“Please use the information below to sign the petition & bring awareness to the horrific cruelties suffered by farm animals; by adding the images along with either petition link to your social network PAGES…Thank you!”
Please note, only UK residents can sign the petition.
ANIMAL AID; Please help us reach 100,000 signatures on our petition calling for mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses (link) by joining in our Weekend of Action on 30 January – 1February.
If you have a Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or any other social media account, please help spread the word by downloading some or all of our social media images below and sharing them on our weekend of action to drive the signatures to 100,000: Weekend of Action on; 30 January – 1 February.
Please make sure that you include either of the 2 PETITION links to the images you post out to your media source– (some images look the same but they are slightly different)
“To make things easier for you, I have listed all images as links below to share on your media sites, along with petition 1:- I have used the first petition link just for ease of use in this post; but they both go to the same petition site”
“Please post the picture & add the link to each picture you share! REMEMBER TO POST THIS Weekend of Action FROM 30 January – 1 February.
Please share everywhere…no animal should suffer in silence, CCTV will enable those who abuse the animals to face the consequences. We can not let these sentient beings suffer in silence…any farm that doesn’t agree; well, sounds like they must have something to hide or are not sure what their staff get up to!”
Kate Fowler
Head of Campaigns
Additionally, if you are able to door-drop out leaflets on that weekend, or any time, please order some leaflets, and we’ll get them out to you as soon as possible. Thank you for all your help!
Please note, only UK residents can sign the petition.
“PLEASE SIGN THE PLEDGE BELOW…THIS IS HORRIFIC!!!”
Dynamic World of Ducks
Ducks are friendly animals who prefer to spend their days swimming in lakes or ponds. At night, ducks will sleep in groups called paddlings. Cleanliness is extremely important to ducks, who will spend hours grooming and preening their feathers and keeping their nests free of waste and garbage.
A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation at one of the largest duck factory farms in the country has exposed rampant abuse and neglect of these gentle birds.
HORRIFIC!!
An MFA investigator working at Reichardt Duck Farm in California documented:
Baby ducklings having the tips of their beaks burned with red-hot metal
Ducks suffering from illness and injuries without proper veterinary care
Birds trapped in or under the wire cage flooring left to slowly suffer and die
Ducks having their throats cut while still conscious and able to feel pain
Following the undercover investigation, MFA immediately alerted law enforcement authorities to violations of California’s anti-cruelty laws and presented them with a detailed legal complaint and meticulously compiled evidence of the violations. The evidence demonstrated an ongoing pattern of cruelty, neglect, and needless suffering.
Perhaps the worst abuse factory-farmed ducks are forced to endure is life without access to water for swimming or bathing. As waterfowl, ducks evolved to spend most of their time in ponds or lakes. In fact, ducks require pools of water to maintain proper health and to regulate their body temperatures.
At Riechardt Duck Farm and most duck factory farms, these semi-aquatic animals are forced to spend their entire lives on barren, wire mesh flooring. Since their fragile legs were not meant for standing or walking for extended periods of time, let alone their entire lives, many factory-farmed ducks develop crippling leg deformities and injuries, such as “bumble foot,” a painful inflammatory infection of the bottoms of their feet.
Without access to water, ducks become stressed and start to exhibit abnormal behaviors, such as head shaking and excessive feather preening. Unable to properly clean themselves, factory-farmed ducks often develop infections and painful eye diseases that can lead to blindness. Sadly, the first and only pool of water factory-farmed ducks will see is the electrified bath as they are hanging upside down about to have their throats cut open at the slaughterhouse.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. And you can help change it. As MFA continues to expose the unconscionable cruelties inherent in factory farming, and to diligently pursue justice by aiding prosecutions of animal abusers, consumers still hold the greatest power of all to end the needless suffering and death of farmed animals by adopting a compassionate vegan diet.
Like chickens and turkeys, factory-farmed ducks are subjected to horrific abuse from the time they hatch until they are violently killed at the slaughterhouse. A new Mercy For Animals investigation at one of the nation’s largest duck factory farms exposes sickening cruelty and criminal neglect of these gentle birds. Take action at http://www.MercyForAnimals.org/Ducks
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.
“Please sign this petition, We have to keep the public updated on animal welfare issues. But with the AG- Gag Laws trying to be introduced to protect those who are blatantly flaunting the law; it’s hard to know what or where to turn to next. Please sign the petition here or further down.”
“We have to be the voice of the voiceless & ensure laws put in place to protect them; are in use!”
