Category: General News

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

New Zealand: 14/4/21 – Victory In the Live Animal Exports Campaign. Thank You Everyone. Your Victory !

14/4/21 – WAV Comment:  We have some great news to share with you all today, and that is that New Zealand ‘s government has announced that they will END ALL live exports by sea; including the export of mother cows from the dairy industry.  I personally want to thank everyone who supported our efforts to get the NZ government to stop this abusive business – now you have achieved that;  Success !

Regards Mark

From Animals Australia:

Animals Australia - Thank you



This is an incredible win for animals. New Zealand’s government has just announced that they will end all live animal exports by sea, including the export of mother cows from the dairy industry. When I heard this breaking news, I immediately thought of you.

It’s because of you all taking action to contact New Zealand’s decision-makers that they have heard that animals deserve so much better. And it’s thanks to people like you — including the tireless advocates at SAFE For Animals NZ — that hundreds of thousands of cows and their unborn calves will be spared the terror of the live export industry.

New Zealand hasn’t exported live animals for ‘meat’ for many years, since the Cormo Express disaster in 2003. But a legal loophole meant that hundreds of thousands of vulnerable pregnant dairy cows could still be exported — condemning them to lives of deprivation and suffering in destination countries and subjecting them to the unavoidable risks of sea transport. These dangers made global headlines last year with the tragic sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1, which saw thousands of dairy cows and 41 human crew members perish at sea.

As NZ Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said in his announcement of this decision this morning, “The fact is, once animals leave New Zealand by sea we have very limited ability to ensure their wellbeing before they reach their destination … that is an unacceptable risk to New Zealand’s reputation. We must stay ahead of the curve in a world where animal welfare is under increasing scrutiny.”This is the inherent risk of live export for any animal, from any country. And it’s why we will continue as fervently as ever to convince our government and others around the world to replicate the NZ decision and prioritise the wellbeing of animals over commercial interests.

Thanks to this courageous and compassionate leadership, New Zealand’s legacy for animals has again set a precedent for the rest of the world to live up to.

The New Zealand government would not have made this decision had they not recognised that human consciousness is shifting. That old traditions that have seen cattle and sheep as food and commodities are being replaced by a deep understanding of their sentience and the desire from an ever-growing collective of people to also protect them from harm.

Thank you for being one of those leaders, Mark, and for being one of the key people propelling this shift in human thinking.

Today is a good day. Thank you for caring so deeply, for your commitment to living and being the change and for helping to inspire the NZ government to reach this historic decision.

For the animals,

Lyn White AM
Animals Australia

From PETA Australia:

It’s the news we’ve all been waiting for: New Zealand will finally end its live export trade

The country, which currently sends around 3 million live farmed animals every year on horrific voyages around the world to be used as “breeding stock”, will phase out the industry over the next two years, the government announced on Wednesday. 

Of course, we wish the ban was immediate, but it’s nice to have a confirmed end date to this ghastly business which tosses animals about on rough seas, sees them trampled by their shipmates, suffocated by their own faeces, and dying of dehydration, starvation, and illness. 

The New Zealand government has made a historic and compassionate move. 

Now, all eyes are on Australia to follow suit. 

Please join us in calling on Agriculture Minister David Littleproud to end this disgusting, dangerous trade at last:

TAKE ACTION – demand the Australian government do the same:

Demand an End to Cruel Live Export | PETA Australia

Thank you for your compassion for animals.

Sincerely,

PETA Australia

And finally from SAFE in New Zealand, who have worked so hard to get this victory:

Kia ora Mark

We did it! Together we have once again made history for animals.
 
This morning the New Zealand Government announced a ban on all livestock export by sea.This is a huge win for animals and sets an international precedent for other countries to follow.

It is your tireless commitment to animals that has made our decision-makers take positive action to uphold the spirit of the Animal Welfare Act.

You took action for animals, and it mattered.
More than 57,000 people directly pleaded with our Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture, asking them both for a ban on cruel live export. They have heard your voice.

 Thank you.

