‘I am boiling with disgust’: Trump VP favorite hammered after boast she shot puppy – Raw Story
‘Sick and cruel’: Kristi Noem’s attempt to defend puppy-killing explodes in her face – Raw Story
From left to right: MEPS Francisco Guerreiro, Tilly Metz, Caroline Roose, Sirpa Pietikäinen, Senior Political Advisor at Eurogroup for Animals Andreas Erler and IFAW Representative Filip Molnár
Candidate MEPs take the Vote for Animals pledge
25 April 2024
Press Release
MEPs of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals celebrated their achievements for the last legislative term, while candidates for the next one pledged to continue to advocate for better protection of all animals at the EU level.
The Intergroup, which met for the last session for this term, brings together 94 MEPs from across all political groups, and provides a cross-party platform for discussions and initiatives on animal welfare in the European Parliament (EP). For the past four decades, it has been a crucial catalyst for action on this front.
Some of the noteworthy achievements of this term include:
The set-up of a Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport (ANIT), which pushed for the revision of the outdated Regulation on animal transport.
The resolution on actions to accelerate a transition to non-animal science.
The working group on the ECI End the Cage Age, which contributed to get a resolution in the EP and a subsequent European Commission (EC) commitment.
The adoption of a resolution on improving Regulations on wild and exotic animals to be kept as pets in the EU, through a positive list.
The support for a campaign calling for an EU commissioner on animal welfare.
A working group on companion animals.
During her intervention, President of the Intergroup Tilly Metz said that the Intergroup has continuously made animal welfare visible in the EP, through reports, working groups, resolutions and parliamentary questions. She expressed her disappointment at the EC’s failure to put forward a full package of proposals to update the EU animal welfare legislation, despite continuous pressure by members of the Intergroup and animal protection NGOs.
In the run-up to the European Elections in June, candidate MEPs are taking a pledge stating a clear commitment to strive to improve animal welfare if they are elected, through the Vote for Animals campaign, run by Eurogroup for Animals and its members. The pledge, composed of ten asks, addresses live animal transport, imports of animal-based products, welfare of aquatic species, non-animal science and the conservation of wild animals, among others.
These were five intense years of fighting for better animal welfare. We have seen overwhelming civil mobilisation, which shows the willingness of EU citizens to better protect animals at an EU level. We need legislation that protects all animals, including aquatic ones, which are currently unprotected. We have yet to see a ban on cages, on fur farms, and fur products in the EU market,
MEP Caroline Roose (Greens/EFA, FR), Vice President of the Intergroup
Without the civil society – the ECIs, campaigns and other initiatives – we wouldn’t have been so strong. We require species-specific legislation, for example for octopus, and other animals which are unprotected. We must continue to bring animal welfare on the table in important discussions,
MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen, (EPP, FI) Honorary President of the Intergroup
As 300 million animals continue to suffer in cages, we need the European Commission to deliver on the End the Cage Age ECI. We need to push for a roadmap for a transition to non-animal science, and a ban on the transport of vulnerable animals
MEP Niels Fuglsang (S&D, DK), Vice-President of the Intergroup
Click – Watch on YouTube
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Dear Mark,
To you, and to the average citizen, running over coyotes and wolves with a snowmobile sounds inhumane, barbaric, and just plain cruel. But unfortunately, this practice is legal in Wyoming and Idaho (wolves and coyotes), and Montana (just coyotes), where wildlife policy is stacked against wild carnivores.
If wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains received the federal Endangered Species Act protections they deserve, Cody Roberts wouldn’t have felt emboldened to commit the heinous act of running over a yearling wolf before further torturing her in a bar and finally killing her.
Unfortunately, even if wolves are relisted to the Endangered Species Act (which is essential to prevent decades of conservation work from being undone, and why we’re suing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service), it would still be legal to run over coyotes with snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles. Therefore, we’ve joined the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups in calling on the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to ban the use of snowmobiles or other vehicles to run down wolves and other wildlife.
This practice is utterly barbaric, and one would think that banning it would be straightforward. However, both Wyoming and Montana had the opportunity to prohibit this practice in 2019 and FAILED to do so.
It’s high time to hold wildlife policymakers accountable. They are failing wildlife. They are failing all of us. Thank you for standing with us to show Wyoming, and the rest of the country, that we will not allow wolves, coyotes, or any wild animals to be legally tortured. Last week, the Wyoming Fish and Game Commission convened and heard impassioned testimony from wildlife advocates across the country regarding the disturbing Cody Roberts’ incident.
Many individuals urged the Commission to support a ban of “whacking.” We MUST continue this call to end egregious practices like “whacking” and create a more compassionate world where wolves are safe from all persecution and inhumane practices and policies. Stay loud and join us in demanding justice and stronger protections for wolves, coyotes, and all wild carnivores. Here’s how you can create a safer future for wild lives:
If you haven’t already, sign this change.org petition calling on Sublette County officials to bring more severe charges against Cody Roberts.
Contact Wyoming State officials urging harsher punishments for Cody Roberts and strengthened protections for Wyoming wolves and coyotes—including banning “whacking.” Please remember to be polite and respectful in your comment. Call 307-777-7434 for Governor Mark Gordon Call 307-777-4600 for WY Game & Fish Department Director Brian Nesvick
Sample script:
olf & coyote “whacking.” The use of snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles to chase and down and kill wolves and coyotes goes far beyond practices of fair-chase and is purely cruel and inhuman; it must end. Please take action to ensure this never happens again. Thank you. Support our efforts to sue USFWS over their negligence in not relisting Northern Rocky Mountain wolves to the Endangered Species Act and our ongoing litigation in Montana in defense of wolves by donating today or monthly. It’s high time to hold wildlife policymakers accountable. They are failing wildlife. They are failing all of us. Thank you for standing with us to show Wyoming, and the rest of the country, that we will not allow wolves, coyotes, or any wild animals to be legally tortured.
For The Wild Ones, Carnivore Conservation Director
Source – The Independent – London.
U.S. health and agriculture officials are ramping up testing and tracking of bird flu in dairy cows in an urgent effort to understand — and stop — the growing outbreak.
So far, the risk to humans remains low, officials said, but scientists are wary that the virus could change to spread more easily among people.
Read the full story at:
More cows are being tested and tracked for bird flu. Here’s what that means (msn.com)
Hi all;
In putting together posts for WAV, you learn quite a lot.
One thing that has been interesting me lately is the issue of children who abuse animals during their childhood have been shown (by lots of research) to often progress more into domestic offenders, sexual offenders, women beaters / abusers, and serial killers and murderers of humans.
Unfortunately, in the past this link between the two has been largely overlooked by persons in authority; ie. those who can make a difference; when in fact, realisation, earlier intervention and acceptance of ‘something (weirder) being there’ by these very same may in some cases have stopped things getting more out of hand.
Obviously; not every person who abuses animals has committed or will commit other crimes. But harming people is statistically more likely when animal cruelty is previously involved. So, animal cruelty must be taken seriously.
Here are a few things to contemplate:
- Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, of the Columbine High School shooting, bragged about mutilating animals to their classmates.
- Kip Kinkel, before his attack on Thurston High School parents and students, blew up cows and decapitated cats.
- Luke Woodham, who murdered his mother and two schoolmates at Pearl High School, wrote in his journal about setting his dog Sparkle on fire.
- “Animal abuse is often the first sign of serious disturbance among adolescent and adult killers,” Gail F. Melson, professor emerita of developmental studies at Purdue University, wrote in Psychology Today.
- Domestic violence survivors have reported in studies that their abusers threatened to kill, torture, or otherwise harm their companion animals — or actually followed through on the threats — to prevent them from leaving their abusive situations.
- 88% of families surveyed that had incidents of child abuse also had incidents of animal abuse.
- 63% of children entering shelters admitted to incidents of pet abuse in their families.
- More than 80% of families being treated for child abuse reported animal abuse in their homes.
- Engaging in sex with animals is actually legal in four states — Wyoming, Hawaii, New Mexico, and West Virginia — and the District of Columbia. In more than 20 states, bestiality (sex with an animal) is only a misdemeanor crime.
Above references: The Startling Link Between Animal Cruelty and Human Abuse [UPDATED 2020] (ladyfreethinker.org)
- Jeffrey Dahmer, the “Milwaukee cannibal” who dismembered 17 people three decades ago had first practiced his butchery by cutting up dogs and cats and impaling their heads on sticks.
- Ian Brady, the (UK) Moors murderer who tortured and killed five children in the 1960s, boasted of killing his first cat when he was just 10, and went on to burn another cat alive, stone dogs and cut off rabbits’ heads before going on to target people.
- Robert Thompson and Jon Venables (UK) would shoot pigeons with air rifles and tie rabbits to railway lines to watch them be run over – until in 1993 they killed toddler James Bulger.
Above references: The link is established between serial killers and animal cruelty | The Independent | The Independent
- Childhood cruelty to animals can be an early warning of a propensity for violence against other people, a report published yesterday said.
Above reference: Childhood cruelty to animals may signal violence in future | UK news | The Guardian
- Many infamous serial killers harmed animals when they were children, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgeway, John Wayne Gacy, and the Boston Strangler. It’s long been a popularly held belief that children who are abusive toward animals are serial killers in the making.
- If there is a trait in the triad that’s especially concerning, it may be animal abuse. This behaviour is a well-established early indicator of future assault, murder, rape, partner abuse and child abuse. Again, not all kids who harm animals will go on to hurt people — but some will.
- Research has revealed that 25 percent of aggressive inmates had committed multiple acts of animal abuse as children. Forty-five percent of school shooters had histories of alleged animal cruelty, and 21 percent of serial murderers admitted to childhood animal abuse.
Above references: Are Kids Who Abuse Animals Destined to Become Serial Killers? | Discover Magazine
- Psychologists point to harming animals as proof of a lack of empathy. Such behavior also indicates a propensity towards aggression. While there isn’t any hard data claiming the percentage of infamous offenders who began their career of pain by hurting animals, many believe that this is a serious warning sign.
- Many of these offenders have admitted that harming animals was the first time they realized that they liked to cause suffering and, in fact, wanted to hurt people. Often neighborhood cats, dogs, and even crabs were the earliest victims of these menacing childhood “games,” which often led to painful demises. One notorious offender even began targeting animals after seeing his father do the same.
Above references:
Serial Killers Who Also Abused Animals (ranker.com)
Also: The Scariest Serial Killers in History (ranker.com)
So, I hope that the above justifies my argument with the link a little bit.
Referring to a recent article published on this (WAV) site:
“This is a worrying development, but no surprise really. It reinforces what was said earlier, that youthful individuals engaging in animal abuse pose a high threat to Humans in adult life. A taste for cruelty developed in early life, and at a time when a personality is impressionable and as yet to be formed, tends to take firm hold, and influence a person’s conduct in later life”.
“This is why the activity of these “Cat Torture Rings” is so dangerous, and must be dealt with severely – they must be destroyed wherever they are found. Once and for all”.
“Young kids of school age appear to be the primary members of many of these groups. As we have said before, and it is shown many times over, people often start as animal killers and then move on to being human killers. SO WHAT IS CHINA ACTUALLY DOING ABOUT THIS ? – Very little it appears”.
Further, here in the UK, and again as published on this (WAV) site recently:
“It is getting worrying now – animals killers go on to kill humans”. FACT
“Children using catapults to kill and torture animals before sharing ‘sick’ images on WhatsApp”.
“A Sky News investigation finds hundreds of members of catapult groups on WhatsApp, where pictures and videos of animals killed or injured with the weapons are shared”.
“The youngsters – including some of primary school age – have been sharing footage and photos of their kills in groups on the messaging app.
In some videos, injured animals are shown dying slowly after being shot with hand-held catapults.
Sky News has discovered 489 members – including young children, teenagers and some young adults – across 11 catapult groups on WhatsApp”.
“In one video shared on a group, a deer lies twitching on the ground, severely injured with a head wound, having just been shot with a catapult by a child.
The young person who attacked the deer then stands over the animal while bringing a hand-held catapult in front of the camera for viewers to see”.
We say that the written word is mightier than the gun. Here we attempt to let the written word speak.
How many videos are uploaded to YouTube every day? Around 3.7m new videos are uploaded to YouTube every day – that’s around 271,330 hours of video content based on an average length of 4.4 minutes.
As of now, approximately 34 million videos are posted on TikTok every day
Over 1 billion messages are sent on WhatsApp every day.
Call me a liar for sure if you wish; but I suggest that neither YouTube, WhatsApp or Tik Tok, despite what they say, have any real control over what is published daily on their sites.
If they did have controls in place; then why are we reporting this: https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2024/03/31/uk-society-is-getting-sicker-all-the-time-children-using-catapults-to-kill-and-torture-animals-before-sharing-sick-images-on-whatsapp/
Or, by showing and allowing such communications, are we saying that WhatsApp are perfectly supportive of animal abuse and cruelty being shown on their site ?
