Category: Farm Animals
For me personally; doing nothing is NOT an option !
- I just wanted to show you some photos from my collection about great animal campaigning days I had in Europe.
I think Monica took this photo of ‘my back’ when we were touring the EU back in 2005.
There were both Summer and Winter tours – I was involved with both, and the Summer one at least allowed you to wear just a T shirt rather than wrapping up in thermals for the Winter. It was cold, real cold; unlike the mild winters we seem to always get now.
Above – the thorn between 2 Roses – me with Monica (right) and Nanda (left).
Working on behalf of CIWF https://www.ciwf.org.uk/ we took the tour truck all over the EU – the truck was fitted out as a special walk through display where you entered at the back, met the veal calves in transport; then progressed on to a complete mock up of a battery cage system as used in the EU. Also shown were pig farming methods complete with fake pigs and farrowing crates and stalls.
‘Welcom’ to our road tour – the greeting for Dutch visitors.
Finally you moved on into the front section where you were shown ‘good and bad’ foods to purchase at the supermarket; outlining their impact (good or bad) for animal welfare. Outside the truck we had video screens continually showing footage of the systems; and the truck was kitted out externally to look like an animal transporter at the read; moving forward to systems which were better and did not involve intensive farming, A 2 view truck, bad at the rear, good at the front.
It was a good, productive tour, spreading the ‘intensive’ system word to many tens of thousands of people. In the Netherlands we even had personal permission from Her Majesty the Queen to park the tour truck in front of the Royal Palace for a few days to get the maximum attention; which we did, with thousands of people passing through to learn more about intensive systems and animal factory farming. The Dutch police were very supportive and helped us a lot.
Above – Eco Centre; beautiful de Kleine Aaarde in Boxtel
In the Netherlands we also visited de Kleine Aaarde in Boxtel https://www.bd.nl/boxtel/stap-voor-stap-vordert-natuurpark-de-kleine-aarde-in-boxtel~a82b4b10/?referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=2ahUKEwiXiO_jm4DmAhXIVsAKHVNLB-AQFjAEegQIBhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bd.nl%2Fboxtel%2Fstap-voor-stap-vordert-natuurpark-de-kleine-aarde-in-boxtel~a82b4b10%2F&usg=AOvVaw1ImRbWD3IG9zDAfP_fSZKg which is a massive and beautiful ‘Eco Centre’ which deals correctly with all aspects of food, the environment and animal welfare / farming issues.
We had a great time on the tour, spreading the word (with examples) of the real bad things relating to animal intensive farming. I can remember sitting down by the canals having a pizza with Monica, Nanda, Geert, John and Wayne after a busy days campaigning on the road. Memories which will always stick with me.
Wonderful John https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/04/25/england-another-terrible-loss-john-callaghan/ from CIWF came out for a while to visit us; and it was here that he and I spent many good hours in my car checking out the veal institutions of the NL; as well as a bit on live horse transport. John; taken way too early like all good people; he more than did his bit.
I was then and am still an angry young Turk when it comes to animal suffering; I hope this inspires you to get out and campaign !
Super memories; fantastic people; all dedicated to stopping suffering.
Regards Mark.
Above – waiting near a school for all the children to come and visit – and learn about it all.
Above – when we got back to England, we used the calves to stick the them Prime Minister, John Major, into a veal crate to give him a feel for what he was sending British calves to Europe for.
Like this below – a British calf is restrained in a European veal crate.
Above – ‘Scania Rules ok !’ – me taking time out with the tour truck at a free range chicken facility.
Can animals sue? The animal rights organization “PETA e.V.” wants to clarify the question before the supreme court.
PETA will petition the Federal Constitutional Court on behalf of tortured piglets. The special feature: The piglets themselves are to appear as legal persons, are formally and content complainants.
The fact that animals participate in such a process is a novelty in Germany – and highly controversial.
The Karlsruhe judges could therefore fail the constitutional complaint of pigs on the admissibility. Then it would not come to the material examination.
Background of the constitutional complaint is denounced by animal rights activists as torture practice of castration of pigs.
Annually, about 20 million male piglets are castrated in Germany shortly after birth in order to avoid the “boar taint” that affects the taste of the meat.
In castration, the piglets are usually cut open without anesthesia, the skin over the scrotum. Then the testicles are squeezed out and the spermatic cord is severed.
The pigs are fully conscious at the procedure.