Thank the government for taking this action by clicking on:

Government moves to ban live export – SAFE | For Animals

We’re hopeful that today’s decision to ban livestock export by sea is the beginning of more positive change for animals in New Zealand. While this is a historic step forward, we are concerned about the tens of thousands of animals that will continue to suffer for the next two years during phase-out, as well as the animals that continue to be exported by air.
 
SAFE will continue to call for an immediate ban on all live animal export, and we need your help.

Today’s victory for animals is yours.
 
You were with us in 2019 when an ABC News exposé revealed the shocking reality that faced New Zealand cows exported to Sri Lanka.

More than 30,000 caring New Zealanders signed SAFE’s petition demanding government accountability and forcing an official review of cruel live export.

For more than a year we waited together for the Government review to be released. In September last year we watched in horror as the Gulf Livestock 1 disaster unfolded, and appalling footage from the ship came to light. Our Government was silent as 5,867 cows and 41 crew members, including two New Zealanders lost their lives.

You refused to remain silent. We know you will continue to take action for animals until our Government announces a complete and immediate ban on all live export.

Your voice and actions have made a difference again today. We know you’ll stand with us as we continue to be a voice for all animals and demand an immediate ban on all live export.

For the animals,

Debra Ashton
Chief Executive Officer

General News

Elon Musk and the brave new dictatorship of Neuralink

Animal Trials, Exploitation, and Planted microchips

Elon Musk, the large entrepreneur, visionary, billionaire, and man with 3 citizenships originally from South Africa is known as the co-founder of Pay Pal, Space X, and Tesla.

He dreams of manned Mars flights and of sending people around the world through suction tunnels at lightning speed.

His achievements caused a sensation, but as always, not all that glitters is gold: behind the scenes of his work, animals are tortured and exploited in the name of an unholy science.

In 2020, the multi-billionaire introduced Gertrude to the world on August 28th: ​​one of many pigs who were exploited, coerced, and tortured for his megalomaniac ideas.
Gertrude was the result of his project for the Neuralink company, which is also owned by the cold-hearted Croesus.

Neuralink put a chip in Gertrude the pig's brain. It might be useful one dayAfter a few attempts, coin-sized computer chips were implanted in her brain and her pitiable, bristly fellow sufferers.
These were supposed to track the animals’ brain waves.

Realizing that this cruelty to animals will bring animal rights activists worldwide to the barricades, Musk wanted to cover up his crimes with a hypocritical “animal welfare coat”, but the shot backfired – an Elon Musk can do with all of us empathic animal rights activists do not deceive his wealth.

What he does in the name of science is flawless cruelty to animals.
His animal experiments only demonstrate his arrogance and the lack of respect for fellow creatures.

Continue reading “Elon Musk and the brave new dictatorship of Neuralink” →

General News

Likes and Truth

Non-vegans love the finished products comprised of another being’s flesh, but are reluctant to see just how that flesh came to be on their plates.⁠

Personal pleasure seems to override people’s morals, and those of us who are vegan know this all too well.⁠
⁠There’s a reason why seeing an innocent being hung up, bleeding from their neck makes you uncomfortable, and that’s because, deep down, you know it’s not OK.⁠

The majority of us were not born vegan – we made that choice because we connected the dots that are deliberately hidden with the insanely powerful meat, dairy, and egg propaganda, engineered by an industry that has successfully duped the public for centuries.

Anonymous for the Voiceless

Regards and good nighr, Venus

Farm Animals, General News

England: The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?

WAV Comment – for as long as I can personally remember, The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? – has been something that has run through the British animal rights movement; a statement on which so many campaigns and offensives have been based.  It has appeared on everything over the years; the words of an English animal rights campaigner as far back as the 1700’s – one Jeremy Bentham.

Yes, animals can suffer and do STILL suffer; little changes – unfortunately; some centuries later, man still decides to make animals suffer by presenting and incarcerating them into the cage age system.  The man was a visionary; sadly mankind has not progressed in some areas that well.

