WAV Comment: Now that is really cool news – who would have ever thought ? – the burger giant now seeing the future as palnt based. Well done Cologne !
A store in Cologne served meat-free burgers and plant-based nuggets from June 7-11 Credit: Burger King DE
Huge Queues Gather After Burger King Store Hosts ‘Plant-Based’ Takeover
In what has been described as a ‘world’s first’, one Burger King outlet ditched meat from its menu for a limited-time…
A Burger King store witnessed huge queues gathering outside after it hosted a plant-based takeover.*
One of the fast-food chain’s outlets in Cologne, Germany, ditched meat from June 7-11.
Burger King’s ‘plant-based’ takeover
In what has been described as a ‘world’s first’ – the store sold exclusively meat-free versions of its whopper and Chicken Royale burgers, as well as plant-based nuggets.
All vegan meat served was created by The Vegetarian Butcher – a Unilever-owned brand that partnered with Burger King last year.Pictures from social media show the restaurant’s exterior undergo a green makeover. Posters stating: ‘100 percent taste, 0 percent meat’ were displayed outside and inside the store.
‘The burgers were delicious’
“I was there today. It was really busy, people were standing outside,” one social media user wrote on Facebook.
“The burgers were delicious and tasted like the original. Thanks also to the great staff, who kept a clear head despite this rush and did a great job.”
Commenting on the success of the pop-up, Burger king Deutschland said: “Thank you cologne! “Thanks to the many, many enthusiastic guests. And especially thanks to our super team from the Plant-based Burger King Restaurant.
“For the past five days, you’ve been plant-based whopper and co. [You’ve] Made a lot of guests happy! Big shout out to all of you. You are simply plant-astic!”
*While all meat served during the meat-free takeover was vegan. Some items contained cheese and mayonnaise.
Before dying under a hail of bullets on Thursday, so-called Mpumalanga rhino poaching kingpin Petros “Mr Big” Mabuza (57) instilled fear wherever he went.
Mabuza lived a very adventurous and risky life as an alleged rhino poacher. He made a lot of cash, allegedly had police officers on his payroll and was not shy to splash his loot on what others may call hedonism. Most people called him by his clan name, Mshengu, as a sign of reverence.
According to Jamie Joseph, the director of Saving the Wild, who has been working closely with police to get Mabuza arrested and convicted for rhino poaching, the man from Hazyview lived a lavish lifestyle. “He has been throwing illegal parties which, according to someone in regular attendance, included naked women dancing on the tables, class A drugs on the bar dished out like canapés and armed guards at the entrance,” Joseph said.
The loaded man he was, Mabuza allegedly owned houses – from Hazyview, White River and Mbombela.
Mpumalanga police are on the trail of Mabuza’s killers.
Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, the provincial police spokesperson, said Mabuza was sitting in his double-cab Ford Ranger on Thursday in Hazyview when three armed men in a black VW Polo opened fire on him in broad daylight, before fleeing.
“He was rushed to hospital where he later succumbed to the gunshot injuries. During the shooting, an elderly woman passerby, also became a victim as she too was shot on her lower body but she is recuperating in hospital,” Hlathi said.
The motive for Mabuza’s killing was still unknown, Hlathi said. According to those who knew “Mr Big”, it will not be easy to pinpoint why he was a marked man because he had “multitudes of enemies” as he had interest in various “businesses”.
Beside his alleged involvement in the lucrative illicit rhino horn trade, he was also rumoured to be commanding and sponsoring cash-in-transit heists.
He was a bully at the rank and his profile is really, really bad
Local resident
“Another thing, he was a loan shark who confiscated people’s houses and cars. Even in the taxi business, he was a bully at the rank and his profile is really, really bad,” said a local resident.
The person said Mabuza started from “rock bottom, playing dice”, before he ventured into more illegal and serious businesses.
He was facing two rhino poaching charges in the Mpumalanga High Court. In one case he was out on R250 000 bail, He was charged alongside two accomplices. In another case he was out on R90 000 bail. He was arrested with five accomplices. Mabuza was first arrested in 2018.
