Animal Rebellion protesters ‘may have caused £100k in damage after pouring 20 bottles of milk on Fortnum & Mason carpet’
WAV Comment – F&M, buy carpet tiles !
Steve Bone, 40, is accused of dumping £38 worth of milk on the carpet of Fortnum & Mason (Image: PA)
The animal rights protesters are also accused of causing damage at Selfridges
Animal Rebellion protesters accused of pouring 20 bottles of milk on to the carpet of Fortnum & Mason may have cost it £100,000, a court has heard. Steve Bone, 40, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, stands accused of targeting Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges on Friday along with Sofia Fernandes Pontes, 26.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge of criminal damage in relation to the alleged Fortnum & Mason incident at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Monday afternoon (October 10). Prosecutors told the court the alleged incident took place at 11.30am.
Allegedly, the animal rights protesters took a basket with 20 bottles of milk to a value of £38 and emptied its contents on to goods and the carpet at the store, reports MyLondon. The carpet which was only laid a year ago would cost at least £5,000 to fix. Should it need replacing in its entirety then the total cost would be £100,000, the court heard.
Bone also indicated a not guilty plea for a charge of theft at the store as well as one count of theft and one count of criminal damage in relation to the alleged incident a Selfridges. He is accused of causing £273 of damage in that particular incident.
Bone, was granted conditional bail with conditions which include not being allowed to visit the two stores and will appear at Southwark Crown Court on November 7. His alleged accomplice, Fernandes Pontes, 26, of Copenhagen Street, Islington, North London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 7.
Hsiung and Picklesimer took two sick piglets from a farm in Utah in 2017 – MediSA: There’s a big difference between stealing and rescue.” Credit: Direct Action Everywhere
WAV Comment – A brilliant day for US activists. And the same day that Ag Gag is kicked into the dust. Great that this means activists can enter facilities if they are getting evidence of animal abuse and cruelty. Congats to all !
Animal Rights Activists Found Not Guilty After Rescuing Pigs From Smithfield Factory Farm
Wayne Hsiung said his and and Paul Darwin Picklesimer’s animal rescue trial is “a matter of conscience”
Two animal rights activists who rescued pigs from a Smithfield meat factory farm have been acquitted after standing trial in the US.
Wayne Hsiung and Paul Darwin Picklesimer, who filmed themselves taking two sick piglets from a Utah farm in 2017, were facing burglary and theft charges. If found guilty, they risked a prison sentence of five years each.
On Saturday night, the jury unanimously found them not guilty. Activists said the trial has set a “powerful precedent” for the right to rescue animals.
Hsiung, an attorney who represented himself, told the jury in his closing statement: “I don’t actually want you to acquit us on a legal technicality. I want you to acquit us as a matter of conscience. There’s a big difference between stealing and rescue.”
The rescue
In 2017, Hsiung and Picklesimer entered Circle Four Farms in Utah. The farm is one of the United States’ largest pork producers, processing one million pigs a year. They were investigating the use of gestation crates, which Smithfield promised to ban back in 2007.
When they entered the farm, they saw “row after row” of the cages. These two foot by seven foot metal stalls offered the pigs no room to turn around. The animals could spend up to five years of their life in them while pregnant.
The two pigs they rescued, later named Lizzie and Lily, are still alive today. Hsiung previously said in an interview that the pigs were ill and close to dying when they found them.
The trial
Hsiung and Picklesimer filmed the conditions on the farm, but the footage wasn’t allowed to be used in the trial due to the fact that it may have caused “horror” to the jury.
The activists claimed this was a violation of their constitutional rights and is part of a broader pattern of undue corporate influence.
Hsuing previously stated that the FBI, dozens of agents, and attorneys tried to prosecute the case “for years.” This is despite the fact that the commercial value of each piglet was around $42.20. The FBI were sent to raid sanctuaries in search of Lily and Lizzie after they were rescued.
“State and federal authorities have consistently shielded factory farms from transparency and accountability,” said Matthew Strugar, a constitutional lawyer involved in all successful efforts to overturn “ag-gag” statutes.
