Category: General News

General News

Fritz is dead

 

Germany

 

The light of the world Fritz saw in 1963 in Cameroon. There he lived with his family in freedom, romped through the jungle and had no idea what horror would happen to him.

At the tender age of three, he was captured by pet traders. It can be assumed that hunters killed his entire family (with spears and machetes). There might have been a real family massacre as gorillas protect their young to death. Fritz had this traumatic experience until his death.

Gorilla-Fritz-gestorben

The first four years he was imprisoned in the zoo Hellabrunn, in Munich. From there he was carted to the Zoo in Nuremberg, where he had to endure almost half a century (!)

But the gorilla left Nuremberg again and again. He was loaned twice, for several months he lived in the Berlin Zoo, from 1986 to 1988 then in the Czech Dvur Kralove.
After he had fathered six children, he was barren at the young age of 14 years. A not uncommon phenomenon in captive animals. Even his male offspring are all infertile and perform a strange, sad life as prisoners in European zoos. Day in, day out in bulletproof glass and concrete jails, knowing they will never get out there again.

For Fritz ended 55 years captivity on Monday, August 20th with death. He had been euthanized due to old age.

nuernberger-tiergarten-gorilla-fritz-ist-tot-mit-55-jahren-gestorben-997809

When Fritz’s death marks the end of an era, we hope that it is the end of suffering, terror, and imprisonment, and that we humans learn that animals are not for us, but with us on this planet.

https://www.peta.de/gorilla-fritz-stirbt-nach-52-jahren-in-gefangenschaft

In the press we read:

“…Fritz was a real “animal personality”, he was a legend. Every Zoo visitor in the zoo knew and loved him: Gorilla Fritz died on Monday, 20 August 2018, the oldest gorilla living in European zoos.…”

And I say: because he was a personality, did this wonderful animal have to spend his life behind bars?
Because he was a personality, so every ignorant, every empathy loose with his stupid offspring came to his cell to admire the misery of this “legate” prisoner?

And because he was a Personality, that’s why he was loaned twice?

This is practiced by slaves, and those who do it do not care if the slave has personality or not. The main thing is to bring in the money.

Almost all newspapers have reported on the death of Fritz, that also brings money .
In these 55 years the press has never been interested in his misery in captivity at the zoo.

 

My best regards, Venus

 

 

Farm Animals, General News

Vietnam: 4/9/18 – BREAKING: Rescue of five moon bears happening right now in Vietnam. Watch Rescue on Timeline (See Below).

viet nam flag

AA logo 1

 

AA Yogi

BREAKING: Rescue of five moon bears happening right now in Vietnam

Latest – Bears Now Arrived At Sanctuary – A New Life Begins !

An Animals Asia rescue team arrived in the small town of My Tho in Vietnam’s southern province of Tien Giang this morning to rescue five moon bears from a bear bile farm.

The bears were likely captured from the wild and have been held for at least 21 years in tiny cages so that their bile could be extracted for use as a traditional medicine.

 

FOLLOW THE RESCUE TIMELINE

 

At present the condition of the bears is unknown but previous rescues have revealed a litany of painful and debilitating diseases and disabilities – many of which can be terminal.

The rescue team contains experienced veterinarians and vet nurses who will be prepared for the worst.

Animals Asia Vietnam Director Tuan Bendixsen said:

“As with many rescues, we have no information about the bears at present – not even their genders. But we know they have never received any health care in the last 13 years of extreme captivity and abuse.

“Repeated bile extraction takes a huge toll on the bears’ health and our team will be ready for anything. Our primary goal will be to get them out of cages which were never designed to be opened, keep them alive and get them back to our sanctuary where high-quality care can begin.”

Once freed from cages, the bears will be transported 1,700km by truck to Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre in Vinh Phuc province where they expect to arrive on Friday 31 August.

Bear bile farming reached a peak in Vietnam in 2005 when over 4,000 bears were kept around the country on private farms.

However, years of campaigning culminated in the signing of a landmark agreement between Animals Asia and the Vietnam government in July, 2017 to close every bear bile farm and send all the bears to sanctuary by 2022.

Vietnam’s Traditional Medicine Association has also vowed to stop prescribing bear bile by 2020.

