Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital in the UK shared a post on Facebook on an injured pigeon it received that had been dyed pink. A spokesperson urged people to “think before you follow these social media trends”.
“The pigeon was most likely used for a gender reveal party and is absolutely shocking,” they added. “It has become a horrendous trend and we are urging you to spread the message about the effects that this can have. Quite simply, it is an act of cruelty and is no way to celebrate the gender of your baby.”
The spokesperson said that the dye made the birds an easier target for predators, while toxins could cause them to become unwell if swallowed or inhaled. They added that due to the birds being bred in captivity, it was likely they also had no sense of how to survive in the wild.
“This pigeon sadly didn’t make it, he was incredibly malnourished, dehydrated and had significant wounds caused by the cat,” they added.
“The sentence reflects Korean society’s increasing concern for animal welfare and intolerance for senseless cruelty such as this,” said Borami Seo, a director of the South Korea office of the Humane Society International.
“This cruelty case also emphasizes the importance of passing the Civil Act amendment that will legally recognize animals as living beings and further strengthen their protection in law,” Seo added.
A local business owner in Oklahoma walked outside her establishment one day to find a horrific sight: a dead puppy was lying outside.
After she called local authorities, they discovered security video footage showing exactly what had happened. It started when a man appeared, dragging the small dog by its back legs up the street, scraping the poor thing’s nose along the pavement. <https://www.care2.com/go/z/e/A0guo/zYC./d2EQY>
After he dropped the animal on the curb, that’s when the beating started. The man repeatedly punched, kicked, and stomped on the puppy. Finally, he picked the limp animal up and threw it on the ground, before walking away. After so much violence and trauma, the puppy passed away from its injuries.
The man’s ex-girlfriend ultimately identified him from the footage and turned him into the police, sharing that he had been abusive to her and her own puppy. This demonstrates the clear link between cruelty to animals and domestic violence.
Authorities have since arrested the man, but it’s clear he needs intensive psychological counselling to address his rage and violence. Sign the petition to demand authorities ban him from ever owning or living with animals again, and also mandate therapy sessions! <https://www.care2.com/go/z/e/A0guo/zYC./d2EQY> <https://www.care2.com/go/z/e/A0guo/zYC./d2EQY>
P.S. A man dragged an innocent puppy along the street, beat and kicked it, then threw it on the ground before walking away. Sign the petition to ask officials to intervene now. <https://www.care2.com/go/z/e/A0guo/zYC./d2EQY>
From left to right: MEPS Francisco Guerreiro, Tilly Metz, Caroline Roose, Sirpa Pietikäinen, Senior Political Advisor at Eurogroup for Animals Andreas Erler and IFAW Representative Filip Molnár
Candidate MEPs take the Vote for Animals pledge
25 April 2024
Press Release
MEPs of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals celebrated their achievements for the last legislative term, while candidates for the next one pledged to continue to advocate for better protection of all animals at the EU level.
The Intergroup, which met for the last session for this term, brings together 94 MEPs from across all political groups, and provides a cross-party platform for discussions and initiatives on animal welfare in the European Parliament (EP). For the past four decades, it has been a crucial catalyst for action on this front.
Some of the noteworthy achievements of this term include:
The set-up of a Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport (ANIT), which pushed for the revision of the outdated Regulation on animal transport.
The resolution on actions to accelerate a transition to non-animal science.
The working group on the ECI End the Cage Age, which contributed to get a resolution in the EP and a subsequent European Commission (EC) commitment.
The adoption of a resolution on improving Regulations on wild and exotic animals to be kept as pets in the EU, through a positive list.
The support for a campaign calling for an EU commissioner on animal welfare.
A working group on companion animals.
During her intervention, President of the Intergroup Tilly Metz said that the Intergroup has continuously made animal welfare visible in the EP, through reports, working groups, resolutions and parliamentary questions. She expressed her disappointment at the EC’s failure to put forward a full package of proposals to update the EU animal welfare legislation, despite continuous pressure by members of the Intergroup and animal protection NGOs.
