“The truth wins, but it can only win if it is told”!!
Wow! Over 10,000 farmers are currently traveling to Nuremberg.
With over 5000 tractors. It will be demonstrated against the federal government’s new agricultural package.
On Tuesday, farmers and farmers from all over Germany want to demonstrate in Berlin against the current agricultural policy: Numerous tractors from Franconia have also taken the star trip.
The new agricultural package it`s not exactly an ingenious construct, but that means a little more environmental, nature and animal protection.
The farmers consider this an economic boycott and demonstrate.
At the same time, the farmers no longer want to be called animal torturers and environmental polluters.
If they don’t give a shit for environment and animals, what else are the farmers?
If I am not an animal torturer, I do not use animals for my economic interests.
Breeding animals alone is a pain because the animals are bred for top performance and after a few years they are sent to death, to the slaughterhouse without having lived a third of their life at all, because they are no longer profitable!
That is why there have been so many animal welfare violations in farmers lately … because they all love their animals …..?
The farmers are the ones who poison wells, which compact soils in such a way that they destroy their essential storage capacities and biological habitats, and who practice something like systemicbiological terrorism through the increasingly extremist energy crop monocultures.
For organizational reasons, but also due to the lack of pasture land, the turbo cows spend the few years of their miserable life exclusively in the playpen, without ever entering a pasture.
The amount of slurry generated by these companies is enormous.
As a rule, farmers do not have large enough agricultural areas on which manure / liquid manure could be applied as fertilizer.
Several times a year, oversized quantities are therefore disposed of in areas that are much too small, which has catastrophic consequences for nature. And yet, more and more dairy farms are enlarging their herds to well over 500 to over 1,000.
(In 0:19 seconds video time you can read the ridiculous slogan: “We don’t give a shit about animals and the environment”!)
We let the farmers demonstrate.
With their turbo tractors – subsidized by the EU – and their anti-social slogans, they downgrade their actions themselves to an environmental political farce.
The Italian fashion house Versace has banned the use of kangaroo skin for its luxury leather products collection. The move follows pressure from the animal rights’ group LAV, which said more than 2.3 million kangaroos in Australia were killed each year for commercial purposes.
Versace did not comment but gave LAV permission to make an announcement.
Simone Pavesi, a representative of LAV, said: “We have been corresponding with Versace over email and they confirmed that in 2019 they stopped using kangaroo skin. We welcome this as a sign of responsibility, today more than ever. The fires that are devastating Australia add to the massacres of hunting, with dramatic consequences for the kangaroo population.”
The EU is Australia’s largest market for kangaroo meat and skin, with Italy being the biggest importer of the skin. A number of Italian sports brands use the skin in the manufacture of football boots.
The sportswear company Diadora was the first firm to succumb to pressure from LAV and ban its use last year. Like Versace, Diadora kept its announcement low-profile.
“We do not have an official statement on this matter but we can confirm the definitive stop of the use of kangaroo leather starting from the 2019 collections,” Versace said in an email to the Guardian.
Pavesi added: “We showed the companies images and videos of how kangaroos are killed in such a brutal way. They understood the gravity of the situation and perhaps preferred not to give too much prominence to the fact that they were using kangaroo skin.”
LAV has also urged the Italian government to ban imports of kangaroo skin and written to Australia’s ambassador in Italy, Greg French, calling for a ban on kangaroo hunting.
In 2018 Versace banned the use of real fur in its products. Donatella Versace, the company’s chief designer and vice-president, told the Economist’s 1843 magazine: “Fur? I am out of that. I don’t want to kill animals to make fashion. It doesn’t feel right.”
A year earlier Gucci announced that it would go fur-free, joining other fashion brands including Armani, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren.
The continuing Australian bushfires have killed a huge number of animals, including kangaroos, koalas and other wildlife. “This is a real environmental catastrophe that risks erasing many animal species from the face of the Earth,” said Pavesi
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Versace has been praised by animal rights campaigners for banning use of kangaroo skin in its collections.
Following the news that an estimated one billion animals have lost their lives in the fires, it has been revealed that Versace has ceased the use of kangaroo skin in its ranges, following the Italian fashion house’s 2018 pledge to ban all use of fur.
One of America’s Largest Dairy Companies Has Filed for Bankruptcy
Borden Dairy has filed for bankruptcy.
