It can be a little confusing to non Brits, but the United Kingdom is literally what it says, ‘United Kingdoms’; formed by the (kingdom) nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each has its own government; Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom
United Kingdon.
WAV Comment – there is a lot of talk going around that the UK Ministry Defra will aim to get legislation for a ban on live animal exports intorduced by the end of this year. They are currently going through all the submissions submitted to them; including a large proposal by ourselves. The UK government promised that once the UK had left the EU, it would be able to introduce legislation to ban all live animal exports, which it was unable to do as an EU member state. The consultation (now being reviewed by government) is part of that objective; and we are hopeful for good news in the coming months.
The State Opening Of Parliament – Good news for the environment and animals.
The StateOpening of Parliament is an event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the Queen’s Speech (or the King’s Speech if the UK has a male monrch).
It takes place in the House of Lords chamber on the first day of a new session, which is usually in May or June, and traditionally in November, but can occur at any time of year depending on the timing of General Elections and parliamentary session start dates.
It takes place in front of both Houses of Parliament. The monarch, wearing the Imperial State Crown, reads a speech that has been prepared by his or her government outlining its plans for that parliamentary year.
Basically, it outlines the major legislation that the government intends to introduce into UK law in the coming Parliamentary session.
This next session is going to see some positive legislation for both animals and the environment being passed into law, including:
Environment Bill
Another confirmed commitment is to new, legally binding environmental targets in the form of the much-delayed Environment Bill, which was was first launched in July 2018. The Government said it will pass the legislation in the run-up to the international Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow at the end of year.
Animal Sentience Bill
The Queen’s Speech will also ensure animals with a backbone will have a legal right to feel happiness and suffering. According to the Sunday Telegraph, an Animal Sentience Bill will enshrine in law that animals are aware of their feelings and emotions in order to make the UK a world leader in animal welfare.
Animals Abroad Bill
A new Animals Abroad bill is also expected to ban imports of hunting trophies, while a Kept Animals bill will ban families from keeping primates as pets.
Here is a further review of some other issues not related to animals or the environment:
Did you know that a shockingly large number of farm animals are not killed in the slaughterhouse?
Many people are not aware that numerous animals end up in so-called carcass disposal facilities (CDF for short) – especially those that were sick and therefore could not be killed for their meat.
Carcass disposal systems are collection points for dead animals from various areas, including so-called pets, but also animals from agriculture, zoos and fur farms.
Their bodies and body parts, including slaughterhouse waste, are destroyed in the facilities, for example by incineration.
Studies that examined animal corpses in such animal body disposal facilities have shown that so-called farm animals in the food industry experience immense suffering while they are being kept.
That is sad everyday life and not – as lobby-related politicians like to claim – the individual case.
Study shows: 13.6 million pigs end up in carcass disposal facilities
So far, hardly any studies have been carried out on the health of animals that do not survive breeding or fattening and are “disposed of” in animal carcass disposal facilities.
The few available results of such investigations are all shocking because they show that a large number of these “fallen animals” suffered considerably before they died.
The University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) published a study at the end of 2017 that examined some of the approximately 13.6 million pigs that die or are killed every year in German breeding and fattening facilities.
The result: 13.2 percent of the so-called fattening pigs and 11.6 percent of the pigs from breeding had cruel findings.
Externally recognizable ailments and some animals that were delivered alive
Thanks as always to Stacey at ‘Our Compass’ for sending this info to us.
WAV Comment – (Mark): As and English activist that has campaigned against the calf trade and dairy industry for the last 30+ years; I find this video very disturbing. It is a complete and utter insult to all of us who have worked so very hard over the years to get this kind of thing stopped. Cruelty goes on, no matter where you are on the planet; and what you do to effectively try to stop it.
Please watch the video – the UK prides itself (quite rightly) on being a nation that prides itself on the way it treats and cares for animals. This video shows the dark side, the other side of the UK pride for animal welfare. It gets to me hard; as it will get to you hard; mere babies cruelly separated from their mothers just hours after birth; the despearate calls from both sides for the want to be together.
There is one simple way to avoid the situations you see in the video; and that is to completely ditch all dairy products and instead go plant based; it is so very easy nowdays.
