PETA has created its first Christmas advert which it says could persuade viewers to ditch their turkey dinners this year.
The commercial, which will air in cinemas across the UK from November 25, boasts a heartwarming storyline featuring baby turkey Toby.
See the advert here:
Vegan charity PETA launches its first Christmas advert | Daily Mail Online
Regards Mark
WAV Archive.
Nestlé has launched a vegan alternative to foie gras amid growing concerns surrounding animal welfare. The product is being made available first in Switzerland and later in Spain.
Read more at:
Nestlé launches vegan ‘foie gras’ amid animal welfare concerns | World | News | Express.co.uk
Regards Mark
From Eurogroup foor Animals.
EPAA Conference 2022 “Accelerating the Transition to Animal-Free, Sustainable Innovation”
23 November 2022
This year’s European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) Annual Conference gathered members from the European Commission, the European Parliament, regulatory authorities, industry, academia, and NGOs to discuss the challenges that still need to be addressed to make animal-free sustainable innovation a reality within the EU.
MEP Tilly Metz opened the conference by stressing that what is needed is not less testing, but different and more effective testing using new approach methodologies (NAMs), as well as a better coordinated cross-sectoral EU approach.
The Directorate-General for Research and Innovation made it clear that the Commission is committed to work towards the phasing out of animals in science, and announced an European roadmap aiming to fully replace animals in chemical safety assessments. The Joint Research Centre also expressed the need to develop a NAM-based classification system to better demonstrate the safe use of chemicals and ensure a higher level of protection.
EPAA’s achievements in 2022, including the development and promotion of non-animal strategies to replace animal-based tests, as well as their aspiring plans for 2023 to increase the use of NAMs for regulatory safety testing, demonstrate EPAA’s strong engagement to accelerate the replacement of animal testing by innovative non-animal approaches.
The industry, represented by Cefic and Unilever, shared its intentions to continue its efforts to implement the use of NAMs, and ensure the protection of people using the best (non-animal) science available. As Carl Westmoreland summed up, “there isn’t a lack of tools, just a lack of experience with using them to make decisions”. The European Medical Agency also indicated that it is open to discuss NAMs and 3R testing approaches for human and veterinary medicinal product applications, and presented the ambitious and promising work plan of its new working party focused on fostering the 3Rs.
Finally, Emily McIvor summarised the successes achieved over the past years in accelerating the transition to non-animal science, including the European Parliament’s Resolution to ‘Accelerate a Transition to Innovation without the use of Animals in Research, Regulatory Testing and Education’, the launch of the €400 million PARC project to establish a centre of excellence for the transition to Next Generation Risk Assessment, and the successful European Citizens Initiative (ECI) Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without Animal Testing which collected over 1,4 million signatures.
In this regard, Eurogroup for Animals recently published a position paper which reflects some of the key elements needed in a EU wide strategy for the transition to non-animal science.
Key elements of a strategy to transition to non-animal science
Key elements of a strategy to transition to non-animal science | Eurogroup for Animals
Regards Mark
From Eurogroup for Animals:
The European Parliament votes to downgrade protection of large carnivores
24 November 2022
On 24 November, the European Parliament adopted a Joint Motion for Resolution calling for downlisting wolves’ protection status under the Bern Convention and threatening the continuous protection of large carnivores. These statements ignore scientific evidence and best practices demonstrating that coexistence is the solution.
The vote on the Joint Motion for Resolution on the protection of livestock farming and large carnivores in Europe took place on 24 November. The Resolution has been adopted with highly concerning amendments, calling for the conservation status of wolves under the Bern Convention to be downlisted and mentioning that flexibilities under the Habitats Directive should be explored further. We note that the Resolution does not call the European Commission to downgrade the protection status of wolves under the Habitats Directive from strict protection in Annex IV to protected in Annex V. However, it calls on the Commission to assess populations so that their protection status in particular regions can be adapted as soon as they reach a favourable conservation status.
