TORONTO, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — National animal protection organization Animal Alliance of Canada is calling on the government of Manitoba to order an immediate suspension of the current black bear hunt in light of continuing active wildfires.
At least 21 fires, including eight deemed to be out of control and scattered throughout the three hunting zones, are currently burning in the province. A province-wide state of emergency was declared on May 28.
While 21,000 residents have been evacuated and travelers asked to reconsider non-essential travel to free up hotel rooms for these evacuees, the province continues to allow foreign hunters in. The fire hazard presented by these hunters’ guns and all-terrain vehicles present unnecessary additional risks for new fires.
Black bears are the only large mammal species allowed to be hunted in the spring while cubs are reliant on their mothers for food and protection. As bears hide their cubs in trees before foraging and because their fur is too thick to be able to see if they are lactating, even bear biologists cannot reliably identify the sex of a bear. As a result, every spring, female bears are killed, leaving orphaned cubs, most of whom perish by starvation, dehydration or predation.
A newly released report (see below) commissioned by the Animal Alliance of Canada Fund, which draws upon published studies as well as the Manitoba government’s own data from seasonal bear hunts, indicates that in 2023 (the most recent year for which data is available) as many as 224 cubs were left orphanedby the spring bear hunt.
In addition, black bears are the only mammal species allowed to be baited for hunting. During the spring hunt, hungry black bears newly awakened from hibernation and restricted by limited food sources are drawn into established bait stations loaded with meat and sugary foods, where hunters wait for them. These stations, which are permitted just beyond 200 metres of a dwelling or 500 metres from a cottage subdivision or campground, may cause bears to become acclimated to finding human foods in close proximity to people. The allowance of such bait stations contradicts government instruction and legislation discouraging members of the public from feeding bears.
This year, these issues are compounded by the devastating forest fires and resulting habitat loss, altered food availability, and increased potential encounters with humans as the bears are forced to move into new territories.
“We are urging the government to order an immediate suspension of the hunt,” said Lia Laskaris, Chief Executive Officer of the Animal Alliance of Canada. “We are further calling for a moratorium on the spring bear hunt until a full survey and assessment of the damage can be conducted,” added Laskaris.
Sea Shepherd is cracking down on illegal fish-trapping devices off the coast of Sicily (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
Off the coast of Sicily, Sea Shepherd and its volunteers are hunting down illegal fish traps and working with Italian authorities to crack down on this environmental crime.
The flat water melts into the teal-coloured sky as a former pilot vessel, the Sea Eagle, sails through the calm Tyrrhenian Sea surrounding the Aeolian Archipelago of Sicily.
The ship is operated by Sea Shepherd, an international marine conservation non-profit. Today, the team is searching for fish aggregating devices (FADs), man-made plastic structures used to attract fish. They float in the water, anchored to the seafloor, with hanging nets to catch fish. FADs made from plastic, without GPS tracking devices attached, are illegal in Italy.
While listening to techno music, a group of volunteers uses a winch to detach one of the FADs from the seafloor. A large plastic container labelled “corrosive” emerges from the sea.
“The [techno] rhythm gives us the right energy,” says James* (the crew do not wish to use their full names for safety reasons), a young Canadian volunteer who is running the operation and whose arms are covered in ocean-inspired tattoos. The volunteers work tirelessly to extract the plastic FADs from the sea and pile the tangled trash heaps into big bags. The retrieved plastic will be turned into plastic crates for sea turtle rescue operations.
FADs are used worldwide by fishermen to attract pelagic fishes into surrounding nets. These fish-trapping devices are typically composed of used fuel, pharmaceutical and other chemical containers among other types of plastic waste, dark plastic nets and rocks, all of which is held together by a few miles of nylon thread. Marine wildlife is attracted to the shade provided by FADs.
FADs are typically composed of old plastic containers held together by nylon thread (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
The material the FADs are made of matters too. FADs are required by Italian law to be biodegradable. All the FADs removed by the Sea Shepherds from the South Tyrrhenian Sea are illegal and made of plastic, says Nicola Silvestri, frigate captain and head of the Fishing Control Centre area in Western Sicily. They also lack markings which allow them to be traced back to the fishing boat that used them, he says.
