Animal Slaughter Industry Making It Illegal to Show You Cruelty, Including Veal Calves Skinned Alive

“WTF…this is simple, if slaughter houses didn’t employ thugs, who enjoy torturing the animals before they are slaughtered; there wouldn’t be any need for undercover footage. Slaughter houses are shitting their pants, because they know if the public found out what goes on behind their closed doors…they would be financially brought to their knees. INSTEAD OF TARGETING THOSE TRYING TO EXPOSE THE ABUSE…GET RID OF THOSE DOING THE ABUSE!!! MAKE CCTV MANDATORY…I could go on but I’m sure you are all well aware of what happens behind closed doors. So buy wisely, from local suppliers you trust, buy organic to avoid pesticides & antibiotics; much better for the environment too! Don’t the animals deserve some quality of life before they end up on your plate? Giving them the ability to act naturally in open spaces; well, it’s not much to ask for taking their life…is it??”

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

Thom Hartmann points the finger squarely at the infamous ALEC for new laws being proposed – and some already enacted – that would make it a criminal act to document animals cruelly treated and slaughtered by the meat and poultry processing industries.  

As Hartmann wrote on Truthout the other day,

ALEC is now parading around bills in six states that would make it a crime to film animal abuse at factory farms, or lie on job applications in order to get a job in a factory farm with the goal of taking pictures. All of this is to stop animal rights activists who infiltrate slaughterhouses to expose their deplorable conditions.

The bill proposals pushed by ALEC require all evidence of animal abuse at factory farms be turned over to law enforcement authorities within 48 hours, or those who took the pictures face a financial penalty.

The proposals also make it a crime to lie on slaughterhouse job applications, which activists commonly do in order to get documentation of animal abuse.

Right now, according to the Associated Press, the bills to block animal rights activists are under consideration in California, Nebraska, Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas and Pennsylvania.

Three other states – New Mexico, Wyoming and New Hampshire – have already rejected similar bills this year.

And several states already have laws similar to what ALEC is currently pushing. Utah has a law that bans unauthorized photography in farms, and Iowa has a law that makes it a crime to lie to gain access to a farm’s staff.

ABC News gets down to the grisly details of what goes down at some factory animal farms,

An undercover video that showed California cows struggling to stand as they were prodded to slaughter by forklifts led to the largest meat recall in U.S. history. In Vermont, a video of veal calves skinned alive and tossed like sacks of potatoes ended with the plant’s closure and criminal convictions.

Now in a pushback led by the meat and poultry industries, state legislators across the country are introducing laws making it harder for animal welfare advocates to investigate cruelty and food safety cases….

ALEC has labeled those who interfere with animal operations “terrorists,” though a spokesman said he wishes now that the organization had called its legislation the “Freedom to Farm Act“ rather than the “Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act.”

“At the end of the day it’s about personal property rights or the individual right to privacy,” said [ALEC] spokesman Bill Meierling. “You wouldn’t want me coming into your home with a hidden camera.”

But Meierling is using a logical fallacy here that is breathtaking in its deceit.  If you take a photo in my home, it will not be of any brutally treated animals that are being commercially slaughtered to sell meat or chicken to consumers for profit in the marketplace.  But that is the case with an untold number of meat industry titans.  Their “houses” of business are abattoirs of profit – and they don’t want the public to see the wretched, inhumane conditions that the animals live in or how they are abused.

Actually, the state measures that ALEC is currently backing and trying to move through agricultural state legislatures have their origin in a federal bill that Meierling refers to: the Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act (AETA).  AETA is a pernicious piece of legislation, passed into law by Congress in 2006, that violates the First Amendment in order to keep the public in the dark about wanton animal cruelty on a massive scale.

According to the Center for the Constitutional Rights, the Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act has already had a chilling effect. In regards to a recent case in New York challenging the law, the Center writes:

The language of the AETA is so overbroad that it criminalizes protected First Amendment speech. The law punishes anyone found to have caused the loss of property or profits to a business or other institution that uses or sells animals or animal products or to “a person or entity having a connection to, relationship with, or transactions with an animal enterprise.” Furthermore … key terms in the statute, including the definition of an “animal enterprise,” are unconstitutionally vague. The plaintiffs, who have long histories of participating in peaceful protests and animal rights advocacy, say that fear of prosecution as terrorists has led them to limit or even cease their lawful advocacy….

Critics argue it punishes peaceful protests and turns non-violent civil disobedience into “terrorism.”  Moreover, though it targets animal rights activists specifically, the AETA is written so broadly, they say, it could turn a successful labor protest at Wal-Mart, which sells animal products, into an act of domestic terrorism.  Non-violent protesters charged under the law face up to twenty years in prison, depending on the amount of profit loss that results from their actions.

The 2006 AETA amended the 1992 Animal Enterprise Protection Act (AEPA), which punished causing a “physical disruption” to an animal enterprise.  In 2006, six activists were convicted in New Jersey for conspiring to violate the AEPA, and served between one and six years in prison for publishing a website that advocated and reported on protest activity against an animal testing lab, its business affiliates, and their employees.  The activists were not accused of injuring anyone or vandalizing any property.  One of the defendants in that case, Lauren Gazzola, is a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the AETA.

Currently, as noted above, activists for the humane treatment of animals can be prosecuted if they share with the public abusive industry practices that result in a revenue loss for the slaughterhouse company.  Yes, you read that right: if an individual US citizen exposes the cruel treatment of animals, and the public is repelled from buying meat or chicken from that company as a result, the animal activists can be sued for the loss of profit and treated as, essentially, terrorists.

This nation — the United States — has clearly walked through the looking glass as far as justice.  In terms of mega-slaughter house companies, Wall Street, transnational corporations, etc., the Constitution can be bought through campaign contributions.  

It’s up for sale to the highest bidders, being sold off section by section.

News Link:-http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/17872-animal-slaughter-industry-making-it-illegal-to-show-you-cruelty-including-veal-calves-skinned-alive

GRAPHIC VIDEO: Tigers And Leopards May Be Killed If Posing Danger To Humans: NTCA

“This is ridiculous, these big cats only turn man eaters when their other meat has been had for tea by the villagers or gone off elsewhere due to the habit forever decreasing!! The people that live around there don’t wait for officials as it is…so God help the poor animals that the villagers catch up with now!! It hardly seems fair, I mean the tigers were in the forest before people started popping up all over!”

“The big cats habitat is being destroyed at an alarming rate, so what are they supposed to do for food? Obviously they are going to take a villagers goat or cow for supper; they wouldn’t attack & eat humans if they had plenty meat running around the forest! If the villagers don’t want their livestock eaten, they should build bigger fencing; or better still, don’t  live in the tigers domain! Don’t kill the tigers because they got too close to humans; it’s the other way around, the villagers got too close to the animals. Perhaps more birth control wouldn’t go a miss, for all the women of these small villages; that appear to be sprouting up all over the tigers domain!!”

