Day: October 25, 2021

Australia wants to shoot down 200 kangaroos for no reason

A group of kangaroos in Victoria, Australia, who are trapped on private property are in imminent danger of being killed under a permit that was issued by the government.

Urge Victoria’s environment minister to investigate this issue and ensure a non-lethal alternative will be pursued to protect these native animals from being needlessly killed.

These kangaroos entered the private property through holes in an exclusion fence that were repeatedly created by vandals that have since been repaired. There may now be as many as 200 kangaroos who have been living trapped on approximately 172 acres, and can’t leave or return to an adjacent wildlife reserve.

Instead of seeking a solution that would allow the kangaroos to live, and be relocated elsewhere, the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) has issued the property manager an Authority to Control Wildlife permit for them to be killed.

Kangaroos are protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975, but the system in place is failing them, and many other protected wild animals, by allowing them to be killed at the behest of property owners who want them gone.

Given the many threats wild animals already face that are now being exacerbated by the climate crisis, including Australia’s bushfires, the government should prioritize protecting them from being killed simply because it’s convenient and instead ensure that they are truly protected.

Send our letter to Lily D’Ambrosio, the Minister for Energy, Environment, and Climate Change, urging her to investigate this matter and pursue non-lethal alternatives by filling out the form on this page.

Sign and share the petition:

 https://www.idausa.org/campaign/wild-animals-and-habitats/latest-news/kangaroos-victoria/

And I mean…More than 1.5 million kangaroos are killed annually in Australia. It is the largest land slaughter in the world – and one of the most brutal.

Kangaroos have been native to Australia for millions of years.
Today they are seen as competitors by ranchers and agriculture and are brutally hunted

Well over 100,000 kangaroos are legally shot every month in Australia.
“Shooter”s hired by slaughterhouses and farmers shoot the animals at night and deliver them to specialized slaughterhouses that process up to 4,000 kangaroos a day.

The animals are industrially cannibalized to produce dog food, meat and leather, which Australia exports around the world.
All kangaroo products come from wild animals in the wild, not from breeding.

Germany is the third largest importer of kangaroo meat and leather. The meat and leather of the hunted kangaroos are exported in large quantities.
In a global comparison, 19 percent of the meat was delivered to Germany;

The national animal kangaroo is proudly advertised in Australia by brands, sports clubs and souvenir sellers.
Behind the scenes, however, millions of adult animals are being killed in mostly brutal ways.

In addition, there are around 800,000 young animals every year who have no chance of survival without their mother and are accepted as collateral damage from the hunt.
Many of them have their heads smashed into cars.

Opponents of the industry are a vocal minority. Animal welfare organizations, celebrities and a growing number of scientists describe the culls as inhuman, unsustainable and unnecessary.

We mean it the same way! An execution is never a human option.
And not only we, but actually everyone knows that humane treatment of nature and animals is an indispensable prerequisite for a civilized society.

My best regards to all, Venus

Iran: Do The Right Thing and FREE Nazanin Immediately.

Sometimes, human rights are as important as animal rights.

This is one such case. Here we deal with a human rights issue.

WAV Comment:

“Is this going to be a wake-up call for the Government? Maybe, maybe not. One of the challenges I find with this Government is that it doesn’t deal with problems until they become crises”.

We give our full support to Richard in making a stand (and hunger strike) outside of the (British) Foreign Office, London, regarding the unfair detaining of his wife Nazanin since 2016.

She is a British citizen, a mother and must immediately be allowed to return to the UK by Iran. 

As usual, the British Government is not really doing enough on this issue for an innocent lady.  Liz Truss talks the government talk; but the reality is there is no progress.  We suggest that Liz Truss is sent to Iran in an exchange deal – oh boy, then see how quickly there are changes and actions !

Full support to Richard

Regards Mark

British Government ‘does not deal with problems until they become crises’

Richard Ratcliffe gave the comments after a strategy meeting with the Foreign Office.

