Above – A sickly young woman sits covered up on a balcony; death (a ghostly skeleton clutching a scythe and an hourglass) is standing next to her; representing tuberculosis. Watercolour by R. Cooper, ca. 1912. Credit: Wellcome Collection
As always; the ‘Guardian’ (UK national press) produces some superb articles about animals and environmental issues.
The only way we can really reproduce the article on farm animal pandemics is to provide the link and then to let you click and read for yourself.
suddenly you realize that you are in the middle of an indescribable crime,
and you are horrified that almost everyone around you wants to hold on to their complicity.
Report of the organization against animal transports Animals` Angels
Animals ‘Angels are in Bulgaria at the weekly markets in Haskovo and Raskovski.
In addition to all sorts of things, cattle, horses and donkeys, sheep, goats, rabbits, and poultry are sold here.
Image: Animals`Angels
We have already complained several times to the Bulgarian authorities about the way the animals are treated, housed, and transported here – and about their poor state of health.
The ministry then presented us with a comprehensive plan to improve the situation in the markets. We now want to review the implementation of this plan – and we will be bitterly disappointed. Nothing has improved for the animals.
Once again, the Bulgarian official veterinarians have made empty promises.
Image: Animals`Angels
Calves are sold from the trunk of a car with their legs tied together. Emaciated sheep with respiratory problems are hoisted onto closed delivery vans without lights or ventilation.
Nervous foals are tied to vehicles and dealers beat horses and cattle who do not know how to get on vehicles without ramps.
Image: Animals`Angels
We particularly notice the emaciated mares, Iliana and Rosalia. Iliana is covered with abrasions and old injuries on her swollen legs.
We can clearly see the pain in Rosalia. She doesn’t know how to stand to relieve her pain.
There is an open wound on her left flank.
As expected, we are not welcome in the markets. In both places we are quickly thrown out by the market management, saying that we would bring nothing but trouble.
But we will not be put off and will continue to work for the animals in the markets and propose to the veterinary authorities a joint on-site inspection.
My comment: “…Most of the trade takes place illegally in front of the marketplace, where the animals are traded directly from the cars.The handling of the sheep that are traded directly in front of the market entrance is particularly bad. They are tied by three legs, the fourth is used for pulling and carrying”(Eyes on Animals)
There are still around ten markets in Bulgaria where animals are offered for sale every week.
Cattle, sheep, goats, Equidae, rabbits, and birds are sold here.
Young pigs and piglets are also offered in illegal markets.
The conditions in the animal markets in Bulgaria do not in the least correspond to the requirements of the EU (No. 1/2005) and are reminiscent of relics of the past century. Animal welfare does not play a role here.
When we first read about the Carcase Management System(CMS) website back in February after a leak from the NFU, we knew the secrets it held would be priceless to the anti-cull movement.
All of the cage trappers, free shooters, and assorted badger cull helpers all log, all of their badger killing information onto a single website.
Locations searched for badger setts are logged, like kill, who did the killing, what time… etc, etc.
Since that discovery back in February we have been gaining regular access to the site, pushing deeper and further into huge piles of data including crime reports, shooters identities, locations of kills, and email addresses of those involved.
On Tuesday, the NFU IT people finally spotted us and have since made some minor adjustments to try and protect the site.
But unfortunately for them, it is too little, too late, we are in the system and will continue to edit and scrape data, we were also changing records (including crime reports) as they come in.
This year’s data on kills sent to Natural England will be based on our false reports, making the continuation of the cull completely pointless.
And I mean...Good to know who our neighbor is.
What does he do when he’s not in church or caring for his children in the playground.
And good to know that killing defenseless animals alone is not enough to satisfy one’s cravings for violence and death.
He wants to make it known, he is reward-controlled, the accomplices should know how many corpses he can deliver per day. A pastime for psychopaths.
These people are among us.
They are military officials, veterinarians, gynecologists, dentists, or lead scout groups. A number of factors such as genes, family relationships, upbringing, intelligence, and opportunities shape these psychopaths.
Malta. The “Committee Against Bird Slaughter” (CABS) has released further video evidence of the indiscriminate killing of protected migratory birds in Has-Saptan valley (Birzebbugia).
The footage published on YouTube shows a European Honey Buzzard and a Blue Roller being shot down in the area on Wednesday and Thursday.
