For our overseas visitors: Legend has it that when the day comes that the Ravens leave the tower (of London); then the tower will collapse. Hence, the ravens of the tower are very special birds, and even have their own keeper – the Raven master.
So today, 19/5; there was a lot of pomp at the tower as the the female raven was officially named; to go with her new brother Edgar, named after Edgar Allen Poe, the famous Poet. She is called Branwen.
The British public had been invited to vote for the name of the raven chick at the Tower of London with five names on the shortlist- Branwen, Matilda, Winifred, Florence and Bronte.
Yeoman Warder Chris Skaife said: ‘We’re delighted to have two new chicks joining the raven community here at the Tower. I hope that people around the world will help us to name our newest addition, and come and see them in person as they settle into their new home.’
Ravenmaster Chris with resident raven Merlina – Chris Skaife photo
They were born to the Tower’s resident breeding couple, Huginn and Muninn.
The name Branwen refers to the deity from Celtic mythology, whose name translates as ‘blessed raven’.
The new arrivals take the number of resident ravens to nine alongside, Jubilee, Harris, Gripp, Rocky, Erin, Poppy and Georgie.
The famous ravens are known as the guardians of the Tower and legend says the British kingdom and the Tower of London will fall if the six resident ravens leave the fortress.
Given there are currently nine ravens in residence, means there are plenty spare and the kingdom is safe.
Superstition dictates: ‘If the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it.’
Charles II is thought to have been the first to insist that the ravens of the Tower be protected sometime during his reign between 1660 – 1685 after he was warned that the crown and the Tower itself would fall if they left. The King’s order was given against the wishes of his astronomer, John Flamsteed, who complained the ravens impeded the business of his observatory in the White Tower.
Protocol states there must be at least six ravens within the Tower grounds at all times, as well as one spare – an order that came from Winston Churchill after numbers fell to just one in the 1940s. With the two new baby birds, that makes nine – the required six, plus three spares.
Above – the tower of London
Phew ! – I can sleep safe tonight !
Regards Mark
Oh England, my Lionheart! Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park. You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames– That old river poet that never, ever ends. Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in, And keep the tower from tumbling.
WAV Comment – A wonderful lady who has literally changed the world. Congratulations to her with this award from MFA – so very much deserved.
JANE GOODALL TO RECEIVE AWARD FOR 60 YEARS OF ANIMAL SERVICE. HERE’S WHAT SHE’S DONE
Animal-protection organization Mercy For Animals will honor primatologist Jane Goodall with a Hope Award for her decades of animal activism.
On June 10, primatologist and animal activist Jane Goodall will receive the Hope Award from nonprofit animal-protection organization Mercy For Animals (MFA) at its annual Hope Gala hosted by vegan influencer Tabitha Brown. The virtual event will celebrate MFA’s 22nd anniversary by honoring leaders in animal welfare and the plant-based food industry. MFA will also award animal activist Erik Hastings with the Hidden Hero Award and Miyoko’s Creamery founder Miyoko Schinner with the Global Impact Award.
The Hope Award recognizes Goodall’s 60 years of animal service that focuses on protecting chimpanzees and their habitat. Her work has inspired other animal advocates and everyone who cares about the planet and its inhabitants. “We are thrilled to honor the work of Dr. Jane Goodall, whose groundbreaking research has inspired people around the world to examine their relationship with animals,” MFA President Leah Garcés said. “Her dedication to animal protection and conservation inspires Mercy For Animals’ work to reduce suffering and build a compassionate food system.”
Goodall’s history of animal activism
In July 1960, at the age of 26, Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in what is now Tanzania. Her work at Gombe Stream National Park would become the foundation of future primatological research and redefine the relationship between humans and animals. Her unorthodox approach to research was to immerse herself in the habitat and lives of chimpanzees, allowing her to see them as individuals with emotions and long-term bonds. Goodall’s discovery at that time that chimpanzees make and use tools is considered one of the greatest achievements of 20th-century scholarship.
In 1977, Goodall established wildlife conservation organization the Jane Goodall Institute to support the research in Gombe and focus on protecting chimpanzees from extinction. When she discovered that the survival of chimpanzees was threatened by habitat destruction and illegal trafficking, she developed a breakthrough approach to species conservation that includes the needs of local people, the environment, and the connection between humans and animals. In 1991, Goodall also founded global environmental and humanitarian youth program Roots & Shoots with a group of Tanzanian students to teach youth about wildlife conservation. Today, Roots & Shoots is active in more than 60 countries.
At 87 years old, Goodall now focuses on traveling around the world, writing, speaking, and spreading hope through action. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lifelong activist created a video message to encourage people to rethink their “too close” relationships with wild animals. “We have amazing brains.
We’re capable of love and compassion for each other,” Goodall said. “Let us also show love and compassion for the animals who are with us on this planet. Let us all live in peace and harmony together.”
13th May, London UK-received anonymously over email:
” ‘The Ginger Pig’ have many stores across the city.
Last night, we made our way to their branch near Clapham Common. This area has recently had a lot of attention on it after the murder of Sarah Everard * at the hands of a police officer. Naturally, they swore more would plague the streets. Last night, their presence was definitely felt, we were feeling stubborn though.
After a series of close encounters, our target windows were in sight. And so was a delivery truck. Doors wide open, proudly displaying the cruelty that compelled us to be there. The additional delay wasn’t ideal but this came as a heavy reminder of what we were there to do and why we were there to do it.
No matter how many blue lights and sirens ripped through the sky, we weren’t going to be deterred. The slim possibility of being thrown into a van handcuffed felt very minimal in comparison to the animals’ certainty of being thrown into one bloody and dismembered.
Once the truck had fucked off and a comfortable amount of time had passed, we attacked.
Cops protect property not people but turns out they couldn’t even do that.”
And I mean…The 33-year-old * Sarah Everhardwalked home on March 3 at around 9 p.m. after visiting a friend.
Days later, her body was found in a forest in Kent, and a police officer was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and murder. The alleged perpetrator in the Everard case is a senior police officer.
Everard’s case may be a special one, but it highlights a structural problem: instead of protecting women, police officers cover their colleagues.
The short film “Motherhood” by the Dutchwoman Eline Helena Schelleken shows how most of the sows in the EU have to spend their motherhood.
In the crate in the service center and then in the so-called “piglet protection cage” in the farrowing area.
Imprisoned, immobile and extradited.
Pigs are sentient, intelligent beings.
The meat industry exploits them efficiently as production machines. You can read the seven most important facts below.
At the beginning, the film shows what loving, feeling and tender animals pigs are. But after a few minutes it becomes clear how cruel it is to be locked in a cage for weeks.
Cage farming is a practice that is in stark contrast to the trend towards more sustainable agriculture, as outlined in the “Green Deal”.
We, as part of the” End the Cage Age”initiative, call on EU Executive Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to support the EU-wide ban on cage farming.
1. Number of sows
There are around 11 million sows in the EU. The majority of them spend almost half of the year in a cage where they cannot even turn around.
Only fewer than 2 million sows live in alternative systems without a cage.
2. Days in the cage
Most sows are caged at the beginning of their gestation for around five weeks. About a week before the birth of their piglets, they are restrained again and remain in the so-called piglet protection cage for another five weeks.
Because a “production cycle” takes about 21 weeks, the sow spends a total of up to half of the year fixed in a cage.
3. Natural behavior
Locked up in crates and “piglet protection cages”, they are more or less tied up.
They can no longer exercise even basic behavior. During the labor process and the weeks of lactation, the sow cannot even walk a few steps or turn and flip over. It is degraded from a feeling, intelligent living being to a mere unit of production.
‘Catastrophic’: Sierra Leone Sells Protected Rainforest for Chinese Harbour.
The planned development is on Whale Bay, known for its cetaceans and also a key fish-breeding area, say opponents of the scheme. Photograph: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty
Controversial deal with China would be ‘disastrous’ for fishing and protected rainforest, say opponents
A $55m (£39m) deal struck by the government of Sierra Leone with China to build an industrial fishing harbour on 100 hectares (250 acres) of beach and protected rainforest has been criticised as “a catastrophic human and ecological disaster” by conservationists, landowners and rights groups.
The gold and black sands of Black Johnson beach fringe the African nation’s Western Area Peninsula national park, home to endangered species including the duiker antelope and pangolins. The waters are rich in sardines, barracuda and grouper, caught by local fishermen who produce 70% of the fish for the domestic market.
After reports of a Chinese-backed fishmeal plant began circulating on social media, A statement that appeared to be from the Sierra Leonean fisheries ministry confirmed the deal, but denied the planned construction was a “fish mill”. The facility would be a harbour for tuna and “other bigger fishing” vessels exporting to international markets, it said. It would include a “waste-management component” to “recycle marine and other wastes into useful products”.
