Domino’s says it will improve the living conditions of chickens raised for meat. Credit: We Animals Media
Domino’s Pledges To Improve Animal Welfare, KFC ‘Refuses’ To Follow Suit
Domino’s Pizza has signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) in Australia and New Zealand (Aotearoa). It’s in an effort to improve animal welfare within the Domino’s supply chain. Now, campaigners are calling on KFC to follow suit.
The BCC’s animal welfare criteria includes providing chickens with perches, natural light, and more space. Further, slow-growing breeds must be used in lieu of the chickens raised for food now, who are bred to grow as quickly as possible at the expense of their health and wellbeing.
According to animal rights group Animals Aotearoa, these fast-growing breeds can live for just six weeks. In their final weeks of life, they gain more than 50 grams a day.
This leaves chickens collapsing under their own weight, and developing a myriad of health conditions such as wooden breast, whereby muscle cells die off. Further, fast-growing chickens are twice as likely to die prematurely.
‘The right thing to do’
David Burness, CEO of Domino’s Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), said the company is “proud” to be the first fast food restaurant chain in either country to sign up.
In a statement, he said: “At Domino’s we do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, and we recognize that doing the right thing includes taking care of our environment, and the food we source from our suppliers and serve to our customers.”
The improved animal welfare commitments will be in place at more than 850 Domino’s locations across ANZ by 2026.
‘Wake-up call’
Animals Aotearoa executive director Marianne Macdonald hopes Domino’s decision will act as a “wake-up call” to its competitors.
“It is fantastic that Domino’s has listened to customer concerns about animal welfare and responsibly acted on the demand for change. Now their competitors must also do right by their customers and follow Domino’s responsible lead,” she said to RNZ.
But according to the publication, KFC has “refused to say if it will sign up” too. Instead, the fried chicken chain has maintained that its suppliers stick to industry welfare codes.
The organic dairy farm could face criminal charges over its treatment of animals. Credit: We Animals Media
Organic Dairy Farm Could Face Criminal Charges Following Violent Animal Abuse
The BC SPCA is examining more than 300 video clips of alleged animal abuse at the facility
An organic dairy farm in British Columbia, Canada, is being urged to close down following reports of animal cruelty.
Cedar Valley Farms became the center of an investigation after covertly filmed footage of the facility was sent to the BC SPCA – the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The videos, taken from May this year until a few weeks ago, captured workers kicking cows in the face and violently beating them with wrenches and pitchforks.
Cows were sprayed in the face with high-pressure hoses, dragged by heavy machinery, and were filmed limping and collapsing.
In other clips, newborn calves are pulled away from their mothers and thrown into wheelbarrows. Mother cows could be seen bellowing and chasing after their babies. On at least one occasion, a worker kicked a cow in the face to prevent her from reaching her calf.
Other footage showed workers illegally shooting the animals in the head, leaving them to die slowly for several minutes.
It’s a far cry from Cedar Valley’s animal welfare claims, and has resulted in its license being suspended.
Criminal charges
Marcie Moriarty is the BC SPCA’s chief prevention and enforcement officer. She says the footage indicates that Cedar Valley has violated the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.
“… We received video footage that appears to be depicting very serious instances of animal abuse on this farm,” Moriarty commented. “We immediately attended the farm on an unannounced visit and are reviewing more than 300 video clips as we prepare our case to present to Crown counsel.
“This is a high-priority investigation and we are building a very strong case to present to Crown counsel with a recommendation for charges.”
Craig Daniell, BC SPCA chief executive officer, took a thinly veiled swipe at the government’s inaction on the matter, naming it “absolutely unacceptable.”
“The BC SPCA is extremely concerned about the lack of accountability on commercial farms and has reached out repeatedly to the provincial government and industry for more than a year about the need for a third-party auditing system on farms to ensure that proper animal welfare practices are being upheld,” Daniell said.
“This would include video monitoring on farms with a third-party system of reviewing footage. Despite repeated calls for action, there has been none and animals are continuing to suffer.”