These calls, if implemented, would put wolves, large carnivores and other vulnerable species in the EU at high risk. Indeed, these statements ignore the threats on the survival of these species even when their populations increase to satisfactory levels. Downgrading protection of large carnivores has only one objective: generalise culling. However, we know it does not work! Reduction of livestock depredation has been successful thanks to preventive measures such as fencing and guarding dogs, not by killing emblematic species vital to healthy ecosystems. In addition, six out of nine wolf populations in Europe are still vulnerable or near threatened, favourable conservation status has not been reached in six out of 7 EU biogeographical regions.
We ask the European Commission not to implement the problematic measures suggested by the Resolution, and to continue protecting wild animals, including large carnivores, listed under the Habitats Directive for strict protection by promoting coexistence, the only viable solution. This is in line with the results of the European Commission Fitness Check evaluation of the Birds and Habitats Directives that concluded both Directives are sufficient and fit for purpose to achieve the objectives. We also welcome the calls of the Resolution to strengthen funding for preventive measures.
and yesterday …………………………….
Joint Motion for Resolution on wolves and large carnivores will be voted by the European Parliament this Thursday 24 November in the November Plenary session in Strasbourg
23 November 2022
This resulted from campaigns seeking to downgrade legal protection for wolves and large carnivores, and use culling as a strategy to prevent livestock depredation.
The Habitats Directive provides for the strict protection of large carnivores including wolves and provides sufficient flexibility. The European Commission reiterated that the Directive is fit for purpose. Efforts led by the EU and Member States to protect wolf populations are successful and led to an increase in the number of individuals. This is a positive trend since wolves are essential species in keeping their ecosystems healthy and play a key role in maintaining biodiversity in the EU. This conservation success on some populations should be celebrated as an encouraging sign of recovery. Importantly, wolves must still face a number of threats and still need to be protected. Hundreds of wolves are currently killed each year in the EU although some populations are considered as vulnerable and nearly threatened.
As the European Commission clarified several times, the strategy for wolves and large carnivores management should focus on coexistence measures. Mitigation strategies have proven to be more effective to protect biodiversity, livestock and farmers. For instance, in France and Sweden, the number of attacks is decreasing despite the increasing number of wolves, partly thanks to fencing and other preventive measures. Besides an improved access to such measures such as fencing and guarding dogs, appropriate compensation schemes should be in place across the EU in a view to achieve coexistence.
We therefore call on MEPs to ensure that the Joint Motion for Resolution does not undermine the conservation and protection of large carnivores, including wolves.
For more information, read our joint letter co-signed by the Humane Society International/Europe, Birdlife, IFAW, the European Environmental Bureau, WWF and ProWidlife and Eurogroup for Animals.
Regards Mark
Seal basks on the River Thames shoreline.
Above – Redshank
Below – Fieldfare
Regards Mark and Pauline
Instead of killing stray dogs, the authorities should build animal shelters
Read the article via this link:
Saving animals | Shehr | thenews.com.pk
Regards Mark
In relation to my stray animal campaigning work in the Balkans, I have always argued that current money spent killing strays should instead be put into NO KILL sterilisation and vaccination / health check issues for all strays By sterilisation, over a period of short time, you will see stray numbers REDUCING, not increasing.
Rounding up and killing strays is a very good but very ineffective way for authorities to present the image to0 the public of them ‘doing something’; when in fact they are killing and killing, but not seriously addressing the real issue as it should be addressed.
Strays are homeless animals, NOT wild animals !
Further update – above I talk about work for stray animals in the Balkans.
In 2005 I founded ‘Serbian Animals Voice’ (SAV) and with the support of some Serbian activists, we took on the Serbian government on the issue of stray animal management.
I am giving a link to the old SAV site which I have now closed down but which is still around for archive review purposes. With this past, I feel confident that I am in a position to add my voice to positives for stray animal protection and numbers reduction through No Kill sterilisation.
Also below I am showing a few photographs from the site which shows how strays are abused and mistreated by the Serbian authorities. On the (archive) left of the site, you can gain access to all the work that we attempted in defending the rights of stray animals in https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/2016/08/Serbia.
I hope you find it interesting;
Stray animals are homeless, and in need of help; they are not wild animals !
Regards Mark
Link:
About Serbian animals – About Serbian Animals. | Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Photographs from Serbia:
Above and below – strays are rounded up for killing by ‘Shinter’ (dogcatcher) teams
Above – Dogs captured and to be ‘taken away’ for slaughter, rather than ‘No kill sterilisation’ as we campaigned for.
