Category: Environmental

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Uncategorized

UK: Truss Meets Her Teutoberg – The Conservative General Who Fell On Her Own Sword. The Viper Who Ceases To Hiss.

Give me back my legions !

WAV Comment – On 5th September 2022 I posted the following:  Liz Truss, very bad for animal welfare and bad for the environment.

UK: Liz Truss, new UK Prime Minister – very bad for animal welfare, bad for the environment; and bad for the Conservative Party. – World Animals Voice

Well today, 20/10/22, Liz Truss was forced to resign by members of her own Conservative Party.

UK: Tin-eared Truss is about to embark on the greatest betrayal of animal rights imaginable. – World Animals Voice

She is officially the shortest serving Prime Minister in British history – resigning after just 44 days in office.  With our dinner tonight we made a toast to the environment and animal welfare; 2 issues that have not passed her lips since she was elected.  Is it me, or is the environment, global warming, the turmoil which results in so many nations at this very moment due to it, something which should really be at the forefront of political leaders in boxes ?

I am gonna have another drink later – I am so pleased to see her go; especially if she takes Rees Mogg with her, a foie gras production supporter (and no doubt eater) who hopefully will get his marching orders at the cabinet reshuffle which will take place as soon as the new PM is elected in just over a week.

Liz Truss has refused to enshrine animal welfare in trade deals, says minister | Animal welfare | The Guardian

England: Liz Truss has REFUSED to enshrine animal welfare in trade deals, says minister. – World Animals Voice

England: Liz Truss ‘has sewage on her hands’; Defra, Live Animal Exports, and …… – World Animals Voice

For the Brits; and being English I am one of them; environmental and animal welfare issues are big (maybe massive ?) vote winners; but this woman refused to see that, or even start to get a grip on them and the issues.  We carry on with our hardened battle campaigning for the badgers, live animals in transport, vivisection issues, factory farming and the rest.  We don’t come and go in a matter of just a few weeks – we are in for the long fights; however long the victories take to achieve.

So, now, Conservative MP’s are trembling at the thought of what the British public will do to them at the next General Election.  So now, more than ever, we have the opportunity to really turn up the gas with them on issues that we all care about – animal welfare and the environment.

THE Conservatives could face an electoral wipeout at the next general election, according to recent polling data.

A YouGov/Times poll published yesterday puts Labour some 33 points ahead of the Conservatives, understood to be the largest lead for Labour in any poll since 1998.

The poll puts Labour on 54 per cent, with the Conservatives down to just 21 per cent.

Another poll, by election forecaster Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now predicted that an imminent general election would see Labour win a majority of over 100 seats, while the Conservatives would be reduced to their lowest share of the national vote in history.

This is how the Conservatives could face a wipeout at next general election (yahoo.com)

So we battle on now after witnessing our opposition anti environment and anti animal welfare general fall on her own sword in London today.

I (Mark) personally have a great interest in (ancient) Roman military history.  The romans lost 3 entire legions (Legio XVII, Legio XVIII and Legio XIX) under the control of Publius Quinctilius Varus in AD 9; ambushed by Arminius, the leader of the Germanic tribes, in Germany, at a battle known as that of ‘Teutoberg Forest’ which is near the modern German town of Kalkriese.

The Romans hated the forests of Northern Europe, as their excellent fighting machines always won best in the wide, open lands of Southern Europe. The North European forests were a haunted danger to them. The fight in the Teutoberg forest which included the slaughter of Varus and his legions, led to the abandonment of any plans to transform Germnmania Magna into a province and which also resulted in the river Rhine acting as a border between the roman world and the German tribes.

Roman casualties have been estimated at 15,000–20,000 dead, and many of the officers were said to have taken their own lives by falling on their swords in the approved manner.  Tacitus wrote that many officers were sacrificed by the Germanic forces as part of their indigenous religious ceremonies, cooked in pots and their bones used for rituals.[37] Others were ransomed and some common soldiers appear to have been enslaved

Read more – Battle of the Teutoburg Forest – Wikipedia

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest | Summary, Facts, & Significance | Britannica

Finally, as the Germanic tribes sliced the tongues out of the Roman soldiers they had captured, they uttered the words:

‘At last, the viper has ceased to hiss’.

The animal rights / environmentalists gained a victory today, with the forced resignation of a viper – a ‘general’ of the Conservative armies that sit encamped in and around Downing Street, London. Waiting now for their massacre ? – time will tell.

Our battles have been long and drawn out for decades; our animal rights movement has tenacity, whilst politicians just come into senate and then go.

