Posted on June 6, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
David Cameron – British Prime Minister; has sadly bleated on for weeks now in the lead up to the UK / EU In / Out referendum being held on 23rd June; about how essential it is for the UK to remain in the EU.
Well here is yet another example of just how pathetic Mr Cameron’s EU is. Did we hear anything about animal welfare issues during the renegotiations which Cameron and the EU took place in a few months ago ? – No. He was only busy looking after business and his banker mates who work in the city – nothing else matters.
So we were annoyed, but not really surprised, (after all we have been campaigning for many years !), to see the latest from wonderful Lesley at ‘Eyes on Animals’ regarding the situation for EU animals being exported live to Turkey. As some of you will know, this has been an issue which we have been very actively involved with quite a lot over recent months.
The response to Lesley and the TSB/AWF from Bernard van Goethem (at the EU Commission) just shows everything that is continually WRONG WITH THE EU; and further supports why many people in the UK are in support of getting out completely. For many in the animal welfare camp, this abuse of evidence and the essential changes (from the EU) which are necessary but are not happening as a result of clear evidence just show how separated from the real world Mr Van Goethem and all his team are.
Here below is the post meeting statement from EoA with regard their meeting with the EU (Van Goethem) regarding live animals suffering at the EU / Turkish border for many days.
Mr van Goethem holds a meeting with his team.
You can read and check out more on the EoA website which is at
So lets recap a few of the main points associated with this.
The EU claims to have a Council Regulation, No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004, on the protection of animals during transport and related operations. This legislation is supposed to protect animals in transport – but it does nothing of the kind as we have shown with evidence for many years. The scope of the directive states – “This Regulation shall apply to the transport of live vertebrate animals carried out within the Community, including the specific checks to be carried out by officials on consignments entering or leaving the customs territory of the EU”.
In reality, what this means is the EU has, on paper only, some kind of pointless regulation, which hauliers do not comply with; which many EU member states do not comply with; and most worryingly, which the EU is utterly afraid to use as a pointer for any kind of prosecutions.
I am afraid that I have no more faith in Mr Van Goethem and his team than I do being able to ride a pushbike from the UK to Australia without a single stop !
Have a look at the terrible video made by EoA which shows EU animals destined for Turkey and the terrible conditions in which they are transported by some EU member states. Remember, this video evidence was made by EoA some 5 years ago, and has been presented to the EU as clear breaches of Regulations for as many years.
As you may remember, Mark made several phone calls to Marco Valletta at the EU about the suffering of EU animals destined for Turkey. Just like Mr van Goethem, Mr Valletta is a very well paid EU diplomat who in reality does very little. If they did do something, then we would not see the suffering at the Turkish border as is shown in the video from Lesley for example.
And yet, even with an alleged ‘Council Regulation’ to support them, our friends at EoA in the Netherlands had word back from the EU Commission that:
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“Mr Van Goethem and his team informed us that they cannot take any concrete steps to change the situation”;
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And that they “do not have the power to put an end to the way this trade being run despite it being in violation of their own EU legislation”.
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“they cannot forbid anything”
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“They also cannot insist that a stable be built at the border to unload the animals in urgent situations, nor insist on shade and more water pumps be placed there”.
“The EU Commission has so little power over the exporting Member States that routinely cause problems”.
So in summary, Mr van Goethem and his team at the EU, have EU legislation (in the form of a Regulation 1/2005) to ‘protect’ animals during transport. But in reality, and despite this EU Regulation, the EU cannot, or does not wish to give protection to EU animals which are being transported to Turkey !, or to many other locations within the EU. It would be a joke it was not so bad and involve so much suffering.
So, what is the point of a farce of an ‘EU Regulation’ to protect animals during transport ? when it is clear (and has been for many years) that regulations and rules do nothing and mean nothing to certain member states ? – are we not going to see the same when Serbia joins up ?
Also – What is the actual point of Mr Van Goethem and his ‘team’ when they cannot even enforce EU regulations that exist or take action to amend the blatantly clear animal abuse and suffering evidence which is presented to them ?
