Freya, a five-year-old, 600-kilogram walrus who spent the summer lounging on boats and docks in the Oslo fjord, inadvertently becoming a summer attraction for onlookers, tourists and residents, has been killed by Norwegian authorities, who say she posed a threat to human safety.
Norway’s fisheries directorate said the decision to euthanise the walrus came after the public ignored repeated warnings to keep their distance from Freya. A sad reminder that our actions can have dramatic consequences for wildlife: animals are not here to entertain us and their need for space must be respected.
In recent months, Freya had also been spotted along the coasts of several European countries, including Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands, without ever causing any problems.
Walruses normally live in the ice-covered waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and Alaska.They usually rest on the sea ice between feeding episodes but as the climate warms, melting sea ice is forcing the walruses to rest on land more often, taking them away from their traditional fishing habitats.
Our Norwegian member Dyrevernalliansen is infinitely sad that the decision was made to euthanise Freya because of human behaviour:
Nature is in crisis because of us, but we do not seem to care, the government has decided that there is no room for Freya in Norwegian waters”.
Siri Martinsen, veterinarian and director of the Norwegian animal welfare organisation NOAH, said:
Freya was an endangered animal, she was on the Norwegian red list of vulnerable (or threatened) animals and the killing could only be justified in an emergency situation or for animal welfare reasons, which was not the case here.”
The walrus is a species protected under the Appendix II of the Bern Convention meaning that it is a strictly protected wildlife species. Norway has ratified the Bern Convention and, according to Article 6 of the Convention, must take all appropriate and necessary legislative and administrative measures to ensure the protection of such species. Given the importance of protecting wildlife in the biodiversity crisis we face, Norway should have investigated more to find an appropriate solution to ensure the protection of the walrus and people.
New book reveals factory farming a threat to humanity as big as climate change
18 August 2022
Compassion In World Farming (CWF)
Taking its title from a chilling warning made by the United Nations that the world’s soils could be gone within a lifetime, “Sixty Harvests Left” uncovers how the food industry threatens our world.
Author Philip Lymbery is the President of Eurogroup for Animals and Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming.
Sixty Harvests Left takes us behind closed doors and into the boardrooms of industrial agriculture, investigating the dark side of food production. It confronts ‘Big Ag’, whose mega-farms, chemicals and animal cages are sweeping the countryside and jeopardising the very air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the nature we treasure. It spotlights the pioneers who are battling to bring landscapes back to life, in a world where wildlife, hens, pigs and people thrive by protecting the very thing that our civilisation is built on: soil.
At the heart of sustainable change lies a recognition that all life on our planet is interconnected, and that our future depends on treating it with compassion and respect. In so doing, we can protect the world’s wildlife and soils as if our life depends on it – because it does. The life expectancy of farmland soils would change from just sixty harvests left to one of infinite sustainability, while regenerative, agroecological farming can help end cruelty to animals, save wildlife, stabilise the climate and safeguard the planet for future generations. And to me, that seems like a future worth having.
Philip Lymbery
Combining insightful analysis, storytelling and research, award-winning author Philip Lymbery demonstrates why food and future harvests matter more than ever, and shows us how we can restore our planet for a nature-friendly future.
In this beautifully written book Philip Lymbery describes how intensive agriculture harms the environment and inflicts suffering on sentient animals. But after visiting with and talking to those on the front line – scientists, farmers and food providers, he is able to show that there are sustainable alternatives. And that they are working. There is indeed hope for the future of our planet, and each one of us can play a part. I urge you to read ‘Sixty Harvests Left’.
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute
Regards Mark
WAV Comment: Phil and I have known each other for about 40 years; in earlier days we both became very involved with campaigning at Dover, Kent, England; against the live export of lve animals. Phil is now the CEO of CIWF, which you can visit at:
18/8 – well back home tonight as I have been released from hospital which I have been in for the past week. It relates to an old accident I had with a motorbike and rider when I was on my bike about 40 years ago doing some time trials.
Some of you have commented that that you are not getting ‘new data’ through – well there has been none due to situation described. Venus has moved on now so resources are limited and posts stop or are minimal until thins get back on track. I think this is the main issue with people as they think something has happened.
It is simply that circumstances over the last week have caused issues. I hope to start pushing out posts for you very soon; in the next day r so.
Sorry for the delay but hopefully tings are now getting back to more normal;
Whilst there are currently no operational fur farms or foie gras production in the country, this move will help to prevent these farming methods that disregard animal welfare from being practised in the future.
The Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights published a new legal notice, LN 187 2022, amending the Regulations on the Protection of Animals kept for reasons related to Agriculture.
This legal notice adds regulations regarding the prohibition of the forced feeding of birds and the prohibition of raising animals for fur in Malta.
Though such practices are not the norm in Malta, it is still crucial to prohibit them to ensure the protection of these animals.
Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, Malta
Malta now joins 12 other EU countries that have prohibited fur farming.
Whilst this is a great step forward, there is currently no ban on the placement of farmed fur products on the market in Malta.
Eurogroup for Animals is calling for a ban on fur farming and farmed fur products across the European.
‘Immediate ban’ needed on annual release of 50 million pheasants amid bird flu outbreak, says RSPB
An immediate moratorium on the release of tens of millions of birds for shooting is needed to limit the “catastrophic spread” of bird flu, the RSPB has said.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has devastated seabird populations around the UK’s coast this year, leaving hundreds of thousands of birds dead since it arrived last winter in the Solway Firth in the north west.
The RSPB has now said the annual release of around 55 million pheasants and red-legged partridges, and 2.6 million mallard ducks, all of which are reared in captivity to be shot for sport, represents a serious risk to wildlife.
The organisation said large numbers of these gamebirds are imported from across Europe, then held in pens to mature prior to release.
The volume of birds released into the UK each year now represents more than the total biomass of all UK native birds.
Pheasants in the UK have previously tested positive for HPAI – first in Lincolnshire in 2018 and a further 13 times since, on three premises with commercial breeding game for release.
In a statement the RSPB said it believed “that to limit the catastrophic impacts of this outbreak on our wild birds, the deliberate release of captive birds into the countryside must be stopped for this year”.
Jeff Knott, the RSPB’s director of policy, said: “In recent months we have witnessed an unfolding catastrophe taking place on our wild birds.
“It has been emotionally tough to witness, but we are not helpless and there are many positive actions that we can take to help them weather this storm and reduce the risk of exacerbating this crisis.
“This disease originated in poultry in Asia before passing into wild birds. It is another human pressure on beleaguered wildlife across the world and in the UK specifically. We must all now take responsibility and do everything we can to limit the impact in the immediate term, and to implement and fund species conservation programmes to build resilience in our wildlife for the future.”
The RSPB said that although spread from pheasants to wild birds has not yet been confirmed scientifically, this route of transmission has not yet been fully investigated.
“Given the current scale of the outbreak in wild birds, ongoing losses of wildlife from other human pressures and the context of the wider nature and climate emergency, it is necessary to employ a precautionary approach to all possible vectors of this deadly new virus to our wildlife populations,” the organisation said.
The disease has already taken a heavy toll on great skuas, gannets and terns, but numerous other species are also affected, including puffins, white-tailed eagles, red kites, guillemots and black-headed gulls.
The RSPB said last week it was calling on Defra to put together a task force of experts including vets, virologists, ecologists and policy makers, just as occurred in 2005 when the first spike in bird flu occurred.
This would allow appropriate testing to understand what is happening and inform how to deal with it.
The RSPB’s Martin Fowlie told The Independent: “Over the last five months we’ve just seen an escalation in terms of the numbers and in terms of the geographic spread. Initially it was all concentrated up in north east Scotland and then we’ve seen cases spread south.”
The disease has now reached south west Wales, home to globally important populations of seabirds such as gannets and puffins.
Many of you know that live animal transport (exports) are one of our main issues.
Here are some stories and links, and videos, from ‘Animal Equality’. There is a lot to take on, and so at the end I have given a link for you to complete the reading.
The top right ‘wire globe’ (in the link) allows you to convert translation into several languages if you desire.
Regards Mark
.
What are we doing to stop the transport of live animals?
The transport of live animals is one of the topics on which our team of researchers has focused the most in the last 10 years of research.
After a miserable life on a farm, every animal destined for human consumption ends up in the slaughterhouse.
But first, he is forced to endure another intolerable injustice: the transport phase.
A suffering that can last for days, weeks, months: an absurd journey towards death.
How many times have you traveled next to a truck from which you could glimpse, through small slits, animals crowded inside?
If you’ve ever encountered their eyes, you know what it means to see a living being suffer and not be able to do anything to ease their pain.
Because that is our job, what we have been doing tirelessly for more than 15 years around the world: we fight to end the suffering of animals raised for food.
To combat the transport of live animals, we are moving on several fronts: research is not enough, we need a precise strategy and that the institutions perceive us as authorised partners.
