He comes round every night for some food; and always goes off with some bits to enjoy;
I keep a close eye to ensure there are no signs of mange.
Regards Mark – Taken at the end of my garden.
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
WAV Comment: Often in animal welfare, there are not immediate solutions to concerning animal welfare problems. Tenacity (the quality or fact of being very determined; determination.) has to be something; and is something, which all of us in the rights / welfare movement need to have and show. To put it simply, if you give up, you lose.
UK animal people did not give up; in fact, their resolve strengthened. Why:
Despite the huge success in getting animal sentience recognised in EU law, the recognition of animal sentience in the UK took a big step backwards following the Brexit referendum in 2016.
The following year, Compassion in World Farming discovered that the UK Government’s European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which formally enacted Brexit, would not carry across provisions from EU Treaties – including Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
This meant that reference to animal sentience would disappear from UK law when the UK formally left the EU on 31st December 2020. Both the recognition of animals as having the capacity to have feelings, including pain and joy, and the requirement for governments to pay “full regard” to their welfare when formulating and implementing policy, would be lost from UK law. Read more about what Brexit meant for Animal Sentience in this news article.
Campaigning on animal sentience in the UK starts again
We (CIWF) had to start campaigning immediately to ensure that this cornerstone of animal welfare law was not lost when the UK left the EU. We mobilised supporters to lobby the Government, contacted Members of Parliament, and liaised with other NGOs to alert them to the threat to animal welfare. Unfortunately, it faced strong Government opposition and was narrowly defeated when it was put to the vote in Parliament.
And finally, on the 12th of December 2017, following the media furore over the vote in Parliament – and under pressure from a 155,000-strong Compassion petition, the UK Government announced a new Bill would be introduced. This was a momentous moment as the Bill would permanently incorporate the legal recognition of animal sentience into UK law post-Brexit.
2018: Campaign setback as Government delays sentience legislation
Despite the positive announcement from the Government at the end of 2017, the campaign to recognise that animals are sentient beings faced even more setbacks in the following years.
Firstly, Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee published a report which suggested the Bill should be redrafted. The Committee raised concerns that, as the Bill was worded, paying regard to animal sentience would lead to the slowing down or freezing of policymaking and result in widespread Judicial Reviews. Following that report, the UK Government announced in September 2018 that the legislation relating to animal sentience would be delayed.
2019: Over 100,000 calls for animal sentience recognition
In September 2019, our Senior Policy Manager, James West, handed in a 103,000-signature petition to Downing Street, alongside other members of the #BetterDealForAnimals coalition. The petition called on the UK Government to introduce legislation recognising animal sentience and require that full regard be given to animal welfare in UK Government policies.
2020: MPs debate animal sentience
As a result of the 2019 petition reaching over 100,000 signatures, MPs debated the issue in March 2020. Watch the highlights of the debate.
Then, following continued inaction from the Government, in September 2020 dedicated Compassion campaigners took action again.
Thousands of people urged their MPs to call on Ministers to introduce animal sentience legislation before 1st January 2021. This was the day after the UK would formally leave the EU, at which point EU laws recognising animal sentience at the time were due to run out.
2021: UK Government introduces Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill
As the clock struck 11pm on 31st December 2020, despite persistent campaigning, animals in the UK were, for the first time in almost a quarter-century, no longer recognised as sentient beings under the law.
Then, on 13th May, the efforts of compassionate people around the country finally worked in British animals’ favour. The UK Government announced it would introduce the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill as part of its ‘Action Plan for Animal Welfare’.
During the summer and autumn of 2021, the Bill progressed through the House of Lords, completing all its stages by December 2021.
Today – 7/4/22.
On Thursday 7th April, we achieved a momentous victory for animals.
The updated Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill was voted through by the House of Lords which means that animals are legally recognised as sentient beings once again.
Thank you to everyone who emailed politicians or signed petitions, donated in response to this campaign, shared posts on social media, and asked friends and family to take action.
It’s official. UK law will now recognise that animals can feel joy, pain, and fear once again..
Read about the highs and lows of sentience over several decades:
Animal Sentience: the highs and lows | Compassion in World Farming (ciwf.org.uk)
In the end, positive results always come to those who have the tenacity to fight and continue fighting. Never ever give up the fight(s) for your issues;
Regards Mark
Please also see – https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2022/04/06/ukraine-ukraine-zoo-boss-says-all-their-animals-will-be-put-down-after-russian-shelling/
The owner of a zoo in the war-torn Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has taken a heartbreaking decision to put down all the large animals including tigers and lions.
