General News, Uncategorized

Iran: Do The Right Thing and FREE Nazanin Immediately.

Sometimes, human rights are as important as animal rights.

This is one such case. Here we deal with a human rights issue.

WAV Comment:

“Is this going to be a wake-up call for the Government? Maybe, maybe not. One of the challenges I find with this Government is that it doesn’t deal with problems until they become crises”.

We give our full support to Richard in making a stand (and hunger strike) outside of the (British) Foreign Office, London, regarding the unfair detaining of his wife Nazanin since 2016.

She is a British citizen, a mother and must immediately be allowed to return to the UK by Iran. 

As usual, the British Government is not really doing enough on this issue for an innocent lady.  Liz Truss talks the government talk; but the reality is there is no progress.  We suggest that Liz Truss is sent to Iran in an exchange deal – oh boy, then see how quickly there are changes and actions !

Full support to Richard

Regards Mark

British Government ‘does not deal with problems until they become crises’

Richard Ratcliffe gave the comments after a strategy meeting with the Foreign Office.

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has criticised the Government’s handling of his wife’s case, stating that it “does not deal with problems until they become crises”.

Richard Ratcliffe said he held a strategy meeting with the Foreign Office on Friday as he was concerned something would happen to his wife’s appeal during the autumn.

The next day, by coincidence, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was informed her appeal had been rejected, meaning she could now be sent back to prison at any point to serve a sentence of one year imprisonment plus a one-year travel ban for “spreading propaganda against the regime”.

Mr Ratcliffe said he had urged the Government to take quicker action over trying to get Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe home in their meeting on Friday as he was concerned about the outcome of her appeal.

He told the PA news agency: “The longer we waited, the more chance of bad news. I didn’t expect the next day to get bad news, but we did.

“That’s [the rejection of the appeal] the Iranians signalling they’re not prepared to wait forever and they will do what they need to do.

“Is this going to be a wake-up call for the Government? Maybe, maybe not. One of the challenges I find with this Government is that it doesn’t deal with problems until they become crises. This is Iran threatening a crisis. One hopes that the Government takes it seriously.”

Mr Ratcliffe, who has been campaigning for his wife’s return home since her original incarceration in 2016, said he was left surprised by the update on Saturday.

He said he thought her appeal would have ended up being rejected in November after a “drawn-out court process” as Iran was “always going to confirm guilt, regardless of whether there is any”.

In a statement on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the nation’s decision to proceed with the “baseless” charges against the mother-of-one was an “appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through”.

She added: “We are doing all we can to help Nazanin get home to her young daughter and family and I will continue to press Iran on this point.”

Mr Ratcliffe said Ms Truss had spoken to Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe on the phone on Saturday after her appeal was rejected.

Responding to the statement, Mr Ratcliffe said: “Nazanin said that she sounded angry on the phone and I can hear the anger in her words.

“But at this stage I am interested in her latest sentence, ‘the actions she is taking beyond more pressing Iran’.”

The Foreign Office declined to comment further.

British Government ‘does not deal with problems until they become crises’ | Evening Standard

Read more:

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband begins second day of hunger strike outside Foreign Office | Daily Mail Online

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: First full day of husband’s hunger strike outside Foreign Office | UK News | Sky News

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Husband goes on hunger strike to pressure UK government | Euronews

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Husband on hunger strike outside Foreign Office for second time in two years | UK News | Sky News

 

 

 

 

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

UK: Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups.

Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups

Animal advocacy groups are urging the UK Government to enforce laws that prohibit chickens from being carried by the legs, which they say leads to pain and distress before slaughter.

Chicken farms breaking law millions of times a day, say animal rights groups (newfoodmagazine.com)

Today a joint letter signed by 14 animal protection charities has been sent to Zac Goldsmith, UK Minister for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) calling on the Government to properly enforce regulations designed to protect chickens at the time of slaughter.

Handling chickens by the legs is illegal under The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006, which transposes Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 from the EU. However, despite this it is referenced as a possible way of handling in the official Government Codes of Practice, which farmers use to guide their operations. Consequently, the signatories say catching chickens by their legs is standard industry practice in the UK.

“At an already distressing and often painful time for these chickens, they are grabbed by their legs and flung upside down, with producers often carrying six chickens per hand,” said Pru Elliott, Senior Campaigner at The Humane League UK.   

