McDonald’s depots blockaded by animal activists demanding chain goes vegan
McDonald’s distribution centres which supply around 1,300 restaurants have been blockaded by animal rights protestors demanding the chain goes vegan.
Around 50,000 members of Animal Rebellion have descended on four of the fast food giant’s major sites in a bid to persuade it to introduce a fully plant-based menu by 2025.
This is important in a way; but will have no real effect on you as visitors to this site.
I (Mark) will try to explain;
A ‘domain’ is a internet ‘address’ which can be used for global access by anyone. Here at WAV, our domain is ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’; we pay each year to have and retain this domain.
We have recently been informed by domain registrars in China that applications have been made for at least 4 domains for ‘World Animals Voice’ and that they will vary from our address – as far as we know, they are worldanimalsvoice.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.com.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.net.cn/ and worldanimalsvoice.org.cn
We have informed the registrar in China that these addresses applications are nothing to do with us (as we are UK and Germany controlled) or are they associated with us and that if they are taken out, then we will have no control over the content of same.
Our real ‘concern’ is that the name ‘worldanimalsvoice’; which we set up and use for this site, is / could be used (in China) when it has nothing to with us; having originated and been registered via the domain controller in China.
Our domain is only ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’
We hope that if these new domains are used, taking the name ‘world animals voice’; then they will be supportive of animal welfare / rights issues; and that their content will be positive towards animals. But we cannot guarantee this, or any of the content on any of these sites.
So you, as supporters to our site, can visit us you always do; but please just be wary that there may be other ‘world animals voice’ sites, namely (worldanimalsvoice.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.com.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.net.cn/ and worldanimalsvoice.org.cn) possibly being used. The info on them is not associated with us; has nothing to do with us and never will be controlled in any way by us.
There is no way to combat this and we have to accept the situation of world (computer) domains as it is.
Please put ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’ somewhere safe on your system so that you know this is the only way to access us. Any other address is outside of our control.
We trust you understand the situation and we will carry on with this site as always.
WAV Comment – Good animal friend; long time live exports campaigner, and environmentalist / farm animal campaigner, Philip, CEO at Compassion In World Farming, shares his feelings about progress for animals and their welfare in the UK last week; re the Queens Speech on upcoming government actions to change legislation.
CIWF
Historic Progress For Animals Announced
This week has been an historic moment for animal welfare in the UK with plans for key reforms announced by government, including legal recognition of animal sentience and a ban on live exports. These, and a suite of other measures, were outlined first in the Queen’s Speech and then in a Defra Action Plan. In total, 40 measures have been unveiled covering farmed, wild and companion animals, which together add up to the biggest welfare shake-up in a generation.
Plans are only as good as the implementation, of course, and Compassion will press hard to ensure government intentions become law. The reforms will be introduced as a series of Bills, with the one recognising animal sentience already having been introduced to the House of Lords.
The Bill provides legal recognition that vertebrate animals are sentient beings and intends assurance that their ability to suffer pain and experience joy, if we let them, will be taken into account in future government policies. Legal recognition of animals as sentient creatures has long been a cornerstone of our work at Compassion. Indeed, it was our founder, Peter Roberts, who first launched the idea in the 1980s. The battle was first won in the European Union in 1997 when legal recognition was attached as a protocol and then later an article in the EU treaty. As the recognition was in the EU treaty rather than a specific law, it wasn’t transposed into British legislation post-Brexit. The government’s new Bill proposes to rectify the situation.
All those years ago – Peter Roberts (foreground), Founder CIWF protests about intensive animal farming.
Another of our longstanding campaigns has been for a ban on the live export trade for slaughter and fattening. Always cruel and unnecessary, this trade has continued down the decades despite overwhelming public opposition. Quite why is a mystery, given the trade’s insignificance to the farming industry when set against overall meat exports.
It is a hugely welcome moment then that the UK government now proposes to end this indefensible trade once and for all. The proposal, of course, comes soon after our own Judicial Review of the Scottish Government over calf exports.
It is also tremendously important that these reforms are quickly followed with bans on other indefensible factory farm practices, including the keeping of mother pigs and chickens in cages.
