Month: July 2024

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

EU: EFSA releases new scientific opinion on the use of high expansion foam for stunning and killing pigs and poultry

16 July 2024

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released a scientific opinion addressing the use of high expansion foam for the stunning and killing of pigs and poultry in situations other than slaughter, such as emergency depopulation purposes. We call on the European Commission to take this latest opinion into account, and also advocate for the continuous improvement and adoption of the most humane methods available in this sector.

Read the scientific opinion here.

The scientific community recognises that farm animals are still stunned and slaughtered with methods capable of negatively impacting their welfare. This new opinion highlights that high expansion foam is an alternative to existing methods for the stunning and killing of pigs and poultry in situations other than slaughter, but also stresses some important animal welfare hazards along with potential mitigation strategies. 

Eurogroup for Animals commends EFSA for this important assessment, which evaluates the welfare implications of using high expansion foam filled with nitrogen to induce anoxia, leading to unconsciousness and death in pigs and poultry. This method involves displacing air in a container with foam and using a nitrogen jet to burst the bubbles, thereby creating an oxygen-deprived environment.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released a scientific opinion addressing the use of high expansion foam for the stunning and killing of pigs and poultry in situations other than slaughter, such as emergency depopulation purposes. We call on the European Commission to take this latest opinion into account, and also advocate for the continuous improvement and adoption of the most humane methods available in this sector.

Read the scientific opinion here.

The scientific community recognises that farm animals are still stunned and slaughtered with methods capable of negatively impacting their welfare. This new opinion highlights that high expansion foam is an alternative to existing methods for the stunning and killing of pigs and poultry in situations other than slaughter, but also stresses some important animal welfare hazards along with potential mitigation strategies. 

Eurogroup for Animals commends EFSA for this important assessment, which evaluates the welfare implications of using high expansion foam filled with nitrogen to induce anoxia, leading to unconsciousness and death in pigs and poultry. This method involves displacing air in a container with foam and using a nitrogen jet to burst the bubbles, thereby creating an oxygen-deprived environment.

Key findings of the EFSA opinion include:

·       Animal welfare equivalence: The EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) concluded that the use of high expansion foam ensures a level of animal welfare at least equivalent to existing methods, such as exposure to high concentrations of carbon dioxide or electrocution via water baths, especially in whole-house gassing scenarios;

·       Welfare hazards and mitigation: The opinion identifies potential haza

Key findings of the EFSA opinion include:

·       Animal welfare equivalence: The EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) concluded that the use of high expansion foam ensures a level of animal welfare at least equivalent to existing methods, such as exposure to high concentrations of carbon dioxide or electrocution via water baths, especially in whole-house gassing scenarios;

·       Welfare hazards and mitigation: The opinion identifies potential hazards associated with the foam, including the need for proper training and certification of handlers, strict adherence to key parameters, and having backup methods ready to prevent animals from regaining consciousness;

·       Recommendations for best practices: EFSA recommends that procedures should only commence when all critical parameters are met. Animals should be handled calmly to avoid stress, and a reliable monitoring system should confirm death before carcass disposal. Additionally, further research is necessary to validate results and improve monitoring techniques;

·       Extent of application: The current assessment is limited to laying hens, broiler chickens of all ages, and pigs weighing between 15 and 41 kg. 

These findings are of particular importance considering that large-scale depopulation operations are increasing in the EU due to constant outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and African swine fever (ASF). We hope that, in light of the new EFSA study and the recurrent problems encountered by Member States in killing large numbers of animals due to disease outbreaks, ensuring humane depopulation methods will become a priority for the European Commission. 

While EFSA’s opinion supports the equivalence of high expansion foam with current methods, Eurogroup for Animals emphasises that ‘tolerable’ methods are not sufficient. 

We advocate for the continuous improvement and adoption of the most humane methods available.

In the meantime, updating the applicable regulations to reflect the latest knowledge on animal welfare during slaughter – including this latest opinion by EFSA – will help minimise suffering across this sector. We believe that a comprehensive approach is needed to ensure that the equipment used and procedures followed in slaughterhouses do not cause unnecessary fear, pain and distress to farm animals, and call on the European Commission to take the following actions:

·       Replace outdated and less effective stunning methods with more humane alternatives;

·       Ensure all animals are adequately stunned before slaughter;

·       Ban the use of electric prods and high-concentration CO2 stunning for pigs;

·       Ban the use of water bath stunning for chickens.

