The Belgian parliament passed a national trade ban on ivory on the evening of 4 April.Exceptions, however, continue to apply to processed ivory, which was acquired before 1975.
The Belgian Ministry of the Environment has up to now spoken out against trade restrictions – but now supports a ban in Belgium and at EU level.
Thus, the pressure on other EU member states and the EU Commission to prohibit trade increases. Daniela Freyer of the animal and species protection organization Pro Wildlife comments:
“We hope that the turnaround in Belgium will help finally usher in the end of the ivory trade in Europe. Germany and the EU should not be in bottom position and should finally ban the ivory trade. “
In July 2018, the Federal Government, together with France, Great Britain and Luxembourg, demanded EU-wide restrictions on the ivory trade.
“Because of the inaction of the EU, all these countries have already acted at national level – only Germany so far not” so Daniela Freyer (ProWildlife)
The United Kingdom adopted the strictest ban in December 2018, Luxembourg in July 2018, Belgium on April 4, 2019. France has already imposed trade restrictions in 2016 and the Netherlands has at least prohibited the sale of tusks and other raw ivory since March 2019.
The EUhas been strongly criticized for years: despite numerous international resolutions and demands for a closure of the ivory markets and although the international ivory trade has been banned since 1990, it still allows the trade in ivory from alleged old stocks, sometimes even without permission and thus without control options.
Ivory poaching elephants can be traded through this loophole.
In addition, the EUis the largest exporter of supposedly “old” ivory to Asia, the largest market for ivory.
“The sale of ivory in the EU and exports to Asia undermine global efforts to control poaching and trafficking,” said the Pro Wildlife spokeswoman. The EU has already announced steps against the ivory trade three years ago, but has so far only banned the export of full tusks and other raw ivory. Export and trade of ivory carvings are still allowed.
China, formerly the largest market for legal and illegal ivory, had already closed its ivory shops and carving factories in early 2018. Demand and black market prices have fallen significantly since then. In the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, an ivory ban should come into force in 2021, in Taiwan in 2020. The vast majority of African states that have joined forces in the 32-member African Elephant Coalition, conservationists, scientists, the European Parliament and some traders demand a trade ban for a long time. The result of a public consultation of the EU Commission is also clear:92 percent of the almost 90,000 responses call for a consistent ban on ivory trade in the EU. In petitions by animal and species protection organizations, well over one million people have called for a ban.
“It is high time that the EU rejects bloody ivory trade once and for all, and that it no longer ignores international decisions, demands from African states, the European Parliament, scientists, animal rights activists and more than one million EU citizens”, so Daniela Freyer
The closing of the ivory markets will also be the focus of attention at the forthcoming CITES Species Protection Conference in Sri Lanka from the end of May.
Background of the story
So far in the EU the trade with ivory from allegedly legal old stock,which was acquired before 1990, is allowed.
For alleged antiquities acquired before 1947, not even approvals are required. Reliable age determination is almost impossible, checking the legality of “antiques” that are offered on the Internet, in auction houses, in shops and flea markets are rare. These exceptions therefore make it possible to infiltrate poached ivory into legal trade.
In addition, in recent years the EU has become the largest exporter of “legal” ivory to Asia: in 2015 alone, EU countries exported 10,000 pieces of ivory – mainly to China.
Currently, every year about 20,000 elephants are poached for the ivory trade.
My comment: Every day we get a new reason to be against the EU. The more informed one is, the greater is the anger, the rejection, but also the fear that nothing positive and ethical can arise for the animals under this oligarchic gang. Stefan B. Eck, the well-known MEP, has officially told the European Commission: “EU parliamentarians are no longer allowed to use the word ” morality ” in their mouths”!
And he was right!!
The EU (and that means above all Germany) is nothing more than a lobby for the exploitation of animals, regardless of the form in which it occurs: aggrar lobby, trophy hunting, meat mafia, animal experimentation, circus with wild animal…. The list is so long that you lose your courage, keep counting.
