I have given a couple of links to the programme at the end.
If you are NON UK then please try these to view. I dont know if you can view or not elsewhere in the world. I am keen to know if NON UK visitors can view. Please let me know with a short and simple response in our comments – thanks, Mark.
(Mark WAV) – Yesterday, 19/7, we issued a post relating to a Panorama tv broadcast on the BBC (yesterday evening) on horse and race horse slaughter investigation.
Here is additional news in today (20/7) from Animal Aid:
Dear Mark,
We know it isn’t easy to see or read about animal cruelty – so we really appreciate you taking the time to read this email. Having such wonderful supporters helps to keep us going.
Animal Aid’s ground-breaking investigation into horse slaughter was featured exclusively on BBC1’s Panorama last night, The Dark Side of Horse Racing. Our harrowing footage reveals, in heart-breaking detail, the fate of those horses who find themselves ‘unwanted’.
Arriving at the abattoir either singly from private owners – or in large truck loads – we see nervous horses being led to a kill room, shot in the head and then hoisted into a butchery where their throats are slit: The majority of the meat is destined for human consumption.
Animal Aid investigators worked tirelessly to film this incredibly distressing footage, showing the slaughter of 267 horses and ponies, between October 2019 and February 2020.
Some of these animals would have once been much-loved companions. A number were from the horse racing industry, whilst others seemed to be from managed feral herds. We saw ponies shot in front of one another – and, disturbingly, our cameras even captured the slaughterman swearing at scared, anxious horses.
We have launched a petition, calling for basic measures to protect horses from this fate. This includes a government-imposed limit on the number of horses bred each year, to reduce the number of ‘unwanted’ horses. We can stop this pointless suffering – but we need your help!
Help us to keep the pressure on and make real progress for horses.
No animal should have to face slaughter – please take action and be their voice.
Thank you.
Fiona Campaign Manager
If you missed the programme then can watch it here – but note this is only for BBC Tv I player and may not be visible to non UK residents. We will try and get a copy of the footage when we can
Beyond meat is great, but what about ‘Beyond Wet Markets’ – the world really needs to get a grip on this or the virus spread situation will never stop all the time we see what is going on. Watch the video below – look at the state of these places and the general conditions; the state of the water; the blood running onto the street, people working with dead animals on the pavement; and no protective clothing rules or at all. Is it any wonder that viruses originate from shit holes like this ?
Am I the only one who sees a problem ? – an I the only one who feels that international governments are doing very little to address the real problem ? – am I the only one who sees gutless politicians spending billions to keep the economy afloat, whist turning blind eyes to this ? – I am ‘Beyond Angry’, not beyond meat !!.
Regards Mark
Video from Animal Equality – see the link above to read more.
Beyond Meat Launches Online Store To Make Plant-Based Meat More Accessible In China
Since its debut in China just 15 months ago, the brand has grown exponentially and shows no signs of stopping….
Beyond Meat has launched an online store in China in order to make plant-based meat products more accessible.
It follows the brand’s continued expansion in the country in recent years.
Plant-based meat store
The store was launched on the eCommerce site JD.com, one of China’s largest of its kind. Now, customers will be able to purchase the Beyond Burger, Beyond Beef, and Beyond Pork.
Moreover, it marks the first time customers will be able to directly purchase the pork alternatives for the first time.This came after the product was specifically designed for the Chinese market – at 50 percent less saturated fat than conventional ground pork.
The range is produced in the company’s newly opened facility in Jiaxing.
A ‘growing portfolio’
Candy Chan is Beyond Meat’s China General Manager. In a statement, Chan said: “Beyond Meat is excited to launch its store on JD.com to expand our local availability and reach consumers throughout China.
“With increased capabilities thanks to our new manufacturing facility in the JXEDZ, we are able to offer a growing portfolio of great-tasting, locally-produced plant-based meat products that are nutritious and sustainable.”
