Category: Farm Animals

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

England: True horror of EU live animal transport masked in official records - CIWF Report.

True horror of EU live animal transport masked in official records 

28 November 2023

CIWF

My bold, underline etc – Mark.

Press Release

Shocking new report reveals suffering endured by around 44 million farmed animals a year – including unweaned calves and lambs – on horrific journeys lasting up to three weeks. Inadequate and misleading official records are masking the true horror and scale of the EU’s long-distance trade in farmed animals, a shocking new report released today by international NGOs Eurogroup for Animals and Compassion in World Farming reveals. 

Photo – Mark

The new report  A data dump of suffering: the EU’s long-distance trade in farm animals exposed  analyses a cache of previously unpublished EU records relating to the long-distance transportation of 180,000 consignments of farmed animals within and from the EU during a 19-month period from October 2021 to April this year. It reveals disturbing details of the extent and nature of suffering endured by around 44 million farmed cattle, sheep, pigs and other animals transported annually.

Key insights from the report include:   

Over 370,000 unweaned calves were taken from their mothers shortly after birth and deprived of nutrition during long journeys – many as young as just two weeks old. 300,000 unweaned lambs are also imported by Italy alone each year, enduring long journeys without adequate feed.   

Thousands of sheep and cattle are exported from the EU by road to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia in journeys lasting up to three weeks.   

Anti Live Export March – Dover, England. Photo – Mark

France, the Netherlands and Denmark have exported thousands of pigs to extremely distant countries including Brazil, Vietnam, Thailand, and Nigeria. By exporting breeding sows that have been genetically selected for very large litters, the EU is seeding its inhumane factory farming model in other parts of the world.  

Millions of cattle and sheep a year endure long, stressful sea journeys to the Middle East and Africa for slaughter or fattening. Vessels are often in very poor condition and animals suffer greatly during these journeys from heat stress, noxious gases, motion stress and starvation and there are no effective legal protections.   

In 2022, the EU exported around 30,000 pregnant heifers, mainly to central and western Asia, such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, where journeys are up to 6,000 km and can take up to three weeks.  

Above – CIWF Tour for farmed animals in the Netherlands – photo Mark

An estimated 54,000 tonnes of live fish, equal to tens of millions of individual animals, were transported between EU Member States in 2019. Fish often endure routine starvation, overcrowding, and physical injury to scales and fins resulting from handling when loading and unloading during transport.    

The report shows that the EU’s journey records were incomplete, often inaccurate and vastly underestimate the sheer extent of the length and duration of many journeys. Around 60% of journeys are shown as starting at assembly centres but animals may have been transported from the farm of origin for many hours prior to this without any requirement for this to be logged. Many transporters practise ‘assembly centre hopping’, avoiding the requirement for animals to be given 24 hours mid-journey rest before resuming their journey.  

This release comes just days before the expected publication of the European Commission’s proposal on animal transport on 6 December. However, the Commission has failed to publish the other proposals it committed to present as part of a more comprehensive revision of the animal welfare legislation, including the ban on caged animal farming, which was expected by September 2023.   

The two animal protection NGOs are calling on the EU to ban the export of live animals from the EU to non-EU countries, to switch to a trade in meat and carcasses only, and to introduce tougher rules to protect the welfare of animals on journeys within the EU. 

This call for greater protection for farmed animals’ welfare during transportation is supported by the majority of European citizens. The 2023 Special Eurobarometer found that eight out of ten Europeans think the travel time for the commercial transport of live animals within or from the EU should be limited1 and an overwhelming nine out of ten people believe it’s important to protect the welfare of farmed animals.  

The transnational nature of live exports makes it especially challenging to protect the welfare of animals, and this is why we ask for a ban on live exports to non-EU countries. A replacement with meat and carcass exports does not only benefit the animals but has huge economic and environmental benefits. Better measures to protect unweaned and pregnant animals must be put forward, while the misuse of assembly centres needs to be urgently addressed. The immense scale of suffering highlighted by this investigation cannot be ignored – the European Commission must come forward with a more ambitious Regulation.

Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals

Our new report reveals some deeply troubling issues, not least that the official data is incomplete, inaccurate and vastly underestimates the scale of – and the animal suffering caused by – the EU’s long-distance trade in live farmed animals. Although we knew that millions of animals were enduring cruel and unnecessary journeys in the name of profit, this report shows that the situation is far worse than we had feared. The EU must address this as a matter of urgency by banning the live export of farmed animals to non-EU countries and introducing tough new rules to protect their welfare during transportation between and within EU Member States.

Peter Stevenson, Chief Policy Advisor, Compassion in World Farming

Regards Mark

I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Phil, Peter and all the CIWF crew for decades.

Below – On Tour with CIWF in the Netherlands.

CIWF Campaigner of the year 2003.

Farm Animals, General News

EU: The Pecking Order: fast-food chains falling behind on chicken welfare.

27 November 2023

WAP

Some of the biggest fast-food brands in Europe are performing very poorly on their management of and reporting on broiler chicken welfare, a new report from World Animal Protection shows.

The European Chicken Commitment (ECC) is a set of minimum requirements that will improve the welfare of chickens considerably and cost-efficiently.

The Pecking Order report analysed 69 companies across France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Spain on their commitment to address chicken welfare throughout their supply chains, and how much progress they are making on implementing the requirements of the ECC.

Photo – act 4 farm animals

Each year, over 7 billion broiler chickens are killed for consumption in the EU. 95% of the broiler chickens currently reared on factory farms are fast-growing, selectively bred to reach slaughter weight in just five to six weeks. Their growth rate has a huge impact on their health and welfare.

The results show that only 49% of the companies analysed have published a broiler chicken welfare policy that demonstrates alignment with some or all of the ECC criteria, with 51% having no commitments on the topic at all.

A staggering 90% of companies analysed are ranked in the lowest scoring tier (very poor) on progress reporting, having published very little or nothing on broiler chicken welfare issues.

While the overall score for the fast-food companies assessed in France has improved, Germany, Spain and Italy have shown slight reductions in their overall company scores. Poland and Romania have overall scores that are significantly lower than the other markets assessed.

Too many companies are still in denial, and close their eyes to the plight of the animals that they are responsible for. If they think they can get away with greenwashing or hide behind misguided excuses about climate footprints and affordability, I have a simple message: They can’t. Companies that use chickens in their supply chains are responsible and must be held accountable for ensuring their wellbeing.

Dirk Verdonk, World Animal Protection

Report link – The Pecking Order 2023 | World Animal Protection

The report is a united project by World Animal Protection, Albert Schweitzer Foundation, Essere Animali, L214, and Humane Society International.

Broiler chickens

Broiler welfare

European Chicken Commitment

European Union

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News

EU / NZ: EU ratifies its first trade agreement with an animal welfare condition.

22 November 2023

Press Release

Today, the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. The deal sets a precedent in trade policy as it’s the first time the EU ratifies a trade agreement which conditions market access on the respect of animal welfare-related standards.

Under negotiation for five years, the deal liberalises trade in most animal based products, and should hence further stimulate animal agriculture in the EU and New Zealand. It does, however, include an unprecedented condition: the beef quota is reserved for grass-fed animals, explicitly excluding feedlots. And this condition is  motivated by both animal welfare and sustainability reasons.

This is only the second time the EU has negotiated an animal welfare condition in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) since the controversial EU-Mercosur FTA introduced the first one in relation to shelled eggs. Yet, while the volume of shelled eggs imported by the EU from Mercosur countries is quite low, in the case of New Zealand the EU managed to obtain an animal welfare condition for one of the most traded animal products between the partners. 

Eurogroup for Animals welcomes this animal welfare condition as feedlots, in addition to being a major source of soil, air and water pollution, are highly detrimental to animals: they can provoke respiratory and digestive diseases, the main causes of cattle death under such rearing conditions.

This animal welfare condition shows that with the right political willingness, the EU can take into account animal welfare concerns in its trade policy. As the latest Eurobarometer showed, this is well supported by EU citizens. This FTA should give the right impetus to repeat animal welfare conditions in other trade agreements, especially where a beef quota is negotiated. Why would a feedlot in Mercosur countries be sustainable, but not in New Zealand? Omitting such a condition when renegotiating the EU-Mercosur FTA would certainly be incoherent.

Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals

The EU-New Zealand FTA is also the first EU trade deal integrating sanctions in its Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapter. While this is welcome, the language is non-committal, specifically for provisions related to wild and aquatic animals, with words that focus on “acknowledgement” or “support”. This means that even in case of failure to comply with these provisions, no violation can be found.  

Apart from the animal welfare condition, the FTA also includes a chapter on animal welfare cooperation. Regrettably, the language in this chapter remains weak and also non-committal. This is unfortunate as the EU and New Zealand, two like-minded partners, could work together on issues such as banning live transport which is under discussion as highlighted by the European Parliament’s resolution. For these reasons, Eurogroup for Animals supports the European Parliament’s stand to “quickly establish the domestic advisory groups”, and remains ready to work in this fora to foster effective cooperation as soon as possible. 

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

Czech Republic: Live Transport News and Links.

WAV Comment – have had this through today (22/11) from our campaigner friends at the Society for Animals in the Czech Republic, EU.  stoptransport.cz – For a Better World for Animals and Stopping Cruel Transports

I have made no changes to the text, or added any further additions; the translation is via the system, so this is directly as supplied.   With the above web link, there is an ability to translate if you wish.

Regards Mark

——————————————————

Dear friends,

the institutions of the European Union are also busy because of the animal inhabitants of the member states.

At the beginning of October, we informed you that the European Commission is forgetting about the promises of changes to the regulations to improve the conditions of kept and transported animals.

Following our joint European action, the Commission said it would submit amendments to the Regulation on the Protection of Animals during Transport later this year – petitions

Later this week, we expect an important breakthrough regarding other missed regulations. Whether it will be good or bad for the animals, we will write to you.

Specifically, these are proposals for regulations on the labelling of animal foodstuffs according to the methods of animal husbandry, changes on the slaughter of animals and on the methods of animal husbandry (so-called farm animals). The last one reflects on the successful European citizens’ initiatives End the Cage Age and Fur Free Europe.

On behalf of the Society for Animals

Judit Laura, Adéla, Michala

Pište Evropské komisi
Farm Animals, General News

EU: Horrifying Truth of EU Fur Farming Revealed By Undercover Teams Visiting and Recording On Dozens of Farms.

An injured white mink. The chilling exposé titled ‘This is Fur Farming in the EU’ lays bare the grim reality of fur factory farming across six EU nations

A white mink with part of its face missing

All pictures – HSI.

Link:

Horrifying truth of fur industry revealed in footage from largest ever undercover investigation involving dozens of farms where animals engaged in cannibalism, had limbs gnawed off and were left with maggot-infested wounds | Daily Mail Online

Horrifying truth of fur industry revealed in footage from largest ever undercover investigation involving dozens of farms where animals engaged in cannibalism, had limbs gnawed off and were left with maggot-infested wounds

Wounded animals can be seen battling to survive in cages. The harrowing material was captured by independent animal rights investigators in more than 100 farm visits

The horrifying truth of the fur industry has been revealed in footage from the largest ever undercover investigation on European fur farms.

The chilling exposé titled ‘This is Fur Farming in the EU’ lays bare the grim reality of fur factory farming across six EU nations.

The harrowing material, captured by independent animal rights investigators in more than 100 farm visits, shows animals including mink, foxes and raccoon dogs in disturbing conditions.

Read the full article and see video footage by clicking on the link above.

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

Spain: Lots of (What Should Be Public) Info Being Held Back By Authorities? – NGOs Gather in Gran Canaria to Celebrate Octopuses and Protest Planned Farm.

20 November 2023

Animal welfare and environmental organisations came together on 4 November to spread awareness about the sentience of octopuses, and inhumane plans for the world’s first octopus farm.

Organised by PACMA and We The Free, the first annual International Save the Octopuses Fest was held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The event took place close to the planned site of Nueva Pescanova’s octopus factory farm. 

Scientific experts and activists took to the stage to speak about magnificent, intelligent, and complex octopuses. Among these experts were Dr. Elena Lara from Compassion in World Farming and Keri Tietge from Eurogroup for Animals. This was in stark contrast to the repeated mentions of unethical farming practices, industrial-level suffering, and environmental destruction.

