https://vimeo.com/120458793
https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/02/01/an-open-letter-to-the-eurogroup-for-animals/
Category: Farm Animals
As we said in our recent post – https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/01/31/member-of-the-eu-then-you-have-to-abide-by-these-crazy-regulations-any-wonder-why-brits-want-out-get-real-eu-what-about-important-things/ – ‘Being involved ourselves with live animal transport investigation work for a long time; we have a bit to say about this’.
Hmm; below is a tiny little snapshot of some of the articles we have produced re live animal transport on our WAV and SAV sites over the 30+ years we have been investigating the live animal transport business. As you must be able to tell by now (yes really !); we have no faith in the EU or those involved within EU ‘political elite’ areas it to try and stop live animal transport. We hear now smooth talk of a ‘farm to fork’ strategy only just being recognised by the EU; and we ask ourselves; potential reality or another EU pipe dream ? – pipe dreams look good when they take the form of ‘EU Regulations’; it’s the enforcing of them that is the ‘no go’.
Let us turn to 2 issues that we personally have in depth experience of. Whilst I (Mark) was running SAV in the early days – https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/ and https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-us/ – I was also the EU Correspondent for KAALE- Kent Action Against Live Exports; a Kent group which is now still fighting the live animal trade. We then worked with Kent Trading Standards, an official body, to bring about a (successful) prosecution of Mr Onderwater; a Dutch livestock haulier, who had been illegally shipping British sheep to mainland EU, whilst declaring on the formal export paperwork that they were cartons of ‘boxed meat’ and not actual live animals. At a resulting court trial here at Folkestone Magistrates Court, Kent, England; on 5th July 2010 Mr Onderwater pleaded guilty to no less than 6 offences (under the Animal Health Act) of causing animal suffering of sheep in contravention of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 and EU Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 (Protection of animals during transport).. He was also fined £10,370 and by being convicted under UK law, effectively became a convicted criminal.
More reading on the issue from a Kent newspaper::
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/meat-firm-onderwater-agnueax-fin-a83202/
It involved a lot of work on our part. We presented all of our evidence relating to the Onderwater offences / prosecutions to both the EU and Dutch authorities; and guess what, the Dutch simply gave him a ‘ticking off’, but allowing him to continue operations in the live animal transport business, whilst the EU simply and totally ignored all of our evidence which simply allowed him to continue with his operations; which he does to this day regardless of his convictions in the UK under a court trial; now shipping live calves and sheep out of (Ramsgate) England to the mainland EU. And the EU thinks it is more important to have legislation about bent bananas that taking action here ! ? !!! – we disagree rather strongly !
For the ‘boxed meat’ shipments, Onderwater was using a ‘sealed type box trailer’ (see photos below), which carried live animals, but from the outside looked like a normal refrigerated trailer. We have always had issues with this type of trailer being used to transport live animals and have been doing running battles with the EU about it for many years !
Both these box trailers are full of live sheep – would you know ?
– where is the signage we ask ?
We were always very concerned that despite what the EU Reg 1/2005 says; about clear identification that live animals are being transported; trailers that we witnessed on the road (as shown above); and there were many times; they hardly ever carried any hint of signage to say that live animals were being carried within. We had specific concerns that should the trailer be involved in a road accident; local emergency rescue crews would not open access doors as they had no information written on the trailer that live animals were being carried. As a result; many animals could have suffocated or endured serious injuries without rescue teams having any idea that live beings were inside. In our reports, we even proposed signage which should be fitted to All areas of the trailer – top / underside, both sides, the rear – making it utterly clear to any emergency rescue crews that live animals were on board. This was nothing new, it should have been automatically undertaken to comply with EU Regulation 1/2005 anyway; but as with most, if not all animal welfare transport regulations in the EU, the hauliers largely ignore them; knowing that there is not really anyone around to enforce !
Here below is a copy of the label which we suggested to the EU that should be fitted on all panels to all box trailers carrying live animals. We suggested about A3 size; with colours of back, red and yellow – a yellow background, wording in red and the animal pictures in black.
In this example we did English and German wording; but suggested that maybe 4 ‘prime’ EU languages should be shown on the warning label. As you can see at the bottom we made it clear to help emergency services – “LIVE ANIMALS – In the event of an emergency; open the trailer doors to provide ventilation immediately”.
The EU never came back to us about this; what, some 10 years ago. Un identified box trailers are still hauling live animals in un-identified configurations on a daily basis !
