Day: April 20, 2019

General News

USA: Don’t Kill Adorable Bear Cub Just for Being ‘Too Friendly’ – URGENT Petition – Please Sign.

USA-Flagge

 

SIGN: Don’t Kill Adorable Bear Cub Just for Being ‘Too Friendly’

WAV – We need to get as many signatures on this petition as we can very quickly. Please add your name NOW and crosspost to all contacts. Thanks – Mark.

 

Petition:

Don’t Kill Adorable Bear Cub Just for Being ‘Too Friendly’

Posted by Natalia Chung

 

petition keyboard

Petition Link: https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-dont-kill-adorable-bear-cub-just-for-being-too-friendly/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email

 

Petition Target: California Department of Fish and Wildlife

A sweet bear cub may lose her life because she innocently approached a group of snowboarders in Truckee, California.

According to News 4, the cub, whose mom may have died, was looking for food when she discovered newfound friends on the slopes. The bear was extremely friendly, and a video of the encounter is going viral on social media.

This behavior is out-of-character for most bears, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has taken the cub in for evaluation.

Soon, they will determine if the bear will be sent to a sanctuary or put down.

“They were feeding her, handing her sandwiches, in other words taming her…she’s old enough, almost, to be alone, but she’s still dependent. And now, she’s dependent on people,” said Ann Bryant, executive director for the Bear League, a non-profit dedicated to keeping bears safe and wild in their natural habitat, to News 4.

But a helpless, likely-orphaned bear cub doesn’t deserve a death sentence just for approaching humans.

Sign this petition urging The California Department of Fish and Wildlife to spare this innocent cub and send her to a sanctuary where she can gain independence, roam free, and live a safe and happy life.

Farm Animals

EU: the strongest agricultural lobby

 

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Unbelievable: The power of the agricultural lobby!! – they want to end the European animal welfare initiative ‘End The Cage Age’!

end the cage pg

https://help.four-paws.org/de-DE/kaefighaltung-ist-ein-albtraum

What happens when people in Europe want to end the terrible animal torment in the stables?
The big agro-industry starts an attack. Only just a horrible meat scandal shocked Europe, so “rotten meat” from Poland was also processed in school kitchens and restaurants.
However, such news quickly disappears from the media, as does the meat scandal from Brazil, which shook the whole world (The world had 2017, a new rotten meat scandal. This time it is kuked meat from Brazil. For years, spoiled beef should have been partially treated with carcinogenic substances and resold).

The agricultural lobby is powerful, and in order to keep meat consumed, the EU has boosted meat consumption with 15 million euros.

Hühner

More than 300 million animals in European agriculture suffer from cages. The European Union is the second largest meat producer worldwide! Not only that animal rights activists are no longer allowed to draw attention to the cruel conditions on farms, now the agricultural lobby is launching a counter campaign against a European citizens’ initiative calling for more animal welfare in the stables. Incredible, is not it? More and more outrages of mass animal husbandry are being exposed, but consumers are not supposed to know this, as are the many meat scandals.

schwein in Mastjpg

“We do not need a self-proclaimed stable police to control animal welfare”! “

No! these words do not come from China, where the government criticized animal welfare organizations that drew attention to the terrible situations with terrible images from the slaughterhouses for dogs, but these words come from the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Germany, Julia Klöckner.

julia-kloeckner-108~

Only pictures of animal rights activists or undercover researchers, show that, where apparently many people have looked away. Whether farmers, veterinarians or the traders all of them benefit from animal suffering. These are pictures that you do not even get to see in a horror movie.

The European Union is the second largest meat producer worldwide! Instead of less meat, more is produced worldwide in 2017, about 324.8 million tons of meat.

Millions of tons of meat are produced here and exported abroad. Factory farming leaves behind terrible consequences in this country, which are supported by taxpayers’ money. Meat from Germany – in demand worldwide – while cheap meat from other countries is imported – more crazy it can not be!

The meat business is booming!