By Hannah Bugga – January 13, 2020
One of the oldest and largest dairy companies in the United States, Borden Dairy has filed for bankruptcy. With a history dating back to before the American Civil War, Borden says it has been hurt by the staggering drop in consumption of cow’s milk.
As people become more aware of the negative health and environmental effects of dairy, they’re consuming less cow’s milk and turning instead to all the delicious plant-based milk on the market. As a result, the number of producers of cow’s milk is dwindling, increasing the wholesale cost of cow’s milk. Last year, more than 2,700 dairy farms went out of business, and since 1992, 94,000 dairy farms have stopped producing milk. Borden Dairy CEO Tony Sarsam said in a statement
Despite our numerous achievements during the past 18 months, the company continues to be impacted by the rising cost of raw milk and market challenges facing the dairy industry
Borden isn’t the first major dairy company to fall on hard times. In November 2019, Dean Foods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Owner of familiar dairy brands Dairy Pure, Organic Valley, and Land O’Lakes, the 94-year-old company and largest milk producer in America blamed the “accelerated decline in the conventional white milk category.”
While Borden and Dean Foods struggle against the country’s shift away from dairy, other companies are adapting. Known as the “oldest dairy west of the Rockies,” Giacomazzi Dairy recently sold the last of its cows to focus on growing almonds. Manager Dino Giacomazzi said in an interview:
Our facility is very old and inefficient to operate so we had to make a decision about investing in upgrading the facility and doubling the size of the milk cow herd or doing something else, and basically, we decided we were going to invest in our land and plant more almond trees and just continue farming without the cows.
Cows used for dairy are treated like mere milk-producing machines—constantly cycling through pregnancy, birth, and milking until their bodies give out or their milk production is no longer profitable.
Help the world move further away from this cruel industry by choosing more plant-based foods!
Maybe this is part of the reason why – Dairy Exposed – has nothing to do with Borden; but shows an insight into what can and does happen in some facilities. such as McArthur
I think the vast majority of the planets citizens now know what a complete ignorant fool Scott Morrison is – bowing to the lobbyists and coal mining industries, whilst largely ignoring the evidence provided by ecologists, environmentalists, naturalists, protectors of the environment and animal welfare organisations. Well, now he has a problem in Australia; and he and his government are the root cause of it.
And his government will go down in history – not for the good things (are there any ?) that they have done; but for the fact that their policies have led to Australia experiencing the worst fires in its history – destroying the homes and estates of countless Australian citizens as well as being responsible for the total destruction of an ecosystem and the animals in it – maybe 1 Billion by now !! – all because him and his cronies that he calls ‘a government’ want to sit there and pose with lumps of coal.
Are we not also witnessing this with other (lets not call them) leaders of the world’s nations – ‘Trump Digs Coal’ for example. Maybe his paybacks are waiting in the wings at this very moment !
The saddest part of all this is that just a few dimwits at the top – people who ‘we’ are supposed to put our trusts in to protect and listen to us, are failing to both protect and listen; and as a result; they are destroying the planet and its inhabitants ‘for all mankind’.
Morrison we detest you – you are an eco terrorist of universal magnitude; and hopefully when all this is over, if it will ever be; the Australian people will have the balls to erect a huge monument to you and your failures outside of the national government HQ; so that all can see what happens when an ignoramus and his lobbyists ignore all the evidence presented to them; and only put their own self interests ahead of this.
Have a look at a few of our recent posts – ignoring what the rest of the worlds press and media have to say about it all !
Below is an e mail that has just arrived at the office. They are not our words; but we repeat the entire mail and links for you to read. We think that a lot of this is very true – what about you ? – if you do, then please support the petition – Note: it CAN be signed by non Australians (such as ourselves) who wish to be a voice for the innocent peoples and animals of Australia. Here below is the mail in full:
Thinking of the good folk of Australia; and very much thinking about the millions of animals now dead due to asshole regulations by an asshole so called ‘government.
Regards Mark.
Dear Mark,
Scott Morrison is failing to address climate change, failing to lead and failing to keep us safe. He physically turned his back on people in fire ravaged communities.
Now he’s turning his back on renewable energy – by watering down the Renewable Energy Target and letting the Australian Renewable Energy Agency run out of money.