Castration without anesthesia repeatedly postponed
Already in 2013, the Animal Welfare Act was amended so that the castration without anesthesia should only be allowed until the end of December 2018, but then shortly before the expiry of this deadline on 29 November 2018, the Parliament decided on the initiative of the Federal Government to extend the deadline by another two years extend.
The background of the extension: The farmers came the ban too early, they wanted the “regulated exit from the anesthetic castration”, it was then called by the German Farmers Association.
The “compromise” of the federal government finally envisaged that from 2020 on it should be allowed to pet owners to stun their piglets with the anesthetic gas isoflurane itself.
Against this practice and the statutory extension of the deadline Peta now turns with the constitutional complaint.
If the Federal Constitutional Court accepts the complaint, animals are granted rights that affect the entire society.
“The German law and the handling of animals in our society are blatantly contradictory to each other: Despite the animal welfare law and the constitutionally set goal of animal welfare every day countless animals are tortured and maltreated,” says Harald Ullmann, second chairman of Peta Germany eV in a statement of the association.
Pigs should be able to demand rights
“In order for the current legislation to be finally enforced, it is essential that animals are treated as legal entities and that they have the opportunity to sue for the enforcement of their rights in court.”
Under the Basic Law, the Federal Constitutional Court decides on “constitutional complaints” that can be raised by “anyone who claims to have been violated by an authority in one of its fundamental rights”.
Are pigs “somebody”? The question sounds philosophical.
The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, however, will deal with this question, since the answer to this question decides whether pigs – and other animals – may sue in Karlsruhe itself, ie are entitled to appeal or not.
Animal welfare is state goal
Christian Arleth, a lawyer at the animal rights organization Peta, says: “It should be clear that the term ‘everyone’ should be interpreted broadly.” Strictly speaking, women would no longer be able to appeal.
The fact that the pigs have the right to act as a complainant, derive the lawyers from Peta eV from the existing legal system: “The ability to have their own fundamental rights and demand depends on whether a person from the legal system as “capable of interest and of itself worthy of protection “, says Christian Arleth.
This is the case with the piglets. “The animals are already protected by a criminal law standard in the Animal Protection Law for their own sake.
There is the principle of freedom from suffering and pain for every single animal “, from which the subjective legal protection for the animals themselves and thus the ability to demand these rights themselves can be deduced.
Animal welfare is enshrined as a state goal in Article 20a of the Basic Law.
Elsewhere, animals have already been granted rights as “non-human persons”.
For example, the orangutan lady Sandra, who has been living in a zoo in Argentina for 20 years, was acquitted by a court in Buenos Aires of her “unjustified captivity”.
Although she was not biologically identical with humans, but was emotionally and happier in freedom, animal rights activists had argued at that time.
The court had followed this view.
My comment: In our humorous German animal protection law states: “Nobody is allowed to inflict pain, suffering or harm on an animal for no reasonable reason.”
Food is a reasonable reason, that’s how we made it, so we can torture animals.
Such peculiarities don`t apply to humans! killing is punished, no matter for what motives or reasons a person is killed.
In this respect, it is very important to put animal rights equal to human rights.
The basic question that the Federal Court must clarify is: are animals subjects of rights? Because they can not defend themselves, are we denying them the right of the legal entity?
No civilized person today would put the question of whether a 6-month-old or a mentally handicapped child are legal entities.
Because according to law these persons, despite their restriction to defend themselves, are legal entities, they are recognized as persons.
The animal welfare does not address animal rights; just dictate how people should treat animals. In other words, the creation of the Animal Welfare Act essentially affects humans, not animals, because humans decide (justice) how humans (actors) have to deal with animals.
The victims ones do not have much of it. An abused dog may often return to his torturer. He paid a fine for violating the law, but not the animal rights. The “thing” dog stays with him in this case.
Because animals are still considered as thing.
But if the court decides that pigs are an “anyone” then not only anesthesia-free castration will be banned but also the rape of female cows. And a lot of other crimes we practice every day on countless animals with the fascist law of the superior race.
ALL Animals are persons who should be protected like humans, and if they can not do it themselves (like little babies or senile people) their lawyers will do that.
Basta! And thank you PETA, we are with you!
My best regards to all, Venus
Friends and fellow campaigners;
As many of you know, we have had a lot in common with the recent movements of the ‘Al Shuwaikh’ for some months now – from the days earlier in the year when thousands (70,000 to be precise) of live sheep were exported in this rust heap out to the Middle East for ritual slaughter:
We tracked it each day by satellite and gave regular updates of its position(s).
