Month: July 2019

Farm Animals, General News

Switzerland says: “No factory farming”

 

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The popular initiative against mass animal husbandry is likely to come about.
Animal welfare and environmental organizations have collected 120,000 signatures within a year, Campaign leader Meret Schneider said in an interview with the newspaper “Blick”.
The initiators want to submit the signatures to the Federal Chancellery in September.

The collected signatures would now be certified by the communities, said campaign manager Meret Schneider of the animal rights organization Sentience Politics.
Necessary for the realization of the initiative are 100’000 valid signatures. The collection period lasts until 12th December.

The popular initiative “No factory farming in Switzerland (factory farming initiative)” requires a constitutional amendment to agricultural livestock farming. The federal government should protect the dignity of the animal in agricultural animal husbandry. Specifically, according to the initiative text, animal dignity includes the claim “not to live in mass animal husbandry”.

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Similar animal husbandry guidelines are to be adopted as those that apply to Bio Suisse, which means that the animals should above all receive more space and outdoor spouts.

Furthermore, the federal government should set criteria for animal-friendly housing and care, access to the outdoors, slaughter and the maximum group size per stall. 
It should also provide for rules on the importation of animals and animal products for nutritional purposes. The implementation of the initiative has a maximum transitional period of 25 years.

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Behind the referendum are people from 15 organizations.

Among them is Vera Weber of the Fondation Franz Weber or representatives of Greenpeace and the Greens.

The farmers’ association sees it very differently (!!) About mass livestock could not speak in Switzerland, according to the position of President Markus Ritter.
“Animal welfare laws in Switzerland are already among the strictest worldwide” so Ritter. The farmers also warn against hefty surcharges if the initiative should come through. The initiators are preparing for a tough vote. Schneider is aware:

“The work is just starting right now.”

https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/schutz-der-tierwuerde-massentierhaltungsinitiative-wohl-zustande-gekommen

My comment:  At some point, humans will understand that an equitable livestock farming no longer means that we are allowed to kill and eat animals.
But until this day, for which we all fight and hope, is a very long road and so we have to settle for smaller and modest successes.

We support this campaign and we wish our fellow campaigners, much success and strength for the future. And thus also a better life of the farm animals.

My best regards to all, Venus

General News, Hunting

South Africa: Trophy hunters shoot drugged, farm-raised lions – from their parked cars!

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Another victim of canned lion hunting

In South Africa, majestic creatures are bred in captivity and then drugged and paraded for ‘trophy hunters’ to shoot from parked vehicles.
It’s sickening cruelty – the dazed lions are shot for FUN!
There are about 200 places in South Africa that breed lions in captivity for canned lion hunting. As many as 6,000 lions are ‘stockpiled’ for hunters. When a lioness gives birth, her cubs are taken from her and used for tourists to pet and pose with them in photographs.
When a lion gets bigger and harder to handle, it is moved to an enclosed area and there it stays until someone pays to shoot it.
They call it canned lion hunting because poor lions are literally served up on a plate for hunters. The lions can’t run, hide or defend themselves in any way.

 

Canned Lion Hunting

The lions are frequently drugged to make it easier for hunters, who often shoot the poor creature, while they sit inside a nearby vehicle. Often it takes several shots before the animal dies.
In neighboring Zimbabwe, a lion called Cecil was shot with a bow and arrow and suffered for 12 hours before dying!
it’s that horrible, that stark, that cruel. We need your help to stop it.
We want your help to fight this cruelty and have it outlawed. It’s an uphill battle because the canned lion industry is wealthy and so far, the South African government is ignoring the cruelty. We have to lobby government; we have to raise public awareness and we have to support other groups.
Every day this horror is allowed to continue means more dead lions at a time when the population is dropping throughout Africa. There used to be 200,000 lions in Africa, now there are around 25,000. Please, please help us fight the evil business that destroys their dignity and then them.
General News

USA: Petition – Justice for Helpless Puppies Thrown into Boiling Water.

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Justice for Helpless Puppies Thrown into Boiling Water

Posted by Carly Day

 

12555 Signatures Collected

 

Petition link: https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-justice-for-helpless-puppies-thrown-into-boiling-water/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email

 

PETITION TARGET: 11th Judicial DA Rick Tedrow

A woman is accused of dropping live newborn puppies into a pot of boiling water and forcing her children to watch as the tiny animals died in agony.

In this house of horrors, 53-year-old Martha Crouch of San Juan, New Mexico allegedly tortured and abused numerous animals — as well as her children — over a period of decades.

Crouch’s 17-year-old daughter claims that her mother locked a beloved family dog in a cage and had it shot dead as a form of punishment.

