Category: Vivisection

General News, Vivisection

More than a Million (1,413,383) European Citizens Demand an End to Animal Testing.

More than a million European citizens demand an end to animal testing

31 August 2022

Press Release

The ECI Cruelty Free Cosmetics closed last night with a blast: 1.413.383 signatures collected in one year. Twice in less than a decade, over one million people across Europe have clearly said that animal testing must end.

Over ten million animals – cats, dogs, rabbits, mice and others – are harmed every year in research and testing in laboratories around Europe.

Now European citizens are demanding an end to the harmful use of animals in cosmetics and other chemical tests, as well as an ambitious plan to bring all experiments on animals to an end. 

The European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI) Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics closed on Wednesday 31st August with 1.413.383 signatures collected in one year. It’s an unprecedented milestone since this is the second ECI on this issue that has surpassed the one million signature mark, the first was Stop Vivisection in 2015. 

This overwhelming support of EU citizens to end animal testing echoes the position taken last year by the European Parliament, which lead to a resolution calling on the European Commission to coordinate, together with Member States, a concrete plan to accelerate the transtion to non-animal testing.

Considering the health, environmental and political challenges that Europe and the world are currently facing, the huge public support sends a very clear signal to Europe’s lawmakers about the continued strong demands on this issue. We hope that this time the European Commission, and national governments, respect the positions of the public and the European Parliament and act now to put forward an ambitious and urgent plan to transition to an animal-free science, delivering better protection of humans, other animals, and the environment alike.

Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals

The Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics ECI was launched in August 2021 by animal protection organisations Cruelty Free Europe, PETA, Eurogroup for Animals, the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, and HSI/Europe with the support of global beauty and personal care companies The Body Shop and Dove, and was actively promoted by a coalition of groups and campaigners from every corner of Europe. 

This mass mobilisation of citizens proves once again that there’s no room for animal experiments in the EU. The ECI results and the EP Resolution set the way forward for Europe as the time is right for an ambitious phase-out plan, with clear milestones and achievable objectives.

Tilly Metz MEP (Greens/EFA, LU), Chairwoman of the Animals in Science Working Group of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals

Our movement has once again raised the voices of citizens and of animals in laboratories, we are incredibly proud of this collaborative landmark and we look forward to a successful validation of the signatures.

Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals

Notes

1. The End Animal Testing European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) has brought together a network of NGOs across Europe. This is the first time in history that this number of European organisations has come together for animals in laboratories. 

2. For more information on European Citizens’ Initiatives see the ECI Factsheet on the European Parliament website. 

Regards Mark

General News, Live Transport, Vivisection

China: Hainan Airlines alleged illegal monkey shipment prompts complaint from animal rights activists.

Major airlines apparent illegal monkey shipment prompts complaint from animal rights activists Image: WICHAI WONGJONGJAIHAN/Shutterstock.com

AN alleged illegal transportation of monkeys by China’s Hainan Airlines has prompted a complaint from animal rights activists, PETA.

The American non-profit animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement after Hainan Airlines reportedly shipped 720 endangered long-tailed macaques in the month of August from Cambodia to Chicago.

The USDA confirmed that it had cancelled Hainan Airline’s registration in May, making this shipment an apparent violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), the organisation said on Thursday, August 25.

“Based on a whistleblower report, the monkeys were sent to a facility operated by Envigo Global Services Inc. in Alice,” PETA said in a statement.

It added: “Envigo has repeatedly shown that it values profits over animal welfare.

“Following PETA’s undercover investigation into Envigo’s beagle-breeding facility in Virginia last year, the USDA cited the company for 48 violations of the AWA and a US Department of Justice civil case led Envigo to announce that it will shut down the facility.

“In 2019, the USDA also cited the company’s monkey facility in Texas with a critical violation of the AWA for failing to provide 25 monkeys with food for six days. Envigo had to euthanise two of these animals because they were so severely starved.”

PETA Senior Science Advisor Dr Lisa Jones-Engel said: “Whether you’re talking about beagles or monkeys, Envigo cannot be trusted to take care of animals or safeguard public health.

“Monkeys brought in from squalid farms in Asia endure terrifying, gruelling journeys and can harbour everything from Ebola to malaria. If Hainan can’t be bothered to do the minimum of registering itself as required and Envigo doesn’t ensure that its carrier is legitimate, we have to ask whether they’re following any of the protocols required for public safety.”