“Going on past history, the villagers have not waited for the forest department to come & capture a tiger or leopard that has attacked & or killed a human or cattle! I can understand their hate toward the big cat; but killing it won’t bring a person back. Capture & release into another part of the forest is the best for all concerned. If only the powers that be, could arrive much quicker, perhaps the villagers would not take matters into their own hands; therefore the whole scenario could be defused without harming the animal!”

 “Now with the added go ahead as laid-out below in the news post, it’s almost giving the villagers more of a green light to kill the animals themselves; which is the worst thing that could happen! The villagers go into a mob mode & I have seen the violence they inflict on the animals they capture; they go absolutely crazy! It’s almost like a celebration, they have caught the cat & so, inflict their own means of punishment towards it! Even if officials are there, they can’t control the mob mentality of the crowds, who seem to come from nowhere? Pushing & shoving, camera phones held high; all waiting to get a glimpse of the killer about to be killed.”

“There are some horrific videos, of villagers who have caught, what they assume is the animal that killed their cattle; whilst in a frenzied mode, they repeatedly club the cornered cat to death! These villagers don’t need even more of a loop hole to kill the big cats. What needs to be done ASAP is have more armed rangers in & around all the villagers, with phones to request backup & trucks that hold cages & more importantly sedatives; ready at a moments notice to rescue a big cat that the villagers have cornered, timing is of paramount importance ! I’m not sure what the forest rangers have by way of authority over the villagers…but that also need to be changed.. as it is very clear the villagers are not afraid of the forest rangers, as is evident in so many videos, where the rangers appear to be doing nothing at all! Perhaps it could be down to numbers, if it’s only 3 rangers to 300 villagers; they are probably more scared of the swelling mob & their safety, than they are of retrieving the cat!!

“I have posted a video, which happens to be one of the worst things I have ever witnessed, it will forever haunt me in my dreams. Just the thought of it brings tears to my eyes. I’m showing it so that people can see, just how heinous the attacks on the big cats that are caught, really are; it is the cats that need the protecting, for sure! I find it hard to believe, in this era, that so many humans could want to inflict such formidable & macabre acts! Please note I have put the video at the very end, so those who don’t want to see it, will have to stop scrolling down at a certain point.

NEW DELHI: Tigers and leopards, accorded highest protection under the Wildlife Act, may now be killed with due permission from authorities if they pose a threat to human life or are disabled or diseased beyond recovery.

This is part of new guidelines issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in the wake of increased incidents of man-animal conflicts.

“Tiger as well as leopard are categorized under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, with highest statutory protection against hunting under Section 9 (1) of the said Act.

“Hence, such species can be killed if they become dangerous to human life or are so disabled/diseased beyond recovery,” the guidelines for declaration of big cats as ‘man-eaters‘ state.

As both tigers and leopards are known to turn into man-eaters, “such confirmed ‘man-eaters’ should be eliminated as per the statutory provisions provided in Section 11 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.”

The guidelines state that the chief wildlife warden of a state alone has the authority to permit hunting of animals which have become dangerous to human life or disabled or diseased beyond recovery.

As per the statutory requirement, a chief wildlife warden has to give in writing the reasons for permitting elimination before hunting, they say.

According to the NTCA, there are several reasons for a big cat to get habituated as a ‘man-eater’ including disability due to old age, incapacitation due to serious injury or loss of its canines, among others.

“However, there may be several exceptions, and hence specific reasons have to be ascertained on a case-to-case basis,” the NTCA said.

The tiger bearing forests and areas nearby prone to livestock depredation, besides having human settlements along with their rights and concessions in such areas, are generally prone to ‘man-eaters’, the guidelines state.

Loss of habitat connectivity in close proximity to a tiger source area owing to various land uses also foster straying of tiger near human settlements, eventually ending up as a ‘man-eater’.

 News Link:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/wild-wacky/Tiger-leopard-may-be-killed-if-posing-danger-to-humans-NTCA/articleshow/18427938.cms

“This is very gruesome & hard to believe human beings could be capable of such a despicable violent act; to an animal already caged. I have sent this video to a friend of mine in India who is an animal advocate & Media Adviser of OIPA in India / PFA Haryana; he will forward this to the right people if not already done so; I read it was filmed in 2008, so it could have already been dealt with. Please note the quality of this video including the sound is very bad quality, it settles after a minute or two!

“WARNING – View Discretion Is Strongly Advised”

 Leopard being burned alive in Uttarkhand, India, PLEASE DO SOMETHING!

PLEASE READ THIS DESCRIPTION IN FULL!
A leopard that was killing cattle and local villagers was caught, caged and burned alive in the summer of 2008. It remained alive for several hours after, writhing in agony while the police and forest officials watched. I have the list of people who did this. Forest officials, police, and people of the village. You can download it here:
http://www.beyondclix.com/files/Uttar…
We got the information but are at a loss for what to do. Please help!!!!
Please share! Please spread the word! More people should know about what happened. People who can do something about it should do try to do something!

PLEASE!Additional Note: I should have mentioned. Sorry. I did not shoot this video. Someone posted this in FB and we picked it up from there. We shared it with our friends and one of our friends then contacted Indian government under Right to Information Act asking for info on those forest officials. After waiting 6 months they sent the details. The link to download is in description. Then I tried to contact and even tried to meet many politicians and celebs but no one interested yet.

Still trying.Additional additional note: PLEASE don’t make this some country-bashing or religion-bashing thread. You’re taking away from what I’m trying to do. This has nothing to do with poverty or rich, rural or urban or any country in specific. This is about animal rights, empathy and sensitivity of all humans the world over. And I need you to spread the word. That’s all.

Please speak with people about it, online AND offline. Share it with top people. Share it with activists. With celebrities you may know. Your parents. Your friends. Your teachers. At parties. At meetings. Most of all share it with leaders and politicians. I need some help from powerful or important or even famous people. The Indian legal system isn’t much for animal rights in general yet, unless someone important is involved. Thus I will only achieve justice for that animal if you help!

Increasing Cases Of Leopard-Human Conflicts In Western Uttar Pradesh

NOIDA: The rescue of a sub-adult male leopard in a village near Meerut by a team of environmentalists has once again thrown up questions about leopard-human conflict in western Uttar Pradesh.

The districts of western UP are synonymous with sugarcane plantations and the adaptable big cats have utilised these tall crops as habitat where they live and breed. Combined with the increasing pressure on forest habitat in Uttar Pradesh, the once rich leopard population in the state is under constant threat.

