ANDREW POTTS, EXCLUSIVE, Gold Coast Bulletin; September 4, 2016 3:00pm
A CITY hall cage fight is brewing over plans to revive a ban on circuses with exotic animals performing within the city. Fur is expected to fly, with councillors set to defy the recommendations of bureaucrats and vote to ban circus animals on city controlled properties, nearly four years after such a ban was lifted.
A petition calling for the ban will go before the Community and Cultural Development committee on Thursday with council officers recommending that “no action be taken”. But committee head Bob La Castra said the advice was unacceptable and that he could not stand by and do nothing while animals “suffered”.
He urged ratepayers across the city to put pen to paper and lobby their elected representatives before Thursday’s vote.
Cr Bob La Castra is leading the charge to reinstate a ban on circus animals performing on the Gold Coast. Photo: Jerad Williams
“The views of those who believe this to be still acceptable are totally out of line and dated,” he said. “This should not be happening in our own backyard and we need those people who feel strongly about this to make their feelings known, so write to your councillors, speak out about it and fight this barbarity.
“By allowing these circuses on our land we are complicit in what they are doing and banning them would send a message that what they are doing is not right and that we are taking a stand.”
Police and Animal Rights campaigners outside Gold Coast Council Chambers protesting against the circus. Photo by Richard Gosling
If the ban is successful, circuses with exotic animals would still be allowed to perform on private property. A ban was first put into place in 2009 by the council with the backing of then-Mayor Ron Clarke. It was lifted in a January 2013 decision by the council in which Mayor Tom Tate used his casting vote to break a deadlock tie.
The Gold Coast Bulletin understands councillors on each sides of the argument are running the numbers to determine if the ban could potentially pass.
Both sides concede a vote could go either way.
But Southport councillor Dawn Crichlow, an ardent supporter of circuses, said she would fight the ban tooth and nail and declared the opposing argument to be “crap”.
Cr Dawn Crichlow with Massai the Lion. Pic Jono Searle.
“The kids want the circuses and I will fight all the way because it is a matterwhich is close to my heart and those of many others,” she said. “I am sick of the noisy minority coming up with all this crap.“I cannot believe this women condones & thinks it’s ok for children to see abused & tortured animals, just for their pleasure….condoning this just lets kids think that it is ok to be cruel to animals for the sake of entertainment???? By allowing circuses to carry on using animals is agreeing with the torturous training these poor young animals have to endure. Would it be ok to watch a double human act if you knew that one-half of the act was constantly being physically abused & tortured; just for entertainment???? NO, I DON’T THINK SO!!! ANYONE THAT DOES THINK ITS OK…WELL, I THINK THEY NEED TO BE SEEKING PROFESSIONAL HELP”
RSCPA chief executive Mark Townend called on the council to “move with the times” and end the mistreatment of exotic animals.
“I would hope the council gets into 2016 thinking because realistically circus animals are very 1970s,” he said. “There are great circus which do not put animals through these ridiculous things which are not in their natural behaviour.“I appeal to the council to move with the times because we can have a successful circus without putting animals through such treachery.”
The petition calling for the ban to be reinstated was submitted to the council in March by then-Robina councillor Jan Grew in the final act of her 22 year political career.
More than 45 councils across Australia have exotic animal bans in place. Both City of Melbourne and Penrith both voted to introduce their own boycotts this year. Protesters are expected to attend Thursday’s council committee meeting and security will be on hand.
“See how animals are really trained to perform for your entertainment!! Then ask yourself; is this fair on the animals? Do you enjoy knowing they have been hurt for you entertainment????”
“The Circus, where animals are miserable & go insane; confined to metal cages when not being abused & are trained through fear; fear of being whipped, hit with objects, tied by the neck i.e tortured, etc. etc.”
(Anyone who condones this…will be classed as an animal abuser through my eyes)
” I received this via email & wanted to share. This is horrific, why are these Countries being allowed to kill these animals in this way?? I can’t give a lot but £1 is better than nothing & a lot of £1 will add up & hopefully get this advert on the TV; to stop this heinous illegal type of slaughtering! I also found an unlisted video on youtube that I think everybody should be allowed to see! Graphic TV AD, Plus Graphic video at the end of this page FILMED BY A VET ON AN EXPORT SHIP “
Change his fate.Help expose live export sledgehammering on tv.