Maybe it would be best for the useless Van Goethem and his team to all take very early retirement; like this week ! – who wants to pay millions into an EU each week only then to witness gutless and pointless departments such as van Goethems come along and say “well there is not really anything we can do despite the regulations”.
Is that an EU – if it is, then it is crap; just like the majority who ‘work’ and take money from it.
So, where are we now ? – nowhere different to where we were last week or probably 5 years ago, as Lesley’s video makes clear. We fight on as always, against utterly useless bureaucrats like Mr Van Goethem, – the man with a nice pay cheque but a man who can not enforce the regulation.
If this is not the best example of why the UK should get out of the EU, then he and his team are a wonderful example. It is a typical example of the people who take fat salaries, sit in the corridors of Brussels, and then tell us that in reality, they are powerless to do anything for the better. Do we want to be in an EU run by Van Goethems and the rest ? – NO.
As an existing EU citizen, I should be able to rely on the EU, my EU, to take action when it is obviously clear (in evidence) that things are wrong. The evidence is clear, but the Van Goethems of this world do not, cannot and will not take action against those who break the rules. That is a sad situation; I guess when a situation like that arises, you get up and walk away, and take action and campaign from the outside.
Hopefully, come 23rd June, that is what the people of the UK will do. As for the EU; well it can fester in its own uselessness whilst giving welcoming kisses and hugs to new corrupt member states such as Serbia; or ‘Romania 2’ as it is now called.
Our petition for animals exported to Turkey is still open.
Send an e mail to the utterly useless EU team using this address – cab-andriukaitis-webpage@ec.europa.eu
Lesley has produced a sample letter which you can send to the useless Commission at the above e mail. Copy and send or use it as the basis for your own.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Commissioner Andriukaitis,
The suffering of farm animals trucked along the route from Europe to Turkey is well known. Your authorities at the EU Commission and all exporting Member States have received photos, video footage and detailed reports about the reality on the ground there since 2010. These problems are not incidences, but routine violations of the EU animal-transport legislation and to the dignity of sentient beings. Society has evolved, and transporting live animals in ways that are known to cause, or seriously risk causing suffering and pain, is no longer acceptable. I am a resident of Europe and I would like to kindly insist that the European Commission puts its foot down on this trade route and finally puts an end to the misery. I am particularly appalled at the fact that Europe is planning on exporting over 5000 cattle this month to Turkey, right when the summer heat peaks and suffering is known to be the most unbearable.
Please let the Commission know you are an EU citizen if you reside within an EU member state.
Other past posts we have written on the EU / Turkish exports issue:
You ask yourself – what is the point of giving millions of pounds to the EU each week when they disregard your evidence and are as useless as what they are ?
Vote out – and we say that to all EU member states.
Above – June 23rd – just as useless as EU politicians
– one thing and one thing only of interest to them – self survival !
Problem ? – what problem ? – we say no problem.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, LETTERS, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE, VIDEOS | Leave a comment »
Posted on June 3, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
URGENT HELP NEEDED!
Unfortunately Ian is a lot sicker than we thought. Other than a hairline fracture of the lumbar spine and an air rifle pellet close to the lungs, he also has severe hemoplasma and feline herpes virus.
We’re supposing the recent injury to his spine was the trigger to the weakening of his immune system and all of the health issues he’s currently experiencing are just a consequence. He’s been receiving IV fluids for hours every single day, the vet is giving him two different antibiotics, vitamins, minerals and amino acids and only now, after almost a week of aggressive treatment, is he beginning to show some improvement.
He is FIV positive, thus not expected to make a speedy recovery, but we hope he is finally on the mend even though the vet refuses to give any prognosis.
Clearly Ian is not out of the woods just yet. Please help us cover the rapidly increasing costs of his treatment! Ian is extraordinarily brave, cuddly and as sweet as they come. He definitely deserves every chance we can give him! https://www.youcaring.com/cat-shelter-felix-512392
Niki was operated on a couple of days ago and everything went well. She will have her stitches taken out in about two weeks’ time.