The sugarcane plantations in the state are ideal habitat for leopards as they provide cover that allows them to remain unseen. Studies have shown that in many cases farmers and leopards use the same path at approximately the same time without the leopard being detected.

There has however been a gloomy increase in the number of incidents in human-leopard conflict in the state, many of them leading to the leopard being killed. In 2011, a leopard that was found in the sugarcane fields in Bahadurpur area of Ghaziabad and was eventually killed by them before environmentalists could intervene. 

As per a report by the Union ministry of environment report In Uttar Pradesh, as many as 22 persons were killed in wild attacks in 2010-11. Meanwhile, the state’s green cover has been staggering for years, despite all the plantation efforts by forest department. The green cover, in the last five years has gone down from 9.26% to 9.01%. In UP, moderately dense forest (which has 40-70% canopy formation) has gone down from 4,563 sq km to 4,559 sq km.

As per experts, this combined with the massive increase in population in the state has directly led to such cases of conflict. As per guidelines released by MoEFF in 2011 related to dealing with leopard-human conflict – the big cats are not usually inclined to attack people, on the contrary, they avoid people.

In a study, wildlife biologist Vidya Athreya and social scientist Sunetro Ghosal found that in the absence of their usual prey, such leopards that exist on the fringes of rural India – especially in sugarcane plantations – survive on a diet of feral dogs, pigs and livestock. The few wild animals they feed on are mongoose, civet cats and rodents.

While a number of farmers in the area feel proud that the leopard lives alongside them, others aren’t so tolerant. “We are forced live alongside these government-owned predators. They thrive in our farms and harm our livestock, yet we can’t attack and kill them,” said Umar Yadav, a farmer in Bahadurpur. “But some do, in the most horrific mob attacks imaginable”

Department officials require crisis and people management training in order to perform their jobs better. Compensation payments should be made less tedious and bureaucratic; it should be linked to effective protection, so that those who take better care of their livestock are rewarded, and support provided to those who lack the resources to adequately protect their animals,” said an environmentalist.

News Link:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Increasing-cases-of-leopard-human-conflicts-in-western-Uttar-Pradesh/articleshow/18152181.cms?

 

Part 2 of 2:Danger Drug In UK Horsemeat: Tests Reveal Health Hazard AFTER Meat Was Exported To Europe

“In my opinion, horses shouldn’t even be on any menu, to those that own horses as pleasure horses, they are our pets just as much as dogs or cats; therefore they should be given the same rights as pets….you wouldn’t eat your puppy or cat (unless you lived in Asia perhaps) Thank Christ I am vegetarian, virtually vegan! But if I did eat animals this would be something that would turn my stomach & make me go vegetarian…I couldn’t possibly eat any in case one of my friends is in it!!” 

‘Business as usual’ at plant watchdog said had been shut

A British factory accused of turning horses into burgers and kebabs continued to operate yesterday despite official claims it had been shut down.

The discovery concerning Farmbox Meats, based near Aberystwyth, was further evidence of the shambles surrounding the handling of the scandal.

Farmbox Meats Ltd business owner Dafydd Raw-Rees, pictured yesterday in Llandre near Aberystwyth, west Wales

On Tuesday, the Government’s Food Standards Agency announced that Farmbox Meats and a slaughterhouse in Yorkshire, which had allegedly supplied horse carcasses, had been closed.

The abattoir is owned and run by Peter Boddy of Todmorden, who has a licence to shoot and slaughter unwanted or injured racehorses.

The FSA issued a categorical statement, saying: ‘The FSA has suspended operations at both these plants.’ 
It went on to declare that it and the police had ‘detained all meat found and seized paperwork, including customer lists from the two companies’.

However, yesterday morning the owner of the Farmbox factory insisted it was ‘business as usual’ and accused the FSA of being ‘untruthful’. Staff wearing hair nets were busy de- boning and cutting horse carcasses ready for export to Belgium.

Outside the plant stood large blue crates of meat of unspecified origin, with no evidence of FSA officials or the police on the site. It is housed in an anonymous-looking white-walled concrete building down a narrow country lane in the Ceredigion hills.

The factory is owned by local businessman Dafydd Raw-Rees, 64, a former turkey farmer who is president-elect of the local golf club. He was arrested in 2002 over an alleged offence of supplying meat from illegally slaughtered livestock but was never charged.

The manager of the Farmbox plant, Colin Patterson, was tried at Swansea Crown Court and later acquitted.

In a separate case, his co-defendant Carmello Gale was in 2004 jailed for six months for running an illegal abattoir near Llandysul, West Wales.

Andrew Rhodes, director of operations at the FSA, said its raid on Tuesday established that ‘horse meat had been used as though it were beef in kebabs and burgers at that premises’.

But last night Mr Raw-Rees said that while the plant did handle horse carcasses, it did not process any meat and hadn’t passed it off as beef.

Denying he had been ordered to suspend production, Mr Raw-Rees said he had only begun de-boning horse meat supplied from Ireland three weeks ago.“Only 3 weeks ago, bit suspicious??”

‘It is taken from here to Belgium and I get paid for doing the cutting up,’ he said. ‘I don’t do kebab meat, minced meat or beef burgers. There is absolutely no cross contamination.’

Mr Raw-Rees claimed he had only had three deliveries of cattle from the Todmorden slaughterhouse. 

Locals described Mr Raw-Rees as a ‘colourful character’ who had told them work at the plant – which employs 14 people – had ‘taken off’ after it started handling horse meat.

Later the FSA said: ‘All meat on site was detained yesterday. This morning we confirmed in writing their licence to operate is suspended.’

Government accused of ‘catastrophic complacency’

Published on 14 Feb 2013

no description available

News Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2278342/Danger-drug-UK-horsemeat-Tests-reveal-health-hazard-AFTER-meat-exported-Europe.html#ixzz2Ku1dfB00

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Part 1 of 2:Danger Drug In UK Horsemeat: Tests Reveal Health Hazard AFTER Meat Was Exported To Europe

“Why in Gods name are we eating horses anyway? We raise more than enough animals that can suffer heinous living conditions, & an even worse death, not to mention the abuse many share…just to satisfy the human demand for meat…burgers, sausages etc. Why would anyone want to eat a horse or baby cows & lambs…it’s sickening!! If I wasn’t already vegetarian, almost vegan…the thought of eating something that could contain any amount of horse; would be enough to turn my stomach & make me vegetarian. There is no way my horses will ever go to slaughter as I ticked the “Not fit for human consumption” box on their passports.

• The horses were slaughtered in UK and tested for phenylbutazone, or bute
• It is an anti-inflammatory drug that can affect human health
• The meat has already hit Europe and has been eaten or processed

British horse meat contaminated with the danger drug bute has been exported to Europe and has already been eaten or added to processed food, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Details are due to be announced by ministers and the Food Standards Agency today.

