Report by Martin Balluch (Chairman of the Association against Animal Factories-VGT) – Austria
Yesterday the Estonian Parliament voted in the responsible committee to ban fur farms.
The final vote in the parliamentary plenary will take place on June 2, 2021.
Another coffin nail in the fur industry!
Martin Balluch was in Estonia in 2004 and 2005 to film fur farms.
There were still some very large farms from the communist era. These farms are now closed.
But the fur farming ban sends an important political signal.
Great Britain plans to ban the import of fur for clothing in the near future. If all EU countries have fur farming bans – and that day is not far away – then an import ban for fur can follow here too.
So whoever looks at the development of the abolition of the fur industry cannot help but see an animal welfare revolution.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Vienna was the central fur trading center, with 1500 pure fur shops.
In the 1990s, every woman on pedestrian zone in Vienna wore a fur coat in winter.
In 1998 theAssociation against Animal Factories achieved the world’s first fur farming ban, in Austria.
Violent campaigns against fur shops and fur in clothing chains followed.
In 2004 the fur ban came in Great Britain, and then in numerous other states.
Fur import bans for cat, dog and seal fur into the EU have been enacted.
Now there will soon be an import ban on all fur in the UK.
Within 25 years, the fur trade was essentially ended.
Our demands on the automotive and fashion industry:
Deforestation in the Amazon reached a 12-year high last year: over 1 million hectares were destroyed! Livestock breeding causes by far the most deforestation in Brazil.
The use of Brazilian leather in the automotive and fashion industries is also contributing to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
A new study that we published together with the Rainforest Foundation Norway, Aidenvironment and Ecologistas en Accion shows that companies that supply leather to the automotive industry are partly responsible for the destruction of forests.
Some of these companies also supply the fashion industry, most of which is used for sneakers. The industry’s supply chain is tainted with deforestation and there are currently no adequate control systems in place to ensure this does not happen.
By buying leather products from companies involved in deforestation, your brand is promoting the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, one of the world’s most valuable ecosystems and vital in the fight against catastrophic climate change.
Vale do Jamari settlement, Candeias do Jamari, Rondônia, Brazil; Cattle, there are more cattle than people in the state of Rondônia.
As a successful multinational brand, it is your responsibility to ensure that forest degradation, ecosystem transformation and human rights abuses are eliminated from your supply chains.
You have the opportunity to help Brazil decouple forest destruction from beef and leather production, and we urge you to take advantage of it.
Eliminate deforestation from your supply chain!
Our demands:
We sincerely hope that you and your company want to be a part of the solution. Take measures to avoid the use of leather, which is driving deforestation in Brazil!
We address our demands to:
Volkswagen Group, with brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda
BMW Group, with brands like BMW, Rolls Royce and Mini
Stellantis, with brands like Peugeot, Citroen, Opel
Groupe Renault, with brands such as Renault, Dacia and Alpine
Daimler, with brands like Mercedes-Benz and Smart
Nike
VF Corporation, with brands such as Timberland, Vans, and The North Face
New Balance
Adidas, with brands like Reebook
The full report for all the details, including a comprehensive list of recommendations that apply to both auto and sneaker manufacturers, can be found here.
And I mean…What do leather and meat have in common? Both often come from cattle.
And both are related to the illegal clearing of the rainforest, but also to immense animal suffering in the slaughterhouses of India and China.
The skin from which leather is made comes from animals that were mostly bred for their meat.
But leather is not a by-product of the meat industry in every country.
Leather production in Bangladesh. Cows are killed without any stunning.
Regardless of whether animals are bred especially for their leather or for their meat, according to reports, all animals will be exploited and have to experience the horror in the slaughterhouse.
The leather industry generates annual sales of US $ 80 billion in animal hides and leather products.
As the third manufacturing country, Brazil is only behind China and India. In 2017, Brazil ranked fourth in shoe consumption.
30 percent of the leather for car seats comes from Brazil, so it is very likely that a significant proportion of the animals must have grazed on illegally cleared areas.
In Asia, is India the largest producer of cheap leather.