After public pressure from bushfire survivors, emergency service leaders, and GetUp members, Morrison says he wants to “evolve” his position on climate change1 – at the same time his government is quietly killing off support for renewable energy.
We can’t let him get away with this bait and switch.
The very fact that Morrison is acknowledging the role of climate change in the bushfires shows he’s feeling the pressure. So if we call out his hypocrisy now we can force his hand to save these critical supports for renewable energy.
He says he wants to take “practical steps” to help people. But the most practical thing to do when faced with a national emergency is to stop making things worse.
While the country burns, the Coalition is letting Australia’s only renewable energy agency run out of money, and undermining our international obligations with dodgy accounting tricks.2
Meanwhile, they continue to subsidise the fossil fuel industry to the tune of $29 billion dollars3– effectively paying for the emergency they say they want to address.
But the Liberals are divided, the Murdoch press is on the backfoot, and everyone from state governments to global hedge funds are calling for significant government action.
If we can translate the anger and frustration we’re feeling right now into a set of clear and common sense demands – we can raise the bar on Morrison’s climate concession.
This bushfire season has been relentless. It’s taken 27 lives, destroyed thousands of homes, and shuttered countless farms and small businesses. It’s also killed billions of native animals, and destroyed the habitats they rely on.
We can’t expect this government to keep us safe – but they should stop endangering us by:
Adopting a more ambitious Renewable Energy Target
Extending and expanding funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency
Ending subsidies for fossil fuel corporations that are contributing to the national emergency we’re in
The time for excuses is over. This needs to be a moment of reflection, and commitment from Federal Liberal MP’s –if they believe the science, they should prove it with action.
Educational Series: Australia’s Fires Are Burning Animals to Death
By Nick Engelfried
Covering an area thirteen times larger than that burned during California’s worst fire season, and 46% bigger than the land affected by last year’s Amazon forest fires, devastating bushfires are raging across the continent of Australia, endangering people and animals alike. As of mid January over twenty-five million acres–an area the size of the U.S. state of Virginia–had been scorched by the Australian fires. A much larger area has been affected by the resulting clouds of smoke. Around 2,000 houses have been burned to the ground, and at least twenty-five people have died as hundreds of thousands more were evacuated from dangerous areas. But the largest toll of all has been taken on Australia’s non-human inhabitants, the rich diversity of animal species who call the continent home.
Australia has been geographically isolated from the rest of the world for many millions of years, allowing one of the planet’s most unique assemblages of plants and animals to evolve there. A few, like kangaroos and koalas, are well-known and beloved by people all over the world. However, the vast majority of Australia’s unique species are much less famous. Scientists estimate somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 animal and plant species–about five percent of all species in the world–live on the continent. More endemic species (those found nowhere else in the world) are found in Australia than any other country. Almost ninety percent of all mammals, reptiles, and amphibians in Australia are not found anywhere else, and close to half its bird species are likewise unique.
Australia’s geology and climate also help make it different from any other place on Earth. It is the driest habitable continent, with large areas being characterized by desert and other arid ecosystems dominated by vegetation adapted to survive with little moisture. Perhaps not surprisingly, seasonal fire cycles are a natural part of many such ecosystems–but this year’s fires have reached a whole new level of destruction with little if any precedent. It’s also clear what one of the major contributing factors to this disastrous season has been: climate change.
Unusually high temperatures and severe drought–exactly the kinds of conditions scientists predict will become increasingly common with climate change–helped set the stage for the 2020 bushfires. An ocean current oscillation event known as the Indian Ocean Dipole has also played a role. Occurring in years when the eastern Indian Ocean is significantly warmer than the western part, a “positive” Ocean Dipole causes rain patterns to shift westward, away from Australia and toward Africa. It’s therefore no coincidence that while Australia has been experiencing record-setting droughts over the last few months, parts of Africa have been drenched in floods and torrential rainfall. Climate scientists predict these positive Ocean Dipole events will become more common as a result of climate change caused by human activity.
The outlook for Australia’s wildlife under such a scenario looks grim. Many millions of animals have already been killed by this year’s fires, with some estimates putting the number at more than a billion. While such predictions come with a high degree of uncertainty–it’s unclear how many animals may have been able to escape by running or flying from the blazes–what is certain is the fires have been a disaster for animals who in many cases already face multiple threats to their survival. Logging, conversion of natural ecosystems to agricultural land, and the introduction of non-native species like domestic cats have decimated native animals in Australia, including charismatic species like the koala. This makes them all the more vulnerable to being wiped out by a single disaster like this year’s fires.
