BREAKING: The Romanian government has called off the rescue efforts to save over 14,600 sheep trapped inside a capsized live export ship — despite claims that sounds can be heard indicating that animals are still alive.
The EU today – Shit Member States – Romania !!
Mr Could Not Give a Toss – The ‘animal welfare’ ignorant Romania Minister Petre Deae
In remembrance of the innocent who suffer under the greed of humankind.
]https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/11/25/syrian-crew-registered-in-the-pacific-a-rust-bucket-vessel-40-years-old-ignorant-romania-useless-eu-it-all-adds-up-to-a-cheap-and-nasty-live-export-business-as-we-have-said-for-decades/
https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/11/25/mass-grave-in-the-black-sea/
Dear Mark,
You may have already heard the tragic news of a live export ship capsizing off the coast of Romania, with over 14,000 sheep on board.
I wanted to get in touch to let you know that our international team are currently on the ground coordinating the media coverage that is forcing the government to ‘pull out all stops’ to rescue any surviving sheep that remain trapped in the hull.
We will do all that we can to help those who have survived over the coming days and ensure that this tragic incident fuels our efforts in Romania to bring their live trade to an end. As the biggest exporter of sheep out of the European Union, we have been working on the ground to end their trade for the last 3 years, and have achieved a number of major media exposés to date. This latest tragedy will highlight yet again, why the trade must not continue.
The ‘animal welfare’ ignorant Romania Minister Petre Deae
The risks and suffering that animals face when they’re seen as merely ‘cargo’, rather than the living, breathing individuals they are, has never been more evident than it is now. For an industry who see these animals as nothing more than ‘profit’, tragedies like this are merely business losses.
But to you and I, they are the reason that we must continue to work to end the trade globally. Because we know that no matter where animals come from, all share the same capacity to suffer — and deserve the same compassion. Whether they come from Australia, Romania, South Africa, or anywhere in-between, we will continue our work to shield all animals from live export cruelty — until the day that live export ends.
I know that your compassion for these animals makes seeing them suffer painful beyond words. But please know, when you see these tragic events unfold, that you are the reason they will become a thing of the past. It’s only because of your support that this industry will continue to be challenged and decision makers compelled to end it, for good.
Our work to protect all animal victims of the international live export trade will continue in Romania and beyond, and the day when animals are no longer subjected to the horrors of live export, will inevitably come — because of you.
Thank you as always, for helping us get there sooner.
Lyn
P.S. This urgent situation is unfolding as we speak — we’ll keep you updated.
Lyn White AM
Animals Australia
The ‘do nothing no prosecutions’ EU Commissioner Andriukaitis
In remembrance of the innocent who suffer under the greed of humankind.
Koalas ‘functionally extinct’ after Australia bushfires destroy 80% of their habitat!
Toni Doherty, the woman who rescued a badly burnt and wailing koala from an Australian bushfire was reunited with the koala now known as Lewis on Wednesday (November 20) at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.
Doherty told local broadcaster Network Nine that it was ‘just natural instinct‘ for her to rush to Lewis’ aid, wrapping the animal in her shirt and a blanket and pouring water over it.
At the hospital, Clinical director Cheyne Flanagan said he was badly burnt but was on fluids, oxygen, eating and enjoying the five-star service.
The koala populations around Port Macquarie have been a major victim of the flames, with more than 350 of the marsupials feared killed in a major habitat.
As Australia experiences record-breaking drought and bushfires, koala populations have dwindled along with their habitat, leaving them “functionally extinct.”
The chairman of the Australian Koala Foundation, Deborah Tabart, estimates that over 1,000 koalas have been killed from the fires and that 80 percent of their habitat has been destroyed.
“Koala Conservation Australia” President Sue Ashton told the “Sydney Morning Herald” on Monday: “We think most of the animals are burned – it’s a huge cremation, like in a crematorium. They burn sitting in the trees. “
However, some researchers call into question whether koalas are actually functionally extinct, noting how difficult it is to measure total koala populations and populations could be a much larger than estimated by the AKF.
Recent bushfires, along with prolonged drought and deforestation has led to koalas becoming “functionally extinct” according to experts.