“Chickens don’t have a diaphragm like us, so being carried upside down causes their internal organs to crush their lungs, and on top of that intensively reared chickens have very fragile legs and joints. Carrying them like this is causing huge amounts of suffering and the Government isn’t doing anything to stop it.”

According to The Humane League, 3.1 million chickens are transported to slaughter every day in the UK. Animal protection groups claim all commercial-sized farms practice catching chickens by the legs, which they say means the law is being broken millions of times a day.

The legislation states that animals should not be lifted or dragged by the head, ears, horns, legs, tail or fleece, or handled in such a way as to cause them unnecessary pain or suffering. A recent case in The Netherlands ruled that the Dutch authorities must investigate companies handling chickens by the legs after accepting that it is prohibited under the same law that applies to the UK.

“This legislation was created to protect animals and minimise any stress caused during a very stressful activity. The fact that the law is being broken so widely is unacceptable. The Government guidance is currently encouraging unlawful activity,” said Edie Bowles, solicitor at Advocates for Animals.

Companies elsewhere in Europe have started to adopt a progressive catching method developed by Dutch animal charity Eyes On Animals known as the Upright Catching Method. Rather than being caught and carried by the legs, chickens are caught one-by-one with both hands placed around the body, holding the wings closed, and the chickens are carried to and placed in the transport crate while upright.

“The Upright Catching Method is common sense. It’s how the public would want and expect animals to be handled, and how anyone with a pet chicken would pick them up. It’s not complicated, but it is voluntary so it’s a question of how committed companies are to the wellbeing of the animals and it will stay that way unless the Government starts to enforce the law.” said Nicola Glen, UK Inspector for Eyes on Animals.

“For other animals the law is enforced, and if we do see cases of animals such as pigs and sheep carried by the legs people are outraged, but it’s not the same for chickens.”

Regards Mark

General News, Uncategorized, Vivisection

USA: SIGN: STOP REQUIRING CRUEL, UNRELIABLE ANIMAL TESTS FOR US PHARMACEUTICALS.

Petition link:

PETITION: End Cruel, Costly and Unreliable Animal Testing in US Drug Safety Tests (ladyfreethinker.org)

Wording:

PETITION TARGETS: Joe Biden, Congressional Leaders, and the Food and Drug Administration

Millions of animals are infected, poisoned, blinded, shocked, and tortured in experiments each year globally.

The majority of dogs, monkeys, mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, and other animals suffer these agonizing procedures without the use of painkillers or comfort of any kind.

After surviving the excruciating ordeals, an estimated 75 percent of animals are then killed.

The “safety” tests are not only cruel; due to genetic differences between people and animals, they also are inaccurate and dangerous.

More than 90 percent of drugs deemed “safe” in animal tests fail once they hit human clinical trials. 

Other animal-tested drugs get withdrawn from human markets after harming people — including the drug Lipobay, which passed animal trials but then led to kidney failure and death for more than 50 people.

U.S. scientists, as far back as a 2007 report as published by the National Research Council, have noted that animal testing is not the best way.

But the cruel and inaccurate tests are federally mandated, by provisions established in 1938 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And that law needs to change now.

H.R. 2565, or The FDA Modernization Act, is a major step in the right direction and would open the door for emerging, superior testing methods based on human biology to be seen as equally valid options for safety testing.

A growing number of scientists are pushing for human biology-based technologies — including cell-based assays, organ chips, microphysiological systems, and sophisticated computer modeling — as the quickest, safest, and most cost-effective solutions to developing accurate treatments for human disease.

The European Parliament recently demanded a phased-out end to all animal testing. It’s time for the United States to follow that precedent.

Sign our petition urging lawmakers and the Food and Drug Administration to end the outdated mandate of animal testing as the “only” acceptable safety testing method and allow proven, human biology-based methods to take their rightful place in human evolution.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is petition-keyboard-2.jpg

PETITION: End Cruel, Costly and Unreliable Animal Testing in US Drug Safety Tests (ladyfreethinker.org)

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News, Uncategorized

UK: COP26 – Recycling Plastics Does Not Work, Says Boris Johnson.

COP26 officially takes place between 31 October – 12 November 2021.

Recycling plastics does not work, says Boris Johnson

Recycling plastic materials “doesn’t work” and “is not the answer” to the threat of global climate change, Boris Johnson has said.

