Thanks as always to Stacey at ‘Out Compass’ for sharing.

Regards Mark

38509 by Stacey https://vimeo.com/583906391 DontWatch.org Source Pathless Pilgrim, Medium I don’t normally do this, but I need to start this post with a WARNING. The shocking viral video I’m about to share is harrowing to watch. It shows upsetting scenes of violence, cruelty and abuse towards vulnerable animals. However, I believe it must be watched. I believe it must be shared and viewed by as many people as possible in order to expose the horrific cruelty which is inherent within the animal agriculture industry all over the world. Because, as terrible as this footage is, what is most upsetting is that these are not isolated incidents. Thousands of hours of undercover footage from hundreds of random farms and abattoirs in dozens of countries show that this kind of abuse is inherent throughout the industry. Animal agriculture is rotten to its core and this video shows why. I know how hard it is to watch but I beg you to watch it if you can and to share it with as many people as possible, because we can only tackle this abuse if we are aware of it. After the video, I’ll drop a link so you can take action to help stop this abuse. For the animals in this footage it is too late, but with your help we can prevent millions more from suffering the same fate. So for now, please set aside a few minutes, brace yourself, and prepare to expose these horrors to the world… Once you’ve watched the video, there are three things I want you to do: Share this page like crazy with everyone you can think of — this cruelty needs to be exposedIf you’re not already vegan, take the 22 Day Vegan Challenge — this horror show will only stop when we stop paying for it. Sign up HERE for notifications about future posts to keep you inspired and informed — together we are stronger. Together we can change the world. Download Your FREE Vegan PDF HERE Order a FREE vegan kit HERE Dairy-Free Info HERE Take the Dairy-Free Challenge HERE Click HERE for more Dairy-Free Fish alternatives can be found HERE Learn about eggs HERE Find bacon alternatives HERE 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. Order a FREE copy HERE Searching for Cruelty-Free Cosmetics, Personal-Care Products, Vegan Products, or more? Click HERE to search. Free PDF of Vegan & Cruelty-Free Products/Companies HERE Click HERE to find out How to Wear Vegan! Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend: PETA HERE Vegan Outreach HERE Get your FREE Activist Kit from PETA, including stickers, leaflets, and guide HERE Have questions? Click HERE

@WWF_Germany-23.12.21 

The Christmas 🎄clock is ticking. And with it the question: What should we eat?

If you want meat, then please organic from the region or game from the area. We have a guide for conscious meat consumption.

Please read: wwf.de/aktiv-haben/t…

Photo: WWF

The WWF advises you to buy meat consciously and recommends that you choose meat, the production of which has as little impact on the environment as possible.

This basically includes meat that has been produced according to the criteria of the EU organic seal, the organic cultivation associations and the Neuland production association, as well as so-called “pasture meat”, which comes from animals that have been on the pasture all year round.

The main criteria for “good” meat are:

– No synthetic nitrogen fertilizers are used for the production of the animal feed. A material and energy cycle that is as closed as possible should be aimed for.

– No synthetic pesticides are used in the production of the animal feed.

– The use of genetically modified forage plants for the production of animal feed is prohibited.

– The animals were kept animal-friendly. This includes, among other things, that the animals have sufficient space for movement throughout the year and that they are given access to exercise or grazing all year round. Fully slatted floors are prohibited.

– Painful interventions on animals are only carried out with anesthesia or pain treatment. In addition, the usual interventions in conventional animal husbandry, such as cutting off the tails, pinching the teeth in pig breeding and docking the beaks in laying hen husbandry, are prohibited.

– The use of conventional medication is only permitted in exceptional cases. The administration of antibiotics as fattening aid or preventive medication is prohibited. The use of synthetic substances that promote growth or increase production is also prohibited.

– Cattle, sheep and other ruminants spend a lot of time in the pasture and their feed consists largely of green forage (grass, hay, silage, clover). The meat is known as pasture meat.

-The live transport of livestock does not exceed four hours.

https://www.wwf.de/aktiv-werden/tipps-fuer-den-alltag/vernuenftig-einkaufen/fleisch-einkauf

Our answer..WWF and animal consumers have signed a tacit agreement: We lie to you – We let ourselves be deceived.
This has advantages for both sides: Undisturbed maximization of donations against a clear conscience.