Factory farming is finally being recognised more widely for what it is — a cruel and deeply damaging form of farming that only makes worse the climate, nature and pandemic emergencies now facing society.
What is crucial now is that Parliament and the UK government takes this opportunity to not only make these key reforms, but also to push on and end all forms of factory farming.
Thank you to everyone who has marched through the streets, written letters, signed petitions, switched their eating habits and got stories in the media calling for these reforms. It is testimony to your efforts over decades.
Whilst celebrating these hugely welcome plans, it is more important than ever before that we keep up the pressure until every last animal is free from the suffering of factory farming.
Djurskyddet Sverige publishes their guide to help consumers to make animal welfare conscious choices
Djurskyddet Sverige, published their own consumer guide, Handla Djurschysst. It is intended for Swedish citizens who want to make animal welfare-conscious food purchasing decisions.
The majority of Sweden’s adult population consumes animal-derived products. However, animal welfare remains an important consideration for Swedish consumers when purchasing meat, eggs, or milk. Yet, it is not always clear what distinguishes the rules of one label from another when it comes to how the animals were treated.
The goal of Handla Djurschysst is to help Swedish consumers make more animal welfare-conscious decisions, so Djurskyddet Sverige investigated labeling regulations to understand which animal welfare criteria each one covers. The guide also explains which standards are important for farm animals in terms of welfare, from the growing environment to the slaughter.
WAV Comment (Mark) – After more than 30 years of personally campaigning against this disgusting, barbaric trade; the news today (12/5/21) is finally looking good. “MINISTERS have published an action plan on animal welfare, looking at how to use Britain’s freedom outside the EU to increase standards”. Freedom outside of the EU; this legislation shows what can be done by individual nations when they do not have to bow to do nothing fools in Brussels.
I am checking and re checking everywhere to get confirmation; but as you can see below it looks positive.
I will write more on this as more detail is obtained.
Regards Mark
George Eustice, the environment secretary, said: “We are a nation of animal lovers and were the first country in the world to pass animal welfare laws.
Our action plan for animal welfare will deliver on our manifesto commitment to ban the export of live animal exports for slaughter and fattening, prohibit keeping primates as pets, and bring in new laws to tackle puppy smuggling.
As an independent nation, we are now able to go further than ever to build on our excellent track record.”
It can be a little confusing to non Brits, but the United Kingdom is literally what it says, ‘United Kingdoms’; formed by the (kingdom) nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Each has its own government; Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom
United Kingdon.
WAV Comment – there is a lot of talk going around that the UK Ministry Defra will aim to get legislation for a ban on live animal exports intorduced by the end of this year. They are currently going through all the submissions submitted to them; including a large proposal by ourselves. The UK government promised that once the UK had left the EU, it would be able to introduce legislation to ban all live animal exports, which it was unable to do as an EU member state. The consultation (now being reviewed by government) is part of that objective; and we are hopeful for good news in the coming months.
The State Opening Of Parliament – Good news for the environment and animals.
The StateOpening of Parliament is an event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the Queen’s Speech (or the King’s Speech if the UK has a male monrch).
It takes place in the House of Lords chamber on the first day of a new session, which is usually in May or June, and traditionally in November, but can occur at any time of year depending on the timing of General Elections and parliamentary session start dates.
It takes place in front of both Houses of Parliament. The monarch, wearing the Imperial State Crown, reads a speech that has been prepared by his or her government outlining its plans for that parliamentary year.
Basically, it outlines the major legislation that the government intends to introduce into UK law in the coming Parliamentary session.
This next session is going to see some positive legislation for both animals and the environment being passed into law, including:
Environment Bill
Another confirmed commitment is to new, legally binding environmental targets in the form of the much-delayed Environment Bill, which was was first launched in July 2018. The Government said it will pass the legislation in the run-up to the international Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow at the end of year.
Animal Sentience Bill
The Queen’s Speech will also ensure animals with a backbone will have a legal right to feel happiness and suffering. According to the Sunday Telegraph, an Animal Sentience Bill will enshrine in law that animals are aware of their feelings and emotions in order to make the UK a world leader in animal welfare.
Animals Abroad Bill
A new Animals Abroad bill is also expected to ban imports of hunting trophies, while a Kept Animals bill will ban families from keeping primates as pets.
