Day: September 29, 2023

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Hunting

Spain: Was There Any Point ? – A new Spanish law strengthens animal rights (?) but exempts bullfights and hunting with dogs – the 2 most important Issues !!!

Our past posts relating to these subjects:

Search Results for “spain hunting dogs” – World Animals Voice

Search Results for “spain bullfights” – World Animals Voice

A new Spanish law strengthens animal rights but exempts bullfights and hunting with dogs

MADRID (AP) — A new animal welfare law that took effect Friday in Spain outlaws the use of animals for recreational activities that cause them pain and suffering but allows bullfights and hunting with dogs.

Spain’s first specific animal rights legislation is intended to crack down on abuses. The law particularly targets the mistreatment of domestic animals, introducing fines of up to 200,000 euros ($212,000).

It bans the buying of pets in stores or online, but gives stores a grace period to find homes for their animals. In the future, it only will be legal to purchase pets from registered breeders. The new rules allow pets into most establishments, including restaurants and bars.

The law bans the use of wild animals at circuses and gives owners six months to comply. It allows zoos to keep using the marine mammals in their dolphin shows until the animals die.

Bullfights are regarded as part of Spain’s cultural heritage. A proposal to include hunting dogs in the law prompted an outcry in some rural communities, and the government backed down.

Government statistics estimate some 29 million animals are kept as pets in Spain, most of them dogs. But around 300,000 are abandoned each year, and about one-third of those are put down.

The law also aims to introduce mandatory pet insurance and registration as well as training for owners. However, those requirements and some other legal aspects were delayed because detailed administrative procedures have not been drawn up in the absence of a sitting government.

Spain’s July general election proved inconclusive, and political parties are in coalition-building talks.

Regards Mark

A new Spanish law strengthens animal rights but exempts bullfights and hunting with dogs (yahoo.com)

More:

Spain Strengthens Animal Rights, But Exempts Bullfights (yahoo.com)

New Spanish law strengthens animal rights but exempts bullfights – ABC News (go.com)

New Spanish law strengthens animal rights but exempts bullfights and hunting with dogs (devdiscourse.com)

Farm Animals, General News, Uncategorized

Iceland: Iceland admits to breaching EU law on horse blood farms – hopefully another step towards closing this disgusting animal abuse.

Iceland admits to breaching EU law on horse blood farms

28 September 2023

AWF

See our past posts relating to this:

Search Results for “iceland blood mares” – World Animals Voice

Iceland has admitted collecting blood from pregnant mares to obtain the hormone PMSG is in breach of the EU legislation that it is supposed to comply with under the European Economic Area. As of November 2023, the country commits to correct this failure, bringing blood farms in Iceland one step closer to closure.

In March 2022, a number of animal protection organisations, including Eurogroup for Animals, lodged a complaint against Iceland to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Surveillance Authority (ESA). Our claim was that Iceland was not respecting the rules established by the European Economic Area, an agreement that brings together EU Member States and the three EFTA States: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The complaint concerned high volume blood extraction from pregnant mares for the production of the hormone Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG), also called Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG). This is a fertility hormone used in industrial animal breeding to increase the reproductive performance of farmed animals by synchronising their fertility cycles and increasing the number of offspring produced per year.

The complaint was accepted by ESA, who in May 2023 requested that Iceland respond on a clear breach of EU law, notably a breach of the Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

On 15 September 2023, the Icelandic authorities replied to ESA accepting that the procedure of collecting blood from pregnant mares for the production of PMSG/eCG does fall under the scope of Directive 2010/63/EU; hence, Iceland admits having failed to fulfil many obligations arising from this Directive.

Notably, Iceland admits failing to comply with the 3Rs principles of replacement, reduction and refinement, whereby animal experiments must be replaced by alternative methods not using live animals when possible, principles that are at the core of Directive 2010/63/EU.

There are numerous alternatives to PMSG/eCG available with similar efficacy, such as simple exercise routines, optimal nutrition, lighting, contact between sows in oestrus, and contact with boars.

Effective from 1 November 2023, Iceland will revoke non-compliant regulations on blood collection from pregnant mares, making such collections subject to Regulation 460/2017 in full compliance with Directive 2010/63/EU.

The open acknowledgement that a country has been in breach of Directive 2010/63/EU paves the way to an EU-wide ban on eCG production, importation and use, which will certainly ease the adoption of similar measures worldwide.

More information and link:

Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG), also called Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG), is a hormone extracted from the blood of pregnant mares (female horses). It is used to increase and manage fertility in farmed animals such as pigs, sheep, goats and cattle. 

Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG) production, import and use in the EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Regards Mark