Category: General News

EU To UK – Want A Trade Deal ? – You Must Do Better Animal Welfare; Like Us !

Pro-Brexit supporters burn an EU flag during a UKIP demonstration in central London

 

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/02/29/lithuania-poland-croatia-slovenia-israeljourney-to-death/

Supposedly – The ruling of the European Court of Justice in April 2015 clearly defines the legal situation: “EU Animal Welfare Ordinance No. 1/2005 must be complied with until the animals’ final destination, even if it is outside the EU.

The Reality is: The violation of the animal transport law is the rule in the EU and not the exception.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR5-P6z6CDo

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxsRYaeN9GE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m23TrbPZBJA

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IencEit1q4

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa92PjWsKRI

 

WAV Comment – The crap legislators at the EU have the audacity to say that there will be no access for the UK if ‘animal welfare standards are not protected’ !!

Watch the videos in the above links and see how the EU ‘protects it animals during transport; farming; foie gras production etc’. The EU is filth; and don’t ever take them as being any other way.

From day 1 when the UK voted to leave the EU, the EU has tried everything in its power to make things extra difficult. Now we read here from the Eurogroup that the European Parliament declares that there should be no access for GB if animal welfare standards are not protected.

The UK is a world leader in animal welfare. She has used her position in the EU to influence animal protection policy in the largest trading bloc in the world. For instance, the UK was the driving force behind Article 13 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which recognises animals as sentient beings. Based on the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU and member states must pay full regard to the welfare of animals when formulating and implementing policy. By ‘must pay’ simply read ‘ignore’; because that is the reality.

‘Brexit: getting the best deal for animals’ is a wide-ranging report published by the Wildlife and Countryside Link (Link) and the UK Centre for Animal Law (A-Law). The report is a product of a large coalition of leading UK animal protection NGOs including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), World Animal Protection (WAP) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The report describes how Brexit presents a major juncture in the history of UK animal protection:

‘As the UK prepares to leave the EU (it has now left), the welfare of animals is at a critical crossroads and selecting the route ahead will determine the welfare of billions of animals. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to either define or undermine our country’s identity and reputation as a global leader in animal welfare science and standards’.

 

Lets look at this again – ‘no access for GB if animal welfare standards are not protected’. So the EU is saying that the UK does not meet its ‘standards’ ?- lets see; That is the EU standards which include.

Exporting live animals

The EU allegedly puts a number of restrictions (Regulation 1/2005) on exporting live animals for slaughter or further fattening, such as ensuring adequate space, and providing food, water and rest, which all EU member states are supposed to abide by; but simply don’t (see video footage in above links). As we have shown so many times on WAV; the ‘protection’ of live animals transported across the EU – Reg 1/2005 is a complete and utter joke.. The regulations were implemented into the UK (by legislation) in 2007.

Member countries are allegedly entitled to take stricter measures, if they wish – the EU welfare standards are supposedly a minimum all countries have to follow, but do not. Again, watch the videos above to see non compliances.

If the UK wanted to put further restrictions on live animal exports Reg 1/2005, it could do so while it was still in the EU.

But if it (UK) wanted to fully ban live animal exports whilst a member state of the EU, it would not be allowed to do so under the current EU single market rules. But now (2020) free from the shackles of the EU; the UK is free to; and will, ban the export of live animals.

After the UK leaves the EU, which it has now done; a ban on the export of live animals could still be challenged under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Export bans are prohibited by the WTO, but bans that protect endangered species and animal welfare, including ensuring that animals are not killed inhumanely, are allowed. So, there is a basis for challenging a ban under WTO, but there would also be a basis for defending it.

There is a private member’s bill being put forward by (UK) Conservative MP Theresa Villiers that would ban live exports “for slaughter or fattening, and for connected purposes”, but it stands little chance of becoming law without government support. But now (in 2020) the government has 80+ MP’s majority; to support votes in Parliament; there is little doubt that this ban would be voted through.