Organic attitude

With this clever organic philosophy, the product – meat – can be saved elegantly and, above all, “ecologically” on morally safe grounds using arguments: Meat from animals that had a happy life!
Meat from animals that lived in the wild until their death is simply the ideal solution!

But behind the organic-lying fairy tale of beautiful words – “organic”, “eco”, “respect” – and beautiful pictures – on the packaging and in the advertising – there is pure horror, pure horror: absolute lawlessness of animals, absolute ruthlessness of their tormentors.

Organic attitude

A company that works according to “organic” and “eco” guidelines is not an idyllic farm with a few happy animals, but here too you will find the same factory farming with hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands of animals as in the “conventional” ” Area.
The desolate life of the so-called “eco-animals” is consistently propagated as “species-appropriate”: the “happy animals” are “gently transported” and treated “humanely”.
Because that makes the conscience easier.

Organic attitude

The reality: breeding sows in the crate, lethargic calves without mothers and far and wide no green meadow.
Tethered dairy cows, fattening pigs in defecated stalls, “organic chickens” that are just as torn as their female companions in barn housing.

Meat, milk and egg producers here in Germany who, under the eyes of the “German Animal Welfare Association”, are committed to “animal welfare”, “limits” animal husbandry in the affiliated companies to a “manageable” 10,000 (!) laying hens 6000 broiler chickens, 2000 broiler ducks, geese and turkeys per farm, as well as 650 fattening pigs or 500 fattening pigs plus associated breeding sows.

Organic attitude

A fattening pig weighing 100 kg does not become “happier” because it is given 2.3 square meters of space as a so-called “organic pig” instead of 0.65 square meters (“conventional husbandry”).

Such an “organic pig” also has no right to actual free run in the country and, like its conspecifics in the “conventional husbandry”, usually never sees a meadow.

“Eco” and “Bio” are not a happy pig that can splash around in the water to their heart’s content.

“Eco” and “organic” deceives and simulates a healthy world of livestock that does not exist.

Organic attitude

What is the meaning and purpose of “organic” then?

The same sense and purpose that Rip and fraudulent labeling always has: to calm the conscience of the consumer and to pull double and triple the money out of his pocket.
Not more.

Conclusion: “Bio” = cruelty to animals, a huge consumer deception and easy game for the criminal companies who like to cavort under the same dirty blanket with the ministries of agriculture.

We forgot another winner: an organization that loudly claims to be one for animal rights, but turns out to be nothing other than the loudspeaker of the food mafia.

In order to be an ethical and decent human being, one must be vegan. There is no gray area here. You are either vegan or you are complicit in the war on animals.

Venus Reichenbach

WAV Comment – we were happy to provide Animals Asia with a donation yesterday re on going work and updates at their Vietnam bear (rescue) sanctuary.  As you can read below from Tuan, the sanctuary has just welcomed 6 new (ex bile abused) bears to their new forever home.  Please continue reading below for more details.  This will be their first Christmas free from the daily abuses and suffering for the bear bile industry, and we really welcome that.  Free all the bears from suffering !

Regards Mark

Dear Mark,

Yesterday, thanks to the generous support of animal champions like you, we stood ready to welcome six more bears through the gates of our Vietnam sanctuary – just in time for Christmas.

The bears were being looked after at Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Centre before they made the short journey to their new forever home. The details of each individual are limited at the moment but I promise to keep you updated as we learn more.

What I can share with you, Mark, is that the group includes five moon bears – one of whom is a gorgeous little cub around the same age as our other recent arrivals Wonder, Yên and Marvel – and one sun bear, who we hope will thrive when bonded with our resident rescued sun bears.

In the spirit of the festive season, we’ve named the sun bear Angel and the five moon bears Thông (Pine tree), Noel, Pudding, Giáng Sinh and Tuyết (Christmas and Snow in Vietnamese).

It really is thanks to the continued kindness and generosity of supporters like you, that our Bear Rescue Team can be ready in a moment’s notice to help a bear, or two or six, and provide the tender loving care they’ll need long into the future.

And not only that, but your support is helping to foster invaluable relationships with local authorities and rescue centres like this one, which in turn will help more vulnerable animals throughout Vietnam. Thank you, Mark.

The arrival of these six precious bears means our Vietnam sanctuary is now only four places away from being full.

I understand that Christmas is a busy and expensive time for many. But if you’re able, will you make a loving donation today?

Your festive goodwill could help provide ongoing care for our rescued residents, as well as help to build a life-changing second sanctuary to take in more broken bears.