It’s been 6 days since we exposed the brutal reality of live export to Vietnam: terrified animals having their skulls smashed with sledgehammers.
Still, the trade continues.
That means young calves like him will grow up to risk the very same horror: sledgehammered to death in a filthy slaughterhouse. The ‘lucky ones’ die quickly. The unlucky ones feel everything — blow after agonising blow.
(VERY GRAPHIC… VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED; AT THE END OF THIS PAGE – Watch a video TAKEN ON-BOARD AN EXPORT SHIP BY A VET, after it was uploaded she lost her job!!!!).
These animals’ harrowing stories are sending shockwaves around the world. Our investigation made headlines in 34 countries. Our Prime Minister expressed his ‘shock’ and ‘disgust’. But it wasn’t followed by any meaningful action.
10 days out from an election and the last thing political leaders want is for their complicity in animal abuse to be thrown into the spotlight. With your help, that’s exactly what we’re about to do.
We urgently need to send a message to decision-makers that their promises and platitudes aren’t good enough. That for every animal who suffers for this industry, for every day a terrified steer is at risk of brutal sledgehammering — we will keep fighting for them.
We have just 48 hours to secure pre-election air time. Can you help us reach our goal? We don’t just have our sights set on TV — with your help we will target politicians when they read their news online, too.
For too long the odds have been stacked against animals, but right now we have a rare opportunity to hit the live export industry where it hurts.Help us seize it.
Even a small donation today can make a difference.
In whatever way you choose to help animals, thank you. Lyn White AM
Campaign Directo
Please donate to an emergency broadcast.
It’s not the first time Animals Australia investigators have exposed the horrific practice of sledgehammering animals to death in the live export trade. After 12 months, terrified animals are still having their skulls smashed on a nightly basis. Nothing Barnaby Joyce (the Agriculture Minister) has done to date will stop this horror continuing.
With just 9 days until the election, we need your urgent support to disrupt the election campaign with an emergency broadcast for animals. Help us get this online and on TV.
Australia’s Federal Agriculture Minister, Barnaby Joyce, has known for YEARS about sledgehammering in Vietnam. In that time, his Department has green-lit shiploads of animals to the region. In light of Animals Australia’s recent investigation exposing brutal sledgehammering yet again in Vietnam, he still refuses to suspend trade — putting more animals at risk of horrific cruelty. Tell the Minister what you think of the fact that NOTHING he’s done to date has prevented this extreme abuse from continuing: https://www.facebook.com/BarnabyJoyceMP/
“If you love your pets, you don’t clear off on holiday & leave the poor things alone! If they don’t get a serious sentence & all the dogs taken from them, they will carry on abusing!! Laws have to change to stop this type of thing happening again…an Animal Abuse Registry could stop repeat offenders etc.”
By News Staff – Reporting by Kainani Stevens – kstevens@abc6.com
Accused of 17 Counts Of Animal Abuse & Neglect – Kathleen and Donald Perkins
Police say the couple went on a two-week vacation, leaving their dogs locked up at home, alone, without enough food or water. This is not the first run-in the pair have had with animal control.
Both Kathleen and Donald Perkinsplead not guilty in court, accused of the 17 counts of abuse and neglect. The Perkins’ operate Celie Kennels out of their Ten Rod Road home, breeding golden retrievers for over a decade, according to their website.
Last week, 10 golden retrievers, six papillons, and one cat were removed from the Exeter home after State Police received a call from a concerned neighbor. Animal Control responded and found the dogs in “unsafe” conditions.
“The dogs were in crates barely big enough for them, standing in urine and feces. Their paws were raw and they had little or no water,” said Sgt. David Bassignani of the Rhode Island State Police.
All the dogs and the cat are being housed at several shelters across the state and will remain there until the judge rules on the case. Several neighbors of the Perkins’ have contacted animal control in the past.
“We have in the past had calls made by concerned citizens about the living conditions of the animals,” said Dr. E. J. Finocchio, Director of the RISPCA. The pair are due back in court on January 13th.
“OMG…can you believe the picture below?? I’ve only seen hooves like that once before; on a dead horse!! How can the owner have let them get into such a state they could barely move? It’s not like their so skinny they haven’t been fed, ok not a lot of food, but somebody had to have been giving them something; they couldn’t have lived to their ages without any food or water!! I just can’t understand how anyone, even someone with no knowledge of horses at all, is that dumb, to think it’s ok to just leave them! The poor horses must have been agony, any horsey person knows to keep a horse fit & pain free, a farrier is God; horses hooves need trimming between 6-8 weeks it varies; even if they don’t have shoes on, they still need to be trimmed!!