BC SPCA leads nearly 9,000 investigations into animal cruelty and neglect across the province every year. But if the government and industry remain immobile, the abuse will continue, Daniells said.
Calls for closure
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is campaigning for the closure of the facility.
Last week, the animal rights charity penned a letter to Lana Popham, the British Columbia Minister of Agriculture, and Marie-Claude Bibeau, the Federal Minister of Agriculture.
In it, PETA pressed the ministers to shut down the farm for good.
“Workers showed little regard for the animals, many of whom were emaciated and had mobility issues … The gentle giants, who can feel pain and suffer just as dogs, cats, and other animals, were traumatized,” the letter reads.
The industry as a whole “treats cows as mere milk machines instead of the complex, feeling beings they are,” it adds.
Farfetch joins brands like Gucci and Calvin Klein in ditching the animal product
Luxury fashion retailer Farfetch has confirmed it will stop selling Angora wool from April 2022. Animal rights activists have applauded the move, and urged shoppers to opt for animal-free alternatives instead.
The ban follows pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), purported to be the largest animal rights organization in the world.
This included disruptions of shareholder meetings and more than 100,000 appeals from supporters. Last year, actor Sadie Frost joined forces with PETA, and called on Farfetch to ban Angora for good.
What is Angora wool?
Angora wool is a fabric made from the soft, thick hair of Angora rabbits. It’s long been considered a luxury fiber, however, Angora wool is increasingly falling out of favor.
PETA says the Angora wool industry is rife with animal cruelty, naming it “barbaric.”
A PETA Asia undercover investigator inspected nearly a dozen rabbit farms in China, which produces 90 percent of the world’s Angora, the charity says.
There, the investigator found rabbits living in cramped, dirty cages.
When the animals were sheared or plucked, they were suspended in the air or held across boards with their feet bound. Rabbits were “screaming in pain and terror,” PETA says.
Animals in the Angora industry are first sheared or plucked at around 8 weeks old. Then, they experience the process every few months. After two to five years, the surviving animals are hung upside down where they get their throats slit, and are sold off for meat, PETA reports.
However, a farmer told the investigator that most (60 percent) of the rabbits die prematurely, after a year or two.
Animal-free fashion
PETA Director of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor commended Farfetch’s decision.
“From high end to the high street, today’s retailers embrace fashion that leaves gentle rabbits in peace,” Taylor said in a statement. “PETA is celebrating this progressive decision by Farfetch, which will spare countless animals abuse.”
Farfetch – which has previously banned fur sales – joins an ever-growing list of brands taking a stance against the Angora trade. Gucci, Diane von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein, Roland Mouret, Tommy Hilfiger, and Stella McCartney have all committed to not selling Angora items.
We work for the end of all animal exploitation, and our contributions seek to eliminate some of the most terrible practices in the livestock industry.
At PACMA (Partido animalista of Spain ) we are against all forms of animal exploitation and we fight every day to achieve an end. However, in the meantime, we do everything we can at the political and legal level to minimize the brutal treatment to which the animals that are victims of the cruel livestock industry are subjected.
Veterinary neglect is common to all farms visited. Animals that suffer from innumerable health problems are not treated for reasons of economic profitability. / October, 2019. Castilla la Mancha.
That is why we have submitted proposals to the Ministry of Agriculture on the Draft Royal Decree that establishes provisions for the application in Spain of the European Union regulations on official controls on animal welfare.
We are clear that in the livestock industry, which bases its enrichment on the subjugation and suffering of animals, there is not and never can be any type of animal welfare.
However, if while we fight for the end of all animal exploitation, which is our goal, we can reduce the suffering of these animals as much as possible, it will be worth it.
Hell of the livestock industry (we refer to the investigation of the video below)
The animals exploited by the livestock industry live a hell: crammed into ridiculous spaces, barely able to move, and subdued. They suffer terrible mutilations, castrations without anesthesia, and the females live condemned to perpetual confinement in tiny cages.