“YOU The PUBLIC have a voice, if you eat meat, don’t you want it to come from healthy farms, where the animals are cared for as they should be.? There are no excuses as you can see in the second video…but farmers cut corners to produce meat cheaply…would you honestly want to eat the meat that came from ill, diseased or filthy animals fed with slop??”
“Every time you open the door to one of these farms, you tell yourself: ‘it will be better than the last. They can’t all be ignoring the law, they can’t all be inflicting such misery.’ But then you see the pigs, and realise the scale of the suffering. It breaks your heart.”
Compassion’s Head of Investigations.
We have created a short video to summarise the findings of our investigation. Please help us to protect the pigs by watching it and sharing it as widely as possible.
The biggest scandal in modern pig farming?
Published on 23 Oct 2013
Much of the EU pig industry is completely ignoring basic welfare laws — leading to the suffering of millions of pigs. Compassion in World Farming has pulled together evidence from across Europe — join us in standing up for pig welfare by signing the petition: http://www.ciwf.org/EUpigvideo
Last year Compassion visited 45 pig farms across the EU. We went south to Italy and Spain; south-east to Cyprus; west to Ireland; and east to Poland and the Czech Republic. On every single farm we found the laws put in place to protect pig welfare were being flouted – the suffering was hard to witness.
And it doesn’t stop there.
We believe aspects of the Pigs Directive are being blatantly ignored all across the EU, inflicting illegal cruelty on millions of intelligent and sensitive animals. There are over 140 million pigs in the EU at any one time. Sometimes the scale of the challenge we are facing seems overwhelming.
But we have good news. The response to our petition has been amazing. It is the fastest growing petition in Compassion’s history; please help us keep up the momentum.
Humane, sustainable dairy farming can and does exist in California! In this film, Philip visits Strauss dairy whose organic dairy herd graze on pasture and are treated as much more than just units of production.
Over a three-year period Philip Lymbery (CEO of Compassion in World Farming) has travelled the world bearing witness to the hidden cost of cheap meat and the devastating impact of factory farming — on people, animals and our planet.
The findings of this journey are brought together for the very first time in Farmageddon (published by Bloomsbury).
“Those who secretly film the atrocious acts of violence are not terrorist; they merely want the PUBLIC to know the truth about the lives of the animals you eat & how they are treated. Imagine how it feels for them? animal lovers, having to watch the abuse happening all around them…to enable the public to see the truth. I think they deserve a bloody medal; for keeping their hands off the MF’ing bxxxxxxd’s committing such horrifying acts !!
YOU the meat-eating public, have the right to know the animals you eat have been treated with respect; before going to slaughter!! AG- GAG laws were introduced to protect those allowing the cruelty to continue to their animals, & protect those who commit the crimes; what happened to freedom of speech??? They don’t want you, the paying pubic to know the heinous acts of cruelty that go on behind their closed doors; because they know they are likely to lose business !!.
NO ANIMAL meant for human consumption should be treated worse than shit on shoes; they are sentient beings more than capable of feeling the pain of every blow, kick, punch etc. They give their lives for you…please don’t let them suffer in silence! AG-GAG Laws were introduced to stop the public knowing the truth…the animals have the right to dignity & the public have the right to know how they are being treated!Please, sign the petition at http://www.walmartcruelty.com/ scroll to the bottom half to sign”
“Watch the videos below. if you can stomach them, is it fair for animals to be treated this way? YOU have the power to help stop this; please use it & stop AG-Gag Laws!!”
Posted: Sunday, February 23, By Randy Stapilus
Backers of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation anti-videoing legislation — “ag-gag” — have already lost the war, even if the legislation passes. Especially if it passes.
Their best hope is to change strategy.
Senate Bill 1337, which has passed the Senate, bars a person who “without the facility owner’s express consent or pursuant to judicial process or statutory authorization, makes audio or video recordings of the conduct of an agricultural production facility’s operations.” More specifically, it’s intended to ban (though various existing laws already theoretically do) the videotaping of what happens to livestock in concentrated animal feeding operations.
This is significant in Idaho, home to some very large CAFO operations in the Magic Valley and southwest. The new bill would punish violators with up to a year in jail or a $5,000 fine; critics note that’s the same as the state penalty for animal abuse.
Similar legislation has been proposed, most often failing to pass, in more than a dozen states; a Utah law is being challenged in the courts.
