Category: Farm Animals

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

UK: Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups.

Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups

Animal advocacy groups are urging the UK Government to enforce laws that prohibit chickens from being carried by the legs, which they say leads to pain and distress before slaughter.

Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups (newfoodmagazine.com)

Today a joint letter signed by 14 animal protection charities has been sent to Zac Goldsmith, UK Minister for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) calling on the Government to properly enforce regulations designed to protect chickens at the time of slaughter.

Handling chickens by the legs is illegal under The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006, which transposes Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 from the EU. However, despite this it is referenced as a possible way of handling in the official Government Codes of Practice, which farmers use to guide their operations. Consequently, the signatories say catching chickens by their legs is standard industry practice in the UK.

“At an already distressing and often painful time for these chickens, they are grabbed by their legs and flung upside down, with producers often carrying six chickens per hand,” said Pru Elliott, Senior Campaigner at The Humane League UK.   

“Chickens don’t have a diaphragm like us, so being carried upside down causes their internal organs to crush their lungs, and on top of that intensively reared chickens have very fragile legs and joints. Carrying them like this is causing huge amounts of suffering and the Government isn’t doing anything to stop it.”

According to The Humane League, 3.1 million chickens are transported to slaughter every day in the UK. Animal protection groups claim all commercial-sized farms practice catching chickens by the legs, which they say means the law is being broken millions of times a day.

The legislation states that animals should not be lifted or dragged by the head, ears, horns, legs, tail or fleece, or handled in such a way as to cause them unnecessary pain or suffering. A recent case in The Netherlands ruled that the Dutch authorities must investigate companies handling chickens by the legs after accepting that it is prohibited under the same law that applies to the UK.

“This legislation was created to protect animals and minimise any stress caused during a very stressful activity. The fact that the law is being broken so widely is unacceptable. The Government guidance is currently encouraging unlawful activity,” said Edie Bowles, solicitor at Advocates for Animals.

Companies elsewhere in Europe have started to adopt a progressive catching method developed by Dutch animal charity Eyes On Animals known as the Upright Catching Method. Rather than being caught and carried by the legs, chickens are caught one-by-one with both hands placed around the body, holding the wings closed, and the chickens are carried to and placed in the transport crate while upright.

“The Upright Catching Method is common sense. It’s how the public would want and expect animals to be handled, and how anyone with a pet chicken would pick them up. It’s not complicated, but it is voluntary so it’s a question of how committed companies are to the wellbeing of the animals and it will stay that way unless the Government starts to enforce the law.” said Nicola Glen, UK Inspector for Eyes on Animals.

“For other animals the law is enforced, and if we do see cases of animals such as pigs and sheep carried by the legs people are outraged, but it’s not the same for chickens.”

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News

England: All’s Wool That Ends Wool. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Save Herd of 26 Sheep From Flooded Field.
BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833) Pic: DWFRS/BNPS All's wool that ends wool. Pictured: Firefighters with the rescued sheep. This is the heartwarming moment 26 sheep were rescued by firefighters using a boat from a flooded field. The livestock found themselves submerged when torrential rain hit the south of England earlier this week. Fire crews from Sturminster Newton and Blandford, assisted by a Devon and Somerset Fire Rescue animal rescue officer, waded towards the sheep at the waterlogged site near the River Stour in North Dorset. The animals were all carefully placed into the vessel and brought to dry land.
BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833) Pic: CaralineFelthamDart/BNPS All's wool that ends wool. Pictured: The sheep stranded in the flooded field. This is the heartwarming moment 26 sheep were rescued by firefighters using a boat from a flooded field. The livestock found themselves submerged when torrential rain hit the south of England earlier this week. Fire crews from Sturminster Newton and Blandford, assisted by a Devon and Somerset Fire Rescue animal rescue officer, waded towards the sheep at the waterlogged site near the River Stour in North Dorset. The animals were all carefully placed into the vessel and brought to dry land.

Herd of 26 sheep rowed to safety after field floods in downpours

More than two dozen sheep had a narrow escape thanks to firefighters when their meadow flooded in Dorset.