There are many investigations investigaciones that have already demonstrated the inherent cruelty of this industry and that, in addition, have uncovered that the (scarce) regulations on animal welfare are often not complied with.
For this reason, and despite what the industry is trying to sell with its advertising for free and happy animals, we know that “animal welfare” cannot exist in an industry like this, but in our proposals we advocate some of the cruellest practices and methods eliminate, even if minimal, for these suffering animals, the most forgotten, the most ignored, the eternal sacrifices.
At PACMA we work for a society free from all forms of animal exploitation, and the proposals that we have presented do not lose sight of our main objective: the end of the subjugation and exploitation of all animals.
And I mean: The images in this video-reportage have been obtained between 2019 and 2020 in a covered way by “Tras los Muros”, supported by a team of individuals who have chosen to remain anonymous, gaining access at night to 32 pig farms. “Tras los Muros” is a graphic project that offers useful information for the approach and analysis of speciesism and its consequences.
The last text of the video it says… “forget the pig is an animal Treat him just like a machine in the factory “.
The animals are not even treated like machines!
Because even machines are routinely checked, oiled, maintained, cleaned ..
All those who cannot endure these cruel procedures should then also forego the products of these procedures
Will Young Handcuffs Himself To Puppy Breeding Facility To Protest Animal Testing
The facility breeds around 2,000 beagle puppies a year for animal testing purposes
Yesterday (November 16), musician Will Young handcuffed himself to the gates of a puppy breeding facility in a protest against animal testing.
The British entertainer locked himself to the steel gates of the Marshall Bioresources (MBR) Acres research site in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
There, thousands of beagle puppies are bred for biomedical research. MBR says these experiments help produce “life-saving” treatments for humans. It has been running such operations for more than 80 years.
Raising awareness
But not everyone agrees that the testing is justified. Campaigners say the puppies, who are sent to animal testing laboratories at around 16 weeks old, suffer tremendously during the experiments.
Grassroots anti-animal testing campaign Camp Beagle calls the industry “barbaric.”
“These beagle puppies will be used in the most horrific and unnecessary experiments for toxicology testing, in which tubes will be rammed down their throats and masks forced over their faces to ingest and inhale lethal doses of toxins,” the group writes online.
“They will be given no pain relief, blood will be taken out of their tiny veins every hour, they will vomit, blood, excessively drool, shiver from changes in body temperature, and cower at the back of the cages.”
Many of the puppies are killed at six months old.
Young joined Camp Beagle protesters at the MBR facility. He was photographed alongside the protesters with a sign that read: “Cambridgeshire. Famous for beagle torture. Thanks to MBR.”
The 42-year-old posted about the issue online. “I spent today at the gates of MBR Acres in protest of their testing on beagles. I wanted to raise awareness of animal testing and the fact that this is a puppy farm that farms over 2,000 beagle puppies a year to be sent out to their inevitable torture and death,” Young wrote.
“People do not know about it in this country and that is why I’ve handcuffed myself to the gates.”
Ricky Gervais Calls For Ban On ‘Terrifying’ Animal Testing In The UK
Ricky Gervais has criticized animal testing on dogs, calling the practice ‘terrifying’
Ricky Gervais is calling on the government to help protect lab animals, especially beagles. The British comedian slammed animal experiments and launched a campaign to ban all animal testing in the UK.
Gervais – who often speaks about various animal rights issues – urged the government to include animals used for testing in the Animal Welfare Act. The Animal Welfare Act outlaws activities that cause ‘unnecessary suffering’ to an animal.
Animal testing on dogs
The campaign aligns with a protest held at Marshall BioResources (MBR) Acres in Cambridgeshire last month. MBR breeds around 2,000 puppies a year. They are sold at 16 weeks old for toxicology tests.
Protestors are demanding that the facility releases the dogs it is holding.
According to The Independent, toxicology testing typically involves force-feeding animals chemicals or making them inhale pesticides. This can occur every day for up to 90 days without pain relief. Eventually, the dogs are killed.