In the run-up to the European Elections in June, candidate MEPs are taking a pledge stating a clear commitment to strive to improve animal welfare if they are elected, through the Vote for Animals campaign, run by Eurogroup for Animals and its members. The pledge, composed of ten asks, addresses live animal transport, imports of animal-based products, welfare of aquatic species, non-animal science and the conservation of wild animals, among others.
These were five intense years of fighting for better animal welfare. We have seen overwhelming civil mobilisation, which shows the willingness of EU citizens to better protect animals at an EU level. We need legislation that protects all animals, including aquatic ones, which are currently unprotected. We have yet to see a ban on cages, on fur farms, and fur products in the EU market,
MEP Caroline Roose (Greens/EFA, FR), Vice President of the Intergroup
Without the civil society – the ECIs, campaigns and other initiatives – we wouldn’t have been so strong. We require species-specific legislation, for example for octopus, and other animals which are unprotected. We must continue to bring animal welfare on the table in important discussions,
MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen, (EPP, FI) Honorary President of the Intergroup
As 300 million animals continue to suffer in cages, we need the European Commission to deliver on the End the Cage Age ECI. We need to push for a roadmap for a transition to non-animal science, and a ban on the transport of vulnerable animals
MEP Niels Fuglsang (S&D, DK), Vice-President of the Intergroup
To you, and to the average citizen, running over coyotes and wolves with a snowmobile sounds inhumane, barbaric, and just plain cruel. But unfortunately, this practice is legal in Wyoming and Idaho (wolves and coyotes), and Montana (just coyotes), where wildlife policy is stacked against wild carnivores.
If wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains received the federal Endangered Species Act protections they deserve, Cody Roberts wouldn’t have felt emboldened to commit the heinous act of running over a yearling wolf before further torturing her in a bar and finally killing her.
Unfortunately, even if wolves are relisted to the Endangered Species Act (which is essential to prevent decades of conservation work from being undone, and why we’re suing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service), it would still be legal to run over coyotes with snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles. Therefore, we’ve joined the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups in calling on the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to ban the use of snowmobiles or other vehicles to run down wolves and other wildlife.
This practice is utterly barbaric, and one would think that banning it would be straightforward. However, both Wyoming and Montana had the opportunity to prohibit this practice in 2019 and FAILED to do so.
It’s high time to hold wildlife policymakers accountable. They are failing wildlife. They are failing all of us. Thank you for standing with us to show Wyoming, and the rest of the country, that we will not allow wolves, coyotes, or any wild animals to be legally tortured. Last week, the Wyoming Fish and Game Commission convened and heard impassioned testimony from wildlife advocates across the country regarding the disturbing Cody Roberts’ incident.
Many individuals urged the Commission to support a ban of “whacking.” We MUST continue this call to end egregious practices like “whacking” and create a more compassionate world where wolves are safe from all persecution and inhumane practices and policies. Stay loud and join us in demanding justice and stronger protections for wolves, coyotes, and all wild carnivores. Here’s how you can create a safer future for wild lives:
If you haven’t already, sign this change.org petition calling on Sublette County officials to bring more severe charges against Cody Roberts.
Contact Wyoming State officials urging harsher punishments for Cody Roberts and strengthened protections for Wyoming wolves and coyotes—including banning “whacking.” Please remember to be polite and respectful in your comment. Call 307-777-7434 for Governor Mark Gordon Call 307-777-4600 for WY Game & Fish Department Director Brian Nesvick
Sample script:
olf & coyote “whacking.” The use of snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles to chase and down and kill wolves and coyotes goes far beyond practices of fair-chase and is purely cruel and inhuman; it must end. Please take action to ensure this never happens again. Thank you. Support our efforts to sue USFWS over their negligence in not relisting Northern Rocky Mountain wolves to the Endangered Species Act and our ongoing litigation in Montana in defense of wolves by donating today or monthly. It’s high time to hold wildlife policymakers accountable. They are failing wildlife. They are failing all of us. Thank you for standing with us to show Wyoming, and the rest of the country, that we will not allow wolves, coyotes, or any wild animals to be legally tortured.