Blue Rollers are a type of international nature conservation problem that is experiencing rapid population decline in large parts of its European range and is extremely endangered.
Blue Roller
“Our teams deployed in the Birzebbugia area observe and report severe wildlife crimes on a daily basis yet the police needed more than an hour to arrive after our team reported the Roller being killed yesterday”, CABS spokesperson Karl Heinz Kreutzer said adding that this delay gives plenty of ample time for the poachers to hide their illegal prey and escape with impunity.
Apart from these two recent incidents, CABS teams have observed more than a dozen other protected birds being shot down in Has Saptan valley since last Sunday (20 Sept).
“As our eyes and video cameras can only monitor a very small part of this valley, we assume that hundreds more protected birds have been shot there in the last week alone”, CABS spokesperson Karl-Heinz Kreutzer said.
CABS which has labeled the valley as “the worst killing fields for birds of prey in Europe” urges the government to take immediate action by suspending the hunting season in this part of the island and establishing a permanent police presence to monitor the ban.
The NGO said that the primary motivation behind the shooting of protected birds is private collections and illegal taxidermy.
Honey Buzzard
“There is a huge black market for stuffed birds with some collectors paying thousands of Euros for rare specimens such as Blue Rollers, Storks or Flamingos. Since examinations and tagging of private trophy collections have dwindled during the past five years, poachers find it easier to shoot and launder illegally acquired specimens”, CABS Wildlife Crime Officer Fiona Burrows said.
She also stated that since responsibility for the administration of wild birds’ regulations was handed over to the Wild Birds Regulation Unit(WBRU) controls and tagging of private collections were stopped.
“The history of the WBRU is a history of massive failures and biased decisions which only serve the interests of the poachers at the cost the lives of thousands of rare protected birds. It is high time that the government hands over the responsibility for the protection of wild birds to a technically competent regulatory institution”, Burrows concluded.
Komitee gegen den Vogelmord e.V.
And I mean…At least 50 internationally protected birds died from hunting in Malta in 2019.
In Malta, people shoot pretty much anything that moves in the sky.
Hunting in Malta is pure bird hunting and a popular sport. Allowed in 34 species but exercised on an extremely larger list of birds.
In the case of Malta, the problem is exacerbated because the island is at the heart of the central European migration route. Millions of birds have to go over there – and their killers lurk.
With gigantic trapping facilities of over 5,000 square meters, birds are caught in many places on the island. Gigantic facilities, some of which are several hectares in size, can be found directly on coastal cliffs or on hills in the interior of the island.
An incident reported by “Birdlife” activist Geoffrey Saliba shows how natural hunting is in Malta: “A hunter shot down a marsh harrier – over a schoolyard. Nobody took much notice of it”, he says.
The hunters rarely shoot the birds for pots and pans, but mostly out of pure lust for murder – or to stuff them.
Even legally murdered birds like song thrushes are mostly left to die in the field.
The fact that bird hunting remains possible and legal in the middle of Europe is the surrender of civil society to a criminal elite.
WAV Comment – Perverted or what ? – not only do they kill thousands of birds each year on migratory routes; they also have such warped minds that they want to have sex with animals ! – we have to get tis stopped – please pass on to all your contacts and bombard with support; thank you.
PETITION TARGET: Maltese Ambassador to the United States Keith Azzopardi
Animals in Malta are at an increased risk of sexual assault from humans, as the island nation does not have an explicit ban on bestiality.
As one of only a few remaining countries to legally allow sex with animals, Malta could become a perverse tourist destination for people who seek to engage in bestiality, Etienne Savona, Ph.D., a lawyer who wrote a proposal to ban the sickening practice, told Lovin Malta. Dogs, horses, cats are reportedly the species most at risk.
Recently, a Maltese sheep farmer caught a man having sexual relations with his flock after they “showed signs of being terrified,” according to TVM. The man was charged with gaining illegal entry into private property, but his horrifying act of cruelty toward the sheep is completely legal.
In addition to the gross abuse toward animals, bestiality carries the risk of spreading zoonotic diseases.
Malta must update its outdated laws and criminalize sexual activities with animals.
Sign this petition urging Maltese Ambassador to the United States Keith Azzopardi to push for his country to ban bestiality, protecting helpless animals from suffering and abuse.
Symposium and Workshop: Replacing Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) in Research & Testing
21 September 2020
Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is used as an additive for cell and tissue culture media in biomedical research and testing to enhance cell growth.