Here is a further review of some other issues not related to animals or the environment:
Thanks as always to Stacey at ‘Our Compass’ for sending this info to us.
WAV Comment – (Mark): As and English activist that has campaigned against the calf trade and dairy industry for the last 30+ years; I find this video very disturbing. It is a complete and utter insult to all of us who have worked so very hard over the years to get this kind of thing stopped. Cruelty goes on, no matter where you are on the planet; and what you do to effectively try to stop it.
Please watch the video – the UK prides itself (quite rightly) on being a nation that prides itself on the way it treats and cares for animals. This video shows the dark side, the other side of the UK pride for animal welfare. It gets to me hard; as it will get to you hard; mere babies cruelly separated from their mothers just hours after birth; the despearate calls from both sides for the want to be together.
There is one simple way to avoid the situations you see in the video; and that is to completely ditch all dairy products and instead go plant based; it is so very easy nowdays.
We have fought over the years in the past; we fight now, and we will forever fight in the future until abuses like those shown here are confined to history books, and we have to explain to youngsters in future why we allowed such abuses to take place in the ‘recent past’.
Regards Mark
Source Expired: Dairy Still KillsWhy do some promote cow’s milk and cheese as “humane”? Consuming animals as well as their “products” is never a victimless activity regardless of how humans define it, those anthropomorphized tv demonstrations of happy cows and cows going to school are delusional deflections from the reality of hell they experience: all exploited animals die, most after brief lives of pain, torment, bodily control, and mutilation.
If you agree that such incalculable suffering and violent death of infants “from other countries” is horrific, you should read about how many infants are violently, fearfully butchered in the US yearly, page 6, and also note that the US, just as one example, exports animals and animal “products” globally.
USDA: 2019 Commercial calf slaughter totaled 587,000 head
Mind you, that number includes calves and not the mothers or the chickens or the lambs or the pigs or the fish: globally and yearly, trillions of unwilling animals are butchered.
If you consume animals or the secretions of animals and refuse to watch the violence and cruelty required for you because you find it “too distressing”, can you imagine having to actually experience it? Would you promote “humane euthanasia” of your cats or dogs in a slaughterhouse?
This really isn’t difficult: next time you make a choice, choose the one that doesn’t require such violence and misery, reaching for plant-based milks or plant-based cheeses or plant-based foods in general takes no additional effort. Nobody selects cows’ milk because it’s “naturally healthy”, that’s just the spin to validate your money subsidizing suffering. Cow’s milk is fortified with those “naturally healthy” benefits – ie, those vitamins are artificially added to it after it is stolen from the infants who it is “naturally” intended for – and the USDA includes soy milk as a healthy dairy food.
It’s bizarre that people pretend that drinking another species’ breastmilk, beyond infancy, and with teeth, causing preventable death to infants and mothers, is “healthy” or “natural”. SL
A staggering 65,000 male calves under a month old were killed in slaughterhouses in 2020 in the UK, more than the number shot on farms.
Latest figures show that 60,000 male dairy calves were killed on British farms – a part of the industry which often faces public criticism. With assurance schemes, supermarkets and dairy companies prohibiting the “routine euthanasia of healthy calves” – the shooting of calves on farms – what will be the fate of these previously killed waste products? Is this another ‘kinder option’ that the industry has created following on from the mass integration of the dairy and beef industries?
Red Tractor, Arla and Müller, plus many supermarkets including Tesco, Waitrose and Morrisons all have varying policies attempting to prevent this killing. But there are loopholes and calves will not always be protected. Some of these policies only protect calves for up to eight weeks old and others do not prevent calves being sold on at markets. Therefore, the fate of many of these calves is to enter the integrated calf rearing and fattening system, where they will be killed from 12 months old for their flesh. But thousands will still be unsuitable and unprofitable.
Oaklands Livestock Centre
‘Slaughter calves’ are bought by dealers from dairies and markets. Dealers are accountable for over half of all calves entering slaughterhouses.
We filmed calves being picked up from dairy farms, supplying Sainsbury’s via milk processor, Müller, by Oaklands Livestock Centre, owned by renowned calf dealer Derek Whittall.