“I just pray whoever owns these horses, get what they deserve; in this instance prison without probation, along with having to pay in full, all vet & farrier bills. It’s going to take a lot of work from a very good farrier to get their hooves back into shape….but even if they do, the horses may be unfit to ride; due to irreversible damage to the structure of their hooves. I’m just in shock & have nothing but utter disgust at the owner’s blatant abuse & disregard for the health & welfare of these poor innocent horses!! R.I.P little one. Many thanks to (http://www.defhr.org/)USA for taking care of these equine!”
By Charlotte Ricca-Smith on 25th-Aug-2015
‘Critical condition’
The emaciated animals were discovered standing knee-deep in muck and with hooves more than three feet long.
A miniature mare had to be euthanised at the scene due, because ruptured ligaments had caused thefetlocksto dislocate. The two others – one a full-sized stallion and one a miniature stallion – were in a ‘critical condition’.
“It’s the worst we’ve seen in our 26-year history,” Caroline Robertson, the development director of Days End Farm Horse Rescue told Caroll County Times. “They could barely move without being at risk of getting tangled in their own hooves.”
Three neglected horses have been found, with feet so overgrown it is believed they were locked up for at least 15 years.
Hooves removed
Before the horses could be removed from the scene, they had to be sedated so they could lie down and have the excess hoof removed. They were then taken to Days End Farm Horse Rescue (DEFHR) in Maryland, (http://www.defhr.org/)USA for rehabilitation.
The horses were discovered when a member of the public called the Humane Society of Washington County with concerns about pet pigeons kept there. It was during the welfare inspection that the equines were found.
‘Long road’
Both horses have been aged at around 18. The horse has been called Quest, while the surviving pony has been named Rio. Both have received further treatment from a farrier and vet and are now on the “long road” to rehabilitation.
An investigation into the case is on-going and cruelty charges could be brought.“Never mind could be…they definitely should be!!”
KEEP YOUR EYE’S OPEN FOR THIS BXXXH, IF YOU SEE HER WITH ANOTHER DOG, REPORT HER…SHE IS NOT FIT TO TAKE CARE OF JACK SHIT!!!!
Williams, 43, claims she never hurt her dog and that Diamond was just sick. According to officials, Williams moved to the area last year and Diamond proceeded to get sick, but she was not able to afford a veterinary visit. She claims to have tried to get the dog healthy but the dog just kept losing weight.
Authorities reported that Diamond’s bones were visible through her skin and the dog was constantly left outside without shelter. Diamond was removed from the property and placed in the care of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. According to a representative of Friends of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, Diamond recovered and has since been adopted out.
Though Williams said she misses Diamond and cries whenever she goes in the backyard, she stated she would just get another dog after officials took Diamond. Thankfully, she never did.” She may not have then, but how do you know she won’t get another dog, unless you visit every week??”
Williams has been charged with animal cruelty but insists she is a good person who should not be charged. Authorities reported Williams appeared to have no remorse over her sick and emaciated dog. She was released on bond.
“SHE WILL GET ANOTHER DOG, IT’S CASES LIKE THIS WHERE ANIMALS ARE ADOPTED AGAIN…ONLY TO BE ABUSED…BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING FOR SHELTER STAFF, TO CONFIRM THE PERSON IS GENUINE; OR HAS ABUSED BEFORE! THIS COUNTRY NEEDS AN “ANIMAL ABUSE REGISTER” JUST LIKE THE “REGISTER FOR HUMAN PEADOPHILES!!!”
“Yes I agree, due to the dwindling numbers of tigers in the wild & those that are legally shot for pleasure; there aren’t many left in the wild; BUT there are some decent wildlife parks that tigers can be kept in, whilst following the proper gene protocol etc.. But to say they are better in a circus is too much for me to swallow!!! As an animal advocate of many years, I don’t think tigers are or should be allowed in CIRCUSES.” To say tigers are trained without the use of brute force or cruelty is something I can not accept, i.e jumping through rings of fire!!! Please read the following report on why this person thinks tigers are better off in zoos, someone who is an animal welfare specialist!!! PLEASE READ THIS POST…FOR ME ME IT STANDS AGAINST EVERYTHING I BELIEVE AS AN ANIMAL ADVOCATE.”
“PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AGAINST WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES BY LIKING THIS POST…Thanks!
Why life in captivity is the last hope of saving tigers
I recently went to visit a family who are being attacked. They are hard-working and do not live off state benefits despite being anything but wealthy.
They are a part of a minority community that has been subject to venomous attacks for many years by people who are never called to account. In many ways the prejudices that they suffer are amongst the last socially acceptable, thoughtless bigotries it is possible to openly express.
The family I went to visit was a circus family, from Peter Jolly’s circus, the first in Great Britain to be licensed by Defra to have and exhibit big cats. It is a traditional circus maintaining a 300-year-old tradition of showing performing animals to adoring crowds. The family live and work every minute of every day with their animals, which, as a result are in the condition one would expect of pedigree show cattle.
They are physically healthy and mentally stimulated from the constant contact with their trainers.What is odd is that the animal rights lobby has been so successful in persuading a nation of animal lovers that these animals should be in the wild, and that both captivity and being asked to perform are acts of cruelty.
On September 3, Jim Fitzpatrick MP introduced a private member’s bill calling for all wild animals in circuses to be banned.
This is quite an odd legal approach to an activity that is licensed by Defra. It is even more odd considering that the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has already reported on this issue. The committee included the current Farming Minister, George Eustice; Neil Parish, the East Devon MP currently working closely with the RSPCA on animal welfare matters, and Barry Gardiner, a Labour MP well known for his anti-hunting stance.
The committee’s report recommended the Government should not consider a banning wild animals in circuses but should allow the current licensing system to regulate the activity. This was because the committee found that there were no welfare implications to wild animals being kept captive or performing in circuses. This may surprise many people who are used to hearing the opposite in public, but it doesn’t surprise me. I have seen the conditions that these animals are kept in and the condition of the animals for myself.
If you are against animals in circuses, or have no particular view about them, I would invite you to consider a couple of points.
Take tigers. In the past century we have lost 97 per cent of wild tigers on this planet. There are essentially two reasons for this. Tigers are an apex predator that require a large area of land to survive in the wild. Man has encroached on that land and man is not good at sharing. Worse still, for the tigers, man has decided that their component parts are far more valuable after their death than when they are alive. The reality is that there is not so much wild for them to be in anymore and many people willing to go into the wild to shoot them and sell them on the black market.
The reality is that we cannot turn the clock back. The task of providing a habitat and preventing poaching is simply not one we can complete before tigers become extinct if all tigers were to remain in the wild. This is an appalling reality but it is a reality nonetheless. “Exactly…but they shouldn’t be subjected to training tactics, to entertain the public either”
So we are left with the unavoidable conclusion that some tigers must be kept in captivity, despite how much this offends some people’s aesthetic sensibilities.
Of course we can and should keep tigers in zoos and safari parks. These are both places where the animals are safe and can be studied from a distance. They also, however, have an inherent disadvantage. Tigers in zoos and safari parks do not enjoy the level of mental stimulation they would in the wild, largely because it would be frowned upon to allow them to hunt the other residents. It is for this reason that safari parks came into being in the first place.
People wanted to display animals in settings that more closely resembled the wild than traditional zoos, and where the animals had more to keep them occupied.
Ironically they turned to circus people, who assisted in designing the first safari parks in order to minimise the boredom that can be experienced by animals in captivity.
Tigers in a modern circus, on the other hand, have a great deal of mental stimulation, which comes in the form of the training it takes in order for them to perform. The suggestion that cruelty is employed in this training simply isn’t true. If you were to train a tiger by beating it you would end up with an animal whose only act would be cowering in fear. As anyone who has ever tried to train a dog knows, you may be able to stop an animal from doing something by scaring it but you can’t encourage an animal to do something in the same way.
Tricks that tigers do in a circus may be characterised as “undignified” or “demeaning” but the tiger has no understanding of such concepts. To the tiger, the training is fundamentally similar to the play that it would undertake in the wild and prevents boredom and depression that simply locking it in a cage risks. “Oh Please, there is more that enough undercover investigations to prove this wrong…on all levels”
More than this, however, the circus brings the tiger into contact with humans in an entirely positive way. The tiger makes money while it is alive, rather than only having a value in death. It was a quaint hippy concept from the 1960s that money doesn’t matter and everyone should be free, but real life doesn’t work that way. Conserving tigers is a costly business.