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has criticised the Government’s handling of his wife’s case, stating that it “does not deal with problems until they become crises”.

Richard Ratcliffe said he held a strategy meeting with the Foreign Office on Friday as he was concerned something would happen to his wife’s appeal during the autumn.

The next day, by coincidence, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was informed her appeal had been rejected, meaning she could now be sent back to prison at any point to serve a sentence of one year imprisonment plus a one-year travel ban for “spreading propaganda against the regime”.

Mr Ratcliffe said he had urged the Government to take quicker action over trying to get Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe home in their meeting on Friday as he was concerned about the outcome of her appeal.

He told the PA news agency: “The longer we waited, the more chance of bad news. I didn’t expect the next day to get bad news, but we did.

“That’s [the rejection of the appeal] the Iranians signalling they’re not prepared to wait forever and they will do what they need to do.

“Is this going to be a wake-up call for the Government? Maybe, maybe not. One of the challenges I find with this Government is that it doesn’t deal with problems until they become crises. This is Iran threatening a crisis. One hopes that the Government takes it seriously.”

Mr Ratcliffe, who has been campaigning for his wife’s return home since her original incarceration in 2016, said he was left surprised by the update on Saturday.

He said he thought her appeal would have ended up being rejected in November after a “drawn-out court process” as Iran was “always going to confirm guilt, regardless of whether there is any”.

In a statement on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the nation’s decision to proceed with the “baseless” charges against the mother-of-one was an “appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through”.

She added: “We are doing all we can to help Nazanin get home to her young daughter and family and I will continue to press Iran on this point.”

Mr Ratcliffe said Ms Truss had spoken to Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe on the phone on Saturday after her appeal was rejected.

Responding to the statement, Mr Ratcliffe said: “Nazanin said that she sounded angry on the phone and I can hear the anger in her words.

“But at this stage I am interested in her latest sentence, ‘the actions she is taking beyond more pressing Iran’.”

The Foreign Office declined to comment further.

British Government ‘does not deal with problems until they become crises’ | Evening Standard

Read more:

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband begins second day of hunger strike outside Foreign Office | Daily Mail Online

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: First full day of husband’s hunger strike outside Foreign Office | UK News | Sky News

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Husband goes on hunger strike to pressure UK government | Euronews

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Husband on hunger strike outside Foreign Office for second time in two years | UK News | Sky News

 

 

 

 

UK: Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups.

Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups

Animal advocacy groups are urging the UK Government to enforce laws that prohibit chickens from being carried by the legs, which they say leads to pain and distress before slaughter.

Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups (newfoodmagazine.com)

Today a joint letter signed by 14 animal protection charities has been sent to Zac Goldsmith, UK Minister for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) calling on the Government to properly enforce regulations designed to protect chickens at the time of slaughter.

Handling chickens by the legs is illegal under The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006, which transposes Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 from the EU. However, despite this it is referenced as a possible way of handling in the official Government Codes of Practice, which farmers use to guide their operations. Consequently, the signatories say catching chickens by their legs is standard industry practice in the UK.

“At an already distressing and often painful time for these chickens, they are grabbed by their legs and flung upside down, with producers often carrying six chickens per hand,” said Pru Elliott, Senior Campaigner at The Humane League UK.   

“Chickens don’t have a diaphragm like us, so being carried upside down causes their internal organs to crush their lungs, and on top of that intensively reared chickens have very fragile legs and joints. Carrying them like this is causing huge amounts of suffering and the Government isn’t doing anything to stop it.”

According to The Humane League, 3.1 million chickens are transported to slaughter every day in the UK. Animal protection groups claim all commercial-sized farms practice catching chickens by the legs, which they say means the law is being broken millions of times a day.