In Australia, a heat record of 125 years ago is expected to be broken
Functional extinction is when a population becomes so limited that they no longer play a significant role in their ecosystem and the population becomes no longer viable. While some individuals could produce, the limited number of koalas makes the long-term viability of the species unlikely and highly susceptible to disease.
Deforestation and bushfires destroy the main nutrient source of koalas, the eucalyptus tree. An adult koala will eat up to 2 pounds of eucalyptus leaves per day as its main staple of nutrients. While eucalyptus plants will grow back after a fire, it will take months, leaving no suitable food source for koalas and starvation a likely scenario for many.
Many are urging the Australian government to enact the Koala Protection Act, written in 2016 but never passed into law and molded after the Bald Eagle Protection Act in the U.S. The Koala Protection Act would work to protect habitats and trees vital to koalas as well as protect koalas from hunting.
Recent viral videos of Australians rescuing koalas has led to increased donation to support hospitalization and help for burned koalas.
To draw attention to these threats, the ” Australian Koala Foundation” calls for the “Save the Koala” month each September.
The aim should be to raise people’s awareness of the issue and to persuade them to do something about the destruction of plant and animal life.
The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital setup a Go Fund Me page seeking donations to help the hospital treat injured koalas. To date, they have raised $1.33 million, well over their $25,000 goal. This comes from over 30,000 donors.
My comment: The fire department had already warned in April.
Twenty-three former fire chiefs and chiefs of action published a letter cautioning the government against “increasingly catastrophic extreme weather events.”
They demanded a meeting that was rejected by the government.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack even outrageously went so far as to dismiss climate change completely as a web of “crazy, inner-city leftists.”
“We have always had a fire in Australia,” he told media representatives.
Australia is known for its lack of environmental protection. Time and again, the government is being asked to do something about environmental protection, especially since Australia is suffering the most from the effects of climate change.
Australia has over 160 million sheep and 24 million cattle – so it does not take much imagination to understand what these millions of animals can do to the fragile ecosystem of dry soil.
Anyone who has ever traveled through Australia has seen it with their own eyes.
The agricultural lobby is also very strong in Australia, as the first pillar of Australian agriculture is sheep farming, followed by cattle breeding.
Industrial agriculture needs a lot of water, so large dams are built to drain the rivers in Queensland.
They not only pump water from the rivers, they also pollute it with their pesticides and other chemicals.
What if the last water reserves are running out, the rivers are dehydrated or so polluted that any life is impossible ?
Nowhere is it more evident than in Australia.
The earth is burning and we are the culprits.
My best regards to all, Venus
The terrible, tragic situation that has happened within the last few days regarding the ‘Queen Hind’ and thousands (14,600 as far as we know) of sheep which were being exported live from Romania to the Middle East simply highlights once again the disregard that the human race has for the animal species.
Lets look at this a little more:
Out of over 14,600 animals being carried; we currently understand that only 33 animals have been rescued. The rest are feared drowned. We understand that the ship was leaving Midia port in Romania bound firstly for Libya.
The main reason for the trouble at present is that we are being told that the vessel was overloaded; which makes sense as to why it was not stable when it overturned just hundreds of meters after leaving the port.
It has also been stated that low quality crew action or inactions also contributed to the disaster. There was a crew made up entirely of 22 SYRIAN nationals; and the vessel; it was registered in Palau, a remote set of islands in the Western Pacific – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau and it was constructed way back in 1980 – making it approx. 40 years old.
Vessel Details:
| Vessel Name | QUEEN HIND |
| Ship type | Livestock Carrier |
| Flag | Palau |
| Homeport | |
| Gross Tonnage | 3785 |
| Summer Deadweight (t) | 2154 |
| Length Overall (m) | 85 |
| Beam (m) | 14 |
| Draught (m) | |
| Year of Built | 1980 |
When the Romanians undertook the export of 70,000 live sheep recently from the very same port to the Middle East; a consignment which we tracked and reported on each day, the EU in the form of EU Commissioner (Andriukaitis) – sent a letter allegedly to the Romanian Agriculture Minister (and Minster of Rural Development of Romania) Mr Petre Daea on 10/7/19 asking him (at the time) not to allow the shipment of 70,000 live sheep to the Middle East due to the extreme temperatures – https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/08/02/2-8-19-copy-of-the-letter-from-the-eu-do-nothing-commissioner-to-the-animal-welfare-ignorant-romanian-minister/
Above – The ‘do nothing Commissioner Andriukaitis
Below – the ‘animal welfare’ ignorant Romania Minister Petre Deae
Basically, Romania, an EU member state; gave the EU Commission the 2 fingers and continued with the export consignment regardless of the fact that the animals were going to suffer in extreme heat and conditions way outside the limits set in Reg 1/2005; or the standard which nations of the EU are supposed to adhere to when transporting live animals !
