Category: Farm Animals

Farm Animals, General News

Italy: New research calls for a reconsideration of ritual slaughter without stunning in Italy.

28 April 2022

ALI

Animal Law Italia urges Italian policymakers to seek a balance between the respect of religious freedom and the essential need to protect animal welfare.

Our member organisation “ALI” (Animal Law Italia) is calling on the Italian Government and Parliament to urgently review the legal framework allowing slaughtering without stunning for religious purposes. The request is supported by a comprehensive paper (see English summary here) written by legal experts and university professors of law and veterinary medicine, with the purpose of better understanding ritual slaughter and raising public awareness on the neglected issue of animal slaughter without stunning. 

The research analyses the current context and the regulatory framework in force in Italy and in Europe, explaining the reasons supporting the proposed regulatory revision according to science, bioethics and consumer protection, accompanied by a feasibility plan. The association also consulted the interested religious communities, whose positions were duly noted and reported in the document.

The pledge is supported by an open letter that is accepting signatures by academics and veterinarians and a petition to the Italian policymakers.

Ritual slaughter has been considered a fundamental issue by animal welfare advocates for decades. During the last few years, different solutions have emerged throughout Europe, such as “reversibile slaughter” in Belgium, allowing a dramatic reduction of suffering for slaughtered animals, yet respecting the freedom of religion, as the Court of Justice of the European Union evaluated in December 2020.

The jurists and veterinarians therefore ask that the Italian policymakers make the use of pre-cut reversible stunning in ritual slaughter mandatory, as an effective compromise solution between the necessary protection of freedom of religion and a better consideration of the interests of consumers and the protection of animal welfare. This does not mean that other technical solutions could not also be explored in the future, as soon as they have been scientifically validated.

Animal Law Italia is confident that a dialogue can be established with religious communities, in order to quickly identify a shared solution capable of safeguarding the welfare of animals during ritual slaughters.

The review of the Italian regulatory framework for ritual slaughter is urgently needed, in light of the growing consideration towards better treatment of food-producing animals. The recent amendment of the Italian Constitution, which now includes animal protection amongst its fundamental principles, requires a comprehensive reform of all the previous legislation concerning animals.

Alessandro Ricciuti, lawyer and chairperson of Animal Law Italia

Read more at source

Animal Law Italia

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

Italy: Three trucks carrying lambs sanctioned by traffic police in Italy following investigation.

Three trucks carrying lambs sanctioned by traffic police in Italy following investigation

22 April 2022

Essere Animali

During Essere Animali’s roadside checks with MEP Eleonora Evi, three trucks carrying lambs were sanctioned by the traffic police. The conditions were not adequate to guarantee that the animals could move naturally. In one case, a lamb traveled for hours with one leg stuck between the bars of the truck.

Organisation Essere Animali recently carried out checks of the trucks used to transport live animals that pass through the border with Slovenia to Italy. 

Two vehicles from Hungary and one from Romania, each carrying over 700 lambs across four floors, were identified at the border with Slovenia. They were reported to the authorities and followed at a distance for a total of over 2,500 km, until the traffic police intercepted them. The vehicles were sanctioned under Legislative Decree 25 July 2007, n. 151 which provides for the sanctions for the violation of the provisions stipulated in European Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations.

In particular, the violations concerned the insufficient height of the compartments, which did not allow the animals to move naturally. The lambs’ heads touched the upper floor of the compartment, a condition that can cause bumps, bruises, and burns, as well as preventing adequate ventilation of the compartments. For violations of the provisions on animal welfare during transport, penalties can reach up to 6,000 euros.

Essere Animali’s activists also filmed a lamb that traveled for hours with one leg stuck between the truck bars, as well as issues related to the watering system installed in the vehicles, which several organisations have denounced as unsuitable for some time as it puts lambs at risk of suffering from thirst and potentially dehydration.

