Category: Environmental

Environmental, Farm Animals, Fur and Fur Farming, General News October 10, 2022October 10, 2022

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

Environmental, General News, Uncategorized October 8, 2022October 8, 2022

England: Fighting the Badger Cull.

The badger Cull

Over 176,000 badgers have been killed since the current badger cull began in England in 2013. Badgers are killed in their thousands from Cornwall to Cumbria under misguided and fundamentally flawed attempts to control bovine Tuberculosis (bTB), an infectious respiratory disease which affects cattle.

Badgers are not the problem – Politicians Are !

Bovine TB is always present in the environment and can affect or be carried harmlessly by many species – livestock and wildlife alike. Yet the government has focused on badgers, even though 94% of cattle infections are from cow to cow. Many in the farming community wrongly believe that badgers are a significant vector in the spread of the disease. For many years, independent scientists, vets, researchers, as well as Badger Trust, have rightly challenged this claim.

Continue reading and watch several videos at the Badger Trust:

Can the Cull – stop badger culling | Badger Trust

Some interesting information – The Badger Cull – Wikipedia:

Badger culling in the United Kingdom – Wikipedia

Setts, Drugs and Rock n Roll:

England: Setts, Drugs and Rock n Roll. Dr Brian May Speaks In Defence of Badgers at Oxford University. – World Animals Voice

Regards Mark – fight the cull !

My wonderful badgers below who visit my own garden:

Environmental, General News, Uncategorized October 8, 2022

Polar Bears Lose Up To 2kg A DAY As Climate Crises Bites.

Polar bears lose up to 2kg per day as climate crisis bites (msn.com)

We’ve all seen the pictures of starving polar bears, struggling to survive climate change. But as global temperatures continue to rise, experts say bears today are spending up to a month longer than their parents waiting for the ice to return after summer.

Every year, starting in late June when the bay ice disappears, polar bears in the northern Canadian province of Manitoba move onto shore to begin a period of forced fasting.

Without the sea ice they are unable to hunt for seals, their main source of food.

“While these bears sit on shore, they’re losing a kilo or two every day. That can go on for about 180 days before they really start to have a problem,” says Geoff York, senior director of conservation at Polar Bears International (PBI).

Polar bears could starve to extinction due to global warming

Once on solid ground, the bears “typically have very few options for food,” explains York.

York spends several weeks each year in Churchill, a small town on the edge of the Arctic in Manitoba. There he follows the fortunes of the endangered polar bears.

Climate warming is affecting the Arctic three times as fast as other parts of the world – even four times, according to some recent studies. So sea ice, the habitat of the polar bear, is gradually disappearing.

End of the road for ice truckers? Safe ice roads could decline by 90% by end of century

“The fate of the polar bear should alarm everyone” because the Arctic is a good “barometer” of the planet’s health, says Flavio Lehner, a climate scientist at Cornell University who was part of the expedition.

Since the 1980s, the ice pack in Hudson bay has decreased by nearly 50 per cent in summer, according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre.

If a bear is lucky enough to find a beluga whale carcass or if a seal dares to swim too close to shore, the large carnivore may be able to eat during the summer. But for most of those months they are fasting, or eating very small snacks of any fish they’re able to catch.

A report published two years ago in the journal Nature Climate Change suggested that this trend could lead to the near-extinction of these majestic animals: 1,200 of them were counted on the western shores of Hudson Bay in the 1980s. Today the best estimate is 800.

Kenya is ‘praying for rain’ as worst drought in decades kills endangered wildlife

British Columbia at the epicentre of climate change-fuelled weather extremes

What happens when a polar bear is starving?

The polar bear, technically known as the Ursus maritimus, is a meticulous carnivore that feeds principally on the white fat that envelops and insulates a seal’s body.

But these days this superpredator of the Arctic sometimes has to feed on seaweed, as a mother and her baby were seen doing not far from the port of Churchill, the self-declared ‘Polar Bear Capital’.