Saving the Wild’s Joseph said had Mabuza lived long enough, he would not have been convicted because the courts in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, where his operation had extended, were “captured”.
“A successful conviction with a strong sentence would have sent a powerful message to other rhino poaching traffickers that government is serious about cracking down on wildlife crime – but they are not,” she said.
“Mabuza was a ruthless killer and stole the lives of many humans and rhino. And he got away with it for so long because of his political allies. We’re down to the last of the rhino and President Cyril Ramaphosa has never acknowledged the crisis,” she added.
Joseph was allegedly threatened by Mabuza and his henchmen during one of his court appearances.
Lieutenant Colonel Leroy Bruwer, of Mpumalanga Hawks, who was investigating rhino poaching cases, was assassinated on March 17 2020. The criminals waylaid him as he drove to work from his home in Sabie to Mbombela.
He was killed after he had testified in one of rhino poaching court cases.
Mr Big’s Ford Ranger found riddled with 17 bullet holes
Alleged rhino poaching kingpin Sydney Petros Mabuza was gunned down in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, on Thursday afternoon.
His car, a Ford Ranger, was found riddled with 17 bullet holes.
Mabuza, who was known as Mshengu and Mr Big in the community, was facing a number of charges, including rhino poaching and murder.
He was out on R200,000 bail for rhino poaching following his arrest in eMalahleni in 2019.
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Leonard Hlathi confirmed that Mabuza was killed.
“We are calling for the community of Hazyview to help us locate the suspects responsible for the fatal shooting, which is clearly a hit. The man was shot in broad daylight in town, in front of people, and we believe people have seen and know the wanted suspects. We call on the public to contact the police anonymously,” said Hlathi.
In footage that surfaced on social media, the bakkie is seen parked on the side of the road, next to it a black vehicle.
Several people are seen opening the bakkie’s doors as the black car drives off and makes a U-turn.
A number of men also come from the front passenger side and hop into the black vehicle before driving away.
In the footage, one can hear people screaming.
“We do not want to speculate if this was gang related or not but the investigation is going to lead us,” said Hlathi.
Hawks spokesperson in the Province Cpt Dineo Sekgotodi Said as the hawks dealing with cases of Mabuza they have come to know that he was shot dead on Thursday but that will not hinder their investigation as they have other suspects on the cases.
“We have got the news that one of the suspects in the rhino horn cases have been killed. But as we speak he was facing charges along other accused which means our investigation will not stop. There are other cases we are investigating around that and if his Murder was part of his crew hiding information we will know as the investigation progresses,” Said Sekgotodi.
In the case of the murder charge Mabuza faced, he and another three people allegedly conspired to murder a man who owed him money and then dumped his body in a river in Bushbuckridge.
It’s a few weeks since Bidelia was murdered and her tiny calf, Shriya became an orphan. Bidelia was found with her head and horns trapped under a cattle gate – her neck had been broken. Shriya, who was born blind, was traumatized and alone, trying to suckle from her dead mothers body.
This is Eilin ( Shriya), Bidelias beautiful calf. She is home with us now so we can care for her round the clock.
We housed the Irish cows in a rented barn close to the Sanctuary as we simply didn’t have enough housing here to accommodate everyone whom we were asked to save from slaughter last Winter. Nothing beats the security and comfort of being at Hugletts Wood. That we have learned, first -hand at the cost of sweet Bidelias life. Still reeling from the horror of it all, we have decided the safest move for us all is to improve the facilities we have here and bring everyone home, where they can be protected and cared for 24/7, as has been the case since 1995. We need to raise and renew an already massive roof, re-build and re-clad walls and utilize every inch we have available to ensure we have enough shelter for everyone, come Winter.
We urgently need to start work, to get everything finished and ready in time. We can do the work ourselves, as we usually do but after the most challenging of Winters, where our feed bills trebled and the haulage costs of bringing fodder from the North (as there was nothing available in East Sussex), have wiped us out financially, we simply cannot fund it.
Your help is needed to cover the cost of the basic materials, which will total £15,500, ( £15,506.90), with discounts applied.
Whatever you can donate will be much appreciated.
Together we can make this happen and ensure the memory of Bidelia lives on in the barn that will bear her name.