Long-tailed macaques are now recognised as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the company noted.

“[This is in] large part due to their exploitation as part of the international wildlife trade to U.S. laboratories, where they’re mutilated, poisoned, deprived of food and water, forcibly immobilised in restraint devices, infected with painful and deadly diseases, psychologically tormented, and killed.”

Hainan appears to be one of the last airlines still shipping monkeys to laboratories.

In January, Kenya Airways ended the practice just 24 hours after discussions with PETA US, Air France followed suit in June after a decade-long campaign by PETA entities, and EGYPTAIR stopped shipping monkeys earlier this month following PETA entities’ global protests.

Regards Mark

Hainan Airlines alleged illegal monkey shipment prompts complaint from animal rights activists – Euro Weekly News

General News, Uncategorized, Vivisection

EU: Citizens Initiative – Animal Cosmetic Testing – EU Citizens ONLY. Please Sign and Pass on; Completion Date End August 2022.

It is essential that we obtain over 1 million signatures for this from EU citizens only as possible.

The target has not yet quite been reached –

Please sign, share and pass on, thank you.

https://eci.ec.europa.eu/019/public/#/screen/home

Deadline: 31/08/2022

Objectives

With the EU ban on cosmetics tests on animals came the promise of a Europe in which animals no longer suffer and die for the sake of cosmetics. That promise has been broken. Authorities still demand animal tests on ingredients used in cosmetics, which goes against the expectations and wishes of the public and the intention of legislators.

Yet, never have we had such powerful non-animal tools for assuring safety or such a golden opportunity to revolutionise human and environmental protection. The European Commission must uphold and strengthen the ban and transition to animal-free safety assessment.

We call on the European Commission to do the following:

1. Protect and strengthen the cosmetics animal testing ban.
Initiate legislative change to achieve consumer, worker, and environmental protection for all cosmetics ingredients without testing on animals for any purpose at any time.

2. Transform EU chemicals regulation.
Ensure human health and the environment are protected by managing chemicals without the addition of new animal testing requirements.

3. Modernise science in the EU.
Commit to a legislative proposal plotting a roadmap to phase-out all animal testing in the EU before the end of the current legislative term.

Start of the collection period

31/08/2021

EUROPEAN CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE – Central online collection system

SAVE CRUELTY FREE COSMETICS – COMMIT TO A EUROPE WITHOUT ANIMAL TESTING

Info about (Progress of) Initiative:

https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/initiatives/details/2021/000006_en

With thanks to Di for getting this;

Regards Mark

General News, Uncategorized, Vivisection

Pakistan: PETA, has offered to help Pakistan implement humane practices in veterinary and medical schools and end animal testing in Pakistan through a series of reforms.

ISLAMABAD: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a US-based animal rights non-profit organisation, has offered to help Pakistan implement humane practices in veterinary and medical schools and end animal testing in Pakistan through a series of reforms.

The offer was made during a zoom meeting between the prime minister’s strategic reforms adviser, Salman Sufi, and PETA President Ingrid Newkirk, Chief of the Science Advancement and Outreach Division Dr Katherine Roe and Vice President of International Laboratory Methods Shalin Gala on July 22, 2022.

PETA had approached Mr Sufi, after a viral video footage revealed veterinary students in at least three institutions in Pakistan were involved in inhumane practices on animals, such as operating on animals without anaesthetics and denying them post-operative care despite excruciating pain.

On June 30, Salman Sufi announced an initial set of historic strategic reforms that included barring animals from being used for live testing in any veterinary college or industrial complex in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

“This is a great start and we fully support this measure, and we agreed that more can and should be done since many of the veterinary schools are geographically outside of ICT and are not obligated to follow this new reform policy,” said PETA in a response.

It underscored Pakistan should issue a circular or a regulatory reform that explicitly embraced humane simulation training models for veterinary education and ban training methods that were not medically necessary and did not directly benefit animals involved at the federal level or through the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council.

PETA cited numerous simulation models for both basic and advanced veterinary and zoology training, such as SynDaver Surgical Canine model, the Critical Care Jerry and Critical Care Fluffy models, the Virtual Animal Anatomy, and Biosphera softwares, to avoid harming animals during the training.