If female bears go more than 117 days without adequate food, they struggle to nurse their young, says Steve Amstrup, PBI’s lead scientist.

As a result, births have declined, and it has become much rarer for a female to give birth to three cubs, once a common occurrence.

As a polar bear’s physical condition declines, York says, their tolerance for risk rises, and “that might bring them into interaction with people, which can lead to conflict instead of co-existence.”

Biodiversity loss is as big of a threat as climate change – but 90% of Brits don’t see it

Rising temperatures are reducing the number of male sea turtles born in the US

Hunger draws polar bears into dangerous proximity of towns

In desperation, bears began frequenting the local dump in Churchill, Manitoba – a source of easy, but potentially harmful, food for them. They could be seen ripping open rubbish bags, eating plastic or getting their snouts trapped in food tins amid piles of burning waste.

Since then, the town has taken precautions: The dump is now guarded by cameras, fences and patrols.

A conservation officer, Ian Van Nest, patrols the town’s limits to keep its 800 inhabitants safe. Every morning he checks the areas around schools to ensure the children will be safe upon arrival.

All across the town, people leave cars and houses unlocked in case someone needs to find urgent shelter during an unpleasant encounter with this large land-based carnivore.

Posted on walls around town are the emergency phone numbers to reach Van Nest or his colleagues.

When they get an urgent call, they hop in their pickup truck armed with a rifle and a spray can of repellent, wearing protective flak jackets. He emphasises that they do not shoot at the bears, but fire warning shots to scare them off.

Sometimes the animals have to be sedated, then winched up by a helicopter to be transported to the north, or kept in a cage until winter, when they can again feed on the bay.

Churchill’s only ‘prison’ is inhabited entirely by bears, a hangar whose 28 cells can fill up in the autumn as the creatures maraud in mass around town while waiting for the ice to re-form in November.

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News, Hunting October 5, 2022

Northern Ireland: Animal baiting: 150 people involved in Northern Ireland, says USPCA.

The Spotlight programme features a dog who was rescued from a badger sett after a hunting incident – USPCA.

Information supplied by Di in Germany.

Animal baiting: 150 people involved in Northern Ireland, says USPCA – BBC News

Animal baiting: 150 people involved in Northern Ireland, says USPCA

The USPCA has told BBC Spotlight its intelligence indicates there are 150 people actively involved in animal baiting in Northern Ireland.

Baiting involves deliberately setting up fights between hunting dogs and wild animals like foxes and badgers.

Baiting badgers is illegal because badgers are a protected species while foxes have no legal protection.

The USPCA said the law should be better enforced to protect badgers – USPCA

The charity believes there could be up to 14,000 cases of badger baiting in Northern Ireland each year.

For Exposed: Hunting With Dogs, BBC Spotlight joined USPCA (Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) investigators in September as they monitored alleged animal baiters.

Badger baiting prevention effort commended

The programme also revealed a shadowy online world where people involved in baiting share photos and videos of both brutally-injured dogs and their savaged prey.

USPCA chief executive Brendan Mullan said he believed 99% of the people involved in baiting in Northern Ireland were targeting both foxes and badgers.

“While fox hunting is legal the chances of a badger baiting conviction are undermined, because there is the defence, the cloak of ‘well, I was just out hunting foxes’, whereas in fact it was badgers that they were hunting,” he added.

In 2021, a Stormont private member’s bill put forward by an Alliance MLA would have closed that loophole by banning all hunting with dogs in Northern Ireland, in line with the existing law in the rest of the UK.

But the bill was defeated and with Stormont absent, there is no prospect of a change in the law at the moment.

‘Special task force’

The USPCA said it would like to see greater enforcement of the existing law protecting, specifically, badgers.

Mr Mullan said: “We would like to see, even on a time-limited basis, a special task force set up by the police to proactively investigate this network of over 150 badger baiters in Northern Ireland and to hold them to account in the criminal court.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it took reports of animal-related crime seriously and it was an important part of policing.