Here’s what we’re doing to counter the transport of live animals:
We have filed a complaint with the Directorate-General for Health of Agricultural Production;
We have filed a complaint that “is valid for an entire country”;
We have denounced and sanctioned non-compliant carriers whenever possible;
We have conducted 10 investigations in 10 years;
Thanks to our research work and political pressure, the Committee of Inquiry into the Transport of Live Animals (ANIT) was set up in the European Parliament;
We are working with ENPA and the Ministry of Health to increase roadside inspections.
THE LAWSUIT FOR IRREGULARITIES IN THE TRANSPORT OF LAMBS TO SAUDI ARABIA
Thanks to the images obtained during the shipment of lambs in the Port of Cartagena bound for Saudi Arabia that revealed acts of mistreatment, we were able to file a lawsuit with the General Directorate of Health of Agricultural Production.
The workers resorted to violence to force the lambs to move.
These practices are in breach of the European Union Regulation on the protection of animals during transport.
In addition to this demand, we also initiated a petition addressed to the European Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries demanding the end of long-distance transport that has already been signed by more than 46,000 people.
THE COMPLAINT AGAINST SPAIN
THE CASE OF DRIFTING BOATS
The case that has led us tothe decision to file a complaint with the European Commission against Spain is the one that affects the ships Elbeik and Karim Allah, which left the Spanish ports of Tarragona and Cartagena, respectively, in the spring of 2021.
On board these ships were hundreds of thousands of animals, specifically 895 cattle in the Karim Allah and 1789 calves in the Elbeik. The animals were to be sold in Tripoli (Libya), but once they were denied disembarkation due to an alleged animal disease, the boats were leftadrift and remained so for more than two months.
During these very long weeks, the animals traveled locked in pens in chilling hygienic conditions, going back and forth from one country to another, without the possibility of being unloaded in a port or even being able to rest or feed.
TheSpanish authorities – which would be responsible for enforcing EC Regulation 1/2005 regulating the protection of live animals during transport – did not take any measures to put an immediate end to the extreme suffering of animals on board.
All this despite the fact that the authorities were aware of the situation.
Already on February 18, 2021, when the karim Allah ship was near the port of Cagliari, Animal Equality – in collaboration with ENPA and the Foundation for Animal Welfare – sent a petition to the Italian Ministry of Health requesting an immediate inspection of the ship and livestock on board.
Following our request, the Ministry had scheduled an official inspection, but the ship left Italian territorial waters before it could be done.
In addition to this report, Animal Equality, again in collaboration with ENPA, sent two petitions to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture requesting urgent action to safeguard the health of animals still alive in karim Allah.
However, the Spanish Ministry did not react with the speed required by the case and did not immediately force the animals to be docked and unloaded, despite the fact that EC Regulation 1/2005 considers that it is a perfectly legitimate measure in case of infringement.
This decision came much later: the Karim Allah was forced to dock in the port of Cartagena after weeks of travel and the Elbeik, also in the same port, after three months of its departure.
In both cases, all the surviving animals were sacrificed, while others, in both the Karim Allah and the Elbeik, died on board. Some animals were also torn to pieces and thrown into the sea, according to the sources.
The condition of the animals was terrible: the cattle were injured, hungry, in obvious pain and dehydrated; some were in a state of stupor, unable to open their eyes or respond to stimuli.
Equally shocking were the conditions of the boats: the pens were overcrowded, in sanitary conditions so extremely inadequate that the animals could not even lie down; the pens were built with iron pipes with rusty and broken areas; the drinking troughs were closed and fodder and straw were totally absent, with numerous rodents present on the decks.
THE COMPLAINT
Animal Equality, in collaboration with ENPA, filed a complaint with the European Commission against Spain, pointing out the incorrect procedures and omissions carried out by the authorities of the ports of Tarragona and Cartagena, which should have controlled compliance with the minimum standards of protection of animals on board the ships Elbeik and Karim Allah.
We have asked the European Commission for an audit on the correct application of the Regulation on the protection of animal welfare during transport by the Spanish authorities and the possible opening of a procedure for infringement of European legislation.
In addition to bringing these testimonies to light, we have done much more:
We protest against the Spanish and port authorities, even filing a complaint with the European authorities against Spain for incorrect procedures and omissions on the part of the port authorities, which should have monitored compliance with the minimum animal protection standards. These practices are widely in breach of the EU regulation on the protection of animals during transport, which explicitly prohibits excessively long journeys without adequate veterinary care, food and water;
We have also submitted a petition to the European Parliament, asking MEPs to take the measures they deem appropriate to ensure compliance with EU legislation on the protection of animals during transport, with particular reference to their export by sea from Spain, and other affected Member States, to third countries.