The herd of 26 were strapped into a boat and rowed to shore after torrential rain turned their field in the hamlet of Fiddleford into a lake.

Living up to the ‘rescue’ side of their mission, the Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service crew were called to the waterlogged site near the River Stour.

The service sent its wading team out in a long inflatable boat and they brought the animals to dry land.

They tweeted: ‘All’s wool that ends wool. How many sheep can you fit in a boat?

‘A question the wading team from Sturminster Newton and Blanford fire stations found out this week!

‘With assistance from a Devon and Somerset fire service animal rescue officer, 26 sheep were rescued from a flooded field using a boat.’

A picture shows at least nine sheep safely secured in the boat surrounded by four members of the fire crew looking delighted with the outcome.

The livestock enjoyed a more serene ride to safety than others caught in a past downpour have done.

Farmer Faye Russell sprung into action in February last year with her lamb and sheep caught up in Storm Dennis.

She put a rope around her waist and leapt into her Derbyshire field which had turned into a ‘fierce’ river.

‘Metro’ London

Herd of 26 sheep rowed to safety after field floods in downpours

Well done to Devon and Somerset fire service animal rescue;

Regards Mark

Farm Animals

How is silk made? From animal suffering!

Silk caterpillars are killed by scalding them alive in boiling water!
To make the fine fabric, the still pupated silkworms are boiled.
1.6 trillion silkworms are killed in the clothing industry every year.

Find out everything about the cruel production of silk and what animal-friendly alternatives there are!

How is silk made?

Silk is an animal fiber that mainly consists of proteins.
The material is made in small glands in the mouth of the silk moth.
The caterpillar wraps itself in it and forms a protective cocoon around its body.
It then pupates and turns into a butterfly.

In order for the silk to be used economically, the silkworm was domesticated in China over 5,000 years ago.
This gave rise to the mulberry moth with the name Bombyx mori. It was bred for high performance, feeds mainly on mulberry leaves and is not able to survive in nature because it is extremely sensitive to changes in its environment such as temperature fluctuations.
In order to be able to better control the animals, their ability to fly was also bred away.
In addition to the mulberry moth, other types of butterflies such as the Japanese oak silk moth are used, but their cocoons only make up a small part of the silk traded worldwide.

Are silkworms killed?

Glands in the silk moth’s mouth produce the popular silk.

The animal wraps itself in this and so wraps itself in its cocoon. Normally, after its metamorphosis, the butterfly would bite through the cocoon and hatch. In the case of the silk spinners, however, this does not happen.

The spun larvae are killed with hot water, hot air or in the microwave before hatching. The cocoons are then placed in a hot water bath so that the glue that holds the silk threads together is released. The thread can then be unwound and is ready for further processing. In the helpless attempt to escape death, the animals are visibly writhing in their cocoons.

Continue reading “How is silk made? From animal suffering!” →

Farm Animals

The myth of UK farming

Posted 6 days ago by Charlotte Regan in the “Animals in farming” blog

Over 70% of farm animals in the UK are raised on factory farms.

Tell the world
From a very early age, in books and through songs, we are presented with a very idyllic image of farming – spacious green fields, fresh air, bright red tractors, and happy animals roaming free.
When we get older, food branding and advertising continue this narrative, using images and descriptive language which reinforce these traditional perceptions of farming.

Factory farming UK
But, sadly, this is not the truth of much of modern farming in the UK.

The drive for cheap meat has industrialised our farming system to the point that many farms are unrecognisable in comparison to those we have been repeatedly conditioned to think of.
The brutal fact is that, today, over 70% of farm animals in the UK are raised on factory farms.

Where the vast majority of chickens and pigs raised for meat spend their entire lives indoors, with no green fields to explore.

Even dairy cows are increasingly kept indoors for the whole year.
Where animals are not free to roam or even free to engage in their natural behaviours.

Pigs are kept trapped together in claustrophobic pens. Mother sows are prevented from turning around in restrictive farrowing systems, used to prevent the mother pig accidentally squashing her young.