She’s wearing an Elizabethan collar right now (which she hates, of course) but she has a good appetite and behaves normally, although she’s maybe a little grumpier than usual 😉 https://www.youcaring.com/cat-shelter-felix-512392
Filed under: Animals Requiring Adoption or Homes - Worldwide, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, SHELTER - Information, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on June 2, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
1944: A boy doing his school lessons watched by his pet squirrel. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Voting in? You have the blood of Spanish bulls on your hands
The fact is that we care more about animal welfare. And if we left the EU, we could act on that.
Camilla Swift
4 June 2016
We British have always had a strange relationship with animals.
We spend £5 billion a year on our pets and it is often said that we love our dogs more than our children (perfectly understandable, in my book). It makes sense, then, that we have some of the world’s highest animal welfare standards. Our European neighbours don’t always have quite the same attitude. If we could ask our four-legged friends how they’d vote in the EU referendum, I’m pretty sure they’d woof, miaow or moo for ‘out’.
Take the Maltese, for example, who enjoy shooting turtle doves as they migrate every spring (a banned sport for which Malta has been given special dispensation). The French prize gastronomy far above animal husbandry, so force-feed their geese to make foie gras. Bullfighting, meanwhile, is still a popular pastime for many Spaniards.
The fact is that Britain is better at animal welfare, with or without the EU. And in many ways, being in the EU holds British farmers back. Why? Because, as with all the other legislation handed down to us from Brussels, we stick to the rules, while many other countries treat them as no more than vague suggestions.
Take sow stalls — narrow metal cages in which female pigs are kept while breeding. The UK banned them in 1999; the EU finally followed suit in 2013. The trouble is, many countries simply ignore the EU ruling. More than two years after the legislation was put in place, six countries had still failed to officially comply, and the National Pig Association believes that other countries which claim to stick to the rules are also flouting them.
The continued use of sow stalls isn’t just an animal welfare concern. They cut costs — that’s why they were invented — so EU countries that tacitly allow them can produce cheaper pork and still sell it into the British market. Our farmers struggle to compete: they’re being punished for obeying the law.
Similar cases are not hard to find. In 2013 Italy ran into trouble with the European Court. The Italians had known for 13 years that a ban on battery cages for egg-laying hens would apply from 2012 — but claimed they hadn’t had enough time to ensure all farms complied. They lost that argument, but all they had to pay as a result was the legal costs of the case — no fine was levied.
Furthermore, as a member of the EU, the UK cannot prevent the transportation of live animals, which are subjected to needlessly long, stressful and cramped journeys to be slaughtered on the Continent. Banning the practice might hinder inter-EU trade, so tens of thousands of British lambs are exported live and bleating to be killed in abattoirs which wouldn’t meet our welfare standards.
EU rules also allow for the free movement of pets thanks to pet passports. Animal charities believe the system is being abused, with hundreds if not thousands of puppies brought here each year on fake papers. Bred in terrible conditions, they are crammed into lorries (or sometimes suitcases) and shipped across the Continent for up to 40 hours — at less than eight weeks old. Our own Defra should of course do more to stop this, but the sad fact is the EU doesn’t care about the breeding of dogs half as much as we do.
Another welfare issue is Boris Johnson’s favourite hobby horse: the funding of bullfighting. In 2013 it emerged that payments were being made under the Common Agricultural Policy to Spanish farmers rearing bulls for bullfights — more ‘oh no’ than ‘olé’. The practice might well be part of Spanish culture, but it’s hard to see how it doesn’t break all kinds of animal welfare codes. MEPs voted last year to stop EU money going to breeders of fighting bulls — but under CAP rules the vote was ‘not executable’. Unless those rules are changed, it will continue to fund bullfighting. One has to ask: why would animal lovers choose to stay in a union where we have no control over where our money goes — and it’s virtually impossible to change things?
If we left the EU, then we would of course have to comply with the regulations of any country to which we exported. But we would have the option of refusing to trade with countries that didn’t meet our welfare standards, thus encouraging a better standard of welfare everywhere, not just at home.
Leaving the EU would let us make the most of our reputation as animal lovers.
Rather than compromising our standards, we could brand ourselves as a beacon of higher-welfare farming — and set an example not just to Europe but to the world.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on June 2, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Photo – CIWF.