The horses were slaughtered at an unnamed British abattoir in the last few weeks and the resulting meat was tested for the presence of the anti-inflammatory drug bute.

But the results of the tests only came back after the meat had been shipped to the Continent and eaten or added to processed food.

Tests have shown the drug bute is contained in horsemeat butchered in the UK and sent to be eaten and processed into food in Europe “What a disgusting filthy yard, the hay looks mouldy…those poor ponies!”

It is not known whether any resulting processed food came back to the UK in ready meals such as lasagne or spaghetti bolognese.

The revelation came as Environment Secretary Owen Paterson signalled more raids could be carried out on British firms suspected of selling contaminated meat in the coming days.

On Tuesday Food Standards Agency officials raided a Yorkshire slaughterhouse and a Welsh factory which it claimed was passing off horse meat as beef.

But the bute scare points to a serious loophole in the food protection regime for consumers, which has been highlighted by Labour’s environment spokesman Mary Creagh.

The FSA announced last week that it would be moving to close this loophole with a new regime for horse meat.

This new system, which only came into effect days ago, is meant to ensure that no carcass is allowed to be sold for food until the bute test results have come back as negative.

The Peter Boddy slaughterhouse in Todmorden, Yorkshire, which was raided yesterday as part of the police inquiry into the sale of horsemeat being sold as beef

While the presence of bute – phenylbutazone – is a concern, the amounts that appear in horse meat would be extremely small and unlikely to cause any ill effects. “If unchipped horses passports are being swapped around, (as they were with the previous post of the cob swapped, for another horse much bigger to go to slaughter)… nobody can tell how much bute was given to that horse; apart from the owner! I have given my horses bute & not just on a vets prescription. I think most horse owners who know what they are doing, have some bute around, just in case a horse bruises a sole, or has arthritis & seems a bit stiff. 

It is known to be able to induce blood disorders, including aplastic anaemia, in which the bone marrow stops making enough red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. “Above they say it isn’t a big concern, but if a horses passport has been switched & the passport given to another horse, your not going to know how much bute was in that horse before it was slaughtered; bute is not a drug required to be registered on a horses passport!

Those with severe or very severe aplastic anaemia are at risk of life-threatening infections or bleeding. Bute is also known to cause cancer in rats, but there is no conclusive evidence for it to have the same effect in humans.

Miss Creagh said: ‘With every passing day this scandal seems to get wider.

‘I raised the problem of bute contaminated horse meat being released into the food chain with Defra [farming] ministers last month yet up until two days ago horses were still not being tested for bute and were being released for human consumption.

‘Parliamentary answers released this week show 9,405 horses were slaughtered in the UK for human consumption abroad last year. We must make sure horse meat is not contaminated with bute.’ “You must make sure that the horse has the correct passport too!

Markings on face to be recorded in passport by vet

“Without all horses having to have microchips, I don’t know how they are going to tell without testing a sample from each horse that is slaughtered…imagine how much that is going to cost!” 

“Micro-chipping has been compulsory for foals in the Thoroughbred breeding industry since 1999. Then any equine foal born after 1 July 2009 had to be micro chipped under European-wide regulations.”

 “The regulations apply to foals of all equines —horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and so on.”

“For older horses, it wasn’t mandatory for them to be micro-chipped. 

(“See pictures attached as to how the vet would shade in areas on the passport, of the horses colours & markings, this would be in the passport for an older horse & one not mandatory to be microchipped “)

“The old style passport had an area at the back of the passport where there was an outlined picture of a horse showing the front, right & left side, back, legs, & face of a horse which had to be shaded by a vet to match the exact markings, colouring, even whorls (spiral patches of hair on a horse) & a detailed description given of that particular horse then signed by a vet as proof of identification. Unless your horse was valuable, people didn’t use to microchip until it came into force.”

A vet had to shade in all areas of horse markings & colours

Mr Paterson entered talks with EU ministers in Brussels to try to secure mandatory labelling of the ‘Country of Origin’ on all processed meat products, intelligence sharing between regulators, and spot checks on processors and retailers. “Sounds good, but how is that going help if they have a passport for the horse 

Workers handle meat at the Doly-Com abattoir, one of the two units implicated in the horse meat scandal. Romanian officials say the meat was properly declared and any fraud was committed elsewhere

After the meeting it was announced all member states should carry out 2,500 horse DNA tests on processed beef products and 4,000 bute tests on horse meat during March, and publish the results in mid-April.

Mr Paterson has put the blame for the food fraud scandal on retailers, saying: ‘People have got to trust what they buy and the ultimate link between the quality of the products and what is marked on the label has got to be the business selling the product.

‘If people are being sold a product that says processed beef and get a product that contains a significant amount of horse meat, that is a fraud.’

FSA officials said they were looking at trails – where the meat went – from five slaughterhouses in the UK that regularly process horses.

Mr Paterson said Tuesday’s raids were the result of information  passed to the Food Standards Agency after contamination was first detected in Ireland three weeks ago, and said the agency was doing ‘methodical, painstaking work … sifting through data’.

Tesco withdrew its everyday value spaghetti bolognese when it emerged that it contained horsemeat. The product was prepared in Europe

‘We saw vigorous action yesterday, and we may well see some more action over the course of the coming few days’, he said. ‘But it’s not very clever to give advance notice of what we are going to do in carrying out investigations that may lead to criminal prosecutions.’

However, he insisted processed meat on British supermarket shelves was safe to eat, and even said he would eat anything, including horse. ‘I’m relaxed about it’, he said. ‘ I’m omnivorous, I’ll eat anything.’

Mr Paterson said it was ‘too early to tell’ how many people may have eaten burgers and kebabs from the firms raided yesterday, or what chemicals could be in them.

Last week Mr Paterson described the scandal, then only linked to horse meat sent from Poland to Ireland, and from Romanian slaughterhouses to the French food company Comigel,  as an ‘international criminal conspiracy’.

Yesterday he said the premises raided in Britain were a separate issue.

A police community support officer stands guard at the gate of the Peter Boddy slaughterhouse

The FSA were ‘working through all those involved in the slaughter of horses … and that work is carrying on, they are looking through invoices and customers lists’, he said.

‘There will be further action, depending on their investigation,’ he said.

He added that when the investigation was over there were likely to be ‘lessons to be learned’, for the agency.

At Prime Minister’s question time, David Cameron said it was ‘appalling’ and ‘completely unacceptable’ that consumers were buying beef products that turned out to contain horse. ‘I do think that this is a serious issue.

People are genuinely worried about what they are buying at the supermarket and I really think we have got to get a grip,’ he said.

‘Retailers I think do bear a real responsibility here.

