“You go home sweaty, dirty, having sat in the sand, or had a dog in your lap, pee down your front, dried milk splatters from the calf-feeding, a big smile on your face, and your heart bursting with love.“–Caroline Moody, Animal Aid Volunteer…
This little girl was about to die. She lay unconscious with the labored breathing that usually comes just before death. Our rescue team rushed her to Animal Aid where we discovered she was in shock with severe dehydration, probably caused by untreated diarrhea. We immediately started her on IV fluids but she remained almost comatose and slept through the night. We weren’t sure we could save her, and wondered what the following day might bring. And wow, were we in for a surprise. Meet Lilly after just 24 hours.
We’ve all heard stories about mothers risking their lives for their babies–but now we’ve seen it with our own eyes. Angelina is one of the gentlest, sweetest dogs we’ve ever met. But don’t try messin’ with her little pod of baby angels because she’s done everything in her power to protect them. She became dangerously injured in the process-a wound that tore mammary tissue from her belly and a huge laceration on her neck. That’s what it took to make sure each and every one of her babies was safe. Angelina will be spayed when her young’uns are weaned. In the meantime, she’s going to be one busy lady. Meet our beautiful hero today.
Slum-dwellers called us to rescue a dog from their community whose eye had popped out after an accident. He must have been in excruciating pain. The damage was so extensive we had to remove the eye, but this gentle sweetheart’s recovery was beautiful.
We got a call that a street dog was flailing in the road having a violent seizure. Luckily our ambulance was only moments away and when we arrived, she was still having the seizure. The seizure was probably caused by a trauma-maybe a car accident. We stabilized her with anti-seizure and other medicines, and so began her six week recovery of her ability to balance and walk. Meet beautiful Stella …
Meeting the Rescue Team in action is the first step many people take on their path of animal compassion. And for this reason, having a winning way with people is as important as being brave, creative and gentle in harrowing rescues. Nandu Dungri, has served animals in Animal Aid with his heart, soul and handsome smile for 9 years–lifting more dogs, cows and donkeys from perilous situations than almost anyone in India. Nandu is “Papa” of 3, “Brother” to 80 staff members, and cherished friend to thousands of grateful animals.
Industrial farming kills bees with pesticides, over-fertilises our fields, and tortures animals in factory farms. And yet, it is subsidised with €59 billion every year from our taxes. [1] What more? This is the biggest part of the EU budget! [2]
Right now, politicians are discussing how to redistribute this money. Will future subsidies go to farmers who feed us healthy food and treat animals humanely? Or will it remain as bad as it is now?
Thousands of us, farmers and consumers, from Malta to Aarhus, from Warsaw to Madrid, will come together next weekend in days of action. We’ll protest, we’ll cook sustainable food for the public, we’ll teach about sustainable farming and we’ll demand a U-turn away from harmful farming practices.
Today we’re launching an open letter, which we will publish in a press release on Friday to open the action days. We need a great big boom for the start: 100,000 signatures, in order to show the media and decision-makers that we, Europeans, care about our food and our farming. Please sign now.
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At last, some of the European Ministers of Agriculture are realising the disaster happening before our eyes: insects, pollinators of our plants and nourishment for birds, are vanishing. [3] The German government, for instance, is discussing a program to protect insects. The Ministry for the Environment wants to spend €100 million per year on the program (great!), but the Minister of Agriculture is not in favour of it. [4] €100 million is a lot of money, but it’s a tiny amount compared to €59 billion that industrial farming gets from the EU. Instead of taking decisive action, they are spending their time bickering! This sort of thing is happening all over the EU.
But this arguing also shows we have an opportunity. Some politicians are open to our call for better farming. But others still aren’t listening. That is why we chose a pot and a spoon as symbols for the campaign: We will bang one against another and make enough noise to be heard.
In another three weeks we will repeat our action, this time in Brussels. We will show up in front of the building where EU Ministers of Agriculture will meet to decide about the future of our food. We’ll bring vegetables, pots, pans and cutlery with us. We’ll cook for the politicians, we’ll make noise, and we’ll deliver the demands of European citizens for a U-turn against harmful industrial agriculture.
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Agricultural policy is a hotly contested issue because of the massive amounts of money involved. The proposed EU budget for the next seven years provides far too much money for industrial agriculture and far too little money for more sustainable farming and environmental protection. It’s time for governments to put the public interest before the interest of big business.
The past year has shown us that we can prevail against the lobby of the big agricultural industry. Just last year, our community and our partners managed to cut the length of the license for the toxic pesticide glyphosate down to only five years, when EU politicians wanted 15!
Your signature shows that we care about food and farming: We want our daily bread to be healthy, we want our farmers to prosper and we want animals to be treated humanely.
