Thank you everyone for sticking with us; and a special welcome to all our new visitor friends from Australia and Singapore. Check out our visitors – https://clustrmaps.com/site/1a9kn
If some of you are new to the site and not aware, animal buddy Pauline often sends me a collection of her animal photos taken in and around South East London / Kent County.
Tonight I have a new set of photos which you can see below. Hopefully, Pauline and I will be meeting up for a coffee on Wednesday and a Veggie / Vegan Ruby (Ruby Murray – Curry) – https://youtu.be/XRVVCbXmYJo in the next few weeks; so really looking forward to it. Animal talk on the menu as always – her hedgehogs and birds in nesting boxes; and my badgers and foxes who come round for scoff every night; – below, a badger in my garden.
So here below are all of Pauline’s latest shots; which we are sure you will enjoy.
Regards Mark and Pauline.
Below – Spring Lamb
Above – Singing Whitethroat
Below – Whitethroat
Above – Male Blackbird
Below – Female Blackbird
Below – Oyster Catcher
Below – Peacock Butterfly
Below – Gray Herons At Nest – and Youngsters
Below – Gosling
Below – Canada Geese
Below – Young Grey Wagtail
Below – Grey Wagtail
Below – Goldfinch
Below – .. and Thirsty
Below – Swans Nesting – Can You See the Egg Within ?
New Delhi: After lodging an FIR against animal cruelty in east Delhi’s Jagatpuri, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has offered a reward of Rs 50,000 for the whereabouts of the abuser.
A video being circulated on social media showed a person, allegedly from Jagatpuri, beating a dog. The CCTV footage, which was a few weeks old, showed the dog being severely beaten with a stick, resulting in a broken leg and head injuries. PETA and local activist Divyansh Sharma registered an FIR on May 2 under Section 429 (animal cruelty) of Indian Penal Code 1860 and Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.
After the attacker could not be traced, PETA decided to announce the bounty. “PETA India is offering a reward of up to Rs 50,000 to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for torturing the dog,” stated the organisation.
It further said those who abused animals would often end up harming human beings. “PETA India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo psychiatric evaluation and receive counselling as abusing animals indicates a deep psychological disturbance,” said PETA India cruelty response coordinator Sunayana Basu.
“Research shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are often repeat offenders who move on to hurting other animals, including humans. A study published in Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal stated that those who engage in animal cruelty were three times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats and drug/substance abuse,” Basu added.
WAV Comment – we have been working a lot recently on the relationship between initial animal offenders then moving on to human violence. Here is our post and section link relating to this:
The scheme named The Animal Welfare Fund with an investment of €85,000 from the Government will provide financial assistance to animal shelters and voluntary or non-governmental organisations that care for animals. This was announced during a conference by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Animal Rights Anton Refalo, together with the Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Animal Rights Alicia Bugeja Said.
The Animal Welfare Fund is established with a commitment to support those organisations and shelters providing services to animals, with the aim of raising more awareness about the importance of domestic animals in our community and furthering animal rights in our country (Malta).
Minister Anton Refalo emphasised, “Through this government initiative, we continue to uphold our commitment outlined in the Electoral Manifesto ‘Malta Together.’ What we are witnessing today is the continuation of the diligent work we have already done in this field, with recent achievements such as the renovation of the Animal Hospital and the initiation of the veterinary course in the academic year ahead. This progress is a testament to the dedication we have shown in the field of animal rights through a series of measures implemented in recent weeks, months, and years, to ensure ongoing support for our partners.”
Schemes like these are incredibly important as they provide tangible evidence of the valuable work being done by shelters and animal welfare organisations, Bugeja explained.
“The Government acknowledges this work in favour of animal protection and rights being carried out by voluntary organisations and shelters. Without their work, we certainly cannot curb the number of animals being neglected currently,” continued the Parliamentary Secretary.
She concluded by stating that this scheme is merely a gesture of appreciation to continue supporting these organisations and shelters in their service provision, while easing their financial burdens.
The Director of the Department for Animal Welfare, Joseph John Vella, outlined the criteria for applying for these funds and how they will be allocated according to three defined priorities: education and awareness, medical expenses, and animal allocation.
