that sometimes prison is an ordeal that must be endured in order to shake the foundations of powerful special interests. There is no shame in incarceration as Mandela, Gandhi, Thoreau, Aung San Suu Kyi, and so many others have demonstrated. 

Power does not relinquish easy and the powers opposing our efforts are immense like the shark finning, bluefin tuna fishing, whaling and dolphin killing industries, and the governments that support this trade in death like Japan, Costa Rica, Norway, Iceland, Malta, Canada etc. Sometimes I’m surprised we have made any progress at all but progress we have made indeed, and we will continue to win victories for our clients in the sea, no matter what the obstacles thrown in our path because Sea Shepherd is not just me, it is now an international movement and our flag is becoming widely known and more and more respected and most importantly, our permanent and most proud legacy are the thousands of whales, tens of thousands of sharks, hundreds of thousands of seals and millions of fish that swim free in the sea now, that would otherwise have been cruelly slain if not for our intervention.

In the end it is about them and not about us.

We invest our passion and in return we reap the ever-enduring seeds of life.

————————————————————-

SAV Comment:
 

Shark Finning – the fins are cut off the shark whilst it is still alive

– then the body is thrown back in the water as ‘wastage’ – to die a terrible death.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS | Leave a comment »

Germany: 18/05/12 – Latest on Capt. Watson – German Prosecutor’s Late Motion Gives German Ministers More Time to Free Captain Paul Watson!

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

LATEST NEWS – 1800hrs GMT 18/05/12

May 18, 2012

Higher Regional Court Defers Judgment to Ministry of Justice – Bogus Extradition Process to Proceed, but Captain Paul Watson Granted Bail

In an extraordinary move by the German Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt, the court has granted the general public prosecutor’s request for Captain Paul Watson’s preliminary arrest for extradition to Costa Rica.  However, the court has also granted bail for Captain Paul Watson during the time the court considers whatever documentation Costa Rica is able to provide to substantiate their bogus allegations against Captain Paul Watson. It is expected that Captain Paul Watson will be freed on bail on Monday, May 21, 2012. Sea Shepherd’s legal team says this is an unusual, but promising move on the part of the Higher Regional Court and is further indication that the international campaigning efforts for Captain Paul Watson’s release are being heard in the chambers of justice in Germany.

In a press release, received towards the end of business hours Friday, the Higher Regional Court stated that “the question of whether or not Mr. Paul Watson will be extradited is not ultimately a decision by the Higher Regional Court but by the executive body which is the Ministry of Justice”.

Even the Higher Regional Court is stating that the Ministry of Justice in Germany can step in and prevent his extradition at any time. The international campaign to save Captain Paul Watson from a politically-motivated extradition to Costa Rica where he will not receive a fair trial, nor is it likely that he would even survive jail to see the inside of a courtroom, is having an effect. The Taiwanese shark fin mafia in Costa Rica has made threats on Captain Paul Watson’s life.

First the general public prosecutor stated in his motion to the Higher Regional Court, that the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have the power to stop the extradition process for political reasons. Now, the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt is also deferring to the Ministry of Justice.

Sea Shepherd calls on its supporters in Germany and overseas to continue writing Federal Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Guido Westerwelle and expressing their concern about a politically-motivated extradition that would be the same as a death sentence.

The contact information for the ministers can be found here:

http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2012/05/17/german-prosecutors-late-motion-gives-german-ministers-more-time-to-free-captain-paul-watson-1378

Sea Shepherd is planning a global day of action on Wednesday May 23, to coincide with a diplomatic visit to Germany by Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla Miranda.

To view the current statement from the German courts (these sites are in German) click on the links below.

Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt am Main ordnet vorläufige Auslieferungshaft gegen Tierschutzaktivisten Paul Watson an und setzt Haftbefehl gegen Sicherheit außer Vollzug
Auslieferungsverfahren gegen Tierschutzaktivisten Paul Watson

————————————————————————————————————— 

Please ring, e mail, etc, until Capt. Watson is free.

Contact details below – Thanks – SAV.

—————————————————-

May 17, 2012

German Prosecutor’s Late Motion Gives German Ministers More Time to Free Captain Paul Watson!