“Illegal FADs are very cheap to produce, but at the same time highly dangerous for ecosystems,” says Andrea Morello, president of Sea Shepherd Italy. “These devices are installed by fishers in the month of August, then they catch fish around them in summer. Eventually, winter storms remove the devices, creating tonnes of hazardous and plastic waste floating in the sea.”
In this stretch of sea around Sicily’s Aeolian Archipelago, the target fishing species in the summer are juvenile ricciola, bluefin tuna, juvenile swordfish and pilot fish. FADs can damage the entire population, by preventing juveniles from maturing and reproducing.
The Sea Shepherd mission is part of the organisation’s ongoing Siso operation in Sicily to combat these illegal fishing devices.
“We are witnessing the biggest marine environmental disaster ever,” says Morello. “The sea is like a minefield full of FAD lines in every direction, placed by fishers who split the sea surface among them, threatening biodiversity.”
The Sea Shepherd volunteers remove the long nylon threads attached to the FADs which can harm fish, turtles, humpback whales and dolphins by trapping and suffocating them. According to Sea Shepherd, there are more than 36,000 FADs, each one composed of almost 1.2 km (0.7 miles) of nylon lines in the South Tyrrhenian Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea.
It takes the volunteers one hour to extract almost 2km (1.2 miles) of a FAD line, it’s the first out of seven removed that day. Not far away, a police coast guard boat is monitoring the work: later it will seize the illegal plastic materials. The use of FADs made from plastic waste, without GPS trackers, is an environmental crime in Italy.
Sarah, a young German volunteer, rings the bell installed on the deck of the vessel, to celebrate and notify the crew that another FAD has successfully been extracted from the seabed. In total, the volunteers haul seven FADs onto the deck that day – their combined mass is the same size as a small car.
The Sea Shepherd volunteers are collaborating with Italian maritime authorities to crack down on FADs (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
organisation maps the FADs using deep-sea radar technology and binoculars and removes them in collaboration with national maritime authorities.
Between 2017 and 2024, the organisation removed 676 FADs from the Mediterranean Sea, says Morello. “We define ourselves as FAD hunters: here to protect the sea. We are also carrying out the first census of FADs ever realised in the Mediterranean Sea,” he says.
The data collected during this mission will be analysed as part of a research project that Sea Shepherd runs with the National Biodiversity Future Centre of the University of Palermo in Sicily and the Cima Research Foundation, based in Liguria, Italy. Using statistical analysis, Sea Shepherd has been producing maps since 2017 to identify for the first time the extent of this ghost labyrinth created by FADs anchored to the seabed.
“With the information provided by Sea Shepherd, we were able to have a precise mapping of the location and composition of these devices,” says Alberto Sechi, a marine biologist at Cima Foundation. “Since 2017, the plastic lines (mostly polypropylene) used to anchor the FADs exceeds 2,500km (1,553 miles): that corresponds to the distance between Paris and Moscow.”
In a single night, Morello says the Sea Shepherds discovered around 912 FADs in the waters surrounding the Sicilian island of Alicudi, each one composed of more than 1km (0.6 miles) of nylon threads. “Multiplying the number of FADs we found by the medium length of each thread, the total length of lines used in this area is a staggering 43,200 km (26.284 miles) of nylon: this is more than the circumference of the entire planet Earth,” says Morello.
Sea Shepherd’s work involves removing as many FADs as possible, but then, the disposal problem arises. In 2022, the non-profit started collaborating with iMilani, an Italian company that specialises in building plastic crates from recycled materials. Together, they have created the Sea Turtle Crates project, which aims to transform the FADs into plastic crates for sea turtle rescue operations. After the entangled turtles have been freed from the FADs, they are put into the crates which Sea Shepherd uses to transport them to veterinarians. Six loggerhead turtles have been rescued to date and 100 turtle recovery boxes have been created from FADs, says Roberto Milani, founder of iMilani and a freediver.