Beyond Meat
The launch comes less than a year since Beyond Pork debuted in China. Initially, it was available at a handful of restaurants. The decision came since the country is the world’s largest consumer of pork per capita.
Moreover, Beyond Meat has been available in China for just 15 months when it entered the market through a partnership with Starbucks China.
Currently, only customers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen can purchase the products.
However, the brand says it has plans to soon expand into 300 cities across the country.
Learn about the science of plant-based meat. Discover resources and research projects on the latest technological developments and key scientific questions.
Introduction to plant-based meat
What is plant-based meat?
GFI uses the term “plant-based” to refer to products made from plants that are alternatives to animal-based products. This includes plant-based meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy. This overview focuses primarily on the science of plant-based meat and seafood.
The concept of plant-based meat is not a modern development. The prevalence and variety of plant-based meat has steadily increased for centuries. However, many of the early plant-based meat products were designed with vegetarian consumers in mind. Early plant-based meats did not try to exactly replicate, or biomimic, conventional meat.
Recent concerns about sustainability, food security, and the environmental and public health impacts of industrial animal agriculture have spurred a sense of urgency to develop plant-based meats that appeal to mainstream consumers rather than niche markets. This has led to an explosion of innovation during the last decade. Today’s plant-based meat options appeal to the fast-growing segment of “flexitarian” consumers.
What is the market for plant-based meat?
Flexitarian consumers are looking for plant-based meat options that create the same sensory experience as animal-based meat. These consumers deliberately reduce their meat consumption but do not completely give up animal-based products. This decision to eat more plants is often due to concerns about health, the environment, or animal protection. It may also simply be a way of obtaining novelty and variety with flavorful and affordable meals. The rise in flexitarianism is creating considerable market growth for plant-based foods.
Despite the market growth in plant-based foods, plant-based meat is currently only about 1% of the US retail meat market. For plant-based meat to become a significant part of the global meat market in the coming decades, there remains tremendous need for additional R&D. This innovation and subsequent growth of the plant-based meat industry will only be realized through a concerted and collaborative effort to direct resources (financial, human, and technological) to this area.
On July 15th, the Puebla State Congress in Mexico approved an initiative tabled by local MPs with 34 votes in favor, 0 against and 2 abstentions that criminalize the operation of illegal slaughterhouses and the slaughter of animals without prior stunning represents.
This initiative comes after discussions that Animal Equality in Mexico participated in with various authorities in the Puebla government to reach a final consensus.
Aitor Garmendia / Tras los Muros-Mexico
What is the problem?
Secret slaughter harbors public health risks, contamination from poor waste management and, above all, great suffering for the animals.
In addition, it is not checked whether prohibited substances have been administered, such as growth promoters, which affect the health of animals and humans.
In addition, it does not comply with the official Mexican standard NOM-033-SAG / ZOO-2014 regarding methods of killing domestic and wild animals.
These places do not have the necessary infrastructure and tools to stun the animals before slaughter, causing them untold suffering.
Aitor Garmendia / Tras los Muros-Mexico
What does the reform say?
The reform adds an article to the chapter of the Puebla Criminal Code on crimes against animals as follows:
A prison sentence of one to four years and one thousand to two thousand times the daily rate is imposed on everyone who …
-has a room for unregulated slaughter, in addition to imposing the closure of the property whose purpose is slaughter.
– carries out the slaughter of animals for human consumption without prior stunning.
We can now confirm that things are ramping up in an attempt to close this hell hole for animals down, permanently !
Dear Mark,
We have a number of events coming up and we need YOUR support! Following our undercover investigation of Hewitt slaughterhouse in Cheshire, Animal Justice Project is taking action against this violent company and the UK government in a series of online actions and demonstrations. Will you join us?
During our 200-hour undercover investigation, our cameras caught despicable acts of animal cruelty. Panic-stricken sheep were dragged to the kill room by their horns, where ineffective stunning rendered them conscious as they were slaughtered. A pair of gentle bulls were jabbed over 200 times with a pointed stick and an electric prod, by the slaughterhouse manager himself. Our cameras watched on as a conscious, tiny piglet was hurled into the scalding tank, where they were left to drown.