We have fought over the years in the past; we fight now, and we will forever fight in the future until abuses like those shown here are confined to history books, and we have to explain to youngsters in future why we allowed such abuses to take place in the ‘recent past’.
Regards Mark
Source Expired: Dairy Still KillsWhy do some promote cow’s milk and cheese as “humane”? Consuming animals as well as their “products” is never a victimless activity regardless of how humans define it, those anthropomorphized tv demonstrations of happy cows and cows going to school are delusional deflections from the reality of hell they experience: all exploited animals die, most after brief lives of pain, torment, bodily control, and mutilation.
If you agree that such incalculable suffering and violent death of infants “from other countries” is horrific, you should read about how many infants are violently, fearfully butchered in the US yearly, page 6, and also note that the US, just as one example, exports animals and animal “products” globally.
USDA: 2019 Commercial calf slaughter totaled 587,000 head
Mind you, that number includes calves and not the mothers or the chickens or the lambs or the pigs or the fish: globally and yearly, trillions of unwilling animals are butchered.
If you consume animals or the secretions of animals and refuse to watch the violence and cruelty required for you because you find it “too distressing”, can you imagine having to actually experience it? Would you promote “humane euthanasia” of your cats or dogs in a slaughterhouse?
This really isn’t difficult: next time you make a choice, choose the one that doesn’t require such violence and misery, reaching for plant-based milks or plant-based cheeses or plant-based foods in general takes no additional effort. Nobody selects cows’ milk because it’s “naturally healthy”, that’s just the spin to validate your money subsidizing suffering. Cow’s milk is fortified with those “naturally healthy” benefits – ie, those vitamins are artificially added to it after it is stolen from the infants who it is “naturally” intended for – and the USDA includes soy milk as a healthy dairy food.
It’s bizarre that people pretend that drinking another species’ breastmilk, beyond infancy, and with teeth, causing preventable death to infants and mothers, is “healthy” or “natural”. SL
A staggering 65,000 male calves under a month old were killed in slaughterhouses in 2020 in the UK, more than the number shot on farms.
Latest figures show that 60,000 male dairy calves were killed on British farms – a part of the industry which often faces public criticism. With assurance schemes, supermarkets and dairy companies prohibiting the “routine euthanasia of healthy calves” – the shooting of calves on farms – what will be the fate of these previously killed waste products? Is this another ‘kinder option’ that the industry has created following on from the mass integration of the dairy and beef industries?
Red Tractor, Arla and Müller, plus many supermarkets including Tesco, Waitrose and Morrisons all have varying policies attempting to prevent this killing. But there are loopholes and calves will not always be protected. Some of these policies only protect calves for up to eight weeks old and others do not prevent calves being sold on at markets. Therefore, the fate of many of these calves is to enter the integrated calf rearing and fattening system, where they will be killed from 12 months old for their flesh. But thousands will still be unsuitable and unprofitable.
Oaklands Livestock Centre
‘Slaughter calves’ are bought by dealers from dairies and markets. Dealers are accountable for over half of all calves entering slaughterhouses.
We filmed calves being picked up from dairy farms, supplying Sainsbury’s via milk processor, Müller, by Oaklands Livestock Centre, owned by renowned calf dealer Derek Whittall.
Whittall buys and sells calves at Halls Shrewsbury Auction, as well as buying calves at Barbers Market in Market Drayton.
Whittall’s facility, Oaklands Livestock Centre, is in Shropshire. It is a busy hub for calves passing through. Centres like these are an integral part of the UK calf trade and aid the exploitation of calves. This site is also home to one of Blade Farming’s collection centres. Arla and Sainsbury’s have partnered with beef processor ABP through its Blade Farming operation. This aids the integration of the dairy and beef industries through rearing calves. Son of Oaklands’ Director, Josh Whittall, has been in charge of transport for some Blade Farming calves.
Some of the calves who arrive at Oaklands are destined to enter the integrated rearing system, and eventually be killed for their flesh. Many others will head straight to the slaughterhouse.
Arriving at the centre, calves were mercilessly unloaded. They were kicked and pushed down trailer ramps. Others were dragged up by their tails and ears.
We caught on camera the physical and verbal abuse of these vulnerable babies.
