Category: General News

General News

For Tuan Bendixsen: Thank You!

 

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We always knew he was a star – but now it’s official.

2019_tuan_banner-de-2019Tuan Bendixsen, our Vietnam director, has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal.

One of the biggest tributes in Australia.

We are incredibly proud of what Tuan has achieved in the past 15 years and beyond. During this time he directed so many remarkable projects and delivered one success story after another.

Tuan is friendly, intelligent, resourceful and persistent. He has leadership and management qualities that most can only dream of. Without exaggeration, I can say that there is not a single person at Animals Asia who does not enjoy working with Tuan.

tuanbendixten1-2019Tuan, an Australian of Vietnamese origin, is leading the work to close down the bear bile farms in his country.
2019_tuan_2-all-2019His years of patience and perseverance paid off in 2017, when Vietnam agreed to finally close the bear bile farms …
2019_tuan_-image03-all-2019… and entrusting Animals Asia with the monomental project to well accommodate the 800 remaining bears on farms.
2019_tuan_-image04-all-2019If anyone can do it, then Tuan. And he has the full support of his employees, who consistently say he is the best boss in the world.
2019_tuan_05-all-2019Everyone loves to work with Tuan – and I’m no exception!
2019_tuan06-all-2019Oh, and did we mention that his heart beats especially for the bears?

 

Congratulations Tuan Bendixsen OAM (Order of Australia Medal) and thank you for all the wonderful years.

By the way: Our humble hero has tried to keep his honor a secret …

… but we could not help but sharing our joy with you! Because without your generous support in those years, none of our pioneering work in Vietnam would have been possible.

Bear hugs of gratitude

Your

Jill Robinson

Jill Robinson MBE, dr. med. vet. h.c., Hon LLD
Animals Asia, founder and CEO

My comment: It is such people who make this world more bearable.
Not only for animals, but also for us.
They teach us courage, stamina, fight spirit.
They are people to follow as examples.

In the name of the bears, thank you Tuan Bendixsen!

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My best regards to all, Venus

 

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

England: 1st February – Remembering Jill – ‘Warrior of the Rainbow’.

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From Mark:

Today, 1/2/19 is a day of great sadness for all of us who have been involved with live animal exports in the UK.   Today marks the day when in 1995 our beloved Jill was crushed to death under the wheels of a livestock transporter carrying live calves into Coventry Airport for them to be flown to Europe and the crate systems that existed at the time – 1995.

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Read a lot more about Jill and her history here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Phipps

On 1 February 1995, Phipps was one of 35 protesters at Coventry Airport in Baginton, protesting at the export of live calves to Amsterdam for distribution across Europe. Ten protesters broke through police lines and were trying to bring the lorry to a halt by sitting in the road or chaining themselves to it when Phipps was crushed beneath the lorry’s wheels; her fatal injuries included a broken spine.

She died on the way to the hospital accompanied by her brother Zab.[2] Phipps’ death received a large amount of publicity, being brought up at Prime Minister’s question time in the House of Commons.[1]

Jill was killed at the Coventry protests; Veal calf exports from Coventry Airport ended months later, when the aviation firm belonging to the pilot responsible for the veal flights, Christopher Barrett-Jolly, went bankrupt following accusations of running guns from Slovakia to Sudan in breach of EU rules.

In 2002 he was charged with smuggling 271 kg of cocaine worth £22 Million from Jamaica into Southend airport in Essex, England. He was given a 20 year prison sentence.  Read more:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-150358/Cocaine-smuggling-businessman-jailed.html

 

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All these years (24 to be exact) on after Jill’s death fighting for animals; ceremonies and tributes are still held at this time to remember the ‘warrior of the rainbow’ who simply wanted the world to be a better place, and for animals to be respected in parallel to the human race.

 

Give a minute please to remember Jill today and what she died fighting for.

Even today; I still personally get upset a the loss of this beautiful person – there is no justice ! – I have seen, heard and smelt the calf export transporters – they bring shame to us all.

 

1/2/19 – Still Scottish farmers try to export live calves through England to Europe !

Even today (1/2/19) , this very morning; Scottish farmers intended to send their male calves; and unwanted ‘by product’ of the dairy industry, from Ramsgate port in England, to their deaths in Europe for meat eaters.  Fortunately, todays sailing has been cancelled due to snow and bad weather conditions between Scotland and Ramsgate here in Kent  on the SE coast of England, my home county.  As Rab says in the fil, the common link throughout is one of mothers being separated from their children – dairy cows crying for their baby calves; and Nancy Phipps being separated from her daughter Jill who was killed at the protests.