UPDATE: THE COMMISSION HAS RESPONDED TO US!
A year has passed since our complaint against Spain to the European Commission and the sending of the petition to the European Parliament, which followed the case of the ships Elbeik and Karim Allah, left adrift for months by the omissions and incorrect procedures applied by the competent authorities.
A news that has confirmed, for the umpteenth time, the serious violations that the Spanish authorities continue to commit of European legislation on the welfare of live animals transported.
The Commission has finally responded to the comments we included in the petition to the European Parliament, specifying some measures it has taken or intends to take.
The European Commission has informed us that:
It will carry out 4 new audits, i.e. in-depth assessments, during 2022, including one in Spain;
The Commission has carried out audits in the Member States responsible for the authorisations granted to the Elbeik and Karim Allah vessels, namely Romania and Croatia, in order to clarify possible shortcomings related to the approval of the two vessels. What is clear from these findings is that these two vessels are not currently authorised to transport live animals;
The Commission is developing rules to step up official controls on cattle ships and at exit points from EU ports.
The Commission also gave us important news about Spain’s intentions:
“Spain has submitted to the Commission a series of corrective measures, including its protocol on the protection of animals during the export of livestock by ship, its new national legislation on the welfare of animals during transport and its working agreement with the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine of the Ministry of Transport to help the competent authority to carry out official controls for the granting of authorisations to ships.”
We are sincerely pleased that our request has been accepted and that Parliament has asked the Commission for explanations: although on this occasion the demands of animals have been taken into account, our work does not end there.
In fact, we have requested a copy of this document to know the deadlines and to be able to verify that these actions are really executed by Spain.
PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANT CARRIERS
The work of denouncing that we have carried out over the years has been crucial not only in paving the way for inspections by the authorities and obtaining sanctions, but also in supporting political and media pressure, in denouncing those responsible for animal offences and – very importantly – also in calling on the European Parliament to shed light on infringements of transport legislation.
With our latest investigation at the Slovenian border to document animals destined for Italian slaughterhouses, we managed to denounce and fine two transporters.
After constant surveillance to intercept suspicious vehicles, our investigation team discovered a truck from Hungary, chased it and quickly reported it to the traffic police.
And the following irregularities were found:
The drinking fountain system did not work and lost water, but not only that, the system was prepared for pigs and not for sheep;
The temperature control system inside the vehicle was damaged;
The space for the lambs was insufficient: the animals could not even stand;
The carrier was sanctioned for the first two points with a total fine of more than 3000 euros.
In addition to those “officially” recognized by veterinarians called by the police, there were many other problems:
There were animals of different species and ages in the same transport;
The vehicle had metal parts and internal obstacles, a possible risk to the animals transported;
The lambs were in an obvious state of stress.
We have a duty to show and document everything, even what escapes inspection and what is not taken into account by the authorities, because every detail represents real suffering for these animals.
More than half of all antibiotics sold and used in the United States do not go to treating people. Instead, they go to animal agriculture — where overuse of these drugs is now contributing to a huge upsurge in antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
Factory farmers regularly dole out antibiotics in livestock’s water and food supplies, as part of a general mission to prevent infections and death among their pig, foul, cow, and other animal populations. Preventing infections is a huge concern, because factory farmers lock these animals in filthy, feces-covered, overcrowded conditions where diseases can easily run rampant. While corporate farmers could solve this problem by improving facility conditions, they’d rather continue to pack animals as tight as possible to keep profits high. So instead they pump the animals full of antibiotics. This has already had disastrous consequences for human health.
The more our bodies and bacteria get used to the presence of antibiotics, the more those bacteria evolve and mutate to fight off our antibiotic medical treatments. And that means we have fewer and fewer ways to protect ourselves when we get sick. As a result, the number and intensity of superbugs in humans is exploding. MRSA, CRE, candida auris, strep, and others are plaguing more and more people — even young, healthy patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this superbug explosion has become even more dire. And these patients aren’t just becoming incredibly sick. Many of them are dying as these overused medicines become less and less effective.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried to help reduce antibiotic use in agriculture, but with limited success. That’s partially because it hasn’t set many hard, enforceable rules. Recently, it began requiring farmers to work with veterinarians to administer certain antibiotics that it deems “medically important” for human use. But as long as a vet is willing to sign off on the treatment, there’s not much enforcement in place to stop misuse.