Along with boiling multiple litters of puppies alive, Crouch often gave prescription medicine to kittens and watched them die slowly and painfully.

An older daughter says she saw her mother killing six kittens by beating them in the heads with a hammer or rock.

Police from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office arrested Crouch and her husband on June 24th after arresting one of the couple’s 15 children on an assault charge and learning of the abuse in the household.

Martha remains in jail charged with child abuse and extreme animal cruelty; her bail is set at $50,000. Her husband Timothy Crouch is out on bail, charged with obstructing an investigation.

The couple has been evading authorities for over 20 years and has reportedly amassed a vast array of criminal claims throughout various states.

Clearly, Martha Crouch is a danger to both humans and animals and needs to be removed from society.

Sign this petition urging Rick Tedrow, DA for the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, to prosecute Martha Crouch to the fullest extent of the law, and push for the maximum penalties possible for the atrocious acts of cruelty she inflicted on both animals and her children.

 

General News, Vivisection

USA: Pharma Company Sues FDA for Requiring Deadly Tests on Dogs.

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Pharma Company Sues FDA for Requiring Deadly Tests on Dogs

Pharma Company Sues FDA for Requiring Deadly Tests on Dogs

Posted by Jane Wolfe | July 2, 2019

Vanda Pharmaceuticals is taking legal action against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after the government agency blocked the company from continuing studies of a new drug when it declined to adhere to the FDA’s “illegally imposed” requirement to test it on dogs.

The Washington-based company is developing the drug, tradipitant, as a treatment for a variety of ailments including gastroparesis. Following a short clinical trial on 150 human volunteers in 2018, Vanda Pharmaceuticals requested permission from the FDA to prolong the study to over three months.

However, the FDA refused, demanding that Vanda Pharmaceuticals carry out non-rodent animal toxicity studies for a nine-month period before tradipitant could be studied further in humans, and placed a partial clinical hold on the drug’s research.

“The FDA explicitly told us — based on a guidance, which is a recommendation, not binding — that in order to expose patients to more than three months [of] treatment, certain studies have to be done,” said Vanda Pharmaceuticals CEO Mihael Polymeropoulos, speaking to The Hill. “We’ve done most of them except one: a dog study where you treat dogs for nine months. Then you sacrifice the dogs and you look at their organs.”

In a press release, the drug company said that the FDA’s requirement for “unnecessary and unethical animal studies,” which usually involves beagles, would lead to the needless destruction of dozens of dogs.

“We believe that there is no scientific justification for the requirement that tradipitant be tested in a nine-month dog study, given its currently understood safety profile in both animals and humans, and further, that these studies should not be a routine requirement for all sponsors,” explains Polymeropoulos.

“The FDA is ignoring a large body of published scientific evidence which concludes that these chronic dog studies do not offer any additional useful information. That policy is based on old, outdated science and requires the killing of too many dogs without any scientifically justified purpose. Yet, companies have been reticent to stand up to the FDA and demand that it change its policy. Vanda is unwilling to accept the status quo.”

Help stop the cruelty. Sign Lady Freethinker’s petition urging the FDA to abolish nine-month, non-rodent toxicity studies that result in the needless and painful deaths of innocent animals.

Petition Link:

https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-stop-fda-forcing-drug-companies-to-test-on-animals/

General News, Hunting

Europe: a henchman of elephant poachers

 

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The EU is deeply involved in ivory business. Tons of ivory are traded, imported and exported within the EU. Europe is a henchman of elephant poachers.

 

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The idea is wrong that elephants are poached in Africa, their ivory is sold to Asia – and that Europe has nothing to do with it. Rather, Europe plays a central role as a hub for the legal and illegal trade in ivory.

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The sale, import and export of ivory is legal in Europe if it comes from old stock. An invitation to criminals! Legal trade allows them to infiltrate illegal ivory of poached elephants.

32 African countries have appealed to the European Union to stop ivory trade.

Europe is a henchman of elephant poachers.

In the EU, ivory is offered open at auctions, in stores and on the internet. Some EU companies have even specialized in the purchase and export of ivory to Asia: More than seven tons of ivory and more than 12,000 ivory carvings have been sold to Hong Kong alone in the last two years.

The international community has now called on all governments at two important conferences to close their national ivory markets.

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The EU does not comply with this demand and undermines the global efforts to save the elephants.

Although Germany supports stricter rules than the EU Commission, it intends to continue to facilitate the trade in ivory carvings, antiques and musical instruments.

A development in Asia aggravates the situation: Elephants are also killed because of their skin, because it is believed that the elephant skin has healing properties.
In Myanmar, up to 110 skinned elephants were found within four years. One could despair.