The company is hoping to design other items with FADs waste in future, including pens and other gadgets, which can be sold to finance Sea Shepherd’s activities, says Milani.
Sea Shepherd is creating the first-ever census of FADs in the Mediterranean Sea (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
big bags full of plastic lines extracted from the FADs. In one day at sea, the crew removed seven FADs composed of 6.5km (4 miles) of nylon lines and plastic containers. Their labels reveal their previous lives: from hospital waste and corrosive liquids, to oil, gas and detergent jerrycans. Using radar, the Sea Shepherds map more than 100 FADs throughout the day.
The crew’s work begins early in the morning, and continues until sunset, with brief breaks for meals. Tuti, 23, an Israeli volunteer, prepares a vegan buffet each day. Today’s menu is inspired by Latin American foods, such as empanadas, chimichurri, black beans mole and corn tortillas, which Tuti learned to cook during a Sea Shepherd mission in the Gulf of California, where she worked to protect the last vaquita dolphins.
Onboard are 20 volunteers, from four continents with different ages and backgrounds: from Willie, a 20-year-old German student, to retired engineer and sea captain Gigi, 63, who joins Sea Shepherd’s missions several times a year.
“We are here because we want to be part of the solution. We are sort of part of it, by removing all those plastics from the seas,” says Zafar from Pakistan, who is in charge of measuring and cataloguing each FAD for the database. “I don’t understand people’s insensitivity towards the sea and its inhabitants,” he says.
Many FADs are anchored to the seafloor with stones or buckets full of cement, says Teresa Romeo, director of the Sicily Marine Centre at the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station in Naples, Italy. She has been studying FADs since the 1990s. “They modify the seabed environment and affect all the species living there,” she says.
Romeo says a mandatory recovery of all FADs should be implemented. “We need to establish a spatial management plan to define a specific area [for FADs] and replace floating materials with biodegradable ones, in order to have a more sustainable fishing practice in the Mediterranean Sea,” says Romeo.
Sea Shepherd makes “a great contribution to the mapping actions of FADs and their efforts are useful for monitoring impacts, but in my opinion the aim cannot be drastic removal, but to regulate their use,” she says.
The retrieved plastic FADs are turned into crates for sea turtle rescue operations (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
But creating biodegradable devices from materials such as hemp is difficult due to the high cost, according to Sechi. “Creating a completely biodegradable FAD is a significant challenge, and so far, no one has come up with a solution,” he says. “One alternative could be hemp, but kilometres of hemp thread are very expensive, and no angler would spend that much.”
Experts such as Romeo say that the transition to biodegradable and non-toxic materials would be an important part of the solution to reduce marine pollution from fisheries based on FADs. As well as breaking down in the ocean, biodegradable materials may contain fewer toxins and heavy metals, compared to plastic, says Romeo, though she agrees that cost is a major barrier for materials such as hemp.
In the meantime, the Sea Shepherds continue to sail the seas to map and remove illegal fish-trapping devices, collaborating closely with the local coastguard, researchers and private enterprises to crack down on this environmental crime.
“This alliance is a solution to protect the deep sea,” says Morello.
The Dover protest days; which lasted decades actually; along with many other protests at other ports in SE England at various times, united the British people; who turned out in massive force against this abhorrent business. We cried long and hard at what we were witnessing with every shipment; but despite the utter feeling of being so helpless; there were some good times – you have to have them sometimes; right ??
In the first video you can see us all being held by the police in order to get the livestock transporters down to Dover port as quickly as they can. But as the video also shows; if you cannot stop them near to the port; then you actually go to the port to take action.
As you can see; the trucks sped through as quickly as they could. Being England; weather conditions were often foggy, raining and just dangerous with 40 plus tonnes of livestock transporter rushing past. The police attempted to intimidate protestors by filming them anywhere and everywhere as you can see; but really they had ‘lost the plot’ and had no real control. I Mark was proud to be part of all this; if there were no live animals needing our support then we would have been at home with loved ones watching tv or something ?