“In nearly two decades of legal work, this case is one of the most egregious I’ve seen, in terms of denying defendants’ constitutional right to a rigorous defense.”
Since Hogwood: a modern horror story launched in 2020, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to bring this incredibly important film to an even wider audience.
We can now confirm that Hogwood is live on Netflix, having premiered on Saturday 15th October 2022!🎉
Joining the world’s largest streaming service will allow Hogwood to reach millions more people and show that we need to End Factory Farming Before It Ends Us.
From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for your ongoing support and for helping us to share Hogwood with the world.
Presented by Jerome Flynn
Jerome originally shot to fame as one half of pop duo Robson & Jerome and is now best known for his role as Bronn in the HBO series Game of Thrones. Other roles include Bennet Drake in Ripper Street and Paddy Garvey of the King’s Fusiliers in the ITV series Soldier Soldier.
“It is an honour to be presenting this very important film. After seeing the horrendous conditions and animal abuse that is happening behind Hogwood’s walls I had to do something. The pigs of Hogwood aren’t just meat products, they are sensitive, emotionally aware beings just like us and they deserve better than this.”
Running at just over 30 minutes, HOGWOOD explores the reasons behind factory farming and exposes the negligence and inaction by government bodies and corporations alike. It highlights how meat pollutes our planet and puts us at risk from disease outbreak. It explores why factory farming is supported and follows the brave fight to expose the truth and change the world.
The documentary centres around a seemingly idyllic pig farm, named Hogwood. Jerome Flynn opens the documentary against the picturesque backdrop of rural England, just minutes away from Hogwood Farm. He tells the captivating tale of HOGWOOD and how it came to be one of the most infamous pig farms in the UK. His narrative is intertwined with undercover footage and interviews with investigators and activists representing the animal welfare group Viva! — who spearheaded the campaign. The film goes onto feature interviews with a livestock vet speaking out about her horrific on-the-job experiences for the first time. It concludes with expert comment from GP and public health expert, Dr Josh Cullimore and Oxford University researcher Joseph Poore.
Directed by Tony Wardle
“I have been producing investigative documentaries for many years and no film has been more harrowing than HOGWOOD. The name ‘a modern horror story’ could not be more apt; there are modern horror stories taking place each day in the British countryside. Not only are these horrors hidden from sight, but they are endorsed by huge corporations and the Government. That is why this film had to be made — because the public has a right to see what takes place beyond the factory farm walls.”
Viva! investigated Hogwood pig farm four times from 2017 to 2019. Year after year, we recorded a catalogue of cruelty including extreme overcrowding, routine mutilation, sick and dying pigs abandoned in gangways, painful lacerations and live cannibalism. This was one of our biggest campaigns to date and with your overwhelming support, Red Tractor and Tesco finally dropped Hogwood. Like many of our supporters, we couldn’t help but think about the pigs trapped inside Hogwood. We know that Hogwood is a typical pig farm; these conditions are enforced and supported by huge corporations and government bodies alike. We realised that Hogwood is part of a bigger story, one that aims to end factory farming for good — and so we created HOGWOOD: a modern horror story. Now we need your help to get this film seen by the masses.
Viva! has investigated Hogwood pig farm four times from 2017 to 2019. Hogwood was a Red Tractor approved farm, supplying supermarket giant Tesco, and major food producer Cranswick plc, supposedly representing the best of British farming.
In 2019, Hogwood farm was dropped by Tesco, Cranswick plc and Red Tractor. Despite this landslide victory, it remains the most disturbing and harrowing investigation of them all.
Each person who has seen the investigation footage had a powerful reaction and so Viva! crowdfunded to produce the documentary, smashing their target and raising over £10,000 in the first 24 hours alone.
HOGWOOD has already sent ripples throughout the animal agriculture industry. It sparked a nationwide Day of Action where thousands of people came together to protest outside 150 Tesco stores. Over 70,000 people signed a petition urging Tesco to drop Hogwood. It became one of Viva!’s most far-reaching campaigns to date.
Running at just over 30 minutes long, HOGWOOD takes you beyond the factory farm walls. It is the culmination of months of investigative work by the Viva! team who worked tirelessly to expose the kind of unspeakable cruelty to animals many mistakenly think we have consigned to the history books.