For The Wild Ones, Carnivore Conservation Director
U.S. health and agriculture officials are ramping up testing and tracking of bird flu in dairy cows in an urgent effort to understand — and stop — the growing outbreak.
So far, the risk to humans remains low, officials said, but scientists are wary that the virus could change to spread more easily among people.
In putting together posts for WAV, you learn quite a lot.
One thing that has been interesting me lately is the issue of children who abuse animals during their childhood have been shown (by lots of research) to often progress more into domestic offenders, sexual offenders, women beaters / abusers, and serial killers and murderers of humans.
Unfortunately, in the past this link between the two has been largely overlooked by persons in authority; ie. those who can make a difference; when in fact, realisation, earlier intervention and acceptance of ‘something (weirder) being there’ by these very same may in some cases have stopped things getting more out of hand.
Obviously; not every person who abuses animals has committed or will commit other crimes. But harming people is statistically more likely when animal cruelty is previously involved. So, animal cruelty must be taken seriously.
Kip Kinkel, before his attack on Thurston High School parents and students, blew up cows and decapitated cats.
Luke Woodham, who murdered his mother and two schoolmates at Pearl High School, wrote in his journal about setting his dog Sparkle on fire.
“Animal abuse is often the first sign of serious disturbance among adolescent and adult killers,” Gail F. Melson, professor emerita of developmental studies at Purdue University, wrote in Psychology Today.
Domestic violence survivors have reported in studies that their abusers threatened to kill, torture, or otherwise harm their companion animals — or actually followed through on the threats — to prevent them from leaving their abusive situations.
88% of families surveyed that had incidents of child abuse also had incidents of animal abuse.
63% of children entering shelters admitted to incidents of pet abuse in their families.
More than 80% of families being treated for child abuse reported animal abuse in their homes.
Engaging in sex with animals is actually legal in four states — Wyoming, Hawaii, New Mexico, and West Virginia — and the District of Columbia. In more than 20 states, bestiality (sex with an animal) is only a misdemeanor crime.
Jeffrey Dahmer, the “Milwaukee cannibal” who dismembered 17 people three decades ago had first practiced his butchery by cutting up dogs and cats and impaling their heads on sticks.
Ian Brady, the (UK) Moors murderer who tortured and killed five children in the 1960s, boasted of killing his first cat when he was just 10, and went on to burn another cat alive, stone dogs and cut off rabbits’ heads before going on to target people.
Robert Thompson and Jon Venables (UK) would shoot pigeons with air rifles and tie rabbits to railway lines to watch them be run over – until in 1993 they killed toddler James Bulger.
Many infamous serial killers harmed animals when they were children, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgeway, John Wayne Gacy, and the Boston Strangler. It’s long been a popularly held belief that children who are abusive toward animals are serial killers in the making.
If there is a trait in the triad that’s especially concerning, it may be animal abuse.This behaviour is a well-established early indicator of future assault, murder, rape, partner abuse and child abuse. Again, not all kids who harm animals will go on to hurt people — but some will.
Research has revealed that 25 percent of aggressive inmates had committed multiple acts of animal abuse as children. Forty-five percent of school shooters had histories of alleged animal cruelty, and 21 percent of serial murderers admitted to childhood animal abuse.
Psychologists point to harming animals as proof of a lack of empathy. Such behavior also indicates a propensity towards aggression. While there isn’t any hard data claiming the percentage of infamous offenders who began their career of pain by hurting animals, many believe that this is a serious warning sign.
Many of these offenders have admitted that harming animals was the first time they realized that they liked to cause suffering and, in fact, wanted to hurt people. Often neighborhood cats, dogs, and even crabs were the earliest victims of these menacing childhood “games,” which often led to painful demises. One notorious offender even began targeting animals after seeing his father do the same.