The latest figures from the Vietnamese government show the number of bears in private hands has fallen to approximately 800.

The five moon bears in Tien Giang province are being voluntarily handed over by their owner.

Animals Asia Founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:

“More and more farmers are beginning to realise that bear bile farming is finished in Vietnam. Demand for bile is plummeting as people learn of the cruelty behind every vial, while the government has made it clear the end of the industry is just a matter of time.

“For these five bears, the end of suffering cannot come soon enough. Now we have to get them home to our sanctuary where their new lives can begin.”

To date Animals Asia has rescued 611 bears, mainly from bile farms, in Vietnam and China.

Over 170 bears currently live at the Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre, the largest and oldest sanctuary for bears in the country.

You can follow the rescue as it happens on Animals Asia’s Facebook, Twitter and the dedicated rescue timeline.

https://www.animalsasia.org/uk/media/news/news-archive/breaking-rescue-of-five-moon-bears-happening-right-now-in-vietnam.html

Farm Animals, General News

Slaughterhouse Workers Have PTSD From Killing Animals.

cst Haunted Basement 55897s house work4

theres a reason

Slaughterhouse Workers Have PTSD From Killing Animals. Here’s Why That Matters…

https://mercyforanimals.org/slaughterhouse-workers-have-ptsd-from-killing

The findings indicate that slaughterhouse employment increases total arrest rates, arrests for violent crimes, arrests for rape, and arrests for other sex offenses in comparison with other industries.

Ref –  http://journals.sagepub.com/keyword/Slaughterhouses

s house work1

s house work2

Farm Animals, General News

England: Victory – Waitrose Bans Animal Abusing Farm As Its Supplier After Short, Effective Campaign.

England

 

waitrose calves

On Saturday we released distressing scenes of newborn calves being brutally handled on an organic dairy farm in Somerset that supplies Waitrose. The shocking footage, which our investigators filmed this summer after we received a tip-off about cruel handling practices, shows:

  • Newborn calves struggling as workers callously shove a tube down their throat
  • A calf thrown to the ground and slapped in the face during force-feeding
  • A worker standing on a calf with his full body weight while shouting “you f**king. . .sh*t”
  • Cows visibly agitated and trying to intervene as struggling their calves call out in distress
  • Calves denied access to water for up to 29 hours on some of the hottest days of the year
  • A newborn calf dragged by its back legs into a separation pen
  • Calves routinely separated from their mothers less than 24 hours after birth
  • Several cows with their back legs chained together in shackles – a practice used in the dairy industry to enable farmers to keep milking a cow who has suffered muscle or nerve damage during calving.

 

watch the video

See the video here:

https://www.facebook.com/animalequalityuk/videos/262169477954381/

We have campaigned with many others about this to Waitrose.  This is a supermarket food supplier chain who do usually have the very best animal welfare standards of all.  They have won many awards for their concerns and promotion of good animal welfare.  So after viewing this footage a mass phone in campaign was set up against Waitrose to get them to act against this organic dairy farm.

Today; 4/9/18; we again contacted Waitrose about this issue.  We are very pleased that Waitrose has now taken action.

They e mailed us their official statement on the situation which we repeat here:

 

Following on from our recent telephone conversation Mr Johnson.

Please see below our statement regarding Coombe farm.

All of our farmers are carefully selected and agree to produce to our protocols covering all aspects of dairy production, including animal welfare, which we take extremely seriously.

They are subject to independent audits which in this case includes the Soil Association and the RSPCA Assured Dairy scheme.
 
The staff involved on this farm have been subject to disciplinary proceeding as they did not meet the high standards we set for a farm supplying us.

The farm was suspended from our supply as soon as we became aware of the footage and there shouldn’t be any of the milk they supply on our shelves.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

Kind regards

Waitrose & Partners Customer Care
Case Reference: xxx xxx

 

You can always take the best option by cutting out dairy and:

Bus Back

veganfaces1Vegan Faces

General News

People and animals: Not equal but comparable interests!

 

österreichische Flagge

 

A philosophical analysis of the term “animal rights” by the well-known Austrian philosopher and animal ethicist Helmut.F. Kaplan.