HOGWOOD is narrated by Jerome Flynn, the Game of Thrones star who shot to fame as one half of Robson and Jerome. He tells the captivating tale of Hogwood, intertwined with interviews with the intrepid Viva! investigators and with expert comment from GP and public health expert Dr Josh Cullimore, pig vet Dr Alice Brough and Oxford University environmental researcher Joseph Poore.
HOGWOOD is set to launch on March 26 at the Houses of Commons. The launch will be followed by a Q&A with Jerome Flynn, Labour MP Christina Rees, Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, and the producers of the film.
Great news! The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill to ban live export recently passed its third and final reading in Parliament in Aotearoa (New Zealand)!
Exporting cows, sheep, and other animals from New Zealand by sea will finally stop on 30 April 2023.
Australian cows and sheep are transported thousands of kilometres in filthy and dangerous conditions. They’re forced to endure the journey in all weather extremes, standing in their own waste, causing distress, injuries, and disease.
Now New Zealand has taken a stand against this cruelty, all eyes are on Australia to follow suit.
Mark, thank you for previously urging officials to end this trade in Australia using our action alert. Will you take action again to urge recently appointed federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt to implement a ban immediately?
Thanks for all you do for cows, pigs, sheep, and other animals.
A clear message of support from MEPs calling for a future without fur, while the ECI “Fur Free Europe” reaches more than 400,000 signatures in less than five months. The Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals held a dedicated meeting in Strasbourg on “The case for a Fur Free Europe”: scientific experts, MEPs, Member States and civil society make their case for a new Europe without fur.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Strasbourg, 6 October 2022
In May 2022, Eurogroup for Animals, together with 80 NGOs, launched the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) Fur Free Europe which has already collected more than 400,000 signatures. The ECI calls on the EU to ban fur farming and the placement on the European market of farmed fur products, since fur is unethical, unsafe and unsustainable.
The role of the European Parliament and its elected representatives is key to turning this massive public call into reality. That’s why the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals held a dedicated meeting in Strasbourg on “The case for a Fur Free Europe”.
After an introduction from the President of the Intergroup Tilly Metz MEP (LU, Greens/EFA), Reineke Hameleers presented the campaign on behalf of Fur Free Europe, and introduced the new report on the reasons why we need to ban fur farming and the placement of farmed fur products on the European market from public health, legal, environmental and ethical perspectives.
More than 400,000 citizens have already made it clear that fur no longer has a place in Europe. Member States are ready to back their request. Today’s exchange with experts, MEPs and the horrific but important images from the documentary complement the request. Society as a whole is ready to transition away from cruelty, Europe is ready for this move and, in order to succeed, we need the EP to be strong in its demands toward the EC. I am positive we can count on the elected representatives. 2023 can be the year we make history for the animals and for the EU.
Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals
The presentation was followed by a partial screening of the documentary SLAY from the makers of the award-winning films Cowspiracy and What The Health. SLAY follows filmmaker Rebecca Cappelli’s journey around the world to uncover the dark side of the fashion industry: a harrowing story of greenwashing, mislabeling, and animal cruelty. SLAY provides an in-depth and eye-opening look into the realities of today’s fashion industry while pointing the way towards viable and sustainable alternatives.
The suffering of animals in the fashion industry is greenwashed into oblivion while those skin industries are destroying the planet and harming people. SLAY aims to challenge the notion that animal skins are a fabric, and open people’s eyes to the dark realities behind some of the most sought after skins in fashion.
Rebecca Cappelli, Director and Producer, SLAY
Bo Algers, Professor emeritus at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, gave a presentation on the “Behavioural needs of Mink and Foxes in the fur industry”.
Johannes Rauch, Austrian Federal Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection intervened with a video message: “In my role as Minister of Health, I strongly push towards the realisation of the „One Health“ approach. That means we have to look at human health, animal health and environmental health as interlinked issues that strongly impact one another. I am convinced that we will have to fundamentally change this system of animal exploitation to avoid future pandemics. This is why I wholeheartedly support the European Citizens’ Initiative for a Fur Free Europe and I want to ask you to support it as well. The EU must use its power and also close the EU market to farmed fur products from outside the EU. Just like we have done with products from certain trapping methods, seal products or cat and dog fur. In order to make progress and live up to our moral standards and the responsible treatment of animals as sentient beings, I strongly urge all of you to support this common cause, support the Citizens‘ initiative and make this step possible towards the goal of a fur free Europe”.