As summarised in our case study released earlier this year, there are numerous concerns around Nueva Pescanova’s farm. Notably, there is currently no effective method for reducing the amount of pain these animals will feel when they are killed for human consumption.

During a panel discussion with the experts, there was a lot of frustration related to one issue; why is there a lack of transparency with the local community?

The Canary Islands government has not updated the public regarding the status of Nueva Pescanova’s octopus farm

Before construction of an industrial aquaculture facility begins, there are several permit processes that must be adhered to. These processes relate to both EU and national legislation and, in theory, allow for public participation at several different stages.

In the case of Nueva Pescanova’s farm, everything has been kept quiet.

In September 2023, it was revealed that Nueva Pescanova’s simplified environmental impact assessment was denied. This means the autonomous body in charge of conducting the environmental evaluations concluded that there could be significant threats to the environment. Nueva Pescanova now must undergo the more exhaustive environmental impact assessment process.

Scientists and campaigners around the globe have already warned about the significant environmental damages that could come from this farm, but what is alarming is the lack of publicly available information about this process. The Canary Islands government is legally obligated to share notifications about such developments, which has still not happened. 

This lack of transparency may be related to the suspected usage of EU public funding for the farm,  which has not been disclosed by national authorities in Spain.

The EU parliamentary elections are just around the corner. It is critical for citizens to participate in order to bring voice to aquatic animals, including octopuses.

We know that farming octopuses simply cannot be done in a humane manner.

It is also clear that this new industry goes against the EU’s Strategic Aquaculture Guidelines and would exacerbate a wide range of sustainability issues. Now is the opportune time to ensure that the EU acknowledges the overwhelming scientific evidence and protects these fascinating and unique animals. 

—————————————————————————

Sounds as if they are doing all they can to stop NGO and the public from obtaining the truth – now the info is known we will have to see what happens next.

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News, Vegan Recipes

Bad: Italy bans cultivated meat and meat-related labelling for plant-based food.

17 November 2023

In a move that flies in the face of evidence that we must reduce industrial farming and increase plant-based diets, Italy has announced a ban on the production, sale or import of cultivated meat as well as the use of meat-related wording on labels to describe plant-based foods.

The Italian parliament passed the bill with 159 votes in favour to 53 votes against. MEPs in favour of the bill claimed it would help to protect national traditions and prevent “synthetic” foods from entering the market.

Whilst no cultivated meat is currently commercially available in the European Union, the ban is aimed at preventing novel foods from developing in the country. Breaching the law would result in a fine of up to €60,000.

As the European Commission continues to evaluate novel foods such as cultivated meat, the ban could later be challenged at EU level.

The bill also prohibits the use of meat-related wording on labels to describe plant-based foods. This will hinder producers of plant-based products with expensive re-labelling, and will prevent consumers associating the relevant language with plant-based products. 

The measure is a deliberate attack on progress, preventing Italy from evolving despite the direction more and more European and non-European states are taking instead, with a significant push towards food transition. We are in front of the legalisation of an anti-scientific stance, which allows the livestock lobby to continue to exploit, violate and kill millions of animals, moreover, harming the health of all people, opposing transformation in every way.

Domiziana Illengo, LAV

The passing of this bill is a clear sign of resistance against the critically needed move towards better food systems for people, animals and the planet. 

Sad -you would hope they have learned by now;

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News

England: Viva ! – Dairy; Corporate Cruelty – New Investigation.

Dear Mark,

Viva! Campaigns has investigated another large dairy farm in Wales and sadly documented some of the worst cases of physical violence against animals we have ever seen. At the time of filming, the farm, Tafarn Y Bugail, supplied one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the UK.



The first time we entered the farm, at the dead of night, the sight of a rotting cow and four calves hit us. Their bodies had been left outside, uncovered and accessible to wild birds and animals. As we crept closer, we could see that they had been eaten down to the bone – a clear indication that these animals had been abandoned and dead for some time.  

On another visit, I saw the pathetic sight of baby calves isolated in hutches. Some were less than 12 hours old. These babies had been ripped from their mothers and were confined and shivering in the bitterly cold night. They had no love, warmth, comfort or stimulation and nowhere to go. It was the middle of winter!