These illegal acts of violence were commonplace and were carried out right in front of the slaughterhouse’s own CCTV and in the presence of a Food Standards Agency-appointed Official Veterinarian. It is clear that government initiatives are failing to deter illegalities, allowing companies such as Hewitt to flout UK law.
On Friday 30th July, Animal Justice Project are heading to Hewitt slaughterhouse to demand that they are urgently closed down. Placards and banners will be provided to activists, who are invited to join us from 11am-1pm.
Location: G. & G. B. Hewitt slaughterhouse, CH3 9BH
Following our demonstration, we will move to Chester city centre to spread the word about this bloodbath of a slaughterhouse and urge locals to take action. This will be an outreach-style event, with leafletting and placards. Activists can join us at 2pm-4pm, even if they cannot make the earlier event at the slaughterhouse
Location: Eastgate Street, Chester, CH1 1LE
If you can’t make it to our demonstration, you can still join our online events! Taking action for animals is just a click away!
On Thursday 22nd July from 4pm-6pm, our team will be demanding an end to the public funding of slaughterhouses and calling for an immediate, independent review of The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015. We will be tweeting our demands to Boris Johnson, who must be held accountable for the government’s failure to ‘protect’ animals from illegal acts of cruelty inside UK slaughterhouses.
You can use our pre-written tweets, which will be sent next Thursday morning via email. You can also join our Facebook event here, so that you receive a notification when the event is starting. Our online actions help us to share our undercover footage with the public, who have the option to help or harm animals with their daily choices. Online outreach is so quick and simple, so please do join us next Thursday.
Have you sent our letter yet? Our pre-written letter to the Environmental Secretary, George Eustice, makes the following demands:
An urgent and independent review of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 (WATOK), following the failure and inaction of the legislation’s January 2021 industry-led review.
Halt public funding to slaughterhouses under the Agriculture Act, including small slaughterhouses that the government has deemed ‘critical’; and channel funding instead into plant-based agriculture.
Our latest investigation has been months in the making and we can’t wait to take action with our dedicated supporters. It is vital that we seek justice for the innocent animals dying everyday inside Hewitt slaughterhouse. Please keep an eye out for further updates on our latest campaign, Scammed! A System Built to Fail Animals.
Just to give you an update; I have now sent my letter re abuses at Hewitt slaughterhouses to both the government Minister responsible for welfare, and also to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
In August 2020, “SOKO Animal welfare organization” uncovered horror conditions in the Gärtringen slaughterhouse (state: Baden-Württemberg, in Germany).
With hidden cameras, activists from SOKO Tierschutz e.V. have uncovered numerous cases of massive animal cruelty in this slaughterhouse.
The video shows terrifying scenes.
The pictures show pigs that are not properly anesthetized shortly before slaughter or cows that are tormented with stick stitches in the anus. This happens in the presence of inactive official veterinarians.
Here is the video, with the title: “the land butcher from the land- Animal torture in the butcher slaughterhouse Gärtringen”
(Note: At minute 1:39 a pig is brutally mistreated.
The animal is kicked in the face and a pipe is rammed into its eye. You can clearly hear the cries of the animal. Then, in the case of the skidding box, sheer violence prevails. The anesthetic fails again and again)
I have today written a letter about this, which I am sending to all the authorities and UK government; requesting that this facility is immediately closed down for good.
You can read a copy of my letter below.
As I have said; if we do get replies then these will be put onto the site for all to view and make their own decisions. Being fair, unlike the Danes that we wrote to about the Mink cull in Denmark; I am expecting the UK government to at least respond to my letter. It may take some time for a response, but ………………..
Yesterday I was provided with disturbing footage (from January / February 2021) relating to chronic animal abuse at a family operated slaughterhouse – one G & G.B Hewitt Ltd, located in Church Lane, Huxley, Chester, England. Over 200 hours of CCTV footage was obtained at this facility, which I understand currently holds a British government approval rating, and has done for many years in a row.