Although several animals at the Feldman Ecopark survived the incessant bombing by the Russian forces for over five weeks, the facility was devastated leading to risks of the predators venturing in the city.
He says the animals who survived can escape at any time, and must be put down, though he holds out hope some adolescent big cats may be saved and transported elsewhere.
“Feldman Ecopark doesn’t exist anymore. The enclosures have been destroyed, the entire infrastructure has been destroyed,” the zoo’s owner Alexander Feldman said in a video, which was posted on Facebook.
He warned that the enclosures were badly damaged which could lead to animals, including big cats, entering the streets. Mr Feldman said it was a “miracle” that the tigers and lions were still alive despite their cages being destroyed.
“By tonight we will decide whether to put them all down or transport them somewhere else… Maybe we will save baby jaguars, baby panthers, but all adult animals will probably be euthanised,” he said.
The zoo’s team was working in the Chutovo region to find a way to save the animals, the owner said. “Failing that, the only option left to us is to put the predators to sleep. It is unimaginably painful to talk about this, but the main priority now is the lives of people,” the caption of the video read.
Three members of the staff were reportedly killed and dozens more were wounded while trying to feed the animals.
The staff were able to visit the chimpanzees and orangutans on 4 March for the first since the war began. According to reports, the monkeys had been sheltered by the Kharkov Zoo.
Earlier on Tuesday, a man rescued Ukraine‘s only family of tapirs and eight kangaroos from the Felman Ecopark, which was on fire because of Russian shelling.
Meanwhile, more than a month after Russia’s unprovoked invasion, the United States and its allies are preparing to impose new sanctions on Moscow over civilian killings in Bucha.
Regards Mark
A wind energy company was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed over the past decade at its wind farms in eight states, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved Eagles Killed Wind Turbines – Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
NextEra Energy subsidiary ESI Energy pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act during a Tuesday court appearance in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was charged in the deaths of eagles at three of its wind farms in Wyoming and New Mexico.
In addition to those deaths, golden and bald eagles were killed at wind farms affiliated with ESI and NextEra since 2012 in eight states, prosecutors said: Wyoming, California, New Mexico, North Dakota, Colorado, Michigan, Arizona and Illinois. The birds are killed when they fly into the blades of wind turbines. Some ESI turbines killed multiple eagles, prosecutors said.
It’s illegal to kill or harm eagles under federal law.
The bald eagle — the U.S. national symbol — was removed from protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2007, following a dramatic recovery from its widespread decimation due to harmful pesticides and other problems. Golden eagles have not fared as well, with populations considered stable but under pressure including from wind farms, collisions with vehicles, illegal shootings and poisoning from lead ammunition.
The case comes amid a push by President Joe Biden for more renewable energy from wind, solar and other sources to help reduce climate changing emissions. It also follows a renewed commitment by federal wildlife officials under Biden to enforce protections for eagles and other birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, after criminal prosecutions were halted under former President Donald Trump.
Companies historically have been able to avoid prosecution if they take steps to avoid bird deaths and seek permits for those that occur. ESI did not seek such a permit, authorities said.
The company was warned prior to building the wind farms in New Mexico and Wyoming that they would kill birds, but it proceeded anyway and at times ignored advice from federal wildlife officials about how to minimize the deaths, according to court documents.
“For more than a decade, ESI has violated (wildlife) laws, taking eagles without obtaining or even seeking the necessary permit,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division in a statement.
ESI agreed under a plea agreement to spend up to $27 million during its five-year probationary period on measures to prevent future eagle deaths. That includes shutting down turbines at times when eagles are more likely to be present.
Despite those measures, wildlife officials anticipate that some eagles still could die. When that happens, the company will pay $29,623 per dead eagle, under the agreement.
NextEra President Rebecca Kujawa said collisions of birds with wind turbines are unavoidable accidents that should not be criminalized. She said the company is committed to reducing damage to wildlife from its projects.
“We disagree with the government’s underlying enforcement activity,” Kujawa said in a statement. “Building any structure, driving any vehicle, or flying any airplane carries with it a possibility that accidental eagle and other bird collisions may occur.”
Wind energy company kills 150 eagles in US, pleads guilty (msn.com)
Regards Mark
A Ukrainian zoo which has almost been completely destroyed by Russian shelling is to put all the animals to sleep.