Regards Mark

Jeremy Bentham on Cruelty to Animals | Robin Saikia

Jeremy Bentham on Cruelty to Animals

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was an English philosopher, jurist and social reformer. He was the founding father of modern utilitarianism, a doctrine founded on his belief that “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong”. Bentham is also remembered for his lifelong commitment to prison reform and for his views on animal rights. As regards animals, Bentham strongly opposed the widespread view, advanced by Descartes and others, that animals were mere automata, complex but soulless machines, incapable of suffering. The following brief passage, from Bentham’s The Principles of Morals and Legislation, can be fairly described as a cornerstone of the modern animal rights movement.

The day may come when the rest of animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny. The French have already discovered that the blackness of the skin is no reason why a human being should be abandoned without redress to the caprice of a tormentor. It may one day come to be recognized that the number of legs, the villosity of the skin, or the termination of the os sacrum are reasons equally insufficient for abandoning a sensitive being to the same fate. What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it the faculty of reason, or perhaps the faculty of discourse? But a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an infant of a day or a week or even a month old. But suppose they were otherwise, what would it avail? 

The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

No Animal Left Behind: Why no animal should be kept in a cage. But Will the EU Listen to Its Citizens ?

WAV Comment – we wait to see exactly how the EU takes note of its citizens; As part of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “End The Cage Age”, 1.4 million citizens across Europe have called on the EU to put an end to the use of cages in animal farming and were most recently also joined by over 140 scientists and leading food companies.

What is more important to the EU ? – the ‘business’ of meat and animal production, or going cage free for animals ?

We monitor with great interest.

No Animal Left Behind: Why no animal should be kept in a cage

The EU recognizes that animals are sentient beings. However, over 300 million farm animals, including hens, quail, rabbits, sows and ducks, are being confined in cages on EU farms each year. It severely limits their ability to meet essential behavioural, physical and psychological needs:

Despite the EU banning barren cages for laying hens, billions of hens are still kept in tiny cages where they cannot move freely or perform natural behaviours. In these so-called enriched cages, there is not enough litter on the ground for them to dust bathe in, which is a natural and important behaviour for hens. Their nesting area is limited and consists of plastic sheets to give them some privacy, whereas naturally, hens would take themselves off, away from others to lay their eggs in peace. Despite the name, enriched cages are grossly inadequate and do not offer hens the environment they need. 

Instead, hens should be reared in cage-free systems with access to outdoors that allow them to move freely from indoors to outdoors. Their outdoor space should have plenty of cover, as hens like to forage under trees. In good cage-free systems with access to outdoors, hens have multiple perches where they can fulfil their roosting behaviours, and escape unwanted attention from others. They also allow hens to nest properly, giving them the privacy and nesting materials they desire. 

In intensive systems, rabbits who are farmed for meat or fur are crammed into tiny cages with no room to move. Each rabbit has less than the area of an A4 piece of paper. They cannot stretch out, stand with their ears erect, dig, or hop about as they were born to do. The floor is often made of bare wire which can cause sores on the rabbit’s footpads and hocks, leading to chronic pain and infections.  Some rabbits are housed in pairs or groups, but the close proximity and the inability to move away from one another often leads to high levels of aggression and stress. 

This lifetime confinement in severely restricted and unsuitable housing is cruel and unnecessary. Rabbits can be reared in higher welfare systems, giving them space to hop, dig, jump and socialise properly. These systems may be free-range extensive systems or open indoor pens where the rabbits stay in stable groups and are given enrichment to relieve boredom and encourage natural behaviours. 

As part of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “End The Cage Age”, 1.4 million citizens across Europe have called on the EU to put an end to the use of cages in animal farming and were most recently also joined by over 140 scientists and leading food companies.

The truth is out there ! – EU: Cage or No Cage ?

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

EU: Live Exports – What the Suez Canal crisis meant for animals and for EU Regulations

Sheep crammed in corridors

Photos obtained by Animals International and from whistleblowers, indicate several breaches of EU laws. In one of the photos, it appears clearly that the vessel was overloaded, and animals were crammed not only in their pens but also on corridors that must be kept clear at all times, except during loading and unloading operations.