Learn more about what we are asking for in this industry in our recent white paper. 

 Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

Agreement on a Green Denmark maintains enormous meat and dairy production and overlooks farm animal welfare.

15 July 2024

Animal Protection Denmark

On June 24 the Danish government, along with several organisations, created an “Agreement on a Green Denmark”: a plan to make the farming sector more climate- and environmentally-friendly. However, several NGOs, including our members Animal Protection Denmark and World Animal Protection Denmark, have pointed out this agreement falls far short in achieving a more sustainable food and farming system, and have signed an open letter calling on the government to rethink its plans.

To make our food and farming systems fit for the future, it’s critical there is a higher uptake in plant-based diets and that less animals are farmed, while only in high welfare conditions. As evidence has repeatedly shown, the issues of animal welfare and sustainability go hand in hand, as poor animal husbandry can lead to the spread of zoonoses, animals being farmed in huge numbers, and more.

Unfortunately, while it does have some ambition, Denmark’s new agreement does not come close to improving the problems of large scale industrial animal production. 

Instead of reducing the size of the livestock sector, the agreement wants to “optimise” how animals are farmed

Denmark produces about 200 million farm animals per year – in a country of only five million people. 

Rather than reducing the number of animals being farmed, however, the agreement suggests the way they are farmed should be revised, and offers funding to explore such “innovations”: for instance, by offering a 60% base deduction and several subsidies for technologies that can reduce emissions from livestock production. 

Not only could this incentive enable farmers to continue farming animals in the same numbers – doing nothing to address the low welfare and unsustainable factory farming model in which billions of sentient beings suffer each year – but it could mean animals suffer even more in these systems:

Animals will be put under even more pressure due to climate technologies and demands for higher productivity. The idea is to make each animal deliver as much as possible, e.g. even more piglets from sows, and even higher milk yields from cows, as is considered good for the climate, and to address specific issues such as methane from cow digestion with feed additives.

Britta Riis – Director, Animal Protection Denmark

Plant-based solutions are being neglected

What is more, an unequal level of support is being offered to farm animal producers in the agreement, while plant producers and innovators are being overlooked.

Whether intended or not, this disparity in incentives sends a clear message: that the animal agriculture sector has a strong role to play in the future of farming, while plant-based products are less important. Really, the opposite is true.

Open letter calls for the agreement to be revised urgently

Several NGOs, including our members Animal Protection Denmark and World Animal Protection, alongside organisations like Greenpeace and the Danish Vegetarian Association, have signed an open letter to the Danish government, arguing that the current agreement does not provide a reliable way forward for a greener farming model. 

The letter states that wanting to optimise animal production is like wanting to optimise the use of oil, coal, and gas – it’s not possible. Such incentives will only draw focus further away from the solutions that will have real impact – chief among them, a big reduction in the number of animals being farmed.  

The urgent climate crisis calls for an ambitious approach to our food and farming systems, with real structural changes required in the sector. Stay posted for updates.

 

Regards Mark

General News, Stray Animals, Uncategorized

Society for Animals working hard to ban pyrotechnics and regulate fireworks in the Czech Republic.

15 July 2024

Společnost pro zvířata

Society for Animals, recently co-organised a workshop in the Czech Parliament about the dangers associated with pyrotechnics and fireworks, and the harm they can cause to pets and wild animals. Progress on some national legislative proposals in this area is also due soon, hopefully leading to much stricter regulations on fireworks in the near future.

On March 6 2024, several specialists and Members of the Parliament, including Marek Výborný (the Czech Minister of Agriculture) and Petr Hladík (the Czech Minister of the Environment) discussed the issue of pyrotechnics and their effects on domestic and wild animals at the Czech Parliament. 

A representative from Society for Animals, Judit Laura Krásná, gave a presentation on the serious problems fireworks and pyrotechnics can cause, including their negative consequences for people and animals, and their threats to safety. 

90% of respondents to a survey commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment agreed fireworks should be better regulated, while several attendees at the workshop, including Society for Animals and air quality experts, agreed they should be banned entirely. 