Thank you, Belgium! We need more courage, independence and resistance from the inner circle of the EU, because obviously, the will of EU citizens to abolish the suffering of animals interests the EU a shit.
New Mexico Bans Destructive Coyote-killing Contests
Governor Lujan Grisham Signs Bill Abolishing Organized Competition Killing of Coyotes for Prizes, Entertainment
SANTA FE, N.M.— New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham today signed bipartisan legislation that prohibits organizing, sponsoring or participating in coyote-killing contests in the state. Several conservation organizations praised the governor for signing the progressive, science-based legislation into law.
During these contests, participants compete to kill the greatest number, the largest or even the smallest coyotes for entertainment and prizes. At least 30 such contests are known to take place annually in New Mexico.
The bill, SB 76, was spearheaded by state senators Mark Moores (R-Albuquerque) and Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces). The bill was carried on the House floor by Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo).
“Killing contests are just blood sports. All they are about is killing as many animals as you can, and not about protecting livestock or property,” said Sen Moores. “No one is trying to restrict landowners’ ability to kill offending coyotes, but celebrating mass killing is just not good wildlife management.”
“With the signing of this bill, New Mexico is sending a powerful message that we value our wildlife and humane treatment of them,” said Sen. Steinborn.
“This victory has been nearly two decades in the making, the culmination of a homegrown campaign waged by thousands of dedicated New Mexicans appalled that these gruesome blood sports are hosted in our state,” said Jessica Johnson, chief legislative officer for Animal Protection Voters. “Today, we as a state are taking a giant step toward thoughtful, humane wildlife management and basic human decency.”
“This law makes New Mexico a leader in following sound science in its treatment of wild carnivores,” said Michael Robinson, senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. “We celebrate for coyotes, for endangered wolves that might have been mistakenly killed and for our children learning that humane values are New Mexico values.”
“There is no documented scientific evidence that coyote killing contests serve any legitimate wildlife management purpose,” said Albuquerque-based Project Coyote Science Advisory Board member Dave Parsons, a retired career wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We applaud Gov. Lujan Grisham for taking a strong stance against these ethically and ecologically indefensible events.”
“Coyotes as a species don’t deserve to be vilified. They are important ecosystem managers that regulate populations of rodents and rabbits which are significant competitors for forage with other native herbivores and even livestock,” said Mary Katherine Ray, wildlife chair of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter and long-time resident of rural Socorro county. “The random mass killing of coyotes that occurs with killing competitions is like targeting every cocker spaniel, a similarly sized canine, for death because one may have behaved problematically. The governor was right to sign the bill to stop this.”
“This is a huge victory for New Mexico’s wildlife and New Mexicans,” said Amanda Munro, communications director for the Southwest Environmental Center. “Our wildlife deserves management that reflects broad public opinion, respects all wildlife, and is informed by modern ecological understanding about the value of all species. This bill takes New Mexico a giant step in that direction.”
“These contests are abhorrent and unjustifiable — they are neither hunting nor wildlife management,” said Christopher Smith, southern Rockies wildlife advocate for WildEarth Guardians. “Banning this activity is a step towards science-based and ethical wildlife management and we are grateful to the bill’s sponsors and supporters and the governor.”
In January, New Mexico State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard signed an executive order prohibiting wildlife killing contests for unprotected species on State Trust Lands. California banned the awarding of prizes for killing furbearer and nongame species in 2014, and Vermont banned coyote killing contests in 2018. Cities and counties in Arizona, New Mexico, and Wisconsin have passed resolutions condemning wildlife killing contests.
Background
Wildlife-killing contests occur throughout the United States. The best available science indicates that indiscriminately killing coyotes disrupts pack social structures, which can lead to increased depredation and compensatory breeding.
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View a statement signed by more than 70 conservation scientists condemning coyote killing contests here.