Romania at the time ignored all the rules and regulations of the EU when it came to transporting live animals; and yet we (as EU citizens) are supposed to vote for MEP’s and expect that the EU Parliament actually carries some ‘clout’ in Brussels with the Commissions. Maybe we should take the EU for what it really is – CRAP.
The EU bleats on about ‘investigating’ things and looking at the situation, but even by October this year the EU had still not taken out any infringement proceedings against Romania for the shipment of the 70,000 animals – https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/10/28/eu-remember-the-romanian-sheep-to-the-middle-east-in-extreme-temperatures-the-latest-from-the-eu-but-still-no-infringement/
So what now ? – as all livestock carriers are, antiquated rust buckets converted into carriers when they have passed their ‘best by’ dates; we wait with real interest to see what the EU hierarchy will now do 1) against Romania, and 2) against the entire evil trade of live animals which goes under the banner of ‘live exports’.
This whole incident stinks of cheap and shoddy operation – from a rust bucket carrier vessel, to a cheapo and obviously inexperienced crew from Syria; to the registration of the vessel to some unknown outpost in the middle of the Pacific; to the cheapness of Romania – everything is and has been done on the cheap; and the deaths today of some 14,600 animals by drowning just goes to highlight even more the bent corruptness of this entire trade in live animals around the world.
No doubt we shall read a PR from the EU ‘Eurogroup for Animals’ promising yet more investigations and actions of an EU member state. We say, don’t hold your breath; we have been there so many times before and we all know the weasel words in reality amount to sweet FA. What happened with the ‘Queen Hind’ is an insult to intelligent, decent people; but then we are talking about the EU and the cheap, shoddy export trade which it buries its sick head into.
Shame on them all – a ‘they were going for slaughter anyway’ mentality which we experience from the industry all of the time. A gutless EU and a house full of do nothing MEP’s who ‘represent us’ but don’t have any chance of even holding the EU Commission to account. In a summary word – ‘USELESS’.
Regards Mark
In remembrance of the innocent who suffer under the greed of humankind.
We wish you a nice time wherever you are now.
We wish you never again to experience suffering.
We wish you that you can finally experience love.
We wish you that you can see your family again.
We wish you warm touches of affection.
We wish you that someone tells you that everything will be fine.
Sleep well in a nicer place than this one.
One day, hopefully, we never have to write those lines again, because then we humans have realized that a short treat on the palate never be worth losing your life ❤️.
(from the blog of Martin Balluch)
My best regards, Venus
In Hawaii, the “experimental laboratory” of the chemical giants Monsanto, the year-long struggle of the Hawaiians was worthwhile, because Monsanto pleads guilty in court to have used a banned pesticide.
Finally, in the US, Bayer / Monsanto is being overrun by an ever-growing process avalanche over the controversial herbicide Glyphosate (there are already 42,700 plaintiffs), and lawyers in Canada are launching a $ 500 million class action lawsuit against Roundup creators.
With more and more people protesting in Hawaii, especially as the disease has been proven to increase, Monsanto invested millions of dollars in anti-protest campaigns. Finally, Monsanto has agreed to pay a fine of ten million dollars.
Far too little, considering that Hawaiians became guinea pigs without first being informed. The “paradise” has the highest birth defects. Actually, the EU should respond now, but you were aware that it would be contrary to EU law, if an EU country pronounces a ban on the glyphosate-containing weed killer Roundup?
It is not only unbelievable, it is criminal!