‘At the end of the day, it is they who are putting products on their shelves and have got to say that they are really clear about where that meat came from, what it was, who it was supplied by.  It is up to them to check that and I think that is vitally important.’

Yesterday a Dutch meat broker, Draap Trading Ltd, was named as a middleman in the horse meat scandal. The company bought some £45,000 of horse meat from a Romanian abattoir, some of which eventually ended up in Britain

News Link:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2278342/Danger-drug-UK-horsemeat-Tests-reveal-health-hazard-AFTER-meat-exported-Europe.html#ixzz2Ku0BJdpW
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Horse Recorded As Slaughtered Is Found Wandering The Streets: 11 Months After Supposedly Slaughtered: Q&A How Does The Horse Meat Scandal Effect You?

“I was so happy for this horse, I actually cried when I read his story! But I couldn’t help but feel, so much heartache for the poor horse that took its place; in this heinous, despicable & totally unnecessary bloody business! We kill millions of animals daily around the world, to supply the demand for meat for human consumption; SO WE DO NOT NEED TO BE KILLING EQUINES FOR BURGERS, SAUSAGES OR STEAKS! I hope this makes a lot of people think about what they eat; knowing what drugs my horses have had, I would be worried about my health too. This would definitely stop me eating meat; if not already virtually vegan!! 

A horse recorded as being slaughtered by an Irish abattoir in March 2012 was found wandering the roads of Longford last Sunday in the latest alarming twist in the horsemeat scandal.

Worrying: This horse was found wandering the streets of Ireland 11 months after official records state he was slaughtered, raising fears over the state of the country’s traceability system

The discovery of the small, black and white cob known as ‘Charlie’ – 11 months after official records state he was slaughtered – offers concrete proof of the chaos that the State’s traceability system for horses is in.

Experts last night suggested that Charlie’s horse passport – which would have confirmed that he was safe to enter the food chain – could have been transferred to another, larger horse that would have been banned from doing so.

The latest scandal comes after a week of shocking revelations as the horsemeat scandal that began in Ireland spread right across Europe. 

Frozen food company Findus last night confirmed that it may take legal action against its suppliers after its beef lasagne was found to contain up to 100 per cent horsemeat. The UK Food Standards Authority has said it will carry out tests on beef served in hospitals and schools – although the authorities here said they have no such plans.

The French ministry of agriculture has also begun a criminal investigation into the origin of the lasagne horsemeat, which it believes came from Romania.

Last month, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland discovered forged documents had been used in processing some horses at a reputable abattoir in Limerick. While the documentation initially appeared genuine, the veterinary stamp had in fact been forged. The meat was intended for export to Italy.

The discovery of Charlie came as Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney told TDs that he had tightened up the passport system for tracking horses

In safe hands:Care: Animal charity worker Andrea Kelly with the scanner that identified Charlie

Under the system each horse is issued with its own passport as well as being implanted with a microchip that gives it a unique ID number. ‘A horse is not allowed into the human food chain unless it has a passport and it is microchipped and identified,’ he told the Agriculture Committee.

‘It must be identified within six months of birth, or within the year of birth. We are enforcing those rules now. I am not saying everything was perfect in the past.’ Mr Coveney added that he would act if he was told that the passport system was in disarray – but only if he was given clear evidence.

‘If anyone has evidence to suggest that something continues to be seriously wrong with regard to the slaughtering of horses, I need to hear about it and see it. I cannot act on hearsay.’

However, when the Mail on Sunday put the case of Charlie to the Department of Agriculture, it declined to comment. A spokesman would only repeat yesterday: ‘As stated earlier in the week, the Department doesn’t comment on individual cases.’

The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has repeatedly alleged that passports are switched in order to allow undocumented horses to enter the food chain. Passing horsemeat off as beef offers unscrupulous traders a potential windfall. Horsemeat sells on average for €900 per tonne, while beef costs €3,500.

When the MoS told USPCA chief executive Stephen Philpott yesterday about Charlie, he said: ‘That doesn’t surprise me. The Irish passport system is corrupt. I tried talking to the Irish ministry but no-one would listen. Now they are listening, I had three meetings with Mr Coveney’s staff this week.’

Mr Philpott said passports are regularly moved around. ‘The root of the problem is they recycle the passports like washers.’ He added: ‘Charlie could have been part of a consignment of live horses being illegally shipped through the North for slaughter in England. Maybe he was too small or the horse was sold as a pet for a bit of opportune money-making by the driver.’

Charlie was rescued in a starved state by Hilary Robinson, co-founder of the animal charity Hungry Horse Outside, following an alert by gardaí in Longford town. Two of the horses are female and pregnant but have not been microchipped so cannot be identified. The other horse, a stallion we now know to be named ‘Charlie’, did have a microchip.

To Ms Robinson’s shock when she contacted the department’s registry, an official told her that number belongs to a horse slaughtered in March 2012. The official added the horse was registered to Horse Sport Ireland, the largest passport-issuing body in the State.

Ms Robinson told the MoS: ‘There is no traceability here; this is the third horse we have found like this in the last year. And I would say 60 since 2007 when we started rescuing horses.’

When the MoS contacted Horse Sport Ireland, Norah Byrne in registration confirmed Horse No 372-1414-0493-4674 was slaughtered on March 24 in an abattoir licensed to kill horses for human consumption. This newspaper contacted the slaughterhouse’s directors but they declined to comment.

The current head of clinical pathology at the Irish Equine Centre, Desmond Leadon, said the case of Charlie supports what he found while researching a report on ‘Unwanted Horses in Ireland.’ He said: ‘Something has gone seriously wrong and someone may have manipulated the situation. What you’re saying is consistent with things that are being rumoured.’

When the registered owner of the horse, Bernadette Walsh, was contacted, she was shocked to hear of the pitiful state Charlie had been found in. But she was also very angry at the lack of regulation which allows her name to be on his records when she passed the horse on more than three years ago.

Mrs Walsh, an animal rights activist in Sligo, speculated that because Charlie is smaller than a coloured cob would usually be, his passport could have been sold on illegally. ‘If you have a book for a small horse, you can pass on that book at the marts. I would like to know whether another cob was passed off as Charlie and was slaughtered,’ she said.

While refusing to comment on the issue of Charlie, a Department spokesman said it was working on improving the passport system.

And adding to the concerns of animal welfare groups is the slow progress of introducing the Animal Health and Welfare Bill. It is hoped this will update the existing Protection of Animals Act 1911.

Q&A: HOW THE HORSEMEAT SCANDAL AFFECTS YOU

Where has horsemeat been found in products on sale?

The alarm over the sale of horsemeat first began when a Tesco frozen ‘Value’ beefburger was found to contain 29% horsemeat.