It was risky given the trucks speeds and the weather conditions; to this day I an still amazed that nobody was killed; unlike our beautiful Jill who was killed by a truck whilst protesting against live calf exports out of Coventry Airport. She was too lovely a person to have had her life cut short by a calf carrying transporter.
Unfortunately; today, 2025, the export of live, sentient beings across the world is still a massive business. but, the reality and cruelties of the trade are being exposed more and more all the time; take a look:
Here are all of our site links to the live animal export business:
Phil; a personal friend, and Global CEO at London based Compassion In World Farming – https://www.ciwf.org/ often came to Dover to give us all his support.
Very recently, Phil wrote an article for ‘the Scotsman’; and asking the simple question – Why, after 100 years of refrigeration, are animals STILL being transported live ? I can only guess that money is involved a lot more than animal sentience. Here is a link to the article – a great read !
So; here we are today, June 2025; still fighting hard for a global ban on the live animal export issue. Like in the UK, it was a very long campaign; but in the end, 2024 saw all UK live exports STOP. And so may this result continue across the entire planet.
Regards Mark.
Things changed for me when i was a little boy aged 8 years:
My beautiful dog ‘Sheba’; given to me by my parents when I was five years; started me down the long road of having full respect FOR ALL living creatures.
In my personal opinion; this was, is, and forever will be; a good fight, worth fighting for 110%. Glad to have been involved !
Please remember this next time go to vote. Prime Minister Starmer could act IMMEDIATEY and stop this; but he does not.
Photo – Mark.
The UK Government has just released the 2024 Badger Cull figures – and they show that now, HALF of the UK Badger population has been murdered. And yet, despite this mass murder frenzy, the Labour Government is allowing yet more kill licenses to be issued in the form of 9 Supplementary Cull Zones:
Data just obtained from the excellent Badger Trust https://www.badgertrust.org.uk/ shows that a staggering 94% of Bovine TB, for which the Badgers are taking the blame, is actually spread by Bovine to Bovine transmission rather than Badger to Cattle. Who in their right mind ‘fixes a problem’ by ignoring 94% of it ?
Environmentalist Zac Goldsmith has raised concerns about a “troubling commitment” in the Prime Minister’s deal with the EU.
Zac Goldsmith has slammed Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)
ac Goldsmith has slammed Keir Starmer’s UK-EU reset for risking the Tories hard-fought Brexit wins on animal welfare. The environmentalist warned that a “troubling commitment” in the agreement means any UK deviation from EU food standards must not “negatively affect European Union animals and goods being placed on the market” in the UK.
The former MP said: “This seemingly technical clause has profound implications for animal welfare and our ability to raise our own standards, something that we fought so hard to achieve with Brexit. “Among other things it likely means the UK cannot restrict imports of animal products that fail to meet our welfare standards – even when we’ve banned those same practices domestically.
He said around 50% of UK pork imports come from EU countries still using sow stalls – narrow metal cages Britain banned in the 90s because they were considered to be cruel.
A new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal was agreed last month to reduce red tape currently needed to import and export food and drink between the UK and the EU.
ut campaigners want the Government to clarify whether animal welfare measures fall outside the SPS agreement’s scope, or to negotiate explicit exceptions for welfare-based restrictions.
here were concerns before the deal was struck that Britain could weaken its post-Brexit animal protection laws to get a reset deal with Brussels.
But following the concerns, the Prime Minister said: “We are not involved in, nor will we be involved in, a sort of race to the bottom on standards.
“I think that British people are proud of the high standards that we have, and we want to maintain those standards.”
Sir Keir has pledged to strengthen ties with the EU since coming into office on July 4 last year.
As part of the agreement he signed, there will be more targeted checks on the movement of animals, animal products, plants and other products.
This will stop animals being held for excessive periods at the borders and lower any detrimental impact on animal health and welfare, and reduce the burden on the veterinary workforce.
There was also a commitment made on shared disease surveillance and data sharing, which will secure UK biosecurity and risk of imported diseases.