What the Suez Canal crisis meant for animals and for EU Regulations

9 April 2021

Animals International

16 vessels transporting live animals from the EU to the Middle East were affected by the Suez crisis on 23-29th March causing delays that were deadly for thousands of sheep, mainly from Romania but also from Spain.

Bucharest, April 12th, 2021 – Animals International claims that the Suez blockade caused extremely high mortality among animals and exposed weaknesses of EU laws.

According to Animals International’s sources involved in this crisis, the mortality was between 180 and 1,100 on each vessel. But the mortality declared by the Romanian authorities was just not higher than 0,22% among the 105,727 sheep and 1,613 cattle aboard 7 of the 11 ships.

We seek to clarify this gigantic reporting difference by talking to those who transported the animals. We learnt that Dragon had the highest mortality with over 1,100 dead animals. The answer to the difference seems simple. Thousands of dead sheep have been thrown overboard in the Red Sea before reaching their destination. The 0,22% refers to the animals who continued to die from the throwing point to the harbor of destination.

Gabriel Paun, EU Director of Animals International  

Photos obtained by Animals International and from whistleblowers, indicate several breaches of EU laws. In one of the photos, it appears clearly that the vessel was overloaded, and animals were crammed not only in their pens but also on corridors that must be kept clear at all times, except during loading and unloading operations. Furthermore, the surviving animals were loaded for further transport in the Middle East onto trucks that are substandard according to the EU laws. 

“EU Court of Justice rulings are clear. EU laws must be respected beyond its borders until the destination which is considered the place where the animals will stay for at least 48 hours. Upon arrival, the animals were unloaded from ships onto trucks and immediately transported further. These trucks were not protecting animals from injuries and the burning sun, they were crammed over each other”, added Paun.

Video and Photo evidence

Last but definitely not least, the Suez crisis indicates just another scenario never foreseen by the EU Commission and the Member States where there were no contingency plans for this situation. They had no legal means to order the vessels to return to the port of origin. The only reason that mortality was not closer to 100% is that the blockade ended after 6 days and not later. None of the vessels have decided to return to the port of origin and any extra day awaiting was equivalent to thousands of new deaths. “The Suez crisis exposes further weaknesses of EU animal welfare laws that must be subject to revision by the EU Commission and object to the ongoing EU Parliament inquiry on the transport of live animals”, concluded Paun.

Ultimately, all exported animals to the Middle East were killed while fully conscious by untrained and unequipped workers in breach of EU Slaughter Regulation 1099/2009.

Regards Mark

General News

Apizaco, Mexico – during a bullfight…

https://fb.watch/4Rds8GEPN8/

The bull attacks his killer and stabs him on the head with amazing precision! something like that happens in jobs with risk

He hits him on the floor with his horn, the killer loses his cape and without the “tool” the killer remains like a mechanical glitter on the floor, without a battery.

As always, the arena mafia rushes to help, but the second attempted murder against the bull also fails when the helper loses his tool “Capa” as well.

We would like to thank the video producer for making it possible for us to witness this successful battle

P.S: We don’t know anything about the killer’s chances in life. We think the audience should donate blood
The bull is most likely dead.

My best regards to all, Venus

General News

Bulgaria: Close the Lovech Zoo!

#Close Cruel Cages: Six bears in concrete pits at Lovech Zoo!

Six bears, two tigers, and two lions are kept under terrible conditions at the Lovech Zoo in Bulgaria.

Image: Four Paws

The concrete and outdated enclosures are neither suitable for keeping animals in a species-appropriate manner nor for accommodating other animals.
The zoo must prevent the animals from reproducing and must not accept new bears.

Nevertheless, the brown bears continue to reproduce, the last cub was born in January 2020.

During a visit in January 2021, a FOUR PAWS team got a picture on site. We were particularly shocked by the concrete enclosure of three bears. It had no natural vegetation, no places to retreat or hide.

At the time of our visit, the floor was covered with feces.

