Voices: Animal rights made big gains in 2023 – here are 10 of the year’s wins
In many respects, 2023 has been another tough year. From the cost of living crisis to ongoing conflicts in many parts of the world, the challenges of the past 12 months make it even more crucial to celebrate the good news stories – including wins for our fellow animals.
Mouthwatering new vegan food items continued to appear, with Premier Inn serving 2.5 million vegan sausages in a year and Asda selling a vegan “whole roast turkey” for Christmas. But fabulous food aside, there were many other animal victories to cheer about.
From South Korea’s plans to end the dog meat trade to Wales’s ban on selling snares and glue traps, it seems humankind is finally starting to realise that animals are individuals and not ours to cut up for food or clothing, torture in laboratories, confine to cages and tanks for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.
Well folks, personally for me it has taken what ? – around 40+ years of campaigning to get to where we are now – read on below.
To be honest, the last four years or so have been a roller coaster of ‘yes it will be banned’ followed by ‘no it will not be banned’ statements. A few years back I did the official government consultation on the issue of live animal exports; and expectations were high as with past campaigning on this issue, I knew that almost all of the British people were against the trade, and at the time, in PM Boris Johnson, we had a PM who would push the legislation for a ban through Parliament.
Thins have changed now as we no longer have Boris at the helm and we have seen Bills such as the ‘animal kept Bill’ which would have banned the export trade, scrapped by the current government at the last minute.
But anyway, what fantastic news today, with the implementation of the ‘Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill 2023-24’ which will make it an offence to export from or through Great Britain live livestock for slaughter outside the British Islands, we have reason to celebrate as we now join up with campaigner friends in New Zealand; the only other nation that has officially banned the export of live animals.
As explained below, it is only through Brexit and getting free from the shackles of the EU that the UK has been able to do this. We as a nation have taken back control and are reverting to making law for our own citizens; without the dreg of EU legislation hanging over us.
I would suggest that you look at the following which gives a basic overview on the legislation and some of the basic reasons whilst it has gotten to the situation it has currently arrived at.
So where do we go now ? – Europe, to be basic. I / we have campaigned in Europe for decades on the issue of live animal transport. With the issue of caged animals and the need to set them free through the citizens initiative, the EU Commission is under huge pressure to act for the welfare of animals. The UK export ban issue is another thing that can be thrown at them as a reason why they need to act and act now. Thousands and thousands of live animals are trucked across every day; and they should not be; just as live EU animals should not be exported outside of the EU to meet the gruesome deaths that await them.
We have plenty to go on, and so the work continues. To ‘win’ after 40+ years of campaigning does not really seem true – we had a glass of wine lunchtime to celebrate what in reality is a massive victory; but also to remember all those who fought so hard for the cause here in UK but who are no longer with us. So this is for them, the Mike Tucker,
the Carla Lane, wonderful Barb
Below – Dover – Barb gives a hug to my dog ‘Golda’.
… and so many others who fought but have not seen this campaign get to where it is now – a ban on the export of slaughter and further fattening animals from the UK.
“John often used to hitch a ride in my car which I had taken to the Netherlands as part of the job. We shared many hours on the road; laughing, talking and generally trying to have a good time in work that we both knew the live animal export business caused immense suffering to – innocent, sentient beings”.
The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill 2023-24 will make it an offence to export from or through Great Britain live livestock for slaughter outside the British Islands. It was introduced to the House of Commons on 4 December and the second reading was undertaken as scheduled for 18 December 2023.
The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill 2023-24 was introduced to the House of Commons on 4 December 2023 as a bill to make provision to prohibit the live export of certain livestock, such as cattle, sheep and pigs, from Great Britain for slaughter. Second reading is scheduled for 18 December 2023.
The government has said that the UK’s departure from the EU gives it the freedom to implement such a ban. The Conservative Manifesto for the 2017 and 2019 General Elections included commitments to control the live exports of livestock.
Live animals have long been exported to EU countries from the UK for breeding, fattening, and slaughter. There have been long running campaigns, including the RSPCA’s Stop Live Exports campaign, to end such exports. This reflects concerns that animals transported to Europe suffer from unnecessarily long journeys, experiencing stress, exhaustion, thirst and rough handling.