In the winter of 2015/16, Compassion in World Farming visited farms, cage-makers and slaughterhouses in France, Italy, Portugal and Greece.
Our target: European quail farming.
In this groundbreaking investigation – a ‘first of its kind’ international exposé – we’ve lifted the lid on an industry that cages millions of animals every year, creating enormous suffering, yet markets its products as ‘luxury’. Please take a moment to watch our short film, and call on the European Commission to End the Cage Age for quail.
Each year in Europe, over 140 million quail are farmed for meat, confined to factory farm floors or densely packed in cages. They often try to leap in these cages and invariably hit their heads on the cage roof.
Of the 400,000 quail farmed every year for their eggs, over 90% are also kept in crowded, barren cages where they are unable to express even the most basic of natural behaviours.
These birds have no earth or undergrowth to explore, nowhere to dustbathe, nowhere to hide, and barely space to move. The space allowance per factory farmed quail can be no bigger than a beer mat.
Quail are the third most caged farm animal in Europe, and there is no species-specific legislation to protect them. They desperately need your help. But the good news is that there is hope.
Compassion staff have visited an alternative system; an egg farm where the quail are raised in naturally lit barns with the space and freedom to explore, dustbathe, hide and peck at straw bales. This is no hobby farm, but a large commercial operation.
Higher welfare quail farming is possible. Please take action now to give ALL quail a life worth living.
Quail are the smallest animals to be intensively farmed, but this comes at a big price. Will you help to end this factory farming in miniature?
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on June 2, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Hi Mark,
Earlier this year, nearly 500,000 of us told big name brands they needed to do more to stop the destruction of Indonesia’s forests at the hands of palm oil companies. And they listened.
When a huge palm oil company – IOI – recently had their sustainable palm oil certificates pulled for repeatedly destroying forests and peatlands, all the big brands like Nestle, Unilever and Mars have said they will stop buying from them. All, that is, except one. General Mills – makers of Betty Crocker cake mixes and Jus-Rol pastry – think it’s still ok to buy palm oil from IOI and have refused to stop doing business with them.
ACTION
IOI has been draining peat swamps and tearing down forests – creating the perfect conditions for the fires which swept across Indonesia last year. These forests are also prime orangutan habitat, and this magnificent ape is already threatened with extinction. And yet General Mills is still doing business with them. Even the industry’s own sustainable palm oil group – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – thinks IOI is bad news and pulled IOI’s sustainable palm oil certificates.
The RSPO almost never takes action against its members, which shows just how poor IOI’s track record is. The bosses at General Mills have a half-baked idea that if they keep buying palm oil from IOI, they can persuade the forest destroyer to change. But time and again, IOI have left a trail of devastation and the only way they will change is if their customers take a stand and stop buying their palm oil.
Let’s make it happen. Jamie Greenpeace PS The only way IOI will end the destruction is if their customers walk away. Other big brands have dropped them, but General Mills is still using their palm oil.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere !, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 29, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Some wonderful rescues from our friends at Animal Aid Unlimited in India. They all look very bad at the start, but all have great endings. Enjoy the videos !
VIDEOS:
A street dog had a life-threatening abscess on his face. Watch his fast recovery after rescue! Donate to save street animals in India :
We rescued a puppy who was collapsed on the side of the road unable to stand. We treated her for canine distemper which is often fatal but within 14 days she was eating and walking again!
We rescued Grace after she was found with wire tied through her mouth. We think the wire was tied intentionally but we have no information about what happened to her. She had been unable to eat or drink for days and was very near death. Please note that this video contains a few painful scenes of the wire being cut during her first treatment. Grace is now fully healed and is living in our sanctuary where she
A working donkey had been terribly abused by his owner and abandoned on the street in critical condition. We rescued him, healed his wounds, and gave him permanent sanctuary.
This brave street dog was just days–maybe even hours from death after a piece of wire was wrapped around his neck cutting off the circulation to his head causing terrible swelling.