Thank You

Mark.

 

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1/2/19 Ramsgate sailing Update:

The proposed sailing of the Joline today has been cancelled due to the weather conditions for loading in Scotland. Thank you to all the efforts of our supporters who have made this happen.

WE ARE STILL HOLDING THE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR JILL PHIPPS AT RAMSGATE TODAY 12 TILL 2PM AND KEITH TAYLOR MEP IS STILL COMING SO YOU CAN QUESTION THE GREENS POLICY;

We are still holding the service at Dover tomorrow (2/2/19) 12 till 3pm.

THE SHIP IS STILL COMING ACROSS, IT SET OFF 30 MINUTES AGO AND IT IS TO STAND IN RAMSGATE UNTIL EITHER SUNDAY, WHEN THE EXPORTERS WANT TO SAIL OR MONDAY WHICH THE POLICE WOULD PREFER

WE WILL LET YOU KNOW AS WE NEED TO SEE THESE CALVES WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW

Please try to come to the memorial

Environmental, General News

USA: Petition – Tell Politicians, Support The Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2019.

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SIGN: Ban Cruel Shark Fin Trade in the U.S.

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Petition Link – https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-ban-cruel-shark-fin-trade-u-s/

 

PETITION TARGET: Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Senator Mitch McConnell

Every year, an estimated 73 million sharks worldwide are cruelly butchered and killed for the shark fin industry.

It’s a brutal process; these majestic apex predators are hauled from the ocean and their fins barbarically sliced off before being thrown back into the water.

Sharks must be able to swim in order to get enough oxygen as the water filters through their gills. Once they lose their fins, they are helpless. Unable to move, they sink to the bottom of the ocean, dying slowly from suffocation and blood loss — if another predator doesn’t attack them in the meantime.

This mass slaughter of sharks is pushing many species towards extinction, with more than 70 percent of the most common species used in the trade considered to be at critically low population levels.

Now, hope is on the horizon with a new bill introduced by Rep Gregorio Sablan and Rep Michael McCaul. The Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act of 2019 has enormous bipartisan support and is backed by a variety of conservation organizations.

While shark finning has been illegal in U.S. waters since 2000, the trade in fins throughout the country is still legal; fins are currently imported from countries that have no regulations protecting sharks. Twelve states have state-wide bans on the trade, but even so, many restaurants in these states still feature shark fin on the menu.

Sign the petition urging Senator Mitch McConnell and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi to support this bill’s passage through Congress, and send a message to the rest of the world that the U.S. is a leader in shark conservation.

 

Environmental, General News

We Don’t Often Have Much To Celebrate, But Here Is Something.

From ‘Whale and Dolphin Conservation’.

Thank you Mark

We’ve made this video for you to celebrate all the amazing things we achieved together for whales and dolphins in 2018 – our 30th anniversary year. You should feel extremely proud – we couldn’t have done any of this without our fantastic supporters.

I hope you’ll stay with us in 2019 as we need your support more than ever to fight the continuing threats to whales and dolphins and create a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free.

With very best wishes on behalf of all of us at WDC,

Julia Pix, WDC campaigns manager

Farm Animals, General News

Vietnam: Coalition of global animal welfare groups urges international companies to help end bloody “pig chopping” ritual in Vietnam.

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WAV Comment:

A ‘civilised’ nation in 2019 ? – one has to question strongly.

 

Coalition of global animal welfare groups urges international companies to help end bloody “pig chopping” ritual in Vietnam

31 January 2019

Source: https://www.animalsasia.org/uk/media/news/news-archive/coalition-of-global-animal-welfare-groups-urges-international-companies-to-help-end-bloody-pig-chopping-ritual-in-vietnam.html

Note : the following photos are from Google – not Animals Asia.

The Asia for Animals coalition has written to Samsung and Canon asking them to use their economic influence to force government action.

Animal welfare campaigners are urging global companies such as Samsung and Canon to take a strong stand against a gruesome Lunar New Year festival in Vietnam in which live pigs are tied up and paraded around the streets before being chopped in half with machetes. Provincial authorities are set to allow the Nem Thuong Pig Chopping Festival to take place in Bac Ninh province on February 10 despite condemnation from local and international charities, as well as the central Vietnamese government and the general public in the country.

