WAV Comment:

You can read our brief summary of CITES below; and then make your own decisions on how effective it is regarding the protection of animal species. We quote one statement here which may put things into perspective:

“A 2019 analysis in the journal Science found that in nearly two-thirds of cases, CITES protections lag after a species is determined to be threatened by international trade. For example, while pangolins were finally added to Appendix I in 2017, an estimated million were trafficked between 2000 and 2013. Of the eight species of pangolins, half are endangered or critically endangered. The vast majority of animals that are in the wildlife trade are not protected by CITES”.

With China responsible for not having regulations for live animal market conditions, or animal welfare standards in general; and also the global shutdown due to the result from this of Coronavirus; we really have to ask questions about the real point of China belonging to CITES. We would like to have something positive to say about China and CITES, but we also say is CITES not often a two week meeting, with lots of pats on the backs, but members going back home and then doing very little, or nothing nationally as a result ?

Again, we simply say 4 words; – they are ‘China’; ‘Pangolins’, ‘Markets’ and ‘Coronavirus’.

The world is currently full of experts on the tv and radio spreading all the doom and gloom about Coronavirus – maybe if China had paid more attention to livestock and animal welfare legislation in the past; then the world would not now be in the global shutdown that it is.

China and the rest of the world; get a grip; have and enforce legislation that stops things like this happening.

 

CITES should protect elephants and pangolins. Stopping the ivory trade is more than welcome; stopping the Chinese trade in Pangolins for food and ‘wonder cure’ medicines is another – what faith in CITES ?

Mark.

 

CITES

 

Above – Pangolin scales and more stopped by Hong Kong police

 

CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – is an agreement between governments designed to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. … The CITES Secretariat is administered by the UN, in Geneva, Switzerland

With 178 Member States, CITES is one of the world’s most powerful tools for biodiversity conservation through the regulation of trade in wild fauna and flora.

Roughly 5,800 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants are protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international trade. They are listed in the three CITES Appendices. The species are grouped in the Appendices according to how threatened they are by international trade.

China was a member on the CITES Standing Committee for over 10 years, and representatives from China have also served as members on the CITES Plants and Animals Committees. … But China also plays an active role in CITES affairs at the international level.

On February 24, 2020, the Chinese government moved to make permanent the temporary ban on the trade and consumption of live wild animals for food. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislative body, issued a decision that lays the groundwork for amending China’s Wildlife Protection Law, which governs the use of wildlife, to permanently criminalize wildlife as food. The decision further stipulates that the trade of wild animals for medicine, pets, and scientific research will be subject to “strict” approval and quarantine procedures.

Further reading – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/01/china-bans-wildlife-trade-after-coronavirus-outbreak/

 

What species are protected ?:

They are listed in the three CITES Appendices. The species are grouped in the Appendices according to how threatened they are by international trade. They include some whole groups, such as primates, cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), sea turtles, parrots, corals, cacti and orchids.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reference/convention-on-international-trade-in-endangered-species/

How effective is CITES?

 

CITES has plenty of critics. Some say conservationists flock to the two-week meeting every few years, fiercely debate the fate of endangered animals, and then go home, patting themselves on the back for a job well done.

Meanwhile, the actual enforcement of the CITES regulations is left to the countries themselves—some of which don’t have the resources or political will to enforce regulations.

A 2019 analysis in the journal Science found that in nearly two-thirds of cases, CITES protections lag after a species is determined to be threatened by international trade. For example, while Pangolins were finally added to Appendix I in 2017, an estimated million were trafficked between 2000 and 2013.

 

Pangolin for sale (for food and ‘medicine’) in Chinese markets

 

Of the eight species of pangolins, half are endangered or critically endangered. The vast majority of animals that are in the wildlife trade are not protected by CITES.

 

More Pangolin to be sold – China, CITES ???

 

WAV comment – see our post on Pangolins – https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/03/13/china-proposes-ban-on-pangolins-in-traditional-medicine/

 

If a party violates the convention, CITES can respond with sanctions, which prevent a country from trading in CITES-listed species. But countries are rarely sanctioned and the process can become highly politicized. What’s more, because CITES membership is voluntary, a country could simply leave CITES rather than accept sanctions.

 

In the United Kingdom:

UK – The spread of coronavirus should prompt a new UN taskforce to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, peers and MPs say.