You can find a lot more on our work with this and a lot more of other live transport work by visiting:
https://worldanimalsvoice.com/category/live-transport/
Now it has mover to South Africa to try and get involved in live sheep exports from there.
But as with Australia, the EU, and now SA; the rust heap is getting trouble and actions against it wherever it attempts to take its disgusting trade.
Here is the latest from the Exec Director at the National Council of SPCAs who have now taken up the fight that this hip belongs in one place only – the scrapyard and history books !
Best regards – Mark.
Dear Animal Warrior,
Thank you for signing our petition – for taking action to stop the torture that is live export.
Following the harrowing days spent at the East London harbour by our Inspectors at the NSPCA when some 60 000 sheep were loaded for shipment to the Middle East, we are finally in a position to confirm that criminal charges in terms of the Animals Protection Act No 71 of 1962 have been laid.
The charges were laid against the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) as well as Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Al Mawashi – the owners of the Al Shuwaikh vessel, who have a company in South Africa, the captain of the Al Shuwaikh, the Page Farming Trust, and individuals from the Page Farming Trust.
Conditions on board the Al Shuwaikh included dangerously high ammonia levels on some of the enclosed decks, dirty conditions including faeces in the food and water troughs, together with other serious welfare concerns. On the dock and feedlot animals were treated in an inhumane manner, and attempts were made to load sick, injured and lame animals onto the vessel. These sentient beings meant nothing to the officials and exporters. Our pleas to treat the animals humanely fell on deaf ears. Seeing the suffering of these sheep even before their departure, and watching the Al-Shuwaikh depart was heartbreaking, but it has also affirmed our determination to advocate for justice on their behalf.
We have received criticism that it has taken too long to lay the charges for animal cruelty. Preparing separate dockets for the feedlot, the harbour and the vessel carrying the sheep has involved the collation of valuable evidence from 15 staff members. Carefully completed dockets with the relevant evidence have been handed over to the South African Police Services who will now only be required to obtain statements from the accused.
We also met with our legal counsel who have confirmed that we have a case for the High Court. The intention is not only to ensure that the Al-Shuwaikh does not return to our shores, but also to challenge the issue of exporting live animals by sea.
We believe that live export by sea is completely unacceptable and unnecessary.
We would like to sincerely thank you for your support in our campaign to stop this heinous trade and know that you will continue to stand with us as we face this giant. We may have lost this battle – but we have not lost the war, and we will continue to do what it takes to make sure that this never happens again in South Africa.
Kind regards
Marcelle Meredith
National Council of SPCAs
Executive Director
P.S. The costs incurred thus far have been exorbitant and we have a long road ahead. With donations from caring South Africans and international supporters, we are hopeful that we will be in a financial position to proceed with this landmark case. We stand together against this animal cruelty. With donations from caring South Africans and international supporters, we are hopeful that we will be in a financial position to proceed with this landmark case. We stand together against this animal cruelty.
Visit the site at https://nspca.co.za/
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WAV Comment – Wonderful to see that the younger generation are doing so much more now to promote animal welfare – congrats to all involved – Mark.
Vietnam drawing competition draws attention to bloody animal festivals
13 November 2019
https://www.animalsasia.org/uk/media/news/news-archive/vietnam-drawing-competition-draws-attention-to-bloody-animal-festivals.html
On the 28th of October, an awards ceremony was held at the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre. The prizes were for a drawing competition to raise awareness about animal welfare and cruel animal festivals. There were lots of great entries and picking the winners was a challenging task for the judges.
Fortunately, we had the help of some talented and experienced judges including professors from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, well known illustrators La Studio from Ho Chi Minh city, as well as our Animal Welfare Director Dave Neale.
First prize went to Cam Anh Ng for a powerful piece that closely focuses on a pig used in a pig slaughter festival. The judges were impressed by the powerful composition and use of colour.
On winning, Cam Anh Ng said:
“It is a nice surprise to find out that I won this competition. With this drawing, the key message I want to give is that animals suffer in the same way that humans do when they bleed. I really hope people will understand that animals need to be treated better to avoid such cruelty.”
Read and see more work via the above link.
No European money for Ukrainian poultry company
Faced with strong opposition, MHP, the main Ukrainian poultry meat company exporting to the EU, has withdrawn its application for a grant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Over the past five months, Eurogroup for Animals and its Member organisations have urged the European Union and its Member States to prevent the EBRD from granting another €100 million loan to MHP.