The meat industry is making all sorts of efforts to grow, as the Tönnies example shows, although a message from the meat industry in May 2017 confirmed that demand for pork in Germany and the EU is shrinking.
Why slaughter more pigs then? The meat industry also has an answer to this: exports to third countries increased by 35 percent for pork and over 20 percent for slaughter by-products. The main reason for this is a strong increase in deliveries to China and, to a lesser extent, to other countries, especially Asian ones.

Lämmleine verpacktn

EU Agriculture Commissioner Hogan promised farm animal owners to help open up new export markets and pointed to market voyages to Vietnam and Indonesia. In early November 2016, he visited Turkey, pointing to further trips to West Africa, Canada, Iran and the Persian Gulf in the first half of 2017.

More criminal is not possible: eggs from Ukraine and Argentina, poultry from Brazil and Thailand. Germany imports eggs to the Ukraine and they sell the eggs to Indonesia. Beef from Argentina, Paraguay and also from the USA, while China prefers meat “Made in Germany”. What is not consumed here then goes to Africa.

So Germany exports meat to China, but gets meat from Thailand. While in Latin America more and more rainforests and savannas are being burned to feed the animals in Germany for the intensive cultivation of soybean for animal feed, we also receive meat from Brazil and Argentina.

But we do not participate! We need 1 million valid signatures to ask the European Commission to end this unworthy treatment of farmed animals.

Gänse66

Please sign the petition (if not done yet): https://help.four-paws.org/de-DE/kaefighaltung-ist-ein-albtraum

This Video below is an undercover footage from year 2018 in a Polish farm shows workers smashing baby chicks on metal to kill them. However, these practices are not just a “specialty” from Poland, almost everywhere in Europe the Farma mafia uses these killing methods.

https://netzfrauen.org/2019/02/05/agrarlobby-2

My comment: It is fact that supply and demand no longer regulate the price, it is produced in hell and what we do not want goes abroad. The farmers pollute the landscape and soil the groundwater. Citizens should regulate this with their money. And that’s with help of the subsidies.

Therefore: instead of subventions penalties for animal cruelty, extermination of birds and bees, environmental and water poisoning are urgently required.

After such a report, one thinks spontaneously of the victims of the Easter.
We celebrate Easter, because everything started with a betrayal – that’s what the church means! The Father sent his son down to earth to save the people … and he was betrayed … we all certainly know the story!
We betray the animals every day, but these days the most, and many even with a clear conscience, because they call it tradition.
We call it mass murder and do something against this collective madness. We leave all the animals whether pigs, cattle, poultry, rabbits, lambs …. in their peace and sign the petition against the cage attitude.

schönes lämmlein jpg

Happy Easter to all, wishes Venus

Farm Animals, General News, Uncategorized

EU: ‘Life’ On An EU Rabbit Facility.

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We are supposed to have EU so called ‘Politicians’ to address such problems as these. This May EU citizens are expected to vote for new Members of the European Parliament (MEP’s). The animals in these photos have no voice; except via us, and if they do not get support from EU politicians, people that ARE supposed to be addressing and approving animal welfare in the EU; then one has to ask if anyone is worthy of your vote in May. When, and only when they address such issues as this, will they be worth even considering.

Wonder why the UK wants to get out of Europe ?

 

Over one billion rabbits are slaughtered annually for meat worldwide; around 50% of these are produced in China. Rabbits are the second most farmed species in the European Union with an estimated 330 million rabbits slaughtered for meat ever year; the majority of which are produced in Italy, Spain and France (FAOSTAT, 2014).

Nearly all rabbits farmed for meat and fur are kept in small, barren cages where their natural behaviour is severely restricted. Rabbits in intensive farming systems experience very bad welfare

Good animal welfare depends on three components:

  • Physical well-being
  • Mental well-being
  • Natural living.

In intensive rabbit farms, all three of these are compromised by confinement in barren cages, unsuitable social environments, injury and disease and through rough handling at slaughter.

