Month: April 2020

General News

China: Second Chinese city bans consumption of dog and cat meat.

China

Second Chinese city bans consumption of dog and cat meat.

 

Stop the Wildlife Trade: ‘This isn’t just good news for animal protection, it’s also very good news for public health,’ says leading charity

A second city in China has banned the consumption of dogs, cats and some wild animals – a move campaigners hope could signal an end to the trade of all wildlife at “wet markets” across the country.

The ban in Zhuhai follows a decision made by authorities in Shenzhen earlier this month to prohibit dog and cat meat. The new rules come into force in Zhuhai on 1 May, according to state-run China News.

A spokesperson for the animal charity Humane Society International described it as “thrilling news”, and said it could be the start of a domino effect of animal protection legislation across China.

It comes as The Independent’s Stop the Wildlife Trade campaign calls for an international effort to tighten restrictions on wet markets to reduce the risk of future pandemics.

The coronavirus outbreak is believed to have originated at a wet market in Wuhan where exotic animals were sold – making the jump to humans from animals kept in close proximity.

Last week China’s ministry of agriculture and rural affairs stated for the first time that dogs should be treated as pets rather than livestock.

Yet in the absence of a national ban, other cities in mainland China are believed to be considering their own legislation to stop the consumption of dogs and cats.

“Zhuhai’s ban on dog and cat meat eating is thrilling news for all those in China and around the world who have campaigned for so long to end this brutal trade,” said Wendy Higgins, Humane Society International’s director of international media.

“Coming so soon after Shenzhen’s ban and the government’s historic statement classifying dogs as pets, we hope this is the start of a domino effect of progressive legislation across China, with other cities following suit.”

She added: “This isn’t just good news for animal protection, it’s also very good news for public health.”

The Zhuhai authorities said the consumption of some wild animals will also be banned, based on the guidance given by the ministry of agriculture and rural affairs. However, animals such as alpaca, ostrich, silver fox, blue fox and raccoon dog – considered “special livestock” – will still be allowed to be traded as meat.

Dr Teresa Telecky, vice president of wildlife at Humane Society International, said: “Listing wild animals, including foxes and raccoon dogs, as ‘special livestock’ is concerning.

“Rebranding wildlife as livestock doesn’t alter the fact that there are insurmountable challenges to keeping these species in commercial captive breeding environments, and that their welfare needs simply can’t be met.”

Dr Jane Goodall DBE has backed The Independent’s campaign calling on governments to work together to impose stricter controls on the trade, sale and consumption of wild animals.

The renowned conservationist said: “If we go on treating animals the way we are that is going to hit back on us, as it has.”

Writing for The Independent, the United Nations’ biological diversity chief, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, said: “Global wildlife trade and live animal markets, where live fish, meat and wild animals are sold, are important risk factors for zoonotic disease spillover.

An estimated 10 million dogs a year are killed for China’s dog meat trade, which is thought to be consumed infrequently by less than 20 per cent of the population, according to Humane Society International.

A nationwide survey in 2016 suggested a majority of Chinese citizens think the dog meat trade should be completely banned.

Ms Higgins said: “It would seem that in the absence of a national ban, cities are taking matters into their own hands and reflecting the mood of the people.”

 

Source – Independent (London)

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/coronavirus-china-wet-markets-dog-cat-meat-stop-the-wildlife-trade-campaign-a9466136.html

Farm Animals, General News, Stray Animals

Korean Dogs Newsletter 14th April 2020.

South Kores

 

 

Korean Dogs Newsletter 14th April 2020.

 

News and actions; including:

 

Please sign the important petition at:

 

https://koreandogs.org/newsletter-april-14-2020/?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign=Sign_CARE_Petition_We_need_strict_laws_to_ban_illegal_killing_and_selling_of_small_animals&utm_medium=email

 

https://www.change.org/p/we-need-strict-laws-to-ban-illegal-killing-and-selling-of-small-animals?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign=Sign_CARE_Petition_We_need_strict_laws_to_ban_illegal_killing_and_selling_of_small_animals&utm_medium=email

 

 

Environmental, General News

Coronavirus: WHO urges China to close ‘dangerous’ wet market as stalls in Wuhan begin to reopen.

UNations

 

Coronavirus: WHO urges China to close ‘dangerous’ wet market as stalls in Wuhan begin to reopen

 

’75 per cent of emerging infections come from the animal kingdom… It’s partly the markets, but it’s also other places where humans and animals are in close contact,’ says Dr David Nabarro

 

The World Health Organisation is urging countries across the world to close “dangerous” wet markets amid warnings about the risks posed by environments where humans are in close contact with animals.