While we carry out the work, we plan to house the 20 cows in the other two barns so that they are no longer away from here whilst their usual residents are out grazing. This is only temporary, and we must be finished in time for Winter 2021.
Thank you for your support. It is never taken for granted and very much appreciated.
WAV Comment – If you are here in England and need a bit of Veggie / Vegan food; then check out this fantastic listing from Happy Cow. In addition, there is also a European lsting with over 58,000 listings – all European nations and a list of places to eat. We reproduce this from the data on the Happy Cow site – Vegan Restaurants in England (happycow.net)
Just for the record, Rochester in Kent is fairly near to me. ‘Food Glorious Food’ Vegan Restaurants in Rochester, England (happycow.net) is the restaurant there. Rochester was home to author Charles Dickens, hence the name; and Rochester is small but is also a city, complete with cathederal. It hasw a strking castle which we have enjoyed visiting many times. I show you a few pictures here.
Rochester has a ‘Dickens Festival’ each year, where folk dress up as Dickensian characters and walk through the high stret of the city – see lots of pictures at:
Report from Association against animal factories, VGT Austria
Slap in the face – Salzburg Fiakers prevent heat-free!
After our years of campaigns and dozens of actions and a great outcry in the population, the Salzburg municipal council passed a heat-free regulation for Salzburg from 30 degrees from summer 2021 in autumn 2020.
Background:
In December 2020, a heat-free rule from 30 degrees was unanimously passed in the Salzburg municipal council.
The value should be measured directly in the city center. The application was introduced by the Salzburg citizens’ list and will come into force in summer 2021.
😮 Now the decision turns out to be a zero number, the mayor refers to the small print: It was only decided to negotiate an amendment to the contract, “we could not force the horse cabs (“Fiaker”) to do anything” (!!!)
And despite the decision, they continue to extend at a sweaty 30 degrees plus. Anyone who forces his horses to do this pointless activity in such heat cannot claim to like horses.
This Fiaker horse died while driving at the Burgring in downtown Vienna- Image: Marcello Farabegoli
VGT campaigner Georg Prinz said: “It is no longer possible to work with these “fiakers”. We therefore expressly request the city of Salzburg not to extend the contract with the horse cabs from 2023 onwards. “
Next Tuesday, June 22nd, we will again hold a rally in Salzburg from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. directly at the FiakerStand placeResidenzplatz, where signatures will also be collected for a new petition on the Fiaker ban in Salzburg.
✍ http://www.vgt.at/fiaker-salzburg
Please sign the petition and share it to many possible ones
And I mean…These animals are only able to endure the noise and traffic of the city through the use of blinkers and often also ear plugs.
The long standing at the Fiaker meeting places with horses – which are in the natural so constantly in motion – is a great torture for their tendons and joints, let alone pulling the load on asphalt ground.
Many of these workhorses suffer from hoof diseases and joint problems, which will become massive with increasing age.
And even in their free time – if we can still speak of ‘free time’ with carriage horses- the horses usually lead a lonely and completely unsuitable life.
They work 365 days a year, their official working hours in winter are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (at the 6-week Christmas market you can often see them until 8 p.m.), and in summer from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
One thing is for sure: for carriage horses this traditional ‘customs’ means, and not only from the point of view of animal rights activists, a life-long torture!
At ‘Salzburg Info’ we read on the internet: “Today the “fiaker horses” are used exclusively for tourism and fun.”
Instead of fiaker horses it would be more realistic to say “slaves”.
Because only slaves serve.
And that with the “fun”, that’s probably always been the language of the rulers and the slave owners
The Jordanian government has made a groundbreaking decision: The regional authority for development and tourism for the Petra region has decided that 20 environmentally friendly electric vehicles should replace the horse-drawn carriages that previously used to drive tourist groups through the famous rock city.
We at PETA Germany and our international partner organizations welcome this animal-friendly step.
Electric vehicles are to replace tourist horse-drawn carriages
The decision of the Jordanian government is a groundbreaking step, which we hope will only be the first of many: In the future, electric vehicles will replace the tourist horse-drawn carriage rides through the archaeological park of the city of Petra.