The message echoed the information note tabled by Austria and the Netherlands during a meeting of the Council of the European Union (Agriculture and Fisheries), supported by Belgium, Germany Luxembourg and Slovakia, calling on the European Commission to investigate the possibility for a ban on fur farming. The call to end fur farming in the EU on the grounds of animal welfare, public health and ethical considerations, was backed by a total of twelve Member States during the deliberations on this paper.
Animal rights whistleblowers stand trial as supporters rally outside Utah courthouse
Two Direct Action Everywhere activists face felony charges and imprisonment for rescuing factory farm piglets from “nightmarish cruelty.”
More than 70 animal rights activists stood outside a courtroom in St. George, Utah on Tuesday holding up a giant image of Utah Attorney Gen. Sean Reyes. A word bubble hovered above his head saying “I cover up animal cruelty.”
The group had gathered in support of whistleblowers Wayne Hsiung and Paul Darwin Picklesimer of Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, a global network of activists working to achieve revolutionary social and political change for animals in one generation. Both currently face felony burglary and theft charges that could amount to over 10 years in prison.
In March 2017 Hsiung, Picklesimer and three other DxE investigators infiltrated Smithfield-owned Circle Four Farms in Utah to document the conditions of its pregnant pigs. They were greeted with “nightmarish cruelty,” which included piles of dead piglets covered in feces and pregnant pigs crammed inside cages barely larger than their bodies.
Despite Smithfield announcing that it had shifted from confining pregnant pigs in gestation crates in January of that year, DxE investigators documented sows in confinement. The footage, dubbed Operation Deathstar, was used in 2021 as evidence by the Humane Society of the United States in its misrepresentation lawsuit against Smithfield.
Four of the defendants accepted plea deals, which required that they consent to three years of probation and sign a gag order that required “no social media, website or other online criticism or derision of Smithfield on personal or otherwise” be posted by the defendants. Hsiung and Picklesimer did not accept the prosecutor’s offer and their trial began Oct. 3.
Activists have flocked to Utah to support them during the trial, which began this week. Supporters have marched through St. George to raise awareness, and two DxE members even disrupted an NFL Monday Night Football game, running across the field with a smoke flair. They were arrested and have since been released from police custody.
The judge in this criminal trial, Jeffrey Wilcox, has only allowed a handful of DxE supporters in the courtroom at one time, so activists have been gathering outside the court holding signs like “stop covering up animal cruelty” and “right to rescue.” Some activists were even told by county sheriffs that they could not be on the same side of the street as the courthouse and were ordered to move.
Journalists covering the trial, such as Marina Bolotnikova, have voiced their concern over the court’s lack of transparency regarding the trial. Bolotnikova, who gained the court’s permission to record the trial remotely via video conferencing, had her permission revoked a few days before the trial. The court has also allegedly removed the ability to register for remote web access to the trial, while simultaneously revoking access to those who already signed up.
Journalists and activists have also raised transparency issues over the withholding of evidence. Despite DxE having video of the rescue, depicting the condition of the piglets, the prosecution requested that the footage not be shown. The judge agreed and has withheld the footage, claiming that it could elicit an emotional response from the jury.
“The most direct and extensive evidence of the alleged crimes has been barred from trial because it would be too disturbing to jurors,” Bolotnikova said. “This certainly says a lot about how far removed the laws being tried here are from a regular person’s common-sense view of right and wrong.”
According to science writer and ecologist Spencer Roberts, the withholding of evidence is “blatant corruption.” Roberts further argued that “there’s simply no way to justify censoring video of the act that jurors are supposed to evaluate whether to call a crime. What evidence could be more relevant to the case than a video of the alleged crime?”