Gates were slammed on the calves, trapping their delicate legs. Plastic bags were waved around to scare the already distressed babies.
The violent culture of abuse amongst workers towards calves at Oaklands was normalised, condoned and seemed to be expected.
These incidents are highly distressing to watch, and not only do they breach transport and welfare legislation, they demonstrate a total lack of compassion and cause unnecessary pain, fear and suffering to the individual animals.
Molly Vasanthakumar Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery MRCVS
Naturally, calves drink from their mothers throughout the day and under legislation, those who are less than four weeks old must be fed two or more times in 24 hours. We filmed multiple groups of calves going without feeds for as long as 21 hours and others were fed only once in 29 hours. This was a regular occurrence during our filming.
Unweaned calves had no access to water.
Young calves paced and cried out. Being separated from their mothers and having milk restricted is highly distressing and dangerous for calves. When they were finally fed, they were often shown no patience. Some were thrown and hit and one was kicked in the face for not taking to the drinkers fast enough.
Some calves were loaded up and were left on a trailer for almost three hours. This is another clear breach of guidelines.
Oaklands takes many calves directly to slaughter. This is the heartbreaking, lesser-known part of the calf trade. Oaklands workers took calves to G. & G.B. Hewitt slaughterhouse in Chester, which they used to kill calves. Other agents including Livestock Supplies Ltd were caught on camera also taking calves there, taking almost 30 calves in February alone.
Calves are sent to the same slaughterhouses that kill larger animals such as sheep and adult cows. Their small frames are reflected in how tiny they look inside the walkways and holding pens.
We saw calves who were mercilessly stunned with a bolt gun before being strung up by their back legs and having their throats slit open to be ‘bled out’. The workers, desensitised to this horrific violence, took no hesitation in taking the lives of the calves. Curious and vulnerable babies were reduced to a mere profit-making product, hanging upside down and bleeding onto the slaughterhouse floor.
Their flesh will be sold for human consumption and their skin for leather.
Their captive bolt gun failed to stun a calf FOUR TIMES
There is no legislation covering the time between stunning and bleeding out but the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) states that “if it is possible to stick [cut the throat] within 15 seconds, then this should be the case”. We caught calves being left for over 40 seconds after stunning.
Could this cruel fate inside the slaughterhouse increase now that policies have been introduced to prohibit the killing of male calves on farms? Will we see slaughter figures increase? Ending the shooting of calves on farm will not end the killing inside slaughterhouses.
Whether they are killed at 10 days old or enter the “integrated rearing and fattening system” …
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copyHERE
Searching for Cruelty-Free Cosmetics, Personal-Care Products, Vegan Products, or more? Click HERE to search.
Free PDF of Vegan & Cruelty-Free Products/Companies HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend:
Disney is developing a live-action film based on the book Aloha Rodeo, which follows three Hawaiian cowboys who in 1908 traveled to Wyoming to compete in a steer roping competition at what’s still one of the most brutal and deadly rodeos in the world. Please join us in urging Disney to cancel this dangerous project, which will injure and potentially kill animal “actors” while glamorizing one of the cruelest events in rodeo.
The activity at the center of Aloha Rodeo is steer roping. This is the famous event whereby a cowboy on horseback chases down a terrified steer, lassos him with a rope noose, and stops short so the steer is knocked to the ground with incredible force, before the cowboy dismounts and runs to bind the steer’s legs together. Steer roping is so excessively violent that it is not part of the annual National Finals Rodeo, and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) has largely removed the event from its website.
This event can result in serious injuries and deaths, and it’s also considered so cruel and dangerous that it’s been banned in several states. The following video filmed by Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) shows how rodeo roping can paralyze calves and adult animals by breaking their necks.
The rodeo in the book takes place in Wyoming and still exists as one of the world’s largest. More animals will unquestionably suffer and die there in steer roping and other cruel rodeo events.
This is not Disney’s first rodeo; the company should be well aware of the risks its fictional films pose to real-life animals. In 1955, when Disney released Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier, the film inspired a raccoon skin cap craze that decimated the U.S. raccoon population. Each time 101 Dalmatians or its sequels are released, it spurs a surge in the demand for Dalmatians, which perpetuates puppy mills and leads to an increase in the number being dumped on already overburdened rescues and shelters.
