McDonald’s depots blockaded by animal activists demanding chain goes vegan
McDonald’s distribution centres which supply around 1,300 restaurants have been blockaded by animal rights protestors demanding the chain goes vegan.
Around 50,000 members of Animal Rebellion have descended on four of the fast food giant’s major sites in a bid to persuade it to introduce a fully plant-based menu by 2025.
As the world continued to battle the pandemic in the closing months of 2020,Animals’ Angels continued its mission to advocate for animals and expose abusers by conducting an extensive months-long undercover investigation into the Kalona Auction in Iowa.
Widely considered a dumping ground where the local Amish and Mennonite communities dispose of their used-up horses in exchange for new ones, the monthly Kalona horse sale is one of the largest providers of slaughter horses in the US, usually selling more slaughter horses than riding or work horses.
The auction caters to many of North America’s most notorious kill-buyers, including Boots Stanley, Bouvry Exports, Scott Kurtenbach, George Baker and Keith Tongen. Each auction sells between 300 to 500 horses, with Stanley and Kurtenbach & Bouvry buying the bulk of the slaughter horses.
The Kalona sale is also the only auction that uses a hydraulic gate to separate horses moving to the auction ring. As our investigators recently witnessed again firsthand, this is a cruel and chaotic process that inflicts unnecessary suffering on the innocent animals at the sale.
Months of horror at the Kalona sale
During Animals’ Angels recent investigation into the Kalona horse sale, our team observed auctions from August through November, and were horrified by the findings. A few of the heartbreaking observations are listed below:
In August, our team observed a draft mare go down multiple times in the pen, only to be forced back up again and again until she was sold, at which time the distressed animal went down yet again.
At the same auction, investigators saw a horse covered with dozens of whip marks, and witnessed a horse being kicked in the face by another horse with full force in an agitated pen.
In September, kill buyer Boots Stanley paid $50 for a horse (tag #695) with severe lacerations on his face which appeared to have been caused by an ingrown halter being ripped off prior to the sale.
In October, Boots Stanley purchased a dappled grey draft horse who struggled through the auction ring due to a left leg that had swollen to three times its normal size.
During the same sale, a Belgian draft horse died suddenly in the loose horse pen, indicating the horse had already been in dire condition when brought in, and a white donkey was mercilessly moved through the auction ring, even though the injured animal was unable to put any weight on his right foot.
In November, Stanley was once again buying blind, sick, and injured animals at the auction. Some of these horses later appear on his online broker program pages for hundreds of dollars, even though he paid as little as $50 for many of the animals.
During each monthly sale at Kalona, Animals’ Angels investigators documented consistently cruel and neglectful behavior:
The auction used a heavy hydraulic gate to block the entrance of the auction ring. Terrified horses were forced through a narrow chute while the auction workers hit the panicked animals relentlessly on the face and sides. One worker even went so far to strike a horse across the face with his wooden cane.
WAV Comment – you read it here first ! – please stay with us.
BREAKING NEWS 21/5/21.
EU Citizens’ Initiative: MEPs back calls to gradually end caged farming
Press Releases
The use of cages in animal farming could be phased out by 2027, after an impact assessment and a properly funded transition, the Agriculture Committee said on Friday.
In their response to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “End the Cage Age”, MEPs called on the European Commission to come up with a draft EU law on fair and sustainable farming and to propose a revision of existing EU rules on the protection of animals kept for farming purposes. These legal changes should pave the way to phasing out the use of cages in EU animal farming, after an appropriate transition period and a solid, scientific impact assessment, possibly by 2027, they say.
Alternatives to cage farming exist and are being successfully implemented in a number of member states, MEPs say. These alternative systems should be further improved and encouraged at national level, but to ensure a level-playing field for farmers across the European Union, EU legislation is needed, they add.
Species-by-species approach and properly funded transition
The gradual end of caged farming should be based on a species-by-species approach that would take into account the characteristics of different animals and ensure that they all have housing systems that suit their specific needs, MEPs say. They insist on ensuring sufficient time to make the transition and proper support, including adequate advisory and training services, incentives and financial programmes for farmers and livestock breeders before making any legislative changes. This would avoid farmers losing their competitive edge and EU production being consequently relocated abroad, where animal welfare standards are lower than in the EU.