This was discovered during routine testing by the authorities, with the findings made public on January 15. Frozen burgers on sale at Aldi and Lidl were also affected.

Other burgers at Iceland were found to contain traces of horsemeat DNA, but there is no suspicion that the beef was substituted by horsemeat in those instances. This discovery of this low-level contamination – below 1% – was because of the sensitivity of the tests.

There was further alarm on Thursday when Findus announced it had found 60% to 100% levels of horsemeat in its 320g, 350g and 500g packs of frozen beef lasagne. Tesco removed all of these products from its shelves.

And on Friday, Aldi said 30% to 100% horsemeat had been found in its own-brand frozen beef lasagne and spaghetti bolognese. These have also been removed.

What other meat products could contain horsemeat instead of beef?

The products that are considered most at risk of horsemeat contamination are those made from a form of pulverised minced meat. This is known in the food industry as comminuted meat. So tests are under way on frozen and fresh burgers, meatballs, sausages, pies and ready meals such as lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, cottage pie and moussaka.

What should you do if you have a product containing horsemeat in your freezer?

You should return it to the store where you bought it. Supermarkets have agreed to accept returns with no questions asked and to refund customers.

How can you best avoid  buying a contaminated product?

The best advice is to buy fresh raw meat at the supermarket or from a trusted butcher.

What about beef served in places such as hospitals, pubs, restaurants and cafés?

If you are in any doubt, ask at the outlet if they can guarantee their beef supplies.

THE FOUR WAYS TO TRACE A HORSE

There are four main ways to tell one horse from another. These are microchips, passports, the markings on a horse’s coat and its whorls, or the pattern its hair grows in.
Microchips with a barcode are implanted into the horse. Since 2009 all horses (and donkeys and ponies) should have a chip which has been put in by a vet.

This chip carries a unique number and is recorded by the Department of Agriculture as well as the relevant issuing body.
There are now seven issuing agencies in Ireland – one was closed by the Department of Agriculture for irregularities in October of last year.

Since 2004 horse owners should have a passport for each animal they own. Depending on the agency, these can be green, blue or plain white.
Green ones are issued to horses where the breeding of both father and mother can be traced. The passport states the breed of the horse as well as name and address of the owner, and carries the barcode to match the microchip in most cases.

The passport also contains a crucial section known as the Marking Chart. Vets must draw in distinctive markings and whorls on a chart – markings could be a different coloured shape on the horse’s back or white ‘socks’ on the lower legs.

Whorls in horses are as unique as fingerprints in humans – they happen when the hair in a small spot grows in a swirling shape and stands out from the rest of the horse’s coat.

News Link:-: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276287/Horse-abandoned-Ireland-week-ecords-SLAUGHTERED-March.html#ixzz2KhjKn3Lt Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Solomon Islands villagers kill 900 dolphins in conservation dispute

“WTF…this is just an appalling injustice; it’s a bloody tragedy to the sentient dolphins & setback for all those who try to protect them. Have people lost the use of their voices? Couldn’t they have sat down & discussed this issue like grown adults; before going off & slaughtering up to 900 innocent dolphins. I’m sickened by this barbaric act…which as always…comes down to money & greed!”

“Read more at the links below, watch a video & please also sign the petition!”

Islanders claim Berkely-based Earth Island Institute failed to fulfill deal to pay $400,000 to stop hunt.

Villagers in the Solomon Islands have slaughtered up to 900 dolphins in the course of a dispute with a conservation group, Earth Island Institute.

http://solomonstarnews.com/news/national/16985-villagers-slaughter-700-dolphins-in-retaliation

Accounts of the dispute vary. The islanders say the Berkeley-based conservation group failed to pay them, as agreed, for stopping the traditional hunt. Earth Island says the slaughter was the work of a “renegade group” trying to sabotage conservation work.

What is clear, however, is that a misunderstanding between the villagers and Earth Island has resulted in one of the worst cases of dolphin slaughter in the Solomon Islands for some time, and delivered a huge setback to conservation efforts in a world “hot spot” for the dolphin trade.

The Solomon Islands were notorious among conservationists as a source of live dolphins for sea aquariums in China and Dubai. A captive dolphin sells for up to $150,000.

“We are very very disappointed,” said David Phillips, who oversees international dolphin protection efforts for Earth Island. “This is a tragedy. It’s bad for dolphins. It’s bad for the community. It’s bad for the Solomon Islands as a nation to have this blot on the record.”

Earth Island had been working with islanders of Malaita for two years to try to stop the hunt. The islanders’ account, which was aired by Australian broadcasting, accused the conservation group of failing to live up to a deal to pay up to $400,000 to people in the village of Fanalei, to stop the dolphin hunt. The villagers said they received barely a third of the promised funds before the money dried up.

Atkin Fakaia, a community leader now living in the capital, Honiara, told Radio Australia the disillusioned Fanalei villagers had gone back to hunting when the money did not come in.

“The issue of them going back fishing for and killing dolphins was on the understanding that Earth Island had been reluctant to pay the agreed amount that was due to the community,” he said. “They were just disappointed and dissatisfied over the attitude of Earth Island.”

The Solomon Islands were notorious among conservationists as a source of live dolphins for sea aquariums in China and Dubai. Photograph: Robin Moore/NGS/Corbis

Phillips said the causes of the dispute were far more complicated – although he did not dispute the charge villagers in Fanalei had not seen the money they were expecting. Under the agreement, funds were supposed to be paid out as small grants for community projects in the village, and for income generating efforts. However, Phillips said villagers living in the capital had seized control of the funds, and had not distributed the money.

“The renegade group grabbed funds that were supposed to go to the community and that resulted in a lot of the discord,” he said. “In our view there are proper charges of corruption in what has happened in the community.”

Phillips said the conservation group was still working with two other villages on the island, and hoped to resolve the dispute with the people of Fanalei. Fakaia told Australia radio the dispute would now likely end up in court.

News Link:-http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/24/solomon-islands-villagers-kill-900-dolphins

Read part of the interview broadcast on Australian Radio;  Speakers: Lawrence Makili, The Director of the Earth Island Institute; Atkin Fakaia, Chairman of the Fanalei Honiara Association

Traditionally the animals are used to provide meat and income for the village, with the men also using the mammal’s teeth to pay a bride’s price.

For the past two years, that village, as well as other villages on Malaita have been parties to a Memorandum of Understanding with the Conservation group the Earth Island Institute, which provides funding to develop other income producing projects, in return for the villages not hunting dolphins.

But now that MOU appears to be have been scrapped.

FAKAIA: The issue of them going back fishing for and killing dolphins, was on the understanding that Earth Island has reluctant to pay the agreed amount that was due to the community and so they just felt as if they was just disappointed and dissatisfied over the attitude of Earth Island.

