American meat corporations have bad reputations, and for good reason. These companies have reached near-supervillain status for their inhumane treatment of cattle, pigs, and chickens. Not only do animals that suffer in meat-packing plants — these corporations abuse their workers, too. New reports indicate that this industry quite literally doesn’t care if its workers live or die, and it is time Congress did something about this.
These corporations even went so far as to fabricate letters that falsely claimed America’s meat supply was at dire risk if plants temporarily shut down. As a result, former President Trump signed an executive order classifying meat plants as critical infrastructure, forcing their doors open amidst grave danger. Given what we know so far, upwards of 59,000 meat-packing workers caught COVID-19, and nearly 300 died. That’s not even counting the family, friends, and community members they spread COVID to after contracting it at the plants. On top of that, many meat-packing workers are immigrants, low-income, uninsured, or some combination of the three. These are communities that are already at an extremely high risk of contracting severe COVID, yet the industry decided profit was more important than human lives. The government must never allow this deadly manipulation to happen again.
Spencer is doing his bit for AAU despite personal health issues; and a donation is the least that can be done is to support him and the wonderful Animal Aid Unlimited (AAU)..
Second; live animal transport is happening the world over; on the road, rail and at sea right now, today, 1/6/22. Everything needs to be done to raise as much publicity about the international live export awareness day on 14/6 as possible. It does not matter where you are in the world, or how big or little a group you represent; just get involved on your patch.
I have personally seen the suffering of this disgusting business for well over 30 years; and now it is time to confine it as a sick chapter in the book of animal history – abuses.
Please support BOTH these asks for help;
Regards Mark (WAV)
Animals Angels.
Recent Live Export IAW – London.
From ‘Compassion In World Farming’ (CIWF) – London.
There’s two weeks to go until our seventh annual Ban Live Exports: International Awareness Day!
After two years of exclusively online events due to restrictions on gatherings, we’re so excited to be back with a rally in London. Will you join us on Tuesday 14th June and show your support for a ban on the live export of animals?
Rally location confirmed
The flagship UK event for Ban Live Exports Day will be at Parliament Square in London from 12.30-2pm on Tuesday 14th June. Join campaigners from far-and-wide as we come together with MPs and special guests to help end this suffering.
How to get involved:
■ Join our London rally and help call on the UK Government to progress the Kept Animals Bill, which would ban live exports from Britain, without further delay. ■If you can’t join us in London, don’t worry. We’ll be livestreaming at the event on our Facebook page so you can watch online. ■Get your banners ready! Download one here, or make your own, to bring to the rally or post a selfie on social media on June 14th with the hashtag #BanLiveExports. ■ Keep your eyes peeled as next month we’ll be launching brand-new actions to demand the UK Government, and the EU, end this cruel trade for good.
Together we can take the next steps towards ending a cruel, outdated, and unnecessary global trade. I look forward to standing with you on June 14th.
Sarah Moyes Senior Campaigns Manager UK
PS: Don’t forget to head over to our Facebook event and let us know if you’re able to join us for this day of action.
Regards Mark
On tour in the Netherlands againstall factory farming.
On a personal note, I give my full support to Spencer as we have 2 things in common; and that is Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and efforts for helping animals. As a sufferer of MS for 23 years, I know exactly what he is experiencing every moment of every single day.
As Spencer says in the fundraiser:
As anyone with M.S will tell you there are many challenges involved in navigating this condition and we all have our good days and bad days.
But just because you have a long term issue such as MS, it does not mean that you cannot continue to live your life and support vital animal advocate issues the world over; as I am attempting with WAV. AAU in India are doing some incredible rescues as you can see in the links given above; animals that were literally at deaths door have been saved, helped to heal, and returned to full health by the wonderful team at AAU. Supporting AAU is for sure one big thing that Spencer and I have in common.
So please support Spencer today by giving anything you can; here is the link once again:
Animal rights activists have been “sprayed with manure” as hordes of angry farmers confront them over a protest at Britain’s largest beef industry event, the campaign group has claimed.