Have a look at some previous posts we have published on this, and the box type sealed trailers:
Onderwater
Mr Bernard Van Goethem is an EU official very involved with live animal transport; but in our opinion; he does the animals in transport no favours at all. If you look at the EU (DG SANTE) structure chart for ‘Health and Food Safety’, which includes G” – animal health and WELFARE; there is a so called ‘Crisis Management Team’ which is headed by Mr Van Goethem. Sorry, but we have been pointing out a ‘crisis’ with unidentified animal carrying sealed box trailers to him for probably the last 10 years or more – and like all crisis managers; he has decided to ignore the evidence we give, and remedies to correct we propose. When does a crisis become a real crisis we ask ?
In our opinion this man represents everything which is so pathetic about the EU – nice job title; well paid, nice office no doubt; nice suit; but utterly ineffective at taking very important animal welfare issues and decisions on board; and even more seriously; doing anything about rectifying them !
Our section leader at G3; Mr Gavinelli; we have found in our correspondence, is much better than his boss; always willing to listen to our case and being very supportive of animal welfare, for which we thank him. Sadly, Van Goethem is at the top; so in compliance with much of the important things at the EU; nothing really ever gets done.
Here are some posts we have published in the past; many from our ‘SAV’ site – including our requests for him to resign; such is our personal experiences of his animal welfare ‘crisis management’.
WAV – Mr Van Goethem
SAV – Mr Van Goethem
https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/2016/06/29/mr-van-goethem-resign-now/
So; just a very short snapshot of how to do a lot (from our side); gather information; present the evidence; and then be completely ignored by the EU or anyone who can actually make proper, effective changes.
Do we get angry with this attitude to what we say ? – yes; a bit; but we are kind of used to it after all these years, but on the flip side, it just gives us additional conviction to fight those like both the above, and the animal transport industry in general.
We do this for nobody but the animals who suffer – for them it is an ‘Eternal Treblinka’.
Photo – Eyes on Animals (NL)
You can run but you cannot hide !
Regards Mark.
The current Federal Agriculture Minister of Germany, (the worst for animal welfare but the best farmer lobbyist as she only does what they want), Julia Klöckner wants to legalize the too narrow individual cages for sows that have been banned for decades.
A draft regulation by the conservative politician removes the requirement that the animals must be able to stretch their legs.
Only after the possible transition period of up to 17 years would the times be reduced for keeping animals in them, and the length of the boxes will increase to 220 cm instead of 200 as they are now!!
Pigs stands with a width of 65 cm (gilts) or 70 cm (sows) and a length of 200 cm are currently common practice, although a fully-grown pig has a body height of 90 cm.
There must be room for the legs to extend full length.
But if the farmers had to widen the box stands, it could be expensive.
That is why the Ministry of Agriculture wants to lift the regulation, which is annoying for many animal owners.
After a tough fight by animal rights activists, the decision of the Federal Council has been postponed to February 14, 2020.
In order to influence this decision positively, there is a letter and a petition to the new head of the EU Commission (Eurogroup knows that) and another petition addressed to the Federal Council of Germany.
“Whatever the Federal Council decides on February 14th can no longer be changed by Minister Klöckner”, the petition explains fairly naively, thereby proving that the initiators know neither Klöckner nor the Federal Council.
The maximum result that could come from the second petition would be that Klöckner shortens the transition period.
Because something else is not to be expected from the Federal Council.
The Federal Council has as Members only conservative factory farming lobbyists, self-operating farm owners, hunting fans and mostly disinterested heads of state.
One of them, the green Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann, is ceremoniously received by the hunting association in a castle!!
Back to the 1st comment – Klöcker herself is the WORST for animal welfare and the BEST for the farmers – a real friend of the meat industry.
So.. why one petition after another?
Didn’t reach the 1.5 million?
Is that what the initiators of the “end the cage age” campaign actually do?
The animal rights movement has turned into a petition shop.
We feel abandoned and cheated by these initiators.
The crime in Midia remains unpunished to this day, the 1.5 million vision (Ban live exports and break the cage) remains unfulfilled.
With petitions you can of course keep your post and secure your existence.
Nothing else will come of it.
Even if you started a thousand new petitions.
And it is precisely these new petitions against the pig cages that make us feel uneasy.
The fear that Eurogroup knows more than we do and that is a bad thing.
Namely that the EU Commission will again consciously, knowingly, deliberately betray the animals.
And the Eurogroupe can’t help it because it doesn’t decide anything anyway.
It (Eurogroup) can only work with MEP’s, while we know the Commissioners only have the final say, and not the MEP’s or the EU citizens.
Those who can decide for changes to improve welfare don’t want to, and those who want (the EU citizens) can’t.
Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner with her Chinese counterpart Han Changfu after signing the bilateral agreement, source: BMEL
In any case, the Agriculture Minister of Germany Julia Klöckner made a decision in advance and acted against the will of 1.5 million citizens with the extension of the pig cages for 17 years! – the advanced decision says little about democracy in what is called a ‘democratic member state of the EU’.
And she does it, even before the EU Commission makes a judgment about the boxes. She is a poodle of the farmers; nothing else. They command and she barks support.
Germany is the most influential country within the European Union and holds the EU Council Presidency from July 2020.
So … if Germany, then the whole of Europe remains in the age of the cage.
The wishes of over 1 million EU citizens has been ignored, as is usually the case.
And by the way, the crimes against animals and the environment go on UNDIMINISHED!
Client: EU Commission and everyone who works for them.
As we always say, the EU is run by lobbyists, not citizens. They get what they want – the common man does not!
Mark Johnson and Venus Reichenbach (WAV)
Friday 31st January 2020. Brexit Day, when the UK leaves the European Union.
Ever wondered why the Brits want to get out of this shambles ? – in celebration of the historic event, Express.co.uk has uncovered some of the European Union’s most bizarre laws that the UK has had to abide by (because it was a member state).
We are not even touching animal welfare issues here. Animal welfare is a story book of its own. So here are a few other EU rules which we have (until tonight) had to adhere top as members of the EU:
· Bananas cannot be too bendy
In a widely ridiculed ruling, Brussels bosses banned rogue bananas with “malformations and abnormal curvature”.
· Illegal to make Stilton in the village of Stilton
The small Cambridgeshire town named after the famous blue-veined cheese for being the first place to sell it is banned from producing Stilton under EU law.
The European law was put in place after officials ruled the cheese originated in another part of England.
· Water does not hydrate you
In 2011 the EU banned drink manufactures from claiming that water can prevent dehydration.
EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove drinking water prevents dehydration.
· Tampon tax
WAV Comment – it is not a ‘luxury non essential’, it IS an essential that should be provided without any tax to ALL girls and women ! – especially when women living on the street (yes Brussels, they do exist !) have to use dirty old rags, socks, woolen hats and anything else they can get their hands on to help them. Give them some respect and dignity – we say feminine sanitary products should be available free of tax to anyone that needs them. Deprive female EU MEP’s of any tampon use and see how quickly things will change within after 6 months ! – EU ‘officials’ can afford the ‘luxury’; many girls cannot – so get real.
Currently, all sanitary protection in the UK is charged a VAT of five percent, the lowest rate permissible under EU VAT rules.
The UK Government has indicated willingness to scrap the controversial tampon tax, but existing EU laws prevent member countries from introducing a zero percent rate on products.
Britain will be free to scrap the tax, which treats sanitary products as a luxury non-essentials item, from January 1, 2021 – the end of the transition period.
It should be implemented fairly quickly, as David Cameron’s Government included a provision in the 2016 Finance Bill to allow for sanitary protection to be zero-rated, once the UK had discretion to do this.
The European Commission did agree to abolish the tax in 2018 after extensive lobbying from the UK, but it will not come into effect until January 2022.
· Strict fishing quotas
The Common Fisheries Policy sets annual fishing quotas on each type of fish and mandated that if fish of the wrong species were caught accidentally, they had to be thrown overboard.
As a result, thousands of dead fish ended up being chucked back into the sea as fishermen attempt to reach the right quotas of the required species.
This practice was heavily condemned as tonnes of dead fish were being discarded.
In 2019 the EU outlawed the controversial practice and obliged skippers to land unwanted fish.
· Halogen light bulbs banned
The EU banned member states from selling halogen light bulbs, replacing them with LEDs.
The final stage of the EU energy regulations was put in place in September 2018.
LED lights are more efficient and require significantly less power to operate but are more expensive than its predecessor.
Earlier versions of LEDs were criticised for being slow to light up, but newer versions of the light bulb instantly light up.
But since the halogen ban was introduced, scientific studies have found LED lights can permanently damage eyesight and disturb natural sleep rhythms.
Last year the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety warned the “blue light” emitted from LEDs can lead to “irreversible loss of retinal cells and diminished sharpness of vision”.
.
Yes, it is all true ! – fortunately we will now leave highly paid MEP’s and Commissioners to come up with even more absurd rulings in the future.
Breaking News from the EU !! – a new animal welfare unit on its way !