MEPs also call for a more comprehensive food policy to support the shift towards a more sustainable food system that should focus not only on environmental, but also on economic and social dimensions. Such a policy should prevent small and medium-sized farms from abandoning livestock production and stop production being further concentrated in the hands of a few large farms, they say.
Same standards for all imported products
A fair trade policy that ensures a level playing field is a precondition for higher European standards, the Agriculture Committee says. The Commission and member states should therefore focus more on putting effective controls and customs checks in place to ensure that imported agri-food products meet EU animal welfare standards, it adds.
MEPs want all animal products imported into the EU to be produced in full compliance with the relevant EU legislation, including the use of cage-free farming systems and insist that existing trade deals should be re-evaluated to ensure that the same animal welfare and product quality standards are met. They also call on the Commission to promote animal welfare internationally.
Next steps
The draft resolution, approved in the Agriculture Committee by 39 votes in favour to four against, with three abstentions, will now have to be scrutinised by the Parliament as a whole, probably during the 7-10 June plenary session.
Background
The European Citizens’ Initiative allows one million citizens from at least a quarter of EU member states to ask the European Commission to propose legislation in areas that fall within its competence. The EU invites organisers of successful initiatives to present their initiative at a public hearing in the European Parliament, to the committee responsible for the subject matter.
During the public hearing on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “End the Cage Age” on 15 April, MEPs highlighted the importance of listening and acting on citizens’ concerns on animal welfare. However, many insisted that any potential phase-out of caged farming requires proper financial support, incentives and an adequate transition period. They called for strict and efficient measures to avoid imports of cheaper products with lower animal welfare standards from non-EU countries. Some also called for a proper impact assessment and insisted on EU legislative action.
The “End the Cage Age” ECI was registered with the EU Commission on 5 September 2018. By the time of submission, the initiative had gathered support from almost 1.4 million signatories from across the EU, with the required threshold for signatures met in 18 member states.
The initiative calls on the Commission to “end (…) inhumane treatment” of “hundreds of millions of EU farm animals (…) kept in cages for most of their lives”, and for an EU law to ban the use of: cages for laying hens, rabbits, pullets, broiler breeders, layer breeders, quail, ducks and geese; farrowing crates for sows; sow stalls, where not already prohibited; and individual calf pens, where not already prohibited.
Final vote on the ban of Estonian fur farms in June
20 May 2021
Loomus
WAV Comment – Estonia joined the EU as a member state on 9 December 2010.
The Environment Committee has agreed that the draft Act for Animal Protection and Nature Conservation, which would prohibit fur farms in Estonia, will be put to a final vote on June 2nd.
This announcement has brought joy and optimism to our Estonian member organisation Loomus. “Loomus has been working on the fur ban for years and the decision that the Environment Committee made today takes us very close to finally put an end to this cruel industry. We are glad that the politicians are taking animal-friendly steps and we are very optimistic that this time the farms will be banned,” said Annaliisa Post, Communications Manager and Board Member at the animal advocacy organization.
According to a Kantar Emor poll conducted in September, 75 percent of Estonians are opposed to the breeding of animals such as foxes and minks for their fur. In 2016, 69 percent of respondents agreed, indicating that support for a fur-free Estonia is growing.
European Commission introduces mandatory SARS-CoV-2 screening in all European mink fur farms
19 May 2021
LAV
On 12 May, the European Commission adopted the Implementing Decision 788 which sets standards for the surveillance and reporting of SARS-CoV-2 infections in mink (and raccoon dogs) bred for fur production.
This decision means that, for the first time, there is a mandatory and harmonised diagnostic screening and reporting system in place for all Member States, after more than 400 fur farms saw outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in 2020.
The Commission has deemed it necessary to initiate this monitoring in all Member States “without delay”, demonstrating the considerable risks to public health connected to fur farming.
The EU Commission has recognised the risk to public health connected to the presence of mink (and raccoon dog) farms for the production of fur and now, finally, it has adopted a system of control of these farms with active surveillance (diagnostic tests). In Italy we have already had outbreaks on 2 farms out of 8; the time has come for the Minister of Health to assume political responsibility to permanently ban fur farming.
Simone Pavesi, Campaigner, LAV
Diagnostic surveillance involves carrying out virological tests on a weekly basis, on live or dead animals, for a number equal to at least 5% of the population of any single farm. This sampling level can be adjusted from 5% to 20% in the case of positive results for SARS-CoV-2.