There are already 42,700 claimants in the US. They went to court because the weed killer Roundup is said to cause cancer.
Bayer / Monsanto is also being sued in Australia for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Now, Canada is adding a class action lawsuit.
The air for Bayer is getting thinner and thinner. The large-scale PR campaigns do not help either.
For years people in Hawaii have been fighting against Monsanto.
The scientific and medical evidence of the dangers to human health posed by pesticides is staggering in Hawaii.
When sprayed and the wind blows down from the fields into the city, the inhabitants complain of burning eyes, headaches and vomiting.
Hawaii is Monsanto’s agricultural center and at the same time a huge experimental field for its new products. With 1,381 fields in the state of Hawaii, Monsanto tests chemicals, genetically modified plants and sells seeds to other agricultural companies.
With more and more people protesting in Hawaii, especially as the disease has been proven to increase, Monsanto has invested millions of dollars in anti-protest campaigns, and now has to pay a fine of $ 6 million and $ 4 million to non-profit organizations of the Hawaiian government.
And another message is likely to shake the chemical giant Bayer, there are more lawsuits against glyphosate added.
Diamond & Diamond, a national personal injury law firm in Canada, is filing a $ 500 million class action lawsuit against various Roundup manufacturers, including the pharmaceutical company Bayer, the owner of Roundup’s Monsanto.
“Diamond & Diamond” manages this largest class action lawsuit in Canada against Roundup makers. Currently, more than 60 people are named as plaintiffs, but the law firm announces that it believes that thousands of plaintiffs could come.
Darryl Singer, director of commercial and civil litigation at Diamond & Diamond, says the plaintiffs involved in this class action sought not only financial compensation but also what he calls “behavioral change” so that the same thing will not happen to others in the future products in Canada repeated.
“If there are not those lawsuits that force companies like Monsanto to issue these large checks, the giants have no incentive to change their business practices,” says Singer.
Singer says the plaintiffs have also been diagnosed with other forms of cancer, including brain tumors and lung cancer.
More and more outrages are coming to light. It has recently become public that the Group operates a so-called “Intelligence Fusion Center” to discredit journalists and critics.
Revelations show that the billionaire Monsanto spent a lot of time, money and staff to silence unpleasant journalists and critics, but to no avail, as the many complaints show.
My comment: There was a man from the farmer Association on TV, who said that you could drink glyphosate without hesitation, completely non-toxic, nothing happens.
Pity! that he has not even taken a sip in front of the camera!
Now the good news from the newspaper onvista: Bayer: Next glyphosate defeat – jury demands over $ 2 billion – share crashes on the stock market at € 54.35!
Hopefully it goes more down below, then the Chairman is gone, gone, gone!
May they all go broke and to hell!
Best regards to all, Venus
WAV Comment – it was only back to selling fur about 48 hours ago – already UK campaigners have closed fur sales down – well done all ! – top job !
Real fur clothing disappears from shelves and online.
Fur has been removed from House of Fraser’s stores after consumers voiced anger at the department store’s reintroduction of products that campaigners say lead to animal cruelty.
The department store banned animal fur more than a decade ago but the policy that was recently reversed under the ownership of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, who bought House of Fraser last year.
Just days after animal welfare campaigners and customers began voicing their anger at the move, House of Fraser performed another U-turn.
Jackets made using fur from wild, trapped coyote as well as factory-farmed rabbit and raccoon dog from China and fox fur from Finland, were no longer on sale on Friday.
Racks in House of Fraser’s flagship Oxford Street store that had been photographed full of real fur products earlier in the week had been replaced with other items.
A store manager confirmed to animal welfare group Humane Society International that there was currently no real fur available on the shop floor at any House of Fraser sites nationwide.
Claire Bass, UK executive director of Humane Society International, said: “We are delighted to see that cruel animal fur products have been removed from House of Fraser’s website and stores nationwide.
“Mike Ashley has been hit by a tsunami of public protest, with thousands of messages from shoppers shocked and appalled to see this respected high street store turned into a House of Horrors, selling fur from factory-farmed rabbits, foxes and raccoon dogs as well as coyotes trapped and shot in the wild.