Rabbits are the fourth most farmed animal in the world and most are kept in barren environments, usually in cages. In the European Union the majority are housed in tiny wire cages within large sheds containing 500 to 1000 breeding does (females) and 10 to 20 thousand rabbits reared for meat. Although farmed rabbits are domesticated, they have the behaviours and motivations of their wild counterparts, and many of these are thwarted in intensive systems.

Currently there is no species-specific legislation protecting the welfare of farmed rabbits in the EU. A few countries within the EU (Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands) have species-specific requirements for rabbit farming but they produce only a very small percentage of rabbit meat farmed in the EU.

Inadequate space and cage height

Young rabbits reared for meat (referred to as “fattening rabbits”) are typically caged in groups with 450 to 600cm² space each in the EU; this is less than the area of an ordinary A4 sheet of paper. Adult breeding does are typically housed singly, in cages that are just 60 to 65cm long, 40 to 48cm wide and 30 to 35cm high.

Cages are simply not acceptable. With barely any space, rabbits cannot adopt normal postures such as lying stretched out, sitting and standing with their ears erect (species typical “look out” posture) or rearing up to explore their surroundings. They cannot move normally or comfortably, and some don’t even have enough space to perform a single hop. This is bad for their mental well-being, and the lack of exercise can also lead to weakened bones.

Barren environment

The majority of farmed rabbits are reared in barren environments, with just a drinker and feeder and a wire mesh floor. This does not allow for natural behaviours such as digging, hiding and foraging, and leads to abnormal behaviours such as over grooming and repetitive gnawing on the bars of the cage.

In the wild rabbits spend much of their time feeding on grass and other plants, eating lots of high-fibre roughage. In contrast, most farmed rabbits are fed a pellet-only diet which is eaten in a fraction of the time. This leads to boredom and frustration.

Unsuitable social environments

Rabbits are social animals and usually live in stable groups in the wild. Serious aggression is rare once a stable hierarchy has been established.

Fattening rabbits are usually housed in pairs or groups, but they are kept in very close confinement so are unable to move away from each other. This may be particularly stressful for rabbits as they get larger and have even less space, and when they start to reach sexual maturity they can become more aggressive.

Breeding rabbits are usually kept in individual cages. This denies them opportunity for natural social behaviours, such as grooming. However, the rabbits are kept right next to each other in the cages, which also stops them from being able to move away from each other. In the wild, females keep their young in isolated nests, far away from the rest of the group, so this close proximity to other females is likely to be very stressful to them.

Singly housed rabbits show more abnormal stereotypical behaviour, such as over grooming and gnawing at the bars of their cage, than those housed in groups. Breeding rabbits can be housed successfully in groups if they are given sufficient space and adequate nesting facilities to avoid aggression problems.

Injuries and disease

The mortality rates for commercially farmed rabbits are very high. Typically, 100 – 120% of breeding does die or are culled and replaced each year, and 15 to 30% of fattening rabbits die before slaughter (which happens at 8-12 weeks old). Respiratory and intestinal diseases are the main reason for such high mortalities and cause acute pain.

Rabbit cages are made of wire and sometimes have metal sheet sides. The floor is often made entirely from bare wire, which is uncomfortable to stand on. Breeding male and females kept on bare wire often develop sores on their footpads and hocks. These sores can cause chronic pain and are a common reason for culling.

Does are commonly given hormone treatments to control their reproductive cycles and get them ready to breed at the same time. They are artificially inseminated within 11 days (on average) after giving birth to their last litter, and have been bred to produce larger litters. Their bodies are put under huge strain from this intensive reproduction cycle. It can lead to loss of body condition, metabolic diseases, and increase the risk of spinal deformities.

Slaughter

In the EU commercially slaughtered rabbits are usually electrically stunned before slaughter. Research has shown that rabbits may be frequently incorrectly stunned. Rabbits are hung individually upside down for the electrical stunning which is stressful and may cause pain and/or injury if their weight is not supported properly. This is a particular problem for larger rabbits.

There are alternatives to farming rabbits in cages, which can improve the welfare of farmed rabbits.