It said it had a wildlife and rural crime team ensuring all police officers and staff could receive the expert support and guidance necessary to respond to reports of wildlife crime.

Regards Mark and Diana

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News October 5, 2022

EU: European Parliament Calls for Improved Fish Welfare.

4 October 2022

Today, the European Parliament took a stand on the future of aquaculture in Europe by adopting MEP Clara Aguilera’s report on “Striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward”. The Parliament has for the first time given animal welfare a prominent place in its position on European aquaculture, calling for important steps to improve the situation for fish, but missed the opportunity to take action against some of the worst welfare conditions and unsustainable systems.

Eurogroup for Animals supports the report that was voted on in the Plenary. We highly welcome the MEPs’ call for an EU Animal Welfare Reference Centre for fish, which is critical for the implementation of legislation on fish welfare to be proposed next year. Eurogroup further acknowledges other important progress as the report recognises the importance of applying evidence-based standards and interventions to improve fish welfare during keeping, transport and slaughter, and the fact that good animal welfare is the best preventive step to ensure health and welfare and reduce use of medication.

The Parliament also positively called for animal welfare to be improved in aquaculture and be included in the Common Fisheries Policy, as well as for more efforts on the sustainability of feed, including using a low trophic index to identify sustainable alternatives. However, despite these positive aspects, the report still contains some serious shortcomings. Indeed, the statement that “various recommendations on animal welfare do not apply to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors because of their nature”, being included without referring to any particular recommendations is in contradiction with a number of other European Parliament positions and the work done by the European Food Safety Authority and the European Commission, since consensus was reached that fish are sentient beings.

Just like in mega-stalls on land, animals in fish farms are cooped up in too small a space. (…) animals in fish farms are kept in such a way that they cannot exhibit their natural behaviour and their lives are one big suffering. As in land-based mega-stalls, cramming large numbers of animals together in fish farms leads to environmental pollution, disease and excessive antibiotic use.

MEP Anja Hazekamp

MEP Caroline Roose confirmed that “Aquaculture is not sustainable (…) when animals are crammed in by the hundreds, without any density limit, and are forced to behave in ways that are contrary to their nature”.

This vote was an opportunity to call for the transition to low-trophic species to be a priority, including the prohibition of introducing new carnivorous species, such as octopus, into industrial farming systems.

Octopus are unanimously described as sentient, sensitive and intelligent animals by science and current EU law only protects their welfare in laboratory settings. The opening of the “first-ever octopus farm” constitutes a “disaster for animal welfare and an environmental disaster, scientists warn”, said Anja Hazekamp.

With this report the European Parliament has demonstrated much needed progress on fish welfare in aquaculture – which is to be applauded – however the Parliament clearly fell short on addressing some fundamental problems with welfare and sustainability in aquaculture.

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, Fur and Fur Farming, General News October 4, 2022

Life and Death In Fur Farming – By Jo-Anne McArthur – Photojounalist.

With thanks to Stacey at ‘Our Compass’

Our Compass | Because compassion directs us … (our-compass.org)

Regards Mark

Jo-Anne McArthur Awarded Highly Commended in Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2022

Life and Death in Fur Farming. Ten, now eight, mink kits in a nest box on a Swedish fur farm. These American mink kits fight for space and to reach their food. A sign indicates two have died. Though the legal cage size is now larger and a two-storey box a requirement for adult mink, with no more than two adults per cage, injuries still occur. Sweden, 2010. Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen / We Animals Media

I think it’s striking that these images factually demonstrating abject animal suffering in the “fur industry” look exactly like the reality of abject suffering of animals in the “animal agriculture food industry” while, in the USA, the fur industry council degenerates like to boast that their victims on fur farms are executed onsite …

(via anal electrocution, for example, where humans physically restrain terrified creatures and insert rods into their anuses to electrocute them – while, interestingly, when humans get colonoscopies, for example, requiring anal insertion of instruments to capture colon images by people who must be educated, trained and certified to do so, which, by the way, is to prevent death versus causing it, humans actually get sedation)

… and therefore don’t require the horrors inherent in slaughter transportation. Imagine bragging that your death industry is marginally “better” than another death industry while ignoring the entire violent D-E-A-T-H requirement of innocent victims in both. If horrific transport is bad, actual violent killing is WORSE.