Whittall buys and sells calves at Halls Shrewsbury Auction, as well as buying calves at Barbers Market in Market Drayton.
Whittall’s facility, Oaklands Livestock Centre, is in Shropshire. It is a busy hub for calves passing through. Centres like these are an integral part of the UK calf trade and aid the exploitation of calves. This site is also home to one of Blade Farming’s collection centres. Arla and Sainsbury’s have partnered with beef processor ABP through its Blade Farming operation. This aids the integration of the dairy and beef industries through rearing calves. Son of Oaklands’ Director, Josh Whittall, has been in charge of transport for some Blade Farming calves.
Some of the calves who arrive at Oaklands are destined to enter the integrated rearing system, and eventually be killed for their flesh. Many others will head straight to the slaughterhouse.
Arriving at the centre, calves were mercilessly unloaded. They were kicked and pushed down trailer ramps. Others were dragged up by their tails and ears.
We caught on camera the physical and verbal abuse of these vulnerable babies.
Gates were slammed on the calves, trapping their delicate legs. Plastic bags were waved around to scare the already distressed babies.
The violent culture of abuse amongst workers towards calves at Oaklands was normalised, condoned and seemed to be expected.
These incidents are highly distressing to watch, and not only do they breach transport and welfare legislation, they demonstrate a total lack of compassion and cause unnecessary pain, fear and suffering to the individual animals.
Molly Vasanthakumar Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery MRCVS
Naturally, calves drink from their mothers throughout the day and under legislation, those who are less than four weeks old must be fed two or more times in 24 hours. We filmed multiple groups of calves going without feeds for as long as 21 hours and others were fed only once in 29 hours. This was a regular occurrence during our filming.
Unweaned calves had no access to water.
Young calves paced and cried out. Being separated from their mothers and having milk restricted is highly distressing and dangerous for calves. When they were finally fed, they were often shown no patience. Some were thrown and hit and one was kicked in the face for not taking to the drinkers fast enough.
Some calves were loaded up and were left on a trailer for almost three hours. This is another clear breach of guidelines.
Oaklands takes many calves directly to slaughter. This is the heartbreaking, lesser-known part of the calf trade. Oaklands workers took calves to G. & G.B. Hewitt slaughterhouse in Chester, which they used to kill calves. Other agents including Livestock Supplies Ltd were caught on camera also taking calves there, taking almost 30 calves in February alone.
Calves are sent to the same slaughterhouses that kill larger animals such as sheep and adult cows. Their small frames are reflected in how tiny they look inside the walkways and holding pens.
We saw calves who were mercilessly stunned with a bolt gun before being strung up by their back legs and having their throats slit open to be ‘bled out’. The workers, desensitised to this horrific violence, took no hesitation in taking the lives of the calves. Curious and vulnerable babies were reduced to a mere profit-making product, hanging upside down and bleeding onto the slaughterhouse floor.
Their flesh will be sold for human consumption and their skin for leather.
Their captive bolt gun failed to stun a calf FOUR TIMES
There is no legislation covering the time between stunning and bleeding out but the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) states that “if it is possible to stick [cut the throat] within 15 seconds, then this should be the case”. We caught calves being left for over 40 seconds after stunning.
Could this cruel fate inside the slaughterhouse increase now that policies have been introduced to prohibit the killing of male calves on farms? Will we see slaughter figures increase? Ending the shooting of calves on farm will not end the killing inside slaughterhouses.
Whether they are killed at 10 days old or enter the “integrated rearing and fattening system” …
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copyHERE
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WAV Comment – we need to help SAFE (NZ) to get an immediate ban from the NZ government on the export of live animals. Please take action and send your mail as per the link below – it only takes a minute or two, but will make a huge difference – Thanks.
Regards Mark
Ban on live export by sea announced!
On 14 April 2021, Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor announced a ban on the export of live animals by sea. The trade will be phased out over the next two years.
Please email the Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture to thank themfor banning live export by sea and to demand that this ban be implemented immediately.
Take Action
Two years is too long – Demand an immediate ban on live export
This email will be sent directly to Rt Hon Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Minister of Agriculture Hon Damien O’Connor, and Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare) Hon Meka Whaitiri. You will also receive a copy for your records. Emails are public information ‒ if you would like any of your information withheld, please state this in your email.