The Asia for Animals coalition of 18 international and Asian animal protection groups has written to leading corporate investors in Bac Ninh province urging them to apply economic pressure to help end the bloody tradition. Industry is a mainstay of the Bac Ninh economy with scores of multinational corporations investing in the province’s many industrial parks. Samsung and Canon are two of the biggest players with Foxconn, PepsiCo and Nokia also present.

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This month, the capital city of Hanoi announced it will set up a 24-hour hotline for the general public to report “offensive” or “violent” Lunar New Year festivals in a move which may bring more pressure to bear on rogue events such as the Nem Thuong Pig Chopping ritual.

Animals Asia Animal Welfare Officer Nguyen Tam Thanh said:

“The public, the media and the central government want this violent ritual to end, but the Bac Ninh authorities are refusing to take action. Now we’re asking the province’s leading commercial players to apply economic pressure and help them see sense.

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“Continuing this barbaric ritual is totally at odds with Vietnamese culture and the tradition of New Year. It negatively impacts society, animal welfare and the country’s image abroad. Animal cruelty cannot be part of modern Vietnamese culture.”

The gory spectacle has been decried by the central Vietnamese government with the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism enacting a regulation in 2016 that all “outdated” and “uncivilised” festivals should end. So far this mandate has halted numerous “buffalo stabbing” and buffalo fighting festivals across the country. Yet the Bac Ninh provincial government, which has the authority to end the extreme animal cruelty which takes place in Nem Thuong village, has remained defiant and allowed the gory spectacle to continue.

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The letters from the Asia for Animals coalition, sent on January 10, ask both Samsung and Canon to speak with both the Bac Ninh People’s Committee and the Bac Ninh Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism to finally end the bloody spectacle.

Phuong Tham, Humane Society International’s Viet Nam Director said: 

“Most people in Vietnam don’t want to see this type of animal cruelty spectacle go ahead, particularly the younger Vietnamese who share the global concern for animal welfare and believe that cruelty has no place in a modern Vietnam. The pig chopping festival is brutal and unnecessary, subjecting pigs to a terrifying ordeal and cruel slaughter. Our message is clear, go ahead with a New Year festival but replace the animal suffering with a cruelty-free ritual that everyone can enjoy. Let’s have a new culture of compassion for animals.”

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Samsung’s Global Sustainability Strategy claims it aims to “take on a stronger responsibility as a global citizen to create social values”, a claim Asia for Animals believes means it has a responsibility to oppose the cruel Nem Thuong pig chopping ritual.

The coalition also highlights Canon Vietnam’s philosophy of “Kyosey”, in which “All people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously live and work together into the future”. Asia for Animals has called on Canon Vietnam to expand this philosophy to all non-human animals and to help develop positive social values which benefit both people and animals.

To date, neither company has responded to the letters.

 

 

General News

Australia: Farmer as a spy among activists!!

 

australia

 

A WESTERN District farmer is acting as an undercover animal rights activist in a bid to protect his industry.

The Weekly Times can reveal the sheep farmer began infiltrating animal rights groups four years ago because he believed activists were getting away with crimes with just a “slap on the wrist”.

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The farmer has a fake “stereotypical vegan” Facebook account to gain access to private vegan groups and discussions online.

He also attends protests and even private social gatherings with local animal activists.

“I thought I better start watching out because you never know when they’re going to come,” he said.

“I meet them, talk to them and protest alongside them.

“You have to bite your tongue 99 per cent of the time.

“I’ve actually stopped quite a lot of sit-ins or disruptions (!!) — about three in the last four or five months — by letting the police and venue know it’s coming.

“If a scruffy bloke can get in on it maybe the police need to start doing it.”

The farmer said while he had heard many conversations about stolen livestock, he had not witnessed or gone as far as to take part in it as his “vegan alter ego”.

Victorian Farmers Federation egg president Brian Ahmed, who has had activists break in to his Werribee farm, said while “two wrongs don’t make a right” he was not surprised it had come to this.

“I think sooner or later someone had to take action,” Mr Ahmed said.

“I’m disappointed authorities haven’t done enough so we have had to get to this level,” he said.

“Unless our government takes a stand for agriculture in this country we’re going to have more and more of this.”

The undercover animal activist said he would like to see “a total reform of the trespassing laws here in Victoria”.

“We’re all just sick and tired of it,” he said.