Although, for practical reasons, the last exports for fattening or slaughter were in December 2020, the Bill will ban them permanently. It will make it an offence to send, transport, organise transport (or attempt to send, transport or organise transport) for livestock for export from or through Great Britain for fattening and slaughter outside the British Islands. The ban applies to a range of livestock including cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs and wild boar, but not poultry. Live exports, including of racehorses, will still be permitted for breeding, competitions and races.
The provisions do not apply to Northern Ireland and journeys within the island of Ireland are not covered. However, they do apply to journeys transiting through Great Britain to a destination outside the British Islands, for example to those that begin in Northern Ireland or EU Member States such as the Republic of Ireland, transit through Great Britain and are destined for a country or territory outside the British Islands.
The ban on exports may need to be defended against World Trade Organisation rules which require countries to apply non-discriminatory rules (so-called ‘most favoured nation’ rules) to trade. Case precedents indicate that exceptions under WTO rules may apply to ethical and animal welfare provisions, however this issue is not clear cut. Challenges can only be bought by other signatory countries. There has been no indication as to whether other countries may wish to challenge the government over the Bill’s measures.
You have to remember that this is the Daily Mail – a Conservative newspaper.
Note that time and time again they tell us
With traditional fox hunting banned, enthusiasts now take part in trail hunts, where packs of hounds follow an artificial scent – but animal rights campaigners claim this serves as a ‘cover’ for killing foxes.
Today, December 26th, is the day every year when UK hunts attempt to display themselves to the British public to try and gather support for their bloodlusts of ripping British wildlife to shreds.
Below – A hunter attacks a female sab monitor during a hunt:
Take a look at some of our past posts relating to this:
INVESTIGATION: Inside the sadistic world of the gruesome cat torture craze, campaigners call on Chinese authorities to act NOW
Campaigners are calling for the Chinese government to act now following a sickening investigation into a horrific feline torture trend in which internet users pick from sickening menus to watch inhuman abuse of cats.
China Cats Protection, together with the NoToDogMeat charity have been tracking the activities of the Jacklatio group, and a man known as ‘Wang Chao Yi’ or ‘Cat Addiction Therapist’, who are at the forefront of the sick craze.
Campaigners uncovered a sick network which is presented as sites advertising lost and found cats, but the links lead to a dark web of sinister torture, which include kittens being filmed having their limbs severed and cats being stabbed in the eyes.
In one deeply distressing video seen by campaigners, a pregnant cat is sliced open and her kittens are pulled out and killed in front of the desperate animal.
And in another brutal twist, female campaigners who have confronted the torturers have been told to send sexual images, in exchange for the cats not to be killed.
Julia de Cadenet, who founded the NoToDogMeat charity and has been part of the investigation, said: “Our brave activist friends have managed to infiltrate the Telegram chat groups where orders are taken and monies exchanged to torture the animals.
Car-lover Jeremy Clarkson is very public in his dislike of environmentalists. (AFP via Getty Images)
Animal advocate and wildlife campaigner Chris Packham (on right without double chin, or is that ‘triple’ ?) hit out at Jeremy Clarkson for criticising David Attenborough. (Getty Images)
Animal rights groups said a sickening video showing a huntsman throwing a live fox to baying hounds was more evidence that legal trail hunting was being used as “a smokescreen” for illegal hunting with dogs.
Oliver Francis Thompson, 32, of Old Berkshire Hunt Kennels in Farringdon, swerved jail after admitting two animal welfare offences, one of which involved encouraging his dog to terrorise a captive fox.
In footage recorded in July 2020 that Thompson shared with his friends, he is shown with a young fox in a trap, with his Patterdale terrier Nellie being encouraged to bark and menace the animal at very close quarters.
Later, the fox is taken out of the trap by Thompson and, held by the scruff of his neck, is repeatedly thrust at the barking dog 19 times.
In a second incident filmed on Christmas Eve in December that year, Thompson, in a hunting jacket, digs a fox out of its earth, surrounded by people also wearing hunting jackets, terriermen and a child.
World Animals Voice 