Last January, the European Parliament approved a series of recommendations drawn up by the ANIT Committee which do not place animal welfare at the centre of the revisions. In fact, the text approved by the majority of MEPs does not propose adequate solutions to numerous urgent problems, including the transport of animals over long distances (over 8 hours), and that of unweaned animals.

We thank MEP Eleonora Evi for her valuable collaboration, and police forces for their timely intervention. We will inform the European Commission and the Minister of Health of the outcome of the violations, providing images that document this alarming reality. The European Regulation, in addition to being frequently violated, is unable to concretely protect animals. Today it is legal to transport lambs less than two months old for journeys lasting up to 30 hours, subjecting them to conditions that cause them great stress and suffering. Together with other NGOs from all over Europe, we are calling for greater animal protection, such as a ban on the transport of live animals over long distances and unweaned animals. The European Union has the opportunity to really improve the conditions of animals; it shouldn’t betray the demands of its citizens.

Simone Montuschi, President, Essere Animali

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News

USA: Animal welfare activists want Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to relinquish role as governor.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Activists who have disrupted three Minnesota Timberwolves games in two NBA arenas over the past two weeks are demanding that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor relinquish his role as governor and contribute $11.3 million to various entities on behalf of animal welfare.

The activists, members of the organization Direct Action Everywhere, are targeting Taylor for his ownership of Rembrandt Farms, a large-scale factory farm that produces tens of millions of eggs each year. Rembrandt’s facility experienced an outbreak of bird influenza in March.

“To have Taylor and other extremely powerful factory farming businessmen getting these taxpayer bailouts flies in the face of the values of ordinary Americans,” Direct Action Everywhere media contact and activist Matt Johnson said. “Taylor should set a powerful example by stepping away from NBA ownership and refusing to take any subsidies related to the HPAI outbreak, and donate funds previously received to help repair some of the harm of the most destructive industry on the planet.”

To combat the highly pathogenic avian influenza epidemic, the company killed more than 5 million birds with a method called ventilation shutdown plus at one of its primary facilities in Iowa. Under the method, air flow into the industrial sheds where the birds reside is closed off. Activists deem the practice inhumane.

Protester Alicia Saturio glued her hands to the court during live play in the Timberwolves’ play-in game against the LA Clippers on April 12 at Target Center in Minneapolis, the first of the three incidents. Security quickly lifted her from the court and ejected her.

“I was nervous,” Saturio told ESPN. “I had never super-glued myself to anything. I wasn’t sure how the fans were going to respond. I most certainly didn’t want any of the players to be hurt, so I made sure to do it when they were down at the other end of the court.”

In Game 1 of Minnesota’s first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, activist Zoe Rosenberg chained herself to a basket stanchion near Taylor’s seat during the game at FedExForum in Memphis. She was quickly unchained by police and carried out of the arena. Rosenberg faces charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Johnson attended Game 3 at Target Center with the intention of disrupting play. He was apprehended and tackled by security before he could reach the floor. He was placed under arrest and banned from Target Center for one year.

In Game 4 of the series in Minneapolis, activist Sasha Zemmel rushed the court just in front of Taylor, interrupting live play. She was dressed in an NBA official’s uniform. Her intention was to approach Taylor, whose net worth was estimated at $2.5 billion by Forbes magazine in 2020, and call a “technical foul” on the Timberwolves and Rembrandt Farms owner.

Security personnel immediately tackled her to the floor and removed her before she could make the gesture. The referee’s jersey number was 5.3 to represent the 5.3 million birds killed at Rembrandt. Zemmel faces charges of disorderly conduct and fifth-degree assault.

“I didn’t even know what that was,” Timberwolves young star Anthony Edwards said following Minnesota’s Game 4 win. “Y’all got to stop running on the floor in Minnesota. Do that in Memphis. We don’t need it.”

Direct Action Everywhere performs public acts of civil disobedience as well as what it calls rescue missions at farm factories. Though the recent actions are in response to the killings at Rembrandt, the group more broadly opposes factory farming.