The Idaho bill was specifically prompted by a video shot in 2012 at Bettencourt Dairy at Hansen, showing workers beating on livestock. Last week another video shot at an Idaho CAFO, which added animal sexual abuse to the mix, was released. Both have had many, many views, and they’ve gone viral on social media.
We can’t know if the videos alone would have generated massive international attention. We do know the videos, combined with legislation to ban shooting more of them, has sent interest in the subject sky high in news reports nationally and overseas.
The story is irresistible: An attempt to keep the lid on what people have already seen. But memories aren’t so easily erased. Nor is the technology, which keeps moving in the direction of disclosure, as privacy advocates regularly remind us.
Among other responses to the bill are petitions — some inside Idaho, some by national animal advocacy groups. Petitions usually do little by themselves, but they can assist organization efforts, and they keep the subject visible.
Not only are smaller and relatively hard-core groups like Mercy for Animals, which released the Bettencourt videos, involved in this, but also larger and better-funded groups like the Humane Society of the United States. The subject of CAFO livestock has gone mainstream.
If you doubt that, watch the latest series offering from Netflix: The satirical but pointed “Farmed and Dangerous.” The initial plot hook involves an exploding cow. Once issues like this get into cultural discussion, national regulation and legislation may, in time, follow. It’s in the spotlight now.
The Magic Valley has benefited recently from arrival of a number of food processors who came there largely because of the easy supply of dairy products. Don’t be surprised if boycotts of some of them start — and lead to business responses. To see this playing out, Google the Wiese Brothers Farms in Wisconsin and read about the videos and other reports that led a frozen pizza company to cut all ties with them.
Nor is that all. If SB 1337 is signed into law (as seems likely), watch for this: An activist who deliberately violates it, shooting more video, intending to get caught, and insisting on a very public trial that could draw more national and international attention, kicking in the cycle all over again.
The problem for livestock operations is not insoluble. The simplest out is to improve and closely monitor operations, then throw open the doors for public viewing.
Some CAFO advocates have argued that much of what has been shown on the videos has been unusual aberrations, that most livestock is treated better before slaughter than the videos suggest. An open-door policy would be the one practical way to prove it.
Some of what inevitably happens in the best of meat processing businesses is of course difficult for many people to stomach, but the operators could fairly argue that if you want your meat at the supermarket, this is how it has to get there. Since most people do want their steaks and burgers, the argument might settle down, on at least higher ground than it occupies now.
Legislation has its uses. But CAFOs here have among other things a public relations problem, and these kinds of laws seldom are much help with that.
* Randy Stapilus is a former Idaho newspaper reporter and editor, author of The Idaho Political Field Guide, edits the Idaho Weekly Briefing, and blogs at www.ridenbaugh.com. He can be reached at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.
A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation reveals shocking cruelty to animals at Walmart pork suppliers. Workers hit, throw, and drop mother pigs and their baby piglets. Learn more and take action at http://www.WalmartCruelty.com
The video below is just a reminder of how animals are treated, without undercover investigations the public wouldn’t have a clue about the atrocities that happened at this farm!
Hidden camera video secretly shot by an investigator with Mercy For Animals at an Ohio dairy farm reveals shocking, malicious cruelty to calves and cows. The video, recorded between April and May, 2010, shows dairy farm workers beating cows in the face with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks, breaking their tails, and punching, throwing, and kicking calves.
” This heinous cruelty & horrific torture must be stopped; no animal should be treated this way. They are sentient beings capable of feelings just like humans! Do meat eaters really want to eat meat from animals that have been appallingly abused! The public have a right to know how the animals they intend to eat, are treated!
Those farms hoping to get Ag-Gag laws are doing so; because they don’t want the public to learn the truth, about the horrific violence & abuse used on their animals; once the public learn of this, they will think twice about buying their products. The people have the power to stop this by raising their voices & demanding better conditions for these poor neglected, abused & heinously treated animals; please use your voice to end this!! Please sign the petition below or at http://www.sliceofcruelty.com/
February 13, 2014 – By Matt Rice
Four workers at a dairy farm that was supplying cheese to DiGiorno Pizza are being charged with a total of 11 counts of criminal animal cruelty. Each count is punishable by up to nine months in jail and $10,000 in fines.
The charges stem from shocking animal abuse captured on a hidden-camera videoby Mercy For Animals at a Wisconsin dairy farm late last year. Abelardo Jaimes, Crescencio Pineda, Lucia Martinez, and Misael Monge-Minerowere charged with violating the state’s animal cruelty statute after they were caught on video viciously kicking, beating, whipping, dragging and stabbing cows at Wiese Brothers Farms in Greenleaf, Wisconsin.