Sky News has discovered nearly 500 members of catapult groups on WhatsApp, in which more than 350 photos and videos have been shared of animals that have been killed or wounded with the weapons.
They will say they don’t condone animal abuse – so the question is, why are they allowing it to be shown by such groups on their sites ?
Organisations such as these have a massive responsibility to control what is being shown on their sites. As said, with the huge quantities of uploads each day it is just not physically possible to control what is going on. So what is the driving force with these which allow this uncontrolled mass relay of abusive data to be beamed around the globe each day ? – can I suggest ‘money’ ?
Until we see more action by CEO’s etc of these organisations to actually do as they preach – that is taking action and taking down such sites; are we moving each day to a more frenzied; anti social; abusive; don’t give a damn as long as I get ‘likes’ situation. When will these sites be just as abusive as the dark web in allowing footage that currently shows kittens having screws driven into their eye sockets and their nostrils as the norm ?
Through these sites, how many additional animal abusers and human killers are going to be matured into further grievous action ?
These sites should have a responsibility; one of taking action to remove data which breeds killing and abuse. I do not see it; thus I close by saying; “through these sites the world is becoming amore abusive and harmful to both animals and humans each and every day. CEO’s, it is over to you to take action, and ACT NOW !”
Regards Mark
A few of the Chinese animal abusers – click above for more information.:
https://sites.google.com/view/savecatsinchina/abuser-list/organized-abuse
Today, 24th April, is the World Day for Lab Animals.
24 April 2024
Every year on 24 April, World Day for Animals in Laboratories serves as a stark reminder of the millions of animals used in scientific research around the globe. At present, we are faced with a critical decision: whether to perpetuate existing policies that neither incentivise the development and uptake of innovative non-animal technologies nor lead to significant reductions in the number of animals used for scientific purposes, or to implement coordinated and concrete policies and mechanisms that empower stakeholders to embrace non-animal technologies.
In response to growing calls from Members of the European Parliament, EU agencies, citizens, academia and industry for a transition towards more biologically-relevant non-animal approaches, the European Commission took action in 2023. It committed to develop a roadmap to phase out the use of animals for chemical safety assessment, and to explore the possibility of a European Research Area (ERA) action to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of non-animal approaches in biomedical research and testing of pharmaceuticals.
These two initiatives represent significant opportunities to establish the necessary policies and mechanisms at EU level to accelerate the transition to non-animal science. The roadmap will serve as a framework for coordinating concrete actions to move away from animal testing in the context of the EU chemicals legislation. In doing so, it will set a precedent for other policy areas that still rely on the use of animals.
An ERA action has the potential to foster increased collaboration and coordination between Member States, and to identify specific areas where animal use can be avoided and where investments should be directed to advance non-animal technologies. It can also improve access to essential infrastructure for non-animal research, and facilitate the development of harmonised education and training programmes. This will ensure that students, educators, researchers and regulators are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively advance innovative non-animal approaches to address scientific challenges.
Eurogroup for Animals and its member organisations call on all stakeholders, including policy makers, scientists, industry, regulators and funders, to join forces to develop and implement forward-looking policies and mechanisms in order to move towards a future where humans, animals and the environment are better protected.
Today, we also take the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the recent achievements of several of our member organisations in advancing human-based science:
- LAV is currently involved in legal proceedings against a contract research organisation in Italy which carries out tests on animals, including dogs and non-human primates. Following complaints from LAV, the Italian authorities carried out an inspection which revealed numerous irregularities. As a result, the former director and veterinarian were charged with mistreatment and unnecessary killing. The authorities seized all the dogs and non-human primates.
- Proefdiervrij inaugurated the 3rd edition of the Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge. Moreover, the Dutch Government allocated 125 million to an initiative aimed at establishing a Center for Animal-Free Biomedical Translation, with Proefdiervrij playing a crucial role as a member of the project team.
- Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE) engaged with 800 political decision-makers to request the correct transposition of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes into German law. Furthermore, DAAE granted two Herbert Stiller Research Prizes to advance animal-free research.
- The RSPCA ran an event with the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) to discuss steps that the industry is taking to avoid, replace and reduce animal use, and opportunities for further progress. The RSPCA also launched their AWERB Directory, collating key resources to help institutional Animal Welfare (and Ethical Review) Bodies effectively challenge whether and how animals are used in research and testing. Furthermore, the RSPCA organised its third annual Focus on Fish event to share knowledge and ideas for reducing the suffering and improving the welfare of fishes used in science, as well as their fifth international meeting promoting practical approaches for avoiding and reducing ‘severe’ suffering.
- GAIA contacted the Brussels and Walloon Ministers for Animal Welfare to encourage the establishment and implementation of an action plan to replace and reduce animal testing, similar to the Flemish Action Plan, in their respective regions. In its response, the Brussels Minister announced that a five-year strategy to reduce animal experimentation will be included in the Brussels Animal Welfare Code.
- Djurens Rätt submitted 27,847 signatures to urge the Swedish government to reinstate dedicated funding for the Swedish 3R Centre.
- Deutscher Tierschutzbund presented their work on non-animal-derived materials at the 2023 JRC Summer School and at the 12th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences. Moreover, Deutscher Tierschutzbund has been campaigning against the interim order issued by the Bremen Administrative Court which allows research on non-human primates to continue at the University of Bremen beyond the expiry of the authorisation licence.
- Humanimal Trust published an updated edition of Humanimal, a children’s book focusing on the similarities between humans and animals. Moreover, Humanimal Trust also launched the First Global Creative Awards for children and young minds in order to captivate a broad audience with the concept of One Medicine via creative media, as well as online One Medicine Webinar series showcasing where collaboration between human and veterinary medical professionals can deliver better health for all species.
- Menschen für Tierrechte (People for Animal Rights Germany, PARG) joined forces with the Berlin Greens to make “Animal-free Research Methods Development” a mandatory component of all relevant undergraduate courses offered at universities in Berlin. In addition, PARG also published an extensive University Guide that provides comprehensive information for studying life science subjects without the use of animals. PARG’s initiative “Exit from Animal Testing. NOW!” lead a government action plan and a commitment of two million euros for the development of a strategy aimed at reducing animal testing.
- Animalfree Research launched a petition calling on the Swiss Parliament and the Federal Council to make a binding commitment and establish a concrete plan to gradually phase out harmful animal experiments, and take measures to systematically evaluate the benefits of state-funded research involving animal experiments and publish these results on a regular basis. Furthermore, Animalfree Research organised a forum on advancing personalised medicine with animal-free research.
See also:
Footage recorded at a python farm in Thailand has revealed that pythons are fed chicks before they are violently killed to make snakeskin accessories.
PETA Asia’s investigation into a facility with ties to Gucci’s parent company, Kering, shows that chicks are attached to sausages so that pythons will eat meat they otherwise wouldn’t consume.
Workers then pin the struggling pythons down, bash them on the head with a hammer, and drive metal hooks through their skull. Lastly, the snakes are inflated with water and skinned, all in the name of fashion.
Please ask Kering to stop selling snakes’ skin through Gucci or its other brands:
Tell Kering to Cut Ties With Cold-Blooded Snake Slaughter
A yearlong PETA Asia investigation into two python farms that supply skins to Caravel – a tannery owned by Kering, whose brands include Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent – revealed cold-blooded treatment of snakes. Workers pinned struggling pythons down by the neck and bashed them over the head with a hammer before driving metal hooks through their head. The snakes were inflated with water, even as their bodies continued to move, and skinned. Please take action for snakes by urging Kering to drop exotic skins now.
Pythons Bashed With Hammers, Impaled With Hooks
The investigators documented that workers pin struggling pythons down by the neck and bash them over the head with a hammer before driving metal hooks through their head. To make their skins easier to remove, workers inflate the snakes with water, even as they continue to move. According to Dr Clifford Warwick, a reptile expert who reviewed the video footage, it’s likely that most of the animals were conscious during this horrifically painful process. The snakes were then skinned.
CCBI’s owner claimed that his workers put pythons in a chilled room for one day before slaughtering them, but there’s no scientific evidence that imposed hypothermia (intentionally causing a reduction in core temperature) has any meaningful effect on reducing sensitivity or awareness in snakes.
According to the owner, at the time of the investigation, CCBI confined some 15,000 pythons at a massive factory-farm operation – one of the largest that PETA Asia has investigated. It slaughters approximately 2,000 snakes during its busy season, typically killing 20 to 30 pythons a day. The owner told an investigator about the farm’s contract with Caravel to supply it with 5,000 skins in 2024.
Kering’s Complicity in Snakes’ Suffering
Despite indisputable documentation of abuse at facilities that supply Kering with exotic skins – including PETA Asia’s 2021 investigation into an Indonesian slaughterhouse that provides Gucci with lizard skins – the company continues to tout its Animal Welfare Standards, which specify that animals must have “room to move around freely” and be “managed to promote good health and treated immediately should disease or injury be discovered”. The standards also require “humane handling at end of life”. Claims of upholding these standards were proved false by PETA Asia’s investigations.
Wildlife in Unexpected Places – Foxes in Urban Environments | Full Documentary
Foxes are true survivors, at home in all regions of the Earth. Nowadays, the smart animals also feel at home in our cities. As an example, a close-knit clan has been living in Berlin’s government district for many years. High up in the North on the German coast, a vixen raises her litter alone. Rarely is there enough to feed everyone. Like after a storm, for example, when the vixen finds a lot to eat in the drift line on the beach. The little ones have to grow up fast, as once the autumn arrives, their single parent mother’s reserves are exhausted and she drives them out of her territory. For more than two years, filmmakers Roland Gockel and Rosie Koch kept track of the foxes in Berlin, Hamburg and on the North German coast. With the help of hidden cameras, they were able to unearth many secrets of the clever animals.
Without an arrest, investigators fear the still-at-large suspect will continue to torture animals, and potentially one day people. Cops and animal officials’ investigation, as of writing, remains ongoing
‘It’s important that these individuals are identified because usually these things progress,’ said Gary.
Horror as Oklahoma man stomps on puppy in shock video: Animal rights advocates plead for help finding depraved suspect
- The deed was caught on camera outside a business in southeast Oklahoma City
- It remains unclear if the dog died, and police are looking for the man responsible
- He is seen bombarding the young dog with blows before midnight on March 27
Please click on above link to read more, and see photos and video.
Click on this link below to see associated photos and video:
Animals at troubled zoo go missing, die or suffer cold and disease, campaigners claim (msn.com)
Animals went missing, died and suffered disease because of continued failings at a zoo once dubbed “the worst in the UK”, campaigners say.
An “emaciated” meerkat struggled to find enough food, bear cages were left uncleaned for too long and a baby kangaroo drowned at Cumbria Safari Zoo, it was claimed.
Other kangaroos were thought to have a disease and lemurs were injured because their “overcrowded” enclosures caused aggression, according to Freedom for Animals.
An activist for the animal-rights organisation who posed as a volunteer helper at the zoo for nearly a year found what they said was a “shocking” string of animal-welfare guideline violations, including “appalling” conditions, mistreatment and neglect.
Bosses at the zoo near Dalton, which is thought to house about 1,000 animals, insist they have no concerns over the work of their vets, who are “unrivalled” in their field. They also claim much of the video “pieces together snapshots in time, many pre-dating” their running of this zoo.
In 2013, a keeper at the site, then called South Lakes Safari Zoo, was mauled to death by a tiger, leading to a fine of £297,500 with costs for health and safety breaches.
Four years later, a council report revealed 486 animals had died between 2013 and 2016.
Barrow Council refused to renew the zoo’s licence after inspectors raised concerns, but a firm formed by the staff took over managing the site and the council granted Cumbria Zoo Company Ltd a licence.
But concerns remained, and in 2022 a report by wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation concluded that the zoo overfed giraffes, left sloths out in the cold and confined rhinos to tiny stalls.
Now Freedom for Animals, which carried out a fresh investigation, says nothing has changed, despite the change of ownership.
The group claims a missing baby kangaroo was found drowned in a lake – described as “an unforgivable fatality that could have been avoided”.
A keeper was secretly captured on film talking of how one kangaroo had died, possibly of “lumpy jaw”, a bacterial disease linked to stress, poor diet or faecal contamination at feeding stations.
The campaigner investigating also filmed an “emaciated meerkat struggling to find food and warmth in its enclosure”, and its tail appeared injured.
Meerkats in pens that were said to be cold and draughty were filmed huddling together under heat lamps for warmth.
It was too difficult to get Andean bears out of their enclosure to clean it, another worker was recorded saying, and they added: “We’re trying to do it every other day because this pair are a pain in the arse.”
As a result, the cages – shared by lemurs – got dirty with waste very quickly, it was claimed.
And in one case mouldy food in those cages was left rotting, the footage suggested.
According to one keeper, a lemur was presumed to have frozen to death after failing to return indoors overnight.
Lemur mothers often abandoned their babies, while overcrowding caused by aggression led some to attack others, keepers were recorded admitting.