The Director of the Institute, Lawrence Makili has disputed the villager’s version of events leading up to the slaughter.

MAKILI: The communities use that as an excuse to have a reason for them to do what they were doing. Our institute has played their part by providing small grants to the communities for them to set up small income-generation projects. Within the two years term, we first gave out some money to the community which was 300-thousand dollars SPD, that is Solomon Island dollars , and during the distribution of the funds to the government to individual members of individual families.

The strategy that they set up in the community for the distribution of funds was not happy by other members of the community and we also went back to the community and had some sort of, discuss with them and they do agree that the funds should be channelled to the Fanalei people based in Honiara, in the city, but that second can’t say that we gave it to them is worth about 400-thousand SPD dollars, Solomon Island dollars, and that money never reached the community. It was sink in Honiara by their own community members that, who were given the trustee for them.

Listen to or read the full broadcast about the slaughter & the international outrage:–http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/asia-pacific/international-outrage-over-solomon-islands-dolphin-kill/1077808

Please sign this petition:-http://www.thepetitionsite.com/705/176/384/solomon-islands-villagers-kill-900-dolphins-in-conservation-dispute/

Dolphin Massacre in Solomon Islands 2009 (this shows how they are captured not slaughtered)

Uploaded on 23 Sep 2009

Dolphin Massacre in Solomon Islands

Horse meat could have been used in beefburgers for years and was detected in chorizo a decade ago

• The Food Standards Agency does not test products for horse meat because it does not pose a risk to public health
• But the FSA found equine DNA in three out of 24 chorizo and pastrami products sold in 2003  
• Scientists demand regular tests for meat products in supermarkets
• Sainsbury’s, Asda and Co-op have removed burgers as a precaution
• Fast food chain Burger King also drawn into the row
• Tesco has paid for full page apology in national newspapers today
• Government tells Commons there could be prosecutions over issue
• Food charity angry that 10million contaminated burgers will be binned, saying they should be handed for free instead

Horse meat could have been in beefburgers for many years because of gaping holes in British food regulations, it emerged today.

The Food Standards Agency is under fire after it admitted testing is not routinely carried out because products laced with horse do not pose a risk to public health.

This is despite FSA scientists finding equine DNA in products sold in three out of 24 chorizo and pastrami products imported from Belgium and Italy and sold in Safeway in 2003.

There are now demands for products to be routinely analysed to ensure UK consumers know exactly what they are eating.

Tim Lang, a professor of food policy at City University in London said: ‘It could have been going on for years but we wouldn’t know about it because we have never conducted tests.

‘For too long we have had light-touch regulation. The Food Standards Agency has to be institutionalised into.

Government Food Minister David Heath said today he backed the FSA’s regime.

‘The FSA carries out its duties in a responsible and professional way. They do take a risk-based approach to testing based on intelligence and I think they are right to do so because that is the way they get the most effective response,’ he told the Commons.

Two studies carried out in 2003 found evidence of imported processed meat containing traces of horse meat.

The first by local authorities in Hull, Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire found three out of 24 salamis contained horse meat. These gourmet products were imported from France and Belgium. Two products were found on sale at a branch of Safeway in Durham, and the other at a Leeds wholesaler.

A second larger research project by the Food Standards Agency found imported chorizo contained traces of horse meat.

Ten million beefburgers are being recalled in the scandal over horse meat contamination as more supermarkets and fast food chain Burger King were drawn into the row.

ABP, which is awaiting results of secondary testing ordered by the Department of Agriculture in Ireland due this evening, said it wants the food binned.

‘We have recommended that the withdrawn product is destroyed,’ the company said.

‘We do not have monetary figures for the product we have recommended be withdrawn, but can confirm it would total around 10 million burgers.’

The FSA has admitted that it is considering taking legal action against companies at the centre of the scandal.

The firms acted because the products were made by an Irish food giant which is known to have been supplying burgers contaminated with horse meat, with some at Tesco containing up to 29 per cent equine DNA.

Tesco has today placed full-page adverts in a number of national newspapers apologising to customers for selling beef burgers containing horse meat.

The supermarket giant has lost £300million off its market value in the last day.

Sorry: Tesco has taken out full page adverts in national newspapers apologising for the ‘unacceptable’ horse meat scandal that has rocked the company

 It has also promised to refund customers who bought the contaminated products, identified as Tesco Everyday Value 8 x Frozen Beef Burgers (397g), Tesco 4 x Frozen Beef Quarter Pounders (454g), and a branded product, Flamehouse Frozen Chargrilled Quarter Pounders.

The alert was first raised by Irish food watchdogs earlier this week after horse DNA was found in burgers sold through Tesco, Iceland, Aldi, Lidl and Dunnes in Ireland.

It subsequently emerged that burgers from the same batches were sold in the British outlets of both Tesco and Iceland. The beef content in one Everyday Value burger sold by Tesco was actually 29 per cent horse meat.
The tests were carried out in November but the results were not released until they had been checked by experts in Germany. It is likely that many thousands of the burgers contaminated with horse meat have been eaten by families.Investigations are focussing on the role of Irish food company, ABP, which is run by controversial entrepreneur Larry Goodman.ABP owns Silvercrest Foods, which supplied burgers containing horse meat to Tesco and Aldi. It also makes cheap burgers for Asda, Co-op and Burger King.

ABP also owns Dalepak, which is based in North Yorkshire and made suspect burgers for Iceland. It also produces 13 lines for Sainsbury’s.

Yesterday, ABP pointed the finger at a mystery ingredient used in the burgers – thought to be a protein powder – supplied by two foreign firms, one in the Netherlands and another in Spain.

The powder – used to bulk up cheap burgers – is supposed to be created from rendered down carcasses of beef animals.

The episode lifts the lid on some of the more distasteful elements and ingredients used to produce cheap food for families on a budget. 

Professor Chris Elliott, director of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University, Belfast said: ‘What goes into a burger is all the low quality cuts of meat that can’t be sold in any other form. They are at the bottom of the chain.’

The FSA will look at launching legal action with breaches of food labelling rules bringing fines up to £20,000 and a prison term of up to two years.

HORSE MEAT BURGER FIND COULD SPARK PROSECUTIONS

Criminal prosecutions could be brought following the discovery of horse meat in some supermarket beefburgers, the Government said today.

Environment minister David Heath (above right) said standards were generally very high in the British food industry and backed the Food Standards Agency’s risk-based checking system.

Answering an urgent question from Labour’s shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh in the Commons, Mr Heath acknowledged the seriousness of the discovery.

He said: ‘It is very important neither you, nor anyone else in this House, talks down the British food industry at a time when the standards in that industry are of a very high level.