Today, one viper ceased to hiss any more; now the Conservatives must very seriously address the issues of animals and their rights and act to the positive; otherwise they will meet their own ‘Teutoberg’ massacre at the next UK general Election.

Regards Mark.

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

England: Meet the Animal Rebellion ‘Milk Pour’ Protesters You’ve Been Seeing All Over Twitter.

WAV comment: These guys acted for what they believe in – animal justice and the non abuse of animals in the dairy industry. They both have university degrees – Robert was actually arrested several times just after graduating from Uni of York, with a degree in Politics and International Relations, and Skylar the activist is actually a Uni of Sussex grad, having finished their BA in International Development with a first in 2020. Very intelligent activists; and if you want to see more on dairy abuse; then watch this, especially the end footage. Please, dont do dairy !:

One of them ‘had a nap and read Horrible Histories’ in jail

You’ll have seen it dominating your Twitter timeline over the weekend and, to be honest, you probably have 101 opinions about it. On Saturday (15th October), animal rights group Animal Rebellion staged a nationwide “milk-pour” in different high-end food shops across the UK.

Protestors in an Edinburgh Waitrose were the first to go viral, uniting Union Jack Twitter and… well, everyone else, alike. Young volunteers were seen opening bottles of milk and pouring them all over the floor, prompting people to raise questions about food waste and making more work for minimum-wage staff during the cost of living crisis.

These organised milk-pours also happened in London’s Harrods, Fortnum and Mason and Selfridges; as well as different Waitrose, Whole Foods and M&S stores around the country.

While Animal Rebellion has chosen to keep the identities of their volunteers anonymous, two of the demonstration’s organisers have since spoken out about its motives. Here’s everything you need to know about them:

Skylar Sharples

Skylar was among the Animal Rebellion protestors pouring milk in Harrods. They stood at the front of a meat counter and emptied glass bottles of milk onto the floor, before being escorted out. They later told the Daily Mail: “Supporters of Animal Rebellion are back acting because Liz Truss and Ranil Jayawardena (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) are again deciding to ignore calls to start building a better future.”

The activist is actually a Uni of Sussex grad, having finished their BA in International Development with a first in 2020. Before this, they actually *founded* the Sussex branch of Extinction Rebellion, volunteered for Greenpeace, and worked in Outreach for The Humane League.

Robert Gordon

Robert Gordon has been a vocal orchestrator and supporter of the nationwide milk-pouring. A hugely active member of Animal Rebellion, Robert was actually arrested several times just after graduating from Uni of York, with a degree in Politics and International Relations.

In 2021, he was arrested at McDonald’s Leicester Square for carrying out a “sleep-in” – a demonstration where protestors pitched tents outside the door. He was taken into custody for trespassing and spent five hours “napping and reading Horrible Histories”.

WAV -For overseas visitors – https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/horrible-histories

The volunteer has been incredibly open about his privilege in the past – citing his upbringing as one of the reasons the police haven’t treated him harshly. “I am fortunate that owing to my privileges as a well-spoken, straight white male my arrest experience was relatively pleasant… My mum used to be a criminal lawyer and regularly talks about instances of injustice and police brutality so she was more concerned for me but I assured her I was fine,” he wrote in a blog post.

Animal Rebellion: Meet the grads who organised the Milk Pour Protest (thetab.com)

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Uncategorized

USA: There’s a Big Difference Between Stealing and Rescue.”  Animal Activists Found ‘Not Guilty’ After Rescuing Pigs From Smithfield Factory Farm (Utah). Jury Unanimous In Its Verdict – A Big Day for ANTI AG GAG.
Hsiung and Picklesimer took two sick piglets from a farm in Utah in 2017 – MediSA: There’s a big difference between stealing and rescue.” Credit: Direct Action Everywhere
Hsiung and Picklesimer stood trial in the US

WAV Comment – A brilliant day for US activists. And the same day that Ag Gag is kicked into the dust.  Great that this means activists can enter facilities if they are getting evidence of animal abuse and cruelty.  Congats to all !

Animal Rights Activists Found Not Guilty After Rescuing Pigs From Smithfield Factory Farm

Wayne Hsiung said his and and Paul Darwin Picklesimer’s animal rescue trial is “a matter of conscience”

BY POLLY FOREMAN

Two animal rights activists who rescued pigs from a Smithfield meat factory farm have been acquitted after standing trial in the US.

Wayne Hsiung and Paul Darwin Picklesimer, who filmed themselves taking two sick piglets from a Utah farm in 2017, were facing burglary and theft charges. If found guilty, they risked a prison sentence of five years each. 