In the past, tourists outraged by animal suffering had repeatedly turned to PETA.
Video recordings from PETA Asia show animal suffering and abuse: In addition to horses, donkeys and camels are also forced – often violently – to transport heavy loads and people over stony surfaces and slippery steps.
Due to public pressure, the electric vehicles will at least alleviate the suffering of the horses exploited in Petra.
“In the future, horses will no longer have to suffer from being forced to pull heavy people behind them – the new vehicles will take care of that and we hope that there will be further developments of this kind soon.” (Jason Baker, PETA Asia)
In October 2020, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourismannounced that it would ban tourist camel riding and horse-drawn carriages at the Giza pyramids.
We hope that these important decisions are only the first steps leading to exclusively animal-free transportation.
Donkeys and mules have to transport people up and down hundreds of steps
New study examines for the first time the seaworthiness of 78 EU-certified animal transport vessels.
European NGOs call for a ban on exports of live animals
The EU is exporting its surplus live animal production to third countries in livestock vessels.
Specifically, Spain is one of the main exporters of the EU and its shipments of live animals to third countries do not stop increasing.
In 2020, it exported 193,085 cattle; 9.2% more than the previous year and 906,517 sheep; 20% more than in 2019.
The recent study carried out by the organizations Robin des Bois(France), Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF, Germany) and Animal Welfare Association Zurich (TSB Zürich, Switzerland) examines for the first time the seaworthiness of the 78 certified livestock transport vessels operating in the EU and reaches devastating conclusions:
“Livestock ships are the most dangerous in the world. At an average age of 41, the ships are too old, contribute to the pollution of the seas, cause enormous animal suffering, drive mostly under black flags of convenience, and have been approved for navigation by companies doubtful »
(Conclusions of the authors of the report).
Only 6% of the approved vessels were built to transport animals.
Of the 78 ships certified by the EU, only five were built expressly for the transport of live animals.
73 ships were previously used as container ships, ferries or freighters (!!)
‘The global average age of shipbreaking ships is 30 years. However, the 78 vessels evaluated were already an average of 29 years old when they became EU approved livestock transport vessels. They already had a useful life behind them »
(Conclusions of the authors of the report).
Furthermore, these conversions do not take into account the behavior and needs of the animals during sea transport, or which species are to be transported.
Only 6% of EU approved vessels were originally built to transport animals, which means that 94% of vessels were built without taking into account the specific needs of each species.
The retrofitting of old ships involves greater safety risks as they were not originally designed for additional cargo.
Increasing additional cargo decks is a problem as they shift the ships’ center of gravity further up.
In heavy seas and with moving cargo, like animals, the ship loses stability more quickly.
In fact, this has been the cause of several accidents in recent years, the authors report.
Usual practice: Changes of ownership and flags of convenience to avoid responsibilities
Musician Annie Ko of LOVE X STEREO worked as a translator for Humane Society International in South Korea.
During that time she discovered horrors of the dog meat industry. On one visit to a dog meat farm, she met and rescued DeeJay and their lives changed forever.
We are working tirelessly to fight the dog meat trade across Asia but change only manifests when it comes from within the hearts and minds of locals like Annie.
The majority of South Koreans are AGAINST the dog meat industry and with their support and activism, the end to this trade is in sight.
Together, we can and are making a difference for animals in Asia!
HSI is working tirelessly to fight the dog meat trade but change only manifests when it comes from within, which Annie exemplifies. Together, we can and are making a difference for animals in Asia and beyond.
Ask China to end dog and cat meat trade horrors including the Yulin festival
Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2021 will take place between 21 – 30 June (06) 2021.
Yulin Dog Meat Festival (or Lychee and Dog Meat Eating Festival) as it is sometimes known, is a controversial festival held in Yulin, Guangxi, China, during the summer solstice – the longest day of the year, in June. Even though the festival started as recently as 2009, eating dog meat is believed to be an ancient Chinese tradition.
Chinese practitioners of folk medicine thought that dog meat is the best solution against the summer heat, although there is no physiological or medical evidence to support it. Some also believe dog meat can ward off diseases and heighten men’s sexual performance.