Below – If you do not want to attract strays to ‘your patch’, then you do not leave your refuse dumps in this condition !
and that includes also dead pigs which are just dumped near the highway;
Images – SAV (Mark)
Article link (SAV):
I am a homeless stray, I live any way I can to survive; I need proper help but ………………………………………
22/11/22
We have been in contact with ‘The Guardian’ team and hope that we will get approval to give links to all Guardian animal welfare and environmental reports in the near future.
I will keep you posted on this in coming days; in the meantime we will resort to publishing articles and news from many of our other contacts.
Regards Mark
King Charles: Foie gras banned at royal residences
King Charles: Foie gras banned at royal residences – BBC News
There will be no foie gras served in royal residences, a letter from Buckingham Palace to animal rights campaigners has confirmed.
King Charles is understood to have been a longstanding opponent of the food, made from the liver of a duck or goose, that campaigners say is cruel.
The King’s household wrote to the Peta campaign group that foie gras was not bought or served in royal residences.
There have been protests about force-feeding used to produce foie gras.
King Charles, when he was Prince of Wales, had been an advocate of higher welfare standards in farming and for over a decade had stopped the use of foie gras in his own properties and had been instrumental in a wider ban across royal residences.
Now as King he has reaffirmed this opposition – with the luxury food staying off the menu.
A letter received by Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) confirms that a foie gras ban is in place across the Royal Household and for all royal residences, which would include Balmoral, Sandringham, Windsor Castle, Hillsborough Castle and Buckingham Palace.
Above – Force feeding in foie gras production.
Ministers drop plan to ban foie gras imports
MPs fail in foie gras import ban bid
Elisa Allen, vice president of the animal welfare group, welcomed this saying others should “follow the King’s lead and leave foie gras off the menu this Christmas and beyond”.
“Video footage of birds being painfully force-fed is enough to make anyone lose their lunch,” she said, describing how the livers of animals are engorged to produce the food.
The animal rights group has backed a “cruelty free” alternative called “faux gras” and is sending some of this to the King, which it says is in recognition of his “compassionate policy”.
There is a ban on the production of foie gras in the UK, but not a ban on its sale or importation.
But it will certainly not be on the menu next week for the first state visit of King Charles’s reign, when he hosts a state banquet in Buckingham Palace for the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Peta group is also campaigning for the use of fake fur instead of ermine for robes at the King’s coronation next May.
Regards Mark
Photo – KeithTurrill/Alamy
Dear Mark,
Each day the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) continues to operate, it violates Indigenous sovereignty and treaty rights and poses a constant threat to the Missouri River — a crucial water source for the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes as well as much of the United States.
Last year a federal court ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate the environmental impacts of the pipeline before the project can proceed. But, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is refusing to make many of their most critical findings public, especially relating to the effects of a potential oil spill and the effectiveness of spill response plans.
Showing the immense risk that this pipeline poses is an important step in the fight to end the threat DAPL poses to people and the environment. This information is crucial to understanding the immense risk this pipeline poses. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has access to data from the Department of Transportation (DOT) — but they won’t make it public.
DAPL crosses the Missouri River one-eighth of a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation and travels under Lake Oahe, a reservoir that is the primary water source for the Reservation. The risk of a spill poses an immense threat to the Reservation drinking water system as well as crucial fish and wildlife habitats that provide food for residents of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is assessing the environmental impacts of the pipeline, the results of which will likely be revealed next year, the pipeline operator Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) — a company with a disastrous history of pipeline safety violations — wants to double the flow rate of the pipeline to nearly a million barrels a day . This will inevitably put more pressure on the pipeline, increase the risk of oil spills, and risk the safety of the Tribes’ water sources — and makes it even more vital that the Army Corps produces a fair assessment of the impacts of the pipeline in order to head off this threat.
The continued operation of the pipeline and the lack of transparency that is playing out in the review is an environmental justice issue, as the communities being affected the most by the pipeline’s operation and who would be first responders to a potential spill are being left out of the assessment process.
Sincerely,
Matthew McKinzie
Senior Director of Planning and Operations, NRDC
Take Action
Regards Mark
World Animals Voice 