‘Because something has been discovered in Ireland, which is serious, which may lead to criminal proceedings, does not undermine the very serious efforts which are taken by retailers, by processors and by producers in this country to ensure traceability and ensure standards of food that are available to consumers.’

Raising her urgent question, Ms Creagh said: ‘Consumers who avoid pork for religious reasons will be upset they may have unwittingly eaten it and eating horse is strongly culturally taboo in the United Kingdom.

‘It’s not illegal to sell horse meat but it is illegal not to label it correctly.

‘The food industry lobbies vigorously for a light-touch regulation system from Government. Testing, tracking and tracing ingredients is expensive but not testing will cost retailers, processors, British farmers and consumers much more.’

Same supplier: Fast food giant Burger King was drawn into the row today as it uses the same supplier as supermarkets where burgers were found to contain horse meat

 Tesco had no idea about the contamination and has apologised. Its group technical director, Tim Smith, said: ‘Our customers have the right to expect that food they buy is produced to the highest standards.’

Asda, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op all insisted there was no evidence their burgers contain horse meat. However, they decided to withdraw them because they come from firms  which are known to have had this problem

Sainsbury’s said: ‘Although our products have not been implicated, as our customers would expect we treat matters like this extremely seriously.’ Asda said: ‘As soon as we were made aware of the issue we launched a full traceability audit with our supplier.’

Co-op said it was removing two lines of frozen own-brand burgers while tests are carried out ‘to ensure they have been produced to our strict specifications’.

Burger King said it has been given ‘absolute assurance’ by ABP and Silvercrest that none of its burgers were affected. It said its burgers are produced with clean ingredients on a separate production line.

DESTRUCTION OF 10M BURGERS IS WRONG – FOOD CHARITY

The destruction of up to 10 million burgers suspected of containing some levels of horse DNA is morally and ethically wrong, a charity has said.

The UK’s Food Ethics Council said any meat fit for human consumption could be offered to consumers for free.

Dan Crossley, chief executive of the charity, said: ‘It’s wrong to assume straight away that food that is apparently fit for human consumption should go to landfill – if it can be shown to be safe to eat.

‘From a moral and ethical perspective, the amount of food we throw away is nothing short of scandalous, particularly in a world where a billion people are going hungry.

‘We must learn to value the food we eat.’

One of Europe’s biggest suppliers and processors, the ABP Food Group, is among two firms being investigated by health and agriculture authorities in the UK and Ireland over the controversy.

The company said it has recommended destroying up to 10 million frozen burgers which have been withdrawn from shops.

‘Some people will have reservations about eating that meat as there’s the potential to have horse meat in it,’ Mr Crossley said.

‘If the decision was made that it could not be sold through normal channels, they could look at other options like giving it free to people if they wanted it.‘

To read the rest of this news post click here:– http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263822/Horse-meat-used-beefburgers-years-detected-chorizo-years-ago.html

Beloved Police Dog Fighting Cancer

“For a dog that has given his all & served the force, his entire life, I think it’s disgraceful that the police department don’t cover all his cost’s. They wouldn’t have found so many drugs if it wasn’t for Enno! I think he has earned his stripes, the police force should stand beside one of their own & pay up…I bet the big wigs in the state department, are saying, ‘well it’s only a dog’…so he is, but he has never asked for anything apart from food & warmth…It’s not like he gets a monthly salary, but if he did, for all the years he has worked…it would be enough to cover all his cost’s….so stop being so dam stingy & pay up for whatever he needs!”

For seven years Sargent Jeff Salstrom and Enno have been partners on the Hoquiam Police force. Salstrom was devastated when he got the news that Enno had a life-threatening cancerous tumor.

Now Salstrom and the police department are trying to raise the funds necessary to help their fellow officer.

Jeff Salstrom dreamed of having a police dog since he was a little boy. Enno is the only police dog the Hoquiam Police force has and for seven years he has been riding with Salstrom in his squad car. Enno has been a part of 57 arrests and he has helped find hundreds of pounds of drugs. Now Enno needs help.

Enno has a life-threatening cancerous tumour growing behind his left eye. “It was devastating news to hear he had a tumour,” said Salstrom. The tumour has caused Enno to go blind in his one eye. His jaw has become too sore to clamp down hard like he is trained to do.

Enno has undergone radiation treatments to help reduce the size of his tumour  but the treatment is costly. The police department only has $3,000 set aside each year for Enno and already his medical bills have reached $5,000. So Salstrom and the rest of the police force have been fundraising with t-shirts, stickers and garage sales. They have even set up a Facebook page to help support Enno.

A Seattle bio-tech company has offered to fly Salstrom and Enno to San Diego and pay for an experimental treatment once Enno is able to complete his radiation treatment. The experimental treatment has been successful in other cases, but has never been tried on a tumor like Enno’s. Salstrom believes it is worth trying, “We are working to preserve his life.”

Video & News Link:-:-http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Hoquiam-raising-money-to-help-beloved-police-dog-fight-cancer-177392141.html?tab=video&c=y

Second Dog Dies On United Airlines Flight

For the second time in just a few months a dog has died on a United Airlines flight.

Michael Jarboe was travelling from Miami to San Francisco with his two-year-old Neopolitan Mastiff Bam Bam. Jarboe says Bam Bam was in perfect health before the flight, but when he landed he was informed by United Airlines staff that Bam Bam had passed away during travel.

Jarboe & Bam Bam

United Airlines paid for an autopsy of Bam Bam, which found the cause of death to be a heart attack. The company maintains the death was not transit-related. Jarboe questioned several employees who informed him that Bam Bam was not in an air-conditioned room during the 2 hour layover the flight had in Houston. Jarboe had paid $650 for the transport of Bam Bam, which he had been led to believe included temperature control.

Jarboe saw Bam Bam on the tarmac in Houston.  ”It was right under the wing. We were right there, had a direct shot, he was so hot. His tongue was hanging down.” Jarboe had never seen Bam Bam look that hot.

The airline stated, “Given the size of Bam Bam and the fact that he is a brachycephalic, meaning short nosed breed, we made the decision to bring him to our holding facility for greater comfort during his connection.” They stated their holding facilities are USDA animal-welfare approved. The airline refunded Jarboe the $650 for transporting Bam Bam and offered him additional compensation, but Jarboe refuses to accept the compensation.

Supermodel Maggie Rizer lost her golden retriever Beatrice on a United Airlines flight from New York to San Francisco only 2 months ago. Rizer had her own veterinarian perform an autopsy on Beatrice, revealing the cause of death to be heatstroke. United Airlines stands firm in that case that they kept the dog in a temperature-controlled environment for the entirety of the journey as well.

Video & News Link:–http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/09/second-dog-dies-on-united-airlines-flight/