Cat meat, fresh lychees and liquor are also available at the 10-day event.
During the 10-day festival, dogs and cats are exhibited in metal cages and wooden crate before they are skinned, cooked, and eaten by visitors of the event.
It is a terribly disgusting event as you can see from the photos we are publishing here. As many as 15,000 dogs are tortured, killed and cooked to be sold every year.
On the eve of the festival, many activists are protesting in China or in front of Chinese embassies, while hundreds of volunteers make an effort to stop the trucks transporting the dogs to the festival and rescue the animals.
Activist groups in China can legally intercept dog meat trucks and confiscate dogs if the drivers don’t have the paperwork proving that they own them. The dogs which are found in these trucks often turn out to be stolen pets and are returned to owners, others are made available for adoption in China and other countries.
For example, a shelter from the state of New York took in 200 dogs, a San Diego rescue center took 18 dogs to Southern California, while the center in Massachusetts saved five animals.
Yulin is a major campaign issue across the world with animal rights people. Thanks to international pressure the number of dogs slaughtered during Yulin Dog Meat Festival has dropped considerably, and there is hope the festival will be banned completely.
From ‘Notodogmeat’;
End Yulin 2021 Notodogmeat is Sending Activists to Yulin This Weekend
Yulin Dog Meat ‘ Festival’ is likely to take place next week (21 – 30 June) 2021. Our hearts are broken. We have been campaigning for ten years to end this cruelty and saved hundreds of dogs and cats.
New animal welfare regulations and also concerns about the pandemic gave us hope Yulin City will see sense. People eat dog meat in this south China province all year round, and tourists love to come on Summer Solstice, get drunk and feast on dogs. They don’t care.
As soon as we got word that trucks were on the move, we knew we had to act. Our activists, led by Mr Zhao, who runs our big China shelter, will make the 3000 km trip to the region in the next few days.
They will attend and protest, documenting all health violations and produce a report that the Ministry of Agriculture cannot deny.
We will also rescue whatever pups we can (without paying high prices) and shame traders and revellers.
This action is powerful because our team is made up entirely of Chinese animal lovers and volunteers.
They know how hard you have all worked signing petitions and writing letters, and they are ready to make sacrifices in the boiling heat to do their bit.
Like us, they cannot bear the idea of dogs packed in cages, no food, water, or shelter. Blood, urine, faeces everywhere. It is a horror show. Terrified eyes, pleading for their lives.
We need your help to make this happen. As a small charity, we rely on your donations. Please chip in what you can to help pay for the activists trip and cover veterinary and associated expenses so we can save as many lives as we can.
There are some wonderful, brilliant animal activists in China trying to stop this, and we wish them every success with ALL thier work. Here below are some from ‘Notodogmeat’.
We are putting out this info now; and hope to publish more reading / action links later;
Regards Mark
UPDATE 1430GMT
Hi all; I have tracked down the following video clips for you to see if you want. They are disturbing for animal people, any normal person; here they are in case you want to know more – Mark
Dog Is Sheep Is Cow Is Pig Is Boy Is Girl Is Cat – None should be abused for the want of the human tastebud !
Other articles related to Yulin – the first below from the ‘New York Post’ is very interesting – I have reproduced courtesey of the NYP and outlined the main in RED. – Regards Mark
New York Post – New law could end China’s infamous dog meat festival, says advocacy group
Animal activists are celebrating a new law in China that regulates the mass trafficking of feral dogs into Yulin, in the Guangxi region, which has an annual dog meat festival.
Yulin’s agricultural officials confirmed the news on May 1, Jam Press reported. The new law would ensure that animals are raised and quarantined together before being transported and sold for slaughter — a move that will ultimately strengthen public health efforts, and potentially save thousands of dogs.
…. That and the country’s “wet markets” have long been regarded as sources of disease and, indeed, linked to the virus that causes COVID-19.
Last year, China cracked down on the nation’s wildlife trade, including a move to reclassify dogs as “companion animals” instead of their previous “livestock” designation, in response to what was then still an emerging pandemic that many experts believe originated in a Wuhan meat market.