The legislation states that animals should not be lifted or dragged by the head, ears, horns, legs, tail or fleece, or handled in such a way as to cause them unnecessary pain or suffering. A recent case in The Netherlands ruled that the Dutch authorities must investigate companies handling chickens by the legs after accepting that it is prohibited under the same law that applies to the UK.

“This legislation was created to protect animals and minimise any stress caused during a very stressful activity. The fact that the law is being broken so widely is unacceptable. The Government guidance is currently encouraging unlawful activity,” said Edie Bowles, solicitor at Advocates for Animals.

Companies elsewhere in Europe have started to adopt a progressive catching method developed by Dutch animal charity Eyes On Animals known as the Upright Catching Method. Rather than being caught and carried by the legs, chickens are caught one-by-one with both hands placed around the body, holding the wings closed, and the chickens are carried to and placed in the transport crate while upright.

“The Upright Catching Method is common sense. It’s how the public would want and expect animals to be handled, and how anyone with a pet chicken would pick them up. It’s not complicated, but it is voluntary so it’s a question of how committed companies are to the wellbeing of the animals and it will stay that way unless the Government starts to enforce the law.” said Nicola Glen, UK Inspector for Eyes on Animals.

“For other animals the law is enforced, and if we do see cases of animals such as pigs and sheep carried by the legs people are outraged, but it’s not the same for chickens.”

Regards Mark

USA: SIGN: STOP REQUIRING CRUEL, UNRELIABLE ANIMAL TESTS FOR US PHARMACEUTICALS.

Petition link:

PETITION: End Cruel, Costly and Unreliable Animal Testing in US Drug Safety Tests (ladyfreethinker.org)

Wording:

PETITION TARGETS: Joe Biden, Congressional Leaders, and the Food and Drug Administration

Millions of animals are infected, poisoned, blinded, shocked, and tortured in experiments each year globally.

The majority of dogs, monkeys, mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, and other animals suffer these agonizing procedures without the use of painkillers or comfort of any kind.

After surviving the excruciating ordeals, an estimated 75 percent of animals are then killed.

The “safety” tests are not only cruel; due to genetic differences between people and animals, they also are inaccurate and dangerous.

More than 90 percent of drugs deemed “safe” in animal tests fail once they hit human clinical trials. 

Other animal-tested drugs get withdrawn from human markets after harming people — including the drug Lipobay, which passed animal trials but then led to kidney failure and death for more than 50 people.

U.S. scientists, as far back as a 2007 report as published by the National Research Council, have noted that animal testing is not the best way.

But the cruel and inaccurate tests are federally mandated, by provisions established in 1938 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And that law needs to change now.

H.R. 2565, or The FDA Modernization Act, is a major step in the right direction and would open the door for emerging, superior testing methods based on human biology to be seen as equally valid options for safety testing.

growing number of scientists are pushing for human biology-based technologies — including cell-based assays, organ chips, microphysiological systems, and sophisticated computer modeling — as the quickest, safest, and most cost-effective solutions to developing accurate treatments for human disease.

The European Parliament recently demanded a phased-out end to all animal testing. It’s time for the United States to follow that precedent.

Sign our petition urging lawmakers and the Food and Drug Administration to end the outdated mandate of animal testing as the “only” acceptable safety testing method and allow proven, human biology-based methods to take their rightful place in human evolution.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is petition-keyboard-2.jpg

PETITION: End Cruel, Costly and Unreliable Animal Testing in US Drug Safety Tests (ladyfreethinker.org)

Regards Mark

UK: COP26 – Recycling Plastics Does Not Work, Says Boris Johnson.

COP26 officially takes place between 31 October – 12 November 2021.

Recycling plastics does not work, says Boris Johnson

Recycling plastic materials “doesn’t work” and “is not the answer” to the threat of global climate change, Boris Johnson has said.

Answering children’s questions ahead of the COP26 climate summit, the PM said reusing plastics “doesn’t begin to address the problem”.

Instead, he said, “we’ve all got to cut down our use of plastic”.