The organization has filed a complaint to local and state authorities in Iowa alleging that Rembrandt’s conduct violated state law. It demands that Taylor expedite the pending sale of the team to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, who have agreed to terms. Direct Action Everywhere also is demanding that Taylor Corp., parent company of Rembrandt, donate the $11.3 million it received in federal funds to aid in a 2015 outbreak to public health and animal welfare organizations.

Neither the Timberwolves nor representatives of Taylor provided comments by the time of publication.

Regards Mark

Animal welfare activists want Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to relinquish role as governor (espn.co.uk)

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

England: End Factory Farming – Add Your Signatures.

Dear Mark,

Two years ago, our lives were shaken by COVID-19. As COVID-19 may have shown all too clearly, diseases can jump to humans from other animals. In fact, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three out of every four new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals. So, how we treat wild and farmed animals isn’t just critically important to their wellbeing. It is crucial to human health.

Will you join over 312,000 people who have already signed, and add your name now?
 
Take action
 
This is one reason why, Compassion sounded the alarm on the growing emergency to change our farming system, with a petition urging international institutions to take action. During these last two years, many voices raised in the same direction, and in November 2021, the World Health Assembly committed to an international treaty on pandemic causes and response. This was a first victory, but we now need to have factory farming and animal welfare included in this treaty and linked with pandemic risk.
 
Sign the petition
 
At the start of July, a meeting of countries in charge of the redaction of the Treaty on Pandemics will be held; this is the best time to hand over our petition and show that citizens around the world are aware of the connection between factory farming, animal welfare and pandemic, and ask for change. We will hand over our petition with other organisations, to show how many people worldwide care about this. If you have not signed the petition yet, we need you to raise your voice! We will be your spokesperson and hand in your signature directly.
 
Add my name
 
We all have been impacted and suffered during the COVID crisis; we should not miss this opportunity to act so this is never allowed to happen again. Many thanks in advance for your support. Together we will be able to make it heard that there can’t be health security whilst factory farming continues. For the animals,
Farm Animals, General News

USA: Avian Flu Kills Millions of Birds By Shutdown; Gov. Kim Reynolds Says Its A Disaster When It Affects Human Profit – We Say, What About the Birds ?

With thanks as always to Stacey at ‘Our Compass’:

Avian Flu kills millions, Gov Kim Reynolds says it’s a “disaster” only when it affects human profit, but it’s ALWAYS A DISASTER for animals who are brutalized and tortured | Our Compass (our-compass.org)

The video which is posted here must be seen by as many people as possible.

“Lies, deception and intimidation” – don’t think so; so the truckloads of dead birds being hauled away after gruesome deaths to be converted into compost is footage of ‘lies and deception’ is it ? – we suggest the clown who says this in the video gets in touch with the real world of abuses and Iowa state factory farming which is forever making the news for all the wrong reasons. 

HE is the one who needs to distance himself from political lies, deception and intimidation.  (I am in England so not certain of peoples positions) but would guess then that he is probably an Iowa state politician who voted for ag gag and who does not want the real truth to come out.  Sorry chum, but you are living in your pathetic world of the dim and distant past; people have no respect any more for you or those of your kind. 

You may still consider yourself very important, but we look at you in another light; that of the abuser who wants to sweep his abuses under the carpet and keep them hidden.  The reality which you dismiss under your pathetic terms is now fortunately being exposed to the world, and will continue to be exposed to the world.  Get a grip; or even better, resign. Old fossils belong in the ground, not parliaments.

Regards Mark

There is a saying, and that is:

“The best way to predict the future is to create it!”

– Denis Gabor

Avian Flu kills millions, Gov Kim Reynolds says it’s a “disaster” only when it affects human profit, but it’s ALWAYS A DISASTER for animals who are brutalized and tortured

Source Direct Action Everywhere (DxE):

YouTube

Facebook

Twitter

This Iowa farm just killed 5 million birds during an outbreak of avian flu, and we documented the horrific aftermath of the mass killing, including birds left behind after surviving “ventilation shutdown.”