If you’ve already sent across your special Christmas donation to the animals, please accept my heartfelt thanks for helping to give animals the lives they truly deserve.

I hope you’re as overjoyed as we are to welcome six more beautiful bears to sanctuary, where, with your support, they’ll be able to snooze, splash, munch, climb and wrestle to their heart’s content.

With festive hugs of gratitude to you and yours this festive season,

Tuan Bendixsen,
Vietnam Director

PS Please note that our offices will be closed for Christmas from 23 December and will reopen on 4 January.

Regards Mark

https://www.animalsasia.org/

22 December 2021

The EU’s latest proposal for the sustainable food systems chapter in its trade agreement with Indonesia marks an improved position on animal welfare. However, the language could be further strengthened to better protect the interests of animals.

The EU has released a proposed legal text for the chapter on sustainable food systems (SFS) in the EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). CEPA negotiations were launched in July 2016, but progress is slow as the EU and Indonesia have quite different positions on key issues, such as on the content of the sustainable development chapter. The 11th round of negotiations was held in November 2021.

Under the proposed SFS chapter, animal welfare would be recognised as a component of sustainable food systems. The article on animal welfare would recognise animals as sentient beings and commit the parties to “strengthen their research collaboration” to further develop science-based animal welfare standards. It would also enable the parties to establish a technical working group to support the implementation of the article. The article on antimicrobial resistance would promote the “prudent” use of antimicrobials in animal production and commit the parties to phase out their use as growth promoters.

The proposal marks an improvement on the text initially published by the EU on animal welfare cooperation – which was in the chapter on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. This 2016 proposal contained only a weak provision stating that the parties “shall promote collaboration on animal welfare”, which seriously lacked ambition.

While the progress made in the proposal is welcome, the EU could further strengthen the language and include, as they did in the agreement with Mexico, a reference to the need to implement OIE recommendations in the field. The text could also provide for capacity-building and technical assistance from the EU, as in the trade agreement with Vietnam.

The EU should also suggest making the liberalisation of trade in animal products dependent on the respect of EU-equivalent animal welfare standards by Indonesian exporters. At the moment, Indonesia does not export many animal products to the EU, but agreements are made to last and the country has demonstrated its willingness to develop its livestock sector. The EU should thus ensure CEPA does not contribute to fuelling the spread of unsustainable farming practices. To the contrary, the agreement should play a role in promoting higher animal welfare in Indonesia. 

Working with Indonesia on animal welfare, especially in the context of Sustainable Food Systems, is important not only because the country is a global player in the livestock sector (it’s one of the largest producers of chicken meat in the world), but also because the EU exports live chickens there, which consequently end up on Indonesian farms. Indonesia is also the first source of EU imports of frogs’ legs, and this trade involves serious welfare issues at the handling, transport and slaughter stages. Production methods are highly cruel; frogs are captured using hooks, nets, and spears and kept in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Their rear legs are cut off while they are still alive by scissors, blade or by hand and their torsos are added to a pile of other bleeding frogs, where they endure a painful death which can take a full hour. As the animals are usually caught in the wild, the trade also has a harmful impact on the conservation of certain frog species, which can compromise the welfare of the local ecosystem. The cooperation under the SFS chapter could allow us to address these issues.

Regards Mark

New investigation reveals cruelty and illegalities on an Italian egg farm

20 December 2021

Essere Animali

NewsAn Essere Animali investigator worked undercover on an egg producing hen farm and witnessed, among others, covert slaughter, cruel killing of sick hens and violent loading procedures.

For years, through investigations carried out in a random selection of farms and slaughterhouses, Essere Animali has documented frequent violations which were reported to the relevant authorities. 

Yet their latest investigation in an egg farm adds on additional evidence that an urgent change in animal protection is needed. Essere Animali calls on more controls, severe sanctions for those who act in violation of these laws, and also a plan for a transition towards ending intensive farming.

The images reveal several unacceptable behaviors such as:

• Illegal slaughter of hundreds of hens without prior stunning;
• Repeated violent behavior towards animals;
• Images and testimonies of eggs produced by caged hens being marketed as free range eggs.

INVESTIGATION IN A HEN FARM: covert slaughter, possible fraud and illegal work

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3ZjDhvcNKRc?autoplay=0&start=0&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogroupforanimals.org Read more at source

Essere Animali

Regards Mark