This discussion was complemented by a petition, produced by Society for Animals and handed over to the Czech MPs’ petition committee in April, to stop the sale of fireworks. Present MPs also agreed that pyrotechnics for entertainment should be regulated, and some categories banned.

Legislative proposals to regulate fireworks in the Czech Republic have been submitted

Since last year and in collaboration with lawyers, Society for Animals submitted some legislative proposals regarding the use of fireworks and pyrotechnics in the Czech Republic.

Supporting its goal, the NGO met several times with the Minister of the Environment, as well as relevant parties such as firemen, sanitation stations, and air pollution specialists, showing the broad range of impacts originating from this issue. It also commissioned a professional measurement of noise and vibration during a huge fireworks display during a summer event in Brno. Learn more here.

The legislative proposals include to:

End the sale and use of outdoor fireworks within categories F2 and F3 for the general public (only professionally-qualified people could continue to use them, under specific circumstances);

Significantly restrict the use of fireworks within the specific contexts in which they are still allowed, including by establishing protective distances of 1000-2000 metres and with a ban on using them near watercourses, lakes, dams, ponds, and wetlands.

Over 50 NGOs in the Czech Republic signed Society for Animals’ open letter to the Czech government supporting its legislative proposals – and such changes have been proven possible. In Ireland, for example, category F2 and F3 fireworks are fully forbidden to be used by the public, and those that do can face significant fines, or even be criminally charged.

The proposals are now ready to be negotiated in the Czech Parliament. Watch this space.

Pyrotechnics can cause great distress to animals 

The effects of fireworks and pyrotechnics on animals can be severe. 

Wild animals generally panic and try to escape the sounds, which often result in injuries or even death, either from exhaustion or from colliding into objects – including moving vehicles.

Due to the high stress levels fireworks can cause, pregnant animals can lose their unborn babies, and domestic animals can run away from their homes. There are even occasions where explosions can hit animals directly, especially birds, bats, and insects. 

It’s clear that the unregulated use of fireworks and pyrotechnics are not aligned with animal welfare. We applaud the work of our member, Society for Animals, for their work in this area, and hope legislative progress soon follows suit.

Mark

General News, Uncategorized

Australia: Dying for sport: Abuse claims rock Australian greyhound racing.

From Diana:

Dying for sport: Abuse claims rock Australian greyhound racing

·       17 July 2024

In 2015 Australia’s multi-billion-dollar greyhound racing industry vowed it would clean up its act.

A damning investigation at the time had exposed the preventable deaths of as many as 17,000 young dogs a year – revelations so shocking the government of the day rushed to implement an ultimately short-lived ban.

Almost a decade later, Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) – the epicentre of the sport in the country – is back in the spotlight for alleged abuse, due to the work of one whistleblower.

In an explosive report made public by lawmakers, the organisation’s former chief veterinarian has described the industry as a hotbed of “exploitation and suffering”, claiming that dogs are being raced at “barbaric” rates, euthanised without cause, or left to rot in metal cages when they can no longer compete.

Executive heads are rolling, and an inquiry, which GRNSW says it “welcomes”, has been announced to investigate the accusations, as calls from critics to have greyhound racing outlawed grow louder.

But despite evidence of slipping public support, the state’s premier has said he won’t shut down the sport, prompting a standoff with those calling for that to happen.

“The reality is the greyhound racing industry cannot exist without systemic animal cruelty,” says NSW Animal Justice MP Emma Hurst.

“It will be shut down – it’s just a matter of when.”

 Australia has been touted as the world’s largest commercial greyhound racing industry – with roughly 60 tracks in operation. New Zealand, the US, the UK and Ireland are also home to markets, but none operate at the same velocity.

Thanks to online betting, Australia’s industry has seen rising profits in recent years, turning over A$8.3bn ($5.6bn; £4.3bn) in 2023 – with 75% of the money coming from Victoria and New South Wales (NSW), according to the greyhound protection organisation GREY2K.

The spark that ignited the current outcry over the sport’s practices was a “handover” letter, from GRNSW’s Chief Veterinary Officer Alex Brittan to his incoming replacement – his final act in a job that by his own account, had nearly broken him.