I wouldn’t expect anything other than deception and manipulation and abuse from the FAM folks in either, though. SL

Source:

We Animals Media

All images courtesy of:

We Animals Media & Jo-Anne McArthur, Photojournalist

This week we’ve got big news on our progress with getting animal stories in the media. Jo-Anne McArthur has been awarded Highly Commended in Wildlife Photographer of the Year for her image Life and Death in Fur Farming.

The image is one of 14 Highly Commended images announced on September 1 as a preview of this year’s competition, which attracted entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 93 countries. Jo-Anne is awarded in the category of Photojournalism.

Jo-Anne shares some words about the story behind this image and her hopes for its impact:

The first time I visited fur farms was in 2009. It was a shock to see the decrepit, putrid, mass incarceration of so many animals in so many sheds and tiny cages, offering me yet another of the many moments of disbelief that I experience in my career. I have since photographed fur farming extensively, especially in my home country of Canada, and it is with urgency that I wish for this unnecessary industry to end. I am so happy that we are seeing bans on fur farming in many countries, including those who have traditionally supported a large fur industry.

To say that I’m thrilled that WPY has awarded this mink farming image in their competition is an understatement, because the reason I do this investigative work is so that people can look, consider, discuss, critique, care, change. WPY offers this image of ten, now eight, mink kits and their mother in a cramped nesting box for the world to view. Many people do not know that animals are industrially farmed for their fur. They are unaware of the conditions. They are unaware that these animals are killed by gassing and anal electrocution, or that they are kept in tiny cages by the millions, globally, each year, so that we can wear fur trim, have fur pompoms on our hats, or a poof of fur on a child’s trinket.

I feel passionately about taking photos of fur farming so that the images can help campaigners and policy makers end this industry, and continue to raise awareness amongst the unknowing public. Images are a strong and crucial part of the puzzle when it comes to creating a kinder world for animals.

Jo-Anne McArthur, We Animals Media

All images courtesy of We Animals Media

Mink farming is an industry where, traditionally, the welfare of these semi‑aquatic, naturally solitary mammals has not been a priority unless it affects the fur. But in 2020, mink farming came under the spotlight when it became clear that not only could mink catch the Covid-19 virus, but that the virus could mutate in mink and be transmitted back to humans. In response, Denmark – then the largest mink-fur producer after China – shut down its industry, killing all 17 million animals, and in the Netherlands and Spain, hundreds of thousands were killed. But in Sweden, after a temporary ban on breeding, the government allowed its 20 or so farms to reopen in 2022.

Djurrattsalliansen, the non-profit organization Jo-Anne was working with when she took this photograph, has played a significant role in fur farm investigations in Sweden, which have helped to bring the number of farms down significantly.

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Regards Mark and Stacey

Environmental, Farm Animals, Fur and Fur Farming, General News, Stray Animals, Uncategorized October 4, 2022

Global – Today, 4/10/22 Is World Animals Day.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Animals don’t hate, and we’re supposed to be better than them.” – Elvis Presley

“Let us remember that animals are not mere resources for human consumption. They are splendid beings in their own right, who have evolved alongside us as co-inheritors of all the beauty and abundance of life on this planet.” – Marc Bekoff

“Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind’s capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness, not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they don’t; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us.” – Matthew Scully

“Lots of people talk to animals…Not very many listen though…that’s the problem.”
– A.A. Milne

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” – James Herriot

“Because we have viewed other animals through the myopic lens of our self-importance, we have misperceived who and what they are. Because we have repeated our ignorance, one to the other, we have mistaken it for knowledge.” – Tom Regan

“True human goodness, in all its purity and freedom, can come to the fore only when its recipient has no power. Mankind’s true moral test, its fundamental test (which is deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.” – Milan Kundera

Today, October 4^th, is World Animals Day.