The demonstration, which began in the early hours of Saturday, is said to have seen one protester taken to hospital after chaos unfolded outside Darlington Farmers Auction Mart (DFAM) in Co Durham.
Photos showed mask-clad activists from the Animal Justice Project (AJP) standing on the roof of the building holding banners and spraying coloured smoke flares.
A spokesperson for the group said campaigners have now been left “covered in excrement” after one event attendee allegedly used a sprayer to blast manure at them.
Another activist was injured after farmers allegedly ploughed towards a group of protesters in a JCB digger and “assaulted” them, the AJP claims.
The National Beef Association (NBA), which is organising the expo taking place over the course of this weekend, describes it as a celebration of the best of British beef, drawing in at least 5,000 guests annually.
The AJP has said their protest was “peaceful” and “silent” and aimed to highlight “farmed animal suffering and environmental safety concerns”.
Police have been on the scene since 5am working to bring the demonstration to an end as guests and demonstrators clashed with one another but activists have said they intend to stay indefinitely.
Mark Dent, chair of DFAM, said earlier he believed the protesters were the sources of “intimidation”.
He told the PA news agency: “We respect people’s right to protest, but the way they go about it doesn’t help their cause.
“There is no respect for people’s property or livelihood. I’m afraid then you lose your moral high ground… It’s a tin roof and they’re jumping up and down on it, and it’s bending.
“They’ve got their faces covered. It’s intimidation (and) threatening behaviour. I’m all for people protesting what they believe in, but it’s the way they go about it – the face coverings, the intimidation.”
He added: “If you have a pair of eyes you will see how important agriculture is around the world at the moment. Food is top of the agenda.”
An AJP spokesperson told PA: “We’ve been sprayed with cow poo by one farmer using a machine.
“It has been a peaceful protest and a silent protest and we are overwhelmed and outnumbered by hundreds of angry farmers.”
They added: “It’s really violent and there was one farmer who went along and sprayed everyone’s clothes. Shouting, swearing, spraying us with manure, ripped the banners down. It’s absurd.”
The group has said the farming event “glorifies the exploitation and killing of animals” which is “fundamentally wrong and unjust”.
Neil Shand, chief executive of the NBA, said: “Nobody has been hit by a tractor.”
A spokesperson for the NBA claimed there was a “wonderful atmosphere” at the event and did not comment further on the protest.
Durham Police said: “Our officers are working to bring the protest to a safe end and to minimize the impact on the wider community.”
Farmers Stab Pregnant Horses With Huge Needles At “Blood Farms.” Iceland Must End This Practice Now!
Click ‘Watch on YouTube’ to see (disturbing) undercover footage:
More than 5,000 horses in Iceland are currently locked in any one of the nation’s 119 “blood farms.” In these facilities, farmers mine live pregnant horses for hormones inside their blood. Handlers extract the mares’ blood during summer months, turn it into powder, then sell and ship it internationally to other farmers. That includes to facilities in Europe and the UK, where farmers use the hormone to force their livestock, such as cows, pigs, and sheep, to reproduce more than is natural. Animals endure all this exploitation just so farmers can enjoy more profits.
One undercover video shows handlers hitting pregnant mares before shoving and imprisoning them inside “restraint boxes.” Once locked in place, handlers then push huge needles into the pregnant horses’ jugular veins — extracting frightening amounts of blood. Farmers in Iceland regularly extract around 4x the maximum amount advised by International standards, taking 5 liters (1.3 gallons) of life-giving liquid from each horse, every week, for 8 weeks in a row. These pregnant animals’ blood is necessary not just for their own survival, but also for providing their foals with vital nutrients. Icelanders are speaking out in opposition to the cruel practice, and the European Parliament is considering a ban on these blood-hormone imports. We must stand with them in order to help these defenseless horses.