On Saturday night, the jury unanimously found them not guilty. Activists said the trial has set a “powerful precedent” for the right to rescue animals.

Hsiung, an attorney who represented himself, told the jury in his closing statement: “I don’t actually want you to acquit us on a legal technicality. I want you to acquit us as a matter of conscience. There’s a big difference between stealing and rescue.” 

The rescue

In 2017, Hsiung and Picklesimer entered Circle Four Farms in Utah. The farm is one of the United States’ largest pork producers, processing one million pigs a year. They were investigating the use of gestation crates, which Smithfield promised to ban back in 2007. 

When they entered the farm, they saw “row after row” of the cages. These two foot by seven foot metal stalls offered the pigs no room to turn around. The animals could spend up to five years of their life in them while pregnant. 

The two pigs they rescued, later named Lizzie and Lily, are still alive today. Hsiung previously said in an interview that the pigs were ill and close to dying when they found them. 

The trial

Hsiung and Picklesimer filmed the conditions on the farm, but the footage wasn’t allowed to be used in the trial due to the fact that it may have caused “horror” to the jury. 

The activists claimed this was a violation of their constitutional rights and is part of a broader pattern of undue corporate influence.

Hsuing previously stated that the FBI, dozens of agents, and attorneys tried to prosecute the case “for years.” This is despite the fact that the commercial value of each piglet was around $42.20. The FBI were sent to raid sanctuaries in search of Lily and Lizzie after they were rescued. 

“State and federal authorities have consistently shielded factory farms from transparency and accountability,” said Matthew Strugar, a constitutional lawyer involved in all successful efforts to overturn “ag-gag” statutes. 

“In nearly two decades of legal work, this case is one of the most egregious I’ve seen, in terms of denying defendants’ constitutional right to a rigorous defense.”

Regards Mark

Previous posts:

USA: Animal rights whistleblowers stand trial as supporters rally outside Utah courthouse. – World Animals Voice

USA: Iowa State Finally Sees Sense And Strikes Down ‘Ag Gag’ Law. Animal Cruelty Investigators Can Now Do Their Work. – World Animals Voice

Animal Rights Activists Found Not Guilty After Rescuing Pigs From Smithfield Factory Farm (plantbasednews.org)

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

England: ‘Hogwood’ Is Now On Netflix – Watch The Trailer Here Plus More Info On This Campaign To Read.

Hogwood is now on Netflix!

Dear Mark,

Since Hogwood: a modern horror story launched in 2020, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to bring this incredibly important film to an even wider audience.  

We can now confirm that Hogwood is live on Netflix, having premiered on Saturday 15th October 2022!🎉 

Joining the world’s largest streaming service will allow Hogwood to reach millions more people and show that we need to End Factory Farming Before It Ends Us.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for your ongoing support and for helping us to share Hogwood with the world.  

Presented by Jerome Flynn

Jerome originally shot to fame as one half of pop duo Robson & Jerome and is now best known for his role as Bronn in the HBO series Game of Thrones. Other roles include Bennet Drake in Ripper Street and Paddy Garvey of the King’s Fusiliers in the ITV series Soldier Soldier.

“It is an honour to be presenting this very important film. After seeing the horrendous conditions and animal abuse that is happening behind Hogwood’s walls I had to do something. The pigs of Hogwood aren’t just meat products, they are sensitive, emotionally aware beings just like us and they deserve better than this.”

Running at just over 30 minutes, HOGWOOD explores the reasons behind factory farming and exposes the negligence and inaction by government bodies and corporations alike. It highlights how meat pollutes our planet and puts us at risk from disease outbreak. It explores why factory farming is supported and follows the brave fight to expose the truth and change the world.

The documentary centres around a seemingly idyllic pig farm, named Hogwood. Jerome Flynn opens the documentary against the picturesque backdrop of rural England, just minutes away from Hogwood Farm. He tells the captivating tale of HOGWOOD and how it came to be one of the most infamous pig farms in the UK. His narrative is intertwined with undercover footage and interviews with investigators and activists representing the animal welfare group Viva! — who spearheaded the campaign. The film goes onto feature interviews with a livestock vet speaking out about her horrific on-the-job experiences for the first time. It concludes with expert comment from GP and public health expert, Dr Josh Cullimore and Oxford University researcher Joseph Poore.