Taxpayer dollars paid for the farm’s last mass killing after infectious disease ran rampant in 2015. Now, the farm’s billionaire owner, former Senator Glen Taylor, who also owns the Minnesota Timberwolves and Star Tribune, may be getting bailed out once again despite posing a public health threat.

(Because billionaires have a lot of money, you’ll support them having more money to reward their putrid, disgusting actions causing unimaginable suffering?

Would you trust Glen with your cat? I don’t trust Glen with dirt – look at the abysmal mess he’s made out of it already, but he’s old so he doesn’t care that his legacy is cesspools of bacteria, pus, and decomp poisoning a world – much less a live being capable of pain and misery.

Just because the Timberwolves team sucks is no reason to take it out on vulnerable, defenseless animals, who, by their very nature of vulnerability and as acceptably abused by humans, deserve the MOST care and empathy, which excludes exploiting them in any way. SL)

Learn more about Direct Action Everywhere: https://www.directactioneverywhere.com/

(Because not caring about animal suffering doesn’t preclude the effects your abusive behaviour has on Planet Earth, which affects everyone. SL)

Support the right to rescue animals from harm: https://righttorescue.com/

(Because if someone stole your dog, intent on killing and eating her, what would you do to save her? SL)

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In closing;

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15021581/iowa-governor-kim-reynolds-husband/

Farm Animals, General News

USA: Animal rights activist chains herself to basket to protest Timberwolves owner.

The Timberwolves aren’t done with protesters delaying their games.

An animal rights activist chained herself to the basket stanchion Saturday during Game 1 of the Timberolves-Grizzlies playoff series in Memphis, Tenn.

The woman, wearing a T-shirt that read: “Glen Taylor Roasts Animals Alive” — appeared during a stoppage of play in the second quarter with yellow chains and attempted to secure herself to the stanchion after throwing flyers on the floor.

The protester, who appears to be another member of the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), was unchained by security before five people carried her out of the main area to the cheers of fans inside FedExForum.

The protest seemed to be related to the one carried out by a woman who tried to glue her hand to the court before the Timberwolves’ play-in game against the Clippers in Minneapolis on Tuesday night.

The animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere — which tweeted that the person who chained her self to the basket was Zoe Rosenburg — has accused Taylor, the Timberwolves’ majority owner, of the inhumane killing of 5.3 million chickens in a recent mass killing following an outbreak of bird flu in Taylor’s Iowa egg factory.

Taylor is in his last season as the team’s owner. The NBA approved a $1.5 billion deal that will net Alex Rodriguez and partner Marc Lore, the Walmart CEO, a 20 percent minority share of the Timberwolves with chances to buy more stakes in the team in 2022 and beyond to make them the majority owners.. The deal also includes an ownership stake in the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.

Taylor did get some good news in the end as his seventh-seeded Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Grizzlies, 130-117, to take a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round best-of-seven series. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 36 points in his first playoff game of his career.

Protestor chains herself to basket during Timberwolves-Grizzlies (nypost.com)

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News, Vegan Recipes

Africa: Cultured Beef Burgers Arrive In Africa For The First Time.

The alternative protein sector – including cell-based meats – is gaining momentum across the globe

Cultured Beef Burgers Arrive In Africa For The First Time – Plant Based News

Africa’s first-ever cultivated beef burger has been unveiled.

Mzansi Meat Co debuted the new burger this week at an event in Cape Town, South Africa. It’s the first cellular agriculture startup on the African continent.

Founded by Brett Thompson and Tasneem Karodia, the company is on a mission to feed Africa’s growing population with sustainably produced protein.

Like most cellular meat companies, Mzansi Meat Co’s food scientists cultivated the burger in a lab, after collecting cells from a living animal (in this case, a cow from a local animal sanctuary). 