Animal welfare standards

The EU has a wide range of animal welfare laws the UK has had to abide by. These include consumer-information law, such as the labelling of eggs from battery hens.

It also regulates the use of animals in research, and it bans cosmetics tested on animals.

On top of these laws, individual countries can set their own animal welfare standards as long as they do not affect the operation of the EU’s single market (in the UK, the issue is devolved).

For example, the UK, as well as most other EU countries, has domestic legislation that prohibits production of foie gras on animal welfare grounds.

Belgium, France, Hungary, Spain and Bulgaria do not prohibit the production and under the EU principle of free movement of goods, the UK was in the position that as an EU member state; it was unable to ban the import of foie gras

As a (now) non EU member, it can now ban the import of foie gras into the UK.

Exploitative trade in pets

The UK government says EU rules on the pet travel scheme restrict the UK’s ability to crack down on puppy smuggling.

The EU pet travel scheme enables the owners of dogs, cats and ferrets to move freely between EU countries with their pets, providing their pet is micro-chipped, has a pet passport, has been vaccinated against rabies and, in the case of dogs, treated for tapeworm.

Pets have to be at least 15 weeks of age before they can travel, and one person can travel with up to five pets.

Pet passports are issued by EU countries and a short list of other countries such as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

However, the UK charity Dogs Trust, in its report on puppy smuggling, says the EU pet travel scheme is abused by gangs in Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and elsewhere, who take puppies as young as four weeks from their mothers and transport them hundreds of miles in poor conditions to British ports, often with little food and water, to be sold in the UK.

The UK has been a particularly attractive target for EU puppy smugglers because of the relatively high prices that some breeds command. Outside the EU membership, though, it (UK) could also introduce stricter rules for importing puppies from other EU member states

Now the UK has left the EU; it can make parliamentary changes to resolve the smuggling.

So much then for the EU telling the UK that it needs to step up to the EU plate with regard animal welfare.

As an organisation partly based in the UK (England); we take this EU statement as a complete and utter insult. When the EU enforces all the un enforced activities which are shown in the above video links, then they can talk. Until then, we kindly suggest the EU shuts its mouth and continues to do what it does best – which is nothing apart from writing pathetic regulations on bits of paper; which in reality, it never enforces !

Don’t tell the UK to get better; it is already a lot better than most other member states of the EU when it comes to animal welfare legislation enforcement. It is not perfect; nobody is, but at least we in the UK do not have the situation of the arsonist as the head of the fire brigade !

Only in meat mafia world; the EU, does this happen continually.

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/02/26/eu-eu-spending-tens-of-millions-of-euros-a-year-to-promote-meat-eating-despite-all-the-evidence-against-it/

 

USA: Update – Sir Edwin’s Shooter Is Going to Prison – 15 Year Sentence.

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Sir Edwin’s Shooter Is Going to Prison

Over 25,000 of you signed Lady Freethinker’s petition, and now we have an important update. Justice has been served for Sir Edwin, a 3-year-old Dalmatian slain in his own home when Joshua Marcantonio of Glen Falls, N.Y. fired a shotgun through the front door, killing the innocent dog.

This week, Judge Kelly McKeighan sentenced Marcantonio to 15 years in prison after the jury found him guilty on felony charges of attempted burglary, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, and animal cruelty. This is the maximum sentence for attempted burglary.

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition or spoke out for justice, the prosecutors, the jury, and the judge for taking a strong stand against violence against animals. While no sentence can bring Sir Edwin back to his family who loved him, the court has sent a clear message that shooting a dog will not be tolerated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany: donations for new monkey prisons

Does anyone remember the tragic fire on New Year’s Eve in Krefeld Zoo, Germany?

 

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In the monkey house of the Krefeld Zoo, the imprisoned monkeys died on New Year’s Eve in a fire. They never had a chance to survive. In front of the burning building, police officers with machine guns were ready to shoot those fleeing the flames.