In a letter to The Sunday Telegraph, campaigners argue that the current system is not fit for purpose and allows criminals to make billions from the theft and sale of wildlife, to the detriment of human health.

At the moment, trade in wildlife is regulated on a national level by the laws of each country, but is only regulated on an international level by a trade body; the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

The current system has no legal teeth internationally as it is simply an agreement between countries on what they will accept in trade.

The new taskforce would include specially-trained police at borders to confiscate illegally traded wildlife and imprison those responsible. It would also have added prosecuting powers and support countries with their own policing to combat the trade within their borders….

 

 

 

 

 

Update –

Statistics suggest that 25,000 koalas have died in the fires on Kangaroo Island alone, but they are not the only animals suffering. 100,000 sheep also perished when the island caught alight, dispassionately counted as “livestock” rather than as individuals.

 

Now farmers want to murder even more Koala !

 

Lots more to do – not anywhere even near the summit; just trekking in the foothills at then moment;

Regards Mark – Be Active !

Great to see so many national visitor flags on the site each day now –

https://clustrmaps.com/site/1a9kn 

Please stick with us and help to fight the fight.

 

 

As the lady says – Australia should be ashamed of this !

 

 

Sheep Farmer Accused of Koala Massacre in Portland, Victoria

 

Posted on 4 February 2020 at 6:21AM by PETA Australia

At least 40 koalas have been found dead and more injured after a sheep farmer in Victoria bulldozed a blue gum plantation to turn the land into pasture on which to graze animals.

As reported by The Age, documents completed by forestry contractors indicated that there were 72 koalas on the property when the area was logged in November. In the wake of Australia’s bushfires, more animals moved onto the property looking for food among the fallen trees. More than 100 koalas are believed to have been present when the bulldozers moved in last week to clear the ground.

Keith Troeth, who manages the property, told media that this is “not the big hoo-ha it’s been made out to be”.

“We made every effort to do it professionally, we made every effort to minimise any fatality,” he said.

But what Troeth doesn’t seem to understand is that even one koala death is one too many.

As fires continue to claim bushland, we should be planting trees to renew the precious lost habitats of our native animals, not ripping them down to make way for other animals to graze so we can eventually run a blade across their throats, eat their flesh, and wear their skins.

Land-clearing is often blamed on urban development, but animal agriculture is actually the major culprit.

Australia is in the top 10 of nations responsible for the most deforestation. For example, a 2017 government report detailing land-cover change in Queensland revealed that 395,000 hectares of bushland – home to countless animals and essential for our nation’s biodiversity – were cleared in just one year.

According to the Statewide Landcover and Trees Study, the majority of vegetation clearing in recent years has been for conversion for grazing purposes (over 90% of total clearing).

Australia already has some of the highest extinction rates on the planet. Now, in the wake of catastrophic bushfires which have claimed the lives of so many more animals, it’s imperative that we put what’s ethical before what’s profitable.

 

With an anti environment tosser like this in charge; is it any wonder there are even more wild animal murders ?

 

 

Brexit ‘opportunity to ban supertrawlers from UK waters’

 

Environmental groups fear link between huge ships and spikes in dolphin deaths

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/07/ban-supertrawlers-from-uk-waters-after-brexit-say-green-campaigners

 

Sat 7 Mar 2020 13.31 GMT First published on Sat 7 Mar 2020 11.12 GMT

Brexit offers the perfect opportunity to ban industrial supertrawler fishing boats from UK waters, according to campaigners.

 

The Margiris supertrawler, pictured, has a deadweight of 6,200 tonnes. Photograph: Saf Suleyman / Greenpeace PA

 

The factory-sized ships can be hundreds of feet long and have been criticised for indiscriminate fishing as they catch hundreds of thousands of fish in relatively short periods. Environmentalists fear their presence correlates with spikes in numbers of dolphins washing up dead.

Use of the ships is heavily regulated in some countries, as trawling has been criticised for the physical damage it inflicts on seabeds, but under the common fisheries policy, EU-registered vessels are legally entitled to fish in UK waters, subject to licence conditions, quota allocation and relevant fishing restrictions.

Campaigners fear supertrawlers are incompatible with sustainable management of fisheries and argue that the UK’s departure from the EU presents an opportunity for a new approach, as fishing rights to British waters are up for review.

“Our government likes to boast about its credentials as a global oceans champion, but what about protecting our seas here at home?” said Chris Thorne, Greenpeace’s oceans campaigner.