Image: Four Paws

The enclosures for the bears, lions, and tigers as well as those for some of the other animal species in the zoo are far removed from species-appropriate housing conditions and we see no possibility of converting them into suitable enclosures.

We, therefore, demand an end to breeding and the relocation of animals for which no suitable facilities can be made available.

Image: Four Paws

Support our work for a better life for animals in Bulgarian zoos and sign the petition here: http://bit.ly/cages-bulgaria
© FOUR PAWS | Hristo Vladev

Additional information: The lion cubs Simba and Kossara are the youngest victims to be born in a cruel cage, this time in a small and aging public institution in the town of Blagoevgrad in southwestern Bulgaria.
Her birth in early July, which allegedly was the result of inbreeding, was kept secret, but a few days later the media found out about it and reported on the little weakened pups.

In response to public pressure, the local authorities in Blagoevgrad organized the puppies to be taken to a veterinary clinic in the capital Sofia.

FOUR PAWS offered advice from experienced game rangers and rescuers for the puppies to give them the best possible care and medical care they urgently needed.

But the responsible authorities avoided meeting FOUR PAWS and at the end of August arranged that the pups should be secretly taken to an equally horrific facility in Bulgaria.

As a result, Kossara and Simba have ended up in a cruel cage in Varna, in a similarly unsuitable and hopeless situation as they were when they were born.

It is the fourth time in three years that lion cubs have been born in Bulgaria under appalling conditions and with bleak prospects.

For years, the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water has legalized unsuitable facilities where various species of wildlife are kept by granting them a zoo permit without ensuring that they meet standards of husbandry and education.
Even the still illegal facilities have been allowed to continue to keep and breed wildlife.

This suffering has to stop. We need your help to save Simba, Kossara, and other wildlife like them from living in these cruel cages, and we urge the Bulgarian Prime Minister and the European Commissioner for the Environment to see Bulgaria end the legalization of inappropriate wildlife management!
#CloseCruelCages

We have to try.
At the moment we cannot offer these victims any other alternative besides the petition and the mobilization of the media.
Therefore: Sign the petition and share

My best regards to all, Venus

Farm Animals, General News

USA: Abject Suffering and Cruelty Required In Dairy – DxE Investigates – Watch the Video.

WAV Comment – with thnks to Stacey as always; regards Mark.

Watch the video on ‘Our Compass’ here:

Abject suffering & cruelty required in dairy | Our Compass (our-compass.org)

Source Direct Action Everywhere Instagram

In 2017, I entered a Land O’ Lakes dairy farm in California with a team of DxE investigators and the horrors I saw sent me on an unexpected journey. Was this farm just an anomaly, or was this routine treatment of dairy cows and their babies? I couldn’t understand how the dairy industry gets away with such cruelty – especially a company like Land O’ Lakes that boasts about following strict animal welfare guidelines. 

I have now gone into 14 Land O’ Lakes farms in California and Wisconsin, the nation’s top dairy-producing states. With the help of more than 20 grassroots investigators, we now have footage proving that this company routinely violates its own welfare standards, as well as animal cruelty laws.  

We have a 2 minute video proving that Land O’Lakes is going out of its way to mislead customers. Please watch and share on Facebook or Instagram (or above).

We’re reporting this cruelty, reaching out to company representatives, and sharing our findings with journalists. The Fresno Bee just published a story about our investigation findings which you can read and share here (or see below).  

Don’t be fooled by false advertising about “happy cows” and “pure milk.” There is nothing happy nor pure about the dairy industry, and when we take direct action, we can expose that.

Many thanks to everyone who helped with this investigation on the ground, and to all of you supporting online. Together, we are shattering the “humane” myth and making real progress for animal rights. If you can support this work financially, please chip in here. 

Alexandra

Source The Fresno Bee

By Joshua Tehee

The animal rights activist group Direct Action Everywhere is leveling claims of animal abuse at several Land O’Lakes dairy operations in the central San Joaquin Valley, including Zonneveld Dairy near Laton in Fresno County.