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/01/03/krefeld-zoo-germany-generate-stupidity-and-collect-money/#comments

Gorilla krefeld pgThis monkey is also burned

 
30 monkeys died, there were no fire alarms or sprinklers in their prison.
Now comes the news in the media that have taken on the role of collaborator in this case:

“The willingness to help is huge: Since the fire in the monkey house at the beginning of the year, the Krefeld Zoo has received donations totaling 1.43 million euros!

Friedrich Berlemann, the chairman of the zoo friends, said that there were also many small donations at a public solidarity meeting in front of the town hall. Well over 500 people were there.

Krefeld RathauspgKrefeld- City Hall

 

“The many fundraisers are overwhelming”, said Berlemann. “The amount would be the first basis for financing a new monkey house”.

The supervisory board has already decided to build and keep apes in the zoo. According to a spokeswoman, planning should begin quickly: “We want to make visits to zoos this year that are characterized by their innovative and exemplary apes attitude. The new ape house should be more beautiful, modern and species-appropriate than ever before”!

https://www.bild.de/regional/duesseldorf/duesseldorf-aktuell/zoo-krefeld-baut-neues-affenhaus-67529340.bild.html

 

My comment: The power of the media has won again.
They manipulated the masses in such a way that the new construction of the monkey house should not only appear as a matter of course but as a referendum.
“We decided that the zoo would keep its monkeys.”

One can already understand the joy of city politicians when they can relieve their coffers with such a large sum of 1.4 Milion euros and without having to force anyone to do so.

Such a well-manipulated basis of democracy is very welcome for corrupt politicians, zoo directors and heads of state!

My best regards to all

Venus

USA: Petition – Stop Tearing Kittens Apart In Dog Fights for ‘Sport’.

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petition keyboard

 

https://animalpetitions.org/835887/stop-kittens-from-being-killed-in-dog-fighting-rings/ 

 

 

Stop Tearing Kittens Apart in Dog Fights for ‘Sport’

 

Target: Randal Taylor, Chief of Police for Indianapolis, Indiana

Goal: Find and arrest people responsible for throwing innocent kittens in dog fighting rings with hungry dogs.

A small kitten was dyed partially red for the purpose of being used in a dog fighting ring. Though this one kitten managed to escape, there are likely many more out there still suffering due to this disturbing cruelty. Demand that authorities find whoever is doing this in order to make sure other kittens are safe.

The black and white kitten was luckily found by a UPS driver and taken to the Southside Animal Shelter. The kitten’s white fur was dyed red, a clear indicator to employees that he was intended to be used in a dog fighting ring. Shelter officials explained on social media that dog fighters dye kittens various colors and make bets on which kitten will be destroyed first by the dogs. Luckily, most of the dye came off the kitten, and shelter employees were able to provide him with a safe and stable environment. This kitten will have the chance to be adopted by a loving family. However, there are likely many other kittens that are being abused by dog fighters in the city.

Kittens don’t deserve to be thrown into situations where they can’t defend themselves. Sign below and demand the immediate shut down of any and all dog fighting rings in the area and swift legal consequences for those responsible.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Police Chief Taylor,

The Southside Animal Shelter recently took in a black and white kitten that likely escaped from a dog fighting ring. Authorities need to do everything possible to find the people who are responsible for these horrific events in order to better ensure that other animals remain safe.

A UPS driver turned the kitten over to the shelter after finding him in an industrialized area. Shelter officials noticed the kitten’s white fur had been dyed red and explained that kittens were dyed different colors and used in dog fighting circles. Unfortunately, the culprits are said to make bets on things like what kitten will survive the longest among the dogs.

While it is good news that this kitten was rescued and will be put up for adoption, many kittens are still being abused in this disgusting and horrifying manner. Dogs and kittens do not deserve this type of treatment. For these reasons, we demand you do everything possible to shut down these illegal events and find the people responsible for the benefit of all animals.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

Starting Saturday With Good News !

