Day: September 1, 2021

Hunting

Brutal trophy hunt in Sweden

Legalized trophy hunting has corrupted Swedish hunting management to such an extent that the Swedish Environment Agency is actively undermining the purpose of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)!
It issues export permits for all trophies to attract foreign hobby hunters.

As of August 21, more than 500 brown bears are to be killed before their annual hibernation.

The European Commission and the international animal welfare community must address Sweden’s repeated violations of the Habitats Directive and ban the unethical trophy hunting of large predators, which is escalating in Sweden.

Trophy hunting is increasing worldwide, including Sweden.
Hunting seriously jeopardizes the survival of large predators.

Even so, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) increases the quota for legal trophy hunting every year.
Almost 7,000 bears, lynxes, wolves and wolverines have been legally killed since 2000.
In the first half of 2021 alone, permits for the killing of more than 720 predators were already issued in Sweden.

The cruel and unethical trophy hunting with which the Swedish Federal Environment Agency wants to regulate the populations, however, violates the aim and purpose of the EU species and habitat directive (92/43 / EEC).

Sweden blatantly abuses these stringent protection laws by adjusting its own national loopholes and unrestrainedly interpreting the limited hunting exemptions in order to sustain the trophy hunting industry.

The Swedish bear population is currently less than 2,900 wild animals

This month, more than 500 bears will be targeted for trophy hunting in seven Swedish counties, although 107 bears, including females and young, have been killed in helicopter hunts this spring.

Bears that wake up from hibernation and get too close to reindeer are condemned in advance by the reindeer owners.
Even so, the reindeer industry receives significant government subsidies to accept the predators.
Martial and usually illegal methods such as snowmobile chasing, 24-hour hunting and being shot down from helicopters are approved by the district administration.
It is even possible to track females with young animals in their burrows.


These brutal practices against predators are increasing every year in northern Sweden.
A region where illegal hunting is widespread, sometimes with extremely sadistic methods, as the hunting scandal in Norrbotten in 2017 showed:

Torturing lynx in traps, strangling lynx and bears on metal wires in trees, provoking dogs on trapped and injured animals.
This proves that legalized trophy hunting neither creates respect for wildlife nor reduces conflict.

Continue reading “Brutal trophy hunt in Sweden” →

General News, Uncategorized

England: “Killing Geronimo is a PR Disaster for Defra” – Article By National Newspaper ‘The Independent’; London.
The alpaca has been on a 'death sentence' for months after the High Court ruled it must be destroyed for testing positive twice for bovine tuberculosis

Killing Geronimo is a PR disaster for Defra | The Independent

Killing Geronimo is a PR disaster for Defra and makes a mockery of the UK’s priorities

Geronimo’s sorry tale goes deeper than the killing of just one animal. It both goes to the heart of Defra’s policy on TB control, casting doubt over its cattle-testing regime

When we look back on the history of the countryside, we will remember how for a while in 2021, Geronimo was the UK’s – and possibly the world’s – most famous animal.

The black alpaca, blissfully ignorant that his life was hanging in the balance while grazing in his Gloucestershire field, captured the hearts of a nation. To animal lovers around the globe, his killing seemed senseless, as they got behind the campaign to prove he did not have tuberculosis. After all, creatures infected with the disease surely do not live for four years without showing symptoms.

What were Defra chiefs thinking? Some might say that coming so soon after the government relented to allow Nowzad to airlift its 68 staff and 178 animals from Afghanistan, ministers did not want to be seen too much to be “giving in” to public opinion (although what do we elect them for if not to democratically carry out our wishes?).

But no – it’s clear that Geronimo’s death was planned from the moment the judge handed down her verdict refusing owner Helen Macdonald’s final legal battle. From that moment, all testimony that the TB tests used on the animal were flawed fell on stony deaf ears.

Geronimo was twice in quick succession “primed” – or micro-vaccinated – before his tests, which, according to campaigners, caused the false positive results. And the strength of his reaction diminished between the first and second tests. Even the test manufacturer told the court Geronimo’s result could not be trusted. Ms Macdonald said he had never had a positive reaction to a valid test.

Lobbying rules 'could be strengthened' after Greensill scandal

Above – Pathetic – George Eustace MP (Defra Minister)

Given, then, that a host of evidence cast doubt over the test results, Defra would have been far wiser to have had an open mind and at least agreed to a third test – a perfectly reasonable request. But in refusing, the department has set itself up for a predictable – and predicted – public relations disaster. It will face an almighty backlash if post-mortem results show the alpaca did not have TB – that is, if and when the results see the light of day.