The 54-page document contains a litany of accusations – including claims that GRNSW had worked with vets “unaccepting of modern medicine” who were prone to euthanising dogs without cause, and that the company’s leadership was directing staff to treat animal welfare groups “as the enemy”.

Within hours of Mr Brittan’s letter becoming public, the chief of GRNSW Rob Macaulay had resigned and the rest of the company’s board is now fighting for their survival.

NSW’s Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris has announced an inquiry into Mr Brittan’s claims which will be led by the industry’s regulator – something which GRNSW has been quick to embrace.

“We welcome the opportunity for an external examination of our processes and record,” its acting CEO Wayne Billett wrote in a statement. And a spokesperson for GRNSW told the BBC that the organisation takes concerns related to animal welfare “very seriously”.

But Mr Brittan’s account differs.

In his letter he described witnessing “cases of extreme distress” in which competing dogs had “recent pools of blood” around them after ripping off their toenails while “clawing” at their caged doors.

He also called out a flurry of “preventable” on-track deaths, due to greyhounds running into poles with “no padding on them” and questioned the figures GRNSW had put forward concerning how many retired dogs it had found homes for – a practice which gives the sport its social licence to operate.

Mr Brittan says that of the roughly 4,200 dogs entering the industry each year, only 1,600 were making it out and finding owners, with the rest living out their days in “industrial kennels”.

Further – he alleged that a company programme which had been set up to export retired greyhounds to the US, so that they could find homes there, had an alarming lack of oversight.

To prove his point, he told the story of Carey – a dog who died at Sydney airport after confusing its travelling box with a racer’s starter box and running into a fence at full speed when the door opened.

NSW’s premier Chris Minns said he would examine all the allegations put forward by Mr Brittan, but quickly ruled out a blanket ban on greyhound racing in the state.

“We’re not going to shut down the industry, but we do take this report seriously,” he told reporters last week.

And Mr Harris reiterated that the government would make sure the industry was held to “the highest standards of animal welfare and integrity” once the new investigation had concluded.

But given GRNSW has weathered multiple crises – including a government-backed inquiry in 2016 which delivered findings of “systemic animal cruelty” and mass killings – advocates are sceptical another inquiry will yield results.

“The greyhound racing industry was already given a chance to clean up its act eight years ago, and it’s monumentally failed,” Ms Hurst told the BBC.Mr Brittan has also challenged the impartiality of the current investigation – saying it should be done by an external source, rather than the industry’s own regulator.

And he questioned why an all-out ban had been taken off the table already.

“It could be perceived as concerning that the premier and gaming minister have stated that the outcome of the inquiry is a foregone conclusion and that, irrespective of any findings, all bets are on, and the gambling will continue,” he said, according to the Guardian.

Around the world, the prominence and popularity of dog-racing for sport has been in decline.

In the US for example – which used to be one of the sport’s largest industries – betting on greyhounds has been outlawed in all but a handful of states, and only two active tracks remain, both in West Virginia.

Advocates like Ms Hurst argue that the practice endures in Australia not because of community fanfare, but gambling profits.

The last time the industry was in the spotlight in 2016, over 80% of people polled by the country’s national broadcaster said they wanted to see it shut down.

And in recent years, it has been outlawed in the Australian Capital Territory, while petitions calling for other jurisdictions to follow suit have made their way to several state parliaments.

GRNSW says it has no plans to go anywhere – and that racing, which first came to the nation’s shores in the late 1800s, can be done “sustainably”.

But Ms Hurst, and others calling for an end to the sport, say that the latest spate of allegations present a unique “opportunity” to “listen to the community and ban this cruel industry”.

Source BBC  Australian greyhound racing rocked by fresh abuse claims – BBC News

Regards Mark

 

 

General News, Uncategorized

USA Various: Shorts Easy Read.

SIGN: URGE ARIZONA COUNTY TO HELP ABANDONED, STARVING DOGS INSTEAD OF SHOOTING THEM DEAD

SIGN: Urge Arizona County to Help Abandoned, Starving Dogs Instead of Shooting Them Dead (ladyfreethinker.org)

PETITION TARGET: Apache County Board of Supervisors

Seven helpless dogs were shot to death by a deputy in Arizona when they had no where else to go, according to Fox 10.

