Day: April 14, 2024

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

Spain: Octopus farm must be stopped, say campaigners, as new documents reveal plans were reckless and threatened environment, wildlife and public health.

Octopus farm must be stopped, say campaigners, as new documents reveal plans were reckless and threatened environment, wildlife and public health

8 April 2024

CIWF

Press Release

Campaigners are calling on a seafood company to scrap plans to build the world’s first octopus farm in Spain as new documents reveal that – as well as ignoring animal cruelty concerns – it failed to consider the significant threats the farm would pose to wildlife, the environment and public health.

Environment report was insufficient & exposes ‘hypocrisy’ of Nueva Pescanova’s sustainability claims

NGOs Eurogroup for Animals, Compassion in World Farming and AnimaNaturalis are urging company Nueva Pescanova to immediately stop the project on the grounds that, as well as causing cruelty to octopuses, the farm contradicts its own corporate sustainability claims. Among the concerns is that the farm could threaten dolphins and turtles near the site, and its discharges could add to local water pollution and CO2 emissions. The probability of these impacts was considered to be ‘significantly high’ by the Canary Islands Government.

The company’s website claims that it is committed to ‘maintaining biodiversity’, ‘protecting the ecosystem’ and ‘promoting the circular economy’. Yet its own environmental report for the farm at the Port of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, was considered insufficient by the Canary Islands Government due to concerns that the plans could:

threaten local wildlife, including protected cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) and vulnerable sea turtles, through noise and water pollution due to its close proximity to a Marine Protected Area (MPA).

pose a public health risk by using nearby seawater which is not of a high enough quality to be used for human food production.

cause pollution including CO2 emissions, odour concerns, and discharges that could significantly contribute to the already highly contaminated harbour waters.

threaten a protected species of algae – cystoseira – which is present in the surroundings.

involve highly unsustainable practices such as the use of wild fish as feed and high energy consumption of the facility.

Speaking on behalf of the team of Legal Natura legal experts who examined the documents, lawyer, Maria Angeles López Lax, said: “Nueva Pescanova’s environmental report was inadequate, lacking basic information to allow the Government to assess the impact of the farm on the environment and public health. It’s up to the company to prove that the farm would not impact on protected species or risk public health before permission can be granted, yet the company has failed to address even the most basic of these concerns.”

Octopuses are unique, intelligent, naturally solitary creatures who are not suited to the overcrowded conditions that are typical of factory farms. This would increase aggression and can ultimately lead to cannibalism. They are also carnivorous, meaning they need to be fed wild fish in captivity, an unsustainable practice that would put extra pressure on already overexploited fish populations. 

Compassion in World Farming launched its report Octopus Farming: A Recipe for Disaster in 2021 revealing scientific evidence that octopus farming would be both cruel and environmentally damaging. A year ago, Compassion and Eurogroup for Animals launched Uncovering the Horrific Reality of Octopus Farming – its joint response to Nueva Pescanova’s plans to farm around one million of these intelligent, unique animals in an aquatic factory farm annually. 

On World Octopus Day last year (8 October), 75 NGOs, experts and public figures, led by Compassion and Eurogroup for Animals, wrote to the Canary Islands Government urging it to reject the plans. Thousands of supporters also took action, urging the President of the community to stop the octopus farm.

It is unjustifiable to introduce this new type of factory farming, as climate scientists warn of the urgent need to change our food systems and evolve our diets to become more sustainable. We deserve better than continued environmental devastation to fill corporate pockets, and these incredible animals deserve better than lives diminished to confinement and suffering.

Keri Tietge, Aquatic Animals Policy Officer, Eurogroup for Animals

 Not only would this octopus farm cause cruelty to these naturally solitary and intelligent animals and be environmentally unsustainable, it’s also hypocritical for Nueva Pescanova to push plans that contradict their own corporate sustainability claims.

Dr Elena Lara, a marine biologist and Senior Research Manager, Compassion in World Farming,

Our society should be in a moment of progress towards a more empathetic and compassionate treatment of animals. If this aberration continues, despite the rejection of the scientific community and a large part of society, we will be facing a serious rupture of these values.

Cristina Ibáñez, Campaign Coordinator, AnimaNaturalis

The NGOs are calling on supporters to tag Nueva Pescanova on social media urging them to immediately stop their plans to build the octopus farm. 