“Ministers should take a long, hard look at whether allowing supertrawlers to operate in UK waters is compatible with sustainable management of our waters, as well as investigating the impact of the UK’s industrial distant-water fleet in other countries’ waters.”

Calls for a ban on supertrawlers were made last year when the Lithuanian-registered Margiris – a 142-metre (465ft) boat with a deadweight of 6,200 tonnes, once considered the second largest in the world and banned from Australian waters – spent time off the south coast of England.

According to analysis by Greenpeace, Margiris was fishing in an area of the Channel designated by the government as a marine conservation zone. However, the government said it was monitored closely and no infringements were found.

The overall number of voyages in UK waters by supertrawlers each year is unclear. One ship, the Kirkella, based in Hull, can catch 2.3 million fish on every two-month voyage but it is far smaller than Margiris.

Conservationists claim that anecdotal evidence suggests the ships wreak havoc on sea life.

“It’s just been a long stream of dolphin deaths, I have never seen anything quite like it,” said John Hourston, from the Blue Planet Society. “We have had several storms but dolphins do not die because of weather, they are great swimmers.”

He believes the evidence points to supertrawlers being responsible for an increase in stranded dolphins off the Sussex coast and the west of Ireland, but that scientific study is needed to incontrovertibly prove the link.

“We have just got mass dolphin die-offs and mass fishing fleets and the two correlate, but we need more evidence.”

At the very least, he said, these ships should fitted with CCTV cameras or have independent observers on board to monitor which fish are being caught.

“I am not talking about the inshore fishermen, I am talking about the industrial supertrawler fleets,” he said. “We should not be allowing supertrawlers in British waters.”

French campaigners have also highlighted how rising numbers of dead dolphins are being washed up on the coast of the Bay of Biscay after becoming caught up in large trawler nets. In 2017, researchers said the number of dead dolphins washing up on British and French shores was at its highest level in more than 14 years, echoing observations from Ireland.

The website of fishing company Parlevliet & Van der Plas, the owner of the Margiris, says it has an “excellent reputation for sustainable fishing”.

It added: “Our catch quotas are dictated by government and EU regulations, and are based on scientific advice. We fish without causing damage to the seabed, and without disturbing the ecological system.”

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “As an independent coastal state, we will have the right to decide who fishes in our waters and on what terms.

“This means we can design our own domestic fishing policy, one that supports our coastal communities and lets the UK lead the way on sustainable fishing.”

 

 

WAV Comment – we have checked this a bit more today; and have the following:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imidacloprid

Although it is now off patent, the primary manufacturer of this chemical is Bayer CropScience (part of Bayer AG).28 Apr 2015

 

https://news.sky.com/story/baby-bumblebees-left-with-permanent-brain-damage-by-insecticide-11949117

Baby bumblebees left with permanent brain damage by insecticide

The chemical studied is banned from use on field crops in the EU but not in other parts of the world.

 

Certain pesticides cause permanent brain damage in baby bumblebees and may threaten the future success of colonies, researchers from Imperial College London have found.

The study scanned the brains of bees exposed to imidacloprid, one of the neonicotinoid group of pesticides.

They found the key region of the brain that facilitates learning showed reduced growth and residues of the insecticide in flowers and plants caused permanent brain damage.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, involved exposing bumblebees to small amounts of imidacloprid during their development as larvae or very young adults.

The learning ability of the larvae was tested after three days and after 12 days once they emerged as adults.

Bees that were fed imidacloprid when they were developing as larvae showed “significantly impaired learning ability” compared to those that were not, the researchers said.

The team then scanned the brains of nearly 100 bees from the different colonies.

They found that baby bees exposed to imidacloprid during larval development had a smaller volume of the brain region associated with learning.

Dr Richard Gill, from the department of life sciences at Imperial and the lead researcher on the study, said: “Bee colonies act as superorganisms, so when any toxins enter the colony, these have the potential to cause problems with the development of the baby bees within it.

“Worryingly in this case, when young bees are fed on pesticide-contaminated food, this caused parts of the brain to grow less, leading to older adult bees possessing smaller and functionally impaired brains; an effect that appeared to be permanent and irreversible.

“These findings reveal how colonies can be impacted by pesticides weeks after exposure, as their young grow into adults that may not be able to forage for food properly.”

Imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide that acts on the central nervous system of insects. The chemical works by interfering with the transmission of stimuli in the insect nervous system and was created to mimic the effects of nicotine, which is naturally found in many plants and is toxic to insects.

It is one of three neonicotinoids banned from all field crops in the EU because of its impact on pollinators, but is used elsewhere around the world.

Lead author of the new study Dr Dylan Smith, from the Imperial College said: “There has been growing evidence that pesticides can build up inside bee colonies.

“Our study reveals the risks to individuals being reared in such an environment, and that a colony’s future workforce can be affected weeks after they are first exposed.”

 

 

 

The latest information from ‘Turtle Island Restoration Network’

Check out their website for all the latest news and actions:

https://seaturtles.org/

 

 

February Newsletter

As we swim through Cupid’s month of love, we want to extend a little extra appreciation and gratitude to our devoted volunteers and members that help us protect our planet. Thanks to you, TIRN is thoughtfully and deliberately addressing some of the biggest challenges in the environmental crisis. From our ongoing litigation to halt unsustainable fisheries and challenge senseless policy to our upcoming program to protect nesting sea turtles, we promise to continue doing everything in our power to protect and heal the planet so that you and future generations can continue to love and enjoy nature for years to come.

 

 

Update: Crews Monitoring Entangled Whale

On Feb. 14 a whale watching company spotted a humpback whale tangled in a net, struggling as it swam up the California coast from San Diego. The whale was severely entangled in drift gillnet: a barbaric method of commercial fishing that should not exist. Unfortunately, crews who initially spotted the whale were unable to help the whale which was active at a frantic pace—it was too dangerous to get close to the animal. Now, the Coast Guard and the West Coast Whale Entanglement Response Program are closely tracking the whale to attempt to safely remove the netting. It was last spotted outside of Dana Point. Although the netting still has the right fluke entangled, if appears that whale has been able to discard some of the net. Please email your members of Congress, asking them to support the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act.

 

 

In this Jan. 9, 2020, file photo provided by the Anti-Poaching Special Squad, police look at items seized from store suspected of trafficking wildlife in Guangde city in central China’s Anhui Province. (Anti-Poaching Special Squad via AP, File)

 

WAV Comment – the is always big talk from China; but look at the last paragraph here – ‘According to a price list that circulated on China’s internet, one of the merchants at the Wuhan market at the virus epicentre sold a vast menagerie of animals including civets, rats, snakes, giant salamanders and live wolf pups’. So this is what they call ‘controlling’ it, is it ?

We as an organisation have always joined with many other conservationist groups in saying:

‘The coronavirus epidemic had highlighted “the prominent problem of excessive consumption of wild animals, and the huge hidden dangers to public health and safety’

‘Conservationists say China is the single biggest country driving consumption of many threatened species, and that animals are routinely subjected to horrible conditions and cruel treatment’.

China has now spread this illness of death all over the planet; the animals are biting back ! – global trade; tourism and big bucks are now paying as a result.

Only when China wakes up to the real reality of what caused this; a non enforcement and controls that they have never adopted in the world of animal welfare; will it start to make progress. At the moment it is still a big animal ‘Karma’ – nature is biting back; and hard !

Wake up China; we want respect and protection in law for all animals. More to this, we want you to enforce the law and not do yukspeak only.

 

—————————————–

 

 

Source – https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/sci-tech/china-bans-human-consumption-and-trade-of-wild-animals-1.4824540

 

China bans human consumption and trade of wild animals

BEIJING, CHINA — China on Monday declared an immediate and “comprehensive” ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals, a practice believed responsible for the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

The country’s top legislative committee approved a proposal “prohibiting the illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of overconsumption of wildlife, and effectively protecting the lives and health of the people,” state television reported.

Previous temporary bans have been put in place, including after the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in 2002-03 and was also traced to wild animal consumption.

That prohibition was short-lived, however, and conservationists have long accused China of tolerating a cruel trade in wild animals as exotic menu items or for use in traditional medicines whose efficacy is not confirmed by science.

The decision was made by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which oversees the country’s rubber-stamp legislature.

The coronavirus epidemic had highlighted “the prominent problem of excessive consumption of wild animals, and the huge hidden dangers to public health and safety,” said the report by China Central Television (CCTV).

Chinese health officials have said the virus likely emerged from a market in the central city of Wuhan that sold wild animals as food.