Wet markets in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged, have begun to reopen following the lifting of lockdown restrictions. This move comes despite the virus being linked to the city’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.

But WHO, as well as other public health organisations and campaigners, have said the markets pose a “real danger” as pathogens can spread easily and quickly from animals to humans.

Dr David Nabarro, a WHO special envoy on Covid-19 and special representative of the United Nations secretary general for food security and nutrition, said the world health body “pleads with governments and just about everybody” to be respectful of how viruses from the animal kingdom are rife.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dr Nabarro said while WHO is not able to tell governments what to do, their advice is to close wet markets.

 

He replied: “You know how WHO and other parts of the international system work – we don’t have the capacity to police the world. Instead, what we have to do is offer advice and guidance, and there’s very clear advice from the Food and Agriculture Organisation and WHO that said there are real dangers in these kinds of environments.

“75 per cent of emerging infections come from the animal kingdom. It’s partly the markets, but it’s also other places where humans and animals are in close contact. Just make absolutely certain that you’re not creating opportunities for viral spread,” added Dr Nabarro.

Traders sell fresh produce, fruit and vegetables in wet markets alongside wild and domestic animals mainly for consumption in wet markets, which are common in China, South Korea and southeast Asia. Not all wet markets sell exotic meats, but poor legal controls allow for the controversial product to enter the supply chain.

 

Last week, over 200 conservation groups across the world signed an open letter calling on WHO to force the closure of markets where wild meat is sold for consumption.

The joint letter calls on WHO to recommend to governments that they bring permanent bans to live wildlife markets and to exclude the use of wildlife from the organisation’s definition and endorsement of traditional medicine.

 

Dr Nabarro added: “We have similar concerns about bushmeat – be very very careful when you’re basically eating wild animal meat or killing wild animals. All these things are higher risk and we have to be on high alert these days for these problems.”

The Independent is calling for global action to impose tighter restrictions surrounding the trade of wild animals, in order to help reduce the risk of diseases like coronavirus from spreading.

 

There is some indication that Chinese authorities are heeding calls for more restrictions. Last month, Beijing banned the trade and consumption of non-aquatic wild animals, and shut down 20,000 farms raising animals such as peacocks, porcupines and ostriches.

Shenzhen became the first Chinese city to ban the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat, with central authorities declaring that dogs are companions and not for consumption.

Jinfeng Zhou, secretary general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, told The Guardian that a universal closure of wildlife markets was justified.

However, the use of wild animal meat or byproducts are still being approved for use in medication and signs that regional Chinese authorities are not enforcing the recent ban on the sale of wild animals have emerged.

 

Source – Independent (London) – https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/coronavirus-china-cases-deaths-who-wet-market-wuhan-a9462286.html

 

 

General News

Germany: Zoos plan emergency slaughter of inmates

The zoos and animal gardens in Germany are also suffering from the corona crisis. Due to the lack of income, they are under increasing pressure. Bankruptcies are imminent – but what will become of the animals?

banane rep deutschlandpg

The animal park Neumünster has drawn up emergency plans for the slaughter of its animals because of the existential corona forced closure. It also says who will be the last to go to the slaughterhouse in the event of a fall: the 3.60 meter tall polar bear «Vitus», said Zoo Director Verena Caspari.

Eisbär-VitusNeumünster-51172Vitus, the polar bear- Neumünster

 

The background is that the zoo currently has no income from visitors and is only kept alive by donations. “We are an association,” said Caspari. “We do not receive any urban funds, and everything we have applied for so far has not yet been received by us. We currently only survive with donations.”

That’s enough. “But if – and that’s really the worst, worst case – if I run out of money to buy feed, or if it should happen that my feed supplier can no longer deliver due to new restrictions, then I would slaughter animals to feed other animals. “

But that would be the very last step.

“It’s not as spectacular as it sounds,” said zoo director Caspari. Because killing an animal in certain cases is even mandatory for animal welfare reasons.
“Before that, you could of course also try to sell animals to other companies. But that is not so easy with all animals.”