From here a large amount of finished leather and leather goods is exported to Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.
India exports leather worth billions of euros
Cows are simply caught on the street, but so are dogs.
Often their legs are chopped off so that they can no longer run away.
Then the skin is torn off their bodies while they are alive.
Only if no animal products are used can animal cruelty and environmental crime be prevented
And if leather production in India were even worse for animals, the destruction of forests for leather in Brazil does not make that any better.
It’s about animal individuals, about the exploitation of people who work for this destructive industry, it’s about the poisoning of our planet by the tanneries.
We would say that every animal exploited is one too many.
Target: Shawn Benge, US National Parks Service Deputy Director
Goal: Stop lottery to hunt Grand Canyon bison.
The National Parks Service (NPS) recently held a lottery that allowed anyone to enter for the chance to hunt bison in the Grand Canyon. More than 45,000 people entered the lottery, which is part of an initiative to limit the population of bison, whose growing numbers are negatively impacting resources in the Grand Canyon area. The NPS will ultimately only select twelve skilled shooters.
While the NPS has defended their decision for the cull, stating that a fast growing bison population has been ravaging water, vegetation, soils, and archaeological sites within the national park, the excitement around the opportunity to hunt this majestic animal is concerning. Hunting at national parks is forbidden, but the NPS does have the jurisdiction to allow park staff or volunteers to kill animals that are damaging the natural spaces. This normalization and “viral” attention that the search for bison-hunting volunteers has drawn could potentially lead to unauthorized hunting or attack on wild animals.
Sign this petition to urge the NPS to stop the public lottery to hunt Grand Canyon bison.
PETITION LETTER:
To Mr. Benge,
The publication of the culling of bison in the Grand Canyon and the ability for anyone to simply enter a lottery to hunt these animals sends the wrong message to the public. The NPS should be focused on conservation and respect for nature. This lottery has, instead, created “viral” excitement around the possibility of shooting a majestic animal that is native to the United States. The fact that 45,000 people registered for a lottery reveals a strange and gruesome desire of many individuals to kill wild animals.
I urge you to stop the lottery to hunt Grand Canyon bison and leave conservation efforts of all kinds to NPS staff.
WAV Comment (Mark) – After more than 30 years of personally campaigning against this disgusting, barbaric trade; the news today (12/5/21) is finally looking good. “MINISTERS have published an action plan on animal welfare, looking at how to use Britain’s freedom outside the EU to increase standards”. Freedom outside of the EU; this legislation shows what can be done by individual nations when they do not have to bow to do nothing fools in Brussels.
I am checking and re checking everywhere to get confirmation; but as you can see below it looks positive.
I will write more on this as more detail is obtained.
Regards Mark
George Eustice, the environment secretary, said: “We are a nation of animal lovers and were the first country in the world to pass animal welfare laws.
Our action plan for animal welfare will deliver on our manifesto commitment to ban the export of live animal exports for slaughter and fattening, prohibit keeping primates as pets, and bring in new laws to tackle puppy smuggling.
As an independent nation, we are now able to go further than ever to build on our excellent track record.”
By now, you probably will have seen our latest investigation into an intensive pig farm called P&G Sleigh pig unit. A lot has happened since we conducted the investigation. Here’s an overview of what unfolded.
Philip Sleigh, the owner of the farm, resigned as the Chairman of the Pigs Standard Setting Committee of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), a public body to which he had been appointed as a Board Member by the Scottish Government.
The Independent, the Scottish Daily Mail, and many more newspapers published articles covering the story, including the front page of Scotland’s most widely-read paper.
What we have achieved so far is huge. After our investigators captured footage of pigs being abused, we made sure people everywhere saw it by securing coverage in some of the UK’s leading newspapers. Scottish actress, Karen Gillan, also shared our investigation on Instagram to her 7.3m followers.
Not only has this led to people all over the country learning about the cruelty behind meat production in the UK, but it has been seen by government officials and company executives: decision-makers who are in a position to create change.