However, there are possible loopholes in Implementing Decision 788. Competent authorities can decide to switch from active surveillance to passive surveillance on farms that adopt risk reduction measures. Farms under passive surveillance will only be required to test animals if mortality is increased or farm workers test positive for SARS-CoV-2.
This creates the risk of reversing monitoring systems to those of 2020 where surveillance protocol was based on mere clinical observation, in clear contrast with scientific evidence which suggests mink are in most cases asymptomatic. This would increase the risk of creating SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs, with serious public health implications.
In Italy, a country which, while having suspended mink fur farming for 2021, still has operational farms, 77% of the adult population are in favour of the adoption of emergency measures to end fur farming and breeding. This illustrates that by allowing fur production to continue, the European Commission is more concerned with protecting the economic interests of a small group of stakeholders at the expense of the health of all European citizens.
WAV Comment – I have witnessed a lot of animal suffering in my time; but I found this video footage articularly disturbing. It is from Victoria, Australia. A farmer kills male goat kids with a metal pole in front of their mothers because they cannot produce milk; and they cannot produce mil because they are males, no other reason. It happens with milk producing animals the world over; the males are always considered a ‘by product’ of the business; because they do not supply milk and keep the herd numbers up. Thus, males are usually killed within hours of birth, exported live overseas to be killed for their meat, or sent to slaughterhouses serving more local ‘burger producing’ organisations. Whatever, the males never win. This footage is even more disturbing as it shows the male kid goats being yanked away from their mothers ; and then in full sight of their mothers, being hit in the head region by the farmer using a metal pole. Like useless vegetation, their bodies are simple thrown into a tractor bucket to be disposed of. If this does not stop everyone from consuming animal dairy, then I do not know what will. A complete and utter abuse and killing of baby animals who have done nothing wrong apart from being born male. This is common the world over; watch it and repent.
Regards Mark
Link, including disturbing video: WATCH THE VIDEO FOOTAGE HERE
Disturbing moment dairy farmer beats baby goats to death with a metal pole – before dragging their convulsing bodies away in front of their mothers
This is the disturbing moment a farmer killed male goat kids with a metal pole in front of their mothers because they cannot produce milk.
Secret footage was allegedly taken on a dairy farm in Bannockburn, Victoria
It shows a farmer drive up to a goat pen and pull the male kids from mothers
The farmer smashes them on head with metal pole and leaves them squirming
The confronting footage was put online by Animal Liberation Victoria on Friday
This is the disturbing moment a farmer killed male goat kids with a metal pole in front of their mothers because they cannot produce milk.
Secret footage said to be taken on a dairy farm in Bannockburn, Victoria shows a farmer drive up to a goat pen and pull out the male kids.
One by one he smashed them on the head with the pole, leaving them frantically squirming on the ground before they died from traumatic head injuries.
The video shows the farmer putting male goat kids into a blue container before he takes them out and kills them
After killing around a dozen, the farmer loaded the corpses on to his tractor and drove away.
The confronting two minutes of undercover footage is said to have been taken between mid-September and mid-October this year.
It was posted online by Animal Liberation Victoria on Friday.
The group told Daily Mail Australia they were supplied the footage by anonymous activists who planted cameras on the farm.
‘These newborns males are killed because they will never produce milk, and are therefore considered useless to the dairy industry,’ ALV president Noah Hannibal said in a statement.
‘This brutal slaughter takes place as part of an inherently cruel industry.’
The video captures the farmer hit the goats on the head for the squirm as a result of the trauma
The confronting two minutes of undercover footage (pictured) was taken between mid-September and mid-October
Nothing in the video was illegal because farm animals are not covered by the same animal cruelty laws as domestic pets.
Killing newborn goats is a normal practice across the industry.
Animal welfare guidelines, which are not legally binding, state that goats can be killed using a variety of methods including shooting and blunt force trauma.
‘A single blow should be delivered to the centre of the forehead and should only be used on kids that are less than 24 hours old,’ the guidelines state.
The Victorian Farmers Federation said the footage was confronting.
President David Jochinke told Daily Mail Australia: ‘As an industry, we do not condone the mistreatment of animals. Any producer who falls outside the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, as well as the standards and guidelines of the industry should be investigated and managed appropriately’
He added: ‘It is difficult to comment on the specific details of this circumstance, but we would encourage farmers to stun animals with a captive bolt wherever possible.