It may be months before we know the true extent of the bushfire animal casualties. However, there can be no reasonable doubt that as the climate crisis gets worse, more animals will be put at risk. Nor are the negative effects of a warming climate in Australia limited to fires. Warming of the oceans combined with ocean acidification–a process caused, like climate change itself, by the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere–have already devastated one of the country’s most spectacular natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef. To take just one more example, this January a record-breaking heat wave caused the deaths of at least 23,000 spectacled flying fox fruit bats who were unable to stand the searing temperatures.
In Australia, climate change is not a distant concern for future generations to deal with; its deadly effects are being felt right now.
Despite this, the Australian government is one of the most backward in the world when it comes to confronting the climate crisis. Along with the United States and a few other major polluter countries, Australia was one of the main opponents to forward progress at the 2019 U.N. climate negotiations meeting in Madrid. While Australia is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels and has one of the world’s larger per-capita carbon footprints, the country’s human population is so small it contributes only about one percent of global carbon emissions. You might therefore think its inaction on climate change isn’t such a big deal–but Australia’s impact on global efforts to reduce carbon pollution actually involve far more than the fossil fuels burned within its borders.
Much of Australia’s greater climate footprint comes from fossil fuels that it exports to other countries–particularly China and the nations of Southeast Asia. Australia is one of the world’s largest coal exporters, and is planning to open a massive new coal mining project known as the Adani Mine. By exporting fossil fuels abroad–and by pushing for weaker agreements in international climate talks–Australia’s government is worsening the climate crisis that has seen the country go up in flames.
So how sure are we that climate change really is mainly to blame for the bushfire crisis? The answer is: about as sure as it’s possible to get. While it is always difficult to link a specific weather event to a larger trend like climate change, factors like drought linked to the Ocean Dipole event described above have clearly been a major cause of conditions that made the fires possible. This hasn’t stopped climate change deniers from deliberately spreading misinformation. A Queensland University of Technology study using a Twitter bot-detection tool found that a high percentage of claims on Twitter attempting to blame arson for the fires are linked to bot or troll-like accounts. This suggests an organized misinformation campaign whose goal is to cast doubt on the link between climate and fires by suggesting that arson is mainly responsible instead.
Fortunately, animal lovers who care about the living creatures caught up in Australia’s massive fires can help in multiple ways. Donating to organizations working to contain the fires or rescue animals from the flames is one obvious step, but there is much more we can all do. If you are on social media, use your account to push back against the claims of climate deniers and draw attention to the real cause of the bushfire crisis. And perhaps most importantly of all, let your elected officials (whatever part of the world you live in) know you want action to stop climate change from getting any worse. Koalas, kangaroos, and countless other amazing Australian animals are counting on us.
As Australia burns, the media shows harrowing scenes of indigenous species like koalas and kangaroos, injured, burned and dying. We see so many human interest stories, individual koala mothers with infants clutching at their fur being rescued and cared for; we are invited to feel the personal tragedy of a single kangaroo joey tangled in the fence where he was incinerated. Whether mourned or rescued, they are viewed as individuals, and we are united in hope for their survival, watching with bated breath as we are shown desperate creatures under an orange sky, fleeing through the smoke with the inferno roaring at their heels. The estimated number of 500,000,000 deaths has remained static for well over a week and has no doubt been wildly exceeded by now – possibly by several orders of magnitude – and will continue to climb.
I see occasional comments that wonder why no count is being publicised of those individuals who, as the defenceless victims of nonveganism, were always destined to be slaughtered; those innocent creatures whose lives and bodies were being ‘farmed’. Their plight is consistently downplayed and they are referred to sweepingly, only as ‘livestock‘. Live. Stock.
There are no human interest stories about them, no pitiful images of burned and desperate mothers seeking water from passers-by, no heroic bystanders pouring water on their burned fur and bleeding feet. No heartwarming tales of rescue and medical care.