Thousands of broiler chickens must constantly compete with one another for even an A4 sized area of space.

Where there is no fresh air, only huge ventilation fans fixed to the walls, constantly spinning in an effort to disperse the heat, smell and waste gas of so many animals trapped together.
Where chicken farmers must wear biosecurity suits to protect against the spread of diseases and waste.

Why are we not shown these truths in adverts, on packaging or food labels? Because the reality of factory farming is utterly abhorrent to most people.
Britain is often touted as having some of ‘the best animal welfare standards in the world’.

Continue reading “The myth of UK farming” →

Farm Animals, General News

USA: Petition Now Launched Asking For Turkey Abusing Employees To Be Sacked From Their Jobs, Please Support By Signing – Thank You.

Petition Link:

Fire Workers Accused of Stomping on Live Turkeys – Animal Petitions

In relation to our very recent post about workers at Plainville Farms clearly being shown on video violently abusing Turkeys, see the video footage at:

Turkey Abusers – Stomped, Punched, and Left to Die Is Not ‘Humane’—Tell Wegmans and Harris Teeter Now! – World Animals Voice

There is now a petition asking for all the employees accused of stomping on live turkeys to be suspended from employment.

Petition wording is:

Target: Mark Schiller, CEO of Hain Celestial Group and Plainville Farm President Tom Donovan

Goal: Fire workers accused of kicking, torturing striking, and stomping on live turkeys.

A video published by PETA has reportedly shown vulgar, sadistic treatment of turkeys at a production site in New Oxford, Pennsylvania for Plainville Farms. In the video, workers are apparently shown kicking, torturing striking, and stomping on live turkeys, who are left on the floor to die after being tortured. Workers apparently grab the turkeys by the wings, a delicate spot, and fling them at each other playfully. This seriously twisted behavior must be punished if proven true.

Plainville Farms provides food for markets such as Whole Foods, Publix, and Harris Teeter. On their website, they declare that the alleged actions go against the company’s morals. They claim that the workers will be held accountable, but it is vital we make certain the company follows through. If these accusations are true, then labeling these products as “humanely-raised” is simply not true.

New protocols should be demanded to limit scenarios like this from happening. Acknowledgement is not enough- demand these workers and supervisors are fired if found responsible and that new regulations are implemented that actually guarantee humane treatment of these turkeys in the future.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mark Schiller and Tom Donovan,

As you may be aware, recent footage of turkey farms by employees at your companies were released. If reports are true, employees entertained themselves by torturing animals. While it is important to acknowledge any wrongdoing, you must also ensure there are consequences for the workers accused of this abuse. Firing supervisors and workers who allegedly allowed this treatment to happen is an important first step. You should not advertise your products as “humanely-raised” or “cruelty-free” if this is not the case either. Your retailers at Publix, Harris Teeter, and Whole Foods should also be formally informed about this incident.

Please ensure investigations against these locations are followed through and the proper consequences are met. While this video reportedly showing the violence at your turkey farms may demonstrate a single scenario, it is your responsibility to look into all your farms at differing locations. Enact protocols that ensure cruelty does not occur. Consumers and non-consumers alike will be awaiting direct action from your companies.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Petition Link:

Fire Workers Accused of Stomping on Live Turkeys – Animal Petitions

Please take action and sign;

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, Fur and Fur Farming, General News, Hunting

Danish Government Makes Progress ?, Whilst UK (COP26) Government Cops Out On Imposing A Meat Tax and Promoting Plant Based Diets.

WAV Comment:

The Danish government are no friends of ours. 

Mass mink murderers; mass murderers of marine mammals in the Faroe islands; take a look:

Search Results for “denmark mink” – World Animals Voice

Search Results for “faroe islands” – World Animals Voice

Also, never having even been polite enough to respond to our letter to the Danish ambassador in London re the mass mink murders:

Denmark: Still No Response From The Danes Regarding Our Letter of 12/11/20. That’s Life – Or Death, If You Are Danish Mink ! – World Animals Voice

And as of today, 22/10/21 we still have never had any response back.