Here is what the Eurogroup for Animals have to say about it on their site:
One small step from the Commission, or one giant leap for animal welfare? – new Animal Welfare Unit on the way
According to Politico, the European Commission is poised to establish a new animal welfare unit this March as part of a restructuring of its department on Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE).
Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the news, which comes as DG SANTE embarks on a reorganisation so that it can lead on the Commission’s Farm-to-Fork Strategy, which is the agricultural and food policy component of the new von der Leyen Commission’s European Green Deal.
Such a unit existed previously, but was merged with a much larger team dealing with animal health under the previous Juncker Commission.
“This is welcome news indeed, and bodes well for a prominent role for animal welfare actions within the Commission’s Farm-to-Fork Strategy. After all, animal welfare must be an integral component of any transition to a sustainable form of agriculture,” said Reineke Hameleers, Director at Eurogroup for Animals. “Citizens, MEPs and Member States have all now called for stronger animal welfare provisions at EU level, and Eurogroup for Animals wholeheartedly commends the von der Leyen Commission for this development.”
Since they took office six weeks ago, we have heard several encouraging statements on animal welfare, and now we are seeing the first signs of action.
“Of course, what any unit is tasked with doing is even more important than its creation. The list of actions that it could be tasked with is very long indeed, and it will need to be adequately resourced too,” added Reineke Hameleers. “Only when we know this will we be able to sufficiently judge whether this development amounts to one small step from the Commission, or one giant leap for animal welfare.”
Being involved ourselves with live animal transport investigation work for a long time; we have a bit to say about this.
See Part 2 which we will be publishing soon to experience some of our experiences. We hope to publish very soon.
Regards WAV.
Congratulations to all parties involved in this wonderful news – respect from us all ! – WAV.
Court Strikes Down Unconstitutional Kansas ‘Ag Gag’ Law
Posted by Jane Wolfe | January 27, 2020
In a triumph for animal welfare, the U.S. Court for the District of Kansas has ruled that the state’s “ag-gag” law violates the First Amendment and is therefore unconstitutional.
Challenged in 2018 by a coalition led by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), the law bans undercover investigators from taking photographs or filming animal facilities, such as slaughterhouses and factory farms, ultimately preventing the documentation of animal abuse.
On January 22, the U.S. Court for the District of Kansas rejected the state’s motion to dismiss the case and accepted the majority of the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, thus prohibiting Kansas from implementing the Ag Gag law.
ALDF maintains that the almost 30-year-old legislation prevents undercover activists from investigating inhumane conditions at animal facilities, stifling free speech. This enables unscrupulous companies to hide systemic animal abuse and avoid public scrutiny.
“For 30 years, Kansas lawmakers have suppressed whistleblowers from investigating cruel conditions on factory farms with this unconstitutional law,” explains ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells. “Today’s decision is a victory for the millions of animals raised for meat on factory farms.”
ALDF explained the importance of undercover investigations in both regulatory practice and public informational awareness.
“It is critical that investigations are not suppressed,” the organization said in a statement. “The public relies on undercover investigations to expose illegal and cruel practices on factory farms and slaughterhouses. No Federal laws govern the condition in which farmed animals are raised, and laws addressing slaughter and transport are laxly enforced.”
“Undercover investigations are therefore the primary avenue through which the public receives information about animal agriculture operations,” ALDF continued. “Investigations also reveal health and worker safety violations. Factory farms and slaughterhouses are major polluters, so undercover investigations are important for learning about violations of environmental laws as well.”
This victory in Kansas follows other federal courts in Idaho, Iowa and Utah ruling that those states’ ag-gag laws also violate the U.S. Constitution.
I’m from England – Saff (South) London type. ‘Adam and Eve’; Cockney slang for ‘Believe’.
Even then the words are usually shortened to further confuse ! – I love it !
‘Apples and Pears’ = Stairs; just becomes ‘Apples’ – I went up the apples to clean the ‘Tommy’s’ – Tommy Trinder – Winder; or ‘Window’. See what I mean ?
Great news here below;
Regards Mark.
KFC’s Beyond Meat chicken is a damn miracle
In a hip hotel in Chicago’s West Loop, nestled among more Michelin-starred restaurants than I can count, KFC has presented me with a carefully plated presentation of chubby chicken chunks on a rectangular white plate. The first is your standard, plain tan. The second, a honey BBQ. The third, drenched in buffalo sauce. And the final features an oily coating of Nashville hot spice.
Sitting amid lavish bouquets of bell peppers, turnips, Brussels sprouts, and other vegetables, I take my first bite of vegan* KFC.