The founder of the wildlife eco-park in Kharkiv revealed there is no way of rescuing the large animals at the attraction, which is believed to be the oldest zoo in Ukraine.
The website for the animal centre claims it keeps more than 6,000 animals. However, the Ukrainian MP, Oleksandr Feldman, who founded the zoo says Russian shelling has left them with no option but to put the animals to sleep because there is no possibility to evacuate or transport them.
Feldman posted a video on social media addressing the future of the animals and the zoo as he broke the devastating news about the centre and the grim reality about the future of the wildlife, according to Mirror Online.
He said “There is no more Ecopark. After yesterday’s shelling, I can say that the park has been almost completely destroyed.
“Animal cages have been destroyed, all the infrastructure has been destroyed, but tigers and lions have miraculously survived. Their cages have been badly damaged, and they can go outside at any moment.”
He said the enclosure where the bears are based is in a dreadful condition and they would be forced to “kill them, put them to sleep or move them.”
“The building where the bears live is in terrible condition. Today we will have to make a decision. We have until the evening to decide either to kill each one, put them to sleep, or to move them,” he said.
The zoo boss said there was nowhere where they could take the creatures and hoped to save some of them, with younger big cats possible.
But he added that all adult animals “are likely to be put down” as they could not be rescued or re-homed.
The attraction’s website says Kharkviv Zoo is the oldest in Ukraine.
It was opened in 1895 for visitors in 1903 and is based in the heart of the city next to the Park Shevchenko.
The Zoo which covers 22 hectares and is home to 6810 animals
It considers 103 species to be rare and are under protection and led to new animals being bred at attraction.
In a video by news channel Nexta on Twitter, the Ukrainian MP said: “ #Russian troops have almost completely destroyed the ecopark in #Kharkiv
“Today by the end of the day a decision will be made to put the tigers and lions down, because their enclosures have been destroyed.”
Regards Mark
Ukraine zoo boss says ALL their animals will be put down after Russian shelling (msn.com)
5 April 2022
RFA
On 29 March, a bill to ban fur farming successfully reached the final stages of the parliamentary process in the Republic of Ireland.
The Animal Health and Welfare and Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 passed its final stage in the Seanad, despite some objections from a minority of senators about compensation for fur farm workers. It received support from across the political spectrum in both houses of the Oireachtas.
The legislation will now go to the President, who will sign it into law.
There are currently 3 operational fur farms in the country, which are expected to be closed during the course of 2022 after the success of the bill.
Respect for Animals conducted a poll regarding public opinions of fur farming amongst people of Ireland in 2018. 80% of respondents agreed that the farming and killing of animals for their fur should be banned.
In 2021, several other European countries took steps to implement national bans on fur farming, including Italy, Estonia and France.
Ireland finally takes a historical step and joins the increasing number of European countries that say no to fur farming, a practice that has no place in a society that genuinely cares for animal welfare.
Bethania Malmberg – Programme Officer Fur Animals, Eurogroup for Animals
This is a historic day for animal welfare in the Republic of Ireland and another nail in the coffin of the cruel and callous global fur industry. A critical report by Veterinary Ireland considered, in depth, the scientific evidence regarding mink farming and concluded that, on animal welfare grounds ‘there should be an immediate ban on the farming of mink, and similar wild animals, for the production of fur’. It is essential that legislators around the world – including at EU-level – take urgent action to end the cruelty of fur factory farming once and for all.
Mark Glover – Director, Respect for Animals
VICTORY: Republic of Ireland passes law to ban fur farming | Respect for Animals
Regards Mark
4 April 2022
On 15 March, the European Parliament adopted its position on the revision of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The report, led by MEP Pascal Durand, calls for animal welfare to be included in the scope of the revised legislation. Eurogroup for Animals welcomes this move and calls on Member States to accept this in the coming trilogue.
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), initially adopted in 2014, defines how companies should report on all extra-financial activities, including on the impact their business has on sustainability. In April 2021, the European Commission put forward a proposal to review this text, notably to extend the scope to all large companies and introduce more detailed and EU-wide reporting requirements, but the proposal missed out on animal welfare.
The position adopted by the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs (JURI) committee suggests adding animal welfare to the scope of the required reporting. According to the text, businesses would thus need to report on how their activities impact the welfare of animals, both in terms of “living and transport conditions”. The report also proposes enhanced reporting for companies operating in high-risk sectors for sustainability, such as “animal production and seafood industry”.