Animal welfare groups also welcomed the introduction of pet passports to replace Animal Health Certificates (AHCs), which increased burden on the veterinary workforce and hiked costs for animal owners since they came into force.
A Government spokesman said: “This government will always act in the national interest to protect Britain’s farmers and secure our food security. We have said we will uphold the highest agricultural standards and that is exactly what this deal does.”
By Lord Zac Goldsmith
Brexit undoubtedly delivered meaningful wins for animals, enabling policy changes that were previously impossible. We were able for example to ban the cruel live export of animals for slaughter and even more far reaching, we could change the way we subsidised farming to incentivise higher animal welfare and environmental stewardship. Neither of these changes could have happened without Brexit, which is one of the reasons I supported our EU exit in 2016.
And although of course I wish we had done more, the last Conservative Government did deliver a wide range of animal welfare measures, from an expanded ivory ban and banning glue traps, to much bigger sentences for animal cruelty and recognising sentience in law. Now in Opposition the Party is calling for among other things raising zoo standards.
Last month’s UK-EU Summit produced a ‘Common Understanding’ agreement which has been hailed by the Prime Minister as a significant step towards mending post-Brexit relations, generating economic benefits and streamlining trade. However, buried in the details lies a troubling commitment: any UK deviation from EU food standards must not “negatively affect European Union animals and goods being placed on the market in the United Kingdom”.
This seemingly technical clause has profound implications for animal welfare and our ability to raise our own standards, something that we fought so hard to achieve with Brexit. Among other things it likely means the UK cannot restrict imports of animal products that fail to meet our welfare standards – even when we’ve banned those same practices domestically.
Consider the immediate threats. Around 50% of UK pork imports come from EU countries still using sow stalls – narrow metal cages we banned in the 90s because they were considered to be cruel. The last Labour government prohibited fur farming in the UK, yet we continue importing it from the EU. Under the new agreement, banning such imports may be impossible, despite the stated wishes of the Government to deliver the biggest boost to animal welfare in a generation.
The agreement links UK standards to EU animal welfare rules with opt outs limited to public health and biosecurity – assessed case by case basis. So while we might still be able to ban puppy imports, as these present a public health risk, the agreement could block us from banning EU fur or even foie gras on welfare grounds alone.
This not only undermines domestic animal welfare standards but also places British farmers, who adhere to stricter regulations, at a competitive disadvantage. The problem is more acute with EU imports, our largest trading partner for food imports, not just the usual suspects like the USA or Australia.
Brexit gave us the chance to lead the world on animal welfare – to show that an independent Britain could set gold standards that others would follow. This is also about democratic sovereignty; British voters consistently support higher animal welfare standards, with 84% backing restrictions on low-welfare imports.
There’s still time to put this right, but it will require government to clarify that animal welfare measures fall outside the SPS Agreement’s scope, or to negotiate explicit exceptions for welfare-based restrictions.
While its proponents say the UK-EU reset agreement offers economic and diplomatic benefits, it’s imperative that animal welfare remains a priority. By addressing these concerns proactively, the UK can position itself as a global leader in animal welfare and ensure that progress is not achieved at the expense of the most vulnerable and the voiceless.
A new investigation has revealed that the EU is home to 22,263 industrial chicken and pig farms – housing more than 516 MILLION Animals in the worst factory farm conditions.
Despite this, the EU Commission, some producers, and even some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are advocating for a further increase in the number of farmed animals.
But what would this increase mean for animal welfare; human health, as well as impact on the environment ?
The AGtivist data led investigation has, for the fist time, identified, and mapped these industrial farm around Europe; showing that the EU has 10,862 chicken farms; each holding at LEAST 40,000 birds; raised for egg or meat production, and 8,854 pig farms, holding at least 2,000 pigs each; or 2,547 for breeding pigs.
During the past ten years, 2,746 mega farms have started operations with the EU; with the highest rate of development happening in Spain, where 1,385 new industrial farms started up in the past decade. 5,314 permits for such farms were applied for during the last decade.