By uncovering ties between the farm and major UK supermarkets, Tesco and Lidl, we have sent another strong and clear message to retailers: if you do business with farms that abuse and exploit animals, you will be found out.
And we have also sent a powerful message to the meat industry itself. Philip Sleigh, who resigned as the Chairman of the Pigs Standard Setting Committee of QMS, is a well-known and influential figure in the UK meat industry.
Rubbing shoulders with Government officials and accreditation reps, he was entrusted with a position of power, and yet his own farm breached the very standards that he helped set.
With this investigation, we have shown that it doesn’t matter how high up in the industry you are: we will hold you to account.
While Philip Sleigh (pictured above) has left his position at QMS, the publicly-funded body still has a lot to answer for. It boasts of being proud of its standards, yet it took Animal Equality to uncover these serious breaches on its board member’s farm. How can QMS claim to take animal welfare seriously when its own poster-boy didn’t?
QMS is just one part of an industry which routinely misleads the public and profits from the abuse and exploitation of animals. We need the Government to take action.
*GRAPHIC* Actor Evanna Lynch met with Co-founder of @VFCfood Matthew Glover, to see what conditions are like for the majority of farmed chickens. VFC aims to eradicate farms like this with its range of vegan fried chick*n. Get 10% off with PBN10 here👉https://t.co/jZUeiYCbT4pic.twitter.com/YlnXndusaI
It can be a little confusing to non Brits, but the United Kingdom is literally what it says, ‘United Kingdoms’; formed by the (kingdom) nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each has its own government; Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom
United Kingdon.
WAV Comment – there is a lot of talk going around that the UK Ministry Defra will aim to get legislation for a ban on live animal exports intorduced by the end of this year. They are currently going through all the submissions submitted to them; including a large proposal by ourselves. The UK government promised that once the UK had left the EU, it would be able to introduce legislation to ban all live animal exports, which it was unable to do as an EU member state. The consultation (now being reviewed by government) is part of that objective; and we are hopeful for good news in the coming months.
The State Opening Of Parliament – Good news for the environment and animals.
The StateOpening of Parliament is an event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the Queen’s Speech (or the King’s Speech if the UK has a male monrch).
It takes place in the House of Lords chamber on the first day of a new session, which is usually in May or June, and traditionally in November, but can occur at any time of year depending on the timing of General Elections and parliamentary session start dates.
It takes place in front of both Houses of Parliament. The monarch, wearing the Imperial State Crown, reads a speech that has been prepared by his or her government outlining its plans for that parliamentary year.
Basically, it outlines the major legislation that the government intends to introduce into UK law in the coming Parliamentary session.
This next session is going to see some positive legislation for both animals and the environment being passed into law, including:
Environment Bill
Another confirmed commitment is to new, legally binding environmental targets in the form of the much-delayed Environment Bill, which was was first launched in July 2018. The Government said it will pass the legislation in the run-up to the international Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow at the end of year.
Animal Sentience Bill
The Queen’s Speech will also ensure animals with a backbone will have a legal right to feel happiness and suffering. According to the Sunday Telegraph, an Animal Sentience Bill will enshrine in law that animals are aware of their feelings and emotions in order to make the UK a world leader in animal welfare.
Animals Abroad Bill
A new Animals Abroad bill is also expected to ban imports of hunting trophies, while a Kept Animals bill will ban families from keeping primates as pets.
Here is a further review of some other issues not related to animals or the environment:
“A mother’s love” is not only reserved for biological mothers. And it’s not just shared with babies. Anyone who has dearly loved an animal, whether an abandoned calf who thinks you’re his real mama, or a senior cat who barely tolerates your presence, knows the incredible joy of being needed like a mother. We’ve nurtured thousands of orphaned newborns, ill and wounded animals, often with intensive care. That’s what mothers–whether they are men, women, cows, donkeys or goats–give every day: intensive care and vital love.
This teenager puppy was badly injured after likely being snagged by a passing vehicle. The wound covered a huge area on her shoulders, and Jewel’s pain must have been excruciating. Infection was a grave danger. We hurried her back to Animal Aid, brought her into surgery to clean and stitched the wound back together.