MFA praises the Brown County Sheriff’s Department and district attorney’s office for taking swift and decisive action in pursuing justice for these abused and exploited animals.
Mercy For Animals is calling on Nestlé to adopt meaningful animal welfare guidelines, including zero tolerance for kicking, punching and shocking cows; requiring suppliers to prohibit painful and unnecessary mutilations of animals; and requiring suppliers to provide a safe, clean and sanitary environment for cattle. Tens of thousands of consumers have signed a petition at SliceOfCruelty.com, urging Nestlé to implement such policies, since the investigation’s release.
“These criminal charges should be a wake-up call that heartbreaking animal abuse runs rampant at DiGiorno cheese suppliers. Swift action must be taken to end this unspeakable cruelty. Nestlé has the power and responsibility to implement meaningful policies to end some of the worst forms of animal abuse in the dairy industry,” said MFA’s executive director, Nathan Runkle. “No socially responsible corporation should support dairy operations that torture animals.”
Please take action now to stop this type of blatant animal abuse by signing the petition at SliceOfCruelty.com.
After signing the petition, consider making changes in your own lifestyle to help animals by transitioning to a healthy and humane vegan diet. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn more.
Watch the shocking hidden-camera video that led to the charges here:
Viewer Discretion Advised – WATCH: Cows Kicked, Stabbed and Dragged at DiGiorno Pizza Cheese Supplier (Please note, these are sentient beings, capable of feeling every strike, punch or kick) should animals be treated like this; just because they are going to be slaughtered? THE ANSWER IS NO!!
Published on 10 Dec 2013
Horrific undercover video taken by a Mercy For Animals investigator reveals disgusting animal cruelty at a DiGiorno dairy supplier. Workers kick, beat, and stab cows and drag them by their fragile legs and necks using chains attached to tractors.
“The video captures workers engaged in numerous serious acts of direct physical abuse and overt brutality—they whip, beat, slap, kick, stab and yell profanity at the cows. … There is a culture of serious neglect and mistreatment of animals in this facility, and the animals are suffering. This must stop.”
Dr. Debra Teachout
“There is no question in my mind, as a veterinarian experienced with farmed animals, including cows, that much of what was being done to the cows was inhumane, brutal and almost certainly a violation of the anti-cruelty statutes of many if not all states.”
Dr. Nedim Buyukmihci
“Dragging live cows, and completely suspending them with the cow lift is severe animal abuse. The actions of these people went beyond rough handling and escalated to the level of cruelty. Kicking, beating, and hard whipping of downed cows is abusive.”
Dr. Temple Grandin
“It is abuse to beat, kick or whip an animal that cannot get up. Hitting an animal in the face is particularly painful. The fact that cows in other scenes are beaten or kicked in the head and face demonstrates the workers have either learned or have been trained that this bothers the animals more than hitting them on other areas of their bodies.”
By Dr. James Reynolds
“Workers were observed to hit, kick and whip downer cows on multiple occasions. Cows were hit in their cervical (neck), thoracic, lumbar, and head regions using hands, ropes, and a thin plastic pipe. All of these actions would have unnecessary and unjustifiable pain and suffering.”
“And people ask me why I don’t eat meat…its not just the abuse they suffer, animals are sentient beings with feelings much like our own! I can’t be a part of that abuse & torture so prefer not to add to it by eating animal meats or stealing milk which is meant for animal offspring; being vegan or vegetarian is so much more healthy!! How would you like to live life in an iron jail for life; barely able to turn around.”
“I just don’t get this, the less an animal has suffered through life, the better the meat is supposed to be!! So why submit these animals to such barbaric torture, don’t tell me it’s to protect the young being sat on; that’s a load of old bull!!
If pigs are allowed to breed freely, are given straw to birth on & raise piglets, more will survive because the mom doesn’t sit on them on purpose!! When allowed, a sow will bring up her piglets just as well as a dog!!” These new viruses are being created by the way the animals are brought up…if your going to eat meat, the least you can do is make sure it came from a disease free farm!!”
On the heels of the recent viral diarrhea outbreak, yet another virus is plaguing pigs on factory farms in the Midwest, this time in Ohio.
“National Hog Farmer” magazine reports, “A new coronavirus has been identified in pig fecal samples from four Ohio swine farms, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.”The article explains that although the symptoms are similar to the ongoing outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV), this is an entirely new coronavirus born of extreme confinement on today’s hog farms.