We are not being shown videos of their desperate flight from the cracking, howling flames. Because they can’t flee. They are sitting targets. They are dying en masse. We see the occasional distance shot of cooked, bloated and unrecognisable bodies fallen in the paddocks where they were burned alive; the occasional image of sheep with their coats frizzled by flames. But even the ‘personal interest’ stories that I’ve seen, notably one where a heatbroken animal farmer was shooting cows individually in his fields, are focussed on his tragedy, his loss of livelihood. It was not a story about the tragedy of those unique individuals who were looking down the barrel of his gun, those sentient creatures who had faced hell and terror and were now injured and suffering unbearably.
There is no mention of the fact that the hell and terror of a slaughterhouse was the only route out of their situation in any case. The real tragedy from the perspective of their exploiter was that as damaged resources, they had no monetary value, and the fire-ravaged land may be unable to support the continuation of his profitable trade. Because before any individual can be exploited as a resource for our species, we must first disregard their every entitlement to consideration as living, feeling, autonomous beings. They become resources, livestock, property. They are then discussed in terms of property loss and damage.
The unfolding catastrophe is referred to a ‘humanitarian crisis’. This focus on the human exploiters and the disregarding of the torment of the individuals they exploit on behalf of nonvegan consumers, is a perfect illustration of the mindset with which we are all indoctrinated from childhood. Almost every single one of us will claim to care about members of other animal species to some extent or another. Few of us will openly claim that causing needless harm to the defenceless, the innocent, and the vulnerable is in any way acceptable. None of us would ever admit to being the sort of person that would do that.
And yet here we are, glancing impassively over anonymous corpse-littered farmland and feeling for those whose trade trapped them there, while pouring out concern and sympathy for the wild creatures with whose suffering we allow ourselves to empathise.
Here is our species, continuing to globally slaughter over 1.5 BILLION land based individuals per WEEK to indulge an unnecessary dietary preference, while watching the results of the planetary destruction this is causing, lay waste to a land that may never recover. Surely the irony can’t be lost on everyone?
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Put MEP’s and Commissioners in a Cage for 24 hours; and then see how quickly things would change !
Mark – WAV.
WAV Comment: I (Mark) am getting on my soapbox here about this; sorry if I have different views to others, but knowing the EU and how it operates; I don’t think we will see that much in the way of change. Nice words and PR’s; and a pile of EU ‘officials’ working day and night to dress it all up; for basically nothing – which means nothing being done in the way of progress for the welfare of animals in Europe.
Have animal welfare / rights organisations across the EU been saying this for years – that ‘conventional rabbit cages have worst welfare score’; and have they not supported this attitude with vast amounts of evidence / proof of the cruelties involved ?. We note that this report says that ‘conventional cages have the worst overall welfare impact score’ – it says nothing about banning them, just simply that ‘it includes recommendations to improve the welfare of these animals in all the systems currently available in the EU’.
In other words; and in my opinion only for this article, the EU ‘policy’ has basically no intention of ‘ending the cage’ as proposed by campaigns by animal welfare groups across Europe. At best, it is regarded by us as a kind of ‘tinkering round the edges’ strategy; which largely keeps current systems; whilst saying to citizens and the welfare groups that ‘improvements have been made’ !. Oh yeah, like what ? – Rabbits; the most farmed animal throughout Europe, we suggest, rabbits we still be kept in cages throughout the EU, and really the EU will have masses of new ‘yukspeak’ legislation that does very little, changes very little; but keeps the farmers and their lobbyists happy – and that for them is the main thing.
Have we not seen the ‘EU approach’ to all this in the past ? – ‘battery cages’ for chickens suddenly take on the new EU name of ‘enriched cages’ – and they move from each bird in an enriched cage now having at least 750 square centimetres of space rather than the old minimum for ‘battery’ cage systems, which was 550 square centimetres; or in other words, roughly the size of one A4 sheet of paper per bird, for their entire lives !
Read – Enriched cages condemned – CIWF – one of the UK’s leading farm animal welfare organisations:
Lets move on to another ‘farm animal welfare’ issue that the EU is involved with and ignores the wishes of its citizens on – Live Exports (live animal transports). Have a look at all the people in Europe calling for change:
Well, the reality is that despite the ‘demands’ of the European Parliament; the EU Commissioner(s) have the final say; and again in this case, they ignore the wishes of the EU citizens in favour of what is best for them; their own nation, and their lobbyists – and that in a nutshell means ‘NO Change’.