‘Any person who has stewardship of an animal should take their responsibilities seriously. I am supportive of Agriculture Victoria undertaking an investigation into this matter should they feel it to be necessary.’
The short film “Motherhood” by the Dutchwoman Eline Helena Schelleken shows how most of the sows in the EU have to spend their motherhood.
In the crate in the service center and then in the so-called “piglet protection cage” in the farrowing area.
Imprisoned, immobile and extradited.
Pigs are sentient, intelligent beings.
The meat industry exploits them efficiently as production machines. You can read the seven most important facts below.
At the beginning, the film shows what loving, feeling and tender animals pigs are. But after a few minutes it becomes clear how cruel it is to be locked in a cage for weeks.
Cage farming is a practice that is in stark contrast to the trend towards more sustainable agriculture, as outlined in the “Green Deal”.
We, as part of the” End the Cage Age”initiative, call on EU Executive Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to support the EU-wide ban on cage farming.
1. Number of sows
There are around 11 million sows in the EU. The majority of them spend almost half of the year in a cage where they cannot even turn around.
Only fewer than 2 million sows live in alternative systems without a cage.
2. Days in the cage
Most sows are caged at the beginning of their gestation for around five weeks. About a week before the birth of their piglets, they are restrained again and remain in the so-called piglet protection cage for another five weeks.
Because a “production cycle” takes about 21 weeks, the sow spends a total of up to half of the year fixed in a cage.
3. Natural behavior
Locked up in crates and “piglet protection cages”, they are more or less tied up.
They can no longer exercise even basic behavior. During the labor process and the weeks of lactation, the sow cannot even walk a few steps or turn and flip over. It is degraded from a feeling, intelligent living being to a mere unit of production.
This is important in a way; but will have no real effect on you as visitors to this site.
I (Mark) will try to explain;
A ‘domain’ is a internet ‘address’ which can be used for global access by anyone. Here at WAV, our domain is ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’; we pay each year to have and retain this domain.
We have recently been informed by domain registrars in China that applications have been made for at least 4 domains for ‘World Animals Voice’ and that they will vary from our address – as far as we know, they are worldanimalsvoice.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.com.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.net.cn/ and worldanimalsvoice.org.cn
We have informed the registrar in China that these addresses applications are nothing to do with us (as we are UK and Germany controlled) or are they associated with us and that if they are taken out, then we will have no control over the content of same.
Our real ‘concern’ is that the name ‘worldanimalsvoice’; which we set up and use for this site, is / could be used (in China) when it has nothing to with us; having originated and been registered via the domain controller in China.
Our domain is only ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’
We hope that if these new domains are used, taking the name ‘world animals voice’; then they will be supportive of animal welfare / rights issues; and that their content will be positive towards animals. But we cannot guarantee this, or any of the content on any of these sites.
So you, as supporters to our site, can visit us you always do; but please just be wary that there may be other ‘world animals voice’ sites, namely (worldanimalsvoice.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.com.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.net.cn/ and worldanimalsvoice.org.cn) possibly being used. The info on them is not associated with us; has nothing to do with us and never will be controlled in any way by us.
There is no way to combat this and we have to accept the situation of world (computer) domains as it is.
Please put ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’ somewhere safe on your system so that you know this is the only way to access us. Any other address is outside of our control.
We trust you understand the situation and we will carry on with this site as always.
WAV Comment – Good animal friend; long time live exports campaigner, and environmentalist / farm animal campaigner, Philip, CEO at Compassion In World Farming, shares his feelings about progress for animals and their welfare in the UK last week; re the Queens Speech on upcoming government actions to change legislation.
CIWF
Historic Progress For Animals Announced
This week has been an historic moment for animal welfare in the UK with plans for key reforms announced by government, including legal recognition of animal sentience and a ban on live exports. These, and a suite of other measures, were outlined first in the Queen’s Speech and then in a Defra Action Plan. In total, 40 measures have been unveiled covering farmed, wild and companion animals, which together add up to the biggest welfare shake-up in a generation.
Plans are only as good as the implementation, of course, and Compassion will press hard to ensure government intentions become law. The reforms will be introduced as a series of Bills, with the one recognising animal sentience already having been introduced to the House of Lords.