The prerequisite for the realization of animal rights is that one first has a concept of animal rights. Namely, a comprehensible and workable concept of animal rights.
That is not the case until now.

Elefantenfuß mit Ketten

There is only something like raw versions of the concept of animal rights embedded in different theoretical contexts. In my book “Animal Rights: Contrary to Speciesism”, I am now working out what I believe is a comprehensible and practicable basic concept of animal rights. It is based on the principle of equality proposed by Peter Singer.

People and animals: Not equal but comparable interests.

No rational man asserts that humans and animals are equal in a factual sense. People and animals have – as well as the people among themselves – different interests.
Therefore, it would be completely wrong to treat people and animals alike, because different interests justify and require different treatment.
For example, dogs and cats, unlike humans, do not need religious freedom or the right to vote – because they could do nothing with it. And men, unlike women, do not need a pregnancy holiday because they cannot get pregnant.

Animal rights according to the principle of equality

What the principle of equality requires is simply this: Where humans and animals have the same or similar interests, we should take these same or similar interests into account:

Because all people have an interest in adequate food and shelter, we should take this interest equally into account for all people – and not allow arbitrary discrimination based on race or gender. So, no racism and sexism.
And because both humans and animals have a tremendous interest in not suffering, we should take equal account of this interest in humans and animals – and not allow arbitrary discrimination based on the species. So, no speciesism.

Angeketteter Affe_n
We said the same or similar interests of humans and animals should be considered equally. In other words, animals have the right to have their interests considered in the same way as comparable human interests. Animal rights are then the sum of the claims resulting from this same consideration. The decisive sentence that characterizes this concept of animal rights is thus:

Animals have the right to have their interests taken into account as well as comparable human interests.

animals are not products

(Translation Venus, with my best regards to all)

https://tierrechte-kaplan.de/

 

General News, Stray Animals

A Week In Serbia – Suffering For Animals.

I formed ‘Serbian Animals Voice’ about 13 years ago because I wanted to let Europe and the world know about the abuses that were happening on our doorstep – Europe, 2005+.  I attempted to be a voice for the voiceless who endured / are still enduring illegal activities by the government and regional authorities.

Read more on this issue at  https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-serbian-animals/

If you go to the ‘Home’ tab you can access our archive of all the years campaigning.  There are some very disturbing videos and photographs here – this is the reality of the Serbian government attitude to animals.

Home page link –  https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/   – here on the left you can access all of our archive posts.

 

An insight into all parties involved in the campaign –  https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-us/

Finally, never judge a nation by the actions of just some.  There are some brilliant animal welfare people in Serbia; working with very limited resources; and it has been a real pleasure for me to get to know them and work with them over all these years.

I also set up a SAV Facebook page which is a real hit with people.  We have over 1,300 members of the group, which puts out appeals for help; animal adoptions and acts as a general community action site for the many small but brilliant, dedicated shelters found throughout Serbia.

 

Here is the link to SAV Facebook – well worth a visit and supporting the organisations –

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/SerbianAnimalsVoice/?fb_dtsg_ag=AdykVfObZcnpSxGYMxd6lz8f-T-Q2g1WIUZchUhe25odKA%3AAdyB1RJMDAhmAXzaeDW58q8R38pyuAYDirH4ku0ls0DLTA

This site WAV has now been formed from the success of SAV.  WAV (this site) covers global animal welfare issues rather than that of just Serbia.  SAV will remain open as a reference archive source and new WAV posts will also be posted there.

Regards to you all and keep on fighting the fight.  Mark.

Its no easier for us to look at these photos than it is for anyone else.

This is the reality – we have always had a policy of showing / telling the truth and not dressing up things to be what they are not.  Every image of Serbian animal abuses increases the determination to expose the truth and to ‘keep on keeping on’.  It can be hard sometimes, but nothing compared to their suffering.

Here are just a few photos from our massive Serbian archive:

Picture 021loz2 febPicture 025stop killing dogs in serbiaserbia-dog-severed-headSerbia stray cruched under carserb hunt 2Serb Minister 1
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serb sheep 2

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Serbia - stray dogs drowned and then hund from treesSerbia - stray dogs ready to be killed eat each other

Dog from forest wire neck

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loznica 2 june.JPGstop animal fighting 1.jpgshelter 1.jpgshepherdTem1Tem6

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General News

USA: BIG Win for New York Carriage Horses !