The government said the beach, one of many along the nation’s 250-mile (400km) coastline, was the “most suitable place” for construction, and revealed the finance ministry had set aside a compensation package of 13.76bn leone (£950,000) for affected landowners. But the statement leaves more questions than answers, say those objecting to the plan.
Two legal campaign groups, the Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy for Justice (ILRAJ) and Namati Sierra Leone, have written to the government, under the 2013 Right to Access Information Act, demanding to see the environmental and social-impact assessment studies, and the report showing that the beach was, as claimed, the most suitable place for construction “in terms of bathymetry, social safeguards (minimum resettlement costs) and environmental issues”. They are also seeking a copy of the grant agreement between China and Sierra Leone.
Basita Michael, a lawyer for the ILRAJ, said: “The press release was very vague. It left us wondering how did we arrive here and how come we are only hearing about this now. We have a right to know more.”
James Tonner, who owns land at Black Johnson with his mother, Jane Aspden Gbandewa, has written an open letter to the president, Julius Maada Bio, calling for him to intervene and stop the construction, which Tonner said would be “disastrous for the country and the planet”.
It would destroy pristine rainforest, plunder fish stocks and pollute fish breeding grounds and several ecosystems, Tonner said. The beach is on Whale Bay, so-named because whales and dolphins are seen there.
Tonner, who lives in London, has set up a crowdfunding page to fund a judicial review into the deal. The government could be acting unconstitutionally if it acquired the land compulsorily, he said, because the constitution requires any such move to be in the public interest. The compensation stated by the government was also unfair, he argued, claiming that the rate was about 30 times lower than the market value of the land.
“Under the constitution, the government can sequester land if it is in the public interest,” Tonner said. “Even if this just a deep-water harbour, it is not in the public interest because it’s not a suitable site. There are fish breeding sites in the lagoon. It will wipe out the local fish people live on.”
Tito Gbandewa, Tonner’s stepfather, is a former fisherman who runs an ecotourism business on the beach and owns about 1.2 hectares. He said: “If they do this here, the water will be dirty, there will be a lot of oil and noise, the trawlers will be all around.
“Our own fishermen won’t have a place to fish. Everything will be spoiled. Tourism will be finished.”
Dr Sama Banya, president emeritus of the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, echoed Gbandewa’s comments, saying the proposed development would have a “disastrous” impact on tourism and “the very fish industry that it’s supposed to support”.
Emma Kowa Jalloh, Sierra Leone’s fisheries minister, insisted that the plan was for a harbour and not a fishmeal factory. She said: “I can categorically tell you there is no fish mill [sic] going in at Black Johnson. What we are doing is a fish harbour that will be built by the Chinese government. A fish mill is something where you go and catch all the baby fish and grind it into food to give to piggeries, and fish in aquaculture – and that is so not true.”
It would be built with a Chinese government “grant” and equity from Sierra Leone in the form of land, she said. Half of the land needed was government-owned, she said, including the seafront, up to 200 metres from the sea. The rest has been acquired through compulsory acquisition, she said.
“People are making this fuss about it,” the minister added. “I would just appeal to people: ‘be patient, we want to be developed, we want to grow, we want to be classified as an upcoming country. There must be development and somebody has to sacrifice.’
“I’m not saying everything is going to be 100% perfect but we will make sure that it is near-perfect.”
This is important in a way; but will have no real effect on you as visitors to this site.
I (Mark) will try to explain;
A ‘domain’ is a internet ‘address’ which can be used for global access by anyone. Here at WAV, our domain is ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’; we pay each year to have and retain this domain.
We have recently been informed by domain registrars in China that applications have been made for at least 4 domains for ‘World Animals Voice’ and that they will vary from our address – as far as we know, they are worldanimalsvoice.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.com.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.net.cn/ and worldanimalsvoice.org.cn
We have informed the registrar in China that these addresses applications are nothing to do with us (as we are UK and Germany controlled) or are they associated with us and that if they are taken out, then we will have no control over the content of same.
Our real ‘concern’ is that the name ‘worldanimalsvoice’; which we set up and use for this site, is / could be used (in China) when it has nothing to with us; having originated and been registered via the domain controller in China.
Our domain is only ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’
We hope that if these new domains are used, taking the name ‘world animals voice’; then they will be supportive of animal welfare / rights issues; and that their content will be positive towards animals. But we cannot guarantee this, or any of the content on any of these sites.