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But in terms of ivory, we can do something – on our doorstep!

Please ask the EU to ban the ivory trade completely. Only then will the mass poaching of elephants come to an end.

Sign and share the petition: https://www.regenwald.org/petitionen/1076/elfenbeinhandel-stoppen

This is the original letter in English:

I am calling on the Commission and Member States of the European Union to ban all exports and imports of ivory and to close the EU’s domestic ivory market. The international community at the recent CITES conference and at the IUCN World Congress adopted two resolutions, calling on all governments to close their domestic ivory markets. The EU maintains an active ivory market for “pre-convention” ivory, and is the biggest exporter of ivory to China and Hong Kong, with exports of worked ivory experiencing an alarming increase in the last two years. The legal trade enables that ivory from poached elephants is laundered. It fuels demand and corruption. Moreover, EU Member States are clearly being used as transit countries to smuggle illegal ivory from elephants poached in Africa to Asia. Huge shipments have been seized in EU Member States recently and ivory is on top of the list of seized wildlife products in the EU.

As actions are increasingly being taken around the world to close domestic ivory markets and destroy stockpiles of seized and confiscated ivory, I am urging the EU to take responsibility to end its own role in the ivory trade

https://www.regenwald.org/petitionen/1076/elfenbeinhandel-stoppen

 

My comment: The European Commission knows very well that the EU is being used to “wash” illegal ivory, and is instrumental in ensuring that about 35,000 elephants still die each year.

When the international ivory trade was banned in 1989, the eradication of the African elephant seemed to have been averted. After a decade of slaughter, in which the number of animals worldwide halved, the populations recovered.

Unfortunately, however, the international trade ban did not last long: at the instigation of four states in southern Africa, it was eroded just a few years later.

Statistics show that poaching and ivory smuggling have seen a bloody comeback since 2008: in particular, the rapid increase in demand in China, combined with rising purchasing power, led to the poaching of about 100,000 elephants in Africa in the years 2010-2012 alone.

2008 In China, the price of raw ivory rose to as much as $ 2,100 per kilo.

At the same time, state-licensed ivory shops and carving factories sprang up in China, as did illegal business. Because of ivory were many of thousands of elephants killed, and China and Hong Kong became the largest markets for both legal and illegal ivory.

Since then, heavily armed poachers have been killing entire herds of elephants, chopping off their tusks with axes.
Masterminds are globally organized criminal gangs who hire poachers in Africa and equip them with automatic weapons. They bribe politicians, authorities and freight companies and create the “white gold” in containers, air freight shipments and personal luggage hidden through various stops in the main sales markets in Asia.

The good news is: China has already banned trade under international pressure.
The US should not import hunting trophies in the future either.

The pressure on the EU Commission must grow. The number of signatures in this petirion approaches the million, and from 1 million votes, the commission is obliged to take an official position on the subject.

My best regards to all, Venus

 

General News

Pamplona: the blood runs along

 

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Since the days of Ernest Hemingway, the famous writer and alcoholic, tourists and adventure seekers around the world have aroused the annual interest in San Fermin Festival 2019 in Pamplona for its most famous and bloodiest attraction: the bull run.

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Adrenaline junkies flocking in droves, macho types wanting to prove their skills, and herds of beer-travelers looking for alcohol and adventure flock to Pamplona every July to prove that a feeble mind is not just connected to the bull run.

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At the first run on Sunday July 6, 2019, according to a hospital, at least five people have been injured. As the Red Cross reported, one person was pierced by a bull’s horn and two more suffered skull trauma on the first day.

(Unfortunately too little damage, the fate of the bulls is much worse ! If there had been 200 deaths, the bull race would be abolished, and so we would not talk about Pamplona next year and in the future)

What happens there?

Since 1591, eight fighting animals have been driven about 850 meters through the old town of Pamplona for eight days. The bulls come from the south of Spain and are kept outside the city before the bullfights in the corrales. These are young animals weighing between 550 and 700 kilograms and can reach speeds of around 25 km / h.

The bulls are driven over a distance of 850 meters to the arena, where they are killed in the evening by Toreros. (more precise formulated: bull murderer).

The end is inevitable: The exhausted bull is killed amid the cheers of the numerous spectators and the victorious Matador celebrated.

 The bulls in Pamplona attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, including many foreign tourists from English-speaking countries.

The folk festival was born out of the centuries-old tradition of the “Cattle drive”, where the cattle were brought from the pastures through the village and into the stables. In Pamplona, with its 200,000 inhabitants, this festival brings millions of euros to the city cash.

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Each visitor spends about 100 euros a day. Many residents, whose apartments are located on the streets through which the bulls run, rent window and balcony seats for up to 80 euros.