And according to “Feedstuffs,” the samples were taken from farms that “experienced outbreaks of a diarrheal disease in sows and piglets in January and early February.”The Ohio Department of Agriculture has yet to determine whether this new virus is the cause of the diarrheal outbreak.
Subjecting animals to a lifetime of confinement in crates so small they are virtually immobilized is perhaps the cruellest form of institutionalized animal abuse in existence.Combined with overuse of antibiotics, and unsanitary living conditions, these factory farm environments create a breeding ground for disease.
We can help stop the abuse of pigs and other animals on factory farms, as well as the spread of nasty superbugs, by choosing compassion at every meal. Check out ChooseVeg.com for delicious recipes and tips on transitioning to a plant-based diet.
Want the real simple truth? animals on today’s factory farms – even those raised on so-called humane farms – are treated as mere meat-producing machines, and their short lives are filled with misery and deprivation. See for yourself:
Viewer Discretion Advised -Farm to Fridge – The Truth Behind Meat Production
Mercy For Animals presents Farm to Fridge. Narrated by Oscar-nominee James Cromwell, this powerful film takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration behind the closed doors of the nation’s largest industrial farms, hatcheries, and slaughter plants — revealing the often-unseen journey that animals make from Farm to Fridge.
“Please sign the petition below; no animal should be treated in this horrific way, then sold to the public!”
20th February – Posted By Matt Rice
Today, The Humane Society of the United Statesreleased horrifying hidden-camera video footage of pigs being fed diarrhea and the ground up intestines of their own piglets at a factory farm in Kentucky – Iron Maiden Hog Farm.
Although the practice of feeding pig guts and shit to other pigs is common on industrial farms across the country, it is illegal under state law.
The video, which was profiled by The New York Times, also shows mother pigs crammed into filthy metal cages so small they can’t even turn around or lie down comfortably for nearly their entire lives. Seemingly without irony, the facility is named after a medieval torture device by which human victims were confined in a metal box barely larger than their own bodies.
Watch the graphic undercover video here:
Viewer Discretion – Pigs Suffer at IRON MAIDEN
Published on 20 Feb 2014
Click to Help: http://bit.ly/1e8oElA An undercover exposé of Iron Maiden Farms in Owensboro, Kentucky revealed that sows confined in cramped cages known as gestation crates were fed intestines from ground up piglets who had recently succumbed to a highly contagious diarrhoeal disease.
Like a medieval torture device, the use of gestation crates by the pork industry is perhaps the cruellest form institutionalized animal abuse in existence.
In fact, these crates are so cruel they have been banned in nine states and the entire European Union. In the last couple years, more than 60 major food providers, including Costco, Target, Safeway, Kroger, and others, have committed to phasing gestation crates out of their supply chains. Even major pork producers like Smithfield and Hormel have recognized the need to do away with cruel crates.
Unfortunately, Walmart, the largest pork retailer in the world, continues to support factory farms that keep pigs in gestation crates. Multiple undercover investigations by Mercy For Animals at Walmart pork suppliershave revealed thousands of pigs crammed inside these metal torture boxes. As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart has the power and the responsibility to put an end to this horror once and for all.
While grocery retailers can help put an end to some of the most egregiously cruel factory farming practices, consumers can also help prevent needless cruelty to animals every time they sit down to eat by adopting a healthy and humane, vegan diet.
As a member of Redwings with virtual adopted horses ( See below about Adoptions) from their centre; I received the grim news through the post. I wish I could show you the appalling & very upsetting pictures the state the horse were found in, but I can’t; however I can tell you how some of the rescuers described the scene:-
“This was the worst cumulative case of horse suffering we had ever witnessed. Seeing the pain & distress of so many horses was worse than you can imagine. This is a tragic & upsetting situation, but we have to share the harsh reality of this crisis. In the hope that we can stop it from happening again…
Scenes from the Somme – stranded in a vast expanse of deep wet mud, surrounded by barbed wire, with no food & no hope the site was reminiscent of a battlefield with all the horrors of war – the horses were utterly desperate.
Death Camp – the Redwings team likened the scenes to a ‘ concentration camp for horses’ with the vulnerable youngsters & their mothers most likely to succumb to starvation & disease.
The Fallen – over 100 horses were so sick, injured & malnourished that they lost their lives.
“Read more from the news below”
Multi-agency operation in South Wales
Redwings Horse Sanctuary, the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the RSPCA have spent over a week working to safeguard the future welfare of more than 400