The UK government has recently (since Brexit and leaving the EU) undertaken a consultation on live animal transport which has been open to the British public and any for / against (live export) organisations wishing to submit comments on the subject of all categories associated with live animal transport (exports). We at WAV took a lot of time (several weeks) with precise submissions and evidence to argue our case on why we considered that long distance live animal transport is unnecessary and should be banned – or at the very most be a one off transport time of 8 hours maximum; which would basically stop all exports from the UK to mainland Europe.
Here is just one short clip of the response start:
Q1: Do you agree that livestock and horse export journeys for slaughter and fattening are unnecessary?
87% of respondents agreed that livestock and horse export journeys for slaughter and fattening are unnecessary. 11%4 disagreed and 2% did not express a definitive opinion. The majority of respondents who agreed that such journeys are unnecessary were members of the general public and animal welfare groups. The main reason respondents gave for agreeing was that they were concerned about welfare standards during the transportation of live animals. Many individual respondents and animal welfare organisations stated that live exports were cruel and degrading to the animals involved.
Great to see such a high figure of 87% of the British people and organisations basically agreed that live animal exports were unnecessary.
The full document which details the summary of responses to every section of the consultation:
Document title – UK Government: Improvements to animal welfare in transport Summary of responses and government response Date: August 2021
In this document – an Introduction by the UK government:
The welfare of all animals, including in transport, is a real priority for both the UK Government and the Welsh Government. The UK Government has a manifesto commitment to end excessively long journeys for slaughter and fattening, which we are taking forward through our Kept Animals Bill.
Now we have left the EU, we have the opportunity to look at alternative methods to better protect animal welfare during transport. The Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC, now known as the Animal Welfare Committee) report in 2019 identified several aspects of transport that have a detrimental effect on animal welfare. They made a series of recommendations to the current regulations on animal welfare during transport. A Welsh Government response to this paper was published in 2020.
Following the findings in this report, we have looked at improvements to animal welfare in transport, including maximum journey times, thermal conditions and ventilation, space and headroom allowances and sea transport.
We have received a wide range of views to our consultation. We have listened to those views, and will continue to work with industry, NGOs and others to identify priorities where the evidence is clear and in other cases to explore some of the issues and evidence together in more detail. I want us to work together to develop practical solutions that generate the good welfare outcomes we all want to see.
This is a big step, but where the evidence is clear we must act. We want to work with industry to co-design solutions to achieve high welfare outcomes and help them make this transition.
The Rt Hon George Eustice MP Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lesley Griffiths MS Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
As a result of the consultation, the following statement was issued by the UK government:
Live animal exports
Having considered the evidence available, including responses to this consultation, the government confirms it will proceed with a ban on the export of livestock (cattle, sheep, goats and pigs) and horses from England, Wales and Scotland for slaughter and fattening. Exports for slaughter and fattening from England, Wales and Scotland will be prohibited whether the animals originate from or are travelling through England, Wales and Scotland.
For the purposes of this consultation, exports for fattening were defined as exports where the animal is to be slaughtered within 6 months of arrival. A large proportion of respondents were critical of the proposed definition and considered a time limit to be unenforceable. Having taken account of this feedback, we propose to remove the reference to a 6-month time limit so that the prohibition will apply to all exports of livestock and horses where an animal is exported to the place of destination in order to be fattened for subsequent slaughter.
To further support our (WAV) welfare organisations call for a complete ban on live animal exports; I have decided to include here for you a series of undercover videos which were undertaken in years prior to the consultation relating to live export issues around Europe. I have included journey routes, times and animal species. So here we go:
CIWF live export investigations.
Below are undercover investigations undertaken by CIWF (London).
Video links for each are given; but if you wish to read additional information about the investigations, then head to:
We share many things, but especially that of promoting veganism and also of stopping the transport of live animals all around the world – live exports.
Now we move from US investigations to the UK; and witness something you would never have seen in the UK until (very) recently; young calves being kept independently in plastic crate ‘calf hutches’. This system has probably been adopted by UK farms after the use and experiences of same in USA.