The cells were isolated and grown in a culture medium. Then, they were placed on an edible structure and combined with spices and flavoring to produce the end product.

Why produce cultured meat?

Conventional animal agriculture is destructive to the environment and contributes 14.5 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. This has motivated innovators to think of new ways to produce the foods we love, in more sustainable ways.

While many brands are making meat-like products out of plants, the cell-based meat market is growing too.

Mzansi Meat Co is the first to produce a cultured meat burger in Africa, but in Singapore, cell-based meat has already appeared on restaurant menus.

The Singapore Food Authority became the first in the world to approve the sale of cultured meat in 2020. And last year, California brand Eat Just debuted cultured chicken at 1880, one of the country’s top restaurants.

‘Our burger is only the beginning’

Mzansi Meat hopes to follow closely in Africa.

“Cellular agriculture wasn’t an industry in Africa until Mzansi was born,” said Thompson. “Our burger is only the beginning, we now know it’s possible and the next step is scaling up. It starts with one small beef burger and we aim to be producing tons of cultivated meat every month in the future.”

According to Karodia, the brand will now focus on cultivated sausages. After that, it’ll tackle meat that can be substituted in traditional cuisines across Africa. “Everything we make will be braai-friendly and ready for the fire,” she said.

The cultivated meat market has significant potential when it comes to removing animals from the food system. According to McKinsey, a management consulting firm, by 2030, the sector could make up “billions of pounds of the world’s meat supply.”

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

UK: 7/4/22 Your Victory – A Massive Day For UK Animals and Their Welfare; After Losing Their Protection Post Brexit, The Updated Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill Has Been Voted Through In Parliament Today; Which Means That Animals are Legally Recognised as ‘Sentient Beings’ Once Again.

WAV Comment:  Often in animal welfare, there are not immediate solutions to concerning animal welfare problems.  Tenacity (the quality or fact of being very determined; determination.) has to be something; and is something, which all of us in the rights / welfare movement need to have and show.  To put it simply, if you give up, you lose.

Myself campaigning with CIWF in the Netherlands against animal factory farming.

UK animal people did not give up; in fact, their resolve strengthened.  Why:

Despite the huge success in getting animal sentience recognised in EU law, the recognition of animal sentience in the UK took a big step backwards following the Brexit referendum in 2016.

The following year, Compassion in World Farming discovered that the UK Government’s European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which formally enacted Brexit, would not carry across provisions from EU Treaties – including Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.

This meant that reference to animal sentience would disappear from UK law when the UK formally left the EU on 31st December 2020. Both the recognition of animals as having the capacity to have feelings, including pain and joy, and the requirement for governments to pay “full regard” to their welfare when formulating and implementing policy, would be lost from UK law. Read more about what Brexit meant for Animal Sentience in this news article.

Campaigning on animal sentience in the UK starts again
We (CIWF) had to start campaigning immediately to ensure that this cornerstone of animal welfare law was not lost when the UK left the EU. We mobilised supporters to lobby the Government, contacted Members of Parliament, and liaised with other NGOs to alert them to the threat to animal welfare. Unfortunately, it faced strong Government opposition and was narrowly defeated when it was put to the vote in Parliament.

And finally, on the 12th of December 2017, following the media furore over the vote in Parliament – and under pressure from a 155,000-strong Compassion petition, the UK Government announced a new Bill would be introduced. This was a momentous moment as the Bill would permanently incorporate the legal recognition of animal sentience into UK law post-Brexit.

2018: Campaign setback as Government delays sentience legislation
Despite the positive announcement from the Government at the end of 2017, the campaign to recognise that animals are sentient beings faced even more setbacks in the following years.

Firstly, Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee published a report which suggested the Bill should be redrafted. The Committee raised concerns that, as the Bill was worded, paying regard to animal sentience would lead to the slowing down or freezing of policymaking and result in widespread Judicial Reviews. Following that report, the UK Government announced in September 2018 that the legislation relating to animal sentience would be delayed.