Answering children’s questions ahead of the COP26 climate summit, the PM said reusing plastics “doesn’t begin to address the problem”.

Instead, he said, “we’ve all got to cut down our use of plastic”.

The Recycling Association said the PM had “completely lost the plastic plot”.

The association’s Simon Ellin told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme Mr Johnson’s comments were “very disappointing” and seemed to conflict with government policy.

During the special event organised by Downing Street, Mr Johnson also jokingly suggested feeding human beings to animals to “bring nature back”.

He told an audience of eight to 12-year-olds that rather than relying on recycling, people should reduce their consumption of plastic products.

Tanya Steele, chief executive of the World Wide Fund for Nature, told the event: “We have to reduce, we have to reuse – I do think we need to do a little bit of recycling, PM, and have some system to do so.”

But the PM added: “It doesn’t work.”

Asked later about Mr Johnson’s comments, his official spokesman said the PM continued to encourage recycling – though he said relying on it alone would be a “red herring”.

There are plans to increase recycling in England, which the government has said “typically results in lower carbon emissions in comparison to manufacturing products from virgin materials”.

“Priority goes to preventing the creation of waste in the first place, followed by preparing waste for reuse; to recycling, and then recovery,” the waste management plan for England said.

The most recent figures for England showed a recycling rate of 45.5% for household waste. Waste policy is largely set by the devolved administrations in the UK.

Each UK council collects its plastic recycling differently. A BBC analysis in 2018 showed there were 39 different sets of rules for what can be put in plastic recycling collections.

‘Bring nature back’

Ms Steele said she believed “we need to bring nature back” and added: “97% of the mass of mammals on this planet is humans and our animals, our domestic animals. Just 3% is left for the wild.”

Mr Johnson said it was “so sad”, and quipped: “We could feed some of the human beings to the animals.”

Ms Steele replied: “We could have a vote later and ask if there’s any candidates.”

The prime minister criticised drinks giant Coca-Cola for being among 12 big corporations “that are producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics”.

The company sells more than 100 billion throwaway plastic bottles each year, causing problems in countries too small to effectively recycle them, BBC Panorama has found.

Mr Johnson also signalled the government does not want to support new coal mines, as ministers face pressure to prevent a site opening in Cumbria.

And with just days to go before COP26 begins in Glasgow next week, the PM said it was “touch and go” whether the summit would deliver progress.

Millions of lives could be affected by any changes agreed at the conference – and we have devised a quiz for you to discover which policies would have the most impact.

 

Recycling plastics does not work, says Boris Johnson – BBC News

Regards Mark

 

Environmental, General News, Uncategorized

UK: COP26 – (British PM) Boris Johnson ‘very worried’ about Cop26 outcome as he names and shames Coca-Cola.

COP26 officially takes place between 31 October – 12 November 2021.

Boris Johnson ‘very worried’ about Cop26 outcome as he names and shames Coca-Cola

‘I’m very worried, because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need’

Boris Johnson has said he is “very worried” about the outcome of the Cop26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow from Sunday.

And he has named and shamed Coca-Cola as one of the ‘big 12’ producers of plastic pollution.

The Prime Minister described it as being “touch and go” whether Cop26 would be a success. Answering questions from schoolchildren in Downing Street, Mr Johnson, said: “We need as many people as possible to go to net zero so that they are not producing too much carbon dioxide by the middle of the century.

“Now, I think it can be done. It’s going to be very, very tough, this summit. And I’m very worried, because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need.

“It’s touch and go.”

He also said that while meeting the goals of Cop26 would be “very, very difficult” he added “I think it can be done”.

Boris Johnson told schoolchildren in Downing Street: “If you look at what the UK has done, we’ve cut our own C02 emissions massively, we’ve cut coal emissions massively.”

Mr Johnson chose to host a press conference with children ahead of “perhaps the most important summit that this country has had in our lifetimes”.

Boris Johnson ‘very worried’ about Cop26 outcome as he names and shames Coca-Cola – Wales Online

Boris Johnson named and shamed Coca-Cola as being one of 12 corporations “producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics”.

He told a children’s press conference on the climate crisis: “There are about 12 companies at the moment, 12 big corporations, that are producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics.

“Big famous drinks companies that you may know but I won’t name. I don’t know why not, but I won’t name them.

