https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czj9nl88k0mo
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Regards Mark
Category: Farm Animals
He realised the only thing I couldn’t say no to was giving all the money away to animal rights organisations. The irony is the only way to get me on tour is to make sure I don’t make a penny from it.
Moby’s passion for animal rights is no secret as the star has even brand himself with his beliefs through tattoos.
His boldest are two arm tattoos which he debuted in 2019 and read ‘Animal Rights’, one word on each arm in thick black ink.
Regards Mark
Metro – London
27 September 2024
Four Paws
All across Europe, billions of animals endure unimaginable suffering every day, as current EU laws continue to fall short in providing them the protection they desperately need. NGOs Eurogroup for Animals and FOUR PAWS have teamed up to host the photo exhibition Silent Suffering which will expose the pain and distress endured by farmed, companion, wild, and aquatic animals.
The invite-only event will take place on 1 October at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels, bringing together MEPs and representatives of animal protection organisations from across Europe.
The photos, put forward by Eurogroup for Animals’ member and partner organisations are spread across nine categories: cage farming, transport, broiler chickens, aquatics, fur farming, animals in science, large carnivores, pets, and trade.
Why this exhibition matters now
As the European Commission prepares to enter a new term, FOUR PAWS and Eurogroup for Animals call for animal welfare to be a priority, and for a revision of the outdated animal welfare legislation to be put forward without further delay.
Regards Mark
To many he is simply known as ‘Bri’.
Sir Brian May, Queen Rock Band lead guitarist, co founder of animal welfare organisation ‘Save Me’, https://savemetrust.co.uk/ and a Doctor of Astrophysics, has resigned as Vice President of the RSPCA after 11 years as he considers the farm assured scheme as promoted by the RSPCA is in fact, anything but.
Almost 4,000 farms are certified RSPCA Assured, which indicates that their meat, fish, eggs and dairy products have been produced to strict standards which exceed the UK’s legal requirements.
Here Brian plays lead guitar – the singer is the brilliant Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant – or ‘Planty’; This event took place at Wembley Stadium, LONDON on Easter Monday, 20th April 1992 for a Freddie Mercury (Queen vocalist) tribute concert.
References:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13898023/Brian-queen-resigns-rspca-protest.html
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/rspca-reviews-animal-welfare-scheme-33762348
As animal campaigners, we can all appreciate how very difficult it must be to pack up and walk away from a positions such as this. The RSPCA are a fantastic charity who get NO funding from the government – they live solely through donations and legacies such as funds left by the public in personal Wills.
Regardless of this particular issue, I do, and will continue to give a small monthly donation to the RSPCA – why ? – because I have full respect and support for all the wonderful works they do in other areas; rescuing animals from suffering and harm; campaigning against animal cruelty, undercover work in dog fighting for example. Like Brian, I have very serious concerns about their farm assured labelling; and serious concerns anyway about all animals kept under the ‘farming’ umbrella; but this does not automatically stop me making a monthly donation. For many now, times have gotten that bit harder financially, and all charities are grateful for any support given to them.
So, they still get a little support from me regardless of how I feel specifically about the farm assured labelling. Policy can and is already underway to be changed in this area; animal cruelty does not stop overnight, so for me and the RSPCA, it is because of their other work that I still support.
Sadly, the farm assured scheme has been questioned for many years by us in the AR camp; but I am now pleased to see Bri put his words into actions; and for this I support him 110%. In 2023, Chris Packham, known to many UK viewers for he BBC Watch series – Springwatch, Autumnwatch etc became the President the the RSPCA. Chris is also a massive AW person and is Patron of many fine UK animal organisations, such as World Land, Animal Aid and Compassion In World Farming. I understand that for years Chris has been saying that the RSPCA farm assured scheme must be scrapped; but I suggest that some others in the organisations fight to keep the scheme going.
So back to Brian – Fully respected and understood reason why you decided to leave as VP. Hopefully the RSPCA will review their farm assured policies and as such, will bring back to the British Public the respect they deserve when they see the sticky label on food in their local supermarkets. A label which should mean that their food products are produced to the highest animal welfare standards.
Most Brits care a lot about animal welfare – I know cos I am one of them ! As a consequence they have a right to know that what the food label says in what they as consumers get; a guarantee that the labelling means that their food is produced to the highest standards and that NO cruelty takes place when to comes to animals raised.
We now wait to hear what the RSPCA is going to do.
In he meantime, well done Sir Brian for speaking out; full respect for this and all your badger work.
Regards Mark
Below – one of my resident garden badgers.
Regards Mark
20 September 2024
LAV
Considered a byproduct of the egg industry, over 35 million male chicks are killed every year in Italy. In 2021, Italy approved a law to ban male chick culling by the end of 2026. But slow progress is being made on making the ban a reality.
In order to ensure the ban can be enacted by 2026, the government must support the transition of companies towards the adoption of more animal-friendly practices, and correctly inform consumers.
However, the adoption of the decrees is still incomplete. The deadline for issuing the pending measures was set for 7 April 2024, but failure to implement the legislation risks continuing to encourage the slaughter of millions of chicks every year.
In the egg industry, male chicks are shredded alive or suffocated within the first 24 hours of birth, and without the use of stunning techniques.
Viable alternatives already exist, such as in-ovo sexing technologies that detect male eggs before they hatch. In France, where a ban on chick culling has been agreed in principle but not yet implemented, the additional cost to consumers is estimated at only one cent per box of six eggs.
Animal Equality, CIWF Italia, Essere Animali, Animal Law Italia and LAV wrote to the Ministries of Health and Agriculture asking them to adopt the decrees necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the ban.
They called for the adoption the envisaged decrees, in particular:
- The labelling of eggs treated with in-ovo sexing technologies;
- The promotion and development of technologies for in-ovo sexing;
- The definition of criteria for managing chicks born by mistake within the egg industry.
Over 110,000 Italian citizens supported a petition by Animal Equality calling for the ban. The associations stressed that society is ready to take this historic step for animal welfare, and politicians must do their part so as not to betray citizens’ trust.
Regards Mark
17 September 2024
Press Release
The new Commission, announced today, will include a Commissioner dedicated to Animal Welfare, in a move very positively welcomed by animal protection NGOs. This will allow for better prioritisation of the topic, in line with the demands of EU citizens.
Animal welfare will be included in the title of the new Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, President Ursula von der Leyen announced today as she revealed the structure and nominees of the new College.
Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi has been nominated to take this role, subject to his approval in the EP hearing in the next weeks.
It is welcome to see that the competence of Animal Welfare remains under DG SANTE, ensuring a One Health approach that acknowledges the interlink between animal welfare, public health and the environment.
The ask for a Commissioner dedicated to Animal Welfare aligns with the collective voice of 310,000 citizens and over 200 MEPs in the 2019-24 term of the Parliament, and already over 100 MEPs in the new one, in a years-long EU for Animals campaign, led by Eurogroup for Animals’ member GAIA. The new Commissioner will be crucial in ensuring the delivery of the promised revision of the outdated EU animal welfare legislation.
The work of the new Commissioner responsible for Animal Welfare will also greatly interlink with that of other Commissioners – including that of nominee for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, who is expected to “bring to life the report and recommendations of Strategic Dialogue on the future of EU agriculture”. The report explicitly recommends a revision of animal welfare legislation by 2026 as well as a transition to cage-free systems.
It will also include working closely with the Commissioners responsible for Fisheries, Trade and Environment, among others, to ensure ambitious EU legislation that ensures high animal welfare standards in all relevant areas.
It is great to see that finally, the new Commission is listening to the demands of citizens, who have continuously asked for better EU laws to protect animal welfare. The inclusion of Animal Welfare in the title will ensure that this topic remains a priority in all relevant discussions and we expect the revision of the animal welfare legislation to be the first file to be dealt with.
Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals
Regards Mark
12 September 2024
“Fact-finding” visits to fur farms in Poland are being conducted this week by auditors of the European Commission, as part of the process in which an EU-wide ban on such farms is being considered.
This visit by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety comes as a result of the European Citizens’ Initiative Fur Free Europe, in which 1.5 million European citizens called for a ban on fur farms and the sale of farmed fur products in the EU.
On fur farms, animals such as mink, foxes, chinchillas and racoon dogs are kept in tiny cages, hindered from displaying natural behaviour and killed solely for an unnecessary fashion product: fur.
Under no circumstances, can the welfare of animals on fur farms be protected and a ban should be the only way forward. As a highly polluting industry, fur farming and processing also pose serious threats to biodiversity and public health. 20 member states have already implemented total bans, partial bans or other legislative measures on fur farming, however the EU is still set to give its final decision on an EU-wide ban.
During the visit, the auditors will be primarily focusing on the public health and zoonotic disease risks posed by such farms, after several fur farms in Europe were affected by Covid-19 and avian influenza in recent years, including Poland. Besides evaluating the implementation of the One Health mechanism on Polish fur farms, the audits may also include an evaluation of the welfare of farmed animals.
Although the auditors’ visits from the European Commission are announced, I am confident that the evaluation of fur farms in Poland will be negative. The welfare of foxes and minks is shockingly poor and will not go unnoticed by the visitors. As for public health risks, this issue has been ignored by the fur industry and disregarded by the Ministry of Agriculture, so we also expect a negative assessment from the auditors.
Paweł Rawicki, President, Otwarte Klatki
Apart from the undeniable animal welfare issues inherent to fur farms, the fact-finding visits conducted by the European Commission to fur farms in certain Member States are highly relevant. The connection between fur farming and the spread of zoonotic diseases must not be overlooked, especially in the context of preventing future pandemics. Given the non-essential nature of fur products, and in line with the One Health approach — essential for anticipating, preventing, detecting, and controlling diseases that transmit between animals and humans — it is unlikely that proportionate justifications can be found to continue legitimising this industry in the EU.
Bethania Malmberg, Programme Officer Fur Animals, Eurogroup for Animals
With over 300 farms keeping 3.4 million animals, Poland is currently the largest fur producer in the EU. Earlier this year, a bill was presented by a Polish MP for a national ban, yet this is still set to be deliberated in Parliament.
Regards Mark
World Animals Voice 