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From kitchens and farmlands (and offices) all over Europe,
Mika (Bordeaux), Jörg (Lübeck), Virginia (Madrid), and the rest of us at WeMove.EU
PS: Whenever we eat something, we depend on the agricultural industry. Our food can only be as good as the agricultural model with which it’s produced. For us and for our environment, let’s grow our food in ways that reduce waste, reduce the amount of toxic chemicals, and promote a resilient and diverse food and farming system.
References:
[1] https://www.politico.eu/article/central-europes-big-farms-cry-foul-over-eu-commission-funding-cuts-phil-hogan/
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/sites/agriculture/files/cap-post-2013/graphs/graph1_en.pdf
[3] https://www.truthdig.com/articles/insects-are-vanishing-at-an-alarming-rate-new-study-finds/
[4] https://www.archyworldys.com/ministry-of-the-environment-100-million-against-insect-deaths/ and http://www.taz.de/!5542911/
We have personally been involved with live animal transport issues in Europe for 25+ years.
We know that Reg 1/2005 has failed the animals from the very start – and so you could say that the EU Commission has also been failing animals in transport from the very start.
To see a bit about our own past involvement with the live animal transport business. Please check out our info at https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-us/ – scroll down quite a way to see our own battles with a useless EU.
Here is a message from Silvia at Animals Angels.. who are based in Germany.
We want to thank Silvia for her info and the video which we have repeated below. I am sure you will find it interesting.
It goes without saying that we give our full support to Angels and as individual welfare groups right across the EU, we work hard to expose the failures of the legislation 1/2005.
Please watch the video and see how the mighty EU Commission is failing anima;ls in transport.
Regards Mark.
Silvia says:
Dear Mark,
I hope this email finds you well.
On the 6th of September this year, we presented the premiere of a new film of Animals´ Angels in Brussels, at the EU Parliament. The video summarizes 10 years spent on the roads collecting data about the conditions of transported animals, after having interviewed some experts. The aim was to make the point of 10 years of application of Regulation EC 1/2005, analyzing what has been achieved and what remains to do. The final balance is very bitter. It is crystal clear that the original intention of the Council of EU has been betrayed. As you know, too many animals continue to travel crammed in trucks and ships over longer and longer distances. Animals´ Angels asked the EU Commission to take a stand and be faithful to its duties as “the guardian of EU laws”. A limit must be set to profit.
To know more, please watch our recently published video “10 years of Regulation EC 1/2005 – Animals’ Angels field experience 2007-2017”: www.animals-angels.de/10-jahre
More than a million EU citizens already expressed their opposition to long animal transports already twice. Pressure of public opinion is a powerful means to demand EU institutions and governments a change. Please, help us spreading knowledge about animal transports.
Kindest regards,
Silvia
World Animal Net (WAN) is a site which we use quite regularly – as it provides links to animal welfare associations based in just about every country of the globe. We have found it very useful.
Here is the main link – http://worldanimal.net/directory/search-wan-directory
As you can see; you can do a search in a couple of ways – we suggest that going directly to a country is the best way. You can literally just select the country you wish to gets results for from the drop down, and then press the ‘search’ box. You should then be given all the organisations for welfare groups in that country.
Just for example; today we have had several visits from Greece; so what better than to use this as an example.
So we simply go to the main link
http://worldanimal.net/directory/search-wan-directory
Select ‘Greece’ from the drop down list of nations.
Then hit the ‘Search’ button.
Then we are given a full listing of all the Greek organisations which can help with animal welfare. The link to this is given here:
http://worldanimal.net/directory/search-wan-directory/results?country=84&fanda=0
So a good and very useful tool no matter where you are located in the world; if you need animal help. You may find you get a lot more results than you expected – Great !
Have a play around with it and make sure you keep WAN as a source in your directory / contacts list.
Regards Mark
Bear bile farming is one of our greatest hates. That’s why we were very pleased to be able to donate towards the rescue of No Name Bear; a female bear who has spent the last 16 years undergoing daily bile extraction.
We have offered to have her named ‘hope’ – in the competition which is open to all members who donate to her rescue.
Now today she has been rescued by Animals Asia and can look forward to utterly different future of love, care, health treatment, kindness and great food.
Follow her recue on this timeline:
https://www.animalsasia.org/uk/media/news/news-archive/nonamebear-follow-the-rescue-timeline.html
https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoNameBearRescue?src=hash
500,000 People Tell KFC: No More Cruelty to Chickens!
Image Credit: WAP
World Animal Protection (WAP) delivered an important message to KFC headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky this week, presenting a petition with more than 500,000 signatures to the fast food giant.
The petition urges KFC to stop supporting horrifically cruel factory farms and commit to sourcing their chickens from farms that support natural growth rates and a better environment for the animals.
“We are deeply grateful to the more than 500,000 supporters who’ve signed our petition calling on KFC to give chickens a better life,” Alesia Soltanpanah, US executive director at WAP, told Lady Freethinker. “KFC has the power to transform the lives of chickens on a truly global scale – but they need to take action.”