Inside the maternity pens, conditions were chaotic, noisy and disgusting. We were shocked to find a colony of feral cats sleeping in the straw beds. They were devouring afterbirth; it was like a scene from a horror film. The fetid stench was horrendous.

Desperate for their mothers  One of the most distressing things we filmed were newborn female calves isolated from their mothers, crying out and desperately sucking our fingers for comfort.
Calf Pulling We filmed a cow having difficulty giving birth. The worker’s solution was to tie a rope to the calf’s protruding feet and forcibly haul him out, causing agony for the mother. Afterwards, the worker kicked the cow in the spine with his heel to force her to stand. Such cruelty is incomprehensible.
Repeatedly Beaten Cows were repeatedly and mercilessly beaten. We recorded one poor animal being hit harder and harder – a sickening 55 times. Other cows were subjected to being kicked in the udder and suffering blows to their legs, backs and faces.

Shocking footage shows ‘half-eaten dead cows’ at UK dairy farm

Shocking footage shows ‘half-eaten dead cows’ at UK dairy farm | UK News | Metro News

The gentle mother, who simply didn’t know what was wanted of her, was pushed around and her tail twisted. The worker became angry very quickly, hitting the cow with increasing force to make her stand in position for milking. The cow had nowhere to escape, and it was absolutely harrowing to witness her pain.

A second cow was kicked in her already swollen udder – in a final act of indignity. The violence delivered to these poor animals was the worst I have seen, with blows landing on their legs, backs and to the sides of their faces.
In another instance, one of the farm workers used a knife to burst a huge abscess on a cow’s rump during milking. A stream of pus oozed onto the milking parlour floor for over three minutes. 

We saw 17 cows in the parlour wearing hobbles on their back legs. These chains are to stop cows ‘doing the splits’ when they have suffered damage from birthing or falling, usually on dirty, wet floors. These sad and ill animals could barely walk. But they were still being milked. 

Please donate to our campaign and you’ll be helping fund justice for these animals!

Your donations are crucial and help fund:

DAIRY FARMING EXPOSED   Donate Now »

We’ll never give up the fight for animals and I’m hoping you’ll join us on our next Day of Action on Saturday 27 January 2024. 

We’re organising the biggest Day of Action Against Dairy in history where we will air our hard-hitting undercover investigations that expose the truth about dairy farming. We’ll be calling on the general public to stand up against animal cruelty and choose vegan.

Help us cover every single city, town and village across the country by organising an event on your local high street. The animals need you to speak up for them! Together we can make this the biggest protest against dairy the industry has ever faced.

Mark, thank you for being a part of Viva!

Please, give what you can so we can continue to expose the vile practice of UK dairy farming and get the message out there. Any money you can donate – no matter how little – will help us in our fight against this appalling abuse of mothers and their babies. 

With your help we can fight dairy consumption and its inherent cruelty. 

We can’t do it without you!  
Yours for the animals,



Juliet Gellatley
Founder and Director  
Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

UK: Hopefully More Good News – An Official UK Ban On Live Animal Exports / Transport.

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2023/11/bill-to-ban-live-exports-welcomed

Above Photos – Mark.

WAV Live exports links:

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/?s=live+animal+exports

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2023/01/30/england-1-2-23-remembering-jill-a-brief-insight-the-live-exports-battles-of-se-england-to-be-a-voice-for-the-voiceless/

and dear friend John:

England: Another Terrible Loss – John Callaghan.

After years of campaigning by many animal welfare organizations, the announcement of a ban on live exports is a significant moment in the history of the animal welfare movement in the United Kingdom.

Above – more fighting at the EU, Brussels, Belgium.

The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill will prevent the horrendous shipment of calves and other farmed animals for days or even weeks on unsuitable transport vessels that have seen dreadful accidents in the past with thousands of animals dying.

Unweaned calves that were sent from the UK to Spain for fattening suffered from injury, stress, and exhaustion. Global animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS said that it would fortify its efforts to advocate in next year’s EU elections, where a revision of Animal Welfare legislation is more than overdue.

“The last few years have seen too many fatal accidents with farmed animals being transported alive with countless documented infringements against existing legislation that are not prosecuted. The suffering the animals have to endure due to excessive temperatures in cargo, nonexistent veterinary care, and a constant shortage of water and feed is unimaginable,” said Corinna Reinisch, Program Lead Farm Animal Welfare at FOUR PAWS.