Neighbors requested welfare checks from the Apache County Sheriff’s Office because the dogs appeared to have been abandoned on a vacated property and looked emaciated and dehydrated. The dogs had reportedly resorted to hunting nearby livestock for food. They needed help.

Body cam footage shows a deputy on the premise opening a full bag of dog food and pouring it into a large container on the ground; the dogs leap over one another to begin devouring it. He then fills a dry, dirty bowl with water — which turns muddy in the dirt-crusted bowl.

But after he walks outside of the fenced-in area containing the dogs, he aims a handgun through the chainlink fence. A few of the dogs stand up at the fence, tails wagging and appearing hopeful, before he points the gun at them. The deputy then shoots every dog and puppy he sees until they are dead.

Some of the dogs were shot more than once, and could be heard crying out in agony as they slowly died, according to Mountain Daily Star. The bodies of the dogs were then dumped on the highway according to the police report, Mountain Daily Star reported.

Shockingly, this cruel act did not violate county policies, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Apache County has no animal services department — it is up to the Sheriff’s Office to provide humane aid to animals in need.

“The Deputy involved acted in a professional and most humane manner given the circumstances,” said a spokesperson for the Apache County Sheriff’s Office in a statement given to 12News. “He exhausted all other alternatives available to him at the time and acted under the approval of his immediate supervisor.”

These dogs needed help. They needed safe refuge, food, water, and medical care. Instead, they were brutally shot to death.

Sign our petition urging the Apache County Board of Supervisors to establish an animal services department and humanely address the problem of animal abandonment within their county. Policy change must be enacted so no more helpless, abandoned animals have to die.

2 MEN CHARGED FOR CONSPIRACY TO SEXUALLY ABUSE MONKEYS ON CAMERA

Two men face federal charges for their alleged roles in spreading monkey torture videos online: Nicholas T. Dryden (Ohio) and Giancarlo Morelli (New Jersey) were both charged with conspiracy related to the creation and manufacturing of violent “animal crush” videos involving baby, teenage, and adult monkeys, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Dryden and Morelli were allegedly part of an online group that discussed their twisted and depraved ideas for monkey torture. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges Dryden used funds collected from the online group to instruct and pay a child in Indonesia to create the vile videos.

Helpless monkeys were allegedly abused on camera “having their genitals burned, having their genitals cut with scissors, being sodomized with a wooden skewer and being sodomized with a spoon,” according to a disturbing summary by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Both men have been charged with conspiracy to create and distribute sadistic videos in March and April 2023, while Dryden has an extra charge of producing child sexual abuse material as he allegedly exploited a minor by paying the child to sexually abuse the monkeys on camera. Both men face could face up to 5 years in prison for the conspiracy charges and seven years in prison for the animal crush creation and distribution charges; Dryden could face an additional 20 years in prison for each charge related to the sexual abuse of children.

Monkeys are intelligent and playful animals that do not deserve to be mutilated or killed — for any reason.

Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates first exposed the underground world of monkey torture groups in 2021 — and helped bring international attention to the cruelty by providing intelligence and information to the BBC documentary “The Monkey Haters.” Since then, our work has helped law enforcement prosecute those responsible. These charges are the latest in a string of recent arrests and convictions of people involved in abusing monkeys online.

Lady Freethinker applauds the work of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FBI in investigating the case and pursuing justice for all the monkeys who have been tortured and killed. We will continue to work to uncover, track, and end monkey torture groups for good.

7-WEEK-OLD KITTEN RESCUED FROM DRAIN PIPE AFTER FIRE DEPARTMENT HEARS TINY CRIES FOR HELP

Courtesy of Havelock Animal Control

A stray kitten was rescued in Havelock, North Carolina after the city’s fire department and animal control teamed up to free him from a drain.

The tiny 7-week-old somehow found himself lodged in a pipe — with only his furry white and orange-striped head and big blue eyes peering out. When the fire department discovered him in need of help, they contacted Havelock Animal Control to join in the rescue effort, according to local news.

“The fire department heard him crying!” Lead Animal Control Officer Cheyenne Koons commented on the Friends of Havelock Animal Control Facebook page — in response to those wondering how they knew he was in there.

To free the little kitten, the fire department sliced off a chunk of the pipe and pulled him out. He was extremely wet and dirty when they pulled him free. He looked somewhat shaken up by the whole ordeal, but luckily, he was not hurt.

