Are the citizens of the EU finally starting to understand things ?
We have always campaigned (along with millions of others in the EU) for live animal transport to be reduced to a maximum of 8 hours. Under constant pressure from the EU meat mafia to keep things ‘as is’, or even worse; we have got nowhere with our demands.
Tonight, 26/5/19; we will see how the EU will change. Those who have always regarded themselves as the ‘gods of Europe’ may well be dethroned this evening. It could be a big positive for animal welfare.
„I was always bothered by the idea of hitting a beautiful, living, innocent animal over the head, cutting him up into pieces, then shoving the pieces into my mouth. I finally made my decision to stop eating animals when I came upon a ritual slaughter scene during a visit to Israel.
My experiences in the during the Nazi Holocaust had a profound impact on my subsequent life choices. I felt some guilt that I lived when so many others didn’t, and a sense of duty to redeem my survival by assuming their share of responsibility for making this planet a better place to live for all its inhabitants”.
Alex Hershaft-FARM Animal Rights Movement
“Thursday, April 19th, marks the 75th anniversary of the 1943 uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto, where I spent three of my childhood years. This event is observed throughout the world as Holocaust Day.
The attached 6-minute video tracks my journey from the Holocaust to the struggle for animal rights and against all oppression.
I hope you find time to view it and reflect on its conclusions” (Alex Hershaft).
Everything that the Nazis did to the Jews, we practice today with the animals!
All around us, there is a system of humiliation, cruelty and killing that can compete with anything the Third Reich was capable of. This system regenerates itself every day from the new, and produces life in the stables only with the intention of destroying it through consumption.
Image: PETA
“ Never again” is not about what others shouldn’t do to others. It’s about what we shouldn’t do to others. “Never again” means that we must never again perpetrate mass atrocities against other living beings.
That we must never again raise animals for food or any other form of exploitation“. (Alex Hershaft)”
Image: PETA
The moment we talk about it, there are thousands of trucks around the world carrying a lot of sentient beings who have long since understood that they are being led to death.
Injured, bleeding, half-dead, hungry and thirsty beings are taken to the modern barracks and destroyed there in the same way as the Nazis destroyed the deportees at the time.
Image: PETA
We have to do such comparisons over and over again.
Only in this way can we make an indifferent and carnivorous society think and provoke discussion about animal suffering, because this society walks around and behaves as if it were normal and natural to consume violence and death.
The wall of anthropocentric-egoistic ignorance can not be broken otherwise. The outrage that such comparisons inflict on certain people shows their ethical deficiency regarding our nonhuman fellow creatures.
“When I see cages crammed with chickens from battery farms thrown on trucks like bund les of trash, I see, with the eyes of my soul, the Umschlagplatz (where Jews were forced on to trains leaving for the death camps). When I go to a restaurant and see people devouring meat, I feel sick. I see a holocaust on their plates. ( Georges Metanomski, a Holocaust survivor who fought in the Warsaw ghetto uprising)
WAV Comment – Does this not show that humans are the biggest shits on the planet !
Donkeys are being wiped out!
Donkeys will be extinct in four years if China is not stopped!
If the insatiable demand in China for donkey skins is not banned, donkeys could be extinct in four years.
It’s that simple and that frightening. The Chinese use donkey skins to make a phony medicine called Ejiao and they want TEN MILLION SKINS A YEAR to do so. You do the math: In four years, all the world’s donkeys could be gone. The Political Animal Lobby is trying to stop it and we need your help to do so.
Right now, the trade is centred in Africa. Like vampires, Chinese traders have fallen on unsophisticated rural people – buying and stealing donkeys on an unprecedented scale, often slaughtering donkeys while they are still alive and then shipping their skins to China.
The donkey genocide that is taking place is not only a massive tragedy for animals, it has a devastating effect on children. In Africa, people are poor and public transport is rare, so the people use donkeys to fetch water and wood and to take their children to school. If there are no donkeys, then the children can’t get to school and instead are used as child labour, carrying wood and water to remote villages.
Yet this tragedy is being virtually ignored by many African governments.
Kenya has even LEGALISED the trade and set up donkey slaughterhouses, where thousands of donkeys die each month. When donkeys are wiped out in one area, the slaughterhouse closes and moves to another. Recently, a smuggling trade has erupted bringing donkeys from Ethiopia to Kenya.
In South Africa, where lawlessness is common and police are corrupt and inefficient, the donkeys are bought on public auction and led into the bush, where impromptu, illegal slaughterhouses are set up and men, often drunk, hack the donkeys to death, while skinning them in their death agony.
The only way this can be stopped is if enough people publicly condemn the Chinese donkey skin trade and persuade African governments to ban it. There are two important ways to do this…
Firstly, please if you possibly can, make a donation to the Political Animal Lobby today. We will use your donation to relentlessly pressure governments in every way we can, to ban the trade. We know that if we can bring enough pressure to bear, we will win, but we can’t do it without you.
Secondly, please sign our petition to the South African government today. The trade is particularly vicious there because of the extreme cruelty that is often involved in donkey slaughtering. Because it is so cruel, we will spearhead the African campaign in South Africa.
The EU is the second largest meat producer in the world with around 47 million tonnes (China, the first: 85 million tonnes).
Over the past 50 years, global meat consumption has quintupled. Demand for meat and, above all, poultry is rising rapidly worldwide. To cover them, global meat production must increase to 470 million tonnes by 2050. To this end, the meat industry uses: vaccines, antiparasitic and antibiotic products for pigs, poultry and cattle!
Germany is not only one of the largest meat producers, but also one of the largest milk producers in the world. Subsidized with tax money! Germany produces 8 million tons of meat every year!
In order to be able to produce that amount of meat at all, it needs food for the animals.Germany imports most of the soya from Latin America.
This is the illegal deforestation of Mato Grosso, a federal state of Brazil
This soy, mostly genetically modified, is used for the rearing of chickens, pigs and cattle or for the production of meat, eggs and dairy products.
To be able to produce this amount of soy, forests are cleared and burned. An extraordinary, century-old ecosystem with a high biodiversity disappears.
So, if the topic of climate change or CO2 is under discussion, why is the topic of factory farming not mentioned?
Animal products are associated with high greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and inefficient land use! The agricultural lobby is powerful, that’s well known. And it is subsidized in Germany with tax money, which then for education, care, etc. not available. From the EU, the German agricultural lobby receives about 6 billion euros and these are causing severe damage in other countries. On average, every EU citizen pays 32 cents a day for the EU’s agricultural policy.
Europe’s largest chicken farm is located in Germany, north of Hanover, where over 2.6 million chickens are killed every week.That’s between 7 and 8 per second. Europe’s largest slaughterhouse for poultry was subsidized with 6.5 million euros from taxpayers’ money!
And to ensure that meat production continues to boom, EU Agriculture Commissioner Hogan promised to help “productive” farm animal owners to open up new export markets, and he referred to market voyages to Vietnam and Indonesia.
In 2017, 35 million tons of soybeans and soybean meal from North and South America were shipped to the European Union – in absolute terms 68 kilograms for each EU citizen.
Without these imports, the production of animal food would not be possible at the current level. Because Europe does not produce enough protein-rich forage plants to be able to feed the large numbers of livestock – especially pigs and poultry, but also cattle. Maize is mainly grown for bioenergy.
Most of the more than 312 million tons of soybeans grown worldwide feed on humans only indirectly.
Processed into animal feed it serves the growing meat production in the factory.
The vast majority of world trade in soybeans and meal (around 90%) is in those countries where genetically modified soybeans are grown.
Meat consumers eat GMOs without them knowing it. Chickens, pigs and cattle get genetically modified food. In addition to genetic engineering are the pesticides that were made suitable for these genetically modified plants, such as glyphosate. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of the amount of pesticides they are exposed to daily from their diet. The majority of our meat and dairy products come from animals fattened with GMO feed.
It is estimated that over 30 million tonnes of genetically modified feed are imported into Europe each year to feed pigs, poultry, dairy and beef cattle and farmed fish.
Much of the soybean and corn used for this purpose is grown in South America, including Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
Cheap meat, cheap milk and cheap eggs can only be produced with cheap soybeans, which, however, the countries of origin pay dearly: deforested rainforests, destroyed environment, poisoning of humans and animals are the result.
“All rivers, all water resources are dead. Where previously grew forests, there are now only soy plantations. Everything is poisoned, which is mainly due to the massive use of agrochemicals. At the same time, indigenous communities, which have always lived in the Atlantic rainforests, have been displaced. Particularly affected are the Guarani’I m’gba” Elias Diaz Pena, Sobrevivencia, Paraguay.
This is not agriculture. This is an environmental crime!
This documentary video explores the catastrophic effects of soybean cultivation in South America and shows people in South America and Europe alternatives to the devastating vicious circle. The video is in English or Spanish with German subtitles.
My comment: The Ex-UN representative, the Swiss Jean Ziegler said:
“A child dying of hunger today is being murdered”!
By whom murdered? Of all those who are involved in this system. This also applies to those meat consumers who are indifferent to the suffering of animals and the destruction of the environment and who finance this system through their purchases.
Because we and our children want to have our steaks, the poor countries sell their crops to the livestock of the rich nations, while in the 122 of the third world countries, and according to UN statistics, 43,000 children die of hunger… per day!!
Each of us makes daily the decision whether he wants to participate in the dirty system of the farm animal mafia by the consumption of meat, milk, cheese and eggs and whether he wants to make himself guilty of the brutal consequences for the environment, the hunger and the suffering of the animals.
WAV Comment – we wish dear Erika all the very best with what sounds like a bad injury. Time will heal and she will soon be back to full strength saving the many animals as always with AAU. Please support them and give a donation if possible; follow the links below. Thanks – Mark and Venus – WAV.
For the team at AAU with thanks for their dedication and compassion:
A special introduction to this newsletter from AAU Co-Founder Erika Abrams:
This is just a quick editorial, typed with my left hand, about a subject I can’t seem to escape this week: pain and comfort. I slipped in the house and crashed down on my elbow, fracturing my upper arm in jagged line that descended into the elbow joint. During the past few days I’ve had surgery, plates, screws, staples, you name it…and it hurts. I’ve emerged from this mishap loving Animal Aid’s staff more than ever. I am deeply impressed by how gently they treat our patients. I would have felt lucky to have had them as nurses. And with this new, uninvited consciousness of pain, I deeply thank you so much for making it possible for us to give this gift of comfort and healing to the animals who are hurting. –Erika (even hitting the shift key and the e at the same time to ‘achieve’ a capital E was difficult!)
Birju was burned and left to die. But loving help was waiting…
This donkey’s heart-breaking abuse left him stranded in the road, unable to move with scalding burns on his back that were filled with thousands of maggots. His back was almost giving out and his lower legs shredded from rope burns by an unknown cruel owner. We rushed him into treatment that would last for 200 days and is still on-going, but today, gorgeous Birju is in our forever home, safe, recovering and full of cheerful personality. His wound is still not healed because of a condition called exuberant granulation, which can slow and prevent tissue re-growth in horses and donkeys. Managing this enormous wound has taken hundreds of caring hours but we’re seeing great progress in Birju’s overall condition, and his attitude suggests that he’s now free from pain. We tell him every day that he’ll never again see his abuser, and he’ll never be forced to work again. He seems to understand.
For abused animals, let there be help. Please donate.
Tiny kitten dying in drain, rescued and…Feisty!
This wild little sweetheart was so ill he couldn’t move, collapsed in the water of a shallow drain. When rescuers arrived, they found his face covered in blood, too weak to resist being picked up. We treated him for pain, warmed him up, and watched in wonder as his resilient little body bounced back within just a few days. And food? Well just watch this teeny tiger transform, from doubting to devouring, and then, the play fights began. Meet Feisty now!
Encrusted bones hid a sparkling star named Rockstar!
Sores and scabs covered this terrified boy, but nothing could hide his adorable nature once the ravaging itching from mange was under treatment. Meet handsome Rockstar-and fall in love. Every. Single. Animal. Is. Precious.
Sweet baby donkey covered in puncture wounds rescued
This little angel must have been so bewildered when his gentle world of mother’s love was turned upside down by an animal attack. We don’t know if it was a dog or even possibly a young leopard from the size of the punctures and scratches covering his backside. Daily wound dressings for a month got him healed good as new, with his mother close by at every turn. A school bus driver had spotted him and called Animal Aid Unlimited to the rescue. Without help, he would have probably soon been plagued by maggots and infection; he wouldn’t have stood a chance. But wow. Meet Snuggles now.
Bheru Singh is hailed by many as having a terrific sense of humor –he’s needed it because of the serious nature of his work as supervisor in Puppy Isolation–temporary home to the most gravely ill little sweethearts who are showing signs of contagious diseases. Bheru has become an expert nurse, giving drips, medicine, special feeds, lots of cleaning and comforting. Working in isolation is just that: once clad in special clothing workers must completely wash and change before entering any other area of the hospital. We thank Bheru for performing a very sensitive, difficult role with such loving kindness and–when needed–humor!
We stand united with Lyn and all the crew at Animals Australia in their continued fight to stop the (disgusting) live animal export trade from their shores. Whatever the result of the recent elections; we know that the team at AA have the tenacity to carry on being a voice for voiceless regardless. Politicians come and go; but the animal advocate is around for life ! – we wish them the very best with all their future strategies. They will win ! – WAV.
Mark,
I woke up yesterday morning, and my first thought was you.
The closer one gets to fulfilling a dream, the more disappointing or devastating it can be when something occurs to put it just out of reach again.
Numerous polls told us that we were on track to elect a government that would bring an end to the cruelty of live sheep export — so we were well-justified in our optimism that this outcome, that was years in the making, was within our grasp. The deep disappointment we feel is well-founded.
But while the celebration we had hoped for is, for now, on hold, I promise you that it will come. The foundation has been laid and the pathway to end live export paved, by you and other compassionate Australians.
As I walked my beloved dogs by the sea yesterday morning I looked up at the clear blue sky and consciously made the decision to reflect not on what might have been — but rather on how far, together, we have come.
Just 12 months ago, no-one would have thought it possible for a Coalition government to bring an end to the summer live sheep trade. But they did, and over 1 million sheep have been, and will be this year, saved from the worst of cruelties because of you. Just 12 months ago, no-one would have thought it possible that a Coalition government would dramatically reduce the numbers of animals who could be loaded on ships at any time of the year. But they did because of you.
Unprecedented changes have been made because of you.
In reflecting while I was walking on the significance of these achievements, determination replaced my disappointment and I was filled with the deepest sense of appreciation, in fact an overwhelming sense of gratitude … to you.
The diminishing of the Coalition’s previous ironclad support of the live trade over the past 12 months is proof that the force of human compassion can make the seemingly impossible, possible. The political wall that has for so long protected the operations of this trade — no matter the cruelty it inflicted — is being dismantled, and together we will continue to pull it apart, brick by brick.
As history shows, change is not easy for humanity to embrace. Fear of altering course can fuel self-interest, create separation and make maintaining the status quo desirable.
And therein lies the critical importance of the ‘path paving’ we are doing together…
Negotiating the challenges of the human journey is not easy as you know. But as we can also attest to, that evolutionary urge to grow into our best selves and to build a better and kinder world is nourished and strengthened by witnessing others embracing that path.
At this time in our history, I have never been more certain of the importance of every single kind act; of every single act of generosity. Because the antidote to fear is kindness. The antidote to separation is kindness. Doors are opened, bridges built and a new path is paved and illuminated, through kindness.
And so, you have never been more important than you are today.
I said prior to this election that it was your compassion, your commitment, your resilience and your heart-fuelled dedication that have sustained me throughout the years.
Not a single effort has been wasted. As you have inspired me, I know you will inspire and empower others to join us on this journey.
When the dust settles from this election and the make-up of the Senate is known, I will meet with our political allies and determine our next steps.
Our resolve is not diminished by this election result, it is only strengthened. The flame that burns within us all to end the live export trade and create that kinder future, only grows stronger and brighter. Brick by brick we will continue to dismantle the remaining support for this trade.
As always, my heartfelt gratitude goes to you. It is my great honour to serve and share this journey with you.
Venus and I are both writing posts for the site which we hope make a tiny difference. How they appear is by pure chance of who gets done first – there is no preference of posts; but please scroll down a little through the site to see if you have missed anything. We are WAV and so will try to cover as many international topics as time allows us.
The following is from Stacey at ‘Our Compass’. Thanks Stacey.
I am having to show you this as it very dramatically shows the difference you can make by changing to a Vegan lifestyle. If you are a vegan already, then you can complete the sections and see what a difference you have already made.
For example; using myself as an example – I have followed a plant based diet for the last 25 years or so. When I put this data into the calculator, I get the following results:
9,131 animals NOT EATEN
186,000 pounds of CO2 saved
274,000 square feet of forest SAVED
411,000 pounds of grain SAVED
10,044,161 Gallons of WATER SAVED.
A photo of an overweight man sitting on an old couch with a very large unhealthy meal on his lap and a pint of beer in his hand. Obesity is a major cause of diabetes.
Vegan and Vegetarian calculators are available. You simply punch in how long you have followed the diet; in months or years. Results are immediately published. I think you will find them rather amazing.
Just imagine the savings to our now very fragile earth if everyone adopted a plant based diet – either Veggie or vegan. Then we could see a real difference and start to make amends for immense damage we have impacted on this wonderful planet within what ? , the last 100 years or so – recently; very recently. Animal species are now being wiped out or threatened with extinction like never before; and we have a duty to them to make changes right now, before it is too late.
The recent big climate change demos here in London recently had massive support from the public. Many people were inconvenienced by what was going on; but they accepted that this was a real issue that cannot be put on hold for several more years. There were a few on the tv who naturally had a real gripe that their day was being ruined by the protests; that it was delaying them getting to a meeting or something. I though that they made be delayed; but continue to ignore the problem and in the next decade or so, you may need to bring your swimming trunks to get to the meeting rather than take the taxi today !
Ignorance or what about their future; your future; my future ?
Please give the calculator a go. For me personally, knowing that over 9,000 animals have been saved from slaughter because I choose to eat a healthier way is satisfaction enough; even before I start to look at the CO2, Water and forestation saved by what are really simple changes to your lifestyle.
10, 15 years ago; Vegans and Veggies had a bit of a problem in getting in food products to satisfy their needs. Today it is not like that at all; supermarkets and producers are falling over themselves to get the massive change to plant based that we are now seeing. People will feel physically better in themselves also – when did you last see an obese Vegan ? – sadly; a lot of the entire UK national health system budget goes into helping sufferers with diabetes. Let me give you some current facts to support this:
The cost of diabetes to the (UK) NHS alone is over £1.5m an hour or 10% of the NHS budget for England and Wales. This equates to over £25,000 being spent on diabetes every minute.
Absorb that – £25,000 being spent by the NHS on diabetes every MINUTE.
This is often caused by people becoming obese in the first place and then continuing with what is basically a wrong diet. If they changed to plant based; just think of the savings that would be made all round that could be invested into other things.
At the end of the day each person makes their individual choices. I am not here to preach a Vegan or veggie diet, but I will support and publicise it given the chance.
Use the calculator and see what a difference you can make for animals and for a better planet.
Regards Mark
Finally; the most important thing for me: he does not want to die for my ‘gastronomic’ tastebuds. I do NOT forget him and what being a carnivore would mean for him. HIS END.
The 2019 Australian federal election will be held on Saturday 18 May 2019
Hi Mark,
I wanted to take this opportunity to convey a very personal and heartfelt thank you. It’s because of you: your compassion, your commitment, your resilience, your heart-fuelled dedication to giving a voice to the millions of victims of the live sheep trade, that its end is now in sight this election.
Our work to end the entire live export trade is far from over. But ending the sheep trade will not only save millions of sheep from the cruelty of live export, it will represent a historic shift in political thinking towards dismantling the regulatory system that underpins all legalised animal cruelty.
While I have great hope that we’ll have reason to celebrate on behalf of animals after the weekend, I know that our greater journey together will also continue. That, regardless of the outcome of the election, we won’t stop until we have an end to all animal cruelty; that we all share an unquenchable thirst for a kinder world and an unshakeable belief in our capacity to make it so.
Thank you so much for your magnificent advocacy on behalf of all animals and for leading the way to a kinder world.
I feel absolutely honoured to be sharing this journey with you.
Alex Hershaft-FARM Animal Rights Movement
Image: PETA
Image: PETA
Image: PETA
This is the illegal deforestation of Mato Grosso, a federal state of Brazil
World Animals Voice 