“British shoppers have sent the message loud and clear that fur is bad for business, and has no place on the British high street.
We urge House of Fraser to publicly reinstate and uphold its long-standing fur-free policy.”
For me personally; doing nothing is NOT an option !
I think Monica took this photo of ‘my back’ when we were touring the EU back in 2005.
There were both Summer and Winter tours – I was involved with both, and the Summer one at least allowed you to wear just a T shirt rather than wrapping up in thermals for the Winter. It was cold, real cold; unlike the mild winters we seem to always get now.
Above – the thorn between 2 Roses – me with Monica (right) and Nanda (left).
Working on behalf of CIWF https://www.ciwf.org.uk/ we took the tour truck all over the EU – the truck was fitted out as a special walk through display where you entered at the back, met the veal calves in transport; then progressed on to a complete mock up of a battery cage system as used in the EU. Also shown were pig farming methods complete with fake pigs and farrowing crates and stalls.
‘Welcom’ to our road tour – the greeting for Dutch visitors.
Finally you moved on into the front section where you were shown ‘good and bad’ foods to purchase at the supermarket; outlining their impact (good or bad) for animal welfare. Outside the truck we had video screens continually showing footage of the systems; and the truck was kitted out externally to look like an animal transporter at the read; moving forward to systems which were better and did not involve intensive farming, A 2 view truck, bad at the rear, good at the front.
It was a good, productive tour, spreading the ‘intensive’ system word to many tens of thousands of people. In the Netherlands we even had personal permission from Her Majesty the Queen to park the tour truck in front of the Royal Palace for a few days to get the maximum attention; which we did, with thousands of people passing through to learn more about intensive systems and animal factory farming. The Dutch police were very supportive and helped us a lot.
Above – Eco Centre; beautiful de Kleine Aaarde in Boxtel
In the Netherlands we also visited de Kleine Aaarde in Boxtel https://www.bd.nl/boxtel/stap-voor-stap-vordert-natuurpark-de-kleine-aarde-in-boxtel~a82b4b10/?referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=2ahUKEwiXiO_jm4DmAhXIVsAKHVNLB-AQFjAEegQIBhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bd.nl%2Fboxtel%2Fstap-voor-stap-vordert-natuurpark-de-kleine-aarde-in-boxtel~a82b4b10%2F&usg=AOvVaw1ImRbWD3IG9zDAfP_fSZKg which is a massive and beautiful ‘Eco Centre’ which deals correctly with all aspects of food, the environment and animal welfare / farming issues.
We had a great time on the tour, spreading the word (with examples) of the real bad things relating to animal intensive farming. I can remember sitting down by the canals having a pizza with Monica, Nanda, Geert, John and Wayne after a busy days campaigning on the road. Memories which will always stick with me.
Wonderful John https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/04/25/england-another-terrible-loss-john-callaghan/ from CIWF came out for a while to visit us; and it was here that he and I spent many good hours in my car checking out the veal institutions of the NL; as well as a bit on live horse transport. John; taken way too early like all good people; he more than did his bit.
I was then and am still an angry young Turk when it comes to animal suffering; I hope this inspires you to get out and campaign !
Super memories; fantastic people; all dedicated to stopping suffering.
Regards Mark.
Above – waiting near a school for all the children to come and visit – and learn about it all.
Above – when we got back to England, we used the calves to stick the them Prime Minister, John Major, into a veal crate to give him a feel for what he was sending British calves to Europe for.
Like this below – a British calf is restrained in a European veal crate.
Above – ‘Scania Rules ok !’ – me taking time out with the tour truck at a free range chicken facility.
Soon, this massacre will begin in honor of the goddess Gadhimai, in Nepal.
“Why can’t we have tradition, but without slaughter?”
It is and remains animal cruelty, no matter what else similar happens in the world.
Animal Equality is once again working to end animal sacrifice at the Gadhimai festival, an event where thousands of animals are in danger of being brutally slaughtered by festival attendees. The festival, taking place in Southern Nepal with violent animal sacrifice as the main component, happens every 5 years and has been subject to intense backlash from animal protection organizations like Animal Equality.