Now we hear (and welcome) the following; ? something for the British government to take note on – see below for more;

Regards Mark

Denmark announces 1 billion kroner for plant-based foods in historic climate agreement

The Danish government has announced over 1.25 billion kroner (€168 million) in funding to advance plant-based foods, as part of an unprecedented climate agreement for food and agriculture.

The Danish government has announced over 1.25 billion kroner (€168 million) in funding to advance plant-based foods, as part of an unprecedented climate agreement for food and agriculture. This funding is the largest investment in plant-based research and development by any EU country to date. 

The agreement, endorsed by all major parties in the Parliament, acknowledges that plant-based foods must be a “central element in the green transition” and commits the government to creating a national action plan for plant-based food with clear targets for production and sales.

Research by Oxford University shows that the world cannot meet its climate targets without shifting away from conventional animal agriculture. Moving to plant-based meat could reduce climate emissions by up to 90% compared with farming animals.

Under the new agreement, Denmark will create a Fund for Plant-based Food Products, providing 675 million Danish kroner (€90 million) over nine years to support product development and promotion. 

For farmers, a five-year Plant-based Eco-scheme will pay 580 million Danish kroner (€78 million) in bonuses to those who grow plant-based protein crops for human consumption. 

An existing EU-funded scheme, which provides funding for “environmental technology”, will be expanded to include processing equipment for plant-based foods.

The government will also devise a strategy for “green proteins” for animals and humans, backed by 260 million Danish kroner (€35 million) over five years. This funding is likely to support fermentation-made proteins and cultivated meat (grown from cells), as well as animal feed.

Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, secretary general of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, said: “It is groundbreaking that we will have a national action plan for plant-based foods with specific objectives, and that Denmark will invest more than 1 billion kroner in this area. This is one of the largest amounts that any country has invested in plant-based development. 

“This agricultural agreement will create thousands of jobs in the plant-based sector. If more funds are set aside later as part of the ongoing negotiations over research investment, we could see tens of thousands of new jobs.”

Acacia Smith, policy manager at the Good Food Institute Europe, said: “With this announcement, Denmark has recognised the huge potential of sustainable proteins to drive down agricultural emissions, and established itself as Europe’s biggest public investor in plant-based innovation. 

“As they prepare for COP26, governments around the world should be factoring plant-based and cultivated meat into their climate plans. If they are serious about meeting the Paris Agreement and building strong, green economies, they must follow Denmark’s lead and invest in bringing sustainable proteins to consumers’ plates.” 

Denmark announces 1 billion kroner for plant-based foods in historic climate agreement – GFI Europe

Meanwhile; in the UK; where COP26 is being held and so very promoted by the UK government; it seems like some information was released (spilled out) when it should not have been – read on::

Plan that suggested meat tax to help people go vegan swiftly deleted

A meat tax should be brought in to tackle climate change and help people move towards a vegan diet, experts have told the Government.

A model for increasing the price of ‘high-carbon foods’ was drawn up for ministers exploring ways to combat rising global temperatures.

The paper was seen by The Telegraph when it was published by mistake on Wednesday morning before it was removed soon after.

The plan was drawn up by the Business department’s Behavioural Insights Unit, known as the ‘nudge unit’.

The recommendations included giving shoppers vegan recipes when they buy new pots and pans and offering students cooking classes that avoid high-carbon foods.

Other solutions included increasing the ‘relative availability’ of plant-based food and providing children with ‘sustainable defaults’ in schools.

But the Government has insisted it has no plans to carry any of these suggestions out, saying the document is an ‘academic research paper, not government policy’.

‘We have no plans whatsoever to dictate consumer behaviour in this way,’ a spokesperson said.

Researchers went on to say that Brits’ hearts and minds could be better won over if the action was directed at farmers instead of consumers.

This ‘bold policy’ would impose a carbon tax on producers of red meat – beef, lamb and mutton.