The Recycling Association said the PM had “completely lost the plastic plot”.

The association’s Simon Ellin told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme Mr Johnson’s comments were “very disappointing” and seemed to conflict with government policy.

During the special event organised by Downing Street, Mr Johnson also jokingly suggested feeding human beings to animals to “bring nature back”.

He told an audience of eight to 12-year-olds that rather than relying on recycling, people should reduce their consumption of plastic products.

Tanya Steele, chief executive of the World Wide Fund for Nature, told the event: “We have to reduce, we have to reuse – I do think we need to do a little bit of recycling, PM, and have some system to do so.”

But the PM added: “It doesn’t work.”

Asked later about Mr Johnson’s comments, his official spokesman said the PM continued to encourage recycling – though he said relying on it alone would be a “red herring”.

There are plans to increase recycling in England, which the government has said “typically results in lower carbon emissions in comparison to manufacturing products from virgin materials”.

“Priority goes to preventing the creation of waste in the first place, followed by preparing waste for reuse; to recycling, and then recovery,” the waste management plan for England said.

The most recent figures for England showed a recycling rate of 45.5% for household waste. Waste policy is largely set by the devolved administrations in the UK.

Each UK council collects its plastic recycling differently. A BBC analysis in 2018 showed there were 39 different sets of rules for what can be put in plastic recycling collections.

‘Bring nature back’

Ms Steele said she believed “we need to bring nature back” and added: “97% of the mass of mammals on this planet is humans and our animals, our domestic animals. Just 3% is left for the wild.”

Mr Johnson said it was “so sad”, and quipped: “We could feed some of the human beings to the animals.”

Ms Steele replied: “We could have a vote later and ask if there’s any candidates.”

The prime minister criticised drinks giant Coca-Cola for being among 12 big corporations “that are producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics”.

The company sells more than 100 billion throwaway plastic bottles each year, causing problems in countries too small to effectively recycle them, BBC Panorama has found.

Mr Johnson also signalled the government does not want to support new coal mines, as ministers face pressure to prevent a site opening in Cumbria.

And with just days to go before COP26 begins in Glasgow next week, the PM said it was “touch and go” whether the summit would deliver progress.

Millions of lives could be affected by any changes agreed at the conference – and we have devised a quiz for you to discover which policies would have the most impact.

 

Recycling plastics does not work, says Boris Johnson – BBC News

Regards Mark

 

UK: COP26 – (British PM) Boris Johnson ‘very worried’ about Cop26 outcome as he names and shames Coca-Cola.

COP26 officially takes place between 31 October – 12 November 2021.

Boris Johnson ‘very worried’ about Cop26 outcome as he names and shames Coca-Cola

‘I’m very worried, because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need’

Boris Johnson has said he is “very worried” about the outcome of the Cop26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow from Sunday.

And he has named and shamed Coca-Cola as one of the ‘big 12’ producers of plastic pollution.

The Prime Minister described it as being “touch and go” whether Cop26 would be a success. Answering questions from schoolchildren in Downing Street, Mr Johnson, said: “We need as many people as possible to go to net zero so that they are not producing too much carbon dioxide by the middle of the century.

“Now, I think it can be done. It’s going to be very, very tough, this summit. And I’m very worried, because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need.

“It’s touch and go.”

He also said that while meeting the goals of Cop26 would be “very, very difficult” he added “I think it can be done”.

Boris Johnson told schoolchildren in Downing Street: “If you look at what the UK has done, we’ve cut our own C02 emissions massively, we’ve cut coal emissions massively.”

Mr Johnson chose to host a press conference with children ahead of “perhaps the most important summit that this country has had in our lifetimes”.

Boris Johnson ‘very worried’ about Cop26 outcome as he names and shames Coca-Cola – Wales Online

Boris Johnson named and shamed Coca-Cola as being one of 12 corporations “producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics”.