The publication points to data from the government, outlining that dogs were used in 4,340 procedures in the UK last year. A majority (4,270) of tests were on beagles, marking a 5.3 percent increase from the year prior.
Activists have monitored the breeding site for more than a year, claiming to have witnessed ‘harrowing’ scenes. They said they saw workers grabbing dogs by their necks and loading them into crowded trolleys. Dogs cried ‘pitifully’ from crates.
Ricky Gervais speaks out
Gervais commented: “I’m deeply shocked to learn that thousands of beautiful beagles are intensively bred, right here in the peace of the British countryside, for painful and terrifying toxicity experiments that are also now proven to entirely fail the search for human treatments and cures.”
Actor Peter Egan joins Gervais in the campaign. Egan shared a video online about the cause and urged the public to sign a petition. So far the petition has garnered more than 50,000 signatures. The government must respond to a petition that gets 10,00 signatures.
In the video, Gervais said: “A dog, they’re amazing. They’re magical. It’s the closest I get to spirituality, just watching a dog.”
“They’re beautiful, they’ve got soul. They’re amazing, they’re brilliant. I couldn’t invent a better thing. A dog – it’s 15 years of joy. What an amazing companion a dog is.”
Is animal testing effective?
MBR addressed the controversy, claiming that the animals are ‘raised to be healthy, content, and comfortable in a lab environment’. The company added it is ‘proud’ of the work it does.
“We can comment that there is no such thing as an ‘animal experimentation industry’ as such experiments form a small but crucial part of a wide range of applications from ecology work to investigations into human and animal diseases including those that led directly to the vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, cancer drugs, pet medicines and products labelled as safe for pets,” it said.
But research suggests animal testing is not always effective.
In 2006, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said: “Currently, nine out of ten experimental drugs fail in clinical studies because we cannot accurately predict how they will behave in people based on laboratory and animal studies.”
Dr Ray Greek is the president of Americans and Europeans for Medical Advancement. Speaking to Gervais, Greek confirmed the statistic. “Yes, that’s exactly right. The drugs that we have that work really, really well today, we got those despite animal testing.”
Gervais responded: “It will be the greatest scientific discovery in the world, that animal testing doesn’t work. Let’s stop it and put all this money into something that works better. This seems to be a no brainer.”
When the young goose Fibi on the morning of December 24th wakes up, she has no idea what is in store for her. 💔 While the world around her is full of anticipation for the Christmas holidays, Fibi has to embark on her most dangerous journey yet … 😨
Even though I’m only a few weeks old, I’ve been through so many terrible things: Again and again I am kicked, beaten or grabbed by the neck and simply thrown through the hall. Again and again I have to eat huge amounts. I don’t want to anymore and I can’t anymore.
My life is hell I only know this dark, filthy hall. There are countless other geese around me, and they are no better either. Nobody knows why we are here, but we all want to get out of here. My mom has to be somewhere too, I call for her day and night, but she doesn’t answer. I miss her so much. Sometimes people pick up those of us who can no longer get up. I also find it difficult to get up. My legs hurt so much. There must be something else out there. It just can’t be that this is my whole life! I just want to be loved and be free. I overheard the people who come with the food in the morning. They say they’ll all pick us up next week to turn our necks. I’m so scared!
…If, after a long period of blindness and denial, one has managed to turn one’s back on these unworthy “traditions” and to eat and live as vegan as possible, then it is almost unbearable to endure the nonsense that is told by the “traditionalists” to justify the millions of crimes against animals, especially on the festival of love.
One often hears the argument, “But it is tradition, it has been practiced this way for centuries, the St. Martin’s goose is part of Christmas”
Most of the time tradition is associated with the greatest injustice and the fact that this injustice is legalized is not a valid criterion for judging acts and perpetrators.
We leave all animals out of the plate!
Also in Christmas as every day!