“As such, we are proposing a new collaboration with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Salman Sufi to help provide advanced simulation models so that universities in Pakistan can transition to harm-free and humane veterinary education. We are currently working with Salman Sufi to gather information and do an assessment of the universities’ needs with respect to acquiring simulation models so we can best plan how to assist them,” Ms Gala said.

In response to questions on areas of collaboration with Pakistan, PETA shared more topics that it was addressing with Mr Sufi, such as modernising medical training.

Shalin Gala said before the current Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) came into being, PETA was in communication with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to advise them on various reforms for their undergraduate medical (or MBBS) curriculum to replace the use of animals nationwide with non-animal methods.

According to Ms Gala, PETA had advised them to adopt its proposed curriculum reform language stating, “no animals or animal parts shall be used for any aspect of the MBBS curriculum including but not limited to practical labs, learning objectives, contents, teaching/learning strategy, teaching aids and assessments. Only non-animal teaching, learning, demonstration and assessment methods shall be used such as didactic methods, interactive computer-aided learning (CAL), human patient simulators (HPS), human cadavers, supervised clinical practice or other non-animal models”.

This reform, if enacted, would mirror similar reforms adopted internationally as well, she added.

“We would like for Pakistan’s MBBS curriculum to have the same non-animal training standard and use modern simulation technology. We hope to work with Salman Sufi to move this strategic reform forward, which will put Pakistan’s medical education system in sync with the US, Canada, India and others that no longer use animals for undergraduate medical training,” Ms Gala said.

In 2014, following discussions with PETA India, the University Grants Commission in India issued a notification ending dissection and experimentation, for training purposes, in university and college zoology and life sciences undergraduate and postgraduate courses, sparing 19 million animals in that country alone from being killed and cut apart for dissection every year.

PETA asserted its scientists were eager to work with Mr Sufi on setting up a national database in Pakistan for approved non-animal biomedical research and training methods, and drafting regulatory language that the use of animals for such purposes must be replaced by approved non-animal methods that appear in the database.

It also intended to assist conduct scientific reviews of the efficacy of animal use to identify additional areas in which such use had failed to advance human health, or in which non-animal methods were now available, and could be ended quickly.

While technical skills were important, it was also of the utmost importance to instill a culture of care in veterinary training. Creating a dichotomy between the animals used for training and the animal companions seen in an examination room did not benefit the veterinary profession, according to PETA.

“We are currently exploring ways to create materials relevant to Pakistani society and potentially incorporating this compassion-building programme into current school curricula,” the animal rights organisation said.

In response to a question on trafficking of animals, PETA said Mr Sufi mentioned his proposed reform to seize wildlife held in unsuitable living conditions and repatriate them to relevant countries for rehabilitation.

Rights body ready to help end animal testing in medical schools – Pakistan – DAWN.COM

Regards Mark

General News, Vivisection

EU: New EU reports show continued difficulties in replacing the use of animals despite availability of alternative methods.

New EU reports show continued difficulties in replacing the use of animals despite availability of alternative methods

2 August 2022

The European Commission has released the latest annual statistical report on the use of animals for scientific purposes in European Union Member States and Norway in 2019.

The objective of the annual reports is to structure the data for an improved understanding of where and how animals are still used in science today. This way of reporting is expected to help identify areas where animals are used on which efforts for the development and validation of alternative approaches can be focused.

However, the many efforts of the European Commission and Member States to advance science without the use of animals are still not delivering concrete and sustainable reductions on the use of animals in science.

The newly released report found that 10.4 million animals were used in research, testing and education in 2019 – a decrease of 1.5% from 2018. However, the total number of uses of animals in EU-28 increased 2% in 2019. 

Additionally, 1.2 million animals were reported to be used for the creation and maintenance of groups of genetically altered (GA) animals. Although this represents a 20% decrease from the numbers reported in 2018, the continuous fluctuations of this number is attributed to a continuous inaccurate reporting from the users of animals.

Many students in the EU still get used to practising a myriad of procedures on animals, where alternative teaching and training methods are available, reinforcing a culture that accepts the use of animals as mere tools. Rodents, cats, dogs, horses, donkeys, pigs, sheep, cows, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and cephalopods were used for the main purpose of education and training in 2019. In total, 163,047 animals were used and 10% of these animals were genetically modified.

Increases in the use of certain species and purposes are also worrying. The use of cats increased by 40%.

The numbers reported under the category “Other rodents” increased by 70%.