Photos of the rescue show the kitten swaddled up in a soft, warm blanket with wet food. He was then taken to Havelock Animal Control, where he is being cared for while he waits for a forever family.

“He is doing well,” Koons wrote in an email to Lady Freethinker. “He has not been adopted yet and is still available at our facility!”

Cute !!

Regards Mark

General News, Stray Animals

Turkey: Rescue street dogs, or euthanise them? Turks split over its strays.

Under the shade of a leafy green apricot tree on a scorching summer afternoon, Gokcen Yildiz scoops up a squirming ball of light-brown fur.

It licks her all over the face and she breaks out in giggles.

But laughter gives way to a more serious tone as she points to the dog’s back legs, which are missing paws. A sign, she says, of the abuse some of Turkey’s street dogs are subjected to.

Ms Yildiz is a secondary school physics teacher by day, street-dog advocate by night. The canine she’s holding is one of 160 she’s collected on the property where she lives on the outskirts of Turkey’s capital city, Ankara.

Her dogs are a small fraction of the estimated four million that make up the country’s street-dog population.

It’s a problem that has fiercely divided public opinion: are stray dogs a neighbourhood fixture to be looked after and loved?

CoUnder the shade of a leafy green apricot tree on a scorching summer afternoon, Gokcen Yildiz scoops up a squirming ball of light-brown fur.

It licks her all over the face and she breaks out in giggles.

But laughter gives way to a more serious tone as she points to the dog’s back legs, which are missing paws. A sign, she says, of the abuse some of Turkey’s street dogs are subjected to.

Ms Yildiz is a secondary school physics teacher by day, street-dog advocate by night. The canine she’s holding is one of 160 she’s collected on the property where she lives on the outskirts of Turkey’s capital city, Ankara.

Her dogs are a small fraction of the estimated four million that make up the country’s street-dog population.

It’s a problem that has fiercely divided public opinion: are stray dogs a neighbourhood fixture to be looked after and loved?

Continue reading at Turkey’s stray dogs face euthanasia under possible government bill – BBC News

And more on this:  Türkiye proposes new bill to control street dogs as UK issues travel warning of ‘aggressive’ packs (msn.com)

Regards Mark

 

Environmental, General News, Uncategorized

England: Animal Rebellion: Hundreds of animal rights protesters linked to Extinction Rebellion stop traffic in London.

Hi folks; sorry but there has been a total shutdown of everything for a few days. An attack by Chinese cat abusers was one consideration; maybe they finally got us type thing ! – but today after playing around with things last night, all appears well again this morning. If things go down again soon then you know that at least we are having big problems. Regards Mark

Animal Rebellion: Hundreds of animal rights protesters linked to Extinction Rebellion stop traffic in London

Animal Rebellion has held a march for animal rights which began at Smithfield Market and made its way to the offices of Unilever, Cargill and the Marine Stewardship Council.

Read the full story here:  Animal Rebellion: Hundreds of animal rights protesters linked to Extinction Rebellion stop traffic in London | UK News | Sky News

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport, Stray Animals

Hungary presidency: time to step up work in animal welfare.

Every 6 months a different nation takes on the Presidency of the EU. This is a rotational thing, ensuring each member state plays its part. Now Hungary – Hence:

10 July 2024

As Hungary presides over the council for the next six months, Eurogroup for Animals urges the presidency to prioritise the critical needs in animal welfare.

The Belgian presidency significantly advanced on the proposal for the welfare and traceability of cats and dogs, which was approved by Member States in the council. While this achievement is welcome, the Hungarian presidency must now address the remaining urgent issues.

Read our full memorandum to the Hungarian Presidency here.

Animal welfare legislation must be published

Foremost, the presidency must urge the Commission to publish the remaining animal welfare proposals early in the next political term, to address the severely outdated legislation that does not adequately protect animals throughout their lifetime, from farm to slaughter. In particular, the legislation should have a plan of action to transition to cage-free systems, as per the commitment to the End the Cage Age ECI.

Better protection of animals during transport

Eurogroup for Animals urges the Hungarian presidency to further the work on the revision of the Transport Regulation to support a ban on the transport of live animals outside EU borders, in parallel with a transition towards a trade in meat and carcasses, and stricter requirements to protect animals during intra-EU transport, particularly vulnerable animals.