“We’re just trying to put food on the table.”

https://animalliberationpressoffice.org/NAALPO/2019/01/22/snitch-alert-melbourne-australia-farmer-goes-undercover-as-animal-activist-to-get-inside-knowledge/

My comment: The infiltration of animal rights activists is not new.
In 2011, the Austrian animal rights activist Martin Balluch, also with “help” of a covert spy woman, was jailed for 13 months. Without having committed any offense.
Martin Balluch has written about his experiences in connection with this criminal process the book: animal rights activist: the state enemy!

“We’re all just sick and tired of it,” said the spy.

The animals get sick because of performance breeding and torture in the mega cases.   Not the farmers. The farmers only gripe, and “play” the victims.

When we are on the side of justice, we are on the side of the nonhuman animals who are abused by criminal tormentors in the Farma Dachau of the 21st century as slaves and die painful because they consider these beings as their property.

Not least, because the system, the police and the politicians support and advocate these death factories.

The covert investigations will get on!

Thanks to some brave people, we hope to eradicate the hell the animals go through every day because of our species.

My best regards, Venus

 

 

 

 

General News

USA: Petition – Punish the people who beat, strangled, and spray painted a dog.

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Photo Credit: The Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation

Target: Jackie Lacey, District Attorney for Los Angeles County, California

Goal: Punish the people who beat, strangled, and spray painted a dog.

A dog suffered life-threatening injuries after she was beaten and strangled with an electrical cord. A second dog was found dead nearby. Demand justice for this innocent animal.

“She had clearly been beaten and spray painted and had a lot of injuries,” stated Ellie Roberto, director of The Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation. The organization was called to an alley, where Avery, a pit bull, had been tied to fence with an electrical cord. She suffered lacerations to her neck and some damage to her esophagus, indications of hanging, and appeared severely emaciated. Veterinarians found a hole in one of her paws and her eyes had chemical burns from an unknown substance.

Avery suffered seizures, due to the lack of oxygen to her brain, but she is expected to recover. Police believe that she, and the deceased dog, were used in a gang initiation. They have no suspects at this time. Sign below to demand that the people responsible for this cruelty are prosecuted and assigned the maximum penalty possible.

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Petition Link – https://forcechange.com/524663/dog-beaten-strangled-and-spray-painted-deserves-justice/

 

PETITION LETTER:

Dear District Attorney Lacey,

A dog was beaten and strangled in a horrific case of animal cruelty. Police believe that she was used in a gang initiation. I demand justice for this poor pup.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating after a dog was found tied to a fence with an electrical cord. The pit bull, named Avery, had multiple lacerations on her neck and she suffered seizures due to a lack of oxygen to her brain. A veterinary exam revealed chemical burns to both of her eyes and a hole in one of her paws. A second deceased dog was also found nearby. The Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation took custody of Avery and she is recovering. The police have no suspects at this time.

Anyone who would torture an animal is dangerous and they must be punished. I demand that you prosecute the people responsible for this cruelty and seek the maximum penalty in this case.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

 

General News, Stray Animals

EGYPT: CULLS THOUSAND OF FREE-ROAMING DOGS AND CATS.

 

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WAV Comment:

For over 13 years we have seen exactly the same policy in Serbia, Europe.

Corruption amongst politicians (the attitude ‘making money is most important to me’ !) and municipalities failing to act, has led to Serbia NOT introducing a strategy to control and reduce its stray animal numbers, despite attempts by welfare organisations to encourage this.

We documented it all, including photos, on our sister site ‘Serbian Animals Voice’.

You can visit the site at :

https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/category/serbia-central-serbia-capital-belgrade-and-serbiavojvodina-capital-novi-sad/ https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/category/serbia-central-serbia-capital-belgrade-and-serbiavojvodina-capital-novi-sad/

When will these nations learn about stray animal control procedures ?

Many have now left it too late – they should have acted years ago, and are now witnessing the results of their inactions.  Until they introduce national sterilisation programmes for strays then the problem will never go away – in fat, it will get increasingly worse.  – WAV

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EGYPT CULLS THOUSAND OF FREE-ROAMING DOGS AND CATS

 

More news from animal friends OIPA in Italy:

https://www.oipa.org/international/egypt-cull-stray-dogs/ 

 

The situation of stray dogs and cats in Egypt is dramatic. There are over 22 million stray dogs according to statistics of a recent study.

Local communities are frustrated because around 1.3 million people have been bitten by stray dogs and some have even died. On the one hand, we must admit that the danger exists and it is urgent to halt the free roaming dog population growth.