In circuses tigers can contribute to this effort. The truth is we have been working alongside animals for millennia. There is nothing wrong with that as long as welfare standards are as good as they can and should be.
In this country we have the highest welfare standards in the world.”Really??? is that why Britain is the last Country to ban wild animals in circuses?“
We need to continue to set an example through the way we maintain those standards, not restrict the areas that good practice can occur in.
Clearly there have been examples of animals being mistreated in the past. This occurs in every walk of life from circuses to our own homes.
The law is entirely adequate to deal with abuse. If someone abuses an animal they should be prosecuted. But banning animals being kept in circuses because some people have mistreated animals is like banning cars because some people crash.
In the US, the Ringling Brothers circus is a multi-billion dollar industry. It grew out of traditional UK circuses and still employs many British performers.
It is an industry that ploughs a fortune into animal conservation. The company owns huge facilities where retired circus animals are kept in fantastic conditions. It is an example of the contribution that private industry can make to the conservation effort and it is an example we should follow, not shy away from.
Currently the animal rights lobby is attacking circuses, and zoos, safari parks, farms, race tracks and abattoirs. The same argument is used to object to all of them. “Sorry I disagree, different living accommodations & racing young horses has nothing to do with zoo life!”
A tiger that lives free in the wild in the way they advocate has an average life span of 15 years. In captivity the average is 25 years, but many go on to 30 years or more. Next time you think about circuses ask yourself if you know the whole truth, or if you have really thought about it at all.
What the legislation says
According to the gov.uk website, anyone in England operating a travelling circus with wild animals must still apply for, and receive, a licence under the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012. These ensure that if a travelling circus continues to use wild animals before a ban can take effect, they will be subject to regular inspections to check they are meeting strict licensing conditions and welfare standards. The regulations are made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This act includes the duty of care that applies to owners of animals as well as the offence making it illegal to cause an animal to suffer unnecessarily.” As far as I am aware, Circuses are licensed by their own staff!!”
The RSPCA is campaigning against the use of wild animals in circuses and is lobbying the Westminster and Welsh governments to ban their use in England and Wales. The organisation says: “We don’t believe animals should be subjected to the conditions of circus life. Regular transport, cramped and bare temporary housing, forced training and performance, loud noises and crowds of people are often unavoidable realities for the animals. Scientific research has shown that travelling circus life is likely to have a harmful effect on animal welfare.
Behind the big top
Philip Astley is credited with being the ‘father’ of the modern circus when he opened the first circus in London on April 4, 1768
The word circus derives from the Latin circus, which is the romanisation of the Greek kirkos, which itself derives from Homeric Greek krikos, meaning ‘circle’ or ‘ring’
In 1825 Joshuah Purdy Brown was the first circus owner to use a large canvas tent for the circus performance
In 1919, Lenin expressed a wish for the circus to become ‘the people’s art-form’, with facilities and status on a par with theatre, opera and ballet. Russia later nationalised its circuses
A 2011 Defra consultation saw 94 per cent of respondents, including the British Veterinary Association, backing an end to the use of wild animals in circuses
Keeping wild animals in circuses is to be banned in England from the end of 2015
Attendances for the three travelling circuses using wild animals in 2011 were approximately 153,000
The videos are proof of cruelty. These creatures were beaten. Actual fact. Nothing to do with “animal rights lunatics.” It doesn’t matter who made the video. It DID happen. You surely don’t deny this cruelty happened, do you?
No. I don’t think anything Animal Rights lunatics rely on to feed their insatiable appetite for self righteous human hatred has anything whatever to do with facts.
Did they not lose the case because of their extreme stupidity with not using a credible witness, not anything to do with the cruelty shown on the video. That still is factual isn’t? We can’t deny elephants getting beaten across the face before they go out to perform tricks can we?. It is there in the video. And also the tigers getting whipped is still factual, don’t you think?
Peta lost their case, HSUS lost their case, Aspca lost their case, the list of Vegan front organisations on the hook for legal fees is unending. Try googling Peta loses court case. It will keep you reading for a week. Vegan racketeering is expensive in thenStates apparently.
@equaliser, I genuinely cannot find anything that says Peta had to pay feld. I would honestly be interested if you could send me a link, it would be interesting. The link you sent me named other groups, but not Peta. Are they as one? As I said I am genuinely interested.