Captain Paul Watson at the helm of the Sea Shepherd flagship, the Steve Irwin. Photo: Barbara VeigaSea Shepherd expected news on the fate of Captain Paul Watson to be announced yesterday by the German Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt but as hours passed on, no word was received from the general public prosecutor until close of business hours.  At 1800 hrs, the general public prosecutor finally submitted his motion for a preliminary extradition arrest warrant against Captain Paul Watson.  The late filing of this motion, coupled with a German bank holiday today, has given Captain Paul Watson’s supporters and allies until this Friday to appeal to German Federal Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Guido Westerwelle’s standards for International Human Rights.

Lead legal counsel for Captain Paul Watson, Oliver Wallasch, had this to say about the general public prosecutor’s motion on Wednesday:

“Absolutely unusual – I never had this experience in all my practice in cross border cases – the fact that the public prosecutor stated, that the German Ministry of Justice and the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs have the power to stop the extradition procedure on political reasons.”

Thus the keys to Captain Paul Watson’s freedom are in the hands of the Honorable Minister of Justice and the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs. We therefore ask all supporters of Captain Paul Watson to immediately contact the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to ask them to end the unjust and politically-motivated extradition of Captain Paul Watson before a panel of judges decides Captain Paul Watson’s fate on Friday.

For days, Sea Shepherd supporters from Germany and around the world have expressed their concerns about the political nature of this extradition, as well as their concern for the safety of Captain Paul Watson, to Federal Minister of Justice Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. Given the motion made by the general public prosecutor, it is now time to also focus attention on Minster of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Guido Westerwelle. Either Minister (or both Ministers) can take the action that Interpol has already taken and acknowledge that the case against Captain Paul Watson is politically-motivated and is a violation of Captain Paul Watson’s human rights.

Should the Honorable Ministers fail to put the brakes on the persecution of Captain Paul Watson, the extradition process will proceed and Costa Rica will have a maximum of 90 days, from the time that he was arrested, to put forward their bogus case for extradition. During this time, Captain Paul Watson would remain isolated in prison, awaiting an extradition that would be tantamount to a death sentence.

The Taiwanese Shark Fin Mafia has had a $20,000 bounty on his head for years.  We know the arm of the Taiwanese Shark Finning Mafia reaches not just to the illegal fishing industry in Costa Rica, but also to the prison system there. Sea Shepherd fears that not only would Captain Paul Watson not receive a fair trial in Costa Rica, but he would likely not survive jail long enough to see the inside of a court room.

This is our final effort to ask the Honorable Ministers to intervene before the extradition process officially begins.  We only have hours to change the minds of the German officials who can make a difference and not only save the life of Captain Paul Watson, but also save the lives of whales, dolphins, seals, and fish that he has spent his life courageously defending.

While visiting Captain Paul Watson in prison, Ship Operations Officer, Peter Hammarstedt and Director of Intelligence and Investigations, Scott West were able to obtain a handwritten note from Captain Paul Watson to his supporters, which you can read at the bottom of this article.

Please call, email, and fax the following Ministers:

Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
Federal Minister of Justice
Deutscher Bundestag

Platz der Republik
11011 Berlin

Telephone 030 – 227 751 62
  from outside Germany dial +49 302 277 5162
Fax 030 – 227 764 02
  from outside Germany dial +49 302 277 6402
E-Mail: sabine.leutheusser-schnarrenberger@bundestag.de

Federal Ministry of Justice
Mohrenstrasse
37
10117 Berlin
Germany

Telephone: +49 (030) 18 580-0
Telefax: +49 (030) 18 580-9525

Dr. Guido Westerwelle – Minister of Foreign Affairs
FDP-Bundestagsfraktion
Platz der Republik 1
11011
Berlin

Tel.: 030 / 22771636  from outside Germany +49 302 277 1636
Fax: 030 / 22776562  from outside Germany +49 302 277 6562
E-Mail: guido.westerwelle@bundestag.de

Sea Shepherd Link:  http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2012/05/17/german-prosecutors-late-motion-gives-german-ministers-more-time-to-free-captain-paul-watson-1378

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, LETTERS | Leave a comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »