On Saturday we released distressing scenes of newborn calves being brutally handled on an organic dairy farm in Somerset that supplies Waitrose. The shocking footage, which our investigators filmed this summer after we received a tip-off about cruel handling practices, shows:

• Newborn calves struggling as workers callously shove a tube down their throat

• A calf thrown to the ground and slapped in the face during force-feeding

• A worker standing on a calf with his full body weight while shouting “you f**king. . .sh*t”

• Cows visibly agitated and trying to intervene as struggling their calves call out in distress

• Calves denied access to water for up to 29 hours on some of the hottest days of the year

• A newborn calf dragged by its back legs into a separation pen

• Calves routinely separated from their mothers less than 24 hours after birth

• Several cows with their back legs chained together in shackles – a practice used in the dairy industry to enable farmers to keep milking a cow who has suffered muscle or nerve damage during calving.

 

See the video here:

https://www.facebook.com/animalequalityuk/videos/262169477954381/

We have campaigned with many others about this to Waitrose.  This is a supermarket food supplier chain who do usually have the very best animal welfare standards of all.  They have won many awards for their concerns and promotion of good animal welfare.  So after viewing this footage a mass phone in campaign was set up against Waitrose to get them to act against this organic dairy farm.

Today; 4/9/18; we again contacted Waitrose about this issue.  We are very pleased that Waitrose has now taken action.

They e mailed us their official statement on the situation which we repeat here:

 

Following on from our recent telephone conversation Mr Johnson.

Please see below our statement regarding Coombe farm.

All of our farmers are carefully selected and agree to produce to our protocols covering all aspects of dairy production, including animal welfare, which we take extremely seriously.

They are subject to independent audits which in this case includes the Soil Association and the RSPCA Assured Dairy scheme.
 
The staff involved on this farm have been subject to disciplinary proceeding as they did not meet the high standards we set for a farm supplying us.

The farm was suspended from our supply as soon as we became aware of the footage and there shouldn’t be any of the milk they supply on our shelves.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

Kind regards

Waitrose & Partners Customer Care
Case Reference: xxx xxx

 

You can always take the best option by cutting out dairy and:

Vegan Faces

 

62 animal rights activists from 269 Libération Animale occupied the Sicarev slaughterhouse in Roanne, France, for over 13 hours yesterday…

To check out all the latest news and actions for Korean dogs; please click on this link:

http://koreandogs.org/newsletter-september-1-2018/?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign=Korean_Dogs_Need_Your_Voice__New_Calls_for_Action!&utm_medium=email

 

 

 

The demand for donkey skins in particular, to produce Ejiao – a traditional Chinese medicine made from donkey-derived gelatin, has generated a significant trade across the globe and we believe current practices are unsustainable and causing mass-scale suffering.

It is reported that in China, millions of donkeys are farmed for their skins to produce a medicinal gelatin (ejiao). The global trading of donkey skins is now having an impact on donkey welfare and the livelihood of people around the world.

Why donkey skins?

The donkey skins are being used to make gelatin for a product called ejiao, a product that has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

What is ejiao?

Ejiao (said: eh-gee-yow) is a hard gel that can be dissolved in hot water or alcohol to be used in food or drink, or in beauty products such as face creams. Believed to improve blood circulation, ejiao is used as a blood tonic by people with anaemia, low blood cell counts or reproductive problems.

The stolen donkeys are mostly working animals, which means the owners then have no transport and can’t get to market, fetch water or get children to school. The trade in skins means that the value of donkeys has risen dramatically, which makes theft more likely but also makes it much more difficult for owners to afford to replace a stolen donkey. In Egypt, the cost of buying a donkey has increased from £17 to £170.

Read more:

https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/what-we-do/issues/donkey-meat-skin-and-milk?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq5zE2sCQ3QIVzpPtCh0w_wnOEAAYASAAEgLPdvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/what-we-do/issues/donkey-meat-skin-and-milk/what-is-ejiao

 

What impact is this having on donkeys in countries where SPANA works?

The donkey skins used in the product were previously largely sourced from Chinese farms. But with China’s donkey population dropping from 11 million in 1990 to 5.4 million in 2016, manufacturers are now targeting donkeys from Africa to meet demand. This is having a significant impact in a number of the countries where SPANA works – for instance, Botswana’s donkey population has decreased by 38 per cent in two years.

Donkeys that are sold for their skins are often treated terribly throughout the transport and slaughter process loaded roughly onto cramped, dangerous vehicles, starved, and killed brutally.

Read more:  https://spana.org/donkey-skins

 

DONKEYS are the backbone of many farming villages in developing countries. But if current trends continue, the world’s rural poor may soon need to find a new beast of burden. The animals’ ranks have thinned dramatically in many African countries: Kenya’s donkey population, for example, has fallen by half since 2009, to 900,000. The primary cause is neither disease nor declining demand for live donkeys, but instead a burgeoning market for their pelts.

Read more:  https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/03/30/donkey-skins-are-the-new-ivory

 

China is reducing the import tax on donkey skins for use in traditional medicine despite fears over a global reduction in the animal’s population.

From Monday, the tax will fall from 5% to 2%, making imports cheaper.

Gelatine made from donkey skin is highly prized in China and purchases of hides have soared in recent years.

Donkey trade – the facts

§  1.8m skins are traded every year – according to estimates from UK-based charity The Donkey Sanctuary – but the demand is as high as 10m

§  China’s donkey population dropped from 11m in 1990 to 3m in 2017, based on government data

§  Ejiao, the gelatine produced by boiling donkey skins, can sell for up to $388 (£300) per kilo

§  Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal have banned donkey exports to China

 

Read more:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-42527299

 

 

 

Regarding our recent post on UK sheep shearers abusing sheep:

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2018/08/25/england-sheep-shearers-shame-the-uk-on-its-good-animal-welfare-standards-watch-the-video-now/

Now, and quite rightly; it seems that these same people could be facing criminal charges; something which we welcome.

 

Read the full article here:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sheep-shearing-wool-peta-farms-rspca-action-punched-beaten-killed-a8508221.html

The RSPCA is considering whether to prosecute after an undercover investigation revealed horrific cruelty and abuse behind the scenes as sheep were sheared on British farms.

Animals could be seen writhing in agony as they were violently hit, punched and stamped on, and had their limbs twisted.