Some suffered injuries that required stitches, and one keeper said: “They’ve got big teeth so they do a fair bit of damage to each other.”
Freedom for Animals questioned why the zoo was still breeding them in an “already overcrowded environment that is clearly causing significant illness and injury”.
One lemur, called Bruce, vanished regularly, the campaigner said, after filming a keeper hunting in trees for the animal. A keeper said another lemur found dead “had stuff on his liver”.
Footage showed visitors feeding a giraffe on what the activists said was more than 300 pieces of carrot – a high-sugar food not in the animal’s natural diet. The giraffe was later filmed twisting its neck unnaturally.
Carrot-feeding is arranged twice a day, every day, according to the investigators.
It was also claimed flood damage to an electric fence left baboons, who normally spend most time outdoors, locked inside for almost five days.
The undercover investigator said one keeper told how the baboons’ housing was so “grim” that the animals chewed at the wooden walls.
The council, which issues zoo licences, has previously raised some of the concerns.
Freedom for Animals wants all the animals moved to sanctuaries.
“It is appalling that animals in this country are being treated this way and is a gross breach of the Animal Welfare Act and the Zoo Licensing Act,” a spokesperson said.
Karen Brewer, chief executive of Cumbria Zoo Company Limited, said: “The organisation making these allegations is anti-captivity by nature. We continue to welcome feedback, advice and guidance from those qualified to comment on the way in which the zoo is run.
“We are aware of a video now in circulation that pieces together snapshots in time, many pre-dating our running of this zoo, as do many ‘facts’ that surface in these reports.
“We have no concerns over the standard of veterinary care given to the animals who reside with us. Our veterinary team are internationally recognised and unrivalled in their field.”
The Independent has asked Barrow Council to comment.
22 April 2024
LAV
25 animals, including dogs and primates, were rescued from a research facility in Verona where serious mistreatment of animals was discovered. The facility, which carries out animal testing on behalf of international pharmaceutical companies, is being charged with the neglect and unlawful killing of animals including beagles, marmosets and macaques.
The Court of Verona has brought forward charges against officials of the multinational pharmaceutical research company Aptuit, for the mistreatment and unnecessary killing of animals in the facility. The veterinarian and the company’s former president have been included in the register of suspects.
The prosecutors asserted that the company failed to comply with even the minimum criteria of animal management required by law, resulting in serious physical and psychological damage to the animals. These charges can lead to a fine of up to 30 000 € and imprisonment of up to 18 months.
Within this laboratory, thousands of dogs and monkeys were subject to injections, withdrawals and toxicity tests that lead to agonising deaths in deplorable conditions. The animals lacked fundamental necessities such as kennels, left on cold tile floors with no sunlight.
Due to the ongoing legal case, full details about the mistreatment are yet to be released.
A report released by LAV three years ago highlighted a shipment of several beagles to the Aptuit Company, which led to national demonstrations and demands for an official inspection. Following continuous pressure, 25 animals were rescued and appointed to LAV’s care after the Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered an inspection of the facility.
The 7 beagles are now cared for by competent staff in veterinary clinics. The primates, 7 macaques and 11 marmosets, have found refuge at the Animanatura Wild Sanctuary Rescue Centre in Semproniano, who are rehabilitating over 50 primates rescued from laboratories, aiding their recovery from years of physical and psychological trauma.
This seizure of animals from a laboratory represents the largest of its kind in Italy.
If these very serious irregularities were found in what is considered ‘excellence’ in pharmaceutical research, what is happening now, at this very moment, in the more than 500 Italian laboratories? We trust the authorities and hope that this is the beginning of a process that will discover what has been hidden until now.
Gianluca Felicetti, LAV
My wish is that for the time they have left to live, they can live in complete serenity, doing what they were born to do, which is simply to be animals.
Lorenza Zanaboni, LAV
LAV are calling for signatures of their petition asking the Italian Minister of Universities and Research to finance non-animal methods, speeding up the transition away from animal testing.
Update 1315hrs GMT 21/4/24
From Diana in Germany and Mark in England:
We have cracked the 10,000 mark for the petition in Germany now – 10,077 to be exact. – thank you to everyone who made this possible!!
Unfortunately, we have nothing positive to report from China – our colleagues on the ground continue to report cases of extreme violence to us. Cat feeding stations in towns are now also being targeted – footage (as these are equipped with cameras) from last week shows a person taking cat body parts from a garbage bag and throwing them into the food area.
Unfortunately, actions like these are often acts of revenge for the pressure that the members of these cat torture groups have come to feel through the protests, online actions and publicity of their involvement.
Very good news – At least two parties involved have now been rejected by Chinese universities on the basis of their involvement in these machinations.
Thus, the “problem” is known, and our work is yielding cautious success.
We have to stay tuned!!
—————————————
At this very moment we are in the final stages of completing a Press Release (PR) ready to go out to any press and media in the world over the coming weeks.
We are covering who we are, what we are doing re the Chinese cat torture campaign work; and making a special point that in both England and Germany, we are unable (at this present time) to obtain Chinese Ambassador e mails in order that we can forward electronic copies of the petitions; which would include peoples comments.
Also, there will be several images (as those above) and information taken from these perverted sites so the press and media will know of and see the exact types of torture and suffering we are dealing with.
You would think that in order to cut down on the huge negative publicity they are getting from all of this, the Chinese authorities would contact us and give details of where we can send our petitions; effectively wrapping the petitions up. But no, they don’t; so we continue with the petitions; building on a huge global audience who are now aware of what is being done in the name of China. We don’t mind; every day is extra publicity for us to show the terrible suffering animals are enduring.
If it was not for the work of several groups and the pressures they are now putting on this issue; the fate of the tormented animals would have remained veiled in secrecy by these demented perverts – but now the torment and suffering has already gone global; and will continue to reach out to nations even more until the Chinese authorities both take action to prosecute the perpetrators; shut down these sites (with proof); and probably most importantly, introduce Chinese national legislation (law) which will prevent actions such as we no witness by providing animals in China with a legal voice.
We in the WAV Camp are determined; as are many others, to continue until we get positive results as said about above. The tortured animals no longer suffer in silence; yes sadly, they still suffer terribly, but the positive is now the world is being shown what is happening in China and elsewhere by these perverts.
As Diana says above, we know for sure that at least two parties involved in these tortures have now been rejected by Chinese universities on the basis of their involvement in these machinations.
For us that is a big positive; hopefully with continuing exposure it will increase.
Regards Mark and Diana.
Petitions:
UK – Petition · Chinese Cat Torture – Time For Action To Stop It. – United Kingdom · Change.org
Germany – https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring
and
(CN) The Yulin Dog Meat Festival Is Coming Soon. – World Animals Voice
Oipai International | Apr 10, 2024
Link: https://www.oipa.org/international/cop29-baku-mass-dog-killing/
Although the Republic of Azerbaijan joined the European Convention for the Protection of Pets in 2007, according to which the government was supposed to adopt possible measures to reduce the number of homeless animals (through neutering) without causing them suffering, pain, or discomfort, stray dog killings in the capital Baku and other regions have never stopped for all these years.
The mass killings are directly ordered and performed by government’s executive authority, but often government’s cruel behaviour towards homeless animals shapes the same attitude among citizens, who feel free to get around shooting and poisoning innocent dogs at night, in broad daylight and many times even if front of children.
No dogs are safe in Azerbaijan. Every day, dozens continue to be exterminated despite being neutered/spayed, notched on ear homeless dogs or roaming owned pets.
OIPA International has been exposing these slaughters for years, becoming the voice of local volunteers and animal activists who have never been heard.
This time, we ask for your help to call on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat to reconsider their decision to host the next 2024 UN Climate Change Conference, commonly known as COP 29, from 11 to 22 November 2024 in Baku.
A country that does not respect and protect its animals and its humans, it cannot be a country able to respect the climate, the environment and a positive example of a global #OneHealth approach.
Read the letter to the UNFCCC Secretariat: Open Letter_Consideration on COP29_OIPA_April17_2024
TAKE ACTION!
Repost and share in groups
Tag authorities, media, influencers, organizations
Tag UN Climate Change on social media and Write a protest email asking the UN to change location for COP29 (secretariat@unfccc.int – press@unfccc.int)
Share what OIPA has done and raise awareness: https://www.oipa.org/international/oipa-azerbaijan/
As if more evidence were needed, here’s the trophy display of one such sick, perverted Chinaman..
How many more?
Until the government takes action and introduces legislation to prosecute such bastards; and also introduces legislation to protect animal abuse and suffering; that’s how long this will continue – and we will continue to expose anything and everything UNTIL THEY DO.
Until then; BOYCOTT EVERYTHING CHINESE.
FG has a list of mail contacts for CN embassies in Europe:
Europe
consulate_cur@mfa.gov.cn, chinaconsul_lyon@mfa.gov.cn, consulate.marseille@gmail.com, consulatderpc@hotmail.com, sdnchine@163.com, de@mofcom.gov.cn, chinaconsul_ham_de@mfa.gov.cn, chinaconsul_mu_de@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_at@mfa.gov.cn, chinamission_vien@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_bel@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_lu@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_fr@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_pt@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_es@mfa.gov.cn, segreteria.china@gmail.com, chinaconsul_fir_it@mfa.gov.cn, consulate_milan@mfa.gov.cn, kitajsko.veleposlanistvo@siol.net, velekine@hotmail.com, veleposlanstvo.nr.kine1@zg.t-com.hr, chinaemb_ba@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_si@mfa.gov.cn, chinaconsul_gs_pl@mfa.gov.cn, china@consulate.gda.pl, chinaconsul_bar_es@mfa.gov.cn, contact@chinaconsulate.se, chinamission_gva@mfa.gov.cn, zurich@csm.mfa.gov.cn, chinaembassy@seznam.cz, cinska.ambasada@gmail.com chinaemb_ua@mfa.gov.cn, AMBCHINA@POL.PL, china@mfa.gov.by, chinaemb_by@mfa.gov.cn, CHIEMB@MICRODIN.RU chinaemb_ru@mfa.gov.cn, chinaconsul_khab_ru@mfa.gov.cn, chinaconsul_sp_ru@mfa.gov.cn, chinaembassy@mtc.md, English@mail.gov.cn, chinaconsul_bft_uk@mfa.gov.cn, chinaconsul_eb_uk@mfa.gov.cn, chinaconsul_man_uk@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_ie@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_mk@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_yu@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_al@mfa.gov.cn, CHINAEMB_RO@MFA.GOV.CN, webmaster@chinaembassy.bg, chnemb_bg@live.cn, political@knnk.ehc.hu, chinaemb_nl@mfa.gov.cn, webmaster@chinese-embassy.no, press@chinemb.fi, protocol@chinemb.fi, culture@chinemb.fi, edse@chinemb.fi, administration@chinemb.fi, protocol@chinaembassy.se, mail@chinaembassy.dk, CHINAEMB@SIMNET.IS, chinaemb_lv@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_lt@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb@online.ee, mailoffice@chinaembassy.ee, chinaemb_cy@mfa.gov.cn, EOCINC@SPIDERNET.COM.CY, chinaemb_gr@mfa.gov.cn, chinaemb_mt@mfa.gov.cn
https://www.drove.com/campaign/64f5256c4798a48fe38f733c
https://www.oipa.org/international/cats-tortured-and-killed-online-china
https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring
https://www.change.org/p/chinese-cat-torture-time-for-action-to-stop-it
Our Petitions:
PETITIONS: Please Support. Thank You.
https://www.change.org/p/chinese-cat-torture-time-for-action-to-stop-it
https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring
China, China, and more China.
Animal Abuse, Animal Abuse, and Sadly More Animal Abuse.
This country, for animals, is hell on Earth.
Once we have a petition link or other action that can be taken it will be posted here.
About 10000 dogs will be killed for human consumption for 10 days at Yulin dog meat festival. Most of those angels used to be someone’s family. They were stolen !!
This year too…The Yulin Dog Meat Festival will be held for 10 days starting June 21st.
Posted by, three days ago, “Guardianes Felinos”
While this may seem as an endless repeat of tortures and killings, we must bear in mind that each one of these victims suffers the unspeakable, and each is unique, and not just a number in the ongoing and growing list of perversions perpetrated on the utterly helpless.
Time for animal abusers in China to face proper justice
All pictures – WAV Archives.
A student expelled after beating a cat has prompted debate about morality and the lack of animal cruelty laws
Lawyers say it is difficult to define abuse or decide which animals to include, but tough laws could also ultimately help protect people from violent offenders
A video posted on Weibo last month – showing a college student in Jiangxi province holding a white kitten, kicking it, beating it with a coat hanger and hitting it against a door, making the cat cry out in pain – has roused public anger in China.
After the video was posted, the college announced they had expelled the student after receiving 14 letters accusing him of animal abuse. According to a document read out by a college spokesperson, “The incident spread widely online and affected the school’s reputation.” It also accused the student of sharing lewd videos and skipping classes.