In the following we are giving web site links to major animal welfare organisations from across the globe who are fighting a whole range of different animal welfare related issues. We are not specifically detailing what each group campaigns for as we would like to see them each get many visits and possibly ‘open up’ their work to new supporters.
There may be some that you have not heard of before ! – take a look at their sites.
These are the more major campaign groups who have web links. If we also listed smaller(national only) facilities in countries all over the world we would never finish.
Hunters in Canada want to be allowed to club to death tens of thousands more baby seals each year in an expansion of their annual cull.
Hunting groups are lobbying the country’s government to approve a wider slaughter of seals and sea lions for their fur – including in a nature reserve.
The proposals have prompted anger from animal lovers and fresh lobbying of prime minister Justin Trudeau – who already reportedly receives more correspondence on the subject than any other, even climate change.
But scientists dispute that culls help salmon and cod stocks, warning any fall in whales’ prey could lead to the giant mammals starving.
“Seals are being used as a scapegoat, just like whales were once blamed for fishery declines,” Hal Whitehead, a marine biologist from Halifax, Nova Scotia, told The Guardian.
Demand for the fur plummeted after the EU in 2009 banned imports following uproar over clubbing, and hunters are now trying to compensate for lost income.
About 6,000 fishermen, mostly from Newfoundland, join the annual hunt.
Experts say a small market for seal oil exists, and seal parts are sold in Asia as an aphrodisiac.
THIS below is the sick moment a dad and son high-five after slaying a defenceless bear and cubs as they hibernate in their den.
The footage which captured the illegal killing on Esther Island, in the Gulf of Alaska, comes from a camera which had been set up to study the animals.
Read the rest of the article; complete with video footage of the event, at:
In January, the father and son were brought to court and sentenced for killing the bears, and then lying to officials after they found out the bear was collared.
They both pleaded guilty to multiple misdemeanour counts including the illegal killing of the bears.
Andrew was sentenced to five months in jail with two months suspended, a fine of $20,000 (£15,300).
Owen was sentenced to suspended jail time and community service.
Both had their hunting licenses revoked, Andrew for 10 years, and Owen’s for two years.
WAV Comment: They must be real men – they shoot animals ! – or should that be ‘try to look tough real assholes’ ?
One-time Disy MP Evgenios Hamboullas sparked outrage on Friday after he urged people in Famagusta (a city on the east coast Cyprus) to attack and beat up foreign activists fighting the illegal hunting of songbirds.
His outburst came after a statement by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter(Cabs) said 29 of its volunteers had collected 2,596 limesticksand 53 nets in the district, one of two main hotspots for bird trapping, a lucrative business that fetches millions to poachers.
In a rant on his Facebook page Hamboullas accused the authorities of treason and urged residents to attack the activists.
“They are not aktivists, they are shit ruffians!! Break their bones wherever you find them and if you can’t, call me and I will help,” said Hamboullas.
The remark sparked outrage elsewhere on the island with people calling on Disy chief Averof Neophytou to oust Hamboullas from the party.
“It was an unacceptable post. There is no excuse. He ought to withdraw and apologise in public,” Neophytou said on Twitter.
Hamboullas has since removed the post.
This was not the first time Hamboullas caused a stir regarding the issue.
While in parliament in January 2016, he had posted a photo on social media of himself at a dinner table with a platter of songbirds.
MP Hamboullas seen here enjoying ambelopoulia
He claimed he did it because he supported legalisation of hunting blackcaps, or ambelopoulia as they are known locally, albeit not with limesticks and nets, as is the current practice.
The attorney-general chose not to press charges at the time because putting together a criminal against a sitting MP for eating illegal game was difficult.
My comment: In no other country in the European Union does poaching go to such an extent. 4,000 poachers (at 1,120,489 island inhabitants) are said to have contributed to the cruel killing last year and more than 2 million birds were killed.