However, there is massive underlying animal suffering in FBS production: To obtain the serum blood of unborn calves is collected by syringe from the beating heart of fetal calves without anaesthesia, even though there are clear indications that calf fetuses are already capable of suffering. In addition to the ethical dilemma, scientific reasons speak against the use of FBS as well: The exact composition of the serum is unknown and there is the risk of contaminations from pathogens potentially present in animal sera. This can compromise cell cultures performance and subsequent experiments.
Thus, switching to FBS-free medium is both an ethical and a scientific necessity. Alternatives to FBS exist and are already used in many cell cultures. Our symposium at the TranslaTUM in Munich aims to draw the attention on this topic and to increase the acceptance of alternative media already existing. Our subsequent satellite workshop at the Academy for Animal Welfare in Neubiberg will present techniques how cells can be easily switched to FBS-free media.
Symposium on November 3rd, 2020:
International experts from universities, industry, regulatory authorities and animal welfare will discuss the current status on the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) and present ethical and scientific advantages of FBS-free alternatives. Lectures and discussions will be held in English. The one-day symposium takes place in the large auditorium at the TranslaTUM in Munich. Due to social distancing regulations to restrain the COVID-19 pandemic, participation is currently limited to 50 – 100 participants. Target Group Symposium: Undergraduate, graduate and PhD students in the fields of biology, medicine, veterinary medicine and related fields of study, post-docs, working group leaders.
Speakers Symposium:
Dr. Jan van der Valk (3Rs-Centre Utrecht Life Sciences)
Dr. Karen Bieback (Heidelberg University; German Red Cross Blood Service BadenWürttemberg – Hessen gGmbH)
Dr. Aline Chary (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology)
Dr. Sandra Coecke (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission)
Dr. Joachim Wiest (cellasys GmbH) · Tilo Weber (Animal Welfare Academy; Office for Alternatives to the Use of Animals in Research, Testing and Education)
Location Symposium: TranslaTUM Großes Auditorium Einsteinstr. 25 81675 Munich, Germany Date: November 3rd, 2020 from 8:30 a.m. (registration from 8:00 a.m.) to approx. 5:00 p.m.
Workshop on November 4th, 2020:
In the practical section of the satellite workshop, the suitability of serum-free medium for cell cultures will be demonstrated by Dr. Joachim Wiest (cellasys GmbH). Participants will be trained how to perform a switch of cells from serum-containing to serum-free medium using the cellasys #8 protocol. The suitability and the possible effects on the cells will be assessed based on the results of the demonstration.
The theoretical section of the workshop consists of lectures on the scientific risks of FBS and the availability of alternative media (Dr. Jan van der Valk, 3Rs-Center Utrecht Life Sciences) and information on further laboratory reagents of animal origin, such as polyclonal antibodies, gelatine, collagen, trypsin, Matrigel etc. (Tilo Weber, Academy for Animal Welfare). Lectures and demonstrations will be held in English.
The one-day satellite workshop will take place at the cell culture lab of the Academy for Animal Welfare (Akademie für Tierschutz) in Neubiberg. The workshop is limited to 10 participants. Meals are included. For workshop participants that are not resident in Munich or the vicinity, accommodation is included as well. Participation at the Symposium is required. Target Group Workshop: MTA, BTA, PhD students, post-docs.
Location Workshop: Akademie für Tierschutz (Academy for Animal Welfare) Cell Culture Lab Spechtstr. 1 85579 Neubiberg, Germany Date: November 4 th, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to approx. 5:00 p.m.
Yesterday morning two participants of the committee bird protection camp- not far from the city of Agia Napa / Cyprus– were attacked by armed poachers.
The two perpetrators had posted illegal liming rods on bushes around their hunting grounds and provided them with an electronic decoy.
When our members – a young man and a young woman – tried to sneak up to the trapping site to investigate the situation for a game warden, they surprised the hunters, who attacked without warning.
They pushed both bird conservationists to the ground, threatened to kill them, strangled the young man, and destroyed his cell phone. Before the game guards arrived, the perpetrators fled.
The brutal attack was preceded by a newspaper article launched by the Cypriot hunters, in which the committee against bird murder was vilified and xenophobic sentiment against us was stoked.
We filed a complaint against the attackers, the limes were collected. Both of our members got away with bruises and a real shock.