A few days earlier, a similar case of animal abuse surfaced, this time involving a student who had scored the highest mark in a graduate school entrance exam for Nanjing University’s nuclear physics course. In that case, netizens found out he had previously uploaded videos of himself abusing a cat.
The university quickly responded to public concerns, saying that the student had not made it to the final round of applicants due to “failing the ideological and moral assessment”. He also failed to get into his second choice, Lanzhou University, a few days later.
Some said Nanjing University had crossed a line by rejecting a student based on “morals”. Others said it reflected what is most valued in the education system nowadays: universities should focus not only on passing on knowledge, but also on instilling into young people integrity and good values.
Of course, these weren’t the first cases of animal abuse recorded in China. Every year, there are numerous videos that shock the public, but after attention wanes, the issue is quietly forgotten without much getting done to prevent abuse from happening again.
At the heart of the issue is the lack of laws and regulations protecting animals from abuse. People resort to online condemnation, while universities might turn down those accused of abuse on “moral” grounds, a loose concept with debatable notions of what justice should look like. The situation would be different with proper rules in place and legal grounds to take action.
In the past, not much action was taken after cases of animal abuse came to light. In 2023, there were reports of internet food vlogger Jack Latiao torturing a cat for an hour, tying it to a tree, burning it and piercing it with a needle.
Police investigated the matter and detained him for causing a “negative social impact”, after which the vlogger apologised, but there was no further punishment that could be taken.
Meanwhile, in the United States, those convicted of the federal crime of animal cruelty face stiff fines and – depending on the state – up to 10 years in prison.
Currently, China has no laws that directly ban animal abuse. Lawyers say it is difficult to define abuse or to decide which animals should be included in the law. Right now, the only way the abuser can be punished is if the owners of the cat or dog sue the abuser for damaging their property. But, in reality, most abusers go after stray animals to avoid any legal liability.
One significant challenge in drafting an animal abuse law is the lack of public consensus that it is a serious crime. Many still believe animals have fewer rights than people. They may think animal abuse is wrong but do not believe people should be jailed for it.
But punishing such abuse isn’t just about protecting animals, it could also help protect people down the line. Research has indicated that animal abuse could be an early indicator that someone would commit serious crimes against people – including assault, murder, rape, partner abuse and child abuse.
The government might also consider criminalising such behaviour if there was more at stake. As an example, in 2020, Shenzhen introduced a regulation to ban eating cats and dogs as part of move to stop the spread of Covid-19.
At the time, many people were surprised that a long-held “tradition” could be banned so easily, but from the government’s point of view, Shenzhen is a relatively new city filled with young people who are against the idea of eating dogs. Moreover, faced with the urgent need to try to stop the pandemic from spreading, it was necessary to ban the practice.
When it comes to animal abuse, if enough people voiced their concerns, the government might eventually take action.
Phoebe Zhang is a society reporter with the Post
Regards Mark
UK – Petition · Chinese Cat Torture – Time For Action To Stop It. – United Kingdom · Change.org
Germany – https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring
Roberts’ (above) social media accounts show how he is an avid hunter who frequently hunts wild animals alongside his kids. – What a way to raise kids !!!
Upset animal lovers descend on Wyoming over wild wolf torture video – claiming the footage has left them with ‘nightmares’ and calling for a boycott of the state
Latest:
Old post on this issue:
Video filmed by witnesses showed him kissing the barely conscious wolf and laughing at its distress as it lay on the floor of the Green River Bar
Roberts dragged the wolf into the bar over protests from the owner, and left it there for hours while he drank.
‘He was a jokester about it, while it was just sitting there bleeding to death… He was drunk and rambling mostly. A guy who thinks highly of himself.‘
The owner and many of the other patrons in the bar were unhappy with the situation, but no one challenged Roberts and the bar staff didn’t tell him to leave.
The only female wolf in Baden-Württemberg was probably run over by a car near Schluchsee on Wednesday. Exactly where a wolf pup was fatally captured in December.
WAV Comment – Does not look that ‘damaged’ if it was ‘run over’ by a car. Where is the driver ? – A hunters bullet does not cause massive damage !
Wounds and traces of blood in the fur: A photo shows the dead wolf that was run over on the B500 between the Windgfällweiher and the municipality of Schluchsee (Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district).
It is not the first dead wolf in the Black Forest. Back in December last year, there was a collision between a car and an eight-month-old wolf pup.
WAV Comment – “Exactly where a wolf pup was fatally captured in December” We have contacts who reside in this very area. Hunters are not supposed to kill wolves; but … many of them ignore the rules – it is exactly the same with the protected Lynx. The body of a shot (hunted) animal will be thrown onto the road, without failure, after the bullet has been removed, and then left to be run over by a vehicle to make the incident look like a road kill, thus making it all look like a terrible accident – being hit by a car, when in fact the animal was actually shot by hunters.
Female killed in accident: wolf was pregnant
According to police, the collision occurred early Wednesday morning. Around seven o’clock, the animal is said to have crossed the road and was fatally hit by a motorist. The Forest Research Institute (FVA) in Freiburg has now seized the animal. Micha Herdtfelder, head of the Wildlife Institute at the FVA, has confirmed to SWR that it is a female wolf – most likely the female from the wolf pack at Schluchsee. In addition, the animal was pregnant.
The carcass is taken to the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin for further examination. The aim is to obtain nationwide uniform data on the health and nutritional status of killed wolves.
Ministry of the Environment: Formation of packs in BW off the table for the time being
After the only female wolf in Baden-Württemberg was run over, the rebuilding of a pack may have moved into the distant future. “The formation of packs is now off the table in Baden-Württemberg,” said Claudia Hailfinger, press spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment.
As the only reproducing female wolf, the female wolf played an important role in the return of the once native predator. After their presumed death, only male wolves are now settled in Baden-Württemberg. According to the Ministry of the Environment, offspring depend on immigrant ferries. It is unclear whether this will happen next year or again in ten years.
Puppy run over a few months ago
Already last December, the only wolf pup in Baden-Württemberg had died on the B500 near Schluchsee. Now it is very likely that his mother died there as well. The puppy was about eight months old and weighed 20 kilograms.
He also had mange, a contagious skin disease. The puppy had been detected in July 2023 by photo trap of the Forest Research Institute (FVA). It was the first known wolf offspring in about 150 years. Since 1866, the wolf was considered extinct in Baden-Württemberg.
In 2015, the first wolf was detected in the country, the animal came from Switzerland. It was run over in the same year on the A5 in Lahr (Ortenaukreis). It was not until 2017 that the first male resettled permanently in the Black Forest.
In 2023, the first pack formed in the municipality of Schluchsee. However, Baden-Württemberg is still a long way from a stable population. Nevertheless, the number of specimens is increasing.
Another sedentary wolf detected in the northern Black Forest
In mid-February, a male wolf was genetically identified in the northern Black Forest. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the animal originally comes from a pack in the Gutenbrunn area of Lower Austria. The male dog is probably three or four years old. According to the ministry, his new “Hornisgrinde Territory” in the northern Black Forest is located in the already existing Wolf Prevention Black Forest funding area. The area encompasses the entire natural area of the Black Forest. It has a size of about 8,800 square kilometers.
So far, comparatively few specimens live in the country. By way of comparison, in the 2022/2023 monitoring year, a total of 184 wolf packs, 47 pairs of wolves and 22 sedentary lone wolves were counted nationwide by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the Federal Documentation and Advice Centre on the Subject of Wolves (DBBW). Nationwide, the wolf focus is also more likely to be in Lower Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Nevertheless, incidents on the pastures always cause a stir in the southwest.
PETITIONS: Please Support. Thank You.
https://www.change.org/p/chinese-cat-torture-time-for-action-to-stop-it
https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring
Regards Mark and Diana.
17 April 2024
Prijatelji životinja
Over 10,000 animals are abandoned each year in Croatia.
It’s not only a problem for domestic animals like dogs and cats, but also farmed animals.
An amendment of the country’s Penal Code has now made abandoning an animal a criminal offence punishable by up to 2 years in prison, as well as increasing penalties for causing unnecessary pain or suffering, killing or abusing animals.
Amendments to the Croatian Penal Code came into effect on 2 April, bringing with them the long-awaited positive changes in animal protection.
Under the new legislation, individuals who abandon any animal they are responsible for will face imprisonment for up to one year. If the abandonment results in the death of an animal or involves the abandonment of multiple animals, the perpetrator could be sentenced to up to two years in prison.
This significant victory for animal welfare is the culmination of extensive efforts by Animal Friends Croatia, which initiated a petition in 2021 urging for animal abandonment to be treated as a criminal offence. Notably, 80% of the population supported this campaign.
Animal abandonment can now be directly reported to the police or municipal prosecutor’s office, rather than to veterinary inspectors. This streamlined process aims to expedite responses and facilitate the prosecution of offenders. It also serves as a deterrent against animal abandonment, as individuals are now aware that they risk imprisonment and may take the long-term care of animals into consideration before acquiring one.
The penalties for causing unnecessary pain or suffering to animals, and for killing or severely abusing animals, have been increased from a maximum of one year to two years. In cases where these offences are committed for financial gain, perpetrators may now face imprisonment for up to three years instead of two.
Another new measure allows courts to impose restrictions on individuals who have committed animal-related offences if there is a risk of reoffending; a ban on owning or acquiring animals for a period of one to five years.
Animal Friends Croatia is now urging citizens with information about law violations to promptly report any instances of animal abandonment and abuse to the police.
Regards Mark
Excellent, and we congratulate our friends at Animal Friends Croatia for getting this fantastic result.
We have experienced similar issues in the past in Serbia – another Balkans nation.
Check out all of our past work at https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-serbian-animals/
11 April 2024
In a move to update requirements for the appropriate accommodation, care, and killing of animals used for scientific purposes, the European Commission recently adopted a delegated directive with additional requirements for a number of species; but should more be done?
Article 50 of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes empowers the Commission to adapt the Annexes in order to ensure that they reflect technical and scientific progress.
At the time of adoption of the Directive, there was insufficient scientific evidence on the appropriate housing, care and killing methods for certain species, so species-specific requirements for these species were not included.
Since the adoption of the Directive, new scientific knowledge has become available on the welfare requirements of cephalopods, zebrafish and passerine birds used for scientific purposes, and on the killing of cephalopods and zebrafish in a manner causing least pain, suffering and distress. New scientific evidence has also emerged on the inappropriateness of using inert gases to kill rodents. In the light of this evidence, the Commission decided to revise the relevant Annexes (i.e. Annexes III and IV) to the Directive.
In early 2023, the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) was requested by the Commission to provide a scientific opinion in support of the revision of Annexes III and IV. A call for information was launched by SCHEER to invite all interested parties to submit scientific information on the specific questions on which SCHEER was asked to provide a scientific opinion. Eurogroup for Animals actively engaged with some of its member organisations to provide feedback. The scientific opinion was published in October 2023. Taking into account the opinion issued by SCHEER, the Commission drafted a Delegated directive and initiated a public consultation earlier this year, with Eurogroup for Animals contributing input to the draft. Subsequently, the Delegated directive concerning the revision of Annexes III and IV was officially adopted on 13 March 2024.
We welcome the efforts to establish new standards for cephalopods, zebra fish and passerine birds previously overlooked. However, we also express regret that the revision has missed the opportunity to update existing provisions for other species.
In accordance with Article 50 of the Directive, we call for a more comprehensive revision of Annexes III and IV to amend the provisions for these limited species, aligning them with the latest technical and scientific progress.
Regards Mark
New tool allows citizens to report abuse of crustaceans
15 April 2024
ALI
Decapod crustaceans, such as lobsters, crabs, shrimps and scampi, are frequently kept alive throughout their journey through the seafood supply chain. A new tool allows anyone to report mistreatment whenever these animals are found suffering due to being stocked at high densities, tied, iced, or kept out of water.
Italian citizens can now directly report instances of cruelty towards decapod crustaceans, with the aim of pursuing legal action where possible, thanks to the newly launched SOS Crustaceans project, part of the On behalf of crustaceans campaign, by organisation Animal Law Italia. Through this campaign, the organisation’s team of legal experts will initiate a series of ground-breaking legal actions, so that the need for businesses to follow the latest scientific evidence is definitively recognised.
Something had to be done to actively protect these sentient animals from the many acts of mistreatment that they frequently experience in the seafood supply chain. We hope that through this project, at least some of the practices that the industry routinely exposes these animals to, such as detention on ice and stocking at high densities, will no longer be permitted.
Dr Lorenzo Fruscella, Campaign Lead
Decapod crustaceans would never experience temperatures close to zero in their natural habitats, but in the seafood supply chain they are often kept alive in cold storage, out of water, laid on beds of ice. In many cases their claws are tied, they are not fed, often for weeks, and are forced to live in barren tanks in close proximity with other individuals, despite the fact that most of them are solitary and highly territorial species, at times exposed to direct light sources. Their use within the industry also subjects them to repeated manipulations by inadequately trained personnel, to ultimately be killed with methods that cause prolonged suffering.