The use of cephalopods increased by 398%, and the uses of animals for preservation of species and protection of the natural environment increased approximately 170%.

The use of dogs, however, decreased 26%.

In 2017 and 2018, for the first time, ten non-human primates were used for the creation of new genetically altered animal lines. In 2019, this increased to 43 non-human primates. These animals are being bred in Germany. Although they have not yet been used in research projects, the creation of this new genetically altered group is intended to be used for basic research, such as to explore biological processes, without having a clearly defined potential applied benefit for humans’ or other animals’ health, or for the environment.

In 2019, as in previous years and of particular concern, animals continued to be used in areas where alternative, non-animal methods are already available. Six Member States still report having used the mouse ascites method for the production of monoclonal antibodies, mainly in France. 

Overall, the report found that 9% of all uses of animals (1.054.535 uses) inflicted severe suffering.

Regards Mark

Comment from Jack – thanks Jack.

Humans are the worst species on the planet. A parasite.

Leave the nonhuman life alone!!!!!!!

General News, Vivisection

EU: Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU – Legislation That ‘Protects’ Animals Used In Research.

WAV Comment: Lets hope that this EU legislation provides better protection for research animals than the farce named (EU) Regulation 1/2005 which is supposed to ‘protect’ live animals during transport. That certainly does not work and never has. Bets on this being any better please !

Regards Mark

Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU

Directive 2010/63/EU is the European Union legislation that protects animals being used in research. Directive 2010/63/EU is the European Union (EU) legislation “on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes” and is one of the most stringent ethical and welfare standards worldwide. The Directive repealed Directive 86/609/EEC.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudr/2010/63

The present report provides recommendations that can improve Member States’ reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU.

A better and more harmonised reporting by Member States will further increase transparency and openness, and will enable the assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU among all Member States.

Our recommendations are based on the new reporting requirements set out in the sections of Annex II of Commission Implementing Decision 2020/569/EU, and on best practices among the replies of the Member States to the EC 2018 survey on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU.

Check the individual EU member state reports here:

This report provides recommendations that can improve member states reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU.

Czechia – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Denmark – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Finland – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

France – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Germany – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Hungary – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Ireland – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Italy – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Poland- Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Spain – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Sweden – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

The Netherlands – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

General – Improving the Reporting on the implementation of Directive 2010/63/EU | Eurogroup for Animals

Regards Mark

General News, Vivisection

Netherlands: Proefdiervrij launched a campaign and petition calling for non-animal science solutions to the human organ shortage.

 Not normal – Animals shouldn’t have to suffer due to organ shortage

28 July 2022

Proefdiervrij

 

Proefdiervrij launched a campaign and petition calling for non-animal science solutions to the human organ shortage.

There is an ongoing chronic shortage of suitable human organs for life-saving transplantation. Animal to human transplantation, known as xenotransplantation, has been heralded as the solution to save patients’ lives. Earlier this year, a US man became the world’s first person to get a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig. Unfortunately, the patient died two months after the transplant.

Proefdiervrij are countering this movement to regard animals as spare parts for humans with their online campaign Niet. Gewoon. (Not. Normal.). The foundation that strives for a future without animal testing thinks it is not normal to make animals suffer for the sake of people and wants to make people think more about this controversial subject.

Proefdiervrij wants to move away from outdated methods that cause pain suffering and distress to animals and is focused on human-oriented methods to solve the donor shortage, including a growing investment in disease prevention, the improvement of the still ineffective system of organs donations, and on furthering the technologies that are already providing solutions for some transplantation needs.

For example, at the end of 2021, researchers at UMC Utrecht implanted a complete artificial heart for the first time in the Netherlands. The outside of the heart is made of plastic and the inside is lined with biological material. At the time of this transplant, this was still animal material, but in the future this could hopefully also be human tissue. 

Culturing human organoids is also a step towards cultivating organs. Researchers in America have already developed a 3D biological structure for organs that will hopefully one day allow us to grow fully functional human organs in the lab.

Organ regeneration is the body’s ability to repair damaged tissue itself. UMC Utrecht has a department that focuses entirely on regeneration. This department investigates, for example, the regeneration of cardiovascular tissue. 

Biomimicry uses synthetic materials and grows tissues from the patients’ own stem cells, which also carries less risk of organ rejection than using animal organs. 

In the Netherlands, animal organ transplantation is prohibited.