The footage which I have seen (link provided below), has already been posted onto the WAV site, and the investigation related uncovers several illegalities happening inside this particular facility. Despite this, I understand the slaughterhouse has held a British government FSA ‘generally satisfactory’ rating for six years. Standards are far from ‘generally satisfactory’; they are diabolical.
The footage has also been made public by the ‘Animal Justice Project’ (AJP) and claims (as is clearly shown in the footage) that an ‘Official Veterinarian’ was appointed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of the UK government; their job supposedly being to ‘ensure that all animal welfare requirements are met, and to ensure that animals are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering’. The footage shows anything but, clearly showing when animals (such as a lame cow) enter the line to be slaughtered, the veterinarian does NOT even look at, or make any effort to inspect the condition of animal, which is one of obvious distress. The footage clearly shows that the official veterinarian is failing in her role to any ensure animal welfare, and as a result is aiding breaches of UK legislation.
Key findings which are shown clearly include:
Piglets appearing to be scalded in a hot water tank whilst still alive, due to slaughter failures; and cows being beaten (in some cases over 200 times) by facility workers (including the use of electric prods by the slaughterhouse manager Mark Hewitt). One particularly distressing scene shows a bull being violently prodded hundreds of times using a sharp stick, which is illegal.
In the footage, the alleged FSA professional veterinarian is not even present in the stun room / locations where animals are killed, which they should be; even though many animals (cows) are showing clear signs of lameness, and pigs with large masses on their legs are forced to move by workers using cruel methods. The language used by workers (not repeated here) against these animals who are clearly suffering, shows what a demented facility full of demented humans is being used with UK government approval.
Veterinary professionals working at the location for the UK government to allegedly ‘ensure that all animal welfare requirements are met, and to ensure that animals are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering’, have by their own actions, missed the poor handling of animals, the failing stun equipment, the insufficient stun times as detailed under UK legislation, in addition to missing clear signs of consciousness from animals that should have been rendered unconscious by stunning.
The disturbing footage also shows a piglet which should be rendered dead though routine slaughter procedures, being put STILL ALIVE into the scalding tank. We are informed that this poor, unfortunate and suffering animal was simply ‘left to drown’ by the demented personnel operating the slaughterhouse.
Alick Simmons, Former Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer declares after watching the footage:
“The overall impression given is of routine poor practice in premises barely fit for purpose.”
In addition, the slaughtering process fell outside of the recommended 15 seconds by the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA). The investigators claim that in the footage, no worker is seen checking for signs of animal consciousness after sticking, displaying yet another breach of regulations which should be acted on by the official veterinarian.
In a further statement to that above, Simmons says: “There are a number of instances where apparent breaches of the law are shown: incorrect use of electric goads, cattle repeatedly struck with a stick – one appears to be pointed and the (UK) law prohibits the use of such pointed sticks – a sheep is dragged by the horns, severely lame cattle, and one severely lame pig being presented for slaughter. Such animals are not fit to be transported. In several instances, immediately after ‘sticking’, slaughtermen are seen to start dressing pig carcasses”.
“The law requires that pigs are bled for a minimum of 20 seconds. The overall impression given is of routine poor practice in premises barely fit for purpose. The circumstances are made worse by poorly trained and poorly supervised operatives. For example, the handling, stunning, and killing of piglets is barely adequate”.
As a result of the footage, the Animal Justice Project (AJP) is calling for an ‘urgent’ independent review of UK slaughterhouses, and urges the immediate cessation of public funding under the new Agriculture Bill. As an independent organisation, we at WAV fully support these demands by AJP. Under the current system, abattoirs nationwide are eligible for financial aid under the new Agriculture Bill act. This has to change, and now !
We support the words / terms used by Animal Justice Project’s founder Claire Palmer, who declared the findings as both ‘law-breaking’ and ‘extensive’ in (animal) suffering and abuse. This was ‘right under the nose of the vet, and CCTV’, Palmer added.