Although there are no laws at national level that protect these animals in Italy, there have already been multiple convictions for detention on ice. In Florence, a restaurant manager received a fine of €5,000 for having detained live decapod crustaceans in a cold room and with their claws tied. In 2019, a live lobster with its claws tied on an ice tray was found in the refrigerator of a restaurant near Milan. The public prosecutor requested a fine of €2,000 via criminal decree, which was later reduced to three months of community service.
Animal Law Italia hopes that obtaining further pioneering criminal convictions will be the first step towards changing the law to ensure that decapod crustaceans are adequately protected.
Regards Mark
CHINA Allows It
Please take action by supporting the petitions; thank you. Things (not always pleasant) are getting through to us now, that maybe the perverted abusers are now starting to feel the heat a bit more; we must keep on with the pressure regardless until the Chinese authorities take action to close these networks down.
This afternoon, 1515hrs GMT (15/4/24) , 16,097 people have signed the UK petition. 9,624 have signed the German petition. That is around 25,000 people who have supported.
Also, same time and date – there have been 143,315 Views of the UK petition, and it has been further shared and passed on by 12,790 people. Thus, just with the UK petition alone, around 145,000 people have now been informed, and are briefed on the cat abuses going on via the Chinese network sites.
The petitions continue;
Thank You.
PETITIONS:
https://www.change.org/p/chinese-cat-torture-time-for-action-to-stop-it
https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring
Octopus farm must be stopped, say campaigners, as new documents reveal plans were reckless and threatened environment, wildlife and public health
8 April 2024
CIWF
Press Release
Campaigners are calling on a seafood company to scrap plans to build the world’s first octopus farm in Spain as new documents reveal that – as well as ignoring animal cruelty concerns – it failed to consider the significant threats the farm would pose to wildlife, the environment and public health.
Environment report was insufficient & exposes ‘hypocrisy’ of Nueva Pescanova’s sustainability claims
NGOs Eurogroup for Animals, Compassion in World Farming and AnimaNaturalis are urging company Nueva Pescanova to immediately stop the project on the grounds that, as well as causing cruelty to octopuses, the farm contradicts its own corporate sustainability claims. Among the concerns is that the farm could threaten dolphins and turtles near the site, and its discharges could add to local water pollution and CO2 emissions. The probability of these impacts was considered to be ‘significantly high’ by the Canary Islands Government.
The company’s website claims that it is committed to ‘maintaining biodiversity’, ‘protecting the ecosystem’ and ‘promoting the circular economy’. Yet its own environmental report for the farm at the Port of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, was considered insufficient by the Canary Islands Government due to concerns that the plans could:
threaten local wildlife, including protected cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) and vulnerable sea turtles, through noise and water pollution due to its close proximity to a Marine Protected Area (MPA).
pose a public health risk by using nearby seawater which is not of a high enough quality to be used for human food production.
cause pollution including CO2 emissions, odour concerns, and discharges that could significantly contribute to the already highly contaminated harbour waters.
threaten a protected species of algae – cystoseira – which is present in the surroundings.
involve highly unsustainable practices such as the use of wild fish as feed and high energy consumption of the facility.
Speaking on behalf of the team of Legal Natura legal experts who examined the documents, lawyer, Maria Angeles López Lax, said: “Nueva Pescanova’s environmental report was inadequate, lacking basic information to allow the Government to assess the impact of the farm on the environment and public health. It’s up to the company to prove that the farm would not impact on protected species or risk public health before permission can be granted, yet the company has failed to address even the most basic of these concerns.”
Octopuses are unique, intelligent, naturally solitary creatures who are not suited to the overcrowded conditions that are typical of factory farms. This would increase aggression and can ultimately lead to cannibalism. They are also carnivorous, meaning they need to be fed wild fish in captivity, an unsustainable practice that would put extra pressure on already overexploited fish populations.
Compassion in World Farming launched its report Octopus Farming: A Recipe for Disaster in 2021 revealing scientific evidence that octopus farming would be both cruel and environmentally damaging. A year ago, Compassion and Eurogroup for Animals launched Uncovering the Horrific Reality of Octopus Farming – its joint response to Nueva Pescanova’s plans to farm around one million of these intelligent, unique animals in an aquatic factory farm annually.
On World Octopus Day last year (8 October), 75 NGOs, experts and public figures, led by Compassion and Eurogroup for Animals, wrote to the Canary Islands Government urging it to reject the plans. Thousands of supporters also took action, urging the President of the community to stop the octopus farm.
It is unjustifiable to introduce this new type of factory farming, as climate scientists warn of the urgent need to change our food systems and evolve our diets to become more sustainable. We deserve better than continued environmental devastation to fill corporate pockets, and these incredible animals deserve better than lives diminished to confinement and suffering.
Keri Tietge, Aquatic Animals Policy Officer, Eurogroup for Animals
Not only would this octopus farm cause cruelty to these naturally solitary and intelligent animals and be environmentally unsustainable, it’s also hypocritical for Nueva Pescanova to push plans that contradict their own corporate sustainability claims.
Dr Elena Lara, a marine biologist and Senior Research Manager, Compassion in World Farming,
Our society should be in a moment of progress towards a more empathetic and compassionate treatment of animals. If this aberration continues, despite the rejection of the scientific community and a large part of society, we will be facing a serious rupture of these values.
Cristina Ibáñez, Campaign Coordinator, AnimaNaturalis
The NGOs are calling on supporters to tag Nueva Pescanova on social media urging them to immediately stop their plans to build the octopus farm.
Regards Mark
Wyoming Man Cited For Capturing Live Wolf, Reportedly Showed It Off In Bar Before Killing It
On Feb. 29, a Sublette County man reportedly captured and tormented a wolf in Daniel, Wyoming. He allegedly taped its mouth shut and showed it off in a bar before taking it out back and shooting it. The man has been charged with possession of a live wolf.
UPDATE: Hunters, Biologists Angered At Alleged Wolf Torture Case
The case of a man allegedly capturing a wolf and tormenting it — including by showing it off in bar — before finally killing it could spark enough outrage to shake Wyoming’s wolf management policy.
It’s legal to kill wolves in the part of Sublette County where the incident is said to have happened.
But keeping an animal alive and tormenting it in such manner, as was reportedly done, would be an egregious violation of hunting ethics and a black eye for Wyoming, two sources familiar with the incident told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday on condition of remaining anonymous.
Cowboy State Daily verified the reports of both sources, which also align with a report of an incident the same day from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
One source said they had seen photos of the wolf, with its mouth taped shut, being shown off in a bar in Daniel, Wyoming, a tiny town in Sublette County.
According to the account of events, a man ran the wolf down with a snowmobile Feb. 29, disabling it. Instead of killing the animal on the spot, he reportedly kept the wolf and took it back to his residence, then to the bar — before finally taking it out behind the bar and killing it.
Citation Issued
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department verified that somebody has been cited and fined for being in possession of a live wolf, but didn’t release that person’s name, the name of the investigating game warden or any exact details of the case.
Sublette County Circuit Court records, however, show that local resident Cody Roberts, born in 1981, was cited for a wildlife violation stemming from an incident that day, Feb. 29, and that Adam Hymas was the investigating agent.
A records request from Cowboy State Daily for detailed Game and Fish written reports regarding the case was still pending at press time.
Multiple calls from Cowboy State Daily to a number in Daniel listed as Roberts’ went unanswered.
When asked over the phone about the story of a wolf being taken into the bar — identified in the photos as the Green River Bar — an employee referred Cowboy State Daily to the bar’s owner, who had not returned messages as of publication.
Game And Fish Account Of Events
Game and Fish spokeswoman Breanna Ball sent Cowboy State Daily a statement about the case via email Tuesday.
“An anonymous reporting party notified the Wyoming Game and Fish Department that an individual was alleged to be in possession of a live wolf. The reporting party notified the Department on March 1, 2024. According to the investigation, the individual possessed the live wolf on 2/29/24,” according to the statement.
“The individual was hunting when he came across the wolf in the predator zone and intended to harvest it. However, the wolf was transported alive back to his residence and later to a business in Daniel, WY. The individual euthanized the wolf later that day. The individual was cited for violating Chapter 10, Importation and Possession of Live Warm-Blooded Wildlife,” according to Game and Fish.
That offense carries a $250 fine.
Will This Affect Wolf Policy?
Wyoming has a three-tiered wolf management policy. Inside Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, wolves remain under full federal protection and may not be hunted.
In areas of Wyoming adjacent to the national parks, there is a “trophy hunting zone.” There, wolves are managed as a trophy species. Hunting is allowed, but hunters must have wolf hunting tags and can kill wolves only during designated hunting seasons and within predetermined quotas.
The rest of Wyoming, or roughly 85% of the state, is a “predator zone” for wolves. That means they may be killed at any time, with bag limit and no hunting tags required.
One source who spoke to Cowboy State Daily said the worry is that such an act of alleged animal cruelty could turn the tide of nationwide public sentiment against Wyoming’s wolf policy.
“When this story gets out, and it will, this is going to drastically change the discussion about wolf management in Wyoming,” the source said.
ACTION
SIGN: JUSTICE FOR WOLF RUN DOWN BY SNOWMOBILE, TORTURED, AND KILLED AT WYOMING BAR
PETITION TARGET: Sublette County Sheriff and County Attorney
A wolf in Wyoming was allegedly horrifically disabled after being hit by a snowmobile. The animal’s pain was drawn-out when the man responsible allegedly taped the wolf’s snout shut, brought the injured wolf home, took pictures posing with the abused animal, took the terrified wolf to a bar, and later killed the wolf outside the business in Sublette County, as reported by Cowboy State Daily.
In a video from Wyoming Game and Fish Department, obtained by Lady Freethinker via a Freedom of Information request, the muzzled wolf can be seen languishing in pain inside a bar.
The wolf was kept alive and in pain — apparently so the man could take pictures of the wolf’s suffering and subject the frightened animal to an audience before killing the animal.
Wyoming law permits what it calls “humane destruction” of certain animals. What this wolf endured was not humane.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department cited a man — but only for possession of the live animal.
“Animal cruelty charges are not applicable to predatory animals,” Wyoming Game and Fish Department said in a statement about the incident.
The law which Wyoming Game and Fish Department cites – Title Six – does not prohibit the “hunting, capture, killing or destruction of any predatory animal, pest or other wildlife in any manner not otherwise prohibited by law.” However, tormenting animals is otherwise prohibited by law. Title Six goes on to describe felony cruelty to animals as “knowingly, and with intent to cause death or undue suffering, beats with cruelty, tortures, torments or mutilates an animal.”
Other hunters have reportedly agreed that the circumstances under which this wolf was captured and killed were inhumane, according to Wyoming Public Radio.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has come under question for their handling of this case and we are calling on prosecutors to treat it with the severity it deserves.
No animal deserves to be tortured and suffer prolonged pain before death. Wolves are sentient, intelligent animals. They deserve to be protected from merciless acts of cruelty.
This wolf was made to suffer tremendous pain and fear before being killed in a manner resembling a public execution. Animal cruelty charges must be filed against the person responsible for mercilessly tormenting this wolf to send the message that Wyoming does not condone animal cruelty and to prevent others from inflicting similarly inhumane violence against animals.
Sign our petition to urge Sublette County officials to investigate and pursue felony animal cruelty charges against the person responsible for torturing this wolf to set a precedent that animal cruelty will not be permitted in Wyoming.
Please sign the petition:
Regards Mark
5 April 2024
Essere Animali
Farm Animals Programme Officer, Susanna Blattner, was recently invited by our member Essere Animali to follow trucks transporting lambs across Italy. The purpose of the investigation was to monitor any legal violations to the animals, intervening where possible, and to record firsthand the experiences of these lambs to show where the current Transport Regulation is falling dramatically short of protecting their welfare. This is her account of her experience.
As a veterinarian with experience in slaughterhouses, I thought I was ready for this experience. I arrived on the day of the investigation prepared; I reviewed European regulations until I could cite the most common breach articles from memory. I studied Italian regulations, legislative decrees, previous investigations, watched hours of videos, and talked to several colleagues to prepare myself as best as I could.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Theory doesn’t prepare you for certain things, and from this experience, I return even angrier and sadder but with a greater awareness of the importance of my role in Brussels.
The days were organised like this: wake up at 4am, head to a service station in Friuli, near the border with Slovenia, and wait in the car until a truck containing lambs arrived (sometimes they stopped at the service station) to follow and monitor it. In case of obvious irregularities, call the police and report any problems.
I expected long hours of waiting, but instead, the trucks kept coming. Sometimes I could even hear the lambs bleating from tens of metres away, and every truck spotted with a Hungarian or Romanian licence plate was a blow to the heart.
Their bleating was persistent. I still have it in my ears.