He told a children’s press conference on the climate crisis: “There are about 12 companies at the moment, 12 big corporations, that are producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics.

“Big famous drinks companies that you may know but I won’t name. I don’t know why not, but I won’t name them.

“Coca-Cola, for instance, and others, which are responsible for producing huge quantities of plastic, and we’ve got to move away from that and we’ve got to find other ways of packaging and selling our stuff.”

Mr Johnson also welcomed Australia’s commitment to a 2050 net zero target.

“That was actually very difficult for Australia because Australia’s very heavily dependent on coal, on lots of carbon-producing industries and they’ve done a heroic thing, the Australians, in getting to that commitment,” he told schoolchildren in Downing Street.

“I hope that they will be joined by lots more countries in that region for the Cop summit.”

There was a lot of “peer pressure” at the summit, with countries following the example of friends and neighbours, he said.

But “it’s very, very far from clear that we will get the progress that we need”, he warned.

The Prime Minister said Cop26 in Glasgow would be “one of the defining summits of our time”.

He told the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) business and investment summit: “Cop26 marks our last best chance to begin the global push to net zero.

“And if we can use that opportunity to deliver real, substantive action on coal, cars, cash and trees, then I really do believe that we can not only keep temperature increases below 1.5 degrees, but also usher in a worldwide green industrial revolution – growing economies by cutting emissions.

“There’s no choice to be made between going green and creating jobs – they are two sides of the same coin.

“And there’s no doubt at all that green investment is the future.”

 

 

 

Turn the crank !

Regards Mark

UK; Twas The Night Before COP26 – British Comedian Joe Lycett Holds ‘Shell’ (Oil Giant) To Account For Their Green Sales Techniques. He Literally Talks Shit !

COP26 officially takes place between 31 October – 12 November 2021.

Joe Lycett outside Shell’s headquarters in London. Photograph: Isobel Frodsham/PA

WAV Comment – Joe Lycett is a British comedian.  The 1 hour special, in which he lampooned ‘Shell’ energy giant the night before the start of COP26 in Scotland was shown on British tv last night – 24/10/21.

It was a great programme in which Lycett impersonated the Shell CEO; (see video); literally talking shit about allegedly just how ‘Green’ Shell is.  Evidence provided in the programme showed that Shell may talk the green talk, but the reality is they are doing much less than their adverts present.

Have we not seen and heard things like this from others before ?

Enjoy;

Regards Mark

See him here impersonate the Shell CEO talking shit:

Shell’s climate promises lampooned in Channel 4 ad starring literal shit-talking Joe Lycett | The Drum

Shell’s climate promises lampooned in Channel 4 ad starring literal shit-talking Joe Lycett

Comedian Joe Lycett has held energy giant Shell to account for its climate promises in a shit-talking parody ad from broadcaster Channel 4.

The imposter ad was created to promote Lycett’s investigation of Shell, Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant. In the show he will look to see whether the brand’s sustainability claims can be taken seriously, or whether there is greenwashing afoot.

In the spot, Lycett hints that the ”lots of pictures of forests and windmills” in Shell’s marketing materials may not reflect the full truth of the business’s output.

As part of the show, Lycett is seen trying to get the ad aired, likely unaware its inclusion of several fecal ejections renders it unairable. These restrictions won’t stop the ad from running as part of the episode or online, where it will accumulate many curious viewers. The ad was created by Rumpus Media and distributed by Channel 4 ahead of the Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant’s debut at 9pm on October 24.

On commissioning the 60-minute episode, Alf Lawrie, head of factual entertainment at Channel 4, said: “Few now deny climate change, but there are powerful vested interests still trying to delay tackling it. Who better to shine his torch of truth into the dark caverns of misinformation than Britain’s most fearless – and most fun – campaigner, Joe Lycett?”

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/oct/24/greta-thunberg-would-love-it-shells-investors-less-so-joe-lycett-vs-the-oil-giant-review