Alexis Gauthier says he has emulated the buttery taste of the original in his ‘faux gras’ recipe. Photograph: Gauthier
UK government asks chefs for vegan recipes to replace foie gras
Restaurateurs invited to discuss plant-based ‘faux gras’ ahead of expected ban on liver-based spread
It is prized for its rich flavour and exclusive image by top restaurants and gourmands, but now foie gras is going vegan as the government meets chefs to discuss how to make alternatives out of nuts and mushrooms.
Vegan restaurateurs have been invited to meet UK government advisers to discuss how to create plant-based “faux gras” in the event of an upcoming ban, the Guardian has learned. Sources said the government hoped to show that a gap in the market left by a restriction on the trade of the controversial product could be filled by high-end chefs who are willing to produce alternatives.
MPs have vowed to ban trade in foie gras, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is consulting on legislation to outlaw the sale and import of the liver-based spread.
Foie gras production is illegal in the UK on animal cruelty grounds, as the ducks and geese whose livers are harvested are force-fed to make it. However, top restaurants still import and sell from countries such as France.
The force-feeding process is known as gavage, where grain is poured into a funnel or tube that has been thrust down the bird’s neck. After two weeks, the liver has swollen to many times its normal size.
Photo – WAV Archive
The French chef Alexis Gauthier, who runs fine-dining restaurant Gauthier Soho and plant-based restaurant 123V in Bond Street, both in London, decided to stop serving foie gras in his establishments after activists from Peta demonstrated outside and he read up on the meat and dairy trade.
He now serves a faux gras at his Soho venue made of mushrooms, lentils, walnuts and cognac, and says the concoction has emulated the buttery taste sought after by foie gras fans. Since this year, all the food served at his restaurants is plant-based.
The government has asked him for his recipe and invited him for talks with policy advisers to see if a gap in the market caused by a ban could be filled by his creation.
An email to vegan chefs, seen by the Guardian, says: “I understand your restaurant serves an alternative to foie gras. We would appreciate the chance to arrange a virtual meeting with the chef or someone else from the team to discuss a few questions in this area. These would be questions about your views on foie gras and the challenges and opportunities associated with ‘ethical’ alternatives.”
Gauthier says foie gras was once a bestselling item on his menu and that he used to sell 20kg of it a week, but claims people are now travelling from around the country to try his faux gras. He said it took patience and precision to emulate the texture, appearance and depth of the delicacy in a vegan version.
Many luxury shops and restaurants are turning their back on foie gras, including Fortnum & Mason, which stopped selling it earlier this year.
A government spokesperson confirmed officials were seeking meetings with those involved in creating faux gras to inform their decision on how the effects of a ban could be mitigated.
In a heavy pan, sauté the shallot in two tablespoonfuls of the olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic, chopped herbs, and mushrooms. Add the cognac and turn up the heat.
Add the soy sauce, reduce the heat, and cook over low heat for six minutes. Remove the pan from heat and let cool.
In a food processor, process the mushroom mixture, the remaining olive oil, the lentils, walnuts, beetroot puree and black pepper until almost smooth. Add an optional extra splash of cognac to give it that je ne sais quoi.
Place in a small glass jar and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Serve alongside toasted slices of sourdough or other bread.
Danish industry gather about solutions for laying hens
11 November 2021
Dyrenes Beskyttelse
Together with The National Organic Association, Eurogroup for Animals’ member Animal Protection Denmark hosted a major industry meeting in the egg and poultry industry on sternum fractures in laying hens in Denmark. This was the first time that the whole industry is meeting, and that underlines the seriousness of this matter. The focus was on new initiatives and actions to bring the serious problem to life.
For the first time, the Eurogroup for Animals’ member Animal Protection Denmark and the National Organic Association brought together the entire Danish egg and poultry industry as well as the Danish Minister of Food, Agriculture & Fisheries, Rasmus Prehn. The purpose was to discuss sternal fractures and come up with a number of concrete initiatives and actions that the industry itself can initiate, and which Danish politicians and other stakeholders can support through their work. In the autumn of 2021, the Danish egg and poultry industry got a breather, after the University of Copenhagen published the report “Keel bone fractures in Danish laying hens: Prevalence and risk factors”. suffers from sternal fractures due to ovulation.