The times when the trucks stopped at a service station and I had the opportunity to inspect them were devastating. The trucks were overcrowded, the lambs touching the upper shelf with their heads, unable to drink. When I stroked them, they searched for me insistently, as if they understood that I was there for them.
Essere Animali
Their bleating was persistent; I still have it in my ears. One morning, we followed a truck from Friuli to Emilia Romagna – four hours of pursuit during which even on the highway, with the windows closed, I could hear their lament.
One of the things that struck me the most was my complete helplessness. I met police officers with big hearts who, when I explained that I was a veterinarian, listened to me and called Italian colleagues to try to do something for the welfare of those poor animals and penalise the people who had allowed such cruelties. I met veterinarians who worked with heart, and above all professionalism, ready to meticulously inspect every truck and penalise every minor infringement, with tearful eyes. But I also encountered police officers who accused me of wasting their time for “such a thing”, and veterinarians who laughed in my face because I wasn’t in touch with reality and it made no sense to fine a truck for “so little.” The “so little” were more than 800 lambs on a truck without adequate safety measures and devices for drinking.
A stronger Transport Regulation will be the key to changing the sad state of live animal transport.
However, what troubled me the most was the impossibility of protecting the animals being transported due to endless bureaucratic loopholes: the grey areas of the current transport law, that allow transporters to do things without considering animal welfare at all, the inability of law enforcement to impose adequate penalties, and so on.
But there was something that gave me a glimmer of hope – the people I met during this experience.
The petrol station attendant who, while we waited at the service station for the arrival of the veterinarians, brought us a bowl to give water to the lambs.
The clerk who, when he realised what we were doing, showed us videos of other atrocities done to animals that he had managed to film.
The travellers who, when they arrived at the service stations, came to ask us what was happening to the animals, and upon our explanation, realised the cruelty of this practice.
The television journalist who was with me all day to film the events, and at the end said to me, “But how can I still eat these little animals now?”
It was a strong, bittersweet experience, one that would be very challenging to repeat due to the physical and emotional fatigue it incurred, but one I will never forget either. I am now even more motivated to work hard, and fight to protect the millions of animals transported every year.
It’s critical the European Commission takes its revision to the Transport Regulation seriously, creating species-specific rules across the sector that robustly protect the welfare of all animals involved.
Regards Mark
Animals Angels
Related:
Petition Links – Please Sign and Pass On. Thank You.
Update 10/4/24. – Hi all; just to give you a quick overview of the UK petition.
Things are going really well and we hope this will continue.
We are not giving in to the Chinese politicians who are refusing to contact us; so the petition remains open for signatures and the worldwide knowledge of what is happening continues to grow.
Thanks for all your support – continue to spread the word far and wide.
Regards Mark – Petition Creator and WAV Founder.
UK Petition overview as of 10/4/24
116,075 petition views
11,957 petition shares
447 promoters
PETITIONS:
https://www.change.org/p/chinese-cat-torture-time-for-action-to-stop-it
https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring
Specifically, two new extreme cases that have come to the attention of our colleagues in China and are examples of why we continue to ask you to share and make our concerns heard. For all of us, and I speak for Mark, in England, this sight is unbearable.
We continue to work on this issue every day, with the activists in China (“Feline Guardians” and others).
The petitions remain open.
At the moment we are in communication with the authorities in the UK, as there is apparently no direct possibility on the part of the Chinese embassies and consulates in the UK and Germany to directly address the respective ambassadors or contact options. We assume that this is intentional in order to block unwanted communication – such as here on the subject of animal welfare – in advance.
We will clarify this and demand answers. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will we let the efforts of over 20,000 of our supporters in this cause go nowhere.
We Know – China is a tough nut to crack, but it’s not untouchable!!
As said, the petitions will continue.
As soon as we have news, it will be here on WAV.
Thank you all!
Diana / Mark
Our past WAV links on this suffering and torture:
The Killer On My Doorstep; Down The Road; Across The River; Anywhere !! – World Animals Voice
China: ‘Crush’ Information. – World Animals Voice
EXPOSING AND COMBATING CAT TORTURE NETWORKS. 6/1/24. – World Animals Voice
China: Cat Torture Actions Follow Up – No. 1 – World Animals Voice
China – Cat Torture – Major Information and Actions – Follow Up No. 2 – World Animals Voice
And this is why … – World Animals Voice
(US) NEW YORK CITY March 8, 2024: Protest Cat Torture Rings – World Animals Voice
China: China Cat Farm – Why Chinese Farmer Raises Millions Of Cats For Meat? – World Animals Voice
China lags behind others when it comes to the legal protection of animals. To begin with, there is no national law that is explicitly against animal cruelty for all animals. One was drafted in 2009 (Animal Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China), but it was never implemented.
The country has received a letter grade of G for ‘Laws against causing animal suffering’ by World Animal Protection; G is the lowest possible rating.
China | World Animal Protection
Existing legislation based on animal rights in China mainly focuses on regulating vets and the treatment of laboratory animals.
There are a handful of other similar laws, but they target practicality and productivity rather than being anti-cruelty.
Hello all,
we’ve fallen a little behind on recent news recently – for which we apologize.
This is some new material from Feline Guardians FB page. Please view with caution, as always.
Once more we call on you – and those of you who haven’t already – to sign our petitions, and follow up FG’s calls for action.
Current petition (7/4/24) numbers:
UK – 13,853
Germany – 8,918
Please add your voice and pass on to all your contacts.
https://www.change.org/p/chinese-cat-torture-time-for-action-to-stop-it
https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring
Thank you.
Diana and I are both working a lot on this specific Chinese cat torture issue; as well as trying to cover other global issues relating to animals; there is not much spare time; but here, regarding the Chinese cat torture rings, we are currently getting big problems with Chinese Embassy (Ambassador) links in both the UK and Germany, as we wish to formally submit now both the UK and German petitions we are running, and which will request a formal response from the Chinese authorities on this issue and what actions they will be taking to stop it, if any.
Until we get what we are asking for (links) re Chinese Ambassadors, the petitions will remain open. Via our global audience network and others working around the world on this issue, we will continue (via all of our different sites) to inform the world about China, what is going on to take action to stop the abuse and question why nothing is currently being done or is underway.
We suggest that it would be in the interest of the Chinese authorities if they undertook actions to get this stopped and to take prosecutions against those involved where necessary. The choice is with them, they can continue to ignore us as they have done until now, but, if they do this then we continue to tell the world about Chinese cat torture and killings. You only have to look at what we are publishing below to see how disgustingly perverted these Chinese people are. So, we continue to tell the world this.
We are currently in communication with the UK government about this issue, and they are making attempts to provide us with specific information that we have asked for in order to complete our tasks. The fight goes on;
Regards Mark and Diana.
And another …
Photos – WAV Archives
Botswana has threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany, escalating an ongoing row over the import of hunting trophies.
The dispute began earlier this year when Germany’s environment ministry, citing concerns about poaching, suggested imposing stricter limits on the import of hunting trophies. Germany is the EU’s chief importer of African elephant trophies, according to a 2021 report by the Humane Society International.
On Tuesday, Botswana’s president Mokgweetsi Masisi told Bild that further restrictions on hunting would impoverish the African nation due to an explosion in the number of elephants.
Germans should “live together with the animals, in the way you are trying to tell us to”, he told the German daily.
“This is not a joke,” Mr Masisi added.
Conservation has led to a boom in Botswana’s elephant population but also increased man-animal conflict.
The landlocked nation is home to 130,000 elephants, accounting for a third of the world’s tuskers. In recent years, the president said elephant herds have been trampling people and destroying homes and crops.
Facing pressure from local communities to tackle the problem, Mr Masisi’s government in 2019 lifted the prohibition on trophy hunting imposed five years earlier.
Botswana had previously offered to send 8,000 elephants to Angola and 500 to Mozambique to deal with the “overpopulation”.
Mr Masisi said he would “like to offer such a gift to Germany” and “not take no for an answer”.
He criticised the German government and particularly the environment ministry for seeking to ban the import of trophies. “It is very easy to sit in Berlin and have an opinion about our affairs in Botswana. We are paying the price for preserving these animals for the world,” he said.
“We want our elephants to roam freely. The German weather is bad enough for them,” he added. “If you like them so much, then please accept this gift from us.”
The German environment ministry said Botswana had “not yet contacted them on this matter”, Politico reported. However, environment minister Steffi Lemke “signalled that she will accept Botswana’s invitation if an opportunity arises” to inspect wildlife protection.
In March, Botswana had threatened to send 10,000 elephants to Hyde Park in London in protest against a potential UK ban on safari hunters importing trophies.
Lots of threats !
Regards Mark
Elephants in Germany and space! Alternative destinations for Botswana’s unwanted mammals – POLITICO
Gang convicted of training and fighting dogs across Europe (msn.com)
Gang convicted of training and fighting dogs across Europe
Story by Stephanie Wareham
Aman who had a “goldmine” of evidence on his phone of his involvement in a brutal dog fighting ring was one of four people convicted for training and fighting dogs across Europe.
Phillip Harris Ali, 67, who was known as “Dr Death” in the dog fighting world, came to the attention of the RSPCA after concerns were raised about the welfare of a dog at his home in Chigwell, Essex, in August 2021 – and investigators soon uncovered evidence that he was involved in organising fights.
Officers saw four dogs at the property – a pet inside the house and three dogs being kept in kennels in the garden, one of which had scars and scratches on her face – and found a portable kennel and two dog running machines.
It prompted an investigation by the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit, a taskforce which investigates serious and organised animal crime.
When Ali’s home was raided on March 14, 2022, two dogs were seized by the Metropolitan Police and placed into RSPCA care, while dog-fighting paraphernalia, including a slat mill, two treadmills, four break sticks and two flirt poles, were recovered.
A DIY vet kit containing items such as skin staplers, an IV kit, bandages, needles, steroids, antibiotics and painkillers were also found, while a seized mobile phone showed Ali had recorded hours of WhatsApp voice notes describing planning for fights.
Deleted videos on the phone showed graphic dog fights and injuries, while the phone also revealed match reports following organised fights, information relating to travel plans for fights, as well as messages planning fights, talking about training regimes, and discussing injuries dogs had suffered.
The investigation led to warrants being executed at other addresses, including that of Billy and Amy Leadley, aged 38 and 39, in Bambers Green, Takeley, Essex, and Stephen Brown, 56, of Burrow Road, Chigwell, and at a third address in Merseyside.
Sixteen dogs were seized from the Leadleys’ address, including bull breeds thought to have been used for fighting, many being kept in poor conditions in a garage, plus two smaller breeds who were removed on welfare grounds from the house.
One dog was seized from the property in Merseyside.
A slat mill, vet kit and books about dog fighting were all recovered from Brown’s address, while a flirt pole, two slat mills, weighted collars and other weight training equipment, plus four break sticks, were seized from the Leadleys’ property, which also had a dog fighting pit.
The three men and one woman were all convicted by a jury on Wednesday of a string of offences following a four-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, which started on March 4.
Ali, of Manford Way in Chigwell, was found guilty of 10 offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, including four of keeping and/or training a dog for use in a fight, and two of causing a fight.
Billy Leadley, who was also known as GSK or Green Street Kennels, entered a guilty plea part-way through the trial to one offence of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog by failing to provide veterinary treatment for an injury.
The jury also found him guilty of a further nine offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, including keeping a premises for use in fighting, taking part in a fight by refereeing, and keeping and/or training a dog for use in a fight.
His wife Amy Leadley was found guilty of three offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, including keeping a premises for use in fighting.
Brown was found guilty of five offences, including three of keeping and/or training a dog for use in an fight.
At the end of the trial, Amy Leadley entered a guilty plea to one offence of failing to meet the needs of seven dogs in their house, while Billy Leadley entered guilty pleas to two additional charges, one of failing to meet the needs of nine dogs being kept outside, and owning a prohibited type of dog.
Speaking outside court following the verdicts, RSPCA Special Operations Unit investigator chief inspector Ian Muttitt, who gave evidence during the trial, said: “The mobile phone was a goldmine of information and evidence.
“It contained graphic videos and images of brutal dog fights, match reports following organised fights, information relating to some of the men’s travel plans and accommodation for specific fights, as well as messages between a number of the defendants planning fights, talking about training regimes, and discussing the injuries dogs had suffered.
“The information on the phone linked most of the defendants together and we could see that they’d been involved in at least four dog fights; one held in Essex, at the Leadleys’; one in Ireland; and one in France, for which they flew into Bordeaux. The other fight was held at an unknown location in England.”
Mr Muttitt said one of the gruesome match reports showed a dog named Bonnie, who was never located, lost a fight within 25 minutes and suffered two possible broken legs in the brawl.
Another fight, which took place between February 25 and 27, 2022 in Ireland, resulted in the death of a dog named Olivia from her injuries.