On Wednesday, Berkeley-based group released the findings of a three-year investigation it did at 14 of the company’s farms both in Wisconsin and in California.

Among the facilities were Zonneveld Dairy in Laton; Kasbergen Dairy, Curtimade Dairy, FernJo Farms, and Mancebo Holsteins in Tulare; Fern Oaks Dairy in Porterville; Giacomazzi Dairy and Grimmius Calf Ranch in Hanford; and Tony A Nunes in Visalia.

The investigation found dozens of violations of both Land O’Lakes company animal welfare policy and California law, according to the group, which said it has video footage showing newborn calves being dragged by their hind legs and dumped from a backhoe, among other things.

The group said it will file criminal complaints against the farms on Wednesday with letters of support from a veterinarian and a former federal prosecutor, both of whom have seen the videos, the group said.

A Land O’Lakes representative said the company was not aware of the allegations as of Tuesday afternoon, but that animal care is a top priority for the company and its member-owners.

“Participation in the National Milk Producers Federation’s National Dairy FARM Program is a mandatory condition of Land O’Lakes, Inc. dairy membership and we are committed to maintaining compliance with all aspects of the program and the science that guides its development,” the representative said in an email statement.

This is not the first time Direct Action Everywhere has taken action against a Land O’Lakes operation.

Members of the group, including former “Baywatch” actress Alexandra Paul, protested alleged abuse at Zonneveld Dairy farm in 2017. The group also removed a calf from the ranch, in what it called a night-time rescue operation.

It’s also not the first time the group has had sights on Valley farms.

In 2018, three women were arrested at a ranch north of Oakdale while trying to remove an apparently dying calf from the property.

And last month, the group protested outside Harris Ranch in Coalinga, after asking the Fresno County District Attorney’s office to investigate the company’s beef processing facility in Selma. Direct Action Everywhere claimed to have hidden camera video footage showing excessive suffering of animals at the slaughterhouse.

Joshua Tehee covers breaking news for The Fresno Bee, with a focus on entertainment and a heavy emphasis on the Central Valley music scene. You can see him share the area’s top entertainment options Friday mornings on KMPH’s “Great Day” and read more of his work here.

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General News, Uncategorized

Elephant Actions – Please Support, Thank You.

Fifty year old elephant Betty has lived a lifetime of suffering.

Captured from her home in Thailand at the age of just three years old, she was sold into the George Carden International Circus in 1986 where she has been forced to perform cruel circus tricks and to give rides ever since.

The Carden family continues to force Betty to perform despite the fact that she is chronically lame. She does not bend her left front ankle, which is evident when she walks or give rides. Betty also continually drags her trunk along the ground as she walks. It appears that she is using her trunk as a crutch to remain balanced or to hold her upright. Her impairment could pose a serious public health hazard should her lameness result in a fall while she was performing or giving rides.

In performance after performance, CompassionWorks International has found Betty exhibiting these clear signs of suffering, yet the Carden family and the USDA do nothing to help her.

Presently the Carden family has rented Betty out to Garden Bros Circus, where she is provoked to give rides and do tricks by Larry Carden. Garden Bros performs up to three times per day, which means that Betty is giving up tothree hours of rides and three performances per day.Afterward, she is loaded on a truck anddriven hundreds of miles only to do it all again.

Another Carden family elephant named Jenny lived a similar life of performance and tricks despite having health issues, and the USDA did nothing to help her. Jenny died. 

Isn’t it time the USDA DID THEIR JOB and took action for animals used and abused in traveling circuses?

Please join CWI in calling on the USDA to do their job: confiscate Betty and transfer her to a Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries-certified sanctuary where she can live out the remainder of her days without the stress and pain of circus performance.

248,000+ have signed this – add your name also.