We have the pleasure of Animal Aid being based here in our (WAV) home county of Kent, England. They (AA) are one of the UK’s leading animal welfare / vegan organisations and are very well known in British animal rights for their undercover work. So here is the link to their website where you can read and learn lots. take action, and learn more about their work and campaigns:
Animal Aid recently investigated calf hutches at a Somerset dairy farm. These plastic crates ‘house’ individual calves – and sadly they are commonly used by around 40% of UK dairy farms.
Calves are usually taken away from their mothers within hours of birth, causing immense distress to both mother and infant. Housed alone, unable to feed naturally, they are instead given a timetabled ration of liquid milk.
These young calves spend their first few weeks of life in the isolating hutches, before either being sent directly for slaughter, or reared for their flesh. Females may be reared as a dairy cow – with around 30% of females kept as ‘herd replacers’. This involves repeated pregnancies, with every baby taken away, until the cow’s body is exhausted and spent – at which point she will also be killed for meat.
Our investigation found:
Calves living in tiny hutches, with their natural instincts to bond, socialise and feed restricted or completely denied.
Calves desperately trying to have full-body contact with one another, despite their confinement, as they naturally would.
Animal Aid documented a baby calf being physically abused and shouted at by a farm worker, whilst another simply laughed. This has been reported to the relevant authorities.
Animal Aid put the findings of our investigation to Dr. Helen Lambert, an internationally renowned animal welfare scientist and expert on animal sentience. Dr. Lambert’s work has shown that cows are intelligent and sensitive animals, with complex social lives.
In our film of the investigation, Dr. Lambert explains how the separation of cows from their mothers causes both mother and baby immense stress, and how the isolation of calves in these hutches has a terrible impact on their well-being. Calf hutches mean that these babies cannot interact with one another, feed as they naturally would, walk freely, run, jump or play.
“Cows are emotional, complex, intelligent and social beings with markedly different personalities. Research shows us that keeping calves in these small hutches with little room to move, and few opportunities to interact with one another, can have long-lasting and permanent effects on their well-being.” – Dr. Helen Lambert PhD
No mother, and no baby, deserves to go through this horrendous treatment for the sake of products we do not need. Animal Aid urges everyone who is shocked by these revelations to ditch dairy and adopt a plant-based diet.
Write to your local paper or radio station, encouraging people to have compassion for animals by going vegan. You can direct people to our website for friendly advice and amazing recipes.
Thank you!
The Animal Aid team
… and here are a few links to our super county – Kent; ‘The Garden of England’
If animal agriculture was so humane and ethical, the actual industry would be offering information and documentation of the slaughter “process”, not undercover investigators/employees; as it is, the industry execs and supporters relentlessly pursue ag-gag and attempt to criminalize the people who expose them.
Needing to continually update it’s PR, anag floats “organic”, “high welfare”, “certified humane”, etcetcetc., human-centric words to define animals’ required suffering and violent death, just so YOU can take their flesh and the calves’ naturally-intended milk instead … as an aging human with teeth…If being “humane” to animals is important, NOT killing/consuming/breastfeeding-from animals is MORE IMPORTANT.
Their repeated violations, fear, pain, and premature and infant violent death are what YOU PAY FOR. If you have to label a violent “process” as “humane” and that still requires violent death, that means it is inherently NOT, just like my plant-based food requires no HUMANE labels. This is an industry that values DEATH, which makes animal lives cost-prohibitive: animals are products, bred-to-be-dead, and as such, NO concern to their care/comfort/emotions/safety is regarded or even necessary as all are precluded by animals’ “worth” as mere products.
And no, animals aren’t treated like trash, they’re treated WORSE than trash since trash lacks the capacity for pain, suffering, fear, and misery. SL
Animal Recovery Mission’s (ARM) investigation at Natural Prairie Dairy stands as the first-ever cruelty investigation into an organic dairy farm in the United States, and the third installment of the largest dairy investigation of all time into Fairlife and Select Milk Producers, Inc.
The first two investigations released by ARM were Operation Fair Oaks Farms and Operation Fairlife. Natural Prairie Dairy is located in Channing, TX, and houses over 25,000 cows between its four locations. Over four months, an ARM investigator documented cows stabbed with screwdrivers, kicked and dragged when unable to stand due to illness and fatigue.