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In Pamplona six bulls are killed every year. In Spain, bullfighting is estimated at between 30,000 and 40,000. In the arena, the animals are traded with daggers and lances until they collapse exhausted. Often the bulls do not become at the end of the fight, and so they are consciously dragged by chains out of the arena. This is still allowed.

PETA UK and the Spanish organization AnimaNaturalis have been organizing protests against bullfights for several years – but the organizers do not want to abolish them.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/06/annual-pamplona-bull-run-festival-begins-amid-fireworks-and-protests
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/07/europe/pamplona-running-of-the-bulls-2019/index.html

 

My comment: Why does not Spain ban this shit? Yes, money !! And tradition, as always as an excuse.

With the high unemployment of the country stupid tourists must be lured into the place with primitive spectacles. Man, man, man! Humanity is and remains stupid and sick. Every year this garbage, one wonders, in which century do these naked animals still live?

Spaniard: Take tanks instead of bulls!
So no animal would need to suffer unnecessarily, but the result would remain the same.

 

My best regards to all, Venus

 

Environmental, General News

USA: Demand Real Leadership at the EPA. Action Link.

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Demand Real Leadership at the EPA

Bill Wehrum—assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the architect of President Trump’s unconscionable attacks on clean air and climate regulations—has resigned. Wehrum oversaw efforts to roll back safeguards that limit air pollution and attempted to dismantle the landmark Clean Power Plan. Now is the time for the public to mobilize and tell the EPA’s leaders to start upholding the agency’s mission of protecting the American people and our environment.

President Trump’s Assistant EPA Administrator Bill Wehrum — the chief architect of Trump’s unconscionable attacks on landmark climate regulations — has resigned amid scrutiny over possible ethics violations.

Wehrum, along with EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, is responsible for attempting to dismantle many lifesaving protections for our environment and health, including EPA’s clean car standards and the Clean Power Plan, our two most important federal efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the US.

This is a critical moment for the EPA — and our best chance to mobilize a massive public outcry demanding real leadership at the agency.

Take action now: Tell Trump and the EPA to reverse course and fulfill its mission to defend the fundamental regulations that protect our environment, our health, and our climate.

 

Take action now – click here:

https://act.nrdc.org/letter/epa-leadership-190701?source=act_nrdcnewsletter&tkd=1402806&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mainlink&utm_campaign=email&t=5&akid=5426%2E1402806%2EaCurSz

 

 

Environmental, General News

Austria: decides total glyphosate ban!

 

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The request of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) finds a majority, the consequence: In Austria comes a glyphosate ban.

The dangerous weed killer must not be sold in the future.

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Glyphosate is the world’s most used weedkiller. It has been used in agriculture, industry, horticulture and private households since the mid-1970s. Monsanto sells the herbicide under the name “Roundup” and has been making billions in sales since the 1970s. No wonder then that Monsanto lobbyists claim that glyphosate is so harmless that it can even be safely drunk!!!

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US courts think otherwise

In three separate cases, they have ruled that the glyphosate drug Roundup from Bayer subsidiary Monsanto is a “significant factor” in the onset of the cancer.

A Californian court last ordered Monsanto to pay $ 250 million in damages to a cancer patient in August 2018. He blamed the plant poison glyphosate for his cancer – and the jury proved him right.

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Among other things, because during the negotiation of emails came to the language, which weigh heavily on the company.
ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party) and FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria) were already in the European Parliament against glyphosate ban.

For some time, there has been a suspicion that glyphosate is potentially carcinogenic. Nevertheless, in November 2017, the EU approved the potentially carcinogenic plant toxin for another 5 years.
Also FPÖ and ÖVP did not support the resolution for a glyphosate ban.

Now comes total glyphosate ban!!

On 12 June 2019, the parliament adopted a so-called deadline application by the SPÖ for the majority of the ban. The Freedom Party had signaled to agree to the total ban on the plant poison. Until the end, however, it was unclear whether the libertarians actually agree. On 2 July 2019, the Socialist Party finally pushed for a ban.

The People’s Party is still against it. It wants agriculture and forestry to be exempted from the ban – although this sector is responsible for 80 percent of pesticide use.

The Bayer chemicals group, whose subsidiary Monsanto produces glyphosate, said it was expected that the decision of the Austrians would be “critically questioned and legally challenged by the EU Commission” (!!!). According to Bayer, the decision of the Austrian National Council is “in contradiction to extensive scientific results on glyphosate”.