Is the abuse not there to see. The camera never lies now does it? What do you think of these people who beat the elephants? It is irrelevant regarding the paid witness, ( although reckless and bloody idiotic) because the abuse of these animal took place. Surely you can’t deny that? What about the gentleman who wrote the article who said and I quote “The suggestion that cruelty is employed in this training simply isn’t true.” (re tigers) there is another link I posted proving they do get beat. You can’t argue with video evidence. So in summery two questions Did Elephants repeatedly get beaten just before they went out to “perform” ? and is the other video proof that tigers are also whipped and beaten so they will “perform.”?
Oh yes and the lovely Ringling Brothers “Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, must now pay the largest settlement of its kind in U.S. history―*270,000―for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) dating back to 2007” http://tinyurl.com/pl9fd7w
Oh yes no one in circuses ever beats the tigers. Are you sure? https://http://tinyurl.com/qe5fsmc That is just one of many you can google if you would like to look. These beautiful animal are not here to perform tricks for us humans.
“So why does the writer not take the above into consideration? I completely agree with the RSPCA & Scientific research; which is why wild animals should be banned from circuses…PERIOD. I presume this writer knows about the lawsuits & what Ringling have paid in the past due to poor conditions etc. “SERIOUSLY, DOES THIS GUY EXPECT US TO BELIEVE TIGERS ENTERTAIN… BECAUSE THEY ENJOY IT?? IT STIMULATE THEIR MINDS ETC…..I don’t think so…do you???
PETA has been after the USDA all this time to take action against Ringling for abusing the animals in its care. In recent meetings, we presented unequivocal evidence of animal abuse, including beatings, the death of a lion, lame elephants forced to perform despite chronic pain, and a baby elephant who died during a training routine. We had recently filed a new formal request for action against Ringling, and our attorneys had met with the USDA’s general counsel and urged her to begin enforcement proceedings.
Ringling Beats Animals: A PETA Undercover Investigation
Uploaded on 22 Jul 2009
PETA’s 2009 investigation of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus found that workers were beating, whipping, and hooking elephants and striking tigers. Watch the shocking footage now: http://ringlingbeatsanimals.com
“The condition these poor rabbits have to endure before slaughter is heartbreaking & just sickening! No animal should suffer disease, pain, infection & total a lack of care; when the ultimate end is for human enjoyment!. This despicable industry must be stopped, please help by signing the petition & spreading it far & wide, thanks!”
For over 2 years, Animal Equality investigators have infiltrated the rabbit meat industry in Spain. Two of the farms investigated are directly linked with restaurants in the UK.
Today, Animal Equality has been featured in The Sunday Times where it reveals the shocking findings of its latest investigation. Two of the farms investigated are linked to and English distributor, and restaurants such as the Terrace at the National Theatre in London.
For over a period of 2 years, Animal Equality investigators infiltrated the Spanish rabbit meat industry. A total of 72 farms, and 4 slaughterhouses have been investigated.
Findings of this investigation:
• Animals killed by blunt force trauma. Furthermore, our investigators have been able to report that this is a common practice within rabbit industry.
• Workers throwing live rabbits into the waste containers, due to over-production.
• Animals with open wounds or infections were left in the cages and had no veterinary treatment.
• Cannibalism amongst certain animals provoked by over-crowded conditions.
• Farms selling rabbits to restaurants without them first meeting health and safety requirements.
• A vet smashing a rabbit against the ground whilst acknowledging, to the camera, that this constitutes animal abuse.
• Farms which had never received health and bio-security inspections
• Dead animals left to rot in cages next to live animals.
WARNING: THE VIDEO YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE CONTAINS GRAPHIC FOOTAGE.
For over 2 years, Animal Equality investigators have infiltrated the rabbit meat industry in Spain. Two of the farms investigated are directly linked with restaurants in the UK.
Animal Equality has already taken legal action against the farms and slaughterhouses investigated. Administrative sanctions on those responsible, may vary from 60,001 to 1,200,000 euros in the case of very serious offences, and fines from 600 to 3,000 euros for minor offences.
Findings of this investigation:
• Animals killed by blunt force trauma. Furthermore, our investigators have been able to report that this is a common practice within rabbit industry.
• Workers throwing live rabbits into the waste containers, due to over-production.
• Animals with open wounds or infections were left in the cages and had no veterinary treatment.