But experts worry this would just welcome competition from producers which export into the UK that would not be subject to the same environmentally friendly or welfare laws as British farmers.

Indeed, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton Kevin Hollinrake said: ‘Most livestock farmers, most hill farmers are break-even at best.

‘You start putting taxes on them, and they are out of business…It will not only hit farming, it will devastate communities.’

The Government stressed a meat or dairy tax was not part of its Net Zero strategy – a goal for the UK to cut carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 which was set out on Wednesday.

Boris Johnson plans to do this with other consumer-directed measures, including phasing out petrol and diesel cars and replacing boilers with low-carbon electric heat pumps.

The Treasury has warned this could cost the UK £37 billion a year but business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told Times Radio: ‘The cost of inaction actually could be greater than actually doing things’.

‘Metro’ – London.

Paper calling for meat tax to help people go vegan swiftly deleted | Metro News

I have one thing to say to both the UK, and the Danish murdering governments

Regards Mark

Farm Animals

Cruelty is widespread

It’s not only dogs and cats that are victims of animal cruelty. Day after day, billions of animals are suffering horrific realities on factory farms despite the fact that most people are against animal abuse.

All over the world, it’s widely accepted that animals should be treated with kindness and compassion.

However, most people are unaware of the suffering that takes place inside factory farms. The food industry works hard to keep these animals’ stories a secret.

Cows

Cows and bulls raised for meat are socially complex animals who develop friendships and experience pain, fear and anxiety when beaten or separated from their herd. Painful mutilations are common in the industry.

Farmers cut off or burn their horns and castrate male calves. All of this cruelty occurs before they even reach the slaughterhouse.

Pigs

Pigs are considered to be smarter than dogs! Yet factory farms confine them in cramped warehouses where they will never see the sunlight or breath fresh air.

Perhaps those who suffer the most are the females. They are forcibly impregnated throughout their lives and give birth inside a tiny metal crate, so small they can’t even turn around and are unable to nurture their piglets.
They suffer both physically and mentally.

Chickens

Chickens are the most abused land animals on the planet. More chickens are raised and killed for food than all pigs, cows, and lambs combined.

Chickens spend their entire lives in filthy sheds with tens of thousands of other birds. They are bred to grow so large so quickly that their legs and organs cannot keep up, making heart attacks, organ failure, and crippling leg deformities common.

Those who survive this miserable existence will typically be slaughtered at just 42 days old.

Continue reading “Cruelty is widespread” →

Farm Animals, General News, Stray Animals

South Korea: Dog Farming / Meat – Latest News and Actions.

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Go to:

https://r.newsletter.koreandogs.org/amtgboodtht7e.html?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign= Few minutes of your time TODAY can help stop the dog meat atrocity in South Korea &utm_medium=email

Despite the fact that dog and cat meat consumption is an everyday occurrence and is being carried out all over South Korea, it is NOT LEGAL in that country. Their Government does nothing to stop this illegal practice and they seem happy to ignore it; many Korean citizens are just as apathetic and must also be held accountable.

This is the 21st Century, and it is high time that all South Koreans, leaders and general public alike, stand up and take responsibility to enforce their own country’s laws. South Korea and South Koreans cannot continue to ignore these brutal and unethical trades, so let us campaign to urge each of South Korea’s cities to enforce their laws and to put an immediate end to these illegal dog and cat meat trades.

Your voice is a great tool for compassion. They don’t have a voice but you do. Be their voice, speak out! 📣 👉 Click HERE to see the full list of our campaign.

If you have been filing e-People petitions, you have received dishonest and incomplete responses from the South Korean government.  They continue to deceive us with lies and excuses.  

Click HERE to learn more. 

If you need help with filing e-People petitions, click HERE to watch our instructional video!

We have added Suggested Message in Korean. Please add it to your petition. 

Video: Warning-Graphic violence. South Korea’s horrific dog slaughter. Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE).

Regards Mark

Farm Animals, General News

Why Do You Abuse Others ?