Meanwhile, activists have also raised the issue of a potential of conflict of interest in the case, alleging that there is evidence of collusion between the prosecution and Smithfield. Public records uncovered by The Intercept show that the prosecutors involved in the case have fiscal connections with Smithfield and have received funding from the company and even represented them previously.
Specifically, Bolotnikova contends that these public records show that there are “potential financial ties, including Smithfield’s donations to the Republican Attorneys General Association and a small donation directly to Sean Reyes.” Additionally, she explained that one of the case’s prosecutors, Janise Macanas, currently works for Reyes in the Utah AG’s office.
Lead DxE organizer Almira Tanner has commented on this alleged corruption, contending that “Utah Attorney Gen. Sean Reyes has received campaign contributions from Smithfield Foods … It’s also absurd to think that Smithfield Foods has the power to mobilize the FBI across state lines searching for two missing piglets, which the company valued at under $100.”
The irony, which activists are quick to highlight, is that while the piglets themselves were relatively valueless to the company, they are now being weaponized to target activists who challenge industrial agriculture.
Utah State Veterinarian Dean Taylor testified that each piglet rescued was valued at only $42.20 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Another witness, Richard Topham, a worker at the Circle Four Farms, stated that he did not realize that the piglets were gone until months later, when he saw the DxE investigation video on Facebook.
Hsiung, representing himself, argued in court that sick piglets are often discarded by the industry, with more than 15 percent not making it to adolescence. In short, according to Hsiung, the company is alleging theft of a product they would have otherwise considered worthless.
Nevertheless, the felony theft statute in Utah specifies that theft becomes a felony — no matter its commercial value — if the property taken are animals raised for commercial purposes. Additionally, defendants are subject to an enhanced penalty if the offense is intended to impede, obstruct or interfere with the operation of a factory farm. Hsiung continues to stand behind his actions and has found strength in the outpouring of support he has received while facing potential conviction and imprisonment. Right before the trial began, he tweeted: “I received some great advice this week, on how to handle hardship, that I want to share with all of you: Remember love.”
Today, the European Parliament took a stand on the future of aquaculture in Europe by adopting MEP Clara Aguilera’s report on “Striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward”. The Parliament has for the first time given animal welfare a prominent place in its position on European aquaculture, calling for important steps to improve the situation for fish, but missed the opportunity to take action against some of the worst welfare conditions and unsustainable systems.
Eurogroup for Animals supports the report that was voted on in the Plenary. We highly welcome the MEPs’ call for an EU Animal Welfare Reference Centre for fish, which is critical for the implementation of legislation on fish welfare to be proposed next year. Eurogroup further acknowledges other important progress as the report recognises the importance of applying evidence-based standards and interventions to improve fish welfare during keeping, transport and slaughter, and the fact that good animal welfare is the best preventive step to ensure health and welfare and reduce use of medication.
The Parliament also positively called for animal welfare to be improved in aquaculture and be included in the Common Fisheries Policy, as well as for more efforts on the sustainability of feed, including using a low trophic index to identify sustainable alternatives. However, despite these positive aspects, the report still contains some serious shortcomings. Indeed, the statement that “various recommendations on animal welfare do not apply to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors because of their nature”, being included without referring to any particular recommendations is in contradiction with a number of other European Parliament positions and the work done by the European Food Safety Authority and the European Commission, since consensus was reached that fish are sentient beings.
Just like in mega-stalls on land, animals in fish farms are cooped up in too small a space. (…) animals in fish farms are kept in such a way that they cannot exhibit their natural behaviour and their lives are one big suffering. As in land-based mega-stalls, cramming large numbers of animals together in fish farms leads to environmental pollution, disease and excessive antibiotic use.
MEP Anja Hazekamp
MEP Caroline Roose confirmed that “Aquaculture is not sustainable (…) when animals are crammed in by the hundreds, without any density limit, and are forced to behave in ways that are contrary to their nature”.
This vote was an opportunity to call for the transition to low-trophic species to be a priority, including the prohibition of introducing new carnivorous species, such as octopus, into industrial farming systems.