2019: Over 100,000 calls for animal sentience recognition

In September 2019, our Senior Policy Manager, James West, handed in a 103,000-signature petition to Downing Street, alongside other members of the #BetterDealForAnimals coalition. The petition called on the UK Government to introduce legislation recognising animal sentience and require that full regard be given to animal welfare in UK Government policies.

2020: MPs debate animal sentience

As a result of the 2019 petition reaching over 100,000 signatures, MPs debated the issue in March 2020. Watch the highlights of the debate.

Then, following continued inaction from the Government, in September 2020 dedicated Compassion campaigners took action again.

Thousands of people urged their MPs to call on Ministers to introduce animal sentience legislation before 1st January 2021. This was the day after the UK would formally leave the EU, at which point EU laws recognising animal sentience at the time were due to run out.

2021: UK Government introduces Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill
As the clock struck 11pm on 31st December 2020, despite persistent campaigning, animals in the UK were, for the first time in almost a quarter-century, no longer recognised as sentient beings under the law.
Then, on 13th May, the efforts of compassionate people around the country finally worked in British animals’ favour. The UK Government announced it would introduce the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill as part of its ‘Action Plan for Animal Welfare’.

During the summer and autumn of 2021, the Bill progressed through the House of Lords, completing all its stages by December 2021.

Today – 7/4/22.

On Thursday 7th April, we achieved a momentous victory for animals. 

The updated Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill was voted through by the House of Lords which means that animals are legally recognised as sentient beings once again.

Thank you to everyone who emailed politicians or signed petitions, donated in response to this campaign, shared posts on social media, and asked friends and family to take action.

It’s official. UK law will now recognise that animals can feel joy, pain, and fear once again.. 

Read about the highs and lows of sentience over several decades:

Animal Sentience: the highs and lows | Compassion in World Farming (ciwf.org.uk)

In the end, positive results always come to those who have the tenacity to fight and continue fighting.  Never ever give up the fight(s) for your issues;

Regards Mark

Sentient Beings – Protected In the UK Once Again.
Environmental, Farm Animals, Fur and Fur Farming, General News

Ireland: Excellent News – Ireland to BAN Fur Farming – Official.

5 April 2022

RFA

On 29 March, a bill to ban fur farming successfully reached the final stages of the parliamentary process in the Republic of Ireland.

The Animal Health and Welfare and Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 passed its final stage in the Seanad, despite some objections from a minority of senators about compensation for fur farm workers. It received support from across the political spectrum in both houses of the Oireachtas.

The legislation will now go to the President, who will sign it into law.

There are currently 3 operational fur farms in the country, which are expected to be closed during the course of 2022 after the success of the bill.

Respect for Animals conducted a poll regarding public opinions of fur farming amongst people of Ireland in 2018. 80% of respondents agreed that the farming and killing of animals for their fur should be banned.

In 2021, several other European countries took steps to implement national bans on fur farming, including Italy, Estonia and France. 

Ireland finally takes a historical step and joins the increasing number of European countries that say no to fur farming, a practice that has no place in a society that genuinely cares for animal welfare.

Bethania Malmberg – Programme Officer Fur Animals, Eurogroup for Animals

This is a historic day for animal welfare in the Republic of Ireland and another nail in the coffin of the cruel and callous global fur industry. A critical report by Veterinary Ireland considered, in depth, the scientific evidence regarding mink farming and concluded that, on animal welfare grounds ‘there should be an immediate ban on the farming of mink, and similar wild animals, for the production of fur’. It is essential that legislators around the world – including at EU-level – take urgent action to end the cruelty of fur factory farming once and for all.

Mark Glover – Director, Respect for Animals

VICTORY: Republic of Ireland passes law to ban fur farming | Respect for Animals

Regards Mark