World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on October 4, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

The mission of World Animal Day is “to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe.

WAD is an annual event.

The MISSION OF WORLD ANIMAL DAY
To raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals. It’s celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Through increased awareness and education we can create a world where animals are always recognised as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare.

World Animal Day | 4 October

Celebrity Support – Celebrity Support | World Animal Day

World Animals Day News – News and Updates | World Animal Day

Enjoy today and celebrate;

Regards Mark.

Environmental, Fur and Fur Farming, General News October 3, 2022October 3, 2022

The hidden costs of fur fashion: why fur doesn’t belong on the catwalk.

30 September 2022

Alternative materials that can keep us cosy abound these days. In general, faux fur can offer at least as good thermal insulation as the real stuff. And no chills of shame. The fur industry is of course as smart as the animals it exploits and it has hit on promoting real fur as a natural and sustainable product as opposed to “plastic fur”.

Fake news about faux fur

Hang on. If you take into account the whole life cycle of a fur product, from the breeding of the animals to the finishing of garments, fur production can be seen to be an intensely toxic and resource-consuming business. Again contrary to fur industry claims, the main reason real fur coats are thought to last longer is they haven’t been seen outside a wardrobe that often in recent decades. And even if they did stand up that well to daily use, this would be nowhere near long enough to compensate for the environmental impact.

As well as constantly reminding consumers that faux fur is derived from fossil fuels, the industry has also focused on biodegradation. In fact, according to a study commissioned by the International Fur Federation and Fur Europe, the biodegradation of fur samples indicated that fur products were only partially biodegradable under test conditions.

Moreover, evidence shows that fur farming has a devastating effect on biodiversity, being to blame for threats to some European native species. American mink and raccoon dogs – the main species reared for fur in Europe – are considered invasive alien species.

Filthy business

Finally, major fashion houses are wising up to the fact that, far from the glamorous image of a model wearing nothing but a dash of exotic perfume under her furs, the reality of fur farming involves a far less attractive odour for local residents – to say nothing of the flies – and fur coats are becoming as likely to disgust their customers as turn them on.

As we reported last month, many collections and entire fashion weeks are going fur-free.

But only EU-level legislation for a Fur Free Europe, banning fur farming and farmed fur products on its markets, will keep fur off the catwalks.

Regards Mark

Check out our past fur posts:

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/?s=fur

Environmental, General News, Uncategorized October 3, 2022October 3, 2022

England: My Breakfast Buddy – and More !.

I call him every morning when I go out to feed all the other birds. He arrives immediately, knowing that I have a little special starter of the day for him – ground up biscuits; a mass of different little birds seeds, Museli, bread and some little crushed other style biscuits.

We are mates and he usually comes to within about 20cm from me. He knows I will never hurt him; quite the opposite, and he can rely on me to get his belly filled up for a busy day. When I went out to put down some badger food tonight, he was having a final wash and scrub up in one of the trays we have filled with water.

No doubt I will see him again tomorrow and I hope to get more photos in the coming days, which I will publish.

This is NOT my video; but you can see little Robin here.

Here in the UK we are approaching Winter; and his bright red breast is a sure sign of this.

Here is the photo I took today – 3/10/22.

My breakfast club buddy taken in my garden this morning – Mark.

Video – everything you need to know about the Robin.

We get some great wildlife in the garden – but we do encourage them always with plenty of food.

Here is a badger which I photographed in the Summer, smiling as he knew I was takig his photo !

Starlings enjoy a morning bath in one of our water trays – Mark

Foxes (Vulpines) are one of my best subjects – I love photographing them.