And it should stay that way. Using animals to solve human problems is a step back in time and we want to prevent donor animals from becoming the new generation of laboratory animals.

Debby Weijers, director of Stichting Proefdiervrij

Read more at source

Proefdiervrij

Regards Mark

General News, Vivisection

EU: New study highlights need to shift towards the use of non-animal ingredients in in vitro methods,

New study highlights need to shift towards the use of non-animal ingredients in in vitro methods

25 July 2022

The European Commission, academia and animal protection organisations co-authored a study to identify challenges and put forward proposals to promote the use of non-animal ingredients in in vitro methods.

Non-animal methods are increasingly used in research and testing, but some of these methods still use animal-derived components. Cell- and tissue-based models routinely use, for example, coating materials, growth factors and antibodies that are derived from non-human animals. These animals can experience severe pain depending on the procedures they are subjected to. Besides the ethical concerns, the use and production of animal-derived components also raises many scientific issues, generally associated with the presence of undefined components and batch-to-batch variability, which may compromise the trustworthiness of the experimental results. However, non-animal components are becoming increasingly available, and their use is encouraged in EU legislation and in guidelines of the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Non-animal components include, for example, human cells, alternatives to animal sera or non-animal recombinant antibodies.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, Oltre la Sperimentazione Animale, the Centre for Predictive Human Model Systems, Atal Incubation Centre-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, the Animal Welfare Academy of the German Animal Welfare Federation, and Eurogroup for Animals carried out a study that maps the current state of use of animal-derived ingredients across different sectors and identifies challenges hampering the large implementation and use of non-animal derived alternatives. In particular, the new article provides ideas to: increase awareness about non-animal products/ingredients; improve accessibility of reagents and protocols; and increase funding for the replacement of animal-derived components.

Read more at source

A worldwide survey on the use of animal-derived materials and reagents in scien…

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, Fur and Fur Farming, General News, Hunting, Live Transport, Stray Animals, Uncategorized, Vivisection

UK: Animal Advocate Oldies, and Still Getting Stronger.

LEAGUE AGAINST CRUEL SPORTS (LACS).

The League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer stalking; game bird shooting; and animal fighting. The charity helped bring about the Hunting Act 2004 and Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which banned hunting with hounds in England, Wales and Scotland.

Thanks to our friends at Wikipedia:

  • 1924 – The League was founded by Henry B. Amos to oppose rabbit coursing[7] – he was successful in achieving a ban. This resulted in the organisation expanding its remit to include other blood sports – such as fox, hare and deer hunting.
  • In 1935, Amos was jailed briefly for throwing a copy of Henry Stephens Salt‘s Creed of Kinship through a stained glass window at Exeter Cathedral during evensong
  • He first became interested in vegetarianism in about 1886.
Henry Brown Amos (24 May 1869 – 22 October 1946) was a Scottish animal rights activist, humanitarian and vegetarian.
  • 1975 – A bill seeking to ban hare coursing, supported by the League, was passed through the House of Commons, but did not receive approval in the House of Lords.
  • 1978 – The League secured legal protection for otters, including a ban on hunting them. The aquatic mammal was up until that point hunted with packs of hounds, one of the reasons for their numbers declining.
  • 1992 – The League helped secure the Protection of Badgers Act, which expanded the protection of the mammals themselves to their setts. The homes of badgers are illegally targeted for several reasons, including being blocked by fox hunts to stop animals being pursued by hounds fleeing underground.
  • 2002 – Fox, hare and deer hunting and hare coursing was banned in Scotland under the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which was introduced by MSPs following campaigning by the League and other animal protection organisations.
  • 2004 – Fox, hare and deer hunting and hare coursing was banned in England and Wales under the Hunting Act 2004. The legislation was introduced by MPs following campaigning by the League and other animal protection organisations.
  • 2005 – The Hunting Act 2004 came into force – making fox, hare and deer hunting and coursing illegal across England and Wales.
  • 2005 – The Waterloo Cup hare coursing competition held its final meeting at Great Altcar in Lancashire, closing after 169 years following passage of the Hunting Act.
  • 2006 – A huntsman with the Exmoor Foxhounds was found guilty of illegally hunting foxes with dogs in a private prosecution brought by LACS, but the case was overturned on appeal.[8][9]
  • 2007 – Two members of the Quantock Staghounds were successfully prosecuted by the League following chasing a deer across Exmoor.[10]
  • 2008 – Two members of the Minehead Harriers pleaded guilty to chasing a fox with a pack of hounds in a private prosecution by LACS.[11]
  • 2009 – The League announced a new campaign against dog fighting, amidst news reports that there is an increase in dog fighting in London.
  • 2014 – The League celebrates 90 years of campaigning against cruelty to animals in the name of sport. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that there have been 341 convictions under the Hunting Act 2004.
  • 2015 – Prime Minister David Cameron offered a free-vote on repealing the Hunting Act, backing down shortly afterwards following pressure form the League, MPs and other animal protection organisations.
  • 2015 – Cross-channel ferry companies stop shipping pheasants and partridges from French factory-farms to British shooting estates, following an investigation and lobbying by the League.
  • 2018 – Conservative Party drops its manifesto commitment to offer a free-vote on repealing the Hunting Act following pressure from the League, meaning no Westminster party any longer supports repealing the hunting ban.
  • 2018 – Scottish Government announces intention to strengthen the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, which bans hunting with hounds in Scotland, following pressure from the League and other animal protection organisations.
  • 2018 – Welsh Government bans pheasant and partridge shooting on public land following campaigning and pressure from the League and Animal Aid.
  • 2018 – The Labour Party backs calls made by the League to strengthen the Hunting Act – including prison sentences for those who chase and kill wild mammals.
  • 2019 – University of Wales suspends pheasant shooting on its countryside campus at Gregynog Hall following campaigning by the League.
  • 2020 – In January 2020, an employment tribunal in Britain ruled that ethical veganism is a “philosophical belief” and therefore protected in law. This is the first time an employment tribunal in Britain ruled this. This case was in regards to vegan Jordi Casamitjana, who stated he was fired by the League due to his ethical veganism.[12

