Philip (CEO CIWF) and Mark (WAV) have known each other, and campaigned for better farm animal welfare, for about 30 years.

As we are now covering a lot on this site about intensive pig farming and swine flu / fever; maybe it is a good time to show you one of Phil’s investigative reports when he was at one of the worlds biggest pig farms in Mexico.

I hope that it will broaden your experiences and knowledge about the industry; and show that local human residents are also being greatly affected health wise by these facilities.  

Here is the info from Phil’s blog:

Ground Zero

I visited a community that was at the forefront of the swine flu pandemic. It is almost impossible to describe the absolute stench that is emitted from one of the world’s biggest pig farms in South East Mexico.

On our journey, I saw at least 15 large-scale farms littered throughout the area. Despite the stench, smell pollution is the least of the problems presented here. We travelled to a town called La Gloria to investigate why some locals fell ill. They were displaying symptoms of what they believed to be swine flu. I spoke to locals who claimed their drinking water had been contaminated.

To see more on how intensive pig farming effected the locals, watch my latest film.

 

I also worked with the team at CIWF (England) when I was doing a lot re Serbian animal welfare.  Although not pigs, the conditions on some Serbian farms we became involved with were alarming to say the least.  Animals kept in muck and filth way above their hooves; conditions which are certainly not compliant with EU standards for keeping animals.

Here are a few links and some photographs relating to some of the posts I did on farm animal conditions in Serbia.  I think the photographs say it all really.

When we confronted the Serbian government Ministry about all this; they said that everything at the farm was ‘ok’ and that we should not keep hassling them ! – we don’t think it looks ok; do you ?

Swine Flu – Dirty Farms – Human Health Conditions – Ignorant EU – Is there a link ? – I think so.

https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/2010/11/26/serbia-farm-animal-conditions-update-261110-formal-statement-on-conditions-now-provided-by-ciwf-uk/

https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/2010/11/23/serbia-november-2010-conditions-ok-at-a-farm-according-to-serbian-veterinary-ministry-and-complaining-campaigners-dont-pressure-us/

Serbia is an EU ‘Candidate Country’; and things such as what we have exposed should be taken into full review by the EU before Serbia is allowed to join as a member state.

 

Personally, I don’t really think the EU is interested in what we expose; just as they are not really interested in the evidence taken by Lesley (Eyes on Animals – Netherlands – https://www.eyesonanimals.com/  ) at the Turkish border re live animals being shipped from the EU.

Watch one of Lesley’s videos here:

 

We live in hope that the EU will wake up; but accept that they like to remain the sleeping club that they are.

All of our welfare groups across Europe are working together as a combined force to try and make farm animal welfare better for the animals – we will never give up until there are changes; no matter how long it takes.

Regards Mark

Above – Mark Touring In the Netherlands with CIWF about farm animal welfare.

Below – Live Export Demo – Brussels, Belgium

At home – England – In memory of my darling ‘Golda’

– she listened to my gripes every day !.

 

Note:

‘Serbian Animals Voice’ (SAV) was a site set up and dedicated to getting results for strays in Serbia.  The site is still active; with all our campaign work broken down into monthly sectors.  There is a massive selection of photographs from our archives.  We have now moved on to form this site, WAV; to cover global animal rights issues.  All posts from this site are now being posted onto SAV also.

Visit the SAV site at   https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/ 

The Bad …..

 

The Good.

Serbia has some great activists !

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-swineflu/germany-gives-free-rein-to-boar-hunters-to-contain-swine-fever-risk-idUSKCN1G51CI

 

Germany gives free rein to boar hunters to contain swine fever risk

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany issued a decree on Wednesday to allow hunters to shoot wild boar year-round to stop the animals, which can carry African swine fever, from passing the deadly infection on to farm pigs.

While no case has yet been detected in Germany’s wild boar population, the spread of the disease in eastern Europe is causing immense concern in Germany, whose pork industry has seen huge growth in exports to countries including China.

A government spokesman said the cabinet’s decision was taken to bring about a “significant reduction” in the wild boar population and contain the risk of farm pigs being infected.

The cabinet also agreed on protection measures which would kick in if a case of swine fever was reported in Germany, such as the creation of security zones around affected areas and mandatory disinfection of animal transportation vehicles.

 

WAV Comment –

See paras 258 to 274 of this following link for further detail:

http://animaltransportguides.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Animal-Transport-Guides-Cattle-2017-1.pdf

 

Disinfection of transport vehicles should always be undertaken after every journey according to EU Reg 1/2005 – otherwise disease could be spread from (possibly diseased) animals that have left the truck, to new animals being loaded onto it.  Its called ‘Biosecurity’ – although in reality, there is little security of disease control.    This is not something ‘new’ from a government; it should be a routine standard for livestock hauliers !

Are we saying that normally German hauliers do not disinfect according to 1/2005 normally ? – seems that way – so according to 1/2005, they should be prosecuted as they are not enforcing EU regulations ! – Does the German government care ? – of course not.

So, blame the wild boar and hunt them all instead.  Much easier to kill rather than disinfecting livestock transporters which haul (infected ?) livestock all over the EU.  Livestock biosecurity and disease control has always been a big issue of mine and I have raised the issue many times with the EU – response – the EU does not give a toss; as with anything associated with live animal transport – this is why EU live animal transport is in such a mess.

– Mark.

 

The virus, which causes African swine fever, is harmless to humans and other animals. But for wild boar and farm pigs, the disease is deadly in almost all cases within 10 days. There is no vaccine against African swine fever.

 

Germany, a major European Union pig producer, has watched with growing concern as the highly contagious disease has spread westward across Europe. A reported case could trigger mass culls.

Animal protection group PETA criticized the cabinet’s decision, saying the government was subordinating animal welfare to economic interests.

 “The de facto cancelling of the off-season will cause great animal suffering, because the young are dependent on their mother during the rearing phase,” PETA said in a statement. “Countless piglets will starve to death.”

Infected wild boars have been found in the Czech Republic and Poland, while backyard pigs with the disease were found in Romania in January.

German farmers have called for 70 percent of the country’s relatively large wild boar population to be culled.

 

WAV – why don’t they (German farmers) call for tightening of biosecurity rules in transporters hauling live animals (ie pigs) all over the country and to other parts of Europe.  A kind of link with Bovine TB in the UK – probably not badgers spreading, but the fact that TB infected livestock is transported all over the UK in trucks that may not be disinfected after each consignment.  Again; blame and kill Badgers – it is much easier than enforcing rules for hauliers ! – Mark.

German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt has rejected a plea from the farming association to refrain from imposing an export ban if African swine fever was identified in wild boars, saying Germany was not in a position to bypass EU rules.