Support coexistence with wildlife

With significant support for coexistence with wolves in rural communities across the EU and sufficient EU guidelines, practices and support initiatives to prevent loss of livestock, the Hungarian presidency is encouraged to to close the discussions on the proposal to downgrade the protection status of wolves and rather promote the uptake of coexistence measures currently underutilised.

Move towards non-animal science

The impact of EU legislation to protect animals used for scientific purposes has so far been limited. In 2020, over 7.9 million animals were used in research, testing, and education in the EU-27 and Norway, and a further 686,628 animals were used for creating and maintaining genetically altered lines. Eurogroup for Animals urges the Hungarian presidency to support efforts to advance negotiations on legislative initiatives to phase out the use of animals in science.

Read our full memorandum to the Hungarian Presidency here.

 Hungary presidency: time to step up work in animal welfare | Eurogroup for Animals

 Regards Mark

 

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Hunting, Live Transport

UK: From badger culls to sewage: Labour under pressure over animal-welfare and farming policies

We have a new Labour government in the UK.

Like all politicians after your vote, they promise the world. Once elected, then we see the reality.

 

Labour’s animal-welfare and environmental policies may be better than the Tories’ – but they contain disappointing gaps, experts say.

** In a YouGov poll last year, a third of voters said animal welfare was one of their top three issues. **

So new environment secretary Steve Reed will come under pressure from lobby groups – and in some cases, from opposing countryside and farming factions.

The party’s manifesto promised to improve animal welfare, with bans on trail hunting and the import of hunting trophies, an end to puppy smuggling and farming, and to “work towards the phasing out of animal testing”.

It pledged a Labour government would “champion British farming whilst protecting the environment”.

Alongside environmental land-management schemes, the manifesto promised steps to eradicate bovine TB to end the “ineffective” badger cull. And there was a pledge to ban snares.

Mr Reed said Labour would introduce “the biggest boost in animal welfare in a generation”.

Many of the policies have been broadly welcomed by commentators – but already others are facing controversy, including:

Badger cull

Before the election, Labour damned the badger cull as “ineffective”, holding up the prospect of ending it.

But Mr Reed confirmed last week the government would allow existing cull licences to continue until 2026, saying an immediate end to the cull would send “sudden shocks into the system”.

Meanwhile, the Badger Trust and Wild Justice, a campaign group jointly run by Chris Packham, have sent a legal warning letter over Natural England’s decision before the election to grant nine new supplementary cull licences and to authorise 17 existing licences – contrary to the advice of Natural England’s own head of science.

Wild Justice said if the response was unsatisfactory it may seek a judicial review.

Dominic Dyer, ex-head of the Badger Trust and a defeated Lib Dem election candidate, said: “Never in the history of wildlife protection has there been such a betrayal of trust. After 13 years of waiting for a Labour government to stop this cruel madness, they are now planning to kill at least 30,000 more badgers.”

Industrial farming

Labour’s manifesto has been criticised for not mentioning factory farm animal welfare.

Alick Simmons, a former government deputy chief vet, writing for Wild Justice, said: “A pledge to address puppy farming while ignoring industrial pig and poultry farming does not strike me as a balanced manifesto.”

Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) has lobbied all parties for a ban on cages, saying around 8 million farmed animals are kept in them each year in the UK. “The previous government said they’d prepared consultations on this issue, and we want to see them published,” it said.

 The Liberal Democrats had pledged to ban cages for hens, while Labour did not.

CiWF also called for method-of-production food labelling, following a consultation earlier this year.

The Lib Dems were praised for a promise to crack down on antibiotic misuse for farm animals, and the new government will face calls to do so.

Wildlife and nature recovery

Green Party former co-leader Caroline Lucas said she was shocked by the lack of manifesto detail on restoring the natural world.

“As the bare minimum, where’s the increased budget for arms-length bodies like Natural England and the Environment Agency?” she asked. “Or the funding to enable landowners to return land to nature? Or the pay rise to help farmers shift to nature-friendly farming and tackle our broken agriculture system which is driving biodiversity loss?”

