Day: February 1, 2022

Farm Animals, General News

Italy: Seems To Have Major Problems When It Comes To Enforcing Protection For Animals.

WAV Comment – Italy seems to have big problems when it comes to enforcing animal welfare !

New investigation documents culling of thousands of chickens due to avian flu

1 February 2022

Essere Animali

A new investigation by Essere Animali documents culling operations on a farm where cases of avian flu were detected. The film shows chickens being collected with the blade of a bulldozer and then herded by the thousands into containers which, once sealed, are filled with gas.

Since October last year, over 300 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu (subtypes H5 and H5N1) have been recorded in domestic poultry, and several other cases have been found among wild animals in Italy. So far it is estimated that the number of animals slaughtered due to avian flu in Italy exceeds 15 million.

Essere Animali conducted an investigation in the most affected region, Veneto, which has the largest number of poultry farms and animals. Using a drone, they were able to capture footage from a farm in the province of Vicenza with a capacity of 300,000 animals where an outbreak of the flu was recorded.

As the video shows, the chickens are unloaded into containers at least two metres high, which are densely packed with animals. Inevitably, the chickens in the bottom layer are crushed by the weight of the chickens above. It takes about 30 minutes for the loading, covering, and gassing to be completed. The death of these animals is surely preceded by long minutes of fear and stress.

During this procedure, some chickens fall from the blade, risking physical injuries following the impact and further prolonging the agony of the animals.

 

AVIAN FLU: 300,000 chickens stacked and killed with gas

We are disseminating these images because we believe it is necessary to reflect on our food system, which is based on excessive consumption and production of meat, made possible only by raising animals intensively. These farms are hotbeds for viruses, and as long as animals are raised by the thousands in confined spaces, avian flu outbreaks will continue to recur regularly with devastating effects. We are ignoring the cruelties inflicted on these animals and underestimating the potential risk to public health. Several experts have talked about the possibility that the virus could mutate and develop the ability to transmit among the human population.

Simone Montuschi, President of Essere Animali

Previous avian flu epidemics that have hit European farms demonstrate that it is not possible to limit an outbreak inside factory farms. It is precisely the conditions in which the animals live that cause viruses to spread rapidly and, if highly lethal like avian, kill most of these animals.

In addition to crowding — the average capacity of an intensive poultry farm in Italy is over 21,000 animals per complex — genetic factors also play a significant role: in farms, animals are selected to grow very quickly and produce enormous muscle mass, which in itself can cause physical problems. Moreover, they usually are genetically very similar to each other, so a virus can act undisturbed without encountering genetic variants that prevent its spread. To prevent epidemics from spreading, we need to review our food system based on the consumption of animal products.

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News

“Basic rights for primates”- Referendum in Switzerland

A very special vote is scheduled for February 13, 2022 in the canton of Basel-Stadt (Switzerland).
The people of Basel will then decide on the “Basic rights for primates” initiative. But what is it actually about? Who is for and who against? You can find out more about this here:

What does the initiative “Basic rights for primates” want?

The cantonal people’s initiative by Sentience Politics demands that over 300 primate species be given a “right to life and to physical and mental integrity”.
These include, for example, gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans.

Who is for the introduction?

The initiative comes from the association Sentience Politics. He fights for the rights of sentient animals. Living beings that can feel happiness or suffering are meant as sentient.

According to the association’s reasoning, animal protection does not go far enough here. For the supporters of the initiative, the relationship between primates and humans is particularly important: “They are genetically very close to us and, like us, have a highly developed central nervous system.”
Therefore, these animals are particularly worthy of protection.

Who is against fundamental rights for primates?

The initiative met with a lot of rejection, especially in politics. The government council even had it declared invalid in 2018.
The case ended up in the federal court, which admitted the submission. Parliament and government of Basel-Stadt are of the opinion that the rights of primates are already adequately regulated in the Animal Welfare Ordinance.

The Association of Swiss Zoos also rejects the initiative on the grounds that animals need protection and not human rights.
If the initiative were implemented, comprehensive protection of particularly endangered monkey species would no longer be possible (!!!)

On the national level, on February 13, Switzerland will also vote on the ban on animal testing, among other three issues.
This initiative wants all animal experiments to be stopped in Switzerland.
In addition, according to the initiative text, products that have been tested on animals should no longer be imported.

https://www.watson.ch/schweiz/abstimmungen%202022/636617548-alles-zur-initiative-grundrechte-fuer-primaten-in-basel-stadt

And I mean…Over three hundred other primate species are our close relatives – the so-called “non-human” primates.

Despite the large overlaps that we have with them, such as maintaining family life, cultural rules, social rituals, friendships, strong communicative understanding, complex learning processes, empathy and feelings, non-human primates have no self-determination for us humans.
Because the Animal Welfare Act always subjects the treatment of animals to a weighing of interests.

People have rights, animals are property.
They are used for entertainment and research, and cannot defend themselves against exploitation and excessive interference in their lives.

The worldwide extinction of species and the loss of biodiversity also show that in order to adequately protect animals and nature, we need to rethink and treat them differently than we have done up to now.
The initiative therefore calls for restricted rights for all non-human primates in the canton of Basel-Stadt: the right to life and the right to physical and mental integrity – no more, no less.

The animal protection legislation – but not only in Switzerland – is completely inadequate and is hardly implemented.

Primates have no autonomy and are abused for human purposes, yet politicians want to claim that” primate rights are already sufficiently covered by the Animal Welfare Ordinance”.
They would have to explain that to us again.

Should species affiliation determine how one is treated, or level of sentience?
The latter is the rational answer.
Because if a living being can feel pain and suffer, there is no reason that could justify this suffering that we humans inflict on animals in animal experiments or in industrial livestock farming.

The initiative wants to tackle and minimize as much as possible this grievance that exists
We are already looking forward to the voting campaign in Basel!

My best regards to all, Venus