Whilst mega farms are sweeping across the EU, small and medium ones are rapidly declining. Between 2005 and 2020 the EU lost 5.3 million farms; most of which were smallholdings. – whilst the total agricultural land area remained stable, thus indicating the change – consolidation – into larger operations.
This represents a decrease of 44% within 15 years.
Meanwhile, the number of mega farms GREW by 56% within the same period; with the top 8% of the highest producing farms controlling a staggering 63% of all livestock in the EU. Here is the proof if you question what we say.
France has the highest number of industrial chicken farms at 2,342 farms.
Spain has the highest number of industrial pig farms, with 2,580 for fattening pigs and 821 farms fot breeding pigs. It is also the country that saw the biggest expansion of new farms starting to operate in the last decade.
Italy is in the top five countries for both industrial pig and chicken farms – 2,146 combined.
MEGA FARMS OPERATE INTENSVE FARMING SYSTEMS where chickens are densely packed into barns with INADEQUATE VENTILATION, INSANITARY CONDITIONS; ALONG WITTH NO ACCESS TO OUTDOOR SPACE OR NATURAL LIGHT.
The AGtivist investigations in Italy with our colleagues Essere Animali; revealed the reality of animal welfare on the ground; with chickens at a farm in Bergamo living in their own excrement and unable to stand no their feet because of their unnatural growth.
Photo – Stefania – AGtivist / Essere Animali.
In Brescia, investigators witnessed hens cramped together, on top of each other; while carcasses were left to decompose for around 3 weeks.
Photo – Stefania – AGtivist / Essere Animali.
In Spain, local investigators highlight the concentration of pigs in intensive farms, with pigs confined in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, suffering from both untreated injuries and disease. Sows are enclosed in metal crates of barely two metres squared; preventing natural movement and leading to severe physical repercussions.
Intensive livestock farms such as those found across the US are spreading across the continent, according to new data
There has been a rise in large intensive poultry units across Europe, which are a key driver of river pollution. Photograph: John Eveson FLPA/FLPA/Shutterstock
American-style intensive livestock farms are spreading across Europe, with new data revealing more than 24,000 megafarms across the continent.
In the UK alone, there are now 1,824 industrial-scale pig and poultry farms, according to the data obtained by AGtivist that relates to 2023.
The countries with the largest number of intensive poultry farm units are France, UK, Germany, Italy and Poland in that order. For poultry farming alone, the UK ranks as having the second-highest number of intensive farms at 1,553, behind France with 2,342.
European consumers quite rightly, are a fairy switched on bunch when it comes to knowing what goes into the food that they eat. Yes or no ?
But, as animal campaigners; we question what we consider to be ‘adequate’ information relating to certain issues re animals and the food chain.
Lets take the humble egg as an example. There are more than 350 million laying hens in the EU. All these hens combined produce close to 6.7 MILLION TONNES of eggs each and every year.
The EU is rather good when it comes to standards and labelling for eggs purchased withing the EU (and still including the UK even after Brexit); of course; the UK was once an EU member state; so labelling was a regulatory requirement.
With EU / UK egg labelling; there is a Regulation – https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32008R0589 which defines the regulations for standards in egg production. Organic production methods; Free Range; Barn or Cage – the labelling system clearly provides the consumer at the supermarket with full details of their eggs – what system was used in their production – so that THE CONSUMER IS FULLY INFORMED AND CAN MAKE A CLEAR CHOICE of whet they are purchasing.
There is no confusion; to the point that every single egg is stamp marked as shown below to include the production method used; the country of origin; and a unique ‘farm ID’ in case of any specific issues relating to the production farm.
Pretty good well monitored and consumer informed system throughout the EU; which we as animal welfare campaigners fully support. The consumer is informed and they make their individual purchases accordingly.
Above – Caged Hens – NO
Below – Free Range – YES.
As welfare campaigners we say there is only one way for consumers to purchase their eggs – if they want to eat eggs – GO FREE RANGE. Compare the free range hens plumage above to that of battery hens below – is that image simply not enough alone to make egg eaters buy NON CAGED eggs.