Our message was clear: the loan must respect the rules of the EBRD, which means that the grantee’s operations must follow animal welfare standards equivalent to those applied in the EU. This was not – and still has not – been proven for MHP.
The discussions at the EBRD were postponed several times after the European Commission, through Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, expressed its opposition to the EBRD granting such a loan to MHP. The EBRD had even published a recognition of the numerous concerns voiced by stakeholders and indicated that they would carry out a proper assessment of whether their environmental and social criteria – including animal welfare – were respected.
The announcement by the Ukrainian company that it has finally withdrawn its request for a loan is a victory. Faced with strong opposition from not only the animal welfare movement, the environmental NGOs and the European poultry sector, but also from the EU institutions themselves in the context of difficult EU-Ukraine trade discussions, the company has opted for another way to finance its acquisition of a Slovenian poultry producer, avoiding thus more scrutiny.
Eurogroup for Animals welcomes that no additional European money will fund unsustainable agricultural practices carried out by the Ukrainian poultry giant. In addition, considering the steep increase in animal products imported by the EU from Ukraine, we call on the EU and its Member States to encourage Ukraine to fulfil its commitment to align with EU animal welfare rules faster.
Revealed: The horrible fate of French animals exported alive to third countries
Suspended by their legs while still conscious, tied up and with their necks cut halfway through: a new investigation by Animals International reveals the fate of French animals exported alive to Morocco and Lebanon.
Today in France, Welfarm, Fondation Brigitte Bardot, L214, CIWF France and La Fondation Droit Animal, Ethique et Sciences are releasing footage filmed by Animals International’s investigators in slaughterhouses in these countries.
Every year, France exports live animals to other EU and non-EU countries. When it comes to animals transported outside the EU territories, the majority of animals are destined for countries in which the slaughterhouses do not have the infrastructure and equipment required to comply with the standards established by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in regards to slaughter.
In 2018 alone France exported 83,914 sheep and cows, mainly to Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and Israel. Hanging the animals by their paws, pushing fingers into their eyes, slashing their throats, binding them, slicing their tendons, and letting to struggle with their heads half cut off are common practices in slaughterhouses in North Africa and the Middle East, where Animals International has been investigating for 10 years.
Confronted with this evidence, Welfarm, Fondation Brigitte Bardot, L214, CIWF France, La Fondation Droit Animal, Ethique et Sciences and Animals International, together with Eurogroup for Animals, have sent a letter to the French Minister urging him to stop the export of live animals and to shift to a meat and carcasses trade.
ACTION:
Sign the Welfarm petition to stop live exports
Read the article by Le Monde
Already in 2015, the “association against animal factories” (VGT) received shocking material from this southern Styrian slaughterhouse. In recent weeks, the slaughterhouse was mainly in the media because of a “rotten-meat” scandal.
Now new shots show how cruel it still going on in 2019 in this slaughterhouse.
Blows, kicks and injured animals, slaughterhouse veterinarians are just watching!
Brand-new images of a Styrian slaughterhouse show employees torturing pigs with electric tricycles in different situations. In several cases, the official slaughterhouse veterinarians watch for a few minutes and do not step in! The “association against animal factories” (VGT) refunds comprehensive advertisements.
A few weeks ago, the scandal began around a Styrian slaughterhouse, which, according to media reports, had processed meat from animals that were to be classified as carcass waste.
Now comes the shocking footage of August and October this year, which show gross violations of the Animal Welfare Act and the Battle Ordinance.
Even if the operation has been closed for a short time: the allegations to the authorities remain!
Electric torture: pigs roar in pain
According to the European regulation for the protection of animals, the use of electric drivers at the time of killing is strictly regulated and limited.
Only on clearly movement-denying animals, which can actually move on, electric drivers may be used to a small extent.
The videos from the slaughterhouse show another, cruel reality: “Pigs that are already running or even trapped with other pigs are systematically shocked and the screams of the pigs can be heard all the way to the cemetery opposite,” explains VGT vice-chairman David Richter.
Slaughterhouse veterinarians are just watching!
In the imagination of many people animal welfare violations in slaughterhouses would actually have to be prevented by the presence of official veterinarians.
But the current detection shows a different picture: the pigs are driven by the electric shock device directly to the veterinarians – without intervention of the veterinarians, systematically over several hours. The VGT filed a complaint against the two veterinarians for abuse of office.
Beating, kicking and injured animals
Particularly hard to bear are the scenes of a pig with significant walking problems and a severely injured foreleg.