A piglet had fallen into a well and was trapped unable to get out or even take a moments break from swimming. Just as we arrived and were getting our rescuer into his halter the piglet was starting to drown. Watch his amazing rescue and please share to help support animal rescue in India.
We rescued a street dog suffering from an enormous cancerous tumor, a transmissible venereal tumor. Watch her amazing recovery!
Please give to save lives !
Filed under: Animals Requiring Adoption or Homes - Worldwide, CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, SHELTER - Information, SUPPORTERS, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE, VIDEOS | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 29, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Note we have a couple of petitions at the end for you to support please.
HANNAH and CHANTY
Hannah and Chanty have joined all of the other cats in the yard and have fit in with no problems in the blink of an eye!
Take a peek at the photos and see how much they enjoy their new surroundings! 🙂
Donations to keep the cats well and healthy are always welcome – Thank you.
NIKI
Niki was less than two years old when she was brought to the shelter in 2011, together with her brother Fogi.
She had been an owned cat once upon a time until her owner decided she couldn’t take care of Niki and Fogi anymore, so both of them ended up being someone else’s responsibility. Anyway, Niki developed an ear hematoma a couple of weeks ago and the vet has drained the swelling twice over that period of time trying to avoid surgery.
But to no avail – although she had been receiving antibiotics and wearing an Elizabethan collar, the swelling filled up again rapidly each time. She is going in for surgery again on Monday and it will be done under inhalation anesthesia as she has an adverse reaction to Ketamine which is therefore potentially dangerous for her.
We can’t be sure what caused her aural hematoma, but we have reasons to suspect she somehow got scratched by the wire of the outdoor enclosure which should have been replaced years ago, but we never succeeded in raising enough funds for such a massive task 😦
Long story short, our vet bills keep piling up and up (as expected for a place with so many cats) and every kind of help is not only highly appreciated but desperately needed as well!
If you aren’t able to donate, please share far and wide at least!
Donations are always very much welcomed thank you.
PETITIONS
Rather than put them on a separate post, we have added a few petitions here. Please give them your support.
Thanks SAV.
We need as any signatures as possible with the following – it is important – please crosspost thank you.
“Gigging” is a form of hunting that involves stabbing small animals with pitchfork-like spears, causing the victims to endure slow, agonizing deaths from shock, organ failure, or blood loss.
Students and locals in DeKalb County, Tennessee, are being encouraged to “gig” up to 15 frogs each as part of a fundraiser to benefit two graduating high school seniors.
This sadistic event is scheduled for June 24, so the sooner you speak up, the better.
Target: Bob Ferguson, Attorney General of Washington
Goal: Seek maximum sentence for man who allegedly dragged a dog behind his truck and killed it.
A dog was reportedly hung to the side of a truck by a leash and dragged behind the moving vehicle. The poor animal was yelping and crying as the cruel driver dragged him along the road, according to witnesses. Police say that they found the dog’s body inside the owner’s home and took it for a necropsy.
52-year-old David Kadow, the owner who reportedly dragged this helpless animal down the road, was arrested on animal cruelty charges and driving with a suspended license. Dragging animals behind vehicles has become a hobby for the cruel hearted. There have been numerous cases just like this one. A sea turtle, for instance, was killed in this same manner. If the justice system would appropriately punish these people, this sick cruelty wouldn’t be continuously increasing. More often than not, the punishment for animal cruelty is little more than a fine and that’s not acceptable.
Demand that authorities set an example with Kadow by giving him the maximum penalty for the torture and killing of this helpless animal, if guilty.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Ferguson,
A dog was reportedly tied to a truck by its leash and dragged down the street. Police say they found the dog’s dead body inside the driver’s home and have taken it for a necropsy. This helpless animal yelped and cried as it was being tortured, according to witnesses.
It’s a shame that this act of animal cruelty has become so common. We urge you to help stop this heinous, senseless animal cruelty by seeking the maximum penalty possible against the man who killed this innocent dog, if guilty.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Filed under: Animals Requiring Adoption or Homes - Worldwide, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, PHOTOGRAPHS - **WARNING** (Animal Suffering), SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, SHELTER - Information, The "Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) ALLIANCE | Leave a comment »
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 