Cows were repeatedly and violently inseminated and mother cows were witnessed being chased while giving birth, and the babies immediately ripped away from their mothers. The following video footage was compiled by the ARM investigative team between March and July 2019.
The farm is still open for business today.
People concerned with buying organic dairy products are being deceived by the animal agriculture industry about the realities of how their food is being produced and the companies they support, which ARM documented and exposed during its latest four-month investigation. Organic dairies, such as Natural Prairie Dairy, are often viewed by consumers and the public as naturally more humane and ethical than non-organic farms. But just because a farm calls itself “organic” does not mean it’s cruelty-free. In most cases, the term “organic” serves a very different purpose, one that has nothing to do with the humane and ethical treatment of animals.
Consumers pay top dollar for organic milk and dairy products, compared to conventional products, and they justify making such expensive purchases because the products are supposedly better for their health, the environment, and for the animals. On organic milk labels, dairy companies reinforce this message, showing images of cows smiling and grazing in green pastures. That could not be further from the truth.
Do these cows look happy to you? The following evidence was compiled by undercover ARM investigators at Natural Prairie Dairy over four months. Investigators who return to the farm – or any farm like it – will witness similar acts of cruelty.
Cows are removed from their holding barns every eight hours to be milked, day and night. It is important to note that Natural Prairie Dairy is equipped with camera surveillance and that the actions of employees are recorded and overseen by management. As the company states on its website, all Natural Prairie Dairy employees receive training in “animal welfare and handling before they begin work on the farm.” “Unfortunately, [Natural Prairie] failed to deter and/or stop the systemic cruelty, torment, and squalid living conditions suffered by the cows,” ARM stated in the Operation Natural Prairie report.
Natural Prairie Dairy promises to “take care of the cow” on its website. “A sustainable farm ecosystem means giving our cows the very best care.” In light of the farm’s commitment to animal welfare, the ARM investigator witnessed extreme and violent animal cruelty within the first few hours of employment.
Daily, cows were tormented, kicked, hit with shovels, and stabbed with screwdrivers by the farm’s so-called animal caregivers. During its grueling investigation, ARM concluded with the same abhorrent conditions – abuse and cruelty towards the dairy cows – that was evident in ARM’s conventional dairy farm investigations. Amongst these criminal acts upon animals, the investigator documented dairy cows being tormented. Downer cows were repeatedly beaten to get up. Cows that couldn’t prop themselves back up were stabbed with screwdrivers, pulled by the head by front loaders, dragged, picked up by the bucket and driven to a holding area where they awaited transport to be sold for slaughter.
Other cows were left to die slowly in barns, some cows taking a whole day or longer to die, all under the supervision of management. Cows were seen falling into cesspools and almost drowning. Many of the cows suffer from infection and lameness and were reluctant to eat, so they were force-fed with metal tubes by untrained employees. The ARM investigator also documented dead calves and cows in a dumpsite. In 2008, Organic Valley terminated its contract with Natural Prairie Dairy for suspected violations of the USDA’s Guidelines for Organic Certification of Dairy Livestock, among other organic labeling standards.
The average size Organic Valley member farm has approximately 65-70 cows, according to an investigation conducted by the Cornucopia Institute at Natural Prairie Dairy in 2008. Satellite imagery indicated that unlike legitimate organic farms, that commonly have one cow per acre, Natural Prairie had as many as 7.2 cows per acre.
Natural Prairie’s website states: “During the warmer months, we graze our cows on acres and acres of beautiful green pastures. When it gets cold, they stay in spacious, open-air, free-stall barns that protect them from the elements.” This could not be further from the truth. According to the ARM investigator, if a cow isn’t being milked, they spend their lives in illegally overcrowded barns where they are forced to lay on cement covered in feces.