Shy young Jewel emerged from her ordeal needing extra snuggles while her massive laceration became a tiny scar.Please donate
Colby took months to reveal his inner strengthafter a spine injury laid him low
This beautiful boy was hit by a passing vehicle and his neck and spine were injured. Our protocol for spine injury includes pain treatment, bed rest, good food, and gradual physiotherapy starting with passive movements and progressing to hydrotherapy.But with spine injuries, mobility is not guaranteed.
We were heartbroken that after a month of treatment, this sweetheart still couldn’t stand and our hopes started to fade. But Colby had hidden strength, and he just needed a little more time.
Abandoned and adorable, Jake waited 9 long months before we found a loving family who could care for him in the way he deserved–with abundant play, multiple opportunities to exercise every day, and people who adore him.
Jake’s new family knows the importance of adopting a shelter or street dog rather than buying a dog from a breeder or shop. And they also know the value of unconditional, life-long commitment and love.
Did you know that a shockingly large number of farm animals are not killed in the slaughterhouse?
Many people are not aware that numerous animals end up in so-called carcass disposal facilities (CDF for short) – especially those that were sick and therefore could not be killed for their meat.
Carcass disposal systems are collection points for dead animals from various areas, including so-called pets, but also animals from agriculture, zoos and fur farms.
Their bodies and body parts, including slaughterhouse waste, are destroyed in the facilities, for example by incineration.
Studies that examined animal corpses in such animal body disposal facilities have shown that so-called farm animals in the food industry experience immense suffering while they are being kept.
That is sad everyday life and not – as lobby-related politicians like to claim – the individual case.
Study shows: 13.6 million pigs end up in carcass disposal facilities
So far, hardly any studies have been carried out on the health of animals that do not survive breeding or fattening and are “disposed of” in animal carcass disposal facilities.
The few available results of such investigations are all shocking because they show that a large number of these “fallen animals” suffered considerably before they died.
The University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) published a study at the end of 2017 that examined some of the approximately 13.6 million pigs that die or are killed every year in German breeding and fattening facilities.
The result: 13.2 percent of the so-called fattening pigs and 11.6 percent of the pigs from breeding had cruel findings.
Externally recognizable ailments and some animals that were delivered alive
“Want to see cognitive dissonance in action? The photo on the right, of a murdered dog, has been censored by Facebook. The photo on the left, of a murdered pig, has not been. If there was ever anything that both Facebook mods and non-vegans (i.e. the ones who reported the dog image) have done to prove the very point of a vegan post, this is it”.
George Martin
And I mean…We humans, as a species, have successfully eaten our way to the top of the food chain.
And above all we Europeans consider ourselves to be particularly sensitive and animal-friendly when we are exceptionally outraged by the “sick and perverted” Chinese who eat the “wrong” animals.
Because we take animal welfare seriously here.
After all, we are not just some uncivilized animal that has run around. We are Homo Sapiens!
And what does homo sapiens have ?! He has rights! And lots of it.
The right of the strongest, for example. And then it would be an offense against natural law not to apply it.
So let’s do that and think of all kinds of ways to eat animals!
We can destroy any animal because we are stronger!!
The meat-eating home-pet protectors have set themselves the task of explaining to the Chinese that instead of dogs they should finally eat the right animals: cattle, chickens, pigs … just like normal people.
According to the motto … “Nobody cares about eating dogs. It’s about torturing! IT’S ALL ABOUT TORTURING! … “
But if we actually took this seriously, then in the end it would really prevent us from being able to eat animals at all, because every slaughter is about tormenting, and because now more and more people know that the pigs killed here are more intelligent than dogs there, or that they are at least as friendly, playful and trusting if we let them.
But that would be a certain inconvenience for our morality.
And above all, it would conflict with the law of the strongest. After all, this is a law of nature. And we take THAT seriously.
So seriously that we even consider it the duty of the strong to eat the weak.
Only if no animal products are used can animal cruelty and environmental crime be prevented
World Animals Voice 