After the EU Code of Conduct on responsible business and marketing practices, which successfully incorporated animal welfare concerns, this report represents another milestone for animal welfare in the context of the debates on corporate sustainable governance. Indeed, the report recognises that animal welfare is linked to sustainability and should be taken into account by companies when establishing and reporting about their impacts on sustainability.
All eyes are now on the Council as “trilogue” negotiations with the European Parliament have already started. In this context, Eurogroup for Animals calls on the Council to uphold the objectives of the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy and thus agree with the European Parliament on a text encompassing and recognising the inherent links between animal welfare and sustainability.
Regards Mark
6 April 2022
The third report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), launched on 4 April, covers the mitigation pathways that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It follows upon the previous report launched earlier this year that detailed the catastrophic consequences of climate change and concluded that the brief window to secure a liveable future is rapidly closing.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, warned during the press conference that the world is on a fast track to climate disaster. He called for rapid progress to shift to renewable energy, end the funding of coal, protect forests and ecosystems and reduce methane emissions.
The report warns that methane emissions continue to increase, the main source being enteric fermentation from ruminant animals. In addition to its contribution to global warming, diets heavy in animal protein also contribute to land being used inefficiently. Arable land is used to grow crops for animal feed, with negative impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Conversely, a shift to plant-based diets has significant mitigation (action of reducing seriousness – WAV) potential according to the IPCC. More plant-based diets, with only a moderate intake of animal-source food, can lead to substantial decreases in greenhouse gas emissions.
IPCC notes that a dietary shift comes with co-benefits for animal welfare but also reduced land use for feed production, less nutrient run-off as well as health benefits, reduced mortality from diet-related diseases and lowered risk of zoonotic disease and antibiotic use.
The IPCC recognises that cellular agriculture, such as cellular fermentation and cultivated meat, can bring “substantial reduction in direct GHG emissions from food production”. The report notes that these food technologies use less land and water, have a lower nutrient footprint as well as address concerns over animal welfare.
On alternative proteins, the report indicates that insects could be a mitigation opportunity. However, insects are reared industrially to feed intensively farmed animals, thereby propping up animal production and they are often fed on crops that could be consumed directly by animals or people, which accentuates an inefficient way of producing food.
While lifestyle changes can accelerate climate change mitigation, these changes require systemic changes across all of society including on land use, the report states. When governments meet in Egypt this November at COP27 they will discuss the targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
The report is a strong call on governments to take forceful actions to speed up the shift to more plant-based production and consumption and to reduce the number of animals raised for food production.
Regards Mark
Horror as over 300 dogs found dead in Ukrainian shelter after weeks without food or water
HUNDREDS of dogs have been found starved to death after being locked in cages in a Ukrainian animal shelter since Russia’s invasion began.
Almost 500 dogs were left without food or water in a shelter in Borodyanka since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. After soldiers left the area at the beginning of the month, charity volunteers were able to return to the shelter and found that more than 300 of them had not survived.
Charity organisation UAnimals said 485 dogs had been locked in their cages until 1 April because volunteers could not return to the shelter due to the ongoing conflict.
CBS News reported that when volunteers were able to return to the shelter a few days ago, all but 150 of the 485 animals had died.
A video was shared on Twitter by Oleksandra Matviichuk, lawyer and head of Ukraine nonprofit Centre for Civil Liberties, which shows bodies of numerous dogs piled on the floor.
In the footage, the female volunteer can be heard narrating the scene in a tearful voice.
She captioned the footage: “I have no words. Russians even killed dozens of dogs in Kyiv region. WHY??”
UAnimals said that 27 of the surviving dogs who were in a critical condition have been transferred to private clinics for treatment.
The charity is also offering 50,000 hryvnias (£1293) as a reward for anyone willing and able to take the others.
Some of the surviving dogs are also being supported by the charity themselves.
More than 300 dogs starve to death at animal shelter after Russian troops left them to die in their cages while occupying Ukrainian town
- A total of 485 dogs were locked in cages at the UAnimals shelter in Borodyanka
- They were left for more than a month without food or water by Russian occupiers
- Shelter workers were only able to return on April 1 after Russian troops retreated
- UAnimals said only 150 of the 485 dogs managed to survive, with 27 critically ill
- Harrowing footage shows workers stacking up a huge pile of carcasses, while other videos show dozens of corpses littering the floors of the shelter
Hundreds of dogs have been found dead at an animal shelter in Ukraine after Russian occupiers left them to starve in their cages for weeks.