“This is a worrying development, but no surprise really. It reinforces what was said earlier, that youthful individuals engaging in animal abuse pose a high threat to Humans in adult life. A taste for cruelty developed in early life, and at a time when a personality is impressionable and as yet to be formed, tends to take firm hold, and influence a person’s conduct in later life”.
“This is why the activity of these “Cat Torture Rings” is so dangerous, and must be dealt with severely – they must be destroyed wherever they are found. Once and for all”.
“Young kids of school age appear to be the primary members of many of these groups. As we have said before, and it is shown many times over, people often start as animal killers and then move on to being human killers. SO WHAT IS CHINA ACTUALLY DOING ABOUT THIS ? – Very little it appears”.
Further, here in the UK, and again as published on this (WAV) site recently:
“It is getting worrying now – animals killers go on to kill humans”. FACT
“Children using catapults to kill and torture animals before sharing ‘sick’ images on WhatsApp”.
“A Sky News investigation finds hundreds of members of catapult groups on WhatsApp, where pictures and videos of animals killed or injured with the weapons are shared”.
“The youngsters – including some of primary school age – have been sharing footage and photos of their kills in groups on the messaging app.
In some videos, injured animals are shown dying slowly after being shot with hand-held catapults.
Sky News has discovered 489 members – including young children, teenagers and some young adults – across 11 catapult groups on WhatsApp”.
“In one video shared on a group, a deer lies twitching on the ground, severely injured with a head wound, having just been shot with a catapult by a child.
The young person who attacked the deer then stands over the animal while bringing a hand-held catapult in front of the camera for viewers to see”.
We say that the written word is mightier than the gun. Here we attempt to let the written word speak.
How many videosare uploaded toYouTube every day? Around 3.7m new videos are uploaded to YouTube every day – that’s around 271,330 hours of video content based on an average length of 4.4 minutes.
Over 1 billion messages are sent on WhatsApp every day.
Call me a liar for sure if you wish; but I suggest that neither YouTube, WhatsApp or Tik Tok, despite what they say, have any real control over what is published daily on their sites.
Or, by showing and allowing such communications, are we saying that WhatsApp are perfectly supportive of animal abuse and cruelty being shown on their site ?
Sky News has discovered nearly 500 members of catapult groups on WhatsApp, in which more than 350 photos and videos have been shared of animals that have been killed or wounded with the weapons.
They will say they don’t condone animal abuse – so the question is, why are they allowing it to be shown by such groups on their sites ?
Organisations such as these have a massive responsibility to control what is being shown on their sites. As said, with the huge quantities of uploads each day it is just not physically possible to control what is going on. So what is the driving force with these which allow this uncontrolled mass relay of abusive data to be beamed around the globe each day ? – can I suggest ‘money’ ?
Until we see more action by CEO’s etc of these organisations to actually do as they preach – that is taking action and taking down such sites; are we moving each day to a more frenzied; anti social; abusive; don’t give a damn as long as I get ‘likes’ situation. When will these sites be just as abusive as the dark web in allowing footage that currently shows kittens having screws driven into their eye sockets and their nostrils as the norm ?
Through these sites, how many additional animal abusers and human killers are going to be matured into further grievous action ?
These sites should have a responsibility; one of taking action to remove data which breeds killing and abuse. I do not see it; thus I close by saying; “through these sites the world is becoming amore abusive and harmful to both animals and humans each and every day. CEO’s, it is over to you to take action, and ACT NOW !”
Today, 24th April, is the World Day for Lab Animals.
24 April 2024
Every year on 24 April, World Day for Animals in Laboratories serves as a stark reminder of the millions of animals used in scientific research around the globe. At present, we are faced with a critical decision: whether to perpetuate existing policies that neither incentivise the development and uptake of innovative non-animal technologies nor lead to significant reductions in the number of animals used for scientific purposes, or to implement coordinated and concrete policies and mechanisms that empower stakeholders to embrace non-animal technologies.