This month, the New Zealand Government announced a ban on all livestock export by sea. More than 57,000 of you directly pleaded with our Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture, asking them both for a ban on cruel live export – and our voices were heard.While this is a historic step forward, we are concerned about the tens of thousands of animals that will continue to suffer for the next two years during phase-out, as well as the animals that continue to be exported by air.
The Minister for Agriculture has said he could end this trade now and he’s chosen not to.
This isn’t good enough for animals, and it’s not good enough for us as campaigners.
EU’s farmed animal welfare rules need ‘serious and extensive review’
The European approach to animal welfare has recently been the subject of a renewed debate. The pandemic has stressed the importance of a strong and sustainable food system and highlighted the links between our health, ecosystems, supply chains, and consumption patterns. Notably the one with farmed animals.
COVID-19 and climate change have alerted us of the need for a systematic change in the treatment of animals, says Inês Ajuda, farmed animals programme leader at Eurogroup for Animals.
Polls across the block confirm our interest in the well-being of farmed animals.
“The welfare of farmed animals is a shared concern for Europeans and it is part of our shared identity to ensure that farmed animals have a life worth living,” says Olga Kikou, head of the charity Compassion in World Farming.
But animal welfare rules have not just come to the forefront during the pandemic and have been a hot topic for decades.
In the European Union, discussions started in the 80s, which led to the adoption of a series of directives to protect farm animals. But they are often criticised for being too vague.
The directives and recommendations advise on matters such as space, balanced diets, environment, and limitation of harmful procedures. But animal welfare laws vary across Europe with northern states generally more strict.
Globally, the animal welfare acquis should ensure they have good physical health, mental wellbeing, and the ability to carry out natural behaviour. But the current rules can be problematic.
“As current things stand, it is easy to have a vague interpretation of what the general farming directive means, and this can lead to serious problems for animal welfare,” says Ajuda.
Some companies do not comply with the directions, but what’s more important is that even when they do adhere, many irregularities occur because laws are so outdated.
For example, “there is no legislation requiring particular space or housing conditions for fish, or for transporters to provide for their welfare.”
Ajuda says science has considerably advanced since the rules were first established, so the “Animal Welfare acquis needs a serious and extensive review.”
The opportunity for change appears to be in the works
The European Green Deal has come to set core policy initiatives to make Europe climate neutral in 2050. A healthier and more sustainable EU food system is a cornerstone of this deal, and a special programme has been designed to achieve it, Farm to Fork.
The initiative has set an ambitious target for the European agriculture industry, which animal farming is considered an integral part of.
Good animal welfare standards have been shown to help reduce the dependence on excessive veterinary medication, which is also one of the key goals of the Farm to Fork strategy.
The extensive use of antibiotics is a concern because of the potential development of antibiotic resistance, which could compromise animal and human health.
When an animal is suffering from stress because it is, for example in a cage, like a mother pig that can’t properly interact with her piglets because she can’t turn around or reach them, “it usually leads to an impact on the immune system, which then leads to susceptibility, making them more prone to disease, and this means more antibiotic use,” says Ajuda, who is also a veterinarian.
The Farm to Fork strategy is calling for a review of the EU’s animal welfare legislation, which brings many promises to change current standards and ensure that the welfare of farmed animals is substantially improved.
“Phasing out cages is indeed one of the most pressing issues that require the EU’s attention. Another key issue the EU needs to tackle is the transport of live animals and their exports to third countries,” says Olga Kikou.
Like us at WAV, Ethical Farming Ireland is into live animal transport – live exports; in a big way.
Below at the end of this post is a link to their site, which features many interesting articles for you to have a look at, and see the reality of very young calves being exported live from Ireland – something we have been personally very involved with in the past.
Check out all our investigation work at About Us. | Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) – scroll down until you see the young calf pictures (as above); and you can read one of the investigation reports we produced (one of five) and which were presented to the EU in report form.
Here is the direct link to the aforementioned report if you wish to avoid visiting SAV; although we suggest a look as the site also covers many other campaign actions from the past:
Undercover investigation report link as presented to the EU (1 of 5 investigations):
World Animals Voice 