I asked Defra why it refused Ms Macdonald’s other simple request – a meeting with environment secretary George Eustice. It stuck to its line that “The secretary of state has looked at this case several times over the last three years and has considered all of the evidence with the chief vet and APHA expert vets and scientists. Geronimo has tested positive twice and we must follow the evidence.”

But Geronimo’s sorry tale goes deeper than the killing of just one animal where much of the evidence points to its innocence. It both goes to the heart of Defra’s policy on TB control, casting doubt over its cattle-testing regime in pursuit of eradicating TB, and it also raises questions over the stubbornness of some in government.

Both David Cameron and Boris Johnson have been mocked for performing U-turns, but in the end don’t we all have more respect for a leader who is prepared to admit they got it wrong and to change course when presented with new evidence, rather than desperately clinging to a position, possibly to save face?

After Nowzad’s escape from Afghanistan – funded privately and organised in addition to the official Ministry of Defence airlifts – there were a lot of sanctimonious and misleading comments about “putting people before pets”, conveniently ignoring that the operation was not carried out at public expense, nor did putting rescue animals in an aircraft hold take up one iota of space that could have been occupied by people.

Similarly, some have claimed, driven not by ignorance but by swallowing government spin, that Geronimo was “TB-riddled” when there is no reliable evidence of his having been infected.

Regards Mark

Check out our own opinion pages –

England: Geronimo, Serbian Strays and Badgers. All Policy Victims Of Governments That Will Not Accept The Evidence.
Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Uncategorized

England: Geronimo, Serbian Strays and Badgers. All Policy Victims Of Governments That Will Not Accept The Evidence.
The alpaca has been on a 'death sentence' for months after the High Court ruled it must be destroyed for testing positive twice for bovine tuberculosis
Geronimo Is Hauled Away for Destruction Under a Government Policy.

OPINION – by Mark; Co Founder WAV.

Before we start – A new petition has been established, calling for the resignation of George Eustace MP; Defra Minster.  This follows on from the murder of Geronimo on 31/8.

You can add your name by visiting:

https://www.change.org/p/boris-johnson-petition-for-the-resignation-of-george-eustice-from-defra?recruiter=false&recruited_by_id=e47a1b50-0aec-11ec-85d5-25e2f1346369

You will receive a response and need to click to verify your e mail; otherwise your sig. will not count.

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I live in the South East of England.  But today, 31/8/21 has been a bit of a turning point in the British animal rights movement.  Today, being the day that ‘Geronimo’ the Alpaca was murdered by the British government as they considered that he was infected with bovine TB. (bTB).

His solitary death, which did not take place where he was kept, and after a lot of ‘rough man handling’ by well disguised, face mask wearing (obviously avoiding identification), protective coverall wearing Defra officials; is yet one more pointless death in the name of Bovine Tuberculosis.  Did we see all the campaigners out to fight the destruction of Geronimo wearing protective clothing and hidden behind face masks ? – no; there is no need now; Defra are in effect just attempting to hide their faces, with the support of police protection, from identification by the animal welfare supporters of Geronimo who have battled in his defence..

There is talk today, 1/9, that Geronimo was taken away in a horsebox, so that he could be destroyed, and then immediately taken away for cremation.  This flies in opposition to the autopsy which is supposed to be being undertaken, but without any outside observers – see further on for more.

For years now we in the (animal welfare) movement have had to sit and watch as tens of thousands of badgers have, just like Geronimo the Alpaca toady, been slaughtered by a fanatical; one faced government that basically ignores all evidence and statistics.  The mass murder of a ‘protected species’ named the ‘badger’; is an issue which is very hard to swallow for the tens of thousands who spoke and campaigned in Geronimo’s defence, as well as those who still speak in defence of badgers.

For the record to put some figures on the table; unconfirmed reports, but those obtained by the ‘League Against Cruel Sports – LACS’; suggest that in the 2018 autumn alone, 32,000 ‘protected’ badgers were slaughtered by the government, operating under the command of Defra; Minister George Eustace MP.

Miss Macdonald, Geronimo’s dedicated owner, had received support from around the world, with more than 140,000 people signing a petition calling against Geronimo’s destruction.  In the UK, any petition, regardless of the subject, containing more than 100,000 signatures should be debated in the House of Commons; where MP’s take residence.

Miss Macdonald insisted the Enferplex test; allegedly showing Geronimo did have bTB, was flawed and that Geronimo twice tested positive because he had repeatedly been primed, yes primed, with tuberculin – a sterile liquid containing the growth products of or specific substances extracted from the tubercle bacillus and used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in bovine TB.

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