Octopus are unanimously described as sentient, sensitive and intelligent animals by science and current EU law only protects their welfare in laboratory settings. The opening of the “first-ever octopus farm” constitutes a “disaster for animal welfare and an environmental disaster, scientists warn”, said Anja Hazekamp.
With this report the European Parliament has demonstrated much needed progress on fish welfare in aquaculture – which is to be applauded – however the Parliament clearly fell short on addressing some fundamental problems with welfare and sustainability in aquaculture.
Life and Death in Fur Farming. Ten, now eight, mink kits in a nest box on a Swedish fur farm. These American mink kits fight for space and to reach their food. A sign indicates two have died. Though the legal cage size is now larger and a two-storey box a requirement for adult mink, with no more than two adults per cage, injuries still occur. Sweden, 2010. Jo-Anne McArthur / Djurrattsalliansen / We Animals Media
I think it’s striking that these images factually demonstrating abject animal suffering in the “fur industry” look exactly like the reality of abject suffering of animals in the “animal agriculture food industry” while, in the USA, the fur industry council degenerates like to boast that their victims on fur farms are executed onsite …
(via anal electrocution, for example, where humans physically restrain terrified creatures and insert rods into their anuses to electrocute them – while, interestingly, when humans get colonoscopies, for example, requiring anal insertion of instruments to capture colon images by people who must be educated, trained and certified to do so, which, by the way, is to prevent death versus causing it, humans actually get sedation)
… and therefore don’t require the horrors inherent in slaughter transportation. Imagine bragging that your death industry is marginally “better” than another death industry while ignoring the entire violent D-E-A-T-H requirement of innocent victims in both. If horrific transport is bad, actual violent killing is WORSE.
I wouldn’t expect anything other than deception and manipulation and abuse from the FAM folks in either, though. SL
This week we’ve got big news on our progress with getting animal stories in the media. Jo-Anne McArthur has been awarded Highly Commended in Wildlife Photographer of the Year for her image Life and Death in Fur Farming.
The image is one of 14 Highly Commended images announced on September 1 as a preview of this year’s competition, which attracted entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 93 countries. Jo-Anne is awarded in the category of Photojournalism.
Jo-Anne shares some words about the story behind this image and her hopes for its impact:
The first time I visited fur farms was in 2009. It was a shock to see the decrepit, putrid, mass incarceration of so many animals in so many sheds and tiny cages, offering me yet another of the many moments of disbelief that I experience in my career. I have since photographed fur farming extensively, especially in my home country of Canada, and it is with urgency that I wish for this unnecessary industry to end. I am so happy that we are seeing bans on fur farming in many countries, including those who have traditionally supported a large fur industry.
To say that I’m thrilled that WPY has awarded this mink farming image in their competition is an understatement, because the reason I do this investigative work is so that people can look, consider, discuss, critique, care, change. WPY offers this image of ten, now eight, mink kits and their mother in a cramped nesting box for the world to view. Many people do not know that animals are industrially farmed for their fur. They are unaware of the conditions. They are unaware that these animals are killed by gassing and anal electrocution, or that they are kept in tiny cages by the millions, globally, each year, so that we can wear fur trim, have fur pompoms on our hats, or a poof of fur on a child’s trinket.
I feel passionately about taking photos of fur farming so that the images can help campaigners and policy makers end this industry, and continue to raise awareness amongst the unknowing public. Images are a strong and crucial part of the puzzle when it comes to creating a kinder world for animals.
Mink farming is an industry where, traditionally, the welfare of these semi‑aquatic, naturally solitary mammals has not been a priority unless it affects the fur. But in 2020, mink farming came under the spotlight when it became clear that not only could mink catch the Covid-19 virus, but that the virus could mutate in mink and be transmitted back to humans. In response, Denmark – then the largest mink-fur producer after China – shut down its industry, killing all 17 million animals, and in the Netherlands and Spain, hundreds of thousands were killed. But in Sweden, after a temporary ban on breeding, the government allowed its 20 or so farms to reopen in 2022.
Djurrattsalliansen, the non-profit organization Jo-Anne was working with when she took this photograph, has played a significant role in fur farm investigations in Sweden, which have helped to bring the number of farms down significantly.