With thanks to Stacey as always;

Regards Mark

Why do you abuse others? | Our Compass (our-compass.org)

The first video is age restricted due to graphic content, and it’s not just the “abuse” that’s considered inappropriate, it’s the standard treatment of animals who you eat. What about being inflicted with pain and fear and violent death is NOT inhumane and cruel and abusive?

The second video is five years old, a news story about THE SAME FOSTER FARMS, also for “abusive” practices. The video has been heavily edited and includes disingenuous validation from company execs who pander to the masses, claiming that “humane treatment” is paramount. Again, what part of being violently, fearfully killed is NOT INhumane? If treating animals humanely is important, than NOT KILLING them is more so. And, too, that they have been caught AGAIN just substantiates that all animal “agriculture” is abusive, you cannot conclude in any other rational manner.

Conversely, you can watch endless hours/days/years of plants being harvested with no negative effects and no warnings.

That should tell you something.

The Humane Slaughter Act specifically exempts billions of animals, including chickens, but since the few animals “protected” are violently killed in fear the exact way that the animals “not protected” are killed, it’s meaningless. To be fair, I did try to screenshot the “best practices” “standards” but was warned on two browsers that it wasn’t a “safe site” to visit, even insentient computers know they suck:

And by the way, factory farms were birthed by small farms, there will never be a “return” to what has been destroyed by consumer demand, greed, and entitlement, which exists regardless of population. The ONLY humane is vegan. SL

Source The Intercept

By Sara Sirota

CHICKENS SEVERELY MISTREATED AT “HUMANE” CALIFORNIA SLAUGHTERHOUSE, NEW VIDEO ALLEGES: Activists arrested while protesting Foster Farms are being held in county jail on $50,000 bonds

This article and the below video include graphic images some readers may find disturbing.

In June 2015, the animal rights organization Mercy for Animals sent two investigators to work as undercover employees at a slaughterhouse run by Foster Farms. They documented workers throwing live chickens against metal shackles, birds being scalded alive, and other treatment that the group argued amounted to animal cruelty. Mercy for Animals complained to the Federal Trade Commission that Foster Farms’ labeling of its products as certified by the American Humane Association, or AHA, deceived consumers. The agency declined to take action, though, noting that the company fired employees suspected of abuse, passed an audit, and installed its own video monitoring system.

New footage from Foster Farms, California’s largest poultry producer, shows the company continuing to engage in similar behavior that activists allege amounts to cruel treatment of live chickens. Foster Farms, which was recertified by the AHA earlier this year, has been on the receiving end of millions of dollars in state and local subsidies to expand its product lines in California.

The recent footage, obtained by an anonymous videographer and provided to The Intercept by animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, shows workers throwing live chickens on the concrete floor; discarded yet conscious birds under the weight of one another; some chickens missing electrical waterbaths designed to stun them before slaughter — all under the supervision of employees working dangerous and long shifts in the dark. The videographer, who requested anonymity to avoid repercussions for sharing the footage, entered the company’s facility in Livingston, California, to set up miniature infrared cameras and obtain hundreds of hours of footage, recorded over the past several weeks. Foster Farms did not respond to a request for comment.

Continued on next page.

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Farm Animals, General News

Turkey Abusers – Stomped, Punched, and Left to Die Is Not ‘Humane’—Tell Wegmans and Harris Teeter Now!

Even though grocers Wegmans and Harris Teeter were made aware of PETA’s recent investigation revealing rampant cruelty to turkeys at Plainville Farms suppliers, they continue to sell the animals’ flesh with misleading “humane” labels.

A PETA investigator recorded workers kicking, stomping on, and beating turkeys with a heavy rod. Birds received no treatment for their illnesses or injuries and were left to die in misery.

Please contact Wegmans and Harris Teeter today to urge them to reconsider their business relationship with Plainville Farms.

TAKE ACTION HERE:

This includes a video of the investigation work.

Stomped, Punched, and Left to Die Is Not ‘Humane’—Tell Wegmans and Harris Teeter Now! | PETA

Regards Mark