KFC’s new Beyond Fried Chicken will be available in nearly 100 stores in Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville; and surrounding areas from February 3 to February 23. Produced by Beyond Meat exclusively for KFC, if it sells and customers like it, a nationwide release will follow at an undisclosed date.
Back in Chicago in my fancy tasting room, a 3-foot-tall cutout of the Colonel himself looks on from a green wall as I tried the undressed plant nugget for the first time. My teeth pierce the crunchy fried coating and shred through the meat.
It tastes like a doggone piece of chicken—and not just any piece of chicken, but a KFC piece of chicken with hints of those 11 herbs and spices. I fork and knife my way through the honey BBQ (perfectly too sweet, and the coating still crunchy), the buffalo (a touch vinegary for my taste but offering the uncanny aftertaste of chicken), and the Nashville (the deep pepper flavor has respectable heat that hits me a delightful 10 seconds later).
KFC and Beyond Meat executives are waiting to be interviewed, and I look at the four remaining pieces there on the plate, realizing this is the best faux chicken I’ve eaten in the last five years of eating mostly vegan. Would it be uncouth to keep going, to meet Ethan Brown, CEO of Beyond Meat, with BBQ sauce on my hoodie? (I opt to stop. Though I regret later that I didn’t finish.)
KFC adopting Beyond Meat is not necessarily the biggest coup for fake meats in fast food: Last year, Beyond Meat has already snuck its breakfast sausage into sandwiches and bowls at Dunkin’ (the fourth most popular chain in the U.S.) while fierce competitor Impossible landed the Whopper at Burger King (the sixth). But while KFC is smaller than either of these chains (at 12th place), it certainly feels like a sign of the times that a company that’s literally named “Kentucky Fried Chicken” will be selling chicken with no literal chicken in it. No wonder the alternative meat industry is projected to grow to $140 billion in a decade.
As Andrea Zahumensky, CMO of KFC U.S. tells me, KFC has been eyeing meat replacements for a while, but no product in the category seemed mature enough to work. That was until last year when talks with Beyond Meat began in earnest, and the two companies struck up a deal to co-develop a product. The process has taken about six months.
The target customer isn’t just vegans or vegetarians, but flexitarians—people who might eat meat but would like to cut back on how much they consume. As a recent Kroger study found, 93% of people who bought Beyond Burger had other animal proteins in their cart. And for KFC, which has been posting solid revenue and profits, though failing to have its Popeyes Chicken Sandwich moment, the product offers the opportunity to bring in a new, younger audience.
The chicken is good enough that I suspect it will. But getting to this point was difficult. Beyond Meat’s chicken product is completely custom for KFC—which is unique; the Impossible Whopper at Burger King and sliders at White Castle are the standard blend. The company went through countless iterations on the protein, ultimately opting, not for a ground, spongey protein, but something more akin to whole breast muscle tissue. As Brown demonstrates, picking apart a nugget with his fingers, Beyond Fried Chicken flakes and shreds. (It’s anything but the grill-marked homogenous slabs of Beyond Chicken I bought from the freezer aisle years ago.) The meat is marinated to improve texture and impart extra KFC flavor. Meanwhile, KFC worked on the breading, opting for a coat that was similar to the company’s popcorn chicken. It all comes together in a factory, before the product is shipped to KFC locations and deep fried to food safe temperatures, just like meat would be. This final fry is also key to denaturing the proteins, and giving the chicken the right mouthfeel, I’m told.
I was surprised that KFC is opting to present its plant-based chicken so naked, as a product that could be eaten plain, dipped, or tossed in sauce. Why not release a Beyond Meat Fried Chicken Sandwich that could hide any off flavours with a bun, veggies, and extra condiments? The vegan chick’n sandwiches I’ve eaten at restaurants for years do just this, and often to a convincing effect.
“Our customers expect KFC to have a certain flavour, [and] to be flavourful. Doing it in a form like this allows that flavor to shine and the texture to shine,” says Zahumensky—who implies that a bun or extra accoutrements would have just gotten in the way of this result.
One other curious part of the design is the shape. McDonald’s famously uses “bell, ball, bone and boot” moulds in their nugget designs, to create a sensation somewhere between chicken as factory-processed food and unique, organic snowflakes. For KFC’s Beyond Fried Chicken, each chunk of chicken has a geometry that’s tougher to describe. I jot down the term “warbly square” in my notes. Some pieces look like wing flats. Others look like a sort of fried tamagotchi keychain.