The picture comes from the archive – it shows the fishing method with liming rods, birds caught with them. Also in Cyprus!
According to my information…In the committee’s bird protection camp in Cyprus, committee activists are confronted with such “finds” every day.
If they find the animals early enough, they can usually free them safely. If the birds hang around for hours in the Mediterranean autumn sun, they have little chance of survival.
Bird hunting with liming rods and fishing nets have been banned in Cyprus since 1974.
But illegal bird trapping is big business, involving gangs that are also involved in drugs and prostitution.
“There are many indications that this is an organized crime”.
In fact, networks are now available almost for free on Internet portals. Liming rods also cost nothing.
Bird protection organizations have calculated that a hunter catches up to a hundred birds per net and night in the high season, which he can sell for four euros each. In total, the songbird trade is expected to bring in 15 million euros annually for the 3,000 Cypriot poachers.
“There’s a mafia behind it, and the police are playing along”.
Once the hunters have been reported, they can be left alone for money.
Since the mission in Cyprus began two weeks ago, the committee has already rendered 642 of the brutal limestones harmless and displaced 10 poachers.
They were able to clean the black cap in the photo with a lot of effort and patience and release it after a night in the hotel.
We bow to the activists of the “Committee Against Bird Murder”.
House of Lords (UK) Votes to Ban Low Standard Imports – protecting British farming from ‘vile’ American animal welfare standards.
The House of Lords voted on 22 September with a significant majority (307/212) in favour of an amendment to the Agriculture Bill that, in the event of a UK/US trade deal, would ban imports of food that would be illegal to produce in the UK such as pork dosed with the muscle-builder
Ractopamine, beef injected with growth hormones and chicken washed in chlorine.
The result is a significant response by the Lords that reflects both their personal values and those of the public in supporting real food and farming in the UK.
Who said what? Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, a Green Party peer, said the amendment was essential to protect British farming against “vile” American animal welfare standards.
But opposing Tory peer, Baroness Noakes said, “The government’s policy is clear, they are committed to higher food and welfare standards […] We do not need to write into law what the government is committed to.” A suggestion as to how to hold the government accountable to these commitments in the race for a trade deal outside of the EU, was not given by the Baroness.
So What Next ?
The Agriculture Bill now returns to the House of Commons where, after previous readings, almost all Conservative MPs voted against amendments to protect our farmers by restricting low standard imports, “primarily down to the political sensitivity around trade deals and their links to Brexit”. This vote by the Lords can be overturned by the Conservatives due to their vast majority, so we must keep up the pressure by lobbying Conservative MPs.
Which is why we still need signatures to support our campaign;Say No To Trump’s Toxic Trade Deal. We are focusing on high street fast food outlets that have not yet committed to not using substandard American pork. Greggs is one of them. Please sign and share the petition asking Greggs to commit to not using cruelly-raised factory farmed US pork.
It’s All Linked
David Attenborough’s recent film Extinction; The Facts explains that new pandemic diseases are emerging because industrialised crop monocultures, animal factories and expanding cities, have encroached onto the last areas of wilderness where bacteria and viruses that are harmless to wild animals, are deadly to immuno-compromised factory farmed animals – not least the city and factory bound human species!
This 12-story pig factory in China with over 1,000 pigs on each floor, complete with an elevator for transporting pigs between the floors, is being touted as ‘biosecure’. Really? Or is this just the typical ‘big is beautiful and more efficient’ myth? Dr Michael Gregor explains how factory farming makes pandemics more likely.
Farmers are victims, forced to compete in a global market; get big or get out of farming by industrialising, is the status-quo mantra. As a result farming has become cruel, monotonous, polluting and badly paid, with massive external costs paid for in taxes, our health and mass extinction. The average age of traditional farmers in the UK is 62, and young people who want to farm cannot afford to buy or rent land or invest in machinery and livestock. A network of small scale mixed farming systems, abattoirs, processors and retail outlets would boost rural employment, keep money in the local community, be more resilient to shocks and feed more people with less transport costs and fraud. So, trade agreements should be framed to take food and farming out of the global economy, and instead facilitate the re-localisation of real farming – as advocated and voted for by our nature-friendly Lords.
Image: Animals`Angels
Image: Animals`Angels
Image: Animals`Angels
Blue Roller
Honey Buzzard 
World Animals Voice 