“Therefore, this milestone announcement in the UK shines a light on the upcoming proposals for transport that the European Commission has announced for December of this year. Eventually, the EU Parliament and the Council of the EU have to take those proposals, which raise the significance of live animal transport forward in the upcoming EU elections in 2024,” continued Reinisch. “This strong signal shall be the door opener for an urgently needed improvement for billions of farmed animals that are transported outside the EU to third countries every year. FOUR PAWS keeps advocating for animal welfare worldwide.”

Every year, millions of cows, pigs, birds, and sheep are exported from the EU to non-EU countries. This year alone, there have been several fatal accidents with animals being transported. After a three-month ordeal through the Mediterranean Sea, around 1,600 young bulls were killed in Spain after the transport ship Elbeik was not allowed to enter the Middle East due to feared bluetongue cases among the bulls on board. Almost 900 young bulls from the transport vessel Karim Allah experienced the same fate some weeks earlier, and only recently, 14 sheep died after the Phoenix III was stuck off the Italian coast due to bad weather conditions.

Link:

King Charles Announces Ban On The Live Export Of Animals For Slaughter In The UK In New Legislation – World Animal News

Regards Mark

Words from the recent past:

I (Mark) have fought the export of live animal exports from the UK (via English ports) for around 35+ years.  A ‘been there; done it; got the T shirt’ type of scenario.  Over those 30 or so years the ‘fight’ has taken me into Europe investigating the trade; to the EU no good hierarchy in Brussels; and to many ports around England which, to their regret, got involved with the live export trade.

We have experienced the countless, wet; windy; cold and tearful nights at the docks; bearing witness to all the suffering – the noise of the calves having travelled from all over the UK; the smells of days old urine on the transporter floors; and the sights of helpless animals (pigs, sheep, calves and horses) through the slats on their way to meet barbaric deaths in the far corners of Europe and beyond.  Yes, despite Ministry promises; horses were exported to Europe under the guise of going for riding; when in fact they were going for slaughter.  How can I say this ? – one way or another I got the paperwork (export certificates) and we trailed the transporters into Europe.  The Ministry said one thing; and we had the evidence for another.  See more on it all at:

About Us. | Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

The corruption of the system bummed me off enough; that one night; after witnessing the horses going out through an English port; I had to get something down to show what an utter sham it was – hence:

Microsoft Word – EXH6.doc (wordpress.com)

Sometimes you worked alone; for me also, sometimes with a female campaigner; sometimes more; and I cannot even start to count all the wonderful folk that have shared this journey of compassion with me – folks who; if you need it; would give you the shirt off their back to help you out. 

I lost a wonderful campaigner friend; Mike Tucker; see his photo – from London, a few years ago.  He was a stalwart in the fight for the ban on live animal exports.  Sadly he passed before this great news has broken today.  It would have been his dream to know that this issue has now reached UK government for action; with the very real prospect of a positive result soon.  Like me; the fight got deep into his veins; and the tenacity to be a voice for the suffering animals stayed with him until his final minute.  You don’t forget people like him.

I can remember meeting up with him many times in Ol’ London town over the years to fight this bloody, barbaric trade in sentient beings.  Despite his disability from an accident many years earlier, Mike would always dress ‘dapper’ in suit and bowler hat; and would take his bucket of water and a mop to wash the steps of the Agriculture Ministry (responsible for authorising the exports); telling them to ‘clean up’ their act and stop the trade regarding live animal transport.

The EU, for what little it is worth; has a policy of ‘member states’ never being allowed to stop the trade.  With the UK sensibly voting to leave a few years ago; and our relationship with the EU hopefully coming to an end this month in 2020; the UK, as an independent nation, can now take the action to stop the live export trade; re the action starting in Parliament tomorrow (3/12/20).  Things will not change overnight; we know that; but the UK government; unlike the EU; is listening to its citizens; and hopefully in the near future, will introduce legislation to stop the trade.  If other member states of the EU cannot go independent and enforce their own nation legislation; then it is a sad state of affairs; especially as so many citizens of the EU (who’s wishes are ignored) wish to see the business / trade stopped for good.