But environmental campaigners welcomed a pledge in the party’s pre-manifesto nature policies stating: “We will help coordinate nature’s recovery with bodies responsible for public land and major landowners.”

Guy Shrubsole said in a blog: “This may sound anodyne, but in fact could be one of the most significant policies – the first inklings of a Public Nature Estate: an idea that Wildlife and Countryside Link [a coalition of 82 organisations] have been calling for.”

Forest ranger Samuel Lindsay added: “Although the talk of habitat expansion is positive, this is a very vague statement. There are no clear targets or areas identified for this to be carried out.”

The manifesto promised to plant millions of trees, create new woodlands and expand wetlands, peat bogs and forests.

Mr Simmons said: “Sure, let’s get rid of snares but what about the numerous unaccountable and untested methods of killing wildlife such as Larsen traps, mole traps, Fenn traps and poisons that are on free sale for use by anyone?”

Trail hunting

Opponents and monitors say hunts break the law by fox hunting while claiming to be trail hunting – that is, following a scent without chasing wild animals.

The claims were lent weight by a hunt chief advising others to create a “smokescreen” by laying several trails. His words, during a leaked private Zoom meeting, were interpreted as an admission that foxhunting took place.

Mr Reed said in February that a Labour government would ban trail hunting in its first term, and the manifesto included a promise to ban trail hunting – but it did not promise to close loopholes in the Hunting Act 2004, which bans hunting wild animals with dogs.

A former head of the League Against Cruel Sports, Andy Knott, has cast doubt on achieving a ban through the Hunting Act.

“People have seen the images of packs of hounds getting into private back gardens, killing cats, ripping flocks apart. There’s not a majority in any part of the country that wants to see that continue,” Mr Reed told The Times before the election.

But Oliver Hughes, of governing body the British Hound Sports Association, told Horse & Hound that about 12,000 days of trail hunting took place in England and Wales each year, “with the vast majority taking place without any problems”.

Sewage scandal

Ms Lucas said: “Although Labour’s manifesto commits to tackling the sewage scandal, it fails to get to the heart of the matter – the unmitigated disaster that is our privatised water system. Water is a public good, so the Green Party would bring it back into public ownership.”

Mr Shrubsole criticised the plans for not mentioning agricultural river pollution.

“Farming’s significant contribution to the state of our rivers seems to be a taboo subject for nearly all parties competing in this election – with the notable exception of the Green Party,” he said.

Trade deals

Mr Dyer said a government priority should be suspending the UK’s £970m trade deal with the Faroe Islands to force the authorities to end the mass slaughter of whales and dolphins.

Ciwf said animal welfare should be protected in trade deals by refusing imports of food produced in ways that are illegal in the UK. Labour has said it will do this.

British farmers complained that deals for cheap food imports under the Conservatives undermined their standards.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “The government set out its plans in the manifesto to introduce the most ambitious boost in animal-welfare rights in a generation.

“This includes banning trail hunting and the importing of hunting trophies, while also ending the badger cull, puppy smuggling and farming, and the use of snare traps.”

Regards Mark

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/from-badger-culls-to-sewage-labour-under-pressure-over-animal-welfare-and-farming-policies/ar-BB1pZCaQ?ocid=BingNewsSerp

General News, Uncategorized

Australia: A British crocodile expert who raped, tortured and killed dogs cried in court today as he faces life in prison.

 Adam Britton is due to be sentenced in Australia (Image: supplied)

A British crocodile expert who raped, tortured and killed dogs cried in court today as he faces life in prison.

Adam Britton admitted 60 charges which included animal abuse and bestialities which were carried out on the inside a shipping container last year. Sick footage which he had taken himself showed him raping, torturing and killing dogs. He now faces a life sentence of up to 249 years in Australia, as court proceedings were adjourned again today to the fury of animal rights activists.

The 53-year-old was born in West Yorkshire and has a zoology degree from the University of Leeds and a PhD from the University of Bristol. He pleaded guilty to more than 60 charges relating to animal abuse, which he had managed to keep hidden until police received a tip-off about his disgusting activities.

Read full Brit crocodile expert who raped and tortured dogs cries as he faces 249 years in prison – World News – Mirror Online

Adam Britton’s dogs Ursa and Bolt, whom he abused

Regards Mark