So you, as supporters to our site, can visit us you always do; but please just be wary that there may be other ‘world animals voice’ sites, namely (worldanimalsvoice.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.com.cn/ worldanimalsvoice.net.cn/ and worldanimalsvoice.org.cn) possibly being used. The info on them is not associated with us; has nothing to do with us and never will be controlled in any way by us.
There is no way to combat this and we have to accept the situation of world (computer) domains as it is.
Please put ‘worldanimalsvoice.com’ somewhere safe on your system so that you know this is the only way to access us. Any other address is outside of our control.
We trust you understand the situation and we will carry on with this site as always.
Hunting and pollution drove otters to the brink of extinction in the 1970s, but now they are back.
Their widespread return to our waterways is one of few recent successes for Britain’s beleaguered wildlife. Yet instead of celebrating the return of this beautiful animal, extremist anglers have launched a petition to have its legal protections removed.
Incredibly, the petition calls for the complete removal of all legal protections currently enjoyed by the otter.
Otter Cruelty
The petition is only the latest salvo in a long running anti-otter campaign by anglers who complain that otters take ‘their’ fish from waterways or fish farms.
In March 2020, for example, Dorset fishery owner Stuart Joneswas jailed for two months after trapping and shooting an otter in front of horrified holiday makers. Jones killed the otter rather than pay for otter-proof fencing.
No Laughing Matter
Anti-otter sentiment is rife in angling circles. Particularly unpleasant are the Predation Action Group, a lobby organisation composed of anglers and fish farmers.
Their hypocrisy is astounding: they breed fish – for ‘sport’ or ‘food’ – in filthy, cruel and cramped conditions and then complain when otters are attracted to this over-abundance of natural prey.
The PAG’s own ‘report’ reveals the grim nature of their activities:
“These are intensive operations involving huge numbers of fish, farmed in a relatively small area, being kept in concrete tanks or earth ponds.”
As if this was not bad enough …PAG’s patron is ‘comedian’ Jim Davidson!!!
Not funny: PAG patron Jim Davidson
Sound familiar?
This situation is analogous with what happens on grouse moors or pheasant shoots. An artificially high number of animals are bred to be killed and any potential predators are then ruthlessly snared, poisoned or beaten to death.
It is a certainty that anglers are already killing otters – just as gamekeepers continue to kill birds of prey.
Their petition just shows they want to do it with impunity.
Direct Action Against ALL Bloodsports
None of this surprises the HSA which has always opposed shooting and fishing, as well as hunting with hounds.
These activities are inherently cruel and cause huge environmental damage along the way.
And I mean…Instead of killing defenseless animals, which are very popular in England, the anglers should buy their meat and fish from the supermarket – if it absolutely has to be meat.
Angling fish although they don’t need it to survive is a bloody sport, the otter needs it to survive, otherwise it will starve to death.
The Barbel Society Officers have recently launched a petition on the government website calling for the removal of the current legal protected status of otters.
This follows on from their 2018 petition calling for ‘non-lethal controls’ which was comprehensively rejected by the government.
The petition organisers should be honest. Their petition is a doomed call to the government to remove legal protection for otters so that they can be culled- what the hunters have been doing illegally up to now anyway.
That’s what the organisers have been calling for on social media and elsewhere and that’s exactly how it’s already being perceived by the public.
That means: what they will achieve is that hundreds of thousands of people will stand against this bloody sport.
We are confident that the government will refuse the legal murder of otters this time even more violently than the last one
WAV Comment – Good animal friend; long time live exports campaigner, and environmentalist / farm animal campaigner, Philip, CEO at Compassion In World Farming, shares his feelings about progress for animals and their welfare in the UK last week; re the Queens Speech on upcoming government actions to change legislation.
CIWF
Historic Progress For Animals Announced
This week has been an historic moment for animal welfare in the UK with plans for key reforms announced by government, including legal recognition of animal sentience and a ban on live exports. These, and a suite of other measures, were outlined first in the Queen’s Speech and then in a Defra Action Plan. In total, 40 measures have been unveiled covering farmed, wild and companion animals, which together add up to the biggest welfare shake-up in a generation.
Plans are only as good as the implementation, of course, and Compassion will press hard to ensure government intentions become law. The reforms will be introduced as a series of Bills, with the one recognising animal sentience already having been introduced to the House of Lords.
The Bill provides legal recognition that vertebrate animals are sentient beings and intends assurance that their ability to suffer pain and experience joy, if we let them, will be taken into account in future government policies. Legal recognition of animals as sentient creatures has long been a cornerstone of our work at Compassion. Indeed, it was our founder, Peter Roberts, who first launched the idea in the 1980s. The battle was first won in the European Union in 1997 when legal recognition was attached as a protocol and then later an article in the EU treaty. As the recognition was in the EU treaty rather than a specific law, it wasn’t transposed into British legislation post-Brexit. The government’s new Bill proposes to rectify the situation.
All those years ago – Peter Roberts (foreground), Founder CIWF protests about intensive animal farming.
Another of our longstanding campaigns has been for a ban on the live export trade for slaughter and fattening. Always cruel and unnecessary, this trade has continued down the decades despite overwhelming public opposition. Quite why is a mystery, given the trade’s insignificance to the farming industry when set against overall meat exports.
It is a hugely welcome moment then that the UK government now proposes to end this indefensible trade once and for all. The proposal, of course, comes soon after our own Judicial Review of the Scottish Government over calf exports.
It is also tremendously important that these reforms are quickly followed with bans on other indefensible factory farm practices, including the keeping of mother pigs and chickens in cages.
Factory farming is finally being recognised more widely for what it is — a cruel and deeply damaging form of farming that only makes worse the climate, nature and pandemic emergencies now facing society.
What is crucial now is that Parliament and the UK government takes this opportunity to not only make these key reforms, but also to push on and end all forms of factory farming.
Thank you to everyone who has marched through the streets, written letters, signed petitions, switched their eating habits and got stories in the media calling for these reforms. It is testimony to your efforts over decades.
Whilst celebrating these hugely welcome plans, it is more important than ever before that we keep up the pressure until every last animal is free from the suffering of factory farming.
Andy Gray stands beside an enormous hill of bare red earth and smiles with a hint of mischief. This is his best field, its soils known as Crediton red land. The region was once known for producing swedes prized by Covent Garden market. Now, every six metres, planted in rows 14 metres apart, stands a tree guard shielding a young oak, aspen or alder.
“You can grow anything on it and I’m planting trees,” says Gray, a 16th-generation Devon farmer. “I’m seen as the fool on the hill. One neighbour said ‘you might as well concrete it over and build houses’. They could be right. Who knows?”
The company claims it can produce cell-culture meat more efficiently than any other country in the world Credit: Supplied
Company To Save 170,000 Pigs By Scaling Up Cell-Cultured Meat Production In The UK
It comes after predictions that a staggering 60 percent of all meat consumed in 2040 will not come from dead animals
A company spawn from Oxford University is scaling up cell-cultured meat production in the UK – using technology developed in the same building as the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Ivy Farm Technologies plans to remove the equivalent of 170,000 pigs from the production line by producing over 12,000 tonnes of pork.
Ivy Farm Technologies
The process works by taking a small number of cells from a pig and placing them in a bioreactor. Once vitamins and nutrients are added, it is ready for harvest. This takes around three to four weeks.
Since developing the system, Ivy Farm is raising £16 million in order to build a pilot research and development production facility near the university.
It will mark the first step in the plan to become global industry leaders.
Moreover, the company says the ‘scaffold system’ it developed means it can produce cells more quickly and cheaply than any other technology currently available across the world.
It hopes to roll out slaughter-free sausages in supermarkets and restaurants by 2023.
‘Great for meat-lovers’
Co-founder Russ Tucker is eyeing putting the UK on the map in the cell-cultured meat sector.
In a statement sent to PBN, he said: “If you look at the world around us, the way we currently produce and consume food is unsustainable. “Cultured meat is the silver bullet – through cutting-edge technology, we can provide real, high-quality meat while saving the planet.”
Russ Tucker, Ivy Farm Technologies“Already nearly half the worldwide harvest is required to feed livestock and that’s only going to go up.
“Cultured meat is the silver bullet – through cutting-edge technology, we can provide real, high-quality meat while saving the planet.“Ivy Farm will be great for the environment, great for meat lovers, and great for animals as there’s no slaughter.”
Slaughter-free
People are becoming more interested in trying cell-cultured meat. According to Ivy Farm, more than 50 percent are willing to buy it.
It comes after the predictions claim a staggering 60 percent of all meat consumed in 2040 will not come from dead animals.
Rich Dillon, Ivy Farm Chief Executive, said: “Make no mistake, cultured meat is here to stay. It’s a compelling proposition – real meat, guilt-free.“We believe our technology is among the best in the world and that we can fly the flag for Britain.”
Currently, the company is in talks with the Food Standards Agency. They will have to authorize the products before they can be sold.
Not funny: PAG patron Jim Davidson
World Animals Voice 