Posted on May 13, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Target: Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Goal: Ban inhumane contest killing in the United States.
Contest killing is a game. The purpose of this “game” is to slaughter as many animals as possible in the shortest amount of time or to kill the largest or smallest animal first. Participants are awarded cash or prizes for winning and participating. The most common targets are coyotes, prairie dogs, and pigeons. These animals are treated as disposable and like their lives don’t mean a thing. Urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture to finally ban cruel killing contests.
The most common killing contest is coyote calling. This is the most savage of the contests as the coyotes may be killed by any means—the body count is all that is taken into consideration. When the timer goes off, the bodies are counted and weighed and a winner is chosen.
In prairie dog killing contests, prairie dogs are shot down with powerful rifles. Hunters have described the experience as “beautiful,” and boast the “red mist” as perfection. That red mist is the bloody remains of the prairie dog. The players actively enjoy watching the prairie dogs being blown apart. The person who kills the highest percentage of prairie dogs is deemed winner. Pigeon shoots are just as violent: Shooters line up and try and shoot down as many pigeons as possible. Thousands of birds may be killed during a pigeon shooting contest.
There have been several proposals to ban contest killing in various states across the United States. However, this should not be a state issue. The USDA has a federal duty to protect animals from being killed for no purpose. There is simply no reason to allow these contests to continue. The only people who benefit are the killers with the highest kill-count. If contest killings were made illegal, no one would suffer any negative consequences. The animals would be able to live out their lives as nature intended, rather than being killed for the sake of a prize.
Sign the petition below to show you do not support these savage contests.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
I am writing to you because we cannot allow contest killing to continue in the United States. The Animal Welfare Act needs to be expanded to include all sport killing and hunting contests. When the purpose of a contest is to take as many innocent lives as possible, it is no longer a game, it is slaughter. We have a duty to protect animals from heartless humans that have such a desire to kill for the sake of killing. Blood lust is not a reason to harm animals, and these cruel impulses should not be indulged.
Animals are not here for our entertainment. It is inhumane to allow these violent contests to continue. I urge you to let these coyotes, prairie dogs and pigeons enjoy their lives in nature without a constant human threat.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
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Target: US Congress, Secretary Vilsack, Secretary Jewell
Goal: Protect the last remaining habitat of Siberian tigers from the ravages of illegal logging.
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Innocent hamsters are being injected with aggression enhancing drugs such as cocaine and steroids, before being forced to fight one another.
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Nearly 50,000 endangered or threatened sea turtles are injured or killed as the result of fishing practices every year. While efforts have been made to help protect sea turtles, thousands are still experiencing unnecessary suffering and more needs to be done to combat this issue.
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Employees at a pig farm were allegedly caught beating, abusing, and even killing animals on a recent undercover video taken by a Mercy for Animals member at a Seaboard Foods farm. The video depicts employees hitting pigs in the face and body with large coffee cans filled with rocks, beating them with boards, and shooting them in the head in front of other animals. In past years, Seaboard Foods has been accused of improper animal handling procedures, improper disposal of waste, and deceptive claims about the welfare of the animals on its farms.
Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere ! | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 12, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Each year, elephants are forced to fight in front of crowds of howling spectators at the Suwori harvest festival in Assam, a northeastern state in India. The elephants are mounted by riders, traditionally called mahouts, who beat their heads with sticks in order to force them to charge forward and attack a rival. The matches last until one elephant pushes the other out of a circle drawn on the ground.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GLOBAL PETITIONS - Anything Animal, Anywhere ! | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 12, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
THIS IS VERY EARLY NEWS THAT WE ARE GETTING THROUGH – UNCONFIRMED BUT WE ARE WORKING TO GET MORE INFORMATION. WE HAVE JUST HEARD THAT THE SERBIAN AUTHORITIES WERE VERY SUPRISED BECAUSE ALL THE ANIMAL WELFARE NGO’S WORKED TOGETHER AND MADE VERY STRONG CASE. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION AT PRESENT; BUT FROM OUR 10 YEARS PAST EXPERIENCE; THE GOVERNMENT HAVE NEVER LISTENED TO OUR SUGGESTIONS TO DATE, SO WHY WOULD THEY NOW ?
– WE WILL GIVE MORE NEWS WHEN WE HAVE IT.
Latest news in from another source: 2050hrs GMT 12/5/15.
I can say that it seems to me after reading the feedback from the associations present at the joint meeting on Monday, that the ministry has finally seen united voice from all animal protection associations and few NVOs present. This came as a surprise to them and the fact that all present were very knowledgeable of the law and situation in general and what doesn’t work, how to correct it…
We shall see what happens next.
Disappointed to hear that there is not much support from the enlargement commissioner!
Mark please tell your members that not all is lost that we had a very positive feedback so far!
Kind regards
Vesna
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1045hrs GMT 12/5/15.
We have just had the following information sent to use via our ‘Contact’ route.
Everything you read here; including the link is what we have been given. We will now have to decide what route we are going to take – it may be to pull away from ALL Serbian animal activities because no matter what you do and what info and links you supply; people who should be demanding change; such as the EU Enlargement Commission; appear to be doing very little to enforce Serbia to clean up its act with regard corruption and the rules of law as set down by the Constitution.
So you have to ask yourself; if you cannot rely on the ‘important’ people at the EU, then what is the point of doing anything ? – the EU is utterly useless in most EU citizens eyes; and this situation is yet another issue which supports this. The EU Enlargement Commission can never bother to contact us about anything; yet they spend OUR money propping up a corrupt government within Serbia !