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https://kontrast.at/glyphosat-verbot-oesterreich/

 

My comment: Congratulations Austria!
Good decision. Finally, a country has the courage to go against the lobby of the Bayer Group.
Here in Germany, we are still sleeping and, as always, we remain groundlessly optimistic about the future of our planet and in solidarity with the decisions of the Monsanto / Bayer lobbyists, also known as the EU – Commission!
Let’s hope that we will soon come to such a progressive decision as the Austrians.

Best regards, Venus

General News

Unseen suffering of ‘wild’ animals laid bare in truth about dark side of tourism

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/unseen-suffering-wild-animals-laid-16647357

Unseen suffering of ‘wild’ animals laid bare in truth about dark side of tourism

Animal-loving holidaymakers may think there’s nothing wrong with getting close to nature on eco-tourism trips, but the truth can be very different

Now summer holiday season is officially upon us, eco-tourism companies around the world are preparing to receive millions of nature-loving Brits hoping to interact with wild animals in their own environments.

Most responsible travellers wouldn’t dream of going to see blatantly cruel bear baiting or an orangutan boxing match while abroad, or even visit an animal circus or zoo because of concerns over animal welfare.

But many would be quite happy to visit a tiger sanctuary, swim with dolphins or ride an elephant through the jungle.

However, many seemingly ethical animal tourist activities can also bring tragic consequences for animals.

Here are some which animal welfare groups are urging holidaymakers to avoid.

Tiger sanctuaries

For those who are against seeing a caged tiger in a zoo, experiencing them in a so-called tiger sanctuary might seem reasonable.

But the word ‘sanctuary’ is often grossly misleading, especially in countries like Thailand where tourists can also sit with a tiger and pose for a photo.

In order to keep the animals docile for the tourists, the tigers are chained to the ground and pumped with sedatives.

And to keep them safe for the tiger selfies, the big cats also often have their teeth and claws removed and even the tendons in their wrists cut they they are unable to swat or run.

Whale watching

This has become a beloved past-time for animal lovers who would never dream of going to see whales perform in captivity.

But animal groups warn against taking part whale watching tours.

Boats often chase down the animals to get a better look, resulting in many hitting and seriously injuring the whales.

The noises caused by engines can also disrupt mating routines and drive the whales away from feeding areas.

If you want to see whales in the wild, ask the tour company about their whale watching codes.

A responsible company will state that the won’t chase the whales, but rather anchor off at a safe distance to observe the whales without disturbing them.

 

Elephant rides

Riding atop an elephant – and posting the obligatory photo on social media – is an experience many people dream about when planning a holiday to Southeast Asia.

But most tourists have no idea that they are only able to ride them because the elephant was brutally tortured to breaking point when it was still a baby.

Baby elephants are ripped away from their mother by poachers, then confined to a very small space, like a cage or hole in the ground, and beaten with clubs, pierced with sharp bull-hooks, and simultaneously starved and deprived of sleep until they become submissive.

The process is called Phajaan, or ’the crush’ by captors.

After the elephant has been “crushed” they’re taught to perform tricks like ‘painting’ pictures, dancing or playing piano, or to accept human riders, whose weight eventually causes back and joint problems and a premature death.

Swimming with dolphins

Another bucketlist favourite for animal lovers, dolphin swims are common in places like the Caribbean.

The experience is also popular among tourists to the Amazon, who can get in the water with the freshwater ‘boto’ dolphin.

But animal groups warn people to think twice before signing up to swimming with dolphins, even in the wild.

Research has found that swimming close to bottlenose dolphins can be highly stressful for the aquatic creatures, preventing them from resting, feeding or nurturing their young.

Lori Marino, a neuroscientist at Emory university in Atlanta, said they could suffer “psychological problems” stemming from swimming with tourists.

And there is also the risk of transmitting diseases between humans and dolphins.

Lion cub petting

Lion sanctuaries raise lions from birth and offer tourists the cuddle and take selfies with the cute, fluffy cubs.

But while visitors might think they are helping the centres to breed the majestic animals, many don’t know that the cubs they are handling are destined to become a hunter’s wall mount.

One the lions have reached maturity, they are sold to big game hunters, who trap the animals in an enclosed area and spend hours following them before shooting them dead for entertainment.

Because the lions have spent their lives accustomed to positive interactions with tourists, they are less wary of people and are easier to hunt.

Equestrian arts shows

Horse lovers on holiday to Europe may consider going to see a horse arts show popular in countries like France and Portugal.

But many shows can be incredibly cruel for the horses.

In many cases the animals have been trained to perform using electric shocks to their anuses.

The horses are also forced into positions that are highly unnatural for their physiology, such as bowing and doing a curtsey.

And the shows often end with a fireworks display, the noises of which can frighten these sensitive animals.