“Coca-Cola, for instance, and others, which are responsible for producing huge quantities of plastic, and we’ve got to move away from that and we’ve got to find other ways of packaging and selling our stuff.”

Mr Johnson also welcomed Australia’s commitment to a 2050 net zero target.

“That was actually very difficult for Australia because Australia’s very heavily dependent on coal, on lots of carbon-producing industries and they’ve done a heroic thing, the Australians, in getting to that commitment,” he told schoolchildren in Downing Street.

“I hope that they will be joined by lots more countries in that region for the Cop summit.”

There was a lot of “peer pressure” at the summit, with countries following the example of friends and neighbours, he said.

But “it’s very, very far from clear that we will get the progress that we need”, he warned.

The Prime Minister said Cop26 in Glasgow would be “one of the defining summits of our time”.

He told the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) business and investment summit: “Cop26 marks our last best chance to begin the global push to net zero.

“And if we can use that opportunity to deliver real, substantive action on coal, cars, cash and trees, then I really do believe that we can not only keep temperature increases below 1.5 degrees, but also usher in a worldwide green industrial revolution – growing economies by cutting emissions.

“There’s no choice to be made between going green and creating jobs – they are two sides of the same coin.

“And there’s no doubt at all that green investment is the future.”

 

 

 

Turn the crank !

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News, Uncategorized

UK; Twas The Night Before COP26 – British Comedian Joe Lycett Holds ‘Shell’ (Oil Giant) To Account For Their Green Sales Techniques. He Literally Talks Shit !

COP26 officially takes place between 31 October – 12 November 2021.

Joe Lycett outside Shell’s headquarters in London. Photograph: Isobel Frodsham/PA

WAV Comment – Joe Lycett is a British comedian.  The 1 hour special, in which he lampooned ‘Shell’ energy giant the night before the start of COP26 in Scotland was shown on British tv last night – 24/10/21.

It was a great programme in which Lycett impersonated the Shell CEO; (see video); literally talking shit about allegedly just how ‘Green’ Shell is.  Evidence provided in the programme showed that Shell may talk the green talk, but the reality is they are doing much less than their adverts present.

Have we not seen and heard things like this from others before ?

Enjoy;

Regards Mark

See him here impersonate the Shell CEO talking shit:

Shell’s climate promises lampooned in Channel 4 ad starring literal shit-talking Joe Lycett | The Drum

Shell’s climate promises lampooned in Channel 4 ad starring literal shit-talking Joe Lycett

Comedian Joe Lycett has held energy giant Shell to account for its climate promises in a shit-talking parody ad from broadcaster Channel 4.

The imposter ad was created to promote Lycett’s investigation of Shell, Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant. In the show he will look to see whether the brand’s sustainability claims can be taken seriously, or whether there is greenwashing afoot.

In the spot, Lycett hints that the ”lots of pictures of forests and windmills” in Shell’s marketing materials may not reflect the full truth of the business’s output.

As part of the show, Lycett is seen trying to get the ad aired, likely unaware its inclusion of several fecal ejections renders it unairable. These restrictions won’t stop the ad from running as part of the episode or online, where it will accumulate many curious viewers. The ad was created by Rumpus Media and distributed by Channel 4 ahead of the Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant’s debut at 9pm on October 24.

On commissioning the 60-minute episode, Alf Lawrie, head of factual entertainment at Channel 4, said: “Few now deny climate change, but there are powerful vested interests still trying to delay tackling it. Who better to shine his torch of truth into the dark caverns of misinformation than Britain’s most fearless – and most fun – campaigner, Joe Lycett?”

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/oct/24/greta-thunberg-would-love-it-shells-investors-less-so-joe-lycett-vs-the-oil-giant-review

General News

SeaQuest-Business with animals in mafia style

SeaQuest aquariums are plagued by animal welfare issues, animal deaths, legal violations, and injuries to employees and the public from direct contact with animals.
SeaQuest continues to be hit with neglect allegations, often from former employees, and it’s notorious for exploiting animals for entertainment.

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A duck with a broken foot. A kinkajou seemingly running mad in his cage.

Children coming very close to stepping on parakeets. The allegations continue to fly regarding conditions at the new SeaQuest aquarium that just opened last month at the Woodbridge Center Mall.

SeaQuest is owned by Vince Covino, who has been criticized in the past for conditions at his other SeaQuest locations across the nation (Woodbridge is his ninth).

