Day: May 18, 2023

Farm Animals, General News, Uncategorized

India’s top court defends bull-fighting as part of nation’s ‘cultural heritage’ – waffle just like Spain !

India’s top court defends bull-fighting as part of nation’s ‘cultural heritage’ (msn.com)

India’s top court defends bull-fighting as part of nation’s ‘cultural heritage’

India’s Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of state laws allowing traditional bull taming sports of Jallikattu and Kambala, and bullock-cart racing.

On Thursday, a five-judge bench of the court, including justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar upheld the amendments made to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, by the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra where these sports are traditionally held.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutionality of the amendments.

The court held that the amendments did not violate its 2014 order banning Jallikattu.

The centuries-old sport of Jallikattu is extremely popular in Tamil Nadu during the four-day Pongal harvest festival in January in which hundreds of bull vaulters compete in a carnival-like atmosphere.

On Thursday, the top court said that these laws remedy the defects pointed out by the judgment in 2014 and the effect of the laws is to minimise the pain and suffering caused to animals, reported legal news portal LiveLaw.

“In A Nagaraja [2014 judgment] the sport was held to attract the restrictions under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, because of the manner in which it was practiced. The amendment Act and rules substantially minimises pain and suffering to animals…”, Justice Aniruddha Bose was quoted as saying by the outlet.

The bench added: “We are satisfied on materials that Jallikattu is going on in Tamil Nadu for last one century.

“Whether this is integral part of Tamil culture requires greater detail, which exercise judiciary cannot undertake… When the legislature has declared that Jallikattu is part of the cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu state, the judiciary cannot take a different view. Legislature is best suited to decide that.”

The court added that its judgment would also apply to laws on Kambala and bull-cart racing in Maharashtra and Karnataka and directed that these laws be followed strictly.

The court order, however, has been criticised by animal rights activists.

“Since 2017, at least 104 men and children and 33 bulls have died. More deaths will occur,” Poorvi Joshipura, a spokesperson for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) India was quoted as saying to the Associated Press.

The global animal rights organisation was a complainant in the case in the country’s apex court.

Two years after the top court held that Jallikattu violated the rights of the animals and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, the federal government carved out an exception for Jallikattu and bullock cart races from the scope of the law.

The move was challenged by animal rights organisations in the Supreme Court.

While the matter was pending, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, was passed. Similar amendments were passed by Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The apex court’s order has upheld the constitutionality of the federal government’s action as well as the amendments passed by the states.

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News, Hunting

Wales UK: HISTORIC VOTE TO BAN SNARES IN WALES.

From the League Against Cruel Sports:

Historic vote to ban snares in Wales (league.org.uk)

HISTORIC VOTE TO BAN SNARES IN WALES

Posted 16th May 2023

Leading animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports has praised politicians in Wales following a crucial vote on snaring.

A vote in the Senedd tonight [TUESDAY] has paved the way for a complete ban in Wales on cruel traps known as snares, the first country in the UK to take this big step forward for animal welfare.

The vote to ban snares was part of the stage three debate on the Agriculture (Wales) Bill, during which amendments designed to water down the snares ban were defeated.

The legislative process now moves on to the fourth and final stage in which the Senedd is expected to ratify the bill as early as next week, subject to King’s consent.

It follows over five years of campaigning by animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports.

Will Morton, head of public affairs at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “Wales is leading the way in animal welfare by being the first country to ban these cruel and indiscriminate traps.

“We thank the thousands of campaigners who are backing the ban in Wales and the MSs who gave cross party support to make it become a reality.”

The debate tonight saw the defeat of amendments to allow so-called humane cable restraints, a term used by the shooting industry lobby to try and mask the cruelty of these devices.

Snares are cruel wire traps – nearly quarter of a million lie hidden in the British countryside at any one time – and are used by shooting industry gamekeepers on ‘game’ bird shoots to trap wildlife.

They tighten around the neck, torso or legs of the animal and cause immense pain and suffering to their trapped victims for hours or days before the animal is either shot or faces a lingering death.

They trap indiscriminately and government figures from Defra show nearly three quarters of the animals caught are not the intended target species.

Polling carried out by YouGov in January 2021 showed 78 per cent of the Welsh public wanted snares to be made illegal.

Once the Agriculture (Wales) Bill is passed – something that is all but inevitable – it will then come into force two months after receiving royal assent.

Will added: “The ban on the use of snares will protect wild, farmed and domestic animals from falling victim to these brutal devices, a move that will be welcomed by the vast majority of the Welsh people.

“The next step is to lobby the UK and Scottish governments to follow the precedence set in Wales and to ban these barbaric devices.”

Ends

Regards Mark

Photo credit: Wild Moors

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

Animal Welfare Ambition Needed in EU-Australia Agreement.

Animal Welfare Ambition Needed in EU-Australia Agreement

18 May 2023

As negotiations for a trade agreement between the EU and Australia enter the final stage, Eurogroup For Animals urges both sides to seek ambitious measures on animal welfare.

The EU and Australia are nearing the end of negotiations for a free trade agreement, with both sides expecting talks to conclude this summer. It is therefore critical that the partners take the opportunity of these final stages to achieve ambitious provisions on animal welfare in the agreement, including the recommendations outlined in our EU-Australia fact-sheets.

The EU and Australia together represent 473 million citizens, many of whom believe more should be done to improve the lives of animals. According to a 2019 report commissioned by the federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, 9 out 10 Australians are concerned about farming, and nearly as many want a reform to address this.

In Europe, animal welfare is a great ethical concern. The consultation on the Future of Europe found one out of seven EU citizens consider animal welfare a priority issue, 89% of EU citizens want the EU to do more to promote animal welfare at a global level, and 93% consider that imports of animal products should comply with the same animal welfare standards as those applied in the EU. 

While animal welfare is linked to sustainable food systems, unconditional trade policies fuel the negative impacts of intensive livestock farming by prioritising profits above all. Notably, 96% of Australian beef exports to the EU are finished in feedlots, which are detrimental to animal welfare, particularly in terms of health and nutrition.

According to the EU’s own impact assessment, a Free Trade Agreement with Australia granting further market access to Australian beef without any animal welfare condition would fuel beef production on feedlots, increasing water, soil and air pollution in Australia. Eurogroup for Animals calls on the EU and Australia to condition the beef quota to meat derived from animals fed with grass, hence explicitly excluding feedlots.

It is also critical that animal welfare be prioritised in the negotiations in relation to the handling (in particular introducing pain relief for all painful procedures and mutilations, including mulesing),  transport and slaughter of bovines and sheep.

Other topics less relevant to current trade flows must also be discussed, such as conditioning the lowering of tariffs on broiler-related products to the respect of the coming revised EU rules on broilers, which should to be aligned with the “Better Chicken Commitment” – already endorsed by Australian companies such as HelloFresh, My Food Bag, Marley Spoon and Domino’s – and laying hens with a conditionality on cage-free which would support the Australian government’s pledge to phase out battery cages by 2036.

File

2023_05_efa_EU_Australia_factsheets_en.pdf2.51 MB

Regards Mark