• Cannibalism amongst certain animals due to over-crowded conditions.
• Farms selling rabbits to restaurants without them first meeting health and safety requirements.
• A vet smashing a rabbit against the ground whilst acknowledging, to the camera, that it was animal abuse.
• Farms which had never received health and bio-security inspections
• Dead animals left to rot in cages next to live animals.
Animal Equality has already taken legal action against the farms and slaughterhouses investigated. Administrative sanctions on those responsible, may vary from 60,001 to 1,200,000 euros in the case of very serious offences and fines from 600 to 3,000 euros for minor offences.
“Where I live there are many travellers horsesgrazing at the side of the road! I fear for their safety & that of the people travelling past in cars that may not see them until it’s too late. In previous years, before being in wheelchair, I have had to go round-up loose horses & wait whilst police try to find the owners; but without the horses being chipped the police have no idea who they belong to! So we have just had to move them away from the road & hope the travellers or owners will see to them.
An Essexhorsesanctuary has said it has been “inundated” with animalsthat are being dumped in fields to “fly-graze” without the permission of landowners.
Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary, near Ingatestone, has had to turn away horses and said the recent floodshave made conditions worse for abandoned animals.
The RSPCA said most of the horses are not micro-chipped so the owners cannot be traced.
The government has said it is looking for ways to tighten laws to stop horses being deserted.
Essex horse sanctuary ‘inundated’ with abandoned animals, BBC News
Published on 23 Feb 2014
An Essex horse sanctuary has said it has been “inundated” with animals that are being dumped in fields to “fly-graze” without the permission of landowners.
Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary, near Ingatestone, has had to turn away horses and said the recent floods have made conditions worse for abandoned animals.
The RSPCA said most of the horses are not micro-chipped so the owners cannot be traced.
The government has said it is looking for ways to tighten laws to stop horses being deserted.
“As a member Country of the EU ( Croatia joined only last July 2013 ) I have to ask why this filthy, decaying & pitiful excuse of a zoo; has been allowed to have its doors open for so long???”
Split, Croatia’s second largest city, is situated on the Adriatic coastline and is one of the country’s most popular vacation destinations thanks to its location and historic monuments, some of which date back to the Roman times.
While tourists have often been satisfied with their visit to Split, one particular attraction – the Split Zoo – has left many visitors disturbed.
A number of low-level reviews have been left about the unaccredited zoo onTripAdvisor, with one visitor stating, “This is by far the worst zoo I have ever seen … The bears had … feces everywhere … and the food being given to the animals looked like it was completely rotten … Someone please shut this place down and send the animals somewhere else!!!”
Another reviewerreported, “The zoo in Split is located at the very top of the Marjan Hill and can be reached by foot from the old town in about 20 – 30 minutes. Unfortunately, on the top of the hill, you will find a very sad place and tears may easily wet your eyes.”
TripAdvisor
For years, animal protection groups in Croatia have been trying their best to shut this zoo down, deemed the “worst zoo in the world” by tourists for its poor care of animals and small, dirty enclosures.
Exotic species should be moved elsewhere, and Marjan establish a reserve of domestic animals.
Split Zoo in Split for years was known only by the poor: astounded tourists to sites of Split, the garden is described as the worst memory of your vacation, and local activists persistently struggle to re-zoned area.
Recently all shocked by the news that Tiger Demetrius limp, and that nothing is being done to address the situation. In addition, they say that all they were in the garden, animals makes strange noises. After some time, the problem with the big cat’s paw is resolved, but strangely voting left. Combined with the generally depressed impression in the garden, say activists, tiger voting sounds really painful.
Split is better not to have any zoo than this which violate all the rules, and the animals are kept in really awful conditions – says Srdjan Marinić, president of the Society “Marjan”, which this week sent a request to the Veterinary Inspection to monitor the keeping of animals and health conditions in the zoo … Read the full article at: http://www.jutarnji.hr/1168994 (Vojko Basic / Getty)
When meat is imported into the European Union the law stipulates that the animal must have been slaughtered in line with EU legislation.
However, when EU animals are exported, the same rules are not afforded to them and instead they can face brutal treatment and long drawn out slaughter.
Every year three million Europeananimals are sent on long, stressful journeys to be fattened or slaughtered outside the EU. A vast number of these go to the Middle East where Compassion’s recent investigation, in partnership with Animals Australia, has uncovered immeasurable suffering.