Directed by Tony Wardle 

“I have been producing investigative documentaries for many years and no film has been more harrowing than HOGWOOD. The name ‘a modern horror story’ could not be more apt; there are modern horror stories taking place each day in the British countryside. Not only are these horrors hidden from sight, but they are endorsed by huge corporations and the Government. That is why this film had to be made — because the public has a right to see what takes place beyond the factory farm walls.”

Viva! investigated Hogwood pig farm four times from 2017 to 2019. Year after year, we recorded a catalogue of cruelty including extreme overcrowding, routine mutilation, sick and dying pigs abandoned in gangways, painful lacerations and live cannibalism. This was one of our biggest campaigns to date and with your overwhelming support, Red Tractor and Tesco finally dropped Hogwood. Like many of our supporters, we couldn’t help but think about the pigs trapped inside Hogwood. We know that Hogwood is a typical pig farm; these conditions are enforced and supported by huge corporations and government bodies alike. We realised that Hogwood is part of a bigger story, one that aims to end factory farming for good — and so we created HOGWOOD: a modern horror story. Now we need your help to get this film seen by the masses.

Viva! has investigated Hogwood pig farm four times from 2017 to 2019. Hogwood  was a Red Tractor approved farm, supplying supermarket giant Tesco, and major food producer Cranswick plc, supposedly representing the best of British farming.

In 2019, Hogwood farm was dropped by Tesco, Cranswick plc and Red Tractor. Despite this landslide victory, it remains the most disturbing and harrowing investigation of them all.

Each person who has seen the investigation footage had a powerful reaction and so Viva! crowdfunded to produce the documentary, smashing their target and raising over £10,000 in the first 24 hours alone.

HOGWOOD has already sent ripples throughout the animal agriculture industry. It sparked a nationwide Day of Action where thousands of people came together to protest outside 150 Tesco stores. Over 70,000 people signed a petition urging Tesco to drop Hogwood. It became one of Viva!’s most far-reaching campaigns to date.

Running at just over 30 minutes long, HOGWOOD takes you beyond the factory farm walls. It is the culmination of months of investigative work by the Viva! team who worked tirelessly to expose the kind of unspeakable cruelty to animals many mistakenly think we have consigned to the history books.

HOGWOOD is narrated by Jerome Flynn, the Game of Thrones star who shot to fame as one half of Robson and Jerome. He tells the captivating tale of Hogwood, intertwined with interviews with the intrepid Viva! investigators and with expert comment from GP and public health expert Dr Josh Cullimore, pig vet Dr Alice Brough and Oxford University environmental researcher Joseph Poore.

HOGWOOD is set to launch on March 26 at the Houses of Commons. The launch will be followed by a Q&A with Jerome Flynn, Labour MP Christina Rees, Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, and the producers of the film.

Juliet
Founder and Director

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News

EU: World Octopus Day: NGOs unite to call for EU ban on cruel octopus factory farming.

8 October 2022

NGOs from all over the world have joined forces this World Octopus Day (8 October 2022) to call on the EU to ban the cruel and environmentally damaging practice of octopus farming.

Eurogroup for Animals and 36 other NGOs have written a joint letter to the European Commission warning that octopuses are ‘profoundly unsuited to farming and there are serious sustainability and animal welfare problems associated with the development of such an industry’. It also points out that allowing this practice would be in conflict with the EU’s own strategy on sustainable food production and calls for a ban on the importation of farmed octopus products.

The move follows announcements by company Nueva Pescanova that it plans to open the world’s first commercial octopus farm in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. These plans sparked worldwide outrage when they were revealed last year.

A powerful report, Octopus Farming – A Recipe for Disaster, released by Compassion in World Farming, shows how octopuses are highly intelligent and sentient wild animals who would suffer greatly in unnatural factory farm conditions. Solitary in nature, these fascinating animals generally live and hunt on their own. Confining them to underwater tanks would also lead to high levels of stress which could lead to aggression or even cannibalism.

In addition, the cost of farming octopus to the environment would be high and unsustainable. Octopuses are carnivorous animals that would need to be fed huge amounts of human edible fish products just to be kept alive before their slaughter. In fact, to produce one kilo of octopus meat, three kilos of marine life would be needed as feed, leading to more over-fishing and pressure on other marine environments.

Earlier this week, the European Parliament adopted MEP Clara Aguilera’s report on “Striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward”. This vote was a missed opportunity to call for a ban on introducing new carnivorous species, such as octopus, into industrial farming systems.