Higher welfare alternatives for rabbits

In some countries there are alternatives to barren-cage farming of rabbits, which can improve the welfare of farmed rabbits. However, there are still problems associated with these systems, as it is intensive production and research is ongoing.

There is national legislation setting minimum standards for rabbits in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In these countries, barren cages are banned for fattening rabbits and breeding does. In Belgium, ‘enriched’ cages are also banned for fattening rabbits and will be banned for breeding does from 2021, and pen systems are the minimum standard.

Information provided by ‘Compassion In World Farming’ – London, England.

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/rabbits/rabbit-welfare/

A rabbit lies at the bottom of a cage, surrounded by feces

A rabbit lies at the bottom of a cage, surrounded by faeces

Spain,

Rabbit cages hover above excrement on breeding farm

Rabbit cages hover above excrement on breeding farm

Spain,

Rabbit in a breeding cage

Rabbit in a breeding cage

Spain,

Baby rabbit born on industrial breeding farm

Baby rabbit born on industrial breeding farm

Spain,

Rabbits in breeding cages

Rabbits in breeding cages

Spain,

Rabbits in breeding cages

More Rabbits in breeding cages

Spain,

Baby rabbits born on industrial breeding farm

Rabbits born on an industrial breeding farm

Spray painted rabbit confined in a breeding cage

Spray painted rabbit confined in breeding cage.

Rabbits in breeding cages

Rabbits in breeding cages.

Excrement below rabbit cages on industrial farm

Excrement below cages on a breeding farm.

Rabbit with face injury

Rabbit with face injury.

Rabbits and young in breeding cages

Rabbits and young in breeding cages.

Rabbits in breeding cages

Rabbits in breeding cages.

Rabbits in cages hover above excrement on breeding farm

Rabbits in cages above excrement on breeding farm.

Dead rabbits piled and bagged in a bin

Dead rabbits in garbage bin.

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Below – The ‘Masters of Europe’ – those who Enforce the Regulations !!!

Juncker küsst eine Glazepg

Juncker und Merkelg

tusk hell

Oh no — not above the rabbit excrement pile – I thought you had regulations to prevent that !

 

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General News, Vivisection

England: Rabbits given cholera and fatal injections in ‘painful’ university experiments.

England

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Rabbits given cholera and fatal injections in ‘painful’ university experiments

Hundreds of rabbits were allegedly subjected to to painful experiments in British universities last year, a campaign group has said.

Some of the creatures were infected with cholera, others given fatal injections, while some had their eyes sewn shut.

Scientists are becoming increasingly secretive about the tests, and the number prepared to release figures almost halved this year, researchers found.

Oxford University, which in 2017 carried out 236,429 tests on animals, refused for first time in four years to reveal how many rabbits it used last year.

Edinburgh, Cambridge, University College London and 15 others also declined to give details, according to anti-vivisection group Animal Justice Project (AJP)

The campaign group, which uncovered details of some experiments from research papers, called for more transparency on “out-of-date and futile” tests on “Easter bunnies”.

It believes around 26 experiments are conducted every day on rabbits in the UK, many in academic institutions.

AJP alleged that last year:

  • Sixty baby rabbits were infected with cholera at Nottingham University, causing diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration. They were believed to have suffered extreme thirst, low blood pressure and irregular heartbeat causing death if “humane termination” was not carried out.
  • At Liverpool University 18 rabbits had bacteria injected into their spines every other day for 10 days to induce fungal disease. Some died prematurely.
  • At University College London researchers carried out “traumatic” eye surgery, injecting drugs into rabbits’ eyes and sewing them shut. Six rabbits were operated on for eye implants and left for a month before being killed.
  • Sheffield University led on a study in India in which synthetic membranes were glued to one eye of 14 rabbits and the eye sewn shut. Ten animals were left with ocular lesions and eye congestion. “These rabbits would like have felt severe pain and burning to their eyes while confined to their barren metal cage or worse, restraining stocks,” AJP reported
  • At Leicester University at least 64 rabbits were killed in an experiment funded by the British Heart Foundation. In multiple experiments by Kings College London rabbits’ heart arteries were injured before they were fed high-fat diets so researchers could investigate plaque build-up

 

Durham University used 264 rabbits, Leicester used 68, Sheffield 59 and Nottingham 40, according to AJP, which also claimed that Liverpool University refused to answer a freedom of information (FOI) request but told a member of the public it used 122 rabbits.