Disney’s live action film will glorify this inherently violent industry which encourages kids to harm animals for fun and inflicts lethal injuries on bulls for entertainment. It will also sugarcoat the serious animal welfare concerns of a scandalous industry that shocked and beat a horse and attacked a bull with dogs.
This film will be a disaster for animals and risks reviving the entire sagging rodeo industry by sanitizing animal cruelty.
Join us in urging Disney to cancel the planned live-action film Aloha Rodeo, which will put animals at risk of harm and glamorize an inherently violent and brutal entertainment.
1. Please call Disney Studios to let the company know that you are not okay with its making a spectacle of animal cruelty in the upcoming live-action film Aloha Rodeo.
818-560-1000 Press 1
Some talking points you can mention:
Steer roping is so excessively violent that it is not part of the annual National Finals Rodeo, and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association has largely removed it from its website.
Severe injuries are expected, and death is not uncommon in the rodeo. Animals forced to “act” in Aloha Rodeo are at serious risk of being injured and killed, causing a PR disaster before the film even airs.
These baby animals are taken from their moms at just four or five months old to endure the dangerous torment of roping. After they are too broken to exploit, the rodeo sends them to the slaughterhouse.
When Disney released Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier in 1955, the film inspired a raccoon skin cap craze that decimated the U.S. raccoon population.
Disney should not associate with an industry that harms animals for entertainment. This cruel and violent industry deserves to be left in the past, especially at a time where public respect for animals is growing.
Rodeo is animal cruelty, which is not a suitable topic for a family film. Associating with rodeo can only harm the Disney brand.
@Disney @DisneyStudios @DisneyPlus #AnimalCruelty isn’t entertainment. Cancel your plans to make #AlohaRodeo, a film centered around a rodeo event so cruel and dangerous it’s been banned in several states. #RodeoCruelty
4. Please fill out the form on this page to submit our emails asking Alan Bergman – Chairman and Alan F. Horn – Chief Creative Officer at Disney and Disney’s Corporate Social Responsibility Department to cancel production of this dangerous film.
Sign our alert to immediately deliver your comments to:
Alan Bergman – Chairman
Alan F. Horn – Chief Creative Officer
Disney’s Corporate Social Responsibility Department
WAV Comment – Donkeys are abused in so many places. Below are a few interesting facts about them. The use of and unnecessary need for donkey skins are having a a massive impact on these gentle animals. They also suffer terribly carrying overweight tourists up dangerous terrain, and they are worked to death carrying huge amounts of bricks and other loads which are far beyond their capabilities. Take action for donkeys today – World Donkey Day – Thank you.
From Peta – Today is World Donkey Day, and what better way to celebrate them than to share a few of the things that make these intelligent, curious animals who they are?
If you challenge a donkey to a memory game, chances are you’ll lose. These gentle animals are able to remember places they’ve been to before and recognise donkey pals they haven’t seen for 25 years.
Donkeys are safety-conscious. If they fear a situation might be dangerous, they do their very best to stay away from it. This is often mistaken for stubbornness when, really, they’re just careful and cautious.
Like humans and our fellow primates, donkeys love to clean and groom each other. These herd animals are all about looking good.
They are nothing if not hygienic and refuse to drink water if they deem it too dirty.
Donkeys like to be in dry, warm places. Their natural habitats are deserts and savannahs.
If someone they love is moved or taken away from them, they become extremely upset. They’re social animals who get lonely when they’re by themselves because of the deep bonds they form with their friends and family.
The world is home to over 44 million donkeys, and they come in all shapes and sizes – there are over 186 breeds of donkey!
Donkeys have big ears so they can hear each other from long distances. They communicate by braying, grunting, squealing, whiffling, snorting, and even growling.
In their desert homes, they dig their hooves into the ground to access water, in turn providing birds, chipmunks, and other small animals with life-saving hydration.
Right now, millions of donkeys are being exploited or killed around the world, but you can help stop this! Choose to avoid products and tourist traps they’re harmed for – and take action for them by calling for change.
In July of last year, the the state TV channel of Germany(ARD) reported under the title “Animal transports mercilessly” about our operations in Central Asia and Morocco.