Regards Mark

Uncategorized

USDA: ‘TORTURE KING’ CHARGED WITH CREATING AND DISTRIBUTING VILE BABY MONKEY TORTURE VIDEOS.

‘TORTURE KING’ CHARGED WITH CREATING AND DISTRIBUTING VILE BABY MONKEY TORTURE VIDEOS

By Allison Hester | April 4, 2024

A man in Chesapeake, Virginia who called himself the “Torture King” has been charged for conspiring to create and distribute animal crush videos.

Michael Macartney, age 50, was arrested by federal prosecutors for allegedly funding and selling videos of baby and adult monkeys being harmed and killed for entertainment in online groups. Members of the monkey torture groups from across the globe would reportedly pool funds to have video makers in Indonesia inflict gruesome acts of violence on camera.

Macartney was featured in the BBC documentary “The Monkey Haters,” for which Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates provided information and intelligence.

Lady Freethinker applauds law enforcement for taking action against the disturbing trend of sickening monkey torture videos, which Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates have been investigating for more than two years.

Macartney allegedly collected nearly 2,300 videos of monkeys being tortured, mutilated, sexually violated, and killed, and worked with a global animal torture ring to fund, develop, watch, promote, and sell such videos online.

“Animal crushing” is a term used in federal criminal law to describe when live animals are “purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.”

Over the course of nine months, Macartney was paid over 300 times for the horrific videos, according to his charging documents.

Multiple suspects in Indonesia, the U.S., and the U.K. have been arrested and charged for participating in monkey torture rings, and others are currently under investigation.

Regards Mark

Please sign our Cat Torture Petitions – we need to get prosecutions and actions here also – Thanks Mark

https://www.change.org/p/chinese-cat-torture-time-for-action-to-stop-it

https://www.change.org/p/china-katzen-folter-ring-cat-torture-ring

Environmental, General News, Hunting

USA: JUSTICE FOR WOLF RUN DOWN BY SNOWMOBILE, TORTURED, AND KILLED AT WYOMING BAR – Petition.

Wyoming Man Cited For Capturing Live Wolf, Reportedly Showed It Off In Bar Before Killing It

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/04/02/wyoming-man-cited-for-capturing-live-wolf-reportedly-showed-it-off-in-a-bar-before-killing-it

SIGN: Justice for Wolf Run Down by Snowmobile, Tortured, and Killed at Wyoming Bar

On Feb. 29, a Sublette County man reportedly captured and tormented a wolf in Daniel, Wyoming. He allegedly taped its mouth shut and showed it off in a bar before taking it out back and shooting it. The man has been charged with possession of a live wolf.


UPDATE: Hunters, Biologists Angered At Alleged Wolf Torture Case

The case of a man allegedly capturing a wolf and tormenting it — including by showing it off in bar — before finally killing it could spark enough outrage to shake Wyoming’s wolf management policy.

It’s legal to kill wolves in the part of Sublette County where the incident is said to have happened.

But keeping an animal alive and tormenting it in such manner, as was reportedly done, would be an egregious violation of hunting ethics and a black eye for Wyoming, two sources familiar with the incident told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday on condition of remaining anonymous.

Cowboy State Daily verified the reports of both sources, which also align with a report of an incident the same day from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

One source said they had seen photos of the wolf, with its mouth taped shut, being shown off in a bar in Daniel, Wyoming, a tiny town in Sublette County.

According to the account of events, a man ran the wolf down with a snowmobile Feb. 29, disabling it. Instead of killing the animal on the spot, he reportedly kept the wolf and took it back to his residence, then to the bar — before finally taking it out behind the bar and killing it.

Citation Issued

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department verified that somebody has been cited and fined for being in possession of a live wolf, but didn’t release that person’s name, the name of the investigating game warden or any exact details of the case.

Sublette County Circuit Court records, however, show that local resident Cody Roberts, born in 1981, was cited for a wildlife violation stemming from an incident that day, Feb. 29, and that Adam Hymas was the investigating agent.

A records request from Cowboy State Daily for detailed Game and Fish written reports regarding the case was still pending at press time.

Multiple calls from Cowboy State Daily to a number in Daniel listed as Roberts’ went unanswered.

When asked over the phone about the story of a wolf being taken into the bar — identified in the photos as the Green River Bar — an employee referred Cowboy State Daily to the bar’s owner, who had not returned messages as of publication.

Game And Fish Account Of Events

Game and Fish spokeswoman Breanna Ball sent Cowboy State Daily a statement about the case via email Tuesday.

“An anonymous reporting party notified the Wyoming Game and Fish Department that an individual was alleged to be in possession of a live wolf. The reporting party notified the Department on March 1, 2024. According to the investigation, the individual possessed the live wolf on 2/29/24,” according to the statement.

“The individual was hunting when he came across the wolf in the predator zone and intended to harvest it. However, the wolf was transported alive back to his residence and later to a business in Daniel, WY. The individual euthanized the wolf later that day. The individual was cited for violating Chapter 10, Importation and Possession of Live Warm-Blooded Wildlife,” according to Game and Fish.

That offense carries a $250 fine.

Will This Affect Wolf Policy?

Wyoming has a three-tiered wolf management policy. Inside Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, wolves remain under full federal protection and may not be hunted.

In areas of Wyoming adjacent to the national parks, there is a “trophy hunting zone.” There, wolves are managed as a trophy species. Hunting is allowed, but hunters must have wolf hunting tags and can kill wolves only during designated hunting seasons and within predetermined quotas.

The rest of Wyoming, or roughly 85% of the state, is a “predator zone” for wolves. That means they may be killed at any time, with bag limit and no hunting tags required.

One source who spoke to Cowboy State Daily said the worry is that such an act of alleged animal cruelty could turn the tide of nationwide public sentiment against Wyoming’s wolf policy.

“When this story gets out, and it will, this is going to drastically change the discussion about wolf management in Wyoming,” the source said.

ACTION

SIGN: JUSTICE FOR WOLF RUN DOWN BY SNOWMOBILE, TORTURED, AND KILLED AT WYOMING BAR

PETITION TARGET: Sublette County Sheriff and County Attorney

A wolf in Wyoming was allegedly horrifically disabled after being hit by a snowmobile. The animal’s pain was drawn-out when the man responsible allegedly taped the wolf’s snout shut, brought the injured wolf home, took pictures posing with the abused animal, took the terrified wolf to a bar, and later killed the wolf outside the business in Sublette County, as reported by Cowboy State Daily.

In a video from Wyoming Game and Fish Department, obtained by Lady Freethinker via a Freedom of Information request, the muzzled wolf can be seen languishing in pain inside a bar.

The wolf was kept alive and in pain — apparently so the man could take pictures of the wolf’s suffering and subject the frightened animal to an audience before killing the animal.

Wyoming law permits what it calls “humane destruction” of certain animals. What this wolf endured was not humane.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department cited a man — but only for possession of the live animal.

“Animal cruelty charges are not applicable to predatory animals,” Wyoming Game and Fish Department said in a statement about the incident.

The law which Wyoming Game and Fish Department cites – Title Six – does not prohibit the “hunting, capture, killing or destruction of any predatory animal, pest or other wildlife in any manner not otherwise prohibited by law.” However, tormenting animals is otherwise prohibited by law. Title Six goes on to describe felony cruelty to animals as “knowingly, and with intent to cause death or undue suffering, beats with cruelty, tortures, torments or mutilates an animal.”

Other hunters have reportedly agreed that the circumstances under which this wolf was captured and killed were inhumane, according to Wyoming Public Radio.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has come under question for their handling of this case and we are calling on prosecutors to treat it with the severity it deserves.

No animal deserves to be tortured and suffer prolonged pain before death. Wolves are sentient, intelligent animals. They deserve to be protected from merciless acts of cruelty.

This wolf was made to suffer tremendous pain and fear before being killed in a manner resembling a public execution. Animal cruelty charges must be filed against the person responsible for mercilessly tormenting this wolf to send the message that Wyoming does not condone animal cruelty and to prevent others from inflicting similarly inhumane violence against animals.

Sign our petition to urge Sublette County officials to investigate and pursue felony animal cruelty charges against the person responsible for torturing this wolf to set a precedent that animal cruelty will not be permitted in Wyoming.

Please sign the petition:

SIGN: Justice for Wolf Run Down by Snowmobile, Tortured, and Killed at Wyoming Bar

Regards Mark