Animal advocates are celebrating after parts of a controversial Ontario agriculture law that made it illegal to get a job on a farm under false pretences to expose conditions inside were deemed unconstitutional.
Justice Markus Koehnen struck down parts of Bill 156, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, earlier this month after advocacy group Animal Justice, along with an activist and a journalist, launched a Charter challenge in 2021.
They argued the new law infringed on their freedom of expression because they could not tell the outside world what was happening inside a farm if they gained access to the property through a false pretence.
The act required consent from the owner to be on a property where animals are kept, raised or slaughtered. That consent was voided under the law if someone lied to get on the land.
“The act limits the mode of expression by preventing undercover exposes or even eyewitness descriptions of the conditions in which animals are raised or slaughtered if the person providing the description gained access to premises using false pretences,” the judge wrote in his decision.
“In light of the foregoing, I find that one of the purposes and one of the effects of the act and the regulation is to infringe on the applicants’ freedom of expression.”
The province enacted the legislation in response to demands from the agricultural industry and about 120 municipal resolutions calling on the government to do more to control trespassing, the decision said.
Ontario argued the legislation was aimed at “protecting animal safety, biosecurity, and the safety of farmers as well as preventing economic harm that can arise from threats to animal safety and biosecurity.”
Part of the case focused on lying.
“If lies can amount to protected speech in a context as odious as Holocaust denial, they should be equally protected when someone denies having a university degree or being affiliated with an animal rights group to obtain employment at or entry to an animal auction, petting zoo, rodeo, fair or circus,” the judge decided.
The judge agreed with animal rights activists
The news thrilled Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice.
“It’s a decisive victory over unconstitutional ‘ag-gag’ laws that were designed and had the effect of covering up serious animal cruelty on farms,” she said.
“In light of this ruling, we’re looking forward to getting back to doing investigative work in Ontario as soon as possible.”
The animal advocates had submitted undercover video of farms that were eventually aired on national television broadcasts and led to criminal charges and convictions in some cases. None of that would have happened without lying to get a job in the first place.
“The expression is of public interest,” Koehnen wrote.
“Publicizing the way in which animals are treated is an issue of interest to at least some members of the public. It is an issue about which the public is entitled to be informed if they want to be.”
The advocates who brought the case also argued undercover operatives would follow the rules on farms, only deviating to take pictures of video of what was happening with the animals.
The judge agreed.
“For a potential employee to deny any association with animal-rights groups in a job interview does not threaten biosecurity, the food supply chain or animal safety,” the judge wrote.
“Nor does the follow up act of such an activist communicating what they see in an agricultural facility.”
The bill also made it illegal to interact with animals inside transport trucks, a law seemingly designed to target one group in the province: Toronto Pig Save. The group is part of the large Save Movement whose members “bear witness” and hold vigils for animals en route to slaughter.
They often gave water to the pigs inside trucks stopped at intersections to “show kindness and compassion to animals in their final moments,” the decision noted.
The Ministry of the Attorney General may appeal
Two days after the bill came into force in June 2020, a truck hauling a load of live pigs ran over and killed Regan Russell, 65, who was protesting the new law outside a slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ont. The driver, Andrew Blake, pleaded guilty to the provincial offence of careless driving causing death. He was fined $2,000 and given 12-months of probation.
The Regan Russell Foundation intervened in this case, arguing the law interfered with both its constitutional right to protest and freedom of expression.
The judge disagreed and held up that portion of the act.
“The purpose of protecting freedom of expression is to do just that, allow people to express themselves,” Koehnen wrote. “It does not allow people to appropriate, even momentarily, the property of others as a means for that expression.”
Russell’s stepson, Joshua Powell, was disappointed with that part of the decision.
“It is upsetting, but we are very, very elated that the judge upheld the ability to hold vigils at these sites as a protected act,” Powell said.
“And, most important, we are really happy that undercover exposes, from journalists or activists, won’t be illegal anymore. It was one of the main reasons Regan was out there that day.”
The Ministry of the Attorney General said it is reviewing the decision and has not yet decided if it will appeal.
World Animals Voice 