Here we are in January 2020 and nothing has changed regarding live animals being transported across / or from the EU to third countries since the Regulation (1/2005) of yes, 2005.. Reg 1/2005 is still the antiquated ‘bible’ which transporters never adhere to, and now we see the EU trying to invent new words and policies to make ‘live animal transport’ things a bit better, whatever that means ! – basically; the EU does not change to the wants of its citizens; it ignores them and does only what it wants at the demands of the un elected Commissioners.
Another example; Tell me about Monsanto / Bayer and the grip that lobbyists have within the EU – you can read a lot of this in our past posts in the subject. In Austria last month, we had:
Austrian leader blocks ban on weedkiller glyphosate, citing technicality
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s caretaker leader on Monday made clear she would not sign into law the European Union’s first national ban on the weedkiller glyphosate due to a technicality,infuriating environmentalists while delighting farmers’ groups.
A large majority in parliament and, polls suggest, the public support banning the chemical because of fears it causes cancer. Austria, a popular tourist destination for its Alpine landscapes, also devotes the largest share of its farmland to organic agriculture of any EU member state.
We call the ‘technicality’ another name; and that is ‘lobbyists’. All the time the EU sucks up to them and the industry, there is no chance of change, despite what the citizens want. You could say that this is enough to make people want to wave goodbye to the EU; for all its inactions – and you know what, wow, yes, that is exactly what the UK will be doing at the end of January this year. Taking back control; away from all the EU cow poo.
Not a Happy Bunny – like most in the EU;
Regards Mark.
From the ‘Eurogroup for Animals’:
EFSA concludes conventional rabbit cages have worst welfare score
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published three scientific opinions on the welfare of rabbits kept in the EU for meat consumption. The conclusions show the need for the European Commission to use this scientific evidence to enact long overdue legislation for rabbits and end caged systems. At the same time, the opinions demonstrate the urgent need for better training of staff during stunning and slaughter of rabbits.
Rabbits are the second most farmed species in the EU in terms of numbers, but there is no species-specific legislation protecting their welfare in the EU. EFSA assessed and compared the welfare of rabbits in different production systems – organic, outdoor, floor pens, elevated pens, enriched cages and conventional cages – and concluded that conventional cages have the worst overall welfare impact score.
The overall welfare impact scores suggest that animal welfare in organic systems, on the other hand, is generally good. EFSA’s Opinion includes recommendations to improve the welfare of these animals in all the systems currently available in the EU. To facilitate the assessment of the welfare of rabbits kept in different systems it also recommends standardizing the use of validated welfare assessment protocols suitable for on-farm use throughout the EU.
Secondly, in response to two mandates, one from the European Parliament and one from the European Commission, EFSA also assessed the welfare problems like to occur in rabbits during slaughter and killing operations. In its Scientific Opinion ‘Stunning methods and slaughter of rabbits for human consumption’, the Authority identified ten welfare consequences resulting from 32 hazards that rabbits can be exposed to before and during slaughter (i.e. during pre-stunning, stunning and bleeding). These are consciousness, not being dead, thermal stress, prolonged thirst, prolonged hunger, restriction of movements, pain, fear, distress, and respiratory distress. 25 out of 32 of the hazards originated from staff, with most being attributed either to a lack of appropriate skills or to fatigue.
EFSA concluded that the preparedness and performance of staff also plays a crucial role in the case of on‐farm killing for purposes other than slaughter, such as disease control operations, and assessed this scenario in another dedicated Scientific Opinion. It identified 14 hazards which result in five welfare consequences: not being dead, consciousness, pain, fear and distress. Again, the staff were identified as the origin for all the hazards, either due to a lack of skills needed or due to the high kill rate that characterizes these operations and results in fatigue.
For both these opinions EFSA linked the hazards, welfare consequences, animal-based measures, origins and preventive and corrective measures, and also proposed mitigation measures to minimize welfare consequences. In assessing preventive measures, the crucial role played by the staff was also acknowledged.
Tennis star Roger Federer has responded to climate change critics – including campaigner Greta Thunberg – by saying he takes the issue very seriously.
Activists oppose Federer’s sponsorship deal with Credit Suisse over its links to the fossil fuel industry.
Some appeared in court this week after refusing to pay a fine for playing tennis inside Credit Suisse offices in 2018 to highlight Federer’s deal.
Federer did not address the deal directly in his statement.