“It’s some kind of nugget-like boneless wing-like, more premium than a nugget [thing],” says Zahumensky. Indeed, originally this shape was even called a “boneless wing” during an early market test in Atlanta. Fans lined up around the block, but they got feedback: Plants don’t have bones so they can’t be boneless. “That’s why we test,” Zahumensky laughs at the company’s error. “We’re trying to learn.”
In the future, Beyond Meat could shape this chicken however KFC wants. For now, it’s clear the company is going for something more premium than a chicken nugget—but they can’t call it a wing. Chicken cube? Chicken tesseract? Don’t be surprised to see more testing from KFC in the future, regarding both the shape of its plant chicken and its branding.
Whatever shape and name Beyond Fried Chicken takes when it eventually hits stores nationwide, the product they have ready to trial today is superb. As I leave the meeting, the flavors of KFC are still left on my tongue. And I’m left with a new revelation about the future of fake meats.
Some people don’t like Beyond Meat for its uncanny resemblance to real meat. Others frown upon eating plant meats when the real stuff is so delicious and plentiful. (Both of these perspectives are fair; what you put into your mouth is entirely your business.) But Beyond Fried Chicken demonstrates that KFC is more food as brand than it is food as chicken. KFC as we know it in our mind’s eye is an experience that transcends the quibbles, “Is this real meat?” to ask, “Is this authentic KFC?” And Beyond Fried Chicken certainly is as guilty, salty, chewy, herbaceous, and umami-loaded of an experience as the KFC you know.
Though now I’d like some the Extra Tasty Crispy and Original Recipe versions, thanks!
* Beyond Fried Chicken is fried in the same fryers as KFC’s meat-based fried chicken. So much like Burger King’s Impossible Whopper, some people may have issue with call this “vegan.”
https://www.fastcompany.com/90455889/kfcs-beyond-meat-chicken-is-a-damn-miracle
January 29, 2020
France has announced that it will ban the controversial practice of live-shredding male chicks by 2021, as well as ending the castration of piglets without anaesthesia.
THE DETAILS: Every year around the world, billions of male chicks in the egg industry are killed by industrial agricultural farmers as they are considered useless by both egg and poultry producers since they do not lay eggs and aren’t the breed used for meat production. The practice of chick culling includes the brutal method of live-shredding, where chicks are ground up alive in a giant, high-speed grinder.
Similarly every year, millions of piglets suffer through the horrible procedure of castration without anesthesia to encourage them to grow fatter and prevent a potent smell said to emit from the fatty meat of non-neutered pigs.
A MAJOR VICTORY: Aside from the ghastly process of killing chicks by shredding, many are also gassed, electrocuted, or asphyxiated in plastic bags. With the announcement from France’s Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume, the country will be one of the first to ban the mass culling of chicks using any of these methods, and the castration of piglets without anesthesia. France joins Switzerland and Germany in similarly banning chick shredding, though a German court ruled last year that shredding could continue until a method was found to determine the sex of an embryo in the egg.
WHAT WE’RE SAYING: “This announcement is big news for animals and paves the way for the introduction of similar legislation in other countries. Chick culling is a cruel practice that does not belong in modern and compassionate societies.” says Sharon Núñez, President of Animal Equality.
WHAT COMES NEXT: While we celebrate this tremendous victory for farmed animals in France, the reality is that billions of animals suffer every year in countries around the world, and sadly, the United States remains as one of the countries still using the horrible practice of live-shredding. Your voice and consumer choices are crucial to ending these terrible atrocities. Please share this post and encourage your friends and family to stop using animal products.
https://animalequality.org/blog/2020/01/29/france-bans-live-shredding-of-chicks
And I mean…When I turn on the computer every morning, I have a bad feeling about what I’m going to read, mostly it’s a new animal suffering.
It was different today.
We have reported so many times about the fascist system that prevails in most slaughterhouses around the world, which means: massacring live chicks and castrate piglets without anesthesia.
France went a step ahead and decided to abolish these medieval methods.
The meat and milk mafia made in Germany has found a loyal ally, Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner, who supports the massacre and has extended both medieval methods.
We have a humorous so-called “animal protection law” here in Germany. It says:
“Nobody is allowed to cause pain, suffering or harm to an animal for no reasonable reason.”
The farmer’s lobby and making money are reasonable reasons for the Minister of Agriculture and therefore the massacre of these animals goes on.
France/Germany
Thanks France!
My best regards to all, Venus
Taking back control – and even better animal welfare legislation.
What have we learned about it in the EU as a member state since June 1975 ? – animal welfare really means very little; Lobbyists win every time.