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copyHERE
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“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Animals don’t hate, and we’re supposed to be better than them.” – Elvis Presley
“Let us remember that animals are not mere resources for human consumption. They are splendid beings in their own right, who have evolved alongside us as co-inheritors of all the beauty and abundance of life on this planet.” – Marc Bekoff
“Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind’s capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness, not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they don’t; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us.” – Matthew Scully
“Lots of people talk to animals…Not very many listen though…that’s the problem.” – A.A. Milne
“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” – James Herriot
“Because we have viewed other animals through the myopic lens of our self-importance, we have misperceived who and what they are. Because we have repeated our ignorance, one to the other, we have mistaken it for knowledge.” – Tom Regan
“True human goodness, in all its purity and freedom, can come to the fore only when its recipient has no power. Mankind’s true moral test, its fundamental test (which is deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.” – Milan Kundera
Today, October 4th, is World Animals Day.
World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on October 4, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
The mission of World Animal Day is “to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe.
WAD is an annual event.
The MISSION OF WORLD ANIMAL DAY To raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals. It’s celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Through increased awareness and education we can create a world where animals are always recognised as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare.
WAV Comment – you have to remember here that here we are talking about ANTI Foie Gras ban and anti fur ban Rees Mogg; who now has one of his chums, and a major Conservative Party donor; appointed as a senior minister by Liz Truss at the Department for International Trade (DIT).
Despite all our years of work and evidence gathering by dozens of welfare groups; I predict that I will get a response from the DIT telling that, in accordance with the Truss wishes, animal welfare will not be considered in future trade deals; or if it is (?), I will be fed yukspeak on ‘they do care about it’, but not enough to actually include the issue in future deals.
As promised recently, as soon as I get a reply from the DIT, I will be publishing and adding comment.
Who knows, the reply may be from the new Truss appointed Dominic Johnson. Lets hope so – but as he probably does not give a toss about animal welfare, just like his mate Rees Mogg, I am not holding my breath.
With all this, no wonder the Tories have reached rock bottom in opinion polls and fingers crossed, Truss will soon be ousted and we the people of the UK will get what they need, a General Election.
The City business partner of Jacob Rees-Mogg has been handed a peerage and job as a senior minister by Liz Truss’s government in a move likely to trigger accusations of cronyism.
Dominic Johnson, a financier who co-founded Somerset Capital Management with Rees-Mogg, was appointed as a minister in the Cabinet Office and the Department for International Trade.
The announcement was slipped out on the government’s website, which said he had been appointed as of Sunday.
“Dominic Johnson CBE was appointed a minister of state jointly in the Department for International Trade and the Cabinet Office on 2 October 2022,” the statement said.
The appointment is likely to be controversial at a time when Truss, her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, and Rees-Mogg face questions about being too close to the City, after the mini-budget handed substantial tax cuts to financiers and the wealthy.
Johnson is a substantial party donor who has given more than £250,000 and was vice-chairman of the Conservative party between 2016 and 2019. He replaces Gerry Grimstone, the former chairman of Barclays and Standard Life, in his role as trade minister, encouraging inward investment.
Somerset Capital Management is reported to be up for sale, with two of its founding partners now in senior government roles. Johnson recently said he was stepping down as chief executive of Somerset Capital Management.
Rees-Mogg still holds a substantial stake in the investment firm, despite the potential conflict of interest with his role as business secretary.
Above – no, cannot be true, wow !!
Regards Mark
Further reading on this:
Jacob Rees-Mogg is caught up in a cronyism row after the partner in his investment firm was suddenly handed a peerage and made a government minister.
MP’s look of disbelief as Jacob Rees-Mogg claims ‘Putin funds anti-fracking campaigns’
Jacob Rees-Mogg has been defending the Government’s decision to allow fracking for shale gas to go ahead in England.
Shocked Labour MP Cat Smith appeared stunned as Jacob Rees-Mogg told her some anti-fracking campaigns may have been funded by Vladimir Putin. The exchange came as Mr Rees-Mogg, who was recently appointed as Liz Truss’ Business Secretary, defended the decision to allow fracking to go ahead on the grounds of energy security.
World Animals Voice 