The plan ensured that dogs would no longer be found on the legal meat trade, though the law does little to mitigate the animal black market.
Normally the whaling season in Icelandwould start now, but the whalers are leaving their harpoons ashore this year too, no whaling will take place.
The last active whaling company in Iceland, Hvalur hf of whaler Kristjan Loftsson, has not yet taken any action to get its ships afloat for the season and now it is too late.
Tourists watch a minke whale in Iceland. Whale watching is one of the top tourist attractions in Iceland. (c) IFAW
“We are a hair’s breadth away from the permanent end of whaling in Iceland,” says Andreas Dinkelmeyer, campaign manager of the IFAW(International Fund for Animal Welfare) in Germany.
“In 2020 the minke whale hunters had realized that whaling was not worthwhile and gave up their business. Now only the fin whale hunter Kristjan Loftsson remains. Officially he still has a fishing permit for fin whales. Of course we are happy that he has not killed any whales since 2018. However, he could go hunting again next year to secure another five-year quota. “
Minke whale meat is sold in Iceland, but most of it is consumed by curious tourists. The last opinion poll commissioned by IFAW found that only about one percent of Icelanders eat whale meat on a regular basis.
Together with local whale watching companies, IFAW launched the “Meet Us Don’t Eat Us”campaign to make tourists aware that their whale meat consumption is keeping whaling alive. The campaign significantly reduced the consumption of whale meat by visitors to the Island.
In contrast to the limited local market for minke whale meat, fin whale meat has been sold exclusively to Japan since 2013 without being able to establish an export market.
Whaling hardly plays a role in the political arena of Iceland either. Whaling was an election campaign topic for decades, but has lost its importance since 2016. Young voters are more concerned about the climate crisis and the positive contribution whales are making to maintaining healthy marine ecosystems and sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“At the moment only the pause button for commercial whaling in Iceland is pressed,” adds Dinkelmeyer.
“As long as the harpoons have not been mothballed in Iceland, whales are still at risk.Ultimately, it will be the Icelanders who will advance the decision against whaling and hit the whaling stop button.We will continue to work to promote marine conservation and responsible whale watching in Iceland. “
Since 2003, the year Iceland resumed commercial whaling, 653 minke whales and 852 fin whales have been killed for a total of 1,505 whales.
IFAW has worked with Icelanders since 2003 to promote responsible whale watching and to promote alternatives to cruel whaling.
Whale watching is one of the top tourist attractions in Iceland.More than 350,000 customers each year generate around 20 million euros, proving that whales are worth far more alive than dead.
And I mean…Good news!
The only person in the world who commercially catches fin whales is Icelandic millionaire Kristjan Loftsson, majority shareholder of the whaling company Hvalur HF.
In 2018 the company shipped 1,700 tons of fin whale meat to Japan.
However, the company is shaking because of fines, a lack of fishing licenses, court-ordered additional wages, and of course unsuccessful deals with Japan.
Because the fin whale meat from Iceland does not meet Japan’s meat hygiene standards.
Due to the lack of sales opportunities, the Hvalur fishing fleet has remained in the port since 2019, and officially in 2020 also because of the Covid-19 requirements for the ship’s crew.
The hunting season is now set to be canceled again for the third time, and one company probably wants to withdraw from business entirely.
According to “Der Spiegel” german magazine, this is IP-Utgerd, a company specializing in minke whales. “The business is not worth it,” said managing director Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson.
From the point of view of the whale conservationists, the minke whales went even better.
The minke whale hunt in Iceland was suspended in 2019, and in 2020 the last minke whale hunter also threw in the towel.
With that, the subject of minke whale hunting in Iceland is probably done.
At a time when school children are demonstrating against climate change and the decimation of biodiversity, this barbarism is inhumane, a moral declaration of bankruptcy, no matter where it is still practiced anywhere in the world.
This Fiaker horse died while driving at the Burgring in downtown Vienna- Image: Marcello Farabegoli
Donkeys and mules have to transport people up and down hundreds of steps
Whales are killed with explosive harpoons, here one of the company’s ships for fin whale hunting © Szilas
World Animals Voice 