We are reproducing the following as it seems a good overview of the current situation in China, and also now starting to affect other areas of the planet. One immediate issue that jumps out from this, is the fact that there is NO real animal welfare legislation in the country – people are allowed to raise, treat and kill animals much as they wish, and this is reflected in the fact that the current (Chinese) virus is suspected to have originated in Wuhan seafood market where wild animals, including marmots, birds, rabbits, bats and snakes, are traded illegally. In a sense, China is now reaping what it sowed by lacking in legislative controls regarding animal legislation.
The photographs we show here are not associated with the links given in the main text, but are taken from our recent post relating to the same:
In another of our posts, we ask the simple question – “do governments ever learn from what happens ?” – be it this issue in China; Foot and Mouth; BSE; and more.
Above – England – Burning of cattle corpses – Foot and Mouth.
Above – England – Cow Corpses awaiting incineration – BSE.
Some nations appear to learn a bit more from the problems of the past than others; and we strongly suggest to the Chinese authorities that they get into the 21st Century and start having national legislation regarding the welfare and treatment of animals. If they do not act (and improve things) as a result of this outbreak; are we not going to be reporting on yet further disease outbreaks originating from China in the near future ?
Something like this has a global effect – stocks and shares around the world are suffering as a result; and who knows how long it will take to recover. And what damage to the Chinese economy ? – possibly because the government refused to introduce even basic animal welfare legislation. Just look at the conditions in which Rats (yes Rats) are being skinned in the facility where the disease is thought to have started – skinning on the floor – hardly hygiene control is it ?
Above – Yulin dog meat festival
– What next; Yulin dog meat festival outbreaks of disease in Korean dog meat production sites ? – as we say; “do governments ever really learn ?” – if not, it will be at their (and their citizens) cost; as this current situation in China is now showing.
When all this is over (if ever), and a review of the situation is undertaken by the Chinese government and authorities; what are the bets that we will see the introduction of some kind of animal welfare legislation within China to further control and prevent something like this happening again.
China has been hit hard by its ignorance of any animal welfare legislation – now it suffers ass a result – something it is something it can correct legitivesley and put right in the very near future.
Will it ?, thats the question.
We wait and see; but doubt that a nation such as China wishes the same kind of thing to happen again in the near future.
So China, wake up to the modern world; lets see some animal welfare legislation; which will help the lives of both animals and humans !
Regards Mark (WAV); London.
How China’s coronavirus outbreak started, explained
Over 4,500 people have been infected with the novel virus that originated in a Chinese seafood market, and new cases are cropping up around the world
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-coronavirus
On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) China office heard the first reports of a previously-unknown virus behind a number of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, a city in Eastern China with a population of over 11 million.
Since then, the virus has infected more than 2,750 people globally. Although the vast majority of cases are in China, coronavirus has reached as far as the US, France, Australia, Japan, Canada and South Korea. Eighty-one people have died, with no reported fatalities outside of China.
The Chinese government has responded to the outbreak by placing Wuhan and nearby cities under a de-facto quarantine encompassing over 30 million people. Airports in the US and the UK have stepped-up their monitoring efforts to slow the spread of the virus – although as part of the citywide lockdown Wuhan airport is shut so there are currently no commercial flights leaving the city.
Although the WHO has concluded it’s still too early to declare coronavirus an international public health emergency, here’s everything you need to know about the unfolding situation.
Coronavirus is about to collide with a mass migration nightmare
How did the coronavirus start?
The virus appears to have originated from a Wuhan seafood market where wild animals, including marmots, birds, rabbits, bats and snakes, are traded illegally. Coronaviruses are known to jump from animals to humans, so it’s thought that the first people infected with the disease – a group primarily made up of stallholders from the seafood market – contracted it from contact with animals.
Although an initial analysis of the virus suggested it was similar to coronavirus seen in snakes, it now seems more likely that it came from bats. A team of virologists at the Wuhan Institute for Virology released a detailed paper showing that the new coronaviruses’ genetic makeup is 96 per cent identical to that of a coronavirus found in bats. Bats were also the original source of the Sars virus.
Although the Wuhan market was shut down for inspection and cleaning on January 1, by then it appears that the coronavirus was already starting to spread beyond the market itself. On January 21, the WHO Western Pacific office said that the disease was also being transmitted between humans – evidence of which is apparent after the infection of at least 41 medical staff.
What exactly is coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are known to infect both humans and animals, and in humans causes respiratory illness that range from common colds to much more serious infections. The most well-known case of a coronavirus epidemic was Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which, after first being detected in southern China in 2002, went on to affect 26 countries and resulted in more than 8,000 cases.