Our (WAV) final summary of operations at this facility is one of utter incompetence throughout all slaughter processes; of utterly incompetent slaughterhouse management supported by unprofessional, incompetent staff. All this supported by an incompetent official veterinarian, allegedly working for a government Food ‘Standards’ Authority who is located at the facility to ensure that all animals do NOT suffer in their final minutes of life.
The whole process can only be described as a complete fiasco, captured throughout on CCTV in England; a nation that (quite rightly) demands very high animal welfare standards that are compliant to the law and maintained to the highest standards set in accordance with the law. This facility is a circus, not an animal slaughtering facility; it is operated throughout by clowns, one being the slaughterhouse manager Mark Hewitt; in addition, it is monitored by clowns under the guise of the FSA, and thus should be immediately and permanently closed down for both the welfare of sick and suffering animals and human beings who still consume the meat products resulting. Action should be taken against the ‘official veterinarian’ who failed so clearly in the undertaking of their work.
We request your formal request to this letter, the utter fiasco shown, which we will also publish on our site, unchanged, for our worldwide audience to view.
We ask – Is the UK leading the way in animal welfare, with incompetents such as this employed in this hell hole ?
The video footage can be viewed at:
Yours with hope of action and one less slaughterhouse facility operating;
Mark Johnson
Co Founder – World Animals Voice.
G and GB Hewitt declare:
Business overview
Established over 50 years – Family run Business
G & G.B Hewitt Ltd is a well established slaughtering company that has built up an enviable reputation over the last 50 years. We pride ourselves on our commitment to provide a professional and speedy service at all times, whilst maintaining the highest quality of work.
Venus has just posted an excellent article / post on a very similar situation in Germany to what we are showing in the UK above. You can see the post on the site; or here is the direct link:
As we are only too aware, and have been for years; politicians will bend over backwards to support the meat mafia business, be it UK, Germany, or any other global location.
Please read the post by Venus, and draw your own conclusions to slaughterhouse operations, where ever they are.
After a legal dispute, on Monday, 12. July, a protest camp against factory farming started in Goldenstedt (a municipality in Lower Saxony).
There is space for around 500 people in the tent city in a nature reserve. The district wanted to ban the camp, but failed before the Lüneburg Higher Administrative Court, for a security deposit of 10,000 euros. The number of participants has increased from around 180 to 230 people.
Animal protection and climate activists want to stay there until Saturday.
A “mass action of civil disobedience” is planned. The farmers in the area are displeased.
It was not by chance that the activists chose the community of 10,000 residents as the location for the camp.
The PHW Group is only a few kilometers away. The company is the largest German poultry meat concern, and its “Wiesenhof” brand is best known. “Sure, that’s the reason why we’re here,” says one of the organizers, Franziska Klein. It is also about networking with local agronomically critical groups. The region is one of the strongholds of intensive animal husbandry in Germany.
Anyone walking around here wearing a t-shirt that says “Meat is Murder” will attract attention.
The organizers of the camp, the “Alliance against the Animal Industry”, had announced in the past few days that they wanted to disrupt the group’s operations with various actions under the motto “PHW ade”.
The access road, which was previously open to the public, became the property of Paul Wesjohann & Co. at the end of June, the municipality has sold the road!!
Only later is the council supposed to have approved the sale in a closed meeting.
Barricaded: The PHW Group, to which the “Wiesenhof” brand belongs, has been protecting itself against unwelcome visitors with four-meter-high walls since last weekend!!
The PHW Group does not comment on the protest camp in Goldenstedt, which was approved by the Oldenburg administrative court. The camp organizers announced actions of civil disobedience.
According to a spokesman, Wiesenhof also did not want to comment on the camp.
Many farmers in the area are outraged that the camp has been allowed. “A lot of tax money is wasted again because the police have to protect farmers from alleged animal rights activists”, said a farmer in a radio interview in Lower Saxony.