The activists – most of them students – appeared in court in Renens, Lausanne, on 7 January to appeal against the fine. Some supporters gathered outside holding banners which read: “Credit Suisse is destroying the planet. Roger, do you support them?”
Greta Thunberg – the Swedish teenager who has become the public face of worldwide protests against government policies on climate change – joined the criticism against Federer and Credit Suisse when she retweeted a post from activists 350.org Europe.
The post said loans by Credit Suisse to companies investing in fossil fuels were incompatible with action on climate change and urged Federer to “wake up”.
In his response, the 20-time Grand Slam champion who is in Melbourne for the Australian Open, said: “I take the impacts and threat of climate change very seriously, particularly as my family and I arrive in Australia amidst devastation from the bushfires.”
Federer said he had “a great deal of respect and admiration for the youth climate movement” and was “grateful to young climate activists for pushing us all to examine our behaviours and act on innovative solutions”.
“We owe it to them and ourselves to listen. I appreciate reminders of my responsibility as a private individual, as an athlete and as an entrepreneur, and I’m committed to using this privileged position to dialogue on important issues with my sponsors.”
For its part, Credit Suisse has said it is “seeking to align its loan portfolios with the objectives of the Paris Agreement [to combat climate change] and has recently announced in the context of its global climate strategy that it will no longer invest in new coal-fired power plants”.
Federer is taking part in a fundraising event next Wednesday in aid of relief efforts to address the Australian bushfires which have killed at least 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes since September.
WAV Comment – Good man Lewis – Helping Australian Animals.
Lewis Hamilton says he will donate more than £380,000 to support the fire service and animal welfare charities affected by fires in Australia.
The Formula 1 world champion pledged US $500,000 and says he “can’t help but grieve for the defenceless animals thought to have died” in the fires.
The bushfires have burnt more than 6.3 million hectares across the country and 27 people have died.
Alongside a video of a koala being rescued, the 35-year-old Mercedes driver wrote: “It saddens me deeply to know that over 1 billion animals in Australia died a painful death, no way out, not their fault
.
“My love of animals is no secret and I can’t help but grieve for the defenceless animals thought to have died so far, pushing certain species closer to extinction.
“I’m lucky enough to visit Australia often and I know first-hand how beautiful the country is. Keep fighting Australia. I’ve spent some time speaking to people in Australia who are working at the heart of this and I’m filled with admiration for everything they are doing.
“I implore you to join me in thinking about the impact we are having on our planet. Let’s work together to make small changes, and encourage our family and friends to do the same, so we can help shift the direction we’re going in.”
Hamilton’s donation – which is in US dollars and converts to roughly £383,000 – will go to WIRES Wildlife Rescue, WWF Australia and the Rural Fire Service.
After a two-day employment tribunal in the U.K., a judge officially ruled on January 3 that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief, akin to religion, and should be protected by the law.
Vegan zoologist Jordi Casamitjana brought the landmark case to adjudication. He accused the League Against Cruel Sports of firing him after he revealed to colleagues that the company’s pension fund invests in businesses participating in animal testing.
Casamitjana decided to take action and ascertain whether ethical veganism can be classified as a protected “non-religious philosophical belief” and, therefore, be defended by the Equality Act 2010.
In his ruling, Judge Robin Postle pronounced that ethical veganism does meet the criteria required to qualify as a philosophical belief under the act.
“I am satisfied overwhelmingly that ethical veganism does constitute a philosophical belief,” he said, “and it is now a new protected characteristic.”
Casamitjana thinks this exciting new development will help ethical vegans feel comfortable in their beliefs.
“I’m extremely happy with the outcome of this hearing and for the words of the judge who clearly understood what ethical veganism is,” commented Casamitjana after hearing the ruling. “I am not alone. Many people have supported me because they or their friends have experienced discrimination for being ethical vegans. Hopefully, from my dismissal something positive will come by ensuring other ethical vegans are better protected in the future.”
“Better protection means more vegans will be able to be open about their beliefs,” he added. “This can only be a good thing for the billions of animals still exploited by humans, an environment under duress, and stressed public health.”
In February, the tribunal will rule on whether the League Against Cruel Sports wrongly dismissed Casamitjana, discriminating against him due to his philosophy of ethical veganism.
“The truth wins, but it can only win if it is told”!!
World Animals Voice 