The SeaQuest in Littleton, Colorado, for example, failed two animal safety inspections by the state and was the subject of an undercover investigation by the local Fox news affiliate.

Residents petitioned to prevent SeaQuest from opening in Lynchburg, Virginia.

And now it seems his New Jersey location is garnering the same criticism: Ever since SeaQuest first opened in early December, groups of animal rights activists have been holding protests every weekend outside Woodbridge Center.

Denise Morgan, a Sayreville resident, organizes the weekly protests.

“One visitor sent me a video of a honey bear (another term for a kinkajou) weaving back and forth in its cage, doing the same movement over and over, back and forth,” she said.

“I’ve had people tell me that animal is going insane. Then there was a video of a duck eating the drywall off its enclosure, actually ingesting it.”

Continue reading “SeaQuest-Business with animals in mafia style” →

Vivisection

EU approved more animal testing on the effects of chemicals

The latest strategy to regulate chemicals in the EU calls for even more animal life than before – without bringing any benefit to humans.
According to the strategy, additional animal experiments are to be carried out from October 2021 to investigate whether certain chemicals are endocrine disrupting, i.e. affect the human hormonal balance.

According to this strategy, even more animals would have to suffer and die in cruel experiments – although the effectiveness of a substance in humans cannot be reliably determined with animal experiments.
Animal testing does not protect human health.

What are endocrine disrupting chemicals?
The human body maintains a delicate balance of hormones such as estrogens.
They regulate our most important functions, including development, metabolism and reproductive capacity.
Chemicals with endocrine disruptors, also known as endocrine disruptors, interact with the body’s hormones.

In order to ensure that certain chemicals do not disturb our hormonal balance, regulators commission tests.
But instead of using methods that provide results that are relevant to humans, the authorities continue to insist on animal experiments that cannot reliably predict human reactions.
Animal experiments do not provide the results that are necessary to ensure the safety of substances in humans.

It should come as no surprise that the hormonal balance of rats or mice differs from that of humans.

Nevertheless, a research group compared the effects of six possible endocrine disruptors on the function of the testes in rats, mice and humans. They found similar reactions in humans and rodents only with two of the six substances.
The effects of two other chemicals were similar, but the mice and rats had to be given a much higher dose than humans.
More worryingly, the effects observed in rodents on the latter two substances did not occur at all in humans (!!)

In addition, it must be taken into account that the animals abused in the experiments are often frightened, stressed and painful.
All of these factors affect their hormonal balance, which further weakens the informative value of the experiments.
Such inadequate practices not only cause senseless animal suffering, they also put people at risk.

The authorities responsible for our security must finally move away from animal experiments.

What is the solution?
The solution is simple: Germany and Europe must advance the development of animal-free methods that are relevant to humans.
Results from animal experiments can lead to incorrect conclusions and result in regulatory authorities not being able to keep their promises to the public to ensure the safety of chemicals.
Today there is a multitude of modern and animal-free research methods that can replace animal experiments and provide reliable results.

https://www.peta.de/neuigkeiten/eu-tierversuche-chemikalien/

And I mean…Recently we posted on our blog:

“The European Parliament voted on September 15, 2021 for a comprehensive plan to phase out animal testing
The EU Parliament (EP) has passed a resolution calling on the EU Commission to present an action plan to get out of animal testing.

The resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority of 667 votes, 4 against and 16 abstentions.
The nationwide association “Doctors Against Animal Experiments” is delighted “ (https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2021/10/02/we-fight-against-animal-testing/

Some animal rights activists have called it a historic step, others have seen it as the beginning of a cruelty-free era.
Of course, we always have to maintain a certain optimism, otherwise we will not achieve anything.

But anyone who has many years of experience in this field learns over time to look forward to and hope for the good but, on the other hand, to be prepared for the worst.
Especially when the EU and its servants – as in the present case – crush the good decisions and our optimism at will, disregard them and bow to the pharmaceutical industry.

This is why an animal rights activist must always stay a realist.
Then it doesn’t hurt if he’s an optimist too.