Unlike fast food competitors Burger King, Subway and Starbucks, KFC — who make billions of dollars every year from the slaughter of animals — have yet to take any action to address the welfare of chickens in their supply chain.
Factory farms are hellish places for animals, as exposed repeatedly through undercover investigations by animal welfare groups. As these farms try to maximize profit, they fatten up their chickens for slaughter in only 40 days using unnatural methods that put enormous pressure on the organs and legs of the chickens. The birds endure chronic pain and health problems, with many suffering from heart attacks due to these rapid growth rates.
“Chickens on factory farms suffer enormously, buckling under their own weight, without space to perform their natural behaviors, and never seeing the light of day,” said Soltanpanah. “By committing to higher-welfare farming, KFC can send a strong signal to other food companies that change for chickens is possible. Animal welfare is important to consumers, and it is important to human health as well. It’s time for KFC to show that it’s important to them, too.”
WAP met with KFC parent company, Yum! Brands, last week, and are hopeful about working with them to make a positive change for animals.
In the meantime, there remains one sure-fire way to eat cruelty free: by opting for plant foods, and leaving animals off your plate.
The PAWS 2018 International Captive Wildlife Conference is taking place November 9-11 in Burbank, California. A very important theme of the conference is “Confronting Captivity”, which reflects a growing resistance to the exploitation of captive wild animals around the world. The problems of captivity abound with tourist elephant rides, orca whales in marine parks, and big cats in circuses.
One of the most notable speakers at this year’s conference is Sangita Iyer, founder of the non-profit organization Voice for Asian Elephants Society. Sangita is a native of India, and an award-winning journalist and wildlife documentary filmmaker. She is the director and producer of the globally acclaimed documentary Gods In Shackles, which was nominated at the United Nations and has garnered over a dozen international awards. Sangita has gained recognition throughout India for her courage in exposing the plight of captive elephants, who are continuously exploited for profit behind the veil of culture and religion.
Sangita’s groundbreaking documentary Gods In Shackles shines a light on India’s religious parades and festivals, and their continuous exploitation and abuse of the country’s elephants. Through her work with Voice for Asian Elephants Society, Sangita hopes to ignite change in the way that elephants are treated in her native India and throughout the world.
You can view the trailer for Gods In Shackles here:
Voice for Asian Elephants Society are currently collaborating with another speaker at the conference, Steven Wise, who is the President of the Nonhuman Rights Project. They are working together for the rights of personhood for India’s elephants. The PAWS conference features nearly 50 other amazing speakers from 15 countries. You can hear directly from those who are leading the way in confronting the captivity of big cats, elephants, bears, and marine mammals. You will learn about the exploitation of wild animals in circuses, zoos and marine parks; as well as the rescue and care of these animals in sanctuaries.
The speakers at the conference are fighting these issues every day on the front lines. They are working for change through scientific research, ethics, law, conservation, and animal care, policy and welfare. PAWS has been presenting inspiring conferences since 1992, and this is the only U.S.-based conference of its kind. This year’s International Captive Wildlife Conference features speakers who are leaders in their fields. The hope is to promote action to improve the welfare of wild animals living in captivity throughout the world.
The International Captive Wildlife Conference happens just once every four years, and there’s still time to register for this year’s conference but registration closes October 31. You can attend one day, two days, or all three. Student discounts are available, and tasty plant-based lunch and snacks are included each day.
The three-day event is taking place at the Pickwick Conference Center in Burbank, CA, and will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. For a full list of speakers and discussions — and to register — visit the conference website here.
Denounce Sicening Proposal to Sell Egypt’s Stray Dogs for Meat
Sign the petition here – https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-stop-plan-slaughter-egypts-strays-sell-dog-meat/
PETITION TARGET: Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Reda
In a twisted attempt to solve Egypt’s stray dog problem, Egyptian MP Margret Azer has proposed that street dogs be imprisoned in dog farms, fattened up, slaughtered, and sold to South Korea and other dog-eating countries for meat.
Azer suggests that this idea for the nation to profit from the lives of animals is a valid, humane alternative to shooting dogs dead or sterilizing them.
Animal rights organizations are outraged, and the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals (ESMA) has described Azer’s comments as “shameful.”
With an estimated 22 million stray dogs in Egypt, there is clearly a need for population control; however, killing dogs for human consumption to make a profit is an outrageous and cruel idea.
Millions of dogs every year already suffer immensely for the dog meat trade — stolen, beaten, tortured and murdered. Egypt should not even consider supporting this horrific industry.
Sign this petition urging Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Reda to strongly oppose any such proposal, and focus instead on finding more humane methods to control the nation’s stray dogs.
More articles about this:
https://egyptianstreets.com/2018/10/10/egyptian-mp-wants-to-export-stray-dog-meat-to-south-korea/
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181015-egypt-mp-export-dog-meat-for-east-asia-cuisine/