However, on the other hand, this massacre is inexcusable. The issue should be addressed through the implementation of catch/neuter/vaccinate/release programs. CNVR is the only effective and at the same time humane solution to the stray dogs problem. Such interventions should be ideally carried out by the country institutions in collaboration  with NGOs and other local animal rights associations.

The latest tragic news dates back to only a few days ago, when thousands of street dogs and cats have been found hanged up in the town of Giza, the famous touristic site close to the pyramids. These cruel acts shocked not only animal lovers but also the whole community.

Last year instead stray dogs and cats were poisoned with strychnine. The poison was thrown into rivers and dogs were shot dead or left to rot in the streets. Animal rights groups have reported the illegal import of this alkaloid that can be fatal to humans and other animals and poses also highly toxic environmental risks.

Furthermore, back in November 2018, Egypt planned to export abroad over 4000 stray dogs and cats for their meat to be slaughtered and eaten even regardless of the risk of infections transmission to humans, such as rabies virus.

Fortunately, stray cats and dogs are lovely and tenaciously protected by many animal welfare associations against the abuses perpetrated by Egyptian authorities that, without further ado, should engage in the planning and implementation of humane dog population control programs.

Among these associations, OIPA member league “Touch of Life Organization”  provided us with important information and stated the following: “We are trying to educate the people and especially children to love and respect animals, however it will take a long time to solve the problem….in some areas the government started to do Trap-Neuter-Return campaigns with veterinary help”

 

General News, Stray Animals

Azerbaijan: A New Mass Culling of Stray Dogs.

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Azerbaijan: a new mass culling of stray dogs.

Information provided by welfare friends OIPA, Italy, EU.

https://www.oipa.org/international/azerbaijan-culling-stray-dogs/  

 

Baku animal activists, private citizens, tourists, and other onlookers, have been launching a new alarm in these days, through social networks, facebook and emails, to alert about a new mass killing of stray dogs undertaken by Baku (and other Azeri main cities) local authorities.

According to witnesses, Local Authorities are killing stray dogs by shooting them in the streets, probably in order to clean the city for the preparation of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix to be held on April 26th – 28th 2019.

According to the messages received, City Hall Officers are justifying this action with the need to prevent the risk of rabies diffusion, even if it seems that the majority of homeless dogs killed, were followed by IDEA animal care center and they were vaccinated, neutered and healthy.

It is well known that Asian Countries have a very low level of engagement in the protection of animal welfare and in the fight against animal suffering or killings.

In the Voiceless Animal cruelty Index, Azerbaijan is ranked only 36th out of 50 countries.

Reports of inhumane culling of cats and dogs in the capital Baku already emerged at an international level in 2012 when the country planned to host Eurovision Song Contest , in 2015 for European Games and for Formula 1 Race in 2016.

OIPA already intervened in the past years, writing an official letter to the Azeri Authorities to stop inhuman method of stray dog population control.

Even if it has been widely demonstrated that CNVR (Catch, Neuter, Vaccine and Release) Programs are the most efficient, economical, responsible and respectful methods to control and manage the number of stray dogs and the diffusion of diseases like rabies, Local Authorities in Azerbaijan continue to kill stray animals.

Leyla Aliyeva, the daughter of the Azeri President, Ilham Aliyev, has personally fought against this inhuman, cruel and evidently unuseful strategy to face the emergency of stray animals.

She opened an animal shelter in Baku, the IDEA Animal Care Center (for animal care, vaccination and sterilization); she tried to intervene directly with the Authorities by imposing a stop to dogs culling and by ordering the closure of a “shelter of death” in which stray dogs were poisoned or burned alive.

But none of this helped. Killin gs are going on.

It is important to remind that all that is happening while Azerbaijan signed the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals in 2003 and ratified it on 19 October 2007. The Convention is effectively in force in Azerbaijan since 1 May 2008 and it affirms, among others, the following principles:

Art. 11 Only a veterinarian or another competent person shall kill a pet animal

Art.12 When a Party considers that the numbers of stray animals present it with a problem, it shall take the appropriate legislative and/or administrative measures necessary to reduce their numbers in a way which does not cause avoidable pain, suffering or distress.

  1. Such measures shall include the requirements that:

-if such animals are to be captured, this is done with the minimum of physical and mental suffering appropriate to the animal

(extracts from the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals)

Any violations of the Convention, implying cruel treatments, injuries or killings, are also prohibited by the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Art. 274) and are punished with an economical fine (five hundred manat).