In addition, rumors of alleged acts of sabotage and threats are said to circulate in chat groups. A spokeswoman for the alliance denied the allegations.
“We are not planning any actions that would harm people or animals”, she said.
The police described the farmers’ statements as pure speculation, there are no safety concerns.
And I mean…“The road to the PHW Group premises is barricaded with around four-meter-high wooden panels.”
Why? Do they have something to hide, that they want to wall themselves in, hold guards in front of them and curtail basic rights?
If everything were fine, if there was paradise on earth for animals, as they claim, they wouldn’t really have to do that, would they?
What are they hiding there? What can you imagine …
“A lot of tax money is wasted again because the police have to protect farmers from alleged animal rights activists”, said a farmer in a radio interview.
Some farmers certainly see documentation of animal cruelty in their mega stables as militant actions and try to put this under repression with the help of the state.
The millionaire and former head of the largest German poultry company PHW(Wiesenhof brand)Paul-Heinz Wesjohannsaid in an interview: “Modern poultry farming is a great social act. It made the former luxury product meat affordable for the masses “.
Wesjohann has been awarded the “Federal Cross of Merit”.
One can also bring it to the Federal Cross of Merit with the massive torture and killing.
Fortunately, they still exist, people, courageous people, responsible people who make independent judgments, make decisions and act responsibly. Yes, act!
They have our fully support!
In late December, some 1,800 bulls left Spain for Turkey aboard a ship called the Elbeik. The trip was supposed to take around 11 days, then the cattle were to be sold, mostly to halal slaughterhouses, where they’d be killed with minimal suffering, as required by religious law.
At least it would have been swift. For the next three months, as the pandemic began to wreak havoc on global shipping, the vessel failed to unload its cargo, and the animals began to starve, according to an investigation by the Spanish government. Nearly 10% of the bulls died, their corpses thrown overboard or left to fester in the pens among the living. When the Elbeik returned to Spain, authorities ruled its remaining 1,600 animals were too sick to sell and had to be put down.
The Elbeik has become Exhibit A in the mounting case to ban the controversial, $18 billion cross-border trade in live animals. The pandemic has worsened conditions for the roughly 2 billion cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens that are exported each year, and epidemiologists have joined the calls for reform. Animals have been stuck in transit far longer than expected and safety inspections have been dramatically curtailed. With new sensitivity to risks that diseased animals can pose to humans, a growing number of countries are limiting or phasing out the practice altogether.
“When it comes to animal welfare, transport by sea is a big black hole,” said Thomas Waitz, an organic farmer from Austria who is a European parliamentary representative on a committee charged with updating the rules for the cross-border shipping of animals. “Ship transports completely fall outside of any regulations or animal-welfare standards. Public health is at risk if animals are transported in conditions where germs and bacteria can flourish.”
The EU, which accounts for more than 75% of the world’s live animal exports, is “incapable of guaranteeing animal welfare,” according to a report commissioned by the committee, which is expected to recommend a new, tighter set of regulations for exporters by the end of the year. The U.K. has gone further, planning to ban the transport of live animals for slaughter altogether, though it hasn’t set a date yet. New Zealand in April said it will phase out trade in live animals by 2023.
Some 39 million tons of meat were exported globally in 2019, most of it slaughtered, packaged and frozen or chilled beforehand — a process that’s more lucrative for meat producers and avoids the health and safety issues of transporting live animals. But as consumers in countries like China and Vietnam have grown wealthier, they’ve added more meat and dairy to their diets, amping up demand for breedstock and dairy animals. The robust market for halal meat among devout Muslims also means demand has spiked in recent years. Prices for live cattle from Australia are at record highs.
Aitor Garmendia / Tras los Muros-Mexico
Aitor Garmendia / Tras los Muros-Mexico
Barricaded: The PHW Group, to which the “Wiesenhof” brand belongs, has been protecting itself against unwelcome visitors with four-meter-high walls since last weekend!!
World Animals Voice 