So ok; there you basically have it – Consumer clear labelling relating to egg production, which allows them to make their independent clear choices.
So for this post; the heading basically says ‘when it comes to meat products, is the EU really telling the consumer what they would like to know?’. We don’t think so; if the labelling system is good for eggs; why the shortfalls for meat products in labelling ?
Cards on the table; I [Mark] have been a non-meat eater for 35+ years. Anything ‘that ever had a face’ is not part of my diet; but I accept there are still lots of carnivores out there. One question though I would ask them is simply; if EU legislation attempts to provide you with accurate labelling on your eggs, and how they were produced; then why not clear and precise labelling on how your meat was reared; AND ESPECIALLY HOW IT WAS KILLED !
Many EU and British citizens; when asked, simply abhor the thought of live animals being ritually slaughtered. But, unlike the ‘egg labelling system’; are EU consumers being led up the garden path when it comes to specific meat labelling?. There are two main methods of ritual slaughter which does not involve pre-stunning an animal before its death; – Shechita (Kosher) – the Jewish method; and Halal which is the Muslim method. Here is more reading from the UK Government about this:
EU law requires that all animals being slaughters for the food chain are stunned and made unconscious prior to killing so that death should be ‘painless’; – hmm; ‘painless’ ? – we say ask the animals going through the process !
But within the EU there are exceptions for religious slaughter as detailed above. Jews and Muslims represent around 6% of the EU population.
Data from Ireland; an EU Member State (MS) showed that around 2010, showed that with just a 1% Muslim population; 6% of cattle, and 34% of sheep were slaughter without stunning. In a 2006/7 survey, it was seen that in France, another MS; 40% of Calves; 25% of Bovine cattle; and no less than 54% of Sheep were slaughtered without stunning.
The EU market for Kosher meat was worth around 5 Billion Euros in 2008.
THE REAL EU MEAT LABELLING ISSUE.
The following is very informative reading for reasons why there is NO standard legislation throughout the entire EU member states when it comes to meat produced by pre-stunning or religious specific methods. We especially suggest looking at the the data on ANNEX 7 – The Practice of Religious Slaughter In Every EU Member State.
Then we can unfortunately understand the EU reluctance, or refusal, to publish concise EU consumer – wide labelling about meat and meat products. When you enter an EU supermarket and are opposed to ritual animal slaughter; does the ‘EU labelling system’ express YOUR animal welfare concerns as a consumer ? – WE WOULD SUGGEST A BIG ‘NO’ !!
But then after all; religion never caused any wars; did it ?
And who in their right mind would want the EU to end up with Egg on its face ?
As David Attenborough warns of the damage being wreaked on the oceans by seabed trawling, the role of an army of mystery boats is in the spotlight.
The Ghanaian flag that droops from the mast of the Meng Xin 10 is one of the few African things about the fishing boat.
The deckhands are Ghanaian, and officially it is owned by a company in Accra. But the officers are Chinese, all the instruments and telemetry are in Mandarin, and the people who call the shots are based in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian.
For 10 years the blue-hulled vessel, one of at least 30 that investigators have linked to Dalian Mengxin Ocean Fishery, has meandered along Ghana’s coastline, dragging a heavy beam along the ocean floor about 200m below, bottom trawling for squid and cuttlefish.
A Pacific manta being photographed by tourists. Photograph: Johnny Friday
The Last Dive tells how a relationship with a giant Pacific manta ray turned a big game fish hunter into a conservationist
Located about 500km off the southern coast of Baja California lies a group of ancient volcanic islands known as the Revillagigedo Archipelago. Home to large pelagic species including whale sharks and scalloped hammerheads, the rugged volcanic peaks were also once the site of an unlikely friendship.
It began in December 1988 when Terry Kennedy, a now 83-year-old American sailor with a storied past, met a six-meter-wide giant Pacific manta ray off San Benedicto island’s rugged shore. He would go on to name him Willy.
World Animals Voice 