ANIMAL SACRIFICE MUST END: Today we are launching an international campaign calling for a ban on all animal sacrifice at the Gadhimai festival, which begins December 3rd. We will also be conducting an investigation documenting the various horrific and illegal practices taking place in the name of animal sacrifice at the festival. The campaign includes an online petition urging the Government of Nepal to:
Direct all agencies to prevent and stop animal sacrifice at the Gadhimai Mela (festival).
Introduce a strong law banning animal sacrifice in Nepal.
Encourage devotees to donate blood or have attendees symbolically sacrifice white pumpkins, gourds, etc., instead of sacrificing animals.
WHAT WE’RE SAYING: “It is undisputed that the ritual of animal sacrifice is part of our human history. However, it should definitely not be a part of our present or future. As we evolve, we must discontinue traditions which involve the senseless torture to sentient beings,” says Amruta Ubale, Executive Director of Animal Equality India.
OUR WORK IN 2014: Thanks to our tireless campaigning and collaborative efforts during the last festival in 2014, there was an estimated 70 percent reduction in the number of animals sacrificed compared to 2009, where approximately 200,000 animals were sacrificed.
According to some reports, the total number of animals sacrificed at the festival in 2014 was around 30,000. Many measures were taken to lessen the violence. For example, our work reduced the normally two-day long buffalo slaughter to half of a day. This resulted in the number of buffalo killings being reduced by at least 80 percent (less than 2,000 in 2014, as opposed to the planned 10,000).
THE FESTIVAL’S HISTORY: The Gadhimai festival dates back to about 260 years ago when Bhagwan Chaudhary, a Nepalese farmer, dreamt that his problems would be solved if he made a blood sacrifice to the Hindu goddess Gadhimai. To make the sacrifice, he used drops of his own blood from five parts of his body.
Believing the sacrifice was a success, the ritual of blood sacrifice to Gadhimai was born. Ever since the farmer’s initial blood sacrifice, hundreds of thousands of animals have been violently slaughtered by devotees taking place in the ritual. The festival now takes place every 5 years in the Bariyarpur, Bara District of southern Nepal.
THE PATH FOR CHANGE: In an effort to discourage animal sacrifice and introduce a meaningful way for devotees observe the ritual peacefully, Animal Equality is collaborating with the Red Cross Society of Nepal to organize a blood donation drive. Here, the devotees can give their own blood to take part in the ceremony honoring Gadhimai. Giving blood in this way will end the need for killing animals at the festival and remove the negativity that surrounds it. The act will also help other people by increasing the reserves of the blood bank.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: The violence of the Gadhimai festival is undeniable, but thanks to our combined efforts, the number of animals sacrificed is exponentially decreasing. There is still much work to be done, as thousands of animals are in danger of being killed. Please sign our petition calling for a ban to animal sacrifice and share this post with your networks. You can change the future for these animals.
https://animalequality.org/news/gadhimai-festival-2019/
Petition, please sign and share: https://animalequality.de/kampagnen/gadhimai
My comment: “Religion is the opium of the folk,” Karl Marx had said.
Whether in India, Japan, Faroe Islands or anywhere else, all countries find the excuse of religion, tradition or food always and everywhere: to massacre animals brutally for Nepalese rituals, to torture bulls with burning horns on open roads, or to slaughter enslaved pigs by machine.
For today we can say: “Meat is the opium of the folk”.
In Germany in 2013, the number of slaughtered animals was 765,000,000. Of course, all sterile and humanely killed !!! Especially, of course, without a camera!!!.
Luckily, all livestock live on us like gods … and have a happy life until they come to our plate.
And by that we mean to stay morally much higher because the public is unaware of the blood and violence in the slaughterhouses.
Nevertheless! We don`t put the question: what is better, because a wrong does not make the other better. Trying to put it into perspective is miserable, relativizations never did any good.
The massacre in Nepal is and remains a blood orgy and for these victims our empathy and compassion is just as limitless as for the daily sacrifices in our slaughterhouses.
At least, for those who don`t eat animal corpses.
However, how one would like to familiarize a child, who has enjoyed this blood orgy, the next day in school with a responsible use of animals, at least as a normative ideal, only the said gods know.
My best regards to all, Venus