This World Octopus Day, we should be celebrating these incredible wild animals rather than allowing them to be confined in an underwater factory farm. It’s time to end factory farming – not expand it. Octopuses are highly intelligent, sentient beings that feel pain and distress. They should never be forced together in factory farms while other sea life is decimated in order to rear them. The EU must ban the farming of octopuses and other cephalopods to ensure this cruel practice cannot be developed.

Elena Lara, Research Manager at Compassion in World Farming

To mark World Octopus Day, Eurogroup for Animals is co-hosting an online event with In Defense of Animals, Animal Save Movement and Plant Based Treaty, including a virtual book talk with author of The Soul of an Octopus, Sy Montgomery on Saturday, October 8 at 18:00 CEST.

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, Fur and Fur Farming, General News

EU: European Parliament: a First Conversation on “Fur Free Europe”.

6 October 2022

Press Release

A clear message of support from MEPs calling for a future without fur, while the ECI “Fur Free Europe” reaches more than 400,000 signatures in less than five months. The Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals held a dedicated meeting in Strasbourg on “The case for a Fur Free Europe”: scientific experts, MEPs, Member States and civil society make their case for a new Europe without fur.

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Strasbourg, 6 October 2022

In May 2022, Eurogroup for Animals, together with 80 NGOs, launched the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) Fur Free Europe which has already collected more than 400,000 signatures. The ECI calls on the EU to ban fur farming and the placement on the European market of farmed fur products, since fur is unethical, unsafe and unsustainable. 

The role of the European Parliament and its elected representatives is key to turning this massive public call into reality. That’s why the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals held a dedicated meeting in Strasbourg on “The case for a Fur Free Europe”. 

After an introduction from the President of the Intergroup Tilly Metz MEP (LU, Greens/EFA), Reineke Hameleers presented the campaign on behalf of Fur Free Europe, and introduced the new report on the reasons why we need to ban fur farming and the placement of farmed fur products on the European market from public health, legal, environmental and ethical perspectives.

More than 400,000 citizens have already made it clear that fur no longer has a place in Europe. Member States are ready to back their request. Today’s exchange with experts, MEPs and the horrific but important images from the documentary complement the request. Society as a whole is ready to transition away from cruelty, Europe is ready for this move and, in order to succeed, we need the EP to be strong in its demands toward the EC. I am positive we can count on the elected representatives. 2023 can be the year we make history for the animals and for the EU.

Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals

The presentation was followed by a partial screening of the documentary SLAY from the makers of the award-winning films Cowspiracy and What The Health. SLAY follows filmmaker Rebecca Cappelli’s journey around the world to uncover the dark side of the fashion industry: a harrowing story of greenwashing, mislabeling, and animal cruelty. SLAY provides an in-depth and eye-opening look into the realities of today’s fashion industry while pointing the way towards viable and sustainable alternatives. 

The suffering of animals in the fashion industry is greenwashed into oblivion while those skin industries are destroying the planet and harming people. SLAY aims to challenge the notion that animal skins are a fabric, and open people’s eyes to the dark realities behind some of the most sought after skins in fashion.

Rebecca Cappelli, Director and Producer, SLAY

Bo Algers, Professor emeritus at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, gave a presentation on the “Behavioural needs of Mink and Foxes in the fur industry”.

Johannes Rauch, Austrian Federal Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection intervened with a video message: “In my role as Minister of Health, I strongly push towards the realisation of the „One Health“ approach. That means we have to look at human health, animal health and environmental health as interlinked issues that strongly impact one another. I am convinced that we will have to fundamentally change this system of animal exploitation to avoid future pandemics. This is why I wholeheartedly support the European Citizens’ Initiative for a Fur Free Europe and I want to ask you to support it as well. The EU must use its power and also close the EU market to farmed fur products from outside the EU. Just like we have done with products from certain trapping methods, seal products or cat and dog fur. In order to make progress and live up to our moral standards and the responsible treatment of animals as sentient beings, I strongly urge all of you to support this common cause, support the Citizens‘ initiative and make this step possible towards the goal of a fur free Europe”.

The message echoed the information note tabled by Austria and the Netherlands during a meeting of the Council of the European Union (Agriculture and Fisheries), supported by Belgium, Germany Luxembourg and Slovakia, calling on the European Commission to  investigate the possibility for a ban on fur farming. The call to end fur farming in the EU on the grounds of animal welfare, public health and ethical considerations, was backed by a total of twelve Member States during the deliberations on this paper.

Notes

The ECI Fur Free Europe  

The report Fur Free Europe 

SLAY digital booklet

Watch the SLAY documentary

The 2021 request to end fur farming in the EU from Twelve Member States 

 Regards Mark