Petition link:

Petition · Bernadette Juarez: Send Betty to Sanctuary Now! · Change.org

 

 

Dumba, the elephant hidden by a circus in a rubbish dump in Gard

It was after 10 pm on 1 January 2021 when we heard: at the end of a dirt track in a remote corner of the Gard countryside a single elephant constantly rocks back and forth in a tent, in the middle of a rubbish dump – a few square metres to move around in. Immediately despatched to the spot, our investigators are shocked to discover thatit has snowed, that the thermometer registers well below zero and that the elephant is shut in the trailer of the wagon opposite the tent. Dumba breathes heavily, sniffing the air with her trunk, which pokes out of a tiny half-open window in the roof. She has injuries on both sides of her head. We have submitted a complaint about her situation as a matter of urgency.

Dumba is over forty and her feet are so painful that she twists and turns even in front of strangers in an attempt to obtain relief.  The forced immobility and solitude to which she is subjected daily cause muscle wasting, musculo-skeletal pain and stereotypic movements.

Just like other elephants held in captivity by circuses, she was snatched from her family while she was a baby.  She has never been seen in the company of another elephant since.  Just like Baby, she is kept in solitary confinement by her trainer and rented out to the highest bidder for videos and performances.  Forced to have her photo taken with members of the public (which is illegal), in particular in the Cirque de Paris, she crossed paths with Jon, Patty, Marli, Céleste and Hannah before we obtained their release.  We had hoped to find her in March 2020 when we followed the Cirque de Paris.  On its usual site:  Baby.  She hadn’t been seen again in France since the end of 2018.  In Spain, where we are working in solidarity on her behalf with FAADA (Fundación para el Asesoramiento y Acción en Defensa de los Animales – Foundation for Advice and Action in Defence of Animals), she had been off the radar since the end of September 2020.

But one of our sympathizers came across her while out for a New Year walk, in an area that literally looks like a rubbish dump.

France, this refuge for trainers prosecuted for mistreatment. Her trainer had fled Spain with her in order to avoid court proceedings.  It would have been very easy for him to flee once again in order to hide Dumba elsewhere.  It was therefore essential that we act speedily.  Within a few hours we had despatched our investigators.

Foot problems are the main cause of death in elephants.  Dumba’s feet and her whole body are suffused with acute pain;  she is the very incarnation of suffering.  Elephants live in groups and continually communicate with one another in a very sophisticated way.  They help and support one another until they die.  Dumba is alone in her agony.  What sort of advanced country is it that still authorizes the abysmal mistreatment of these vulnerable giants?  I love elephants, I love my country, and I am ashamed.

Muriel Arnal, President and Founder of One Voice

The opinion of the expert on elephants to whom we sent the images was irrefutable:  skeletal problems, possible tuberculosis … injuries.  “The physical condition of this obviously elderly Asian elephant is very poor.“

«There are clear indications that this elephant is suffering from pain in her front legs, as shown by her alternating lifting of these legs and the fact that she brings her rear legs far cranial under her body.»

«The elephant keeps her mouth open for a much longer period than is expected and normal, which often is an expression of pain experience.»

«Keeping an elephant solitary for a prolonged period is an act against the welfare of the animal and as such illegal. When continued for several months and longer it inevitably changes the mental health permanently and irreversibly, expressed as stereotypic behaviour.»

Willem Schaftenaar, DVM
Retired zoo veterinarian of Rotterdam Zoo
Current competences and activities: Veterinary Advisor to the European elephant TAG (EAZA), Associate researcher of Elephant Care International

We have submitted a complaint of ill-treatment and neglect by a professional (an offence) to the court in Alès. Added to that is illegally operating an establishment keeping non-domestic animals. The seizure of Dumba must be organized as quickly as possible; a place in a sanctuary already awaits her. Sign the petition and let us join together to appeal to the relevant minister, Barbara Pompili, because we shall never abandon those whose suffering is scandalously hidden from view: circus animals!

Exploited under the big top, rented out to the highest bidder, kept in isolation in a wagon in the depths of winter – that’s what Dumba’s life is like as a circus animal. @barbarapompili this suffering must stop! #FreeDumba #CirquesSansAnimaux

Petition link:

Dumba – Baby et Dumba, éléphantes de cirque (elephantes-de-cirque.fr)

Please support these;

Thanks; Regards

Mark