Latest government figures show that 9,498 rabbits were used in labs in 2017, and AJP said more than half of all animal experiments take place at universities.

The group, which asks them all each year through FOI laws about animals used in research, said this year numbers of institutions being open almost halved, from 46-57 usually to 29 out of 70.

The number refusing almost quadrupled, from 5 to 19, many promising to put details online.

AJP said a replacement test for rabbits had been accepted by regulators since 2010 but its use was not compulsory by law.

Claire Palmer, group founder, said: “Animal experiments like those we have uncovered will be unpalatable to many. Rabbits are a much-loved animal who some share their home with. Disturbingly, universities just won’t tell us what is happening to them.

“They refuse to make information public when asked, but get round it by saying they will put figures online.”

Campaigners staged a “die-in” at Nottingham University, with members dressed as the White Rabbit from Alice In Wonderland. A similar protest is planned at the University of Liverpool on Good Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the universities, Wendy Jarrett, chief executive of Understanding Animal Research, denied they were being secretive.

She said: “Since the publication of the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK in 2014, organisations that carry out, fund or support research using animals have been increasingly transparent about their animal research. UK universities in particular are very open about the research they carry out using animals, with most providing facts, figures, case studies and photos on their websites.

“The AJP’s own figures show that of the 62 universities they contacted this year, 29 provided the information requested and 31 said that they would publish the information on their websites. It is hard to see how AJP can say these universities are being secretive. A few UK universities use rabbits in research, but rabbits overall make up 0.3 per cent of the animal research in this country, and only a quarter of that takes place in universities.

“If alternatives to animal research are available and have been validated by regulators, it is illegal to use an animal and the research will not receive a licence from the Home Office. So rabbits are only used for safety testing, for instance to check that a vaccine will not cause fever in babies and children, when there is no non-animal alternative available.”

University tests on all animals in 2017

University of Edinburgh: 225,366

University College London: 214,570

University of Cambridge: 157,975

King’s College London: 139,679

University of Manchester: 104,863

Imperial College London: 97,787

University of Sheffield: 83,299

University of Newcastle: 53,158

University of Cardiff: 46,728

University of Glasgow: 46,045

University of Birmingham: 45,361

Queen Mary University London: 40,421

University of Dundee: 33,110

University of Exeter: 27,237

University of Nottingham: 25,248

University of Leeds: 22,725

University of Aberdeen: 15,268

Royal Veterinary College: 11,181

University of East Anglia: 11,082

University of Stirling: 9,209

University of Liverpool: 8,396

A Nottingham University spokesman said: “Animal studies are still important where animal-free models cannot mimic the sheer complexity of the body.  “The cholera study was undertaken for the World Health Organization and government of India to develop treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections. Demonstrating it worked successfully in rabbits was a vital step towards a new cure for a disease which affects millions of the poorest people worldwide.

“We proactively publish all details of our animal testing programme on our public webpages and respond to all Freedom of Information requests.”

An Oxford University spokeswoman said they refuse Freedom of Information requests only on data already due for release.

“The university also releases all animal testing data, by species and severity, every single year. This is usually in the autumn,” she added.

A Liverpool spokeswoman said its work had led to new drugs being approved, adding: “The university uses rabbits in research to help develop new antimicrobial agents for babies, children and adults for diseases that currently have few, if any, treatment options. Rabbit models are used to identify safe and effective dosages of new drugs that can then be studied in clinical trials.”