FUR

 

Dear Mark,

I hope this e-mail finds you well.

This year marks three decades of the iconic, world-famous “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign, in which celebrities have taken it all off! Today – after dozens of ads, hundreds of protests, and yearly demonstrations at international fashion weeks – the majority of retailers and designers are rejecting fur, including, most recently, the giant Global Brands Group, which owns Frye and Aquatalia. Cities and shopping centres are banning fur left and right, compassionate consumers everywhere are shunning it, and even Queen Elizabeth II has renounced it.

 

Image result for id rather go naked

 

PETA’s tremendous progress for animals in the fur industry couldn’t have come about without the determined support of kind people like you – or mega-stars like Tyra Banks, Pamela Anderson, and P!nk, who’ve rejected animal fur by posing in the buff for this eye-catching campaign coordinated by PETA and our international affiliates. Gillian Anderson, star of television’s popular The X-Files, made a powerful statement for feminism as well as animal rights when she launched her “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” ad on International Women’s Day two years ago.

 

Image result for id rather go naked

 

The world hasn’t seen the end of PETA’s effective, headline-grabbing advertisements and demonstrations featuring nude celebrities or activists. But since the fur industry is now in a downward spiral, we’re marking this modern, compassionate era of fashion by retiring “I’d Rather Go Naked” anti-fur ads and expanding our focus on other areas in which animals still need a great deal of help – including the hideous leather, wool, and exotic skins trades.

PETA and our international affiliates are the only major animal rights groups with campaigns against the use of all animal skins, not just the dying fur trade, and this far-reaching activism recently led to a big win for fascinating and widely abused exotic animals.

After hearing from PETA UK and amid growing concern over the devastating Australian bushfires, iconic British fashion label Paul Smith has announced a ban on exotic skins, including kangaroo leather, in all its future collections. This move will protect kangaroos from being shot and decapitated in their shrinking natural habitat, alligators from being hacked open and impaled with metal rods, and young ostriches from being suspended upside down before their throats are slit.

After similar exotic skins bans from household names like Chanel and Victoria Beckham, we now hope giants like Hermès and Prada will soon join the growing list.

Thank you for helping us grab the public’s attention, push companies to make kind decisions, and work to end animal suffering in the fur trade and other abusive industries.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E Newkirk
Founder

————————————————–

 

Below – the brilliant anti fur campaign by ‘Respect for Animals’; England.

 

dumb animals fur coat

 

 

 

 

England: ‘Hogwood’ – A Modern Horror Story – Film Launch In House of Commons (London) 26th March 2020. Watch the Sneek Preview Here.

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Other Viva ! videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59RoRtg00h4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9KfTXxeUjQ

 

Hi Mark

Back in September, you helped us reach our crowdfund target for the production of our vital documentary which follows the story of Hogwood Farm and exposes the concerted efforts to silence us.

We’ve been working tirelessly over the past few months producing the documentary and are excited to announce that HOGWOOD: a modern horror story is set to launch on 26 March with an exclusive screening at the House of Commons.

The Launch

The launch will be attended by politicians, journalists and supporters — as well as Jerome Flynn and the producers of the documentary, who will be taking part in a Q&A following the screening.

 

Narrated by Game of Thrones star, Jerome Flynn, the documentary takes you beyond the factory farm walls and sheds new light on the truth behind the labels.

 

Here’s a sneak peek of the official trailer:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_kHNUwm3Yw&utm_source=Viva%21+Vegan+Charity+-+Email+List&utm_campaign=130e3f81cf-hogwood-doc-launch-email-1-donors&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dc176d21d2-130e3f81cf-50196206&mc_cid=130e3f81cf&mc_eid=26c03356b8

 

Worth every Donation Penny !