Mr Muttitt added that another fight involving two dogs named Dotti and Oscar was planned for the weekend of March 25 and 26, 2022, but it did not go ahead as the dogs were seized by police beforehand.
In a voice message sent by Ali and recovered from a phone, he said he intended to reschedule the fights if he got the dogs back from the RSPCA.
Another voice note, sent by Ali to Brown, said both Oscar and Dotti had been matched for fights later in the year, with prize pots of £3,000 and £5,000 respectively.
Amy and Billy Leadley, Ali and Brown will face Chelmsford Crown Court on June 3 for sentencing.
Regards Mark
Above – Oyster Catcher
Below – Great Tit
Below – Robin
Above – Mute Swan
Below – Grey Heron, and also babies growing fast !
Below – Egret with horse friend
I left it too long to publish the last set, so here are the latest with you within 24 hours.
Think Robin and the beautiful Swan are my favorites.
Regards Pauline and Mark
See all Pauline’s other photos at https://worldanimalsvoice.com/?s=pauline
….. how about now and not in another 10 years ?
Scotland proposes UK’s first ban on caging laying hens – BBC News
From the BBC
Scotland proposes UK’s first ban on caging laying hens
Scotland could become the first part of the UK to ban egg companies from keeping chickens in cages.
The Scottish government has announced a new consultation on outlawing the use of cages to house hens involved in egg production.
Consultation on laying hens – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie said if it was implemented Scotland would be “leading the way in improving the welfare of animals”.
The use of battery cages for birds was banned in the UK in 2012.
But there are still more than 1.1m chickens in Scotland kept in “enriched cages”, which provide birds with more room to nest, roost and scratch than the smaller battery cages.
Caged animal farming: EU aims to end practice by 2027
A survey in 2020 found that almost nine out of 10 people (88%) in the UK believed that using cages in farming was cruel.
And more than three quarters (77%) supported a complete ban on their use.
The Scottish government’s preference is for a ban on the installation of new cages from 2033, followed by a complete ban on keeping birds in enriched cages from 2034.
Ministers believe this option “most effectively balances improvements in bird welfare and ensures sustainability for the laying hen sector”.
But the consultation also seeks views on banning the use of enriched cages from 2030.
And it proposes a non-regulatory option, which would see shops and caterers commit to stop selling and using eggs from birds kept in enriched cages by 2034.
‘Significant progress’
Mr Fairlie said the Scottish government’s most recent programme for government had included commitments “to improve the welfare of laying hens to ensure their confinement does not negatively impact their normal behaviours”.
He added: “Significant progress has already been made in recognising the importance of animal welfare – both in government policies and the demand from the public in the choice they make when shopping.
“If implemented, the ban would be another example of Scotland leading the way in improving the welfare of animals by being the first UK nation to ban the practice.”
The minister said the European Union had put forward legislation to prohibit using cages for all farmed livestock, with Luxembourg and Austria already banning them and others phasing them out.
And he said the Scottish government would also call for evidence, in due course, on the use of cages in the gamebird, quail egg and meat sectors.
Mark Borthwick, World Animal Protection policy manager, welcomed the news and said: “We’re pleased to see Scotland leading the way in consulting on the ban of cages for laying hens which are still in use in the UK.
“Enriched cages for laying hens will be banned in other countries including in Germany in 2025, in Czechia by 2027 and in Slovakia by 2030.
“France has banned the installation of any new cages. The UK is behind, and the other nations are slipping behind even further.
“It is time to end the use of cages which restrict animals’ natural behaviours and cause great suffering.”
‘Leading the way’ ? – 10 YEARS TOO LATE ! – Regards Mark
Hi all;
Am just sending out news links about this today as there is a lot going on – basically, activists got into slaughterhouse re pig killing; and dead baby piglets are left outside a town hall as a result – with the words ‘Pignorant on crime’ sprayed onto the pavement. All to highlight the cruel and suffering endured by pigs.
Regards Mark
Protesters arrested at Cranswick Country Foods in Norfolk – BBC News
Seven held by police following animal rights protest at abattoir (msn.com)
Further update:
The courts and prison system are in chaos here – with everything taking far too long to send REAL criminals through the system – but if you do animal rights, you get charged within hours and it all moves on quickly – how strange !
Six charged after animal rights protest at Cranswick pig abattoir in Watton | ITV News Anglia
We say:
Another Al Mawashi ‘death ship’ expected to ship live animals from East London to Middle East© Provided by Cape Times
Africa –
Info – The Port of East London is located at the mouth of the Buffalo River in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It serves as the only remaining river port in the country. The port has excellent rail and road connections to regions such as the Free State, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal. Additionally, it acts as a vital gateway connecting Africa to the global market
Animal rights groups will greet the Al Mawashi vessel when it docks at East London harbour today and document “animal exploitation”.
In East London, Ban Animal Trading South Africa will document the export and in Cape Town the Coalition to Stop Live Animal Export South Africa will protest at 123 Hertzog Boulevard on the Foreshore.
The Kuwaiti importer of livestock is expected to load live animals and transport the cargo to the Middle East.
Labelled as the “death ship”, the 44-year- old vessel is expected to be anchored at the harbour at about 8am, according to a ship tracking website.
National Council of SPCA (NSPCA) executive director Marcelle Meredith said their inspector and veterinarian travelled to the feedlot in the Eastern Cape, owned by a farming company, in preparation for the arrival of the vessel.
About 60 000 sheep, 1500 cattle and 200 goats will be loaded onto the vessel and taken to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
“They inspected the animals at the feedlot and again serious welfare concerns were identified.
On March 18 a warning was issued for shade and water to be provided for the animals and for injured animals to receive appropriate treatment. Since March 26 seven NSPCA inspectors, the veterinarian and two inspectors from King William’s Town SPCA have been at the feedlot to inspect the animals being held in preparation for loading,” said Meredith.
According to the NSPCA, their understanding was the owner of the farming company was managing the shipment for Al Mawashi to whom he rented the feedlot for the export.
Meredith said on Wednesday the inspectors encountered escalating hostility during a lawful inspection, conducted with a warrant as the company owner allegedly displayed aggressive, discourteous behaviour and demanded the inspectors leave the premises.
“The NSPCA had to request assistance from police. The NSPCA has five prosecution cases against Al Mawashi and (the owner of the farming company). The NSPCA has encountered ongoing animal abuse at this feed lot. During the June 2023 shipment, inspectors thwarted attempts to load sick, pregnant, lame, heavily horned and unshorn sheep. Inspectors further intervened when rams had their horns severed using an angle grinder causing a bloodbath and resulting in 131 rams being confiscated and the arrest of the then feedlot manager.
As a result, the NSPCA met the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform. The department agreed guidelines for the export of animals by sea would be stringently followed for future shipments,” said Meredith.
Al Mawashi declined to comment.
Cape Times
Regards Mark
An animal abusing rust bucket that should have gone to the sea bed decades ago !
Animal rights activists in Nepal staged a protest in front of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) office here on Tuesday to express their concern over the recent death of three tigers kept in a cage at the Parsa National Park.
The protesters led by activist Sneha Shrestha carried placards and banners with messages such as ‘Stop all forms of animal cruelty’ and ‘Tigers belong to the wild; not to captivity, Why triple tiger population, just to cage them?’ at the WWF office in Baluwatar.
Two male tigers and one female tiger were rescued from Chitwan National Park and Thori of Parsa succumbed to ill health within a few weeks of being placed inside a narrow cage at the Parsa National Park.
The tigers in captivity were meant for display to visitors at Parsa National Park without proper ventilation and enough space.
The national park officials said the tigers might have died due to illness as they were kept in a single cage that could barely accommodate two tigers.
“Today’s protest drew over 100 concerned individuals, united in their call for accountability and the cessation of practices that threaten the welfare of captive animals,” remarked animal rights activist Sneha Shrestha.
Nepal is home to 355 Royal Bengal tigers as the Himalayan nation succeeded in more than doubling the tiger population within 12 years.
Regards Mark
Sonoma County voters will be asked this November if they want to restrict the size of animal farms.
The county clerk and registrar of voters approved the measure for the ballot last Wednesday after animal rights and environmental activists gathered more than enough signatures to meet the required 19,746.
The petition drive was led by the group Coalition to End Factory Farming, who want to end large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in Sonoma County.
The initiative calls for a three-year phase-out of one classification of animal farms — large CAFO. It does not affect farms classified by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as medium CAFO or smaller.
According to Coalition spokesperson Samantha Faye in a statement released Monday, the ordinance could affect two dozen sites that classify as Large CAFOs, which she said are only about 2.4% of animal farms in the county.
“Across these two dozen facilities, there are approximately 2.9 million animals confined,” she said. “These facilities disproportionately affect animals, our water, our air quality, our public health, and the sustainability of agriculture in Sonoma County.”
The group uses the EPA definition of CAFO, which differs depending on an animal’s species, their quantities and the way the farm handles animal waste. For example, a duck farm is classified as a “large CAFO” if it confines 5,000 ducks and uses a liquid manure handling system that washes their waste into a holding pond or lagoon on site. If it disposes of manure some other way, it doesn’t become a large CAFO until it has 30,000 ducks.
The potential ordinance would state that CAFOs disproportionately affect low-income and disadvantaged communities, and that the county intends to provide a retraining and employment assistance program for workers at CAFOs to facilitate the transition to safer forms of work.
“We are against the very vague language in the proposed ballot initiative put forth by the Coalition to End Factory Farming, and the group behind them, Direct Action Everywhere,” said Jennifer Reichardt of Sonoma County Poultry, Liberty Ducks in an email. “This will not save family farms. The goal of this initiative is to put farms out of business.”
Reichardt said that if the measure is passed, residents in the Bay Area will have to pay a higher price for meat, dairy, and eggs, because they will need to be imported.
“If it is passed, it will increase greenhouse emissions from trucking in products from further away, increase the cost of food, and shut down local, often multi-generational, businesses. It will put hundreds of employees out of work, and force the import of other meat, dairy, and eggs from outside the county and state,” Reichardt said.
Sonoma is one of four California counties where the highly pathogenic avian flu was detected among commercial flocks last year, prompting the board of supervisors to declare a local state of emergency in December 2023.
The Coalition to End Factory Farming includes animal rights groups, small farm advocates, and Direct Action Everywhere, an organization that, among other things, wants to make legal the right of people to enter places such as factory farms to remove animals they say are in distress. Their activism includes trespassing to obtain video footage inside farms and rescuing animals.
Their co-founder, San Francisco attorney Wayne Hsiung, was arrested in November and sentenced in Sonoma County to 90 days in jail and two years of probation last year for felony trespassing at chicken and duck farms in 2018 and 2019.
At a press conference Monday, Cassie King of Direct Action Everywhere said they watch farms from public property or may use satellite imagery to decide to enter a facility. For example, they may see if birds never go outside in a facility that’s supposedly free range.
“Sometimes they find animals who are on the brink of death, who are clearly ill or injured and can’t get themselves up, can’t get themselves to food and water,” she said. “If they leave them behind, they will surely die, either die slowly from starvation or dehydration. In many cases, facility employees will come and kill the individuals who are too sick or weak to feed themselves to survive.”
Regards Mark
Coming Soon – the Story of Tiger Trapa and the ex Dancing Bears.
Back in 2005 I was heavily involved in starting an organisation which focused on the Stray (Street) Dogs and Cats of Serbia. I set up SAV as a platform for them to get a voice – you can still visit it now at https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/ to see all the work we were involved with as well as our ‘fights for strays’ with the Serbian government.
It was here that Diana first made contact with me; and as well as fighting for strays in Serbia, we decided to take on the challenge of fighting the hunt(ers) in Germany; exposing their underbellies and how hunter killed wildlife was being disposed of.
Diana still works with me and together we have produced a lot of info and data on the dark web system that operates out of China regarding cat torture and killings.
During SAV operations relating to Serbia, I made many wonderful friends involved with helping animals. Two of them are Branka and Pavel; who are devoted to rescuing dancing bears; and providing sanctuary; as well as their story relating to the rescue of Tiger Trapa; which at the start was a very young Tiger being used by a Circus for photographs After just a few months the baby tiger had grown large and so the Circus Director decided there was no way he needed the animal; and so it could be destroyed.
This is where friends Braka and Pavel immediately stepped in to rescue the young tiger from certain death.
So, there are several stories to tell here; and over the last month or so I have been communicating with Branka and Pavel to do a lot more about Tiger Trapa and the ex dancing bears rescues. We are still working together to ‘make stories’ of these issues which we hope you will enjoy reading about in the near future.
In the meantime here a few photographs and a video link relating to the rescue of such beautiful animals by such very good people.
More to come soon;
Regards Mark
Branka with Tiger Trapa after rescue –
Ex Dancing bear Sanctuary video featuring Pavel and Branka) – note the size of the claws ! –
https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/494573
… and enjoying their Easter eggs.
