UPDATE 6/2/18

Mark, I wanted to update you on the unfolding situation for animals in Brazil.

A few hours ago the injunction halting live export from Brazil was lifted.

This didn’t surprise us, considering the exporters have powerful political allies and were always going to fight tooth and nail to keep their trade.

But with the historic Federal Court case examining the ‘merits’ of Brazil’s live export trade still pending, our fight to spare animals from the misery of live export is far from over.

I’ve been humbled by the overwhelming response to our request for assistance over the past 24 hours. As a direct result, I have been able to send our investigators into the field, tasked with gathering the evidence needed to give this case the best possible chance of success.

Knowing what was at stake, I’m proud to say that they didn’t hesitate to head off on what will inevitably, once again, be a difficult and distressing mission.

The injunction may have been lifted, but exporters in Brazil are far from sitting comfortably. The Federal Court’s damning assessment of their industry stands and they know the global spotlight is now firmly on their industry.

Their days of abusing animals in secret and without any scrutiny are long gone. A Federal Court Judge saw through their excuses, others will too.

Much work lies ahead — I wouldn’t suggest otherwise to you. As you know, righting the wrongs inflicted on animals is always a lengthy battle that requires enormous commitment, effort and resilience. But, fuelled by the efforts of our investigators, we now have some wonderful allies. We are working side by side with some of Brazil’s finest advocates and lawyers to bring a permanent end to this terrible trade.

People everywhere are mobilising on behalf of animals. Thank you so much, Mark, for being one of them. And thank you for your unwavering support and faith in our work.

With heartfelt gratitude,
Lyn

5/2/18

BREAKING: Brazil has stopped live animal exports!

I know you’d want to be among the first to hear this incredible news. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest live exporters, and this decision could save thousands of animals from the pain and terror of having their eyes stabbed and tendons slashed.

But Mark, this ban could lift at any time…

Crucial to Brazil’s decision was Animals Australia’s evidence — gathered during risky investigations into the horrific fate of animals in this trade. As the industry increases the pressure on Brazil to reverse this decision, we urgently need to keep our investigators in the field to gather the evidence needed to secure a permanent ban on this trade.

Last year in Egypt we documented the harrowing final moments of a bruised, bloodied and frightened bull sent there from Brazil. Now, those responsible for his suffering have been finally called to account.

The Federal Court in Brazil has just used evidence of his abuse to suspend live animal exports from the country — determining that live export does not reflect Brazil’s animal protection laws or its societal values, nor does it satisfy international standards to which Brazil is a signatory.

Never has the importance of our investigator’s efforts, fuelled by your support, been more apparent.

Exporters will be actively seeking to have this decision overturned, which is why now, with public attention on this issue in Brazil, we must return to the field to show the extent of the suffering that this global industry is responsible for.

The evidence on which the judge based his determination was gathered by our investigators in the most grueling and distressing of circumstances. It formed the basis of the Federal Court petition submitted by our local colleagues, Brazilian animal advocacy group, Forum Animal.

The subsequent court ruling is unprecedented. It demonstrates that when the live export trade is viewed through independent eyes — through a lens devoid of politics and self-interest — the unnecessary suffering is obvious.

The battle is now on, between those seeing live export as responsible for animal welfare atrocities and those wanting to continue profiting from them.

That’s why we must send our investigators back into the field. We’ve been here before. We know the excuses the industry will make, the false picture they will paint. Further evidence is what they will fear most.

Mark, 12 months ago, live export was a little-known issue in Brazil, yet hundreds of thousands of animals were being subjected to this global trade in misery every year.

They were being shipped on the very same vessels that have delivered Australian and European animals to unspeakable suffering, abandoned in countries where horrors like tendon slashing and fully conscious slaughter are the norm.

It is your support Mark that set this chain of events in motion. And it is your support today that will give animals the best chance of being spared from this brutal industry, for good.

I have so often told you of the silent promise our investigators make animals in their darkest hours — that their suffering will not be in vain. That we will channel our grief and outrage at the injustice done to them into sparing further animals from extreme abuse.

We made this promise to the frightened bull from Brazil who we found bleeding from his eyes and legs in Egypt. We were with him during his final, heart-wrenching moments and we have spent every moment since telling his story.

To the live export industry he was just a number. But to a Federal Court Judge in Brazil he was a reason to end live export.

Now we must give Brazil’s judiciary the reasons to uphold this ban, for good.

I know you share our investigator’s desire to see animals free from the horrific live export trade. Click here to donate to our Investigations Unit today.