Blöde Kinder beobachten Gorilla_n

For example Vitus, the polar bear.
With a weight of around 700 kilograms, it is one of the largest of its kind in Germany.
“If things get really tough here and the zoo has to be dissolved, I can’t just put it in a box and transport it elsewhere.”
You can’t even get such a big animal with a colleague.
“It is not a pony that you can sometimes put in a donkey stable. It is a large predator for which you need an adequate system.” But Caspari is confident that it won’t come to that. Other animal parks had promised to send fish and meat to the Neumünster residents “if the worst case would happen,” she said.

2016-10-22-Elefanten-Zoo-Hannover--PETA-D

The Nuremberg zoo also issued a press release to the public at the end of March: The Association of Zoological Gardens has confirmed that the zoos need an emergency aid program in the amount of 100 million euros.

“Unlike other facilities, we cannot simply shut down our farm – our animals still have to be fed and cared for,” said Jörg Junhold, President of the Association and Zoo Director in Leipzig.
“At the moment, however, we are working with no income and consistently high expenses.”
The seriousness of the situation can be seen from the fact that a single large zoo currently has to cope with a weekly loss of sales of around half a million euros.
The corona crisis also affects the animals – “the monkeys miss the visitors ,” says the Nuremberg Zoo director.

giza, egypt, march 4, 2017: white brown monkey in cage at giza zoo

How critical the situation is can be seen in the case of Neumünster Zoo: Zoo director Caspari says: “In the worst case, I will have to euthanize animals before I starve them to death.”
Other animal parks would also deal with this question – even if one does not like to talk about it. To prevent the disaster, the zoo in Neumünster is asking for donations.

https://www.infranken.de/ueberregional/deutschland/notschlachtungen-ehe-wir-sie-verhungern-lassen-tierpark-neumuenster-plant-wegen-corona-das-undenkbare;art180,4992781

 

My comment: What a disgusting mix of self-pity and manipulation!

EVERYONE who has taken responsibility for so many other beings (or rather, has seized them against their will) must have reserves for at least a few months.

And I want to say: a zoo director can’t let tigers fly in and let elephants cart in from somewhere and then say: Oops, the Easter business failed, let’s put a few penguins to sleep!
This is about sentient and healthy living things and not about things!

As long as they served as crowd pullers and brought money to the till, each zoo director spoke of a “family”.
As soon as the crisis is there, they have to be slaughtered.

Zoos have to be closed forever, now is a good opportunity.
The animals belong in freedom and should be housed in national parks.

And THAT has to be financed with donations.

My best regards to all, Venus

Hunting

Malta: a paradise for hunting mafia

Spring hunt in Malta: Despite all protests by the nature conservation associations and from the population and contrary to the requirements of the EU Birds Directive, Malta has approved the spring hunt for quail.

malta-2-x-2-cm
From April 10th to 30th, 6,000 hunters can shoot a total of 5,000 of the endangered migratory birds.

That means the hunters go on the prowl for 20 days in order to allegedly kill less than one bird on average – a hardly credible calculation.

Komitee-gegen-Vogelmord-LBV
The actual number of birds shot is likely to be much higher. The police controls, which are always too tight, have been further reduced by the corona pandemic.
As a result, the two teams of the Committee against Bird Murder, which are currently in use in Malta, observe numerous violations of hunting and nature conservation law.

komite n
The use of banned electronic lure systems and shots at protected birds of prey, hoopoes and lovebirds are particularly widespread.
The last victim of the uncontrolled spring hunt is a kestrel, which a committee team found at Birzebuggia on Easter Sunday (photo). Unfortunately, the bird had to be put to sleep – its body was full of lead shot.

kommite gegen den Vogelmord, Falke

In our video published today, we show a whole range of violations – from bird trapping with blow nets to hunters who are illegally stalking. It has received and confirmed information that the man works as a prison guard in Corradino Correctional Facility.

 

https://www.facebook.com/Komitee.CABS

 

My  comment: The hunting season in Malta lasts from September to May. There is hunting almost everywhere, and the illegal poachers don’t give a shit about the police.
Since classic game on the islands has long been eradicated, the murderers’ rage is concentrated on the migratory birds.
The list of birds officially released for hunting and fishing includes, in addition to numerous songbirds, waders and waterbirds, even highly endangered species.

A blatant case of corruption when licenses are issued for endangered species.

Bird catching is a popular sport in Malta. Unlike most other fishing areas in the Mediterranean, the captured songbirds end up as caged birds, locked up in the living room of perverted “bird friends”.
In Malta’s capital Valletta there is even a large bird market every Sunday, which is even mentioned in the travel guides as a sight.