Oipa will send an official communication to Governmental and Local Authorities to ask an immediate stop to cruelty on animals and a complete reconsideration of stray animals control strategy, in order to finally accomplish to National and International Legislation in force in the Country.

Sources:

o    avaaz.org

o    https://api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/azerbaijan

o    Voiceless animal Cruelty Index report

o    “parallel.az” – online newspaper

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General News, Uncategorized

England / Germany: WAV Photographs – We Want To Explain.

We have not been asked to do this, it is my (Mark) personal aim that here I cover a few points about this site over which I feel I need to try and clarify.  They are:

WAV was founded by Venus and myself in 2018 with the sole intention of doing what it says on the tin – being a ‘World Animals Voice’ – highlighting the abuses and suffering of animals across the globe due to the cruelty of the human species.

Whenever we publish articles (posts) onto this site; we go out of our way to reproduce the original sources of data from which the article was written.  We don’t make up fantasy posts; ours are produced only from information provided by credible sources worldwide – hence the references from same we always try to give.

We aim to produce photographs and (if applicable) videos which reflect the topic being discussed for you.

As you can see from this (WAV) or our SAV site; we never ask for donations or have a ‘donation’ link.  We are self funded. All work on this site is undertaken on a purely voluntary basis by individuals who care about animal welfare.

Regarding ‘copyright’ of photographs, as an example we want to show you the following to try and explain how difficult things are nowdays. So, we simply (today 29/1/19) go to ‘Google Images’ – we type in ‘Serbian Animals’ and we are immediately presented with a huge range of images.

Try it via this link of same which shows what we get simply stating ‘Serbian Animals’:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&biw=1252&bih=549&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=F2xQXJHDLsHsxgPN3b-YCQ&q=serbian+animals&oq=serbian+animals&gs_l=img.3..0.3827426.3835882..3836435…0.0..0.76.1026.17……0….1..gws-wiz-img…..0..0i67j0i8i30j0i24.LgPlTpOrGgk

You can see that many of the images shown via the above link are officially credited to ‘Serbian Animals Voice’ (SAV) or ‘Balkans Animal Suffering’ – SAV is the sister site we own and run in addition to WAV and you can visit it here:

https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/

So the images credited to us are officially ‘our’ images – and they are; all part of our work within the Balkans; but via Google we have no control over their publishing or who uses them for any work; it is simply impossible for us to track back and see.

So we have to accept that our ‘official’ images may be used by other parties with or without our knowledge.  We accept that as the way media works in the fast world of 2019.

Whenever we do use photographs from other sources on our WAV / SAV sites; we attempt very much to use same imaging from the international media sources; and to credit them where we can.  Sometimes if no images are available; we do use Google image search to obtain images.  This (Google) is not a special site; but is one which is open to all members of the public.  Anyone can use it for images of a subject that they wish.

When we do use Google images; if the originator is known; then as described above; we will reproduce the source of the image and try to declare to whom it belongs.

As a generalisation; and in some circumstances, it is possible to use copyright-protected work without infringing the owner’s copyright. For more about this, you may wish to learn about fair use on the Google site. It is important to note that content can be removed in response to a claim of copyright infringement, even if we have…

  • Given credit to the copyright owner
  • Refrained from monetizing the infringing content
  • Charged for a copy of the content in question
  • Noticed similar content that appear elsewhere on the internet
  • Recorded the content yourself from TV, a movie theater, or the radio
  • Copied the content yourself from a textbook, a movie poster or photograph
  • Stated that “no copyright infringement is intended”

 

To date; and with over 13 years experience in running sites such as this; we have never been involved with any copyright infringement dispute issues.  We hope it stays that way; that is our intention.  On the other hand; many of ‘our own’ (master) original source images (especially relating to Serbia strays and live animal exports) have also been used by other parties in their publishing; and are visible for all to see on Google.

We don’t really have a problem with this; but would say:  It is impossible nowdays to check where your data is being used, and by whom.  Our photos are there on sites such as Google; not by our personal wish, but simply as ‘part of the modern system’, and we really have no control or means of controlling how, when and where they are used.  Such is the world of internet and electronic media in 2019.

Overall we have no real gripe.  We will continue to use video and images on these WAV / SAV sites; giving credit references or originality references whenever possible if they are known to us.

This is just an issue that I want to share with everybody – I hope you understand our (WAV) situation regarding photographs; which do often; make a story just that little bit better.

Regards Mark (and Venus) – WAV Founders.

camera clipartCamera Clipart Image