The Bill provides legal recognition that vertebrate animals are sentient beings and intends assurance that their ability to suffer pain and experience joy, if we let them, will be taken into account in future government policies. Legal recognition of animals as sentient creatures has long been a cornerstone of our work at Compassion. Indeed, it was our founder, Peter Roberts, who first launched the idea in the 1980s. The battle was first won in the European Union in 1997 when legal recognition was attached as a protocol and then later an article in the EU treaty. As the recognition was in the EU treaty rather than a specific law, it wasn’t transposed into British legislation post-Brexit. The government’s new Bill proposes to rectify the situation.
All those years ago – Peter Roberts (foreground), Founder CIWF protests about intensive animal farming.
Another of our longstanding campaigns has been for a ban on the live export trade for slaughter and fattening. Always cruel and unnecessary, this trade has continued down the decades despite overwhelming public opposition. Quite why is a mystery, given the trade’s insignificance to the farming industry when set against overall meat exports.
It is a hugely welcome moment then that the UK government now proposes to end this indefensible trade once and for all. The proposal, of course, comes soon after our own Judicial Review of the Scottish Government over calf exports.
It is also tremendously important that these reforms are quickly followed with bans on other indefensible factory farm practices, including the keeping of mother pigs and chickens in cages.
Factory farming is finally being recognised more widely for what it is — a cruel and deeply damaging form of farming that only makes worse the climate, nature and pandemic emergencies now facing society.
What is crucial now is that Parliament and the UK government takes this opportunity to not only make these key reforms, but also to push on and end all forms of factory farming.
Thank you to everyone who has marched through the streets, written letters, signed petitions, switched their eating habits and got stories in the media calling for these reforms. It is testimony to your efforts over decades.
Whilst celebrating these hugely welcome plans, it is more important than ever before that we keep up the pressure until every last animal is free from the suffering of factory farming.
The company claims it can produce cell-culture meat more efficiently than any other country in the world Credit: Supplied
Company To Save 170,000 Pigs By Scaling Up Cell-Cultured Meat Production In The UK
It comes after predictions that a staggering 60 percent of all meat consumed in 2040 will not come from dead animals
A company spawn from Oxford University is scaling up cell-cultured meat production in the UK – using technology developed in the same building as the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Ivy Farm Technologies plans to remove the equivalent of 170,000 pigs from the production line by producing over 12,000 tonnes of pork.
Ivy Farm Technologies
The process works by taking a small number of cells from a pig and placing them in a bioreactor. Once vitamins and nutrients are added, it is ready for harvest. This takes around three to four weeks.
Since developing the system, Ivy Farm is raising £16 million in order to build a pilot research and development production facility near the university.
It will mark the first step in the plan to become global industry leaders.
Moreover, the company says the ‘scaffold system’ it developed means it can produce cells more quickly and cheaply than any other technology currently available across the world.
It hopes to roll out slaughter-free sausages in supermarkets and restaurants by 2023.
‘Great for meat-lovers’
Co-founder Russ Tucker is eyeing putting the UK on the map in the cell-cultured meat sector.
In a statement sent to PBN, he said: “If you look at the world around us, the way we currently produce and consume food is unsustainable. “Cultured meat is the silver bullet – through cutting-edge technology, we can provide real, high-quality meat while saving the planet.”
Russ Tucker, Ivy Farm Technologies“Already nearly half the worldwide harvest is required to feed livestock and that’s only going to go up.
“Cultured meat is the silver bullet – through cutting-edge technology, we can provide real, high-quality meat while saving the planet.“Ivy Farm will be great for the environment, great for meat lovers, and great for animals as there’s no slaughter.”
Slaughter-free
People are becoming more interested in trying cell-cultured meat. According to Ivy Farm, more than 50 percent are willing to buy it.
It comes after the predictions claim a staggering 60 percent of all meat consumed in 2040 will not come from dead animals.
Rich Dillon, Ivy Farm Chief Executive, said: “Make no mistake, cultured meat is here to stay. It’s a compelling proposition – real meat, guilt-free.“We believe our technology is among the best in the world and that we can fly the flag for Britain.”
Currently, the company is in talks with the Food Standards Agency. They will have to authorize the products before they can be sold.
World Animals Voice 