The coronavirus has killed 2,592 people in China, infected some 77,000 others and paralysed the country’s economy.

It has also infected people in at least two dozen other countries, killing nearly 30, and its rapid global spread has raised fears of a full-blown pandemic.

The committee also on Monday decided to postpone this year’s NPC session — scheduled to begin in early March — which will delay any legal revisions on wildlife trade.

As a result, the Standing Committee issued a full ban immediately until final legislation can be passed, CCTV said.

There already are laws in place against the wildlife trade, but conservationists say they are full of loopholes regarding many species, and that enforcement is episodic or just plain lax.

After the epidemic began exploding across the country, China late last month ordered a temporary ban “until the national epidemic situation is over”.

But conservationists and virologists said a temporary ban was not enough, calling for a permanent prohibition with tough enforcement.

Public health risk

Health experts warn that transporting, butchering and consuming wild species poses a significant and growing public health risk by exposing humans to dangerous animal-borne pathogens.

Conservationists say China is the single biggest country driving consumption of many threatened species, and that animals are routinely subjected to horrible conditions and cruel treatment.

The exact source of the coronavirus remains unconfirmed, with scientists variously speculating it originated in bats, pangolins, or some other mammal.

Scientists say SARS likely originated in bats, later reaching humans via civets.

According to a price list that circulated on China’s internet, one of the merchants at the Wuhan market at the virus epicentre sold a vast menagerie of animals including civets, rats, snakes, giant salamanders and live wolf pups.

 

 

 

 

From Mark (London) – For many years I have been a donative supporter of ‘Free Tibet’ (FT) which is based here in Ol’ London town.

Why ? – read on please:

The vision is a Free Tibet in which Tibetans are able to determine their own future and the human rights of all are respected. FT campaign for an end to China’s occupation of Tibet and for international recognition of Tibetans’ right to freedom. FT mobilise active support for the Tibetan cause, champion human rights and challenge those whose actions sustain the occupation.

FT are entirely funded by our supporters across the world. You can join us here.

“Tibet today is one of the most repressed and closed societies in the world.”

– Senator Robert Menendez, Chair of US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 2012

China invaded Tibet in 1950. Inside its borders and across the world, Tibetans have never stopped believing Tibet is a nation.

After more than 60 years of occupation, Tibetans still resist China’s rule and defy its oppression.

That’s is why they have my personal support.

If you believe in the rights of animals, as I do; then in some instances you believe in human rights also. A Free Tibet in which Tibetans are able to determine their own future and the human rights of all are respected is such just a case for me – I fully support the work and aims of FT.

 

Website – https://www.freetibet.org/

About – https://www.freetibet.org/about

News – https://www.freetibet.org/news

 

Please support and become a member;

Regards Mark.

 

 

Support Tibetans standing up for their environment

 

Petition Link – https://secure.freetibet.org/support-tibetans-standing-their-environment

The Tibetan Plateau, otherwise known as the Third Pole, is an extremely important region for global climate systems. This vast landscape is the birthplace of nine of Asia’s largest rivers, sustaining nearly two billion people. The plateau contains the largest amount of glacier ice outside of Antarctica and the North Pole and helps regulate climate systems across Asia.

However, Tibet’s unique environment is changing. Along with the Arctic and island nations, Tibet is on the frontline of global climate change and is warming three times faster than the rest of the world. Natural disasters such as droughts, landslides and floods are increasing in frequency. As glaciers and permafrost thaw, people in the mountains may be forced to migrate due to water shortages. Millions of people downstream may also feel the effects of this altered river flow. The health of Tibet’s environment will determine the health of climate systems across Asia and beyond.

“This blue planet is our only home and Tibet is its roof. The Tibetan plateau needs to be protected, not just for Tibetans, but for the environmental health and sustainability of the entire world.” – Dalai Lama

Free Tibet is calling for international recognition for Tibet at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in 2020.

Help us secure a place for Tibet at COP26. Sign our petition today and in the autumn we will take your signatures to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Environmental Affairs of participating countries.

Tibetans deserve representation and a say in their own environment.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Text of petition:

We the undersigned request that your government ensures that there will be Tibetan representation at the upcoming COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow in November.

One of the key threats faced by Tibetans today is the eradication of their environment, and the most pressing and comprehensive threat to Tibet’s environment is that of climate change. The Tibetan Plateau contains the largest concentration of frozen freshwater outside of the Arctic and Antarctica. But, its glaciers are receding at three times the global average due to climate change, resulting in eight billion tonnes of ice being lost every year as glaciers disappear. Between 1970 and 2010, Tibet lost over 27 per cent of its glacier coverage.