Waking up from hibernation –
US judge in Nevada hands wild horse advocates rare victory in ruling on mustang management plans
In a rare legal victory for wild horse advocates, a judge has ruled U.S. land managers failed to adopt a legal herd management plan or conduct the necessary environmental review before 31 mustangs died during the roundup of more than 2,000 horses in Nevada last summer.
U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du in Reno ordered the Bureau of Land Management to complete a formal herd management plan for the Pancake complex in eastern Nevada by next March 24. She also ordered the agency to reopen an environmental assessment to include the potential impact of roundups on wildfire risks.
Regards Mark
One link from our own site – https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2024/03/08/cn-cat-torture-groups-many-participants-are-shown-to-be-minors-disturbing/
It is getting worrying now – animals killers go on to kill humans. FACT.
A photo of a catapult and a knife was shared in one of the WhatsApp groups
Children using catapults to kill and torture animals before sharing ‘sick’ images on WhatsApp
A Sky News investigation finds hundreds of members of catapult groups on WhatsApp, where pictures and videos of animals killed or injured with the weapons are shared.
Children are filming themselves using catapults to kill and torture animals in a UK-wide network on WhatsApp, Sky News can reveal.
Warning: This story contains images and descriptions readers may find distressing
The youngsters – including some of primary school age – have been sharing footage and photos of their kills in groups on the messaging app.
In some videos, injured animals are shown dying slowly after being shot with hand-held catapults.
In others, young people kick and abuse the animals after shooting them – as well as pose holding their dead bodies.
Sky News has discovered nearly 500 members of catapult groups on WhatsApp, in which more than 350 photos and videos have been shared of animals that have been killed or wounded with the weapons.
The RSPCA described the material in the groups as “horrendous” and said it was an “emerging trend”.
The “sick” attacks have prompted calls for a change in the law as catapults are not classed as an illegal weapon and can be bought and carried legally.
The animals targeted include pigs, deer, pigeons, foxes, squirrels, pheasants, rabbits, geese and ducks – with one charity saying it had seen an “exponential” rise in birds with catapult injuries.
The Swan Sanctuary, which rescues swans and other waterfowl in Shepperton, has around 20 birds in its care with catapult injuries.
Volunteer Danni Rogers says the “devastating” wounds are mostly to the birds’ heads and necks as a result of “pure kill shots”.
X-ray images show ball bearings lodged in the birds, as well as shattered bones from the impact of catapult shots.
Describing the “life-changing, death-causing” injuries, Mr Rogers said he had seen “fractures to facial areas, eyes exploding and windpipes bursting”.
“I get emotional about seeing animals in distress,” he told Sky News.
“(They’re) being targeted for no other reason than just pure evil fun.”
In one incident, Mr Rogers said he was rescuing a swan with catapult injuries when he was made aware that children with catapults were shooting in the area.
He later discovered a dead pigeon – freshly killed by a catapult – next to his vehicle, which had been left as a “trophy”.
Sky News has discovered 489 members – including young children, teenagers and some young adults – across 11 catapult groups on WhatsApp.
In one video shared on a group, a deer lies twitching on the ground, severely injured with a head wound, having just been shot with a catapult by a child.
The young person who attacked the deer then stands over the animal while bringing a hand-held catapult in front of the camera for viewers to see.
Watching it on the floor, the child then kicks the deer, causing it to writhe around in visible distress.
In another video, two teenagers have shot a fox, with one heard saying: “Okay boys… steel shot in the head.” The catapult is then held up to the camera, showing the weapon used to kill the animal.
In one video, a teenager holds up a catapult while filming a Canada goose drowning, having shot it from across a pond. While filming the severely injured bird, the attacker is heard celebrating.
“One up for the new catapult, big Canadian goose, dead as a dodo. Get up!” he says.
Separate footage shows a child of primary school age filming themselves picking up a heavily bleeding squirrel while saying: “Look at that boys, it’s a ball bearing for ya… have that you prick.”
The material in the WhatsApp groups also includes voice notes where children are heard describing their kills.
One boy says in a voice note: “Shot him straight in the head boys, smack bang in the skull, not one bit of kick, nothing, no little flinch before he died.”
In another voice note, a boy says: “Goes straight through the rabbit’s head.”
In a separate voice note, one boy says: “I killed 16 things today lads.”
Geoff Edmond, the RSPCA’s lead wildlife officer, said the catapult killings were an “emerging trend” and children involved were “deliberately and intentionally targeting” animals “for sport”.
“We’re seeing more and more injured animals being reported to us that are being hit by catapults,” he said.
Police in London and Essex were also aware of increasing numbers of incidents, Mr Edmond added.
While it is not illegal to buy or carry a catapult, when it comes to shooting with one, the law has a number of different pieces of legislation protecting animals.
The first is the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which says that causing an animal unnecessary suffering is an offence.
In the material shared on WhatsApp, a number of the animals are abused while still alive, which again is illegal under the Animal Welfare Act.
Another piece of relevant legislation is the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which protects wild birds and some animals in England and Wales.
This act lists weapons that a person must not use to kill an animal, but catapults are not included in that list.
Henry Smith, the vice chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, says parliament urgently needs to look at changing the legislation.
The MP believes the government should look at ensuring there is a “criminal sanction” for “those who use catapults as a weapon to inflict injury and suffering” and look at restricting sales to under-18s.
Catapults are readily available to buy online, including on websites like eBay and Amazon.
In the catapult groups, young people also trade, sell and even make them by hand, while some people even promote knives.
Regards Mark
The same article with photos:
Please sign, support and crosspost this petition.
SIGN: Stop Horrifying Trend of ‘Catapult’ Animal Killing on WhatsApp (ladyfreethinker.org)
Italian fashion company Moncler Group – which owns Moncler and Stone Island – is tied to horrific duck slaughter.
The brand is connected to duck farms and abattoirs in Vietnam that have been exposed by PETA. As seen in the footage, workers mercilessly stab ducks, slit their throats, and cut their feet off while they’re still alive.
Demand That Moncler Group Stop Selling Down
Demand That Moncler Group Stop Selling Down | PETA Australia
Ducks and geese feel fear and pain, just as humans do. They’re happiest with their families and don’t want to spend their life imprisoned on a filthy farm.
A growing number of clothing companies now use entirely animal-free fabrics to create top-notch fashion, and many companies – including Napapijri and ASOS – have ditched feathers. Moncler Group must do the same.
Please use PETA’s new action alert to urge Moncler Group to spare birds suffering and a painful death by banning down.
TAKE ACTION HERE:
Demand That Moncler Group Stop Selling Down | PETA Australia
Thanks for all you do for birds.
Sincerely,
PETA
Regards Mark
Photo – EA.
This is the disgusting suffering to produce an Easter roast.
I am publishing this post as you know, getting a ban on live animal transport has been a personal goal of mine for the last 35 years.
It was sent to me by our campaigner friends at Essere Animali; who are based in Italy.
I wish to help them as much as possible by asking you please to support their petition – the link is provided in this article.
Also, please watch the investigation video provided in their first link below.
This is the disgusting suffering to produce an Easter roast.
Regards Mark
Click here to access all of our Live transport posts:
Search Results for “live animal transport” – World Animals Voice
You can see more about animals carried by sea in our post:
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From Essere Animali
Lamb transports: we have documented more suffering and violations
Watch the investigation video be clicking here:
Sign for a revision of the legislation on animal transport (essereanimali.org)
As has been customary for some years now, a few days before Easter, our investigative team returned to the motorways on the border between Italy and Slovenia to monitor trucks loaded with lambs arriving from Eastern Europe, heading to slaughterhouses in Tuscany, Lazio and Puglia.
On the monitored vehicles, coming from Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Poland, several problems and violations of the rules were once again found: overcrowding, presence of unweaned animals on vehicles not suitable to feed them and transported for a longer period than that required by the regulations, ventilation and watering systems not working, inadequate or unreachable drinking bottles for all lambs, insufficient space above the animals’ heads to be able to travel in a natural position.
And all this for long and exhausting journeys, which can last up to 30 hours.
This activity was carried out in collaboration with Animals’ Angels, Enpa and the Animal Welfare Foundation.
Of the 20 trucks targeted by the associations, 8 were checked by the police and 4 received fines of thousands of euros.
Already on the first day, a truck was fined €6,500 due to malfunctioning ventilation and drinking system and document irregularities. The situation was such that the truck was not fit to continue its journey.
OUR REQUESTS
The revision of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 “on the protection of animals during transport and related operations” is a unique opportunity for the European Commission and the EU co-legislators to ensure greater and better protection of animals and to take action on the most serious issues in order to spare animals avoidable suffering.
That is why we ask:
an immediate ban on the export of live farmed animals to third countries;
limiting travel times for the transport of live animals to a maximum of eight hours and 4 hours for poultry and rabbits (which must be transported in specific containers);
the prohibition of the transport of animals:
• unweaned;
• in an advanced state of pregnancy (who have exceeded 40% of the gestation state);
• at the end of their productive life;
the prohibition of the transport of live animals if the expected outside temperatures are below 5°C or above 25°C, subject to clear definition of the following parameters:
• specific species – and categories – conditions for the suitability of animals for transport;
• minimum and maximum outdoor temperatures;
• availability of space;
• availability and method of administration of food and water;
to limit intra-EU maritime transport as much as possible and to allow it only where it is strictly necessary, with the suitability of the vessels approved by an EU Authority that verifies compliance with strict technical and mandatory requirements;
to develop a clear definition of ‘journey time’, which is to be understood as the time that elapses from the ‘start of the journey’ to the ‘end of the journey’, including the loading and unloading of animals. In the case of sea transport, the “journey time” includes the time that the animals spend along the road journey from the farm to the port and from the port to the “final destination”, as well as the time that the animals spend on the boats and during embarkation and disembarkation operations;
the reduction and replacement of the transport of live animals with that of meat and carcasses, and seeds and embryos, as also recommended by FVE, OIE, and EFSA.
We also call for stricter enforcement of EU legislation, which must also be accompanied by more controls and inspections and strict penalties for infringements.
Continue reading at:
Sign for a revision of the legislation on animal transport (essereanimali.org)
Inside another truck there was a lamb unable to stand on its legs, which was entrusted to the associations. The lamb is now under the care of a veterinarian. Again, the truck was not fit to continue its journey.
In December 2023, the European Commission published a proposal to revise the legislation on the transport of live animals. The European elections in June are a unique opportunity to continue the work: it is crucial that the new Parliament and the new Commission commit to better regulation and controls.
It is equally important that the Ministry of Health in Italy is ready to give precise indications that make controls more efficient throughout the country and that our government works with other member states to improve legislation at European level.
And this umpteenth investigation, with the sanctions that have arisen and the great media attention it is generating, is one more tool to make the problem visible and bring it once again to the tables of the institutions!
Ps: this transport monitoring activity has once again brought to light a very serious situation for animals. A serious reform of this practice by the EU is urgently needed. Ask yourself:
From all of us; thank you for your support.
Image – Act4Wildlife
28 March 2024
On 26 March the Council of the EU endorsed the revised Environmental Crime Directive, strengthening penalties for behaviour negatively impacting the environment and wild animals. The Directive provides welcomed improvements to the current legal framework, but calls for stronger and more specific measures to be adopted by Member States when transposing the legislation.
Clarification of offences regarding animals
While the previous Directive addressed poaching and illegal trade of wild animals as offences, the new legislation provides additional information on their scope. Online trade is now expressly covered. The legislation also gives additional information on the species covered, detailing the lists of threatened species that should be considered. In line with the previous Directive, the law provides an exemption when the conduct concerns “a negligible quantity of specimens”. However, the new text specifies that elements must be taken into account when assessing this condition, including the conservation status of the species. We therefore ask Member States to enforce strict sanctions for offences concerning species threatened by wildlife trade or other circumstances affecting their populations, even when such offences concern only one or a few individuals.
Introduction of specific sanctions
The previous Directive provides minimal guidance on the penalties that should sanction the offences listed, providing that they must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”. The revised Directive is more specific, introducing sanctions for both natural and legal persons. In practice, Member States will have to ensure that the maximum sanctions for offences related to poaching and trading of animals are no less than three years imprisonment for natural persons and a fine corresponding to 3% of the total worldwide turnover for legal persons. These sanctions remain insufficient in light of the negative impact such behaviour has on biodiversity, conservation and animal welfare, but it is a significant step forward.
Management of confiscated animals
Although not legally binding, one recital of the legislation provides that Member States should ensure that frozen and confiscated proceeds and instrumentalities are appropriately managed, in line with their nature. In other words, Member States are encouraged to adopt further provisions to guarantee the welfare of confiscated animals. We call on Member States to further consider confiscated assets to cover the costs for the maintenance of these animals in appropriate conditions, at minimum during the proceedings.
Besides these improvements, we highlight the ambitions of the new Directive to tackle offences related to the environment as a whole. We hope that this revised framework will significantly deter harmful behaviour resulting in reduced degradation, improved environmental health and better living conditions for wild animals.
Regards Mark
World Animals Voice 