Another big advantage of the Corona is the temporary standstill of tourism in countries that have always lived from tourism. For tourism, a lot of money is usually made with animals.

komite Poster-LR-723x1024

My best regards to all, Venus

Farm Animals, General News

‘They might as well be letting off atomic bombs’: Sir Paul McCartney blames ‘medieval’ Chinese wet markets for coronavirus.

gemalt-england-flagge-5d

 

‘They might as well be letting off atomic bombs’: Sir Paul McCartney blames ‘medieval’ Chinese wet markets for coronavirus

 

‘Whoever is responsible for this is at war with the world and itself,’ said the former Beatle

 

Sir Paul McCartney has criticised Chinese wet markets for their public health risk amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show, the former Beatle said: “They might as well be letting off atomic bombs because it’s affecting the whole world.”

“Whoever is responsible for this is at war with the world and itself.”

Although no origin for the deadly virus has been officially determined, some have heaped blame for the pandemic on China’s wet markets, which sell freshly slaughtered animals.

Last week, more than 200 conservation groups across the world signed an open letter calling on the World Health Organisation to force the closure of markets where wild meat is sold for consumption.

Stern brought up the topic of the markets to McCartney, who has been a very public vegetarian and animal rights campaigner for decades.

“I really hope that this will mean the Chinese government says, ‘Ok guys, we have really got to get super hygienic around here,’” McCartney said. “Let’s face it, it is a little bit medieval eating bats.”

“They don’t need all the people dying. And what’s it for? All these medieval practices. They just need to clean up their act. This may lead to it. If this doesn’t, I don’t know what will.”

McCartney also praised the community spirit that has emerged during the pandemic, saying: “A lot of people are pulling together and it is a great thing. It is inspiring.”

The Independent has recently launched a campaign calling for tighter restrictions on the trade of wild animals.

 

General News, Hunting

USA: Pro-Trophy Hunting Lawyer Appointed Key Role at US Fish and Wildlife Service

american-flag-120402148

 

Pro-Trophy Hunting Lawyer Appointed Key Role at US Fish and Wildlife Service

Posted by Jane Wolfe | April 6, 2020

 

In an unconscionable move, Anna Seidman — a former lawyer for the trophy hunting group Safari Club International (SCI) — has been appointed assistant director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) International Affairs program.

Seidman has sued the FWS a number of times during her 20-year tenure as litigator for SCI, an organization which successfully lobbied to revoke the ban on importing elephant body parts as hunting “trophies” from Africa.

In her new role, Seidman, who replaced Eric Alvarez, will head a team focused on protecting endangered wildlife and enforcing conservation pacts worldwide. This is in sharp contrast to her lengthy employment at SCI, where, as Director of Legal Advocacy and International Affairs, Seidman fought against legislation aimed at protecting wildlife, including a 2015 regulation that banned aggressive methods of predator control in national preserves and refuges — specifically in Alaska.

A spokesperson from the FWS confirmed the engagement to HuffPost, citing Seidman as “an effective, innovative leader with 20 years of legal and policy experience, including expertise in international environment and natural resource management.”

This appointment could potentially have far-reaching negative implications for the protection of wildlife.

To voice your concern, contact Chief Officer of Public Affairs for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gavin Shire at Gavin_Shire@fws.gov.

 

 

General News

Corona boycott meat mafia

Coronavirus closes meat plants in Canada and the United States as world’s largest pork producer warns of shortages.

corona-new-york-jpg

CHICAGO — Major meat companies in the United States and Canada have closed plants temporarily due to cases of the new coronavirus and concerns about its spread.

tyson

Here are some facilities that have shut or reduced production:

• An Olymel pork plant in Yamachiche, Quebec, shut on March 29 for two weeks, after nine workers tested positive for the coronavirus.

• Maple Leaf Foods suspended operationson April 8 at its Brampton, Ontario poultry plant, following three COVID cases among workers at that facility.

• Harmony Beef in Alberta, Canada, shut its cattle slaughter operations on March 27 for two days, after a worker tested positive for the new coronavirus, prompting some federal inspectors to stay away from the site.

• Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, on Sunday said it is shutting a pork plant indefinitely and warned that plant shutdowns are pushing the United States “perilously close to the edge” in meat supplies for grocers.

Tyson Fleischteilejpg

• JBS USA shut a beef plant in Souderton, Pennsylvania, until April 16, after previously cutting production.

• JBS reduced production a beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, due to high absences among workers, according to the local United Food and Commercial Workers union. The company said high absenteeism led slaughter rates to outpace the process of cutting carcasses into pieces.