At Animal Protection, we are of course appalled at how widespread fractures of the sternum of laying hens are. It is completely and utterly unacceptable that this is more the rule than the exception for hens in all branches of egg production. At the same time, it is a difficult and very unfortunate situation for the profession. The support for today’s meeting shows how seriously the problem is viewed by everyone with responsibility for and influence on both the problem and the solutions.
Britta Riis, Director of Animal Protection Denmark
The meeting was also attended by the retail industry, which is met every day by consumers who want to buy eggs with a clear conscience. That is why the meeting has been particularly important.
We have had a joint discussion, which has given an overview and an understanding of the challenges in all parts of the food system, which unfortunately pushes the farm animals beyond any reasonable limit. We, therefore, look forward to both the Minister and the producers taking the task further from the action-oriented discussion today. We are pleased with the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Rasmus Prehn’s call for everyone to put pressure on the European regulation of breeding, and that the Minister himself promised to raise the matter with his European colleagues since the problem is by no means only Danish. We ourselves are putting pressure on via the animal welfare organisations’ European association, Eurogroup for Animals.
Britta Riis, Director of Animal Protection Denmark
Big disappointment in Sweden: the Board of Agriculture decided today to lift the mink ban
10 November 2021
Djurens Rätt
At the end of this year, the temporary ban on breeding mink for fur production will expire and the Swedish Board of Agriculture has just announced that it will not be extended. The decision means that 2022 may mean that half a million minks will once again be staying in cramped grid cages, with risks to animal welfare and continued spread of infection. Animal Rights are deeply disappointed with the decision.
In January 2021, the positive news came that the mink farms would be closed again for 2021 to reduce the risks of spreading the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The breeding animals remained on the farms, almost as a promise to the companies that they would be allowed to start up again. It has now happened.
With today’s decision, the mink farms will be allowed to start their operations again on 9 November.
This is in contrast to Denmark, which recently decided that their ban on keeping minks will be extended for 2022. Other countries have also taken a different path than Sweden: the Netherlands imposed a permanent ban on fur farms following the pandemic, and during the week British Columbia in Canada decided on a plan to close down mink farms due to the spread of infection.
In order for the Swedish mink farms to be able to breed mink again, certain specific restrictions have instead been extended, such as a ban on the movement of live mink and isolation of the farms. But this is clearly not sufficient.
“I am deeply disappointed with today’s message. There are many reasons to stop mink farms from breeding minks in cramped lattice cages, the risk of infection spreading is just one of them. When the authorities made this decision today, they also took a stand for the mink industry to continue to conduct unethical activities in Sweden. I now urge politicians to take a new approach to the issue and introduce a permanent ban” says Camilla Bergvall, national chair of Animal Rights Sweden.
Minks have proven to be extra susceptible to the coronavirus, which also affects humans. The majority of Sweden’s approximately 28 mink farms have had outbreaks of infection, with consequences such as increased mortality and respiratory symptoms. Despite the breeding ban in 2021, the infection came on a farm during this summer.
Investigation in Sweden is ongoing
The Government has commissioned the Swedish Board of Agriculture and the Swedish Veterinary Institute to investigate the risks of the spread of infection between animals and humans in Sweden. That assignment will be presented in February 2022, and may involve other proposals for restrictions than the current announcement. However, there are few indications that a breeding ban will be introduced again. It will be up to politicians, especially in government, to implement other legislative proposals to protect minks from suffering and disease.
Animal Rights, with the support of at least 76% of the population, is not alone in proposing the decommissioning of mink farms for infection control and animal welfare reasons. Other examples are the Swedish Veterinary Association and several farmers.
However, if while we fight for the end of all animal exploitation, which is our goal, we can reduce the suffering of these animals as much as possible, it will be worth it.
World Animals Voice 