Fight the badger cull;

England: Setts, Drugs and Rock n Roll. Dr Brian May Speaks In Defence of Badgers at Oxford University.

The ‘other’ side of Dr (of Astrophysics) Brian.

Regards and enjoy – Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News October 2, 2022November 20, 2022

UK: Foie Gras Supporter Gets His Mate (and Major Party Donor) Senior Job At The Department for International Trade (DIT). Sick Moggy; and I Am Not Talking Felines !

WAV Comment – you have to remember here that here we are talking about ANTI Foie Gras ban and anti fur ban Rees Mogg; who now has one of his chums, and a major Conservative Party donor; appointed as a senior minister by Liz Truss at the Department for International Trade (DIT).

(Mr Foie Gras) Rees Mogg – Photo: Belfast telegraph.

Interesting; as at this very moment we are awaiting a reply from the DIT on the issue of animal welfare and international trade deals. See more at:

England: Progress ? – Dont Just Be Sorry – Do Something ! – World Animals Voice

England: Who In Government Is Right, and Who Is Wrong ? – We Write For Clarification (Maybe). Or Are They Confused Just Like Us ? – World Animals Voice

UK: Political Chaos – and Animal Welfare and Environmental Issues Are Just 2 Reasons Why The Current Government Is Down In the Cess Pit. – World Animals Voice

Despite all our years of work and evidence gathering by dozens of welfare groups; I predict that I will get a response from the DIT telling that, in accordance with the Truss wishes, animal welfare will not be considered in future trade deals; or if it is (?), I will be fed yukspeak on ‘they do care about it’, but not enough to actually include the issue in future deals.

As promised recently, as soon as I get a reply from the DIT, I will be publishing and adding comment.

Who knows, the reply may be from the new Truss appointed Dominic Johnson. Lets hope so – but as he probably does not give a toss about animal welfare, just like his mate Rees Mogg, I am not holding my breath.

With all this, no wonder the Tories have reached rock bottom in opinion polls and fingers crossed, Truss will soon be ousted and we the people of the UK will get what they need, a General Election.

Regards Mark

Jacob Rees-Mogg’s business partner given senior minister role (msn.com)

The City business partner of Jacob Rees-Mogg has been handed a peerage and job as a senior minister by Liz Truss’s government in a move likely to trigger accusations of cronyism.

Dominic Johnson, a financier who co-founded Somerset Capital Management with Rees-Mogg, was appointed as a minister in the Cabinet Office and the Department for International Trade.

The announcement was slipped out on the government’s website, which said he had been appointed as of Sunday.

“Dominic Johnson CBE was appointed a minister of state jointly in the Department for International Trade and the Cabinet Office on 2 October 2022,” the statement said.

The appointment is likely to be controversial at a time when Truss, her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, and Rees-Mogg face questions about being too close to the City, after the mini-budget handed substantial tax cuts to financiers and the wealthy.

Johnson is a substantial party donor who has given more than £250,000 and was vice-chairman of the Conservative party between 2016 and 2019. He replaces Gerry Grimstone, the former chairman of Barclays and Standard Life, in his role as trade minister, encouraging inward investment.

Somerset Capital Management is reported to be up for sale, with two of its founding partners now in senior government roles. Johnson recently said he was stepping down as chief executive of Somerset Capital Management.

Rees-Mogg still holds a substantial stake in the investment firm, despite the potential conflict of interest with his role as business secretary.

Above – no, cannot be true, wow !!

Regards Mark

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Can the Cull – stop badger culling | Badger Trust

England: Setts, Drugs and Rock n Roll. Dr Brian May Speaks In Defence of Badgers at Oxford University. – World Animals Voice

Regards Mark – fight the cull !

World Animal Day | 4 October

Celebrity Support – Celebrity Support | World Animal Day

World Animals Day News – News and Updates | World Animal Day

Animal news from around the world.