Coronavirus - USA

• National Beef Packing Co suspended cattle slaughtering at a beef plant in Tama, Iowa, for a cleaning and planned to resume on April 13.

• Aurora Packing Company closed a beef plant in Aurora, Illinois, said Brad Lyle, chief financial officer for U.S. commodity firm Kerns and Associates. A security officer at the plant said it was closed due to the pandemic. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

• Cargill Inc closed a plant in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, that produces meat for U.S. grocery stores.

• Tyson Foods Inc shut a hog slaughterhouse in Columbus Junction, Iowa, the week of April 6 after more than 24 cases of COVID-19 involving employees at the facility.

tyson-300x300

• Sanderson Farms Inc reduced chicken production to 1 million birds a week from 1.3 million at a plant in Moultrie, Georgia.

 

https://windsorstar.com/news/retail-marketing/coronavirus-spread-closes-north-american-meat-plants/wcm/91b7dfd4-6a69-4ce1-a003-40fa4e17e55d/

 

My comment: The USA is the second largest pig producer in the world after China.
Germany comes third.

35 million chickens, 424,000 pigs, 130,000 cattle. So many animals are slaughtered, cut into pieces, packed in Tyson Foods companies every week (!!!) – and then offered for consumption in supermarkets such as Walmart or fast food outlets like McDonalds in over 100 countries.

Every second person in the world eats meat from Tyson Foods, a meat producer who is considered to be the world’s largest polluter.

We are particularly pleased with the consequences of coronavirus on Tyson’s businesses.

And we wish Tyson and the rest of the meat mafia around the world the biggest losses the economy has ever seen.

My best regards to all, Venus

General News

the architecture of oppression

 

Famous whistleblower Edward Snowden has a dire warning for everyone grappling with the coronavirus pandemic: don’t let authoritarians exploit the crisis to claim more power.

snowden arte jpg

Snowden told Vice that he sees the rise of emergency laws, increased surveillance, and other ways that governments have suspended civil rights to combat the pandemic as a disturbing power grab.

And, he added, he doesn’t expect the leaders behind it to relinquish the newfound power when the coronavirus outbreak finally recedes.

corona karikaturjpg

Snowden argued that a global pandemic was readily predictable, and that scientists and intelligence agencies had long been sounding alarm bells. Imposing new emergency surveillance, he argues, is a particularly disturbing play.

“As authoritarianism spreads, as emergency laws proliferate, as we sacrifice our rights, we also sacrifice our capability to arrest the slide into a less liberal and less free world,” Snowden told Vice.

Ultimately, Snowden fears that the world leaders claiming new emergency authority will hold onto them well after the pandemic ends.

“Do you truly believe that when the first wave, this second wave, the 16th wave of the coronavirus is a long-forgotten memory, that these capabilities will not be kept?” Snowden said.

“That these datasets will not be kept? No matter how it is being used, what is being built is the architecture of oppression.”

corona schild beschädigtjpegEngland

 

https://futurism.com/the-byte/snowden-governments-use-coronavirus-seize-power
https://www.rt.com/news/485712-police-state-overzealous-reactions-coronavirus/

 

And I mean … All governments, at least in Europe, continue to be tough on the Corona virus, and that’s right.
However, no one is willing to ban meat consumption – at least during the blackout period. And no one talks about the main cause of virus formation.

Even the conservative media warn of viruses and bacteria in factory farming and point this out every day.
Nevertheless: The animal transports go beyond the borders with even looser regulations than before, hunting in Germany is allowed without restrictions, feeding pigeons remains forbidden, with a fine of 1000 euros for non-obedient citizens

The stupid government in Germany wants to introduce the app warning system in mobile phones that send a signal as soon as a registered corona infected person appears.
That’s not all.

The German government expects 40 to 50 million volunteers of the app system !!!

In the first place it is voluntary, then it is mandatory.

The majority of the population does not understand what is really happening. And it doesn’t even understand that it doesn’t understand.
This makes the surveillance system easier than ever.

Animal rights activists will not be spared the future harmful consequences of the current corona measures.

Animal transport, undercover investigations in slaughterhouses, demonstrations against animal exploitation … It seems that more and more means are right to end the fight for the animals.

Our struggle has long become a political issue. We have to stay on the side of animals and fight against systems and governments that want to prevent our fight.

Stay free, stay active! for the animals.

Best regards to all, Venus