USA

WAV Comment – Congratulations to all those who have been campaigning about this for so long.  Excellent; well done !

ny1

BIG WIN FOR NYC CARRIAGE HORSES! Hack line to be Moved Out of Traffic and into Central Park | PLS SAVE THE DATE!!!!

(based on the Mayor’s executive power to do so and with the Dept of Transportation having the authority to change the hackline location; and, you don’t need a City Council vote for this because it isn’t legislative…Hopefully this will be the beginning of the demise of that exploitative, cruel and disgusting industry!!!)

NY sept 3
 

NYCLASS is thrilled to report that Mayor de Blasio announced on August 30th that the hack line will be moved from the current chaotic, traffic-choked hack line location on Central Park South into Central Park—a safer, more humane, and car-free environment for the horses to be stationed while awaiting and giving rides.

NYCLASS and our supporters have fought for many years to make life better for the carriage horses. Today is a major step forward for all those who have rallied, door-knocked, made phone calls, protested and documented carriage horse cruelty, and this victory belongs to every one of our volunteers, supporters, and allies who have fought for these horses with us. Activism works!  

This summer, ongoing brutal heatwaves left carriage horses suffering on Central Park South under the blazing sun. During the heatwaves this month, NYCLASS documented horses in respiratory distress. With this move, the horses will finally be able to find respite in the tree-lined park.

NY sept 2

In addition, by moving the hack line into the park, the horses will be protected from the constant fumes, exhaust, loud honking, and dangers presented by heavy vehicular traffic on Central Park South. This move will not only improve horses’ lives, but it will also increase public safety. Removing the horses from Central Park South will open up the car and bike lanes, reduce congestion, and decrease the likelihood of carriage horse crashes.

There have been dozens of reported carriage horse and vehicle crashes, horse collapses, and runaway spooked horses that have resulted in human and horse injuries. Carriage horses, with their highly evolved flight drive, should not be forced to maneuver among zooming taxis, ambulances, commercial trucks, and dense traffic.

The safety hazards of allowing horses to operate on busy city streets are clear. This past winter, a horse spooked, threw the carriage driver to the ground, and ran wildly into Central Park South traffic with three terrified passengers aboard, ultimately crashing into cars on Central Park South and sending the injured passengers to the hospital. And most recently, on August 7th, a carriage horse collided with a bike rider in busy traffic, knocking the cyclist off his bike.

Commonsense reforms that dramatically improve the horses’ lives are long overdue. We look forward to continuing to work with Mayor de Blasio and the City Council in continuing to make meaningful positive changes for the carriage horses.

NY sept 4.png

Read the new Dept of Transportation rules here: http://rules.cityofnewyork.us/sites/default/files/proposed_rules_pdf/notice_of_public_hearing_and_opportunity_to_comment-horse_drawn_cab_passenger_boarding_areas_final_with_certifications.pdf

Click here to watch the CBS news story that aired last night 

Click here to read the NY Post coverage

Click here to read Wall Street Journal coverage

 

For the animals,

Edita Birnkrant,

Executive Director, NYCLASS

SAVE THE DATE: WE NEED YOU AT THE OCTOBER 3 HEARING ON THE RULE-CHANGE

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) will hold a mandated public hearing on the proposed rule before enacting it. We encourage our supporters to attend and testify in favor of moving the horses into the park. It’s very important we have a huge showing of support for this momentous change! 

The public hearing will take place at 1 pm on October 3, 2018. The hearing will be in the DOT Bid Room at 55 Water Street, Concourse Level, New York, NY 10041. The entrance to the Bid Room is located on the southeast corner of 55 Water Street facing the NYC Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza Folks can sign up to testify before the hearing by calling 212-839-6500, or can sign up in person the day of the hearing. If you cannot attend in person and want to submit testimony online, you can do so by emailing your testimony to rules@dot.nyc.gov.
NYCLASS
http://www.nyclass.org/