Regards Mark (WAV)

 

 

Australia: Nothing Changes Despite the Promises. Officials in Victoria filed a new round of cruelty-to-animals charges, and a shearer has pleaded Guilty. Wool – Watch the Video, and See the Abuse.

Australian flag painted by brush hand paints. Art Aussie flag. Watercolor flag. Australia art vector flag.

 

Dear Mark,

Back in 2014, PETA exposed extreme cruelty to sheep in Australia, and six shearers pleaded guilty. The wool industry called that case a “wake-up call” that had forever changed it. But just days before those claims of reforms, another eyewitness was inside the sheds seeing exactly the same abuse as before. In December 2017, the wool industry again condemned such cruelty, and again, it vowed that it and the shearers would do better.

But nothing changed.

 

In late 2017, another eyewitness went inside 16 shearing sheds in South Australia and Victoria, documenting the same sickening cruelty that PETA has exposed again and again.

Workers still struck petrified sheep in the face with sharp metal clippers.

They still cut them and stitched up their gaping wounds without any pain relief. And they still threw them out of the sheds.

Based on this evidence, officials in Victoria filed a new round of cruelty-to-animals charges and a shearer has pleaded guilty.

Does this look better to you?

Does it look like the industry has changed one bit?

 

 

Are you still wearing wool? If you are, please stop. Now is the time to rid your home of wool. What more do you need to see before you stop wearing wool?

No matter where it comes from or what assurances companies give you—even if Eddie Bauer and Eileen Fisher, which sell dozens of items made of wool, do tout their commitment to the Responsible Wool Standard—cruelty to sheep is rampant in the wool industry.

Please, join us in urging Eddie Bauer and Eileen Fisher to drop the charade—and wool—in favour of animal-friendly materials.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden
Vice President of Evidence Analysis
Cruelty Investigations Department
PETA

 

Dog and Cat Meat Trade Linked to Increased Risk of Rabies and Coronavirus, New Report Shows.

Dog and Cat Meat Trade Linked to Increased Risk of Rabies and Coronavirus, New Report Shows

 

Each year in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia, an estimated 10 million cats and dogs are killed for their meat — a practice that has serious implications for both animal welfare and human health, according to a shocking new report.

 

Animal welfare group Four Paws’ report highlights the significant threat of the dog and cat meat trade on the health of consumers, including an increased risk of spreading rabies and other zoonotic viruses, such as coronavirus, because the slaughtered animals are frequently bought and sold at unhygienic live animal markets.

This is in addition to the horrendous suffering these poor creatures are forced to endure. People who trade dogs and cats to meat markets often capture strays or steal pets from their guardians. Butchers then slaughter them by hanging, stabbing, drowning or burning them alive.

“The traders steal pets as well as stray animals and transport them all over the country – even across national borders,” explains Dr. Katherine Polak, veterinarian and head of Four Paws Stray Animal Care in Southeast Asia. “No one knows if the animals are infected with rabies or other diseases. The keeping and slaughtering of the dogs and cats, mostly in live animal markets or backyards, is not only extremely brutal, but also fails to meet minimum hygienic standards. This creates the perfect breeding ground for novel and deadly zoonotic viruses, such as the coronavirus.”

“Although most local people in Southeast Asia oppose dog and cat meat, the trade … has continued to serve as a niche business,” she adds. “The governments in Southeast Asia must act quickly to protect both animals and humans.”

The brutal slaughter of millions of cats and dogs for human consumption is horrific enough, and the added threat to human health provides even more reason to ban this inhumane industry.

 

Lady Freethinker’s petition to stop Vietnam’s horrific dog and cat meat trade has gathered over 27,240 signatures. If you haven’t signed yet, please add your name to help these innocent animals escape a terrible death.

 

SIGN: Stop Vietnam’s Horrific Dog And Cat Meat Trade

 

Petition link – https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-ban-the-horrific-dog-and-cat-meat-trade-in-vietnam/