This causes consternation nationwide and prompts several federal states to stop exports to non-EU countries by decree.
At the federal level, despite the increasing public pressure – including from the official veterinary profession – there has been no Germany-wide export ban to this day.
Our on-site research in Morocco is shocking: ‘Dairy’ cows that were imported from Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands can be found under catastrophic conditions in local markets and in slaughterhouses.
In autumn 2020 an Animals’ Angels team discovered the German cow Erika at a market near Rabat. At the age of four, she’s ‘obsolete’ – too sick to give milk.
Erika
That is why she has to die – the sad fate of every ‘dairy cow’, regardless of whether it is in Germany or Morocco.
Even if business representatives always claim that exports of ‘breeding’ animals should be valued differently than of ‘slaughter’ animals, we can prove with our operations in Moroccan markets:
Regardless of what an animal is ‘destined’ for, there are no controls whatsoever as to what ultimately happens to it in the exporting country.
And so the concern is justified that it will be resold, transported and slaughtered in cruel conditions.
Some important things on the subject...Agriculture, and especially animal husbandry, is one of the most important economic pillars of Morocco.
Dairy cows are traditionally kept on small farms, 95% of cattle breeders have fewer than 10 cows per farm. Often both milk and meat are produced on these farms.
The 2021 London mayoral election will be held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of London
Being Mayor of London city is a very important position. The mayor of London has responsibilities covering policing, transport, housing, planning, economic development, arts, culture and the environment.
They control a budget of around £17 billion per year.
Vanessa Hudson (Animal Welfare Party)
The Animal Welfare Party’s leader of 11 years wants to make London a ‘world-leading city for people, animals and the environment’.
Ms Hudson would promote vegan diets across the capital, partly to help prevent future pandemics.
She also backs improving the NHS and a number of green policies. But her key campaign issue is speciesism – which rejects the idea that animals and humans should be treated differently.
She would like to see London stop selling foie gras and fur products, end the restaurant practice of boiling lobsters alive, and exhibiting captive animals in London’s zoos and aquariums. The media producer and founder of Vegan Runners UK would also champion the phasing out of animal testing at London’s universities.
New analysis by researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Minnesota has identified a range of ‘win-win’ foods that both improve human health and have a low impact on the environment.
Foods associated with improved health (whole grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and some vegetable oils high in unsaturated fats, such as olive oil) have among the lowest environmental impacts, they found. Foods with the largest negative environmental impacts—unprocessed and processed red meat—were consistently associated with the largest increases in disease risk.
The exceptions were fish, which is a healthy food but has moderate environmental impacts, and processed foods high in sugars, which can be harmful to health but have a relatively low environmental impact. Red meat (pork, beef, mutton, and goat) and processed meat had the highest environmental impacts of all foods and were also associated with the largest increases in disease risk. Other animal-source foods, such as dairy and poultry meat, had moderate environmental impacts and a small impact on disease risk compared to other foods.
Lead author Dr Michael Clark, of the Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) project at the Oxford Martin School, and the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, says the findings could help consumers make better choices by equipping them with an understanding of the health and environmental impacts of different foods, and enable policymakers to issue more effective dietary guidelines.
‘Diets are a leading source of poor health and environmental harm,’ said Dr Clark. ‘Continuing to eat the way we do threatens societies, through chronic ill health and degradation of Earth’s climate, ecosystems, and water resources.
‘Choosing better, more sustainable diets is one of the main ways people can improve their health and help protect the environment. How and where a food is produced also affects its environmental impact, but to a much smaller extent than food choice.’
Using a comparison of an additional serving per day of 15 different foods, the researchers analysed collections of large epidemiological cohort studies—which follow populations of individuals through time— and life cycle assessments—which are used to estimate the environmental impacts per unit of food produced. The health and environmental analyses each incorporated five outcomes (total mortality, heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, and colorectal cancer for health; and greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, water pollution, and acidification potential for environment), and the results were consistent when applied across nearly all combinations of health and environmental outcomes.
‘The study adds to the growing body of evidence that stresses that replacing meat and dairy with a variety of plant-based foods can improve both your health and the health of the planet,’ said co-author Dr Marco Springmann, of the LEAP project and Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health.
Erika
World Animals Voice 