All to do with supporting Gorilla Charity – A great cause.
Regards Mark
Day: March 24, 2022
Tuesday, 22 March 2022
An animal welfare organisation called Animal Rights is filing a new complaint against a pig slaughterhouse in Tielt for animal abuse, according to the Flemish centre for agriculture and horticulture (VILT).
Animal Rights says there is new evidence of recent animal abuse, though the slaughterhouse denies this. The company was previously fined for animal cruelty towards the end of 2019 after undercover footage from Animal Rights revealed violations.
Now the organisation says inspection reports from the Animal Welfare Department show that between October and December of 2021, there were more violations at the slaughterhouse.
“Pigs were beaten, a lame animal that could not get out of the truck on its own was first sprayed with a water hose before it was incorrectly stunned with the stunning device, there were problems with stunning equipment that did not work so the animals were only stunned at the blood carousel,” Animal Rights alleges.
“The slaughterhouse did not take the initiative to shut down the slaughter line and only did so after Animal Rights intervened.”
Slaughterhouse allegedly exceeded slaughter quota
Animal Rights says there are also violations of the slaughterhouse’s environmental permit.
“Recent figures that Animal Rights requested from the FAVV show that slaughterhouse Tielt slaughtered hundreds of thousands of pigs illegally in 2021,” said spokesperson Els van Campenhout.
“No less than 1,737,629 pigs were slaughtered in 2021, while the environmental permit is for 1,500,000 pigs per year, so the slaughterhouse started their expansion of slaughter capacity illegally.”
This is the impetus for the new complaint, and the organiation said it isn’t the first time the slaughterhouse exceeded its quota.
“The horror just continues in the slaughterhouse in Tielt. We demand its immediate closure,” said van Campenhout.
Slaughterhouse denies allegations
The slaughterhouse denied the allegations, and said they were sorry to see that a weekend awareness action from Animal Rights and other animal welfare organisations circulated photos from prior violations that were since remedied.
“We regret that the action group distributed old and dated images during the action Saturday. The images shown showing animals being mistreated are from the year 2017 and are in no way representative of the current situation,” they said in a statement.
The company admits that it has received warnings from the Animal Welfare Service since 2019.
“Although these were a limited number of warnings, we obviously took them seriously. To this end, we always immediately took the necessary measures to address the issues mentioned. In addition, we would also like to emphasise that these are warnings and not official citations, which indicates that these are incidents that happen, but are equally avoidable.”
According to the slaughterhouse, technical defects regarding anaesthesia have been corrected and an employee who improperly used equipment was sanctioned.
Regards Mark
QUITO, Ecuador, March 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ —
For the first time, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador has recognized the legal rights of nonhuman animals. The ruling not only elevates the legal status of nonhuman animals under Ecuador’s constitutional rights of nature but also requires that new legislation be drafted to protect the rights of animals.
“We hope and expect fundamental legal change for nonhuman animals in the United States isn’t far behind.”
The court’s ruling was the result of a habeas corpus action filed by Ana Beatriz Burbano Proaño on behalf of Estrellita, a woolly monkey who had lived in her home for 18 years. Environmental authorities had forcibly seized the monkey on the grounds that possessing a “wild animal” is prohibited by Ecuador law. Estrellita died within a month of being relocated to a zoo.
Ecuador was the first country to include a rights of nature provision in its national Constitution. When the case came before Ecuador’s Constitutional Court, the judges elected to consider several issues, including: the scope of the country’s rights of nature provision; whether animals qualify as the subject of rights; and whether Estrellita’s rights were violated. The Court found by a vote of seven to two that the scope of the rights of nature includes animals and thus animals are the subject of rights. The Court also indicated that habeas corpus could be an appropriate action for animals and that they may possess rights that derive from other sources in addition to the Constitution.
“This verdict raises animal rights to the level of the constitution, the highest law of Ecuador,” said leading Ecuadorian environmental lawyer Hugo Echeverría, who brought the case to the attention of NhRP. “While rights of nature were enshrined in the constitution, it was not clear prior to this decision whether individual animals could benefit from the rights of nature and be considered rights holders as a part of nature. The Court has stated that animals are subject of rights protected by rights of nature.”
Continue reading via the link given at the top.
Regards Mark
Chicken slaughterhouse blockaded by animal rights activists
Protesters have blocked trucks leaving a Hackney Wick abattoir this morning, demanding it be shutdown and replaced by community gardens.
According to police, at around 8am Animal Rebellion activists used a lorry to blockade the road leading to the Kedassia abattoir on Smeed Road in Hackney Wick.
Police were called at 8.14am on March 23
Some of the protesters have climbed on to the truck, to prevent it from leaving.
The lorry has been draped in a banner, dripping with red paint meant to symbolise blood.
Protester and local resident Bel Jacobs said: “I’m a mother and I know that our kids need a space to learn how to grow vegetables, not kill birds.
