Animal Equality has filed a complaint with the European Commission against Spain, pointing out the incorrect procedures and omissions made by the authorities of the ports of Tarragona and Cartagena, which should have controlled the respect of the minimum standards for the protection of animals on board of the ships Elbeik and Karim Allah.
The ship “Karim Allah” with around a thousand cattle on board docks in the port of Escombreras in Cartagena, Spain, at the end of February.
Animal Equality together with ENPA(Ente Nazionale Protezione Animali) demands that the European Commission verify the correct application of the Regulation on the Protection of Animal Welfare during Transport by the Spanish authorities and, where appropriate, open an infringement procedure if it is found that European legislation has been breached.
At the same time as the complaint, a petition has also been submitted to the European Parliament, in which MEPs are asked to take the measures they deem appropriate to ensure compliance with European legislation on the protection of animals during transport, with special reference to its export by sea from Spain.
If the petition is considered admissible by the corresponding Commission, any European citizen may support it through the online petitions portal of the European Parliament. The odyssey of the ships in the Mediterranean that could be avoided
Cattle on the ship “Karim Allah”, taken on February 24th.
Hundreds of thousands of animals were forced to board these boats, specifically 895 calves on the Karim Allah and 1789 on the Elbeik. The animals were to be sold in Tripoli, but once they were denied landing due to an alleged disease in the animals, the ships were left adrift and thus remained for more than 2 and 3 months.
Ice surrounding Antarctica could be at risk of collapsing if global temperatures increase by 4C, experts warn.
Research from the University of Reading found that more than a third of the Antarctic ice shelf area could collapse and release “unimaginable amounts” of water into the sea.
The scientists said that limiting the temperature rise to 2C could potentially halve the area at risk and avoid a drastic rise in sea level.
The findings suggest that 4C warming could leave 34% of the area of all Antarctic ice shelves – around half a million square kilometres – at risk of collapse.
Ice shelves are permanent floating sheets of ice that connect to a landmass and most ice shelves surround the coast of Antarctica.
Dr Ella Gilbert from the University of Reading said: “Ice shelves are important buffers, preventing glaciers on land from flowing freely into the ocean and contributing to sea-level rise.
“When they collapse, it’s like a giant cork being removed from a bottle, allowing unimaginable amounts of water from glaciers to pour into the sea.
“We know that, when melted ice accumulates on the surface of ice shelves, it can make them fracture and collapse spectacularly.
“Previous research has given us the bigger picture in terms of predicting Antarctic ice shelf decline, but our new study uses the latest modelling techniques to fill in the finer detail and provide more precise projections.”
Dr Gilbert added the research highlights the importance of limiting the global temperature increases as set out in the Paris Agreement, by limiting global warming to below 2C above pre-industrial levels.
As part of their modelling study, the researchers also identified that Larsen C – the largest remaining ice shelf on the peninsula – would be particularly at risk in a warmer climate.
They said other ice shelves facing this threat include Shackleton, Pine Island and Wilkins.
Dr Gilbert added: “If temperatures continue to rise at current rates, we may lose more Antarctic ice shelves in the coming decades.
“Limiting warming will not just be good for Antarctica – preserving ice shelves means less global sea-level rise, and that’s good for us all.”
WAV Comment: This is a difficult one to crack. 30 years ago Joanne, myself and Trev took to the streets to get supermarkets in England to stop buying fish from the Faroes because of this slaughter (see photo below). Shoppers were made aware of the slaughter, but Denmark / Faroes refused to move on the subject. So here we are all these years later and the killing still goes on. The mass mink murderers are also getting satisfaction out of whale slaughter. So much for the EU being animal welfare supportive ! – allowing a member state to continue this.
Campaigning on the streets against this murder, 30 years ago !
You can see a picture of our action on the streets above, plus many pictures of the whale murders by visiting About Us. | Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) – scroll down until you come to the bloody photos.
I don’t know what else to say about this really, the petition wording explains more. All we can do is keep putting on the pressure and this action is yet another way of doing it.
Every few months, entire pods of Pilot Whales are brutally and senselessly slaughtered in the Faroe Islands. As many as 1,000 long‐finned pilot whales are brutally killed in the Faroe Islands each year.
The slaughter occurs mainly during the summer months in so‐called “traditional” communal drive hunts that locals refer to as “grindadráp” or simply, “the grind”. More accurately this practice should be called what it truly is ‐ mass slaughter. Like the infamous drive hunts in Taiji, Japan, “the grind” is a blood‐red stain on these otherwise pristine waters.
The purpose of this petition is to call on the Danish Ambassador to South Africa, Trine Rask Thygesen, as well as the South African Ambassador to Denmark, Zindzi Mandela‐Hlongwane, to place pressure on the government of Denmark to stop “the grind”.
The Faroe Islands, although declared an autonomous region, still forms a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Faroe Islands may be self‐governing, but they essentially constitute a country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Although the Nordic country does not openly support commercial whaling, same which is banned by the European Commission, it supports the right of indigenous communities in the Faroe Islands and Greenland – which, while part of the Danish Kingdom are not part of the European Union – to maintain what they call their traditional whale hunts. Denmark does this by relying on “Declaration 25”. The declaration refers to member states who have territories outside the EU – as is the case with the Faroe Islands and Greenland – and will allow Denmark not to be bound by the common position of the EU.
It should also be noted that Denmark’s justification which previously exempted it from having to comply with the EU Common Position (see Annex II of Common Position), is no longer valid, as this exemption was based on Declaration no. 25 annexed to the Final Act of the Maastricht Treaty. However, Declaration 25 is not annexed to the Lisbon Treaty, and therefore is no longer valid.
It is argued that “the grind” is done to procure food for the islanders, and forms a part of their “culture and tradition”. This seems to be inline with the Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling (ASW) are contained in paragraph 13 of the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling(ICRW) and allow for “aborigines,” whose cultural and nutritional need for whales and whaling. HOWEVER ‐ evidence has clearly shown that the islanders do in fact, sell the whale meat for commercial purposes. Also, many of the whales are hunted and their carcasses are left to rot in the sea, untouched by the islanders. Inference can then be drawn to support the idea that “the grind” does not fall under Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling and must be opposed by the Kingdom of Denmark, the EU and the IWC.
Lastly, culture and tradition should not promote or condone cruelty. It is the 21st Century, we are aware of the biological workings of all animals. Whales and Dolphins have an increased amount of spindle cells, more so than humans do. Spindle cells, named after their long, spindle‐shaped bodies, are the cells that are credited with allowing us to feel love and to suffer emotionally.
Lori Marino in Whales and Dolphin: cognition, culture, conservation and human perceptions states:
‘Cetaceans and humans, therefore, are a striking example of evolutionary convergence in psychology among mammals. These similarities, importantly, mean that cetaceans, as humans, are vulnerable to emotional and social stresses that can lead to considerable harm. This important point is critical to guiding the ethics of how we interact with and treat cetaceans.’
We, as South Africans, are generally kind, compassionate people who do not support any form of animal abuse. Our coast lines boast the best Whale and Dolphin watching worldwide. Cape Town is an international Hot Spot for viewing of the Great White Shark. We fight the brutal poaching of our rhinos and elephants, boasting the largest game park, the Kruger National Park, in the world. We take our conservation very seriously.
It is important that ambassadors to, and of, our country show this stance and should protest against any such animal abuse, including this barbaric hunt of the Pilot Whales.
The ship “Karim Allah” with around a thousand cattle on board docks in the port of Escombreras in Cartagena, Spain, at the end of February.
Cattle on the ship “Karim Allah”, taken on February 24th.
World Animals Voice 