Web link: Home | League Against Cruel Sports

Photo – Mark (WAV) / East Kent Hunt Sabs.

ROYAL SOCIETY for the PROECTION of CRUELTY to ANIMALS (RSPCA)

The society was the first animal welfare charity to be founded in the world.

Founded on the 16th June 1824, by Richard Martin, William Wilberforce and the Reverend Arthur Broome, at the Old Slaughter’s Coffee House, near Trafalgar Square, London, who together agreed that the neglect, cruelty and abuse of animals was unacceptable.

William Wilberforce – One of the RSPCA founders and anti slavery staunch campaigner.

Now very close to its 200th anniversary; and going stronger than ever.

Wilberforce was an advocate and staunch campaigner for the abolition of the slave trade; which he achieved shortly before his death:

William Wilberforce – Wikipedia

This proves that animal welfare campaigners are also strong supporters of human welfare issues, as we show with our support for ‘Free Tibet’ who are based in London:

 

Search Results for “free tibet” – World Animals Voice

Read a lot more about the RSPCA history at:

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – Wikipedia

Web site link:  The Largest Animal Welfare Charity in the UK | RSPCA

Above are a few links to enable you to read and learn more about these wonderful animal advocate organisations;

Regards Mark.

Enjoy

Guns and Roses at London:

General News, Vivisection

EU: European Commission criticised for biased survey on EU chemicals regulation REACH.

7 April 2022

H2020 scientific consortia have criticised the European Commission for conducting a “biased” survey on the REACH regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), where non animal methods are undermined.

The European Commission is currently holding a public consultation on the revision of the REACH Regulation, as part of ambitions to achieve a “toxic-free environment” by 2050.

The survey implies that reducing and replacing traditional animal testing with non-animal testing methods, or NAMs, will weaken protection from chemical hazards. 

In a statement, the consortia suggests that the questionnaire can potentially damage confidence needed to further support the development and uptake of NAMs by the private sector. This could impact Europe’s leading position worldwide in creating a safer chemical market for industry and citizens.

The language of the survey is misleading because it contradicts the tremendous scientific progress in a wide range of fields developing and using NAMs for precision medicine and safety sciences.

The ASPIS Cluster

There are a number of non-animal approaches that ensure the safety of chemical products, including computer-based modelling, stem cell technology and organ-on-a-chip. The use of animals as models in chemical testing is out of line with Europe’s aim to move towards humane, innovative and animal-free science. 

Stakeholders and citizens have until 15 April 2022 to

 provide their inputs 

on how to better protect human health and the environment from harmful substances while reducing and ultimately replacing animal testing.

Regards Mark