Please take a moment to watch the film and slideshow below to find out more about this deplorable trade. Be warned; some of the film is distressing to watch, but it’s essential concerned citizens find out where European animals are ending their journeys.
Take action against the EU’s cruel live animal export trade
Published on 27 Feb 2014
Every year three million European animals are sent on long, stressful journeys to be fattened or slaughtered outside the EU. A vast number of these go to the Middle East where Compassion’s recent investigation, in partnership with Animals Australia, has uncovered immeasurable suffering.
Please take a moment to watch the film and find out more about this deplorable trade. Be warned, some of the film is distressing to watch, but it’s essential that concerned citizens find out where European animals are ending their journeys.
Please take a moment to watch and share our investigation. Warning: Due to its upsetting nature, you may need to verify that you are over 18 to watch the film.
When European farm animals are exported to non-EU countries every shred of protection they once received in their place of birth is rendered meaningless.
After enduring long, exhausting journeys by land and sea they may face terrifying ordeals at slaughter.
Animals are dragged by their limbs, bound up with ropes, pinned down by groups of men, beaten with metal rods, suspended upside down for extended periods of time, and eventually slaughtered in unacceptable ways that leave them conscious for many minutes after having their throats cut.
The European Commission has the power to take steps to stop this, but as each day passes without action more and more animals continue to suffer.
The European Commission must work towards ending the live export trade and if necessary replacing it with a trade in meat.
While a trade in exporting live animals continues, the European Commission must implement a scheme that will guarantee exported animals are treated in ways that prevent the worst of the suffering.
The European Commission must provide practical support to countries that import live animals from the EU in order that they can improve transport, handling and slaughter methods. This will not only improve the welfare of EU animals but also of any other animals slaughtered in those countries.
Please take action today. Email the Commission and call for an end to this suffering.
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
You can find out more about me & this blog by reading "ABOUT THIS BLOG" on the menu (when i finish it) lol
PLEASE NOTE.....
Not all of my posts will be current news, or even about animal abuse! I do like to share other animal news, uplifting stories or videos; some that are funny or just touch the heart!
If I have anything to say on any post, you will see it in bold blue writing. I try to remain a lady, but it's hard to contain my anger & emotions at the some of the stories I post; I don’t have a heart of stone, tears stain many articles I write!
Lastly, my apologies for any errors; I am learning whilst posting, so if you find anything that doesn't work or a broken link, sorry, I'm only human!!!!
ABOUT THESE POSTS
I would just like to make readers aware, that I search for stories on the internet; regards animal abuse etc. I copy stories etc. from the internet; assuming these stories are correct at time of publishing. Having said that, sometimes the press get it wrong! So I just want to add that at the time of me posting a news story, I presume all the facts seem present & correct.
Please note....all people mentioned in this blog, are presumed innocent, until proven otherwise, in a court of law.
Error: Please make sure the Twitter account is public.
Flag Counter Added May 2012
Face Book – Please Take Notice
For anyone wishing to connect to me via my Facebook page...PLEASE NOTE, ONLY PEOPLE I ADD AS ANIMAL ADVOCATES CAN SEE MY WHOLE PAGE...I do this out of respect for those friends I have who do not wish to see graphic images, videos or links of animal abuse!
As 99% of my page is animal related; anyone not in the above group of friends; will only see a limited amount of posts!!
DUE TO ANIMAL HATERS...I WILL ONLY ADD PEOPLE WHO CAN PROVE WHO THEY ARE via Facebook, Wordpress, Twitter etc. & WHO HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN ANIMAL WELFARE... i.e. if your Facebook page has absolutely nothing to do with animals, I see no point in joining my page. My Facebook is solely for animal welfare, I am not interested in playing games etc. I don't mean to sound rude but I am not interested in the amount of friends I have, its the quality of those friends that count.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND REQUESTS FOR YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN. I do not want anyone to be upset by graphic images etc.
My aim is to educate & raise awareness to the horrors animals face, at the hands of humans, every day, around the world!!
We can not hope to achieve better laws, to protect animals, unless we unite as one, to speak up for those who are voiceless!!
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Published on 25 May 2014
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
STOP ANIMAL ABUSE 
The videos are proof of cruelty. These creatures were beaten. Actual fact. Nothing to do with “animal rights lunatics.” It doesn’t matter who made the video. It DID happen. You surely don’t deny this cruelty happened, do you?