A Sheffield spokesperson said its research contributed to groundbreaking developments in treating major diseases, and it was committed to replacing animals.”However, we are not yet at the point where these techniques can entirely replace the need for animals in research.”

A spokeswoman for UCL said it was very open on the animal research it does and its commitment to use alternative techniques where possible. “Practically all the drugs available today have been discovered or developed due to animal research, and we would not have vaccines, cancer drugs, blood pressure medication, insulin, or inhalers without this work. Research using animals continues to be necessary,” she said.

The Independent has also contacted Leicester and Kings College London for comment.

Source:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/animal-testing-universities-rabbits-chlorea-injections-a8876936.html?fbclid=IwAR1D2QqnRe9Wp6jN1DRJRGPMGt5PEr8XVg4TJk1tlDRzRFWqfxknuL8Rjww

 

WAV Comment: If this is happening in ‘my’ country, England; which has pretty good standards for animal welfare, then what is going on behind closed doors in other nations also ?

Regards Mark.

 

General News, Hunting

England: New Figures Show Lots of Illegal Hunting Despite Official Ban.

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Horses and hounds on a hunt

New set of figures highlight shocking scale of illegal fox hunting that’s taking place in the British countryside in spite of ban.

The League Against Cruel Sports has gathered 284 reports of illegal hunting activity and 43 reports of fox kills by hunts, from November when the season opened, to now, at its close.

Hunting an animal welfare remain key political issues in Westminster, with the focus now on the need to strengthen the Hunting Act.

Chris Luffingham, director of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “These figures sadly show the scale of the killing still taking place in the British countryside by fox hunts.

Turning the tide

“We know these reports are just the tip of the iceberg, with fox hunts killing indiscriminately across the UK and lying about their bloodthirsty activities to cover up their crimes.

“However, I believe the tide is turning, and political parties are now recognising the need to take animal welfare much more seriously and put in place stronger legislation to protect British wildlife.”

cub

Separately, 129 cases of fox cub hunting were received by the League between the beginning of August and the end of October, which is when they are typically targeted. This is a practice where the hunts’ hounds are trained to kill in the run-up to the fox hunting season – by being let loose in woodland to target fox cubs and literally tear them to pieces.

The figures were compiled from the League’s Animal Crimewatch service, which consists of reports from members of the public and from the League’s professional investigators, as well as from evidence gathered from photos and videos shared on social media.

Strengthening laws

Concerns over the fact that fox hunting is still taking place are getting a lot more exposure in Parliament.

A parliamentary debate on wildlife crime in mid-March led to calls by cross-party MPs for the Hunting Act to be strengthened.

It followed a recent review of the policing of illegal fox hunting arranged by Cheshire’s Police and Crime commissioner David Keane, late last year, which highlighted the challenges posed by the current legislation, and proposed strengthening it.

Elsewhere, the Scottish Government announced plans in 2018 to strengthen hunting laws in Scotland, reducing the number of hounds in a pack to two, and introducing measures that would prevent hunts using the ‘trail’ hunting deception used in England and Wales.

Animal welfare

The National Trust has also come under pressure recently to stop issuing licences allowing the hunts to access its land.

The number of hunts issued licenses in the 2018/19 hunting season was down to 24 compared with 67 in 2016/17, due to pressure from the League. This fell to 20 after four hunts had their licences withdrawn this season following allegations of illegal hunting.

Chris Luffingham said: “The issue of animal welfare has never been such an important issue for the public and political parties and it is becoming vital to electoral success.

“We are calling for the hunting ban to be strengthened with the introduction of prison sentences for those caught illegally hunting.

“We need a proper deterrent to stop the barbaric activities of the hunts and we also need to close down the loop holes that allow hunts to get around the law.”

This Author 

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from the League Against Cruel Sports. Any suspected illegal hunting activity can be reported to the League’s Animal Crimewatch service. Alternatively, phone in confidence on 01483 361 108 or email LACS Crimewatch.

 

Source:

https://theecologist.org/2019/apr/18/scale-fox-hunting-killing

Regards Mark.