For the animals,
Lyn White AM
Investigations Director

.. and momentum for a live export ban in the UK is building all the time.

Dear Mark,

I’m delighted to report encouraging news in the fight to end UK live exports.

Theresa Villiers, MP, announced last week that Defra Secretary of State, Michael Gove, told her the government is “looking very seriously at a ban” on exporting live animals for slaughter.

In addition, the petition on the British government website, calling for an end to live exports, has now jumped to over 67,000 signatures.

On behalf of each animal who endures this cruel trade: a huge thank you to everyone who has signed and shared!

The petition is due to be debated in Parliament in just 21 days. Please, if you haven’t done so already, add your voice today.

And there’s more! Last week, over 50 MPs, policy makers and celebrities attended a parliamentary event to discuss live exports. Theresa Villiers also spoke at this event and summed up the sentiment of the whole room: “Inflicting this needless suffering on animals is not acceptable and it must be stopped”.

Momentum is building and, together, we will end live exports from the UK!

With my thanks and best wishes,

Erin Cameron
Campaign Officer

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »

UK supermarkets report surge in sales of vegan food

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/02/uk-supermarkets-report-surge-in-sales-of-vegan-food?CMP=share_btn_tw 

Half of UK adults adopting ‘vegan-buying behaviour’ as number of full-time vegans grows four-fold in 10 years

Britain’s supermarkets are reporting a surge in sales of vegan food, which they expect to continue throughout the year, despite the end of Veganuary.

According to the Vegan Society, more than half of UK adults are now adopting “vegan buying behaviour”, while the number of full-time vegans in the UK has grown fourfold in the past 10 years.

Waitrose reported strong sales in January, singling out the popularity of meat-free haggis for traditional Burns Night. Sales of vegan-friendly haggis jumped 36%, while a gluten-free variety enjoyed a 151% uplift compared with last year.

Buyer Chloe Graves said: “Shoppers had a big appetite for Veganuary, with sales of some of our vegan ready-meals twice that of vegetarian dishes.

“We will be expanding our range of vegan products this year. We recently introduced a vegan course at our Kings Cross cookery school, which sold out.”

The UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, hired the American chef and self-proclaimed “plant pusher” Derek Sarno – the former executive chef for Whole Foods Market – as its “director of plant-based innovation” to spearhead its new Wicked Kitchen range (launched earlier this month) which includes 20 vegan-friendly ready meals, wraps, sandwiches and salads.

“We’ve only just begun and over this next year, we’ll be developing foods and expanding the menu offering” Sarno said. “We’ll be keeping seasonal ingredients in mind and listening to customers’ wants and need.”

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Whole Foods Market, which claims to be the UK’s largest retailer of vegan food, says that after its exclusive launch in September last year, the new Vegan Baileys Irish Cream (called Baileys Almande and made with almond milk) sold out in UK stores in less than two months.

Similarly, Marks & Spencer’s version – a dairy-free Coconut and Chocolate Cream, was one of its most popular Christmas drinks ever. Launched last November, it sold out in less than four weeks and will return to the shelves this September.

The Co-op – acknowledged for its clear labelling of vegan-friendly wines – said that despite dry January, sales of vegan wines outperformed the overall category with growth of more than 3% year on year.

Online shoppers flocked to Ocado, according to buying manager Jacques Thudichum, who said: “The vegan trend really made its mark in January. This is in part due to the fact that we added more than 90 new products to our dedicated vegan webshop in January, including dairy-free egg replacer and nutritional yeast.”

Restaurant menus are also getting a vegan makeover. One of London’s longest-established Michelin-starred restaurants, Pied à Terre, has had a strong vegetarian offering for more than 20 years but recently launched a seven-course vegan tasting menu which it says is as popular with carnivorous customers as vegetarians and strict vegans. Founder David Moore said: “I firmly believe that plant-based eating is not a trend, it’s a real thing and we are only seeing the very thin edge of what will be a game-changing wedge.”

The Aubaine chain is bolstering its vegan offering after serving a Veganuary menu for the first time this year, and where Instagram-friendly colourful dishes such as beetroot and apple tartare sparked huge interest on social media. Spokeswoman Lucy Hancock said: “We received such positive feedback in our restaurants and online that we are extending the vegan set menu until the end of February. Following this, our plant-based dishes will be on our new spring a la carte menu, and will then be a permanent feature.”

The Pizza Express and Pizza Hut chains both offer pizzas using vegan-friendly cheese, but Goodfella’s is boasting of the UK’s first frozen vegan pizza. Its stonebaked pizza with falafel, red peppers and spinach will be stocked in supermarket freezers from March.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »