Meet Sea Shepherd’s Newest Ship: Ocean Warrior Announces ‘Bob Barker’ — Named After Legendary Animal Rights Leader
Regards Mark
Month: May 2024
Dear Friend,
We are delighted to welcome the Pet Abduction Act 2024. Under this new law – which was a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by our Patron Anna Firth and Lord Black of Brentwood and supported by the Government – anyone found guilty of stealing a pet in England or Northern Ireland will face up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.
The new law recognises that cats and dogs are not inanimate objects but sentient beings capable of experiencing distress and other emotional trauma when they are stolen from their owners or keepers.
Evidence from the Pet Theft Taskforce suggests around 2,000 dog and over 400 cat theft crimes were reported to police in 2020, causing considerable distress for owners and their pets alike. With an estimated 28% of UK adults owning a dog and 24% owning a cat, pet theft is a major concern to the public.
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Anna Firth, Lord Black
Support for the Act builds upon wider action to protect pets from theft, including making the microchipping of cats compulsory from 10 June 2024. This makes it easier for lost, stray or stolen pets to be reunited with their owners and returned home safely.
Anna Firth commented: “As a nation of pet-lovers, it is vital that the law recognises the emotional impact the theft of a pet can have and brings the perpetrators to justice in a way that correctly reflects this. Pets are not merely items in our lives, they are sentient beings, and it is not right that the law does not distinguish this. My thanks to Lord Black, Debbie Matthews, Dr Dan Allen, Pet Theft Alliance, Tilly’s Angels, the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation and Cats Protection, the Dogs Trust, Battersea Cats and Dogs Home, Refuge and Pet Theft Awareness, all of whom have provided invaluable insight on my Bill.”
Lord Black of Brentwood commented; “I am delighted that the Pet Abduction Act is now on the statute book. We have seen a great deal of important animal welfare legislation in this Parliament – and it seems fitting that it should end with this vital step forward. It will make a real difference to millions of families, like my own, who love their pets. I am so grateful to the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, as well as all the other charities in the sector, who have given such strong support. This is a victory for all of you.”
Lorraine Platt, Co-Founder of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, commented: “We are delighted our Patron Anna Firth’s Pet Abduction Act which will tackle the growing issue of pet theft has become law. This Act delivers a key component of Defra’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare (2021) and address an issue close to the hearts of the British public. Our pets are members of the family, often providing much-needed companionship and stability throughout our lives. That the theft of a treasured pet was treated no more severely under the law than that of a mobile phone was simply unacceptable, and we look forward to seeing this new legislation provide an effective deterrent against such offences. We would like to thank Anna Firth and Lord Black for the hard work and time they have spent on this important new law and our Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Secretary of State Steve Barclay for their strong support for the new legislation to protect animals.”
Live Exports Ban
We are thrilled that the Animal Welfare( Livestock Exports) Act is now law after receiving Royal Assent- it has been an important time for animal welfare! This new historical law bans exports of live cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and horses for slaughter and fattening abroad and is the first in Europe to do so.
These two new laws follow other notable Conservative Party achievements for animals since 2019 and include; the Animal Welfare (Sentience Act) including crustaceans and cephalopods, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing Act), the Glue Traps (Offences) Act, the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act, The Ivory Act, the Animal Welfare (Service Animals Act), the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2019, a ban on keeping primates as pets, a ban on third-party puppy and kitten sales, a ban on wild animals travelling in circuses, a ban on microbeads to protect marine life, mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses, mandatory microchipping of cats, the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act, and the Shark Fins Act.
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Politicians and CAWF team:( left to right top to bottom). Giles Watling, Damian Green, Rebecca Harris, Sir Roger Gale, Louie French, Mark Francois, Kevin Foster, Theresa Villiers, Sir Roger Gale, Selaine Saxby, Sir Roger Gale, Louie French, Dame Tracey Crouch, Theresa Villiers, Rebecca Harris, Kevin Foster, Peter Gibson, Paul Howell, Chris Platt( CAWF) Baroness Hodgson, Baroness Fookes, Lorraine Platt and Jenny Lewis( CAWF) Theresa Villiers, Chris Platt( CAWF) Rebecca Harris, George Eustice, Lorraine Platt, Chris Platt and Dame Andrea Jenkyns
The General Election
Now, with the 2024 General Election underway, it is crucial the Conservative Party continues to build on the positive momentum gained thus far in its upcoming manifesto. We like to call ourselves a nation of animal lovers, and we know that animal welfare is an important focus for the public. It is essential that the Conservative manifesto contains pledges on issues that the voting public care about. We know that there is increasing concern on the lives of billions of farm animals on intensive industrial farms. Our campaigns focus on ending cruel systems where farm animals are confined to small cages and crates, unable to exhibit any of their natural behaviours or see natural daylight or even feel a blade of grass under their feet for their entire lives.
Our Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation 2024 Manifesto for Animals <https://conservativeanimalwelfarefoundation.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=39260baecf6044e1f26ef4f9d&id=fb4815b4c4&e=57f5095601> outlines the following primary asks, which are critical for the advancement of animal welfare.
1. Commit to a fixed and fair phase out period of the use of farrowing crates for sows and gilts in the UK with ongoing transitional support for farmers during the phase out period.
2. Commit to a fixed and fair phase out period for enriched cages for laying hens in the UK with ongoing transitional support for farmers during the phase out period.
3. Introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on all meat products for human consumption.
4. Legislate to ensure that farmed fish have the equivalent legal protection to that of terrestrial farmed animals, including at time of slaughter.
Additionally, our Manifesto includes asks to ban the commercial importation of foie gras, ban fur imports, trophy hunting imports, prohibit the remote sale and shipping of live animals for food to non-commercial customers, ban the importation of cats or dogs that have been mutilated in ways that are illegal in the UK (such as tail docking, ear cropping or de-clawing), ban the use of snares and introduce a close season for brown hares in England and Wales to align with existing legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It’s important to enshrine core standards for animal welfare in all future trade agreements, in order to safeguard the UK’s existing animal welfare standards and to protect British farmers.
We know that animals matter to the public and we hope that our proposals are considered for the General Election Manifesto.
Thank you for your kind support
Best wishes
Lorraine, Chris and the Team
Regards Mark
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
31 May 2024
The legal action brought against the European Commission (EC) before the General Court on its failure to uphold the commitment to the European Citizens’ Initiative End-the-Cage-Age will now supersede the complaint made to the European Ombudsman on the same matter.
The complaint
In November 2023, 57 animal protection NGOs submitted an official complaint to the European Ombudsman on the EC’s failure to uphold governing rules. Despite having generated legitimate expectations on acting on the ECI, the EC failed to come forward with a legislative proposal, putting into question the purpose of this democratic tool. This was the first time in which a large number of NGOs submitted a complaint to this inter-institutional European body.
Subsequently, an inquiry was open, in which the EC was asked to send an official reply to the complainants. The delayed response of the EC was however unsatisfactory to the complaints, providing no clear timeline or action plan on when the proposal will be published.
The court case
In March 2024, the Citizens Committee of the ECI launched a landmark legal action against the EC at the European Court of Justice of the EU over its failure to act on its commitment, ignoring the demands of 1.4 million EU citizens.
What happens now?
The complaint at the European Ombudsman has now been closed, and animal protection NGOs will focus their efforts on the official court case. The court case has been officially logged on the 6th of May, and further details on next steps are expected in due course.
What’s at stake?
Over 300 million farm animals, including hens, quails, rabbits, sows and ducks, are confined in cages on farms in the European Union each year, with many kept like this for all or most of their life. Animals are severely restricted in their movements, prevented from exhibiting natural behaviours, with detrimental effects on their health and welfare.
Without the promised legislative proposal, the phasing out of animals in cages in the EU remains on hold, and animals continue to suffer in millions.
Mark
Further reading https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/improve-pig-welfare-standards-demand-animal-rights-advocates/
Dear all,
as a follow-up to our recent critical post on the situation of Gaza’s children, and those we, and the global compassionate community, consider responsible for their suffering, we would like to further highlight the “problem” with this 6-year old child “Fadi Al-Zant“. There is no, and we repeat, NO justification for causing such suffering to the Innocent and their helpless families.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-mother-fears-losing-last-child-starvation
2024 and the USA and Israel are making innocent children suffer like this ? – global shame on them.
As part of research, pregnant baboons were given varying combinations of estrogen and an estrogen inhibitor, and their fetuses were delivered via C-section at different stages of pregnancy, according to documents provided to The Virginian-Pilot. The placenta and fetal tissue were collected for study, according to the protocol objective for the experiment submitted by EVMS to the school’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
A total of 156 baboons were requested for the experiment over three years. Death of the mother, the fetus or both were accepted outcomes of the study as described in the documents.
Read the full article at Animal rights group files complaint against Eastern Virginia Medical School citing abuse in baboon research (msn.com)
Further News – Protest:
A New Jersey-based animal rights organization is taking action, and urging others to follow suit, against the lethal way that Teterboro Airport mitigates its local Canada geese population.
According to the Animal Protection League of New Jersey (APLNJ), Teterboro Airport has been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program to gas Canada geese as well as other bird species and mammals for decades.
Read the full article at:
29 May 2024
Billions of broiler chickens across the EU are bred to be fast-growing, which puts their bodies under enormous strain. In our new white paper, we call on policy-makers to phase out these breeds and, instead, prioritise slower-growing breeds in EU legislation. Several Member States are already showing support for this kind of shift.
It is impossible for fast-growing broiler chickens to live a good life, in which they are comfortable, healthy, and exposed to a variety of positive experiences. To improve the welfare of the birds in this sector, it is critical that EU policy-makers legislate on a significant, EU-wide transition: in which fast-growing broiler chickens are phased out, and only slower-growing, higher welfare breeds are permitted to be farmed.
In our new white paper, Paving the way for higher welfare broiler breeds in the EU: From market initiatives to legislation, we lay out three legislative routes policy-makers could take to foster such a change. We also lay out the European Chicken Commitment as the basis for this legislation, and explore what individual Member States have been doing to improve broiler welfare, both nationally and in supporting the phase-out of fast-growing breeds at EU level.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands has already made a lot of notable progress towards producing only higher welfare breeds. The “Chicken of Tomorrow” was introduced between 2014 – 2015, an initiative that ensured slower-growing broilers were prioritised in its food systems. Now, the market for fresh chicken meat in the Netherlands consists of 100% higher welfare, slower-growing broilers.
This sector shake-up was largely catalysed by interest from Dutch consumers in animal welfare, as well as related issues such as public health and sustainability. Various studies showed Dutch consumers are willing to pay more for improved animal welfare standards, incentivising retailers to rethink their production practices.
Further pressure was added by NGOs that shone a light on the awful experiences of fast-growing broilers, for instance the Plofkip campaign by our member Wakker Dier. This caused a public outcry, which persuaded the two biggest retailers in the Netherlands, Jumbo and Albert Heijn, to launch their own higher welfare standards for broilers. They were soon followed by all the other supermarket chains.
Denmark
The Danish government and key Danish political parties have agreed to phase out the state procurement of fast-growing chickens, as well as promised to back a ban on the farming of fast-growing broilers at EU level.
Sweden
New criteria developed by the Swedish National Agency for Public Procurement include standards for higher welfare chicken breeds, in line with European Chicken Commitment. There are also two propositions in the Swedish Parliament to ban fast-growing breeds nationwide (proposition number 18 and proposition number 29).
Norway
The Animal Ethics Council has recommended fast-growing breeds are banned in Norway. As of May 2024, the Norwegian government has been working on recommendations to give to Parliament, and the Norwegian animal protection law will likely be revised in the near future.
The organic movement and labelling schemes across Europe are also having an impact on broiler chicken welfare
Alongside these progressive steps by governments and retailers across Member States, several labelling schemes and initiatives are also playing a role in changing the fates of Europe’s broilers.
Chiefly, the European Chicken Commitment, also known as the Better Chicken Commitment, is incentivising corporations to commit to higher welfare standards for broiler chickens. Hundreds of companies have signed up to these commitments, demonstrating that higher welfare standards and market competitiveness are compatible. Further, as a science-based welfare policy, approved and supported by animal welfare organisations all over the world, the standards laid out in the commitment make an excellent foundation for future legislation on broilers at EU level.
Organic legislators and organisations have also been showing support for slower-growing broilers across Europe. Organic bodies in Finland, Poland, Spain, and Austria have all recommended specific broiler breeds that can be used in organic farming, pointing to the clear connection between slower growth and higher welfare.
Specific labels at national level have contributed to this growing emphasis on slower-growing broilers, too. In Germany, Deutscher Tierschutzbund has laid out a mandatory requirement within both the basic and premium levels of its animal welfare certification label Für Mehr Tierschutz, for extensive to medium-extensive breeding lines with slower growth.
Similarly Krav, an organic labelling scheme in Sweden, has set a growth rate limit for slower-growing breeds with an ambition to make this limit even stricter by 2032.
Shaping a new future for broiler chickens in the EU
As the EU gears up to revise the full animal welfare legislation, several Member States are already setting an example for the kind of major changes needed to truly put welfare at the heart of the broiler chicken sector. The wellbeing of the birds in this industry will be defined largely by the action policy-makers now take to legislate on slower-growing breeds. Without such policies in place, these sentient beings will only continue to suffer.
Eid Slaughter of exported British sheep – Paris. Very fortunately, the UK live export ban prevents this EU abuse witnessed in the past.
27 May 2024
Animal welfare should be at the core of the European Commission’s next legislative agenda, and priority should be given to publishing the long-due animal welfare legislation, a number of Member States highlighted in the AGRIFISH council meeting today.
The information note was submitted by Slovenia, Bulgaria, France, Portugal and Sweden.
The delegations noted the work that has been done so far on animal welfare, in particular the publication of the transport regulation proposal, and the regulation on the welfare of cats and dogs, currently being discussed by the working parties in the Council.
WAV Comment – ‘Discuss’ is all they can ever do – we never see results !
On the regulation on cats and dogs, the delegation stressed the need of public-facing awareness campaigns, to enable consumers to make informed choices and recognise unregistered establishments and illegal pet trade operations, particularly with the increase in online trade. They noted the need for the European Commission to support Member States in these efforts.
The delegation called on the European Commission to come forward with the revised proposal to protect animals at farm level and at the time of killing: the Kept Animals and Slaughter Regulations, respectively.
These proposals were promised to be published by the end of last year, however they have yet to see the light of day. This call was reinforced by a number of member states during the session, specifically Luxemburg, Denmark and Netherlands, with the latter highlighting that animal welfare is critical for sustainable food production, public health and consumers’ trust.
On the European Citizens Initiatives, “End the Cage Age” and “Fur Free Europe”, the delegation emphasised that it expected further work on the EC’s side a proper assessment of the economic and social impacts of any proposed legislation in this area.
On transport, Luxembourg called for immediate work on the legislative proposal, while it called for a ban on exports to non-EU countries, saying this should be replaced by meat and carcasses.
The revised animal welfare legislation should be a priority for the next Commission. Citizens have asked for better protection of animals, and it is high time it was delivered. In the run-up to the European elections, it is great to see Member States speak up. Over 700 candidate MEPs have so far taken a pledge for the animals, and we hope that the next legislature will bring the changes that are long overdue.
Stephanie Ghislain, Political Affairs Manager, Eurogroup for Animals.
Fortunately, the UK did the right thing. The UK has gone it alone and banned live animal exports; and the EU ? – ask them again in another five years !!
Further Reading:
Thanks to Thefreeonline for publishing this post – view the photos ! https://thefreeonline.com/2024/05/09/its-okay-says-biden-as-israel-kills-23-women-and-kids-and-cuts-all-aid-at-rafah-crossing/
Metro London
Seen enough ? – the US supplies bombs to Israel – the above shows what results.
World Animals Voice 