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Name: Marina Morozov
Website: https://www.facebook.com/KoalicijaZaZivotSrbijaNoKillCoalition?fref=ts
Message: We, animal lovers and supporters of animals in Serbia want to inform whole world that, regardless all complaints of animal welfare, in spite of all emails, in spite of all fake meetings government
arranged, where animal welfare suggestions were refused, in spite of everything, against The Consitution, Government of Serbia will introduce Kill policy in shelters, fur farms in the country, barbaric treatment of all animals, which will support corruption.
Animal welfare in Serbia won’t exist any more.
It will be dead letter on the paper.
Time: May 12, 2015 at 7:40 am
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS, SERBIA (Central Serbia: Capital - Belgrade) and (Serbia, VIDEOS | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 9, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Posted on May 9, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Cholita the Abused Circus Bear Enjoys Her First Steps to Freedom
Video footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHUvB9wWy48
Just a few weeks after we heard about the heartbreaking plight of Cholita, an abused circus bear in Peru who desperately needed a new home, her rescuers have successfully brought her to safety and are giving her the love and care she deserves.
Cholita, who was nicknamed the real-life Paddington bear, is an endangered Andean bear, but it’s hard to tell by looking at her.
Images and video of Cholita previously taken by Animal Defenders International (ADI), the organization behind the effort to bring her to safety, are heartbreaking and tell quite a story about her abusive past in entertainment.
Her fingers had been cut off to remove her claws and her teeth were smashed to leave her unable to defend herself, according to ADI. She should be covered in thick fur, but her body is bald as a result of alopecia, which her rescuers believe was caused by stress.
She had been confiscated by authorities and placed in a zoo until a permanent home could be found for her, but there was nowhere for her to go in Peru. ADI heard about her during a rescue it was participating in at a nearby circus and stepped in to save her.
They took custody of her from the zoo and after a two-day journey traveling in her former circus cage to ADI’s rescue center in Lima, Cholita is finally getting to enjoy some of the simple comforts that were denied to her for so long.
According to ADI, for the first time in her life she’s been able to make nests, enjoy good food and play in a bath.
“Cholita has taken her first steps to freedom and is clearly enjoying herself at the ADI rescue centre, making cosy deep straw nests and eating her favourite foods, especially grapes.” said ADI President Jan Creamer. “She is elderly and quite frail so we are keeping her under close observation to monitor her health. With the public’s continuing and heartfelt response we can give this sweet bear the brighter future she deserves.”
While she’s now safe, she’s only part of the way through her journey to her forever home at a sanctuary.
Following Peru’s ban on wild animals in circuses, ADI has rescued nearly 80 animals in a months-long mission dubbed Operation Spirit of Freedom. Last week, 39 monkeys, coati mundis and kinkajous saved during the operation were finally released into their new sanctuary home in the Amazon rainforest.
The next step of the operation involves transporting Cholita, along with 33 lions and a tiger, on a flight to their new home at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado next month where they will all live out their days free from their past lives.
As we continue to oppose the use of wild animals in entertainment, more and more countries are taking a stand against their abuse by banning them from circuses. Help wild animals in the U.S. have a future like this by signing and sharing the petition urging Congress to take action on their behalf by banning them here too.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, VIDEOS | Leave a comment »
Posted on May 9, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Posted on May 9, 2015 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Same article in full:
CAMERON RE-ELECTED: THE FIGHT FOR ANIMALS CONTINUES
Posted 8 May 2015
A statement by Animal Aid Director Andrew Tyler
In the run-up to the election Animal Aid’s clear view, based on an objective assessment of the evidence from the past several years, was that another Tory government – or a Tory-led coalition – would be dreadful news for animals.
By way of illustration, the Tories are avid promoters of hunting, the badger cull and shooting, and they have also failed, against the public’s wishes, to end the use of animals in circuses, as well as presiding over an increase in the use of animals in experiments, despite a promise to drive down the number.
A Labour-led government would have been on the right side of most, if not all, of those issues.
While Animal Aid is determined to gain as much ground for animals as we can through the political process – and that means engaging with the new government, its ministers and back-benchers – we know the best prospects for advancing the cause of animal protection lie not with politicians but where they have always resided: amongst the general public.
When Animal Aid looks at its most significant advances over the years, they have invariably had little or nothing to do with politics. They have resulted from our success in rousing a great many people to demand progressive change, and that change has come because business and commerce have not been able to resist the will (and more importantly the purchasing power) of the public.
One example that comes to mind is the ending of Britain’s largest exotic bird fair, at which were sold large numbers of wild-caught birds taken from their homelands in South America and Africa, who ended up living the rest of their lives caged and isolated. We also played the leading role in defeating Cambridge University’s plans for a monkey research centre that would have been the size of two supermarket superstores. The UK-wide Focus DIY chain was retailing animals like pots of paint. Many of them were reptiles, with highly complex needs. Our long-running campaign convinced Focus to stop all such sales.
A shorter but equally decisive campaign ended the shooting club that had been run by the John Lewis Partnership for decades, for which a large number of ‘game birds’ were intensively bred to be shot for pleasure, principally by senior management.
In the field of horse racing, our determined, thoroughly researched exposés of the use of the whip forced the industry’s regulatory body to introduce far tougher rules on the use of that instrument of punishment. Clearly that work, and the work on the other issues referred to, continues – as does our determination to see mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in all slaughterhouses. The progress we have made so far on that front is impressive (all leading supermarkets now demand that their slaughterhouse suppliers have cameras). We still need across-the-board compulsory installation with proper monitoring.
None of what we’ve described above could have been achieved without the help of our wonderful supporters. We will need you at our side in the future, and many more like you.
And so, while the election result cannot be declared good news for animal protection, Animal Aid sees undiminished scope for continuing our battle to reduce the suffering of animals, enhance their standing in culture, commerce and law, and in so doing change this country for the better.
Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional, LETTERS | Leave a comment »