While the cause of the outbreak was initially unknown, on January 7 Chinese health authorities identified that it was down to a strain of coronavirus that hadn’t been encountered in humans before. Five days later the Chinese government shared the genetic sequence of the virus so that other countries could develop their own diagnostic kits.
Although symptoms of coronaviruses are often mild – including runny noses, headaches, coughs and fevers – in some cases they lead to more serious respiratory tract illness including pneumonia and bronchitis. These can be particularly dangerous in older patients, or people who have existing health conditions, and this appears to be the case with this novel coronavirus. Of five deaths where researchers had analysed the available medical history, four of them had underlying medical conditions that may have made them more vulnerable to the virus.
How far has it spread?
China has bore the brunt of coronavirus infections (so far). As of January 27, Chinese health authorities had acknowledged 2,750 cases and 81 deaths. Although the majority of these cases are in Wuhan, the disease has also spread to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province. In all of these cases, the infected people had either travelled recently to Wuhan or had contact with people who had been infected with the virus.
Thailand and Hong Kong have each reported eight cases of coronavirus while the US, Australia, Taiwan and Macau have five each. Japan, Singapore and Malaysia have four cases each with two in Vietnam and one each in Canada and Nepal.
In the UK, 52 people have been tested for the virus, but all of the results returned negative. The risk to the UK public remains low although public health experts say there is a fair chance that the UK will see cases of the virus.
What’s going to happen next?
After an initial meeting on January 22, the WHO met again on January 23 to decide whether to declare the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern – a formal designation that indicates a sudden outbreak may require an immediate international response. The WHO concluded that coronavirus is not currently a global emergency, saying there has currently been no evidence of human-to-human transmission outside of China. “This is an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one,” said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Since 2009 there have only been five declarations of international public health emergencies: the swine flu pandemic in 2009, a polio outbreak in 2014, the Western Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014, the Zika virus outbreak in 2015 and another Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019.
In China, the city of Wuhan is still on lockdown, with further travel bans extended to the nearby cities of Huanggang and Ezhou – a region that altogether encompasses nearly 30 million people. This will cause huge disruption, as the Lunar New Year, where hundreds of millions of people travel around China in one of the world’s largest mass migrations, is just about to get underway.
Updated 27.01.20, 11:30 GMT: The article has been updated to reflect the latest figures about the spread of coronavirus. The original version of the article was published at 11:30 GMT on January 23, 2020.
Chill and enjoy !
All photos – Direct Action Everywhere.
Free range chicken farm that supplies supermarkets including Tesco and Asda has its licence SUSPENDED by the RSPCA after activists found dozens of hens in ‘horrific’ conditions
Video link – https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/preview/mol/2020/01/28/117574580192721106/636x382_MP4_117574580192721106.mp4
A free range chicken farm that supplies major supermarkets has had its licence suspended by the RSPCA after animal rights activists found rotting corpses, bleeding hens and filthy conditions at the business.
RSPCA investigators intervened at Hoads Farm near Hastings, East Sussex, after they were ‘shocked’ and ‘appalled’ by the apparent state of the farm’s chickens.
Supermarkets including Tesco‘s, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons sell free range eggs from the farm, according to its website, at around £2 for a box of six.
Tesco today said it was ‘deeply disturbed’ by the images inside the farm and would not sell any of its eggs until an investigation was completed.
At least 150 activists from Brighton-based animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) stormed the farm on Monday morning, after publishing a video of conditions there, and demanded action from the authorities.
The activists sat inside chicken enclosures wearing protective gear and were later filmed carrying 50 birds out of the farm. The birds have now been pictured inside their homes on social media.
Footage of the grim conditions inside the farm was captured by DxE activists during a six-month investigation, which involved several visits.
Click here for the full article with video and photos:
RSPCA Assured, which oversees the charity’s certification of free range egg farms and made the decision to suspend the business from the scheme, said: ‘We are shocked and appalled by this footage and we understand why people are upset.
‘Any allegations of poor welfare issues on RSPCA Assured certified farms are taken extremely seriously, which is why we have suspended the farm’s accreditation while we urgently investigate.’
The RSPCA said it had ‘very serious concerns’ about Hoads Farm after viewing the footage.
Around 50 birds were taken and are to be provided with sanctuary:
Hoads Farm claims on its website that it ensures ‘high welfare standards’ using the British Egg Industry Council ‘Lion’ Code.
‘We are constantly striving to ensure that we supply the freshest and tastiest free range eggs to our customers,’ they said online.
‘This not only means adhering to highest industry standards, but also implementing our own unique standards of quality control.’
World Animals Voice 