In response to growing calls from Members of the European Parliament, EU agencies, citizens, academia and industry for a transition towards more biologically-relevant non-animal approaches, the European Commission took action in 2023. It committed to develop a roadmapto phase out the use of animals for chemical safety assessment, and to explore the possibility of a European Research Area (ERA) action to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of non-animal approaches in biomedical research and testing of pharmaceuticals.
These two initiatives represent significant opportunities to establish the necessary policies and mechanisms at EU level to accelerate the transition to non-animal science. The roadmap will serve as a framework for coordinating concrete actions to move away from animal testing in the context of the EU chemicals legislation. In doing so, it will set a precedent for other policy areas that still rely on the use of animals.
An ERA action has the potential to foster increased collaboration and coordination between Member States, and to identify specific areas where animal use can be avoided and where investments should be directed to advance non-animal technologies. It can also improve access to essential infrastructure for non-animal research, and facilitate the development of harmonised education and training programmes. This will ensure that students, educators, researchers and regulators are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively advance innovative non-animal approaches to address scientific challenges.
Eurogroup for Animals and its member organisations call on all stakeholders, including policy makers, scientists, industry, regulators and funders, to join forces to develop and implement forward-looking policies and mechanisms in order to move towards a future where humans, animals and the environment are better protected.
Today, we also take the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the recent achievements of several of our member organisations in advancing human-based science:
LAV is currently involved in legal proceedings against a contract research organisation in Italy which carries out tests on animals, including dogs and non-human primates. Following complaints from LAV, the Italian authorities carried out an inspection which revealed numerous irregularities. As a result, the former director and veterinarian were charged with mistreatment and unnecessary killing. The authorities seized all the dogs and non-human primates.
Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE) engaged with 800 political decision-makers to request the correct transposition of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes into German law. Furthermore, DAAE granted two Herbert Stiller Research Prizes to advance animal-free research.
The RSPCA ran an event with the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) to discuss steps that the industry is taking to avoid, replace and reduce animal use, and opportunities for further progress. The RSPCA also launched their AWERB Directory, collating key resources to help institutional Animal Welfare (and Ethical Review) Bodies effectively challenge whether and how animals are used in research and testing. Furthermore, the RSPCA organised its third annual Focus on Fish event to share knowledge and ideas for reducing the suffering and improving the welfare of fishes used in science, as well as their fifth international meeting promoting practical approaches for avoiding and reducing ‘severe’ suffering.
GAIA contacted the Brussels and Walloon Ministers for Animal Welfare to encourage the establishment and implementation of an action plan to replace and reduce animal testing, similar to the Flemish Action Plan, in their respective regions. In its response, the Brussels Minister announced that a five-year strategy to reduce animal experimentation will be included in the Brussels Animal Welfare Code.
Djurens Rätt submitted 27,847 signatures to urge the Swedish government to reinstate dedicated funding for the Swedish 3R Centre.
Humanimal Trust published an updated edition of Humanimal, a children’s book focusing on the similarities between humans and animals. Moreover, Humanimal Trust also launched the First Global Creative Awards for children and young minds in order to captivate a broad audience with the concept of One Medicine via creative media, as well as online One Medicine Webinar series showcasing where collaboration between human and veterinary medical professionals can deliver better health for all species.
Menschen für Tierrechte (People for Animal Rights Germany, PARG) joined forces with the Berlin Greens to make “Animal-free Research Methods Development” a mandatory component of all relevant undergraduate courses offered at universities in Berlin. In addition, PARG also published an extensive University Guide that provides comprehensive information for studying life science subjects without the use of animals. PARG’s initiative “Exit from Animal Testing. NOW!” lead a government action plan and a commitment of two million euros for the development of a strategy aimed at reducing animal testing.
Animalfree Research launched a petition calling on the Swiss Parliament and the Federal Council to make a binding commitment and establish a concrete plan to gradually phase out harmful animal experiments, and take measures to systematically evaluate the benefits of state-funded research involving animal experiments and publish these results on a regular basis. Furthermore, Animalfree Research organised a forum on advancing personalised medicine with animal-free research.
World Animals Voice 