The UAnimals shelter in Borodyanka, just north of Kyiv, said that up to 485 dogs were locked in their cages by Russian forces shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.
There they remained without food or water for about a month as the occupiers left them to die, until staff were able to return to the compound on April 1 once the Russian soldiers had retreated.
Footage released by the animal shelter on Instagram showed workers stacking up a huge pile of dead hounds which had wasted away in the presence of the occupiers.
Meanwhile, images of half mangled corpses in some of the cages suggested some dogs had begun to eat their dead cell mates in the complete absence of food.
‘This is the number of dogs… and this is not all, this is just a part,’ a woman can be heard saying through tears as she filmed workers adding to the stack of corpses.
‘These are the animals of Borodyanka, and the consequences of war. The consequences of complete indifference and negligence. The animals went three to four weeks without food or water.’
Just 150 of the 485 dogs were found alive when the workers returned, with 27 of them transferred to local vets in critical condition.
UAnimals has since announced on social media it will pay 50,000 hryvnia (almost £1300) to anyone willing to rescue some of the animals still left alive, and hit out at the director of the Kyiv veterinary hospital – the owners of the shelter – for not organising proper care or evacuation for the dogs.
One video, posted by lawyer and head of Ukrainian nonprofit Centre for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviichuk, showed dozens of carcasses littering the floor at the UAnimals shelter.
‘I have no words. Russians even killed dozens of dogs in Kyiv region. WHY??’ she tweeted.
Meanwhile, more footage posted by Ukrainian Interior Ministry advisor Anton Gerashchenko showed some of live dogs barking in terror as staff members slowly entered their cages and observed the dead bodies for the first time.
Some of the carcasses had remained untouched, but others had been torn apart by the ravenous dogs still trying to survive.
Though shelter staff were unable to care for the animals while the town was under the control of Russian occupiers, the UAnimals shelter announced on social media it had lodged a police complaint demanding that the deaths be investigated as animal cruelty crimes.
It argued that the head of the Kyiv veterinary hospital, Natalya Mazur, was responsible for arranging care for the animals in the early days of the war, but instead left just one man to look after the entire population.
UAnimals said this man left the dogs to die ‘in agony’, and demanded that Mazur be replaced as director of the Kyiv veterinary hospital as ‘the current director cannot act as a manager and should not interact with animals in the future’.
Mazur in the early days of the war made an appeal for financial donations to help deliver food and aid to animals in various shelters, but said that transporting the animals and arranging evacuations was not possible due to the logistical struggles facing a nation at war.
The haunting revelations made at Borodyanka’s animal shelter come just one day after Ukrainian officials warned the town is also likely to have seen horrific atrocities committed against its human population by Russian forces.
Ukrainian prosecutor-general Iryna Venediktova told Ukrainian TV yesterday that there was a ‘similar humanitarian situation’ in Borodyanka to that of Bucha, where several mass graves and hundreds of dead civilians were found over the weekend.
Venediktova said ‘the worst situation in terms of the victims’ condition’ could be found in Borodyanka, which is a little further from Kyiv than Bucha and was also held by Russian forces until just days ago.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday said it had become harder for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia since Kyiv became aware of the scale of alleged atrocities carried out by Russian troops just north of the capital.
‘These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide,’ Zelensky said, wearing body armour and surrounded by military personnel as he observed the mass graves in Bucha.
‘It’s very difficult to talk when you see what they’ve done here,’ he said. ‘The longer the Russian Federation drags out the meeting process, the worse it is for them and for this situation and for this war.
‘We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children,’ he said, adding that in Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv region ‘dead people have been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured’.
Zelensky said that despite the horrific human suffering in Bucha, residents were chipping in together to make sure homeless animals were fed.
‘That’s a characteristic trait of our people, I think – treat animals the way you would treat humans,’ he said.
‘But you can see around what was done to this modern town. That’s a characteristic of Russian soldiers – treat people worse than animals. That is real genocide, what you have seen here today.’
Ukraine’s prosecutor-general said the bodies of 410 civilians, many with bound hands and close-range gunshot wounds, have been recovered from towns surrounding Kyiv after last week’s withdrawal of Russian troops.
Another mass grave containing the bodies of at least 20 civilians including a mayor and her family was also uncovered in woodland near the town of Motzyhn, around 20 miles west of Bucha.
See more photos at:
Regards Mark
World Animals Voice 