My best regards to all, Venus

Farm Animals, General News

England: All’s Wool That Ends Wool. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Save Herd of 26 Sheep From Flooded Field.
BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833) Pic: DWFRS/BNPS All's wool that ends wool. Pictured: Firefighters with the rescued sheep. This is the heartwarming moment 26 sheep were rescued by firefighters using a boat from a flooded field. The livestock found themselves submerged when torrential rain hit the south of England earlier this week. Fire crews from Sturminster Newton and Blandford, assisted by a Devon and Somerset Fire Rescue animal rescue officer, waded towards the sheep at the waterlogged site near the River Stour in North Dorset. The animals were all carefully placed into the vessel and brought to dry land.
BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833) Pic: CaralineFelthamDart/BNPS All's wool that ends wool. Pictured: The sheep stranded in the flooded field. This is the heartwarming moment 26 sheep were rescued by firefighters using a boat from a flooded field. The livestock found themselves submerged when torrential rain hit the south of England earlier this week. Fire crews from Sturminster Newton and Blandford, assisted by a Devon and Somerset Fire Rescue animal rescue officer, waded towards the sheep at the waterlogged site near the River Stour in North Dorset. The animals were all carefully placed into the vessel and brought to dry land.

Herd of 26 sheep rowed to safety after field floods in downpours

More than two dozen sheep had a narrow escape thanks to firefighters when their meadow flooded in Dorset.

The herd of 26 were strapped into a boat and rowed to shore after torrential rain turned their field in the hamlet of Fiddleford into a lake.

Living up to the ‘rescue’ side of their mission, the Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service crew were called to the waterlogged site near the River Stour.

The service sent its wading team out in a long inflatable boat and they brought the animals to dry land.

They tweeted: ‘All’s wool that ends wool. How many sheep can you fit in a boat?

‘A question the wading team from Sturminster Newton and Blanford fire stations found out this week!

‘With assistance from a Devon and Somerset fire service animal rescue officer, 26 sheep were rescued from a flooded field using a boat.’

A picture shows at least nine sheep safely secured in the boat surrounded by four members of the fire crew looking delighted with the outcome.

The livestock enjoyed a more serene ride to safety than others caught in a past downpour have done.

Farmer Faye Russell sprung into action in February last year with her lamb and sheep caught up in Storm Dennis.

She put a rope around her waist and leapt into her Derbyshire field which had turned into a ‘fierce’ river.

‘Metro’ London

Herd of 26 sheep rowed to safety after field floods in downpours

Well done to Devon and Somerset fire service animal rescue;

Regards Mark

General News

China: Claws out for China over attempt to blame Covid pandemic on US lobsters.

China suggests Maine lobster shipment caused Covid pandemic in latest attempt to shift blame onto US - Robert F. Bukaty /AP
© Robert F. Bukaty /AP China suggests Maine lobster shipment caused Covid pandemic in latest attempt to shift blame onto US – Robert F. Bukaty /AP

Claws out for China over attempt to blame Covid pandemic on US lobsters (msn.com)

Claws out for China over attempt to blame Covid pandemic on US lobsters

A network of Twitter accounts linked to China has claimed that Covid-19 was imported to the Wuhan seafood market via a shipment of Maine lobsters from the US, a disinformation researcher has discovered.The theory is the latest to emerge from Beijing in an effort to deflect and obfuscate any investigation into the virus’s true origin.

Zha Liyou, the Chinese consul general based in Kolkata, was the first to tweet the claim in mid-September. It was then disseminated through Twitter in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, Korean and even Latin.

Marcel Schliebs, a researcher in disinformation based at Oxford University, says he has uncovered over 550 accounts which shared the theory using near identical wording. 

He said all the accounts would share messages at similar times each day between 8 and 11am Beijing time.

“Attribution is really difficult,” Mr Schliebs told NBC News. “But we can see there’s a coordinated effort, and that it’s a pro-Chinese narrative.”

Mr Schliebs said he was able to uncover the network after noticing that some of the accounts were “unsophisticated sock puppets” with “very few or zero followers”, while others appeared to be legitimate accounts that have been hacked for the purpose of spreading disinformation.

“It looks crude and not sophisticated when you look at individual accounts. But these kinds of networks are designed to try and get topics to trend on social media,” Bret Schafer, the head of the information manipulation team at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told NBC.

Mr Schliebs passed his findings to Twitter, which said it had suspended many of the accounts.

Beijing has variously claimed that Covid-19 originally leaked from the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, and that Covid originally arrived from Russia via rail cargo.

Regards Mark