Many develop footrot and cannot walk. The farm’s gross violations of the USDA’s organic dairy certification guidelines is a crucial component of this investigation. According to the guidelines, continuous total confinement of any ruminant animal over six months of age indoors is strictly prohibited. Throughout his time on the farm, the ARM investigator found that Natural Prairie Dairy cows well enough and willing to graze only did so for about an hour a day during the grazing months.
Many others never left the barn. Animal Recovery Mission Donald DeJong is the owner and CEO of Natural Prairie Dairy. Soon after ARM began this investigation, it also discovered that DeJong is the vice chairman of Select Milk Producers, and a Board of Directors member of Fairlife and he has strong personal and business associations with Mike McCloskey of Fair Oaks Farms and Fairlife. Natural Prairie Dairy currently supplies raw dairy to Kroger, Costco, and Publix through Aurora Organic Dairy’s bottling plant in Denver, Colorado. The company is in the process of expanding its operations with construction underway in Newton County, Indiana, that will supply dairy to Meijer Grocer, the Midwest, and East Coast.
The undercover investigator was fired after management found photos of animal abuse on his cell phone. They quickly deleted the photos – to no avail. ARM investigators submitted a substantial body of evidence to the Hartley County Sheriff’s Office for review. “Consumer power is the most effective vehicle towards creating change by raising awareness of these criminal findings,” ARM said in a statement. “Leave dairy products out of your cart.”
Download Your FREE Vegan PDFHERE Order a FREE vegan kit HERE Dairy-Free Info HERE Take the Dairy-Free Challenge HERE Click HERE for more Dairy-FreeFish alternatives can be foundHERE Learn about eggsHERE Find bacon alternativesHERE and HERE 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.
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I have been personally involved with anti live animal exports for the last 30+ years, probably more like 35+ when I think about it. It was during the anti export campaigns from English South coast ports that Phil and I became friends all those years ago. He is now the CEO of Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) – Compassion in World Farming | Compassion in World Farming (ciwf.org.uk)
The live animal export trade has always been top of my real hate listings; and regardless of where it happens; I will try to give additional support to locals who are attempting to make a difference and get the trade stopped.
So, personally the very recent news in from Australia can only be positive for animals as far a I am concerned. I am English, not Australian, but follow the happenings in the Aus export trade very closely through the work of Animals Australia and others. The election results for Australia have only just started to arrive in the last day or so; but with a change in government now, it would appear that the (fed up) people are having their say about issues such as climate change, by putting ticks in boxes to attempt change. The feelings of most Australians about live animals exports was obviously another issue which influenced how some people voted.
Mr Philip Wollen is our WAV Patron; and he is an avid vegan and anti export campaigner; you can see him speak about the trade here:
Lets kick off with a video from our friends and fellow (anti live export) campaigners at Animals Australia to show you a little about the Australian live export business;
Here below I am supplying you with some links relating to the trade and the recent election in Australia. Some are pre election articles, but they are all associated with the trade in some way. I quoted our good friends at Animals Australia earlier, and by being involved like them as an activist against the suffering, cruelty and abuses, I know they have the tenacity and never give up approach to getting a positive result for Australian animals. I wish them more than the very best; their work is tireless. Good victories never arrive overnight, and the live export trade is one of those massively long and drawn out battlefields. I am confident that in this year the UK will pass legislation that will completely stop the trade overseas in live animals. I know that the same will happen in Australia very soon due toy the endless endurance and work of good Australian citizens, some politicians and the masses of ‘normal’ citizens who have the balls to get up and speak out against the trade. People vote, and they have in the last few days made their feelings clear about animal exports and the very important issue of climate change.
The battle in Australian exports is nearly over; it is now simply a matter of time to submit this abysmal record of suffering and abuse into the history books where it should have been placed many years ago.
Be yourself, no matter what they say !
We have presented the undercover footage; we have taken to the streets and we have put our tick in the voting box. Governments either act and change things, or like the coal digger, you get removed by the electorate. They have a choice, listen and act on it, or maintain the status quo and face the consequences. Anyone with anything between their ears will listen to the people and act.
World Animals Voice 