And this is how the serial killers act: Rods are smeared with an odorless and colorless glue and placed on attractive -for the birds- landing sites; the birds stick to it and are at the mercy of their tormentors – the fishing method was already used in the Stone Age.
And in no other country are the authorities so powerless and inactive. The captured birds have become a big business for catchers, butchers and restaurats. The police pushes more than one eye – glue rods and nets are considered at best as a trivial offense, if not a venerable tradition!
The illegal hunters earn about 15 million euros annually – of course, black. The estimate is from the year 2010 and should not have changed downwards.
We believe that immediately! if the kickback Hamboullas from the affair comes unpunished only with the deletion of a line in his Facebook page, then we have again learned something from corruption in politics.
On the other hand, they are all directly or indirectly supported by a society of lackeys. A population that lets such murders happen in front of their eyes and does so with the justification, there is always something more important in life than the murder and suffering of other beings.
This is the time of year once again when Canadians will start smashing in the heads of young seal pups.
Does Canada not realise that it is hated the world over for allowing this hunt to take place each year ?
Why does the World hate me ? – says the animal abuser
Why does the World hate me ? – says the animal abuser
Below are a few facts and links which we hope will give you more information on what is going on. Like all hunters, the Canadian government is supporting those which murder seals – ‘they take our fish’ – OUR fish ?? – or do they mean beings of the sea which are taken as a food source by other animals of the sea ?
It is illegal in Canada to hunt newborn harp seals (whitecoats) and young hooded seals (bluebacks). When the seal pups begin to molt their downy white fur at the age of 12–14 days, they are called “ragged-jacket” and can be commercially hunted.
Hunters in Canada target harp seal pups because of their soft fur. But law prohibits hunters from killing pups that have yet to grow out of their white coat, like this baby’s. Harp seals aren’t endangered, but melting ice because of climate change is killing pups.
In recent years, hundreds of thousands of seals have been killed annually in the commercial seal hunt. More than one million seals have been slaughtered in the past five years alone. These kill levels are among the highest witnessed in Canada in half a century.
In March of 1976, he and Paul Watson (now Sea Shepherd) stood on the heaving ice floes off the coast of Labrador as a large sealing ship bore down on them.
As the vessel bore down on them and the ice cracked and split beneath their feet, I (Paul) said to Bob,
“when it splits, I’ll jump to the left and you to the right.”
Bob looked straight ahead and calmly said, “I’m not going anywhere.”
We decided after reading recent hit reports from other activists that it was time we did something about it as well.
The game farm at ‘Chilmark Common’is just south of the village of Chilmark. We found 8 very large pens each pen had approximately 400-600 birds, totaling somewhere between 3,200-4,800!
These breeding birds would have gone on to produce tens of thousands of offspring that would have been reared in factory farm conditions, to be put into pheasant pens in the late summer then shot.By releasing the breeding birds now, we hope that far fewer birds will go on to be shot this Winter.
We removed fence panels from the end of each pen, then walked through the pen and hearded the pheasants out, closing the pen behind us after each one so that they didn’t run back in.
It was an incredible sensation to be amongst all these birds, who were making their first flights without bashing into a net. We hope they find peace in the surrounding woods.
My comment: Growing pheasants in large farms (factory farming, like any other) is only for sale to hunters at certain times. These hunters, who are mostly rich or even aristocrats, have large hunting grounds, where pheasants (and other breeding birds) are kept to be shot down.
In order to make it easy prey later and to avoid injuries due to the density in factory farming, the beak tips are tilted or the animals get grotesque masks, view barrier in front of the eyes or beak barrier.
Foto: VGT
It is a feudal hunting practice and a very expensive business. For the breeders, for the area owner, and for the psychopaths, who pay dearly to shoot the animals.
In this case: not only animals are liberated here, but a business of about half a million Euros has certainly been destroyed.
MP Hamboullas seen here enjoying ambelopoulia
Foto: VGT
World Animals Voice 