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.
French matador El Rafi performs a muleta pass on a fighting bull in the arena of Arles, southern France, on June 6, 2021 (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
‘Immoral and archaic’: Animal rights activists eye bill to ban bullfighting in France
As thousands of bullfighting aficionados gather across southern France for traditional summer ferias, opponents of the practice are reviving their fight for an outright ban, confident that public opinion is finally on their side.
“I think the majority of French people share the view that bullfights are immoral, a spectacle that no longer has its place in the 21st century,” said Aymeric Caron, a popular former TV journalist and animal rights activist who was recently elected to parliament as part of the hard-left France Unbowed party.
For years, critics have sought a final legal blow against what they call a cruel and archaic ritual, but none of the draft bills presented have ever been approved for debate by National Assembly lawmakers.
French courts have also routinely rejected lawsuits lodged by animal rights activists, most recently in July 2021 in Nimes, home to one of France’s most famous bullfighting events.
But Caron, based in Paris, told AFP that the time was ripe for a new proposal given growing concerns about animal welfare, with a draft bill to be submitted this week.
“I do indeed hope this bill will be debated in parliament in November… it would be a first,” he said.
The prospect seems all the more likely after France Unbowed won dozens of new seats in recent elections, helping to strip President Emmanuel Macron of his centrist majority in parliament.
The goal is to modify an animal welfare law that allows exceptions for bullfights — as well as cock fighting — when it can be shown that they are “uninterrupted local traditions.”
Such exceptions are granted to cities including Bayonne and the mediaeval jewel of Mont-de-Marsan in southwest France near Spain, where the practice has its origins, and along the Mediterranean coast including Arles, Beziers and Nimes.
‘Respecting the animal’
For Caron, “it’s not a French tradition, it’s a Spanish custom that was imported to France in the 19th century to please the wife of Napoleon III, who was from Andalusia,” the countess Eugenie de Montijo.
That argument is unlikely to convince the jostling crowds who packed the streets of Bayonne for the bullfighting feria that ended Sunday, a sea of fans clad all in white except for bright red bandanas or sashes.
“The people who want to ban it don’t understand it. Bullfighting is a drama that brings you closer to death… You’re afraid, but that’s a part of life,” said Jean-Luc Ambert, who came with friends from the central Auvergne region.
Like many other fans, his friend Francoise insisted that bullfighting is an art as much as a sport, where “a man puts his life on the line, while respecting the animal.”
“We’re not trying to convert anyone — I just want the people against it to leave us alone,” she told AFP.
The guest star of the Bayonne feria, Spanish matador Alejandro Talavante, did indeed find an appreciative audience, with the crowd demanding the award of the bull’s ear for his performance.
It’s a conflict that echoes the widening rift in France between rural dwellers steeped in deep agriculture traditions, and Parisians and other urban residents accused of trampling on the country’s cultural heritage — often derided as “the Taliban of Paristan.”
Widespread support?
Andre Viard, president of the national bullfighting association, shrugged off the threat of a ban.
“This comes up in every parliamentary session,” Viard told AFP of Caron’s efforts to find allies for the France Unbowed initiative.
“We tell the other parties: Why do you want to be associated with a bill that attacks a cultural freedom protected by the Constitution, and territorial identity?”
The debate echoes similar opposition in other countries with bullfighting histories, including Spain and Portugal as well as Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela.
In June, a judge in Mexico City ordered an indefinite suspension of bullfighting in the capital’s historic bullring, the largest in the world.
Caron is banking on support from across the political spectrum, including top members of Macron’s party such as the head of his parliamentary group Aurore Berge, who was among 36 lawmakers who called for a bullfighting ban last year.
An Ifop poll earlier this year found that 77 percent of respondents approved of a ban, up from 50 percent in 2007.
“More and more people are concerned about animal suffering, including in bullfights,” Claire Starozinski of the Anti-Bullfighting Alliance told AFP, adding that many people don’t realise that the bulls are actually killed.
“I know there are MPs from other parties who will support me, and have said so,” Caron said — though he admitted that more mainstream lawmakers such as Berge might be reluctant to join his leftish campaign.
“Is she going to remain true to her convictions, or make a political calculation that prevents her from supporting me? That’s what will be at stake in the talks over the coming weeks and months.”
World Animals Voice 