The depletion of Tibet’s glaciers risks seriously disrupting the flow of Tibet’s rivers, posing a threat to rural Tibetans and people downriver who rely on this water. Tibet’s fragile ecosystem could also be seriously damaged. These negative effects could be greatly exacerbated by the current construction of dams across Tibet’s rivers.

These risks require decisive action. We urge your government to make a clear statement of support for Tibetans and recognising them as one of the frontline communities in the struggle against climate change.

Furthermore, we request that you invite a Tibetan to attend COP26, ideally as part of your country’s delegation, with a view to them addressing the conference. It is important that they can recount in their own words the threats to their land and livelihoods that Tibetans are being forced to confront.

We look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely,

Above – the February 2020 magazine cover.

 

 

Today, the European Commission decided to register a European Citizens’ Initiative entitled ‘Stop Finning – Stop the Trade’ related to sharks and rays. The aim of the Initiative is to ‘end the trade of fins in the EU including the import, export and transit of fins other than if naturally attached to the animal’s body.’

The organisers state that ‘although the removal of fins on board of EU vessels and in EU waters is prohibited and sharks must be landed with their fins naturally attached, the EU is among the biggest exporters of fins and a major transit hub for the global fin trade’.

Prior to Regulation (EU) No 605/2013, the previous regulation from 2003 prohibited shark fins from being separated, but left a loophole that allows boats with a “special permit” to continue this practice. Around 200 such “special permits” were held annually by Spain and Portugal.

The Initiative specifically calls on the Commission ‘to extend REGULATION (EU) No 605/2013 also to the trade of fins and […] develop a new regulation, extending “fins naturally attached” to all trading of sharks and rays in the EU’.

Under the Treaties, the EU can take legal action in areas of common fisheries policy and common commercial policy. The Commission therefore considers the initiative legally admissible and decided to register it. The Commission has not analysed the substance of the initiative at this stage.

The registration of this initiative will take place on 2 January 2020, allowing the organizers to start, within next 6 months, a one-year process of collection of signatures of support.

Should the initiative receive one million statements of support within 1 year, from at least 7 different Member States, the Commission will have to react within 6 months. The Commission can decide either to follow the request or not, and in both instances would be required to explain its reasoning.

Background

The European Citizens’ Initiative was introduced with the Lisbon Treaty as an agenda-setting tool in the hands of citizens. It was launched in April 2012.

In 2017, the European Commission tabled reform proposals for the European Citizens’ Initiative to make it more citizen-friendly. In December 2018, the European Parliament and the Council agreed on the reform and the revised rules will start applying as of 1 January 2020. The revised rules, among others, will give the organisers more flexibility to choose the starting date of their campaign as well as revise the proposed initiative before the Commission’s registration decision.

In the meantime, the Commission has been raising awarenessof the European Citizens’ Initiative through a communication campaign and offered support to organisers via a collaborative platform. In total, the Commission has registered 71 Citizens’ Initiatives and refused 26, with only 6 refusals in the past 5 years.

Once formally registered, a European Citizens’ Initiative allows one million citizens from at least one quarter of EU Member States to invite the European Commission to propose a legal act in areas where the Commission has the power to do so.

The conditions for admissibility are that the proposed action does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the Commission’s powers to submit a proposal for a legal act, that it is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious and that it is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union.

Please sign the Petition:  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_19_6783

And I mean...does anyone remember the end the cage age EU citizens’ initiative?
It officially ended on September 11, 2019 with 1.5 million votes.
The commission has 6 months to decide, a position has to come in March at the latest. But we don’t know anything about it.

Apparently it doesn’t look good, because the German meat mafia is already baking its own “bread-rolls” with the extension of the animal torture in pig boxes, do you remember this article https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/02/14/germany-the-horror-of-the-pig-boxes-remains-for-the-time/ ?

Ignorance and corruption in EU circles should not be underestimated; that’s what i want to say.

Of course, we will and must all participate in this initiative, we will invest hope and energy again to save these animals and our oceans from criminals.

But at the next time we need a citizens’ initiative to abolish the EU itself; because on its current form the EU has failed in both human and animal welfare.

My best regards to all, Venus