Mark

Above – Livestock transporters wait at Dover harbour.

Fighting in Dover and Brussels, Belgium

Above – in all the cruelty, we had some fun nights as well- you have to !!

Farm Animals, General News, Stray Animals

South Korea: Finally An End To Dog Farming – Legislation To Phase Out All Farming Within 3 Years. Massive Victory !!

WAV Comment.

With thanks to Di for this update.

This is fantastic news for the welfare movement; and we send them our very best for what has been a massive campaign over so many years – they have had the tenacity to fight on regardless of some promises by politicians in the near past.

A 3 year phase out sounds long and is long; but with those in the business knowing their days are very limited; we may e a dramatic reduction in farming in say, the first year.  Once there is proper legislation in the form of a (legal) Bill; then this can be used for prosecutions etc.  The dog farmers will know it and the sooner we see them walk the better it will be for all.

We have attempted to give action and news support on this issue singe our foundation – you can see our past posts here :

Search Results for “south korea dog farms” – World Animals Voice

Congratulations again dear campaigner friends – in the end, good always wins over evil.

Regards Mark

Photos by HSI Korea

A historic announcement as the South Korean government has stated that before the end of 2023, it will introduce a bill to ban the dog meat industry, which farms and kills up to 1 million dogs per year for human consumption.

At a meeting in Seoul today, between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, representatives of the ruling Peoples Power Party and Korean animal groups, including Humane Society International/Korea, a government bill was confirmed with a three-year phase out period once legislation is passed, meaning the ban would come into effect in 2027.

Compensation will be offered to help legally registered dog meat farmers, traders, slaughter houses, and restaurant owners transition or close their businesses, similar to the Models for Change program run by HSI/Korea, which has worked with 18 dog meat farmers across the country since 2015 to switch to growing chili plants or parsley.

This news follows considerable public and political momentum for a dog meat ban, including the introduction of five legislative bills by National Assembly Members. The news is welcomed by HSI/Korea, one of the leading animal groups campaigning for an end to dog meat nationwide.

“News that the South Korean government is at last poised to ban the dog meat industry is like a dream come true for all of us who have campaigned so hard to end this cruelty,” said JungAh Chae, executive director of HSI/Korea, who attended the meeting with MAFRA. “Korean society has reached a tipping point where most people now reject eating dogs and want to see this suffering consigned to the history books.”


“With so many dogs needlessly suffering for a meat that hardly anyone eats, the government’s bill delivers a bold plan that must now urgently be passed by the Assembly, so that a legislative ban can be agreed upon as soon as possible to help South Korea close this miserable chapter in our history and embrace a dog friendly future,” said Chae.


With growing concern for animal welfare and over 6 million pet dogs now living in Korean homes, demand for dog meat has dwindled. Latest opinion polls by Nielsen Korea, commissioned by HSI/Korea, show that 86% of South Koreans won’t eat dog meat in the future and 57% support a ban.

HSI recognizes that a short phase out period is an inevitable consequence of dismantling the trade and helping farmers and traders transition to other livelihoods. However, HSI urges the government to use the phase out period to work with animal welfare groups like HSI/Korea to rescue as many dogs as possible in a state-sponsored, coordinated effort.


HSI/Korea’s Models for Change program has rescued more than 2,700 dogs from dog meat farms across South Korea. The program has found adoptive homes for the rescued dogs in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, with a small number rehomed in South Korea. Most of the farmers with whom HSI/Korea has worked experience mounting societal, family, and financial pressure to get out of farming dogs for their meat.

“This is a momentous day for HSI’s campaign to end the horrors of the dog meat industry in South Korea, and one we have been hoping to see for a very long time,” said Kitty Block and Jeff Flocken, CEO and President of HSI globally, in a joint statement.

”Having been to dog meat farms and seen HSI/Korea’s Models for Change program in action, we know only too well the suffering and deprivation these desperate animals endure in the name of an industry for whom history has now thankfully called time,” continued Block. “This is the beginning of the end of dog meat farming in South Korea, and HSI stands ready to contribute our expertise until every cage is empty.”

Regards Mark

Link:

Victory! South Korea Announces Plans To Ban Dog Meat Industry By The End Of 2023 With A Three Year Phase Out – World Animal News