Nevertheless, the animal is forced to walk with the stun gun.
A cattle is delivered with a swollen leg, hobbling. Other shots show the faces of pigs and cattle and a kick towards the pig’s head.
Such punches and kicks are in turn prohibited by the battle ordinance.
A comprehensive complaint against the employees of the slaughterhouse has been submitted to the district main team Leibnitz.
Consequences demanded
Already in 2015, the slaughterhouse caused a negative sensation in the wake of the slaughterhouse scandal. The allegations at the time of the violence in the activities of the animals are partly reflected in the current material.
Changes since 2015 did not appear to be effective, at least in this area.
“The fact that there are still veterinarians who are not immediately involved in such activities is seen as a failure of official control measures,” concludes David Richter.
A recent petition (https://vgt.at/actionalert/skandalschlachthof2019/index.php) to the Styrian Parliament demands consequences: exact investigations and possibly penalties for those involved; Improvements and transparency in official slaughterhouse controls (for example in the form of annual reports); and a final closure (without “reopening”) of the scandal operation.
And this one week before the Styrian state election – how will the state policy react?
https://vgt.at/presse/news/2019/news20191118mn.php
My comment: A shit will react the politics!
Animal welfare is a topic that is represented in Austria with less than 3%.
This is what the last state elections on 29th September 2019 showed. The party, in which Martin Balluch (founder of VGT) ran for animal welfare, reached only 2.5% and thus no place in parliament. https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/09/24/austria-give-your-vote-for-martin-balluch-for-the-animals/
An indifferent and disinterested society has strengthened the backs of corrupt lobbyists for years and these will return to power over and over again, with or without rotten meat.
Suffering animals and a bit of rotten meat can not change the rotten conscience of voters.
My best regards to all, Venus
The real scandal is not the price, but that animals are traded, abused, exploited and murdered.
Calves now cost less than nine euros, according to SPIEGEL-MAGAZIN information. Such cheap prices are “the sad side effect of industrial agriculture,” says the Green Party politician Ostendorff (full member of the Committee on Food and Agriculture).
Cattle breeders in Germany are currently facing an unprecedented drop in prices.
A black and white cow calf was still worth 8.49 euros in October.
This follows from the response of the Ministry of Agriculture to the Federal MEP Parliament, Friedrich Ostendorff, according to the information of an industrial service.
Market restrictions due to bluetongue are responsible for the price erosion, according to the ministry.
Transport restrictions, such as to Spain, have recently led to an oversupply of female calves, which cost just under 30 euros in June.
The German Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner had expressed in a letter to her Bavarian counterparts doubt (!!!) whether such transports are compatible with the EU Regulation. A few weeks old animals are often over 19 hours in the truck on the way. Animal welfare, according to Ostendorff, that is not.
Hubertus Paetow, President of the German Agricultural Society, says that the problem has a far greater dimension: “The calf has no real place in the value chain and so it ends up being squandered in principle,” he told the magazine Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Calves are co-products of milk production”(!!!)
But with the restrictions alone, the price decline is hardly explainable. The green agricultural expert considers other reasons more important: The cheap prices are “the sad side effect of industrial agriculture,” says Ostendorff.
“The intensive milk production also leads to too many calves being produced for the market.”
Ottmar Ilchmann of the Association of Farming Agriculture considers the prices for a scandal: “There a calf costs less than a canary bird.” The one-sided breeding of certain breeds only on milk yield makes their offspring for the mast uneconomical.
In addition, the food supplies are scarce due to the drought.
“These thin calves are often no longer considered animals, but only as damage.”
My comment: In this one sentence manifests the perversion of industrial meat- and milk mafia:
“These thin calves are often no longer considered animals, but only as damage.”
In the concentration camps of the Nazis, about 6 million human victims were murdered and also raped, tortured…
Client: none (or one)!
In the concentration camps of the perpetrators of the 21st century, about 900 million (Germany) and 70-75 billion (worldwide) non-human victims are raped, tortured, tortured and murdered every year.
Client: Billions of carnivorous human animals.
And yet there is one difference: The Nazis did not breed their victims!
The perpetrators of the animal concentration camps are multiplying their (non-human) victims billions!
The crimes of the Nazis ended in 1945!
The crimes committed in the Tier KZ’s of the 21st century, with billions of non-human victims, continue unabated!
This fact proves that the human species belongs to a fascist race, and that out of conviction.
My best regards to all, Venus
World Animals Voice 