“Community gardens would give us a much-needed green space and a social hub where everyone can meet and connect.”
The group is demanding Kedassia Poultry be shut down and replaced by community gardens – Credit: @sheepistakingphotos
Animal Rebellion say the abattoir is the “last remaining slaughterhouse in London”.
The action is part of a local campaign, called Gardens not Slaughterhouses, which wants to see the site transformed into community gardens.
Miranda Whelan, a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion, said: “We need to build a just and sustainable future by replacing slaughterhouses, which kill gentle and intelligent animals and damage the environment, with community gardens.
“Gardens improve the wellbeing of the local people and allow them to grow healthy, sustainable food.
“We are demanding that Kedassia shut down and let this land be used for something that will benefit the whole community.”
Kedassia Poultry Ltd is a Kosher chicken abattoir. It was targeted by a group of animal rights activists, calling themselves East London Chicken Save, in 2016,
The animal and climate justice group state their protest aims to end animal suffering as well as to tackle climate change, claiming the Tower Hamlets abattoir kills thousands of chickens every week, produces “large amounts of waste” and that it wastes water.
Those involved said that they waited for the chickens to be taken inside before blockading the entrance, “so as not to prolong their suffering”.
The Gazette has attempted to contact Kedassia Poultry Ltd for comment.
Regards Mark
Animal Rebellion stage protest at Hackney Wick abattoir | East London Advertiser
Last year, October 2021 to be precise, I wrote to my MP asking him to contact Alok Sharma regarding what appeared to be a distinct lack of veggie and vegan food at the COP26 (Climate) conference.
You can read the original letter and information here:
8 October 2021 letter:
Well finally, like 8th March 2022, Alok Sharma has written a reply to the letter.
I attach a copy of his letter for you to view and decide on the results for yourself.
Reply:
Regards Mark
Related info:
The Guardian, London.
Exclusive: The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs
Microplastics found in human blood for first time | Plastics | The Guardian
Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested.
The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.
Huge amounts of plastic waste are dumped in the environment and microplastics now contaminate the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. People were already known to consume the tiny particles via food and water as well as breathing them in, and they have been found in the faeces of babies and adults.
The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.
“Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood – it’s a breakthrough result,” said Prof Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. “But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc.” Further studies by a number of groups are already under way, he said.
“It is certainly reasonable to be concerned,” Vethaak told the Guardian. “The particles are there and are transported throughout the body.” He said previous work had shown that microplastics were 10 times higher in the faeces of babies compared with adults and that babies fed with plastic bottles are swallowing millions of microplastic particles a day.
“We also know in general that babies and young children are more vulnerable to chemical and particle exposure,” he said. “That worries me a lot.”
The new research is published in the journal Environment International and adapted existing techniques to detect and analyse particles as small as 0.0007mm. Some of the blood samples contained two or three types of plastic. The team used steel syringe needles and glass tubes to avoid contamination, and tested for background levels of microplastics using blank samples.
Vethaak acknowledged that the amount and type of plastic varied considerably between the blood samples. “But this is a pioneering study,” he said, with more work now needed. He said the differences might reflect short-term exposure before the blood samples were taken, such as drinking from a plastic-lined coffee cup, or wearing a plastic face mask.
“The big question is what is happening in our body?” Vethaak said. “Are the particles retained in the body? Are they transported to certain organs, such as getting past the blood-brain barrier?” And are these levels sufficiently high to trigger disease? We urgently need to fund further research so we can find out.”
The new research was funded by the Dutch National Organisation for Health Research and Development and Common Seas, a social enterprise working to reduce plastic pollution.
“Plastic production is set to double by 2040,” said Jo Royle, founder of the charity Common Seas. “We have a right to know what all this plastic is doing to our bodies.” Common Seas, along with more than 80 NGOs, scientists and MPs, are asking the UK government to allocate £15m to research on the human health impacts of plastic. The EU is already funding research on the impact of microplastic on foetuses and babies, and on the immune system.
A recent study found that microplastics can latch on to the outer membranes of red blood cells and may limit their ability to transport oxygen. The particles have also been found in the placentas of pregnant women, and in pregnant rats they pass rapidly through the lungs into the hearts, brains and other organs of the foetuses.
A new review paper published on Tuesday, co-authored by Vethaak, assessed cancer risk and concluded: “More detailed research on how micro- and nano-plastics affect the structures and processes of the human body, and whether and how they can transform cells and induce carcinogenesis, is urgently needed, particularly in light of the exponential increase in plastic production. The problem is becoming more urgent with each day.”
Microplastic particles now discoverable in human organs
This article is more than 1 year old
New technique expected to enable scientists to find accumulated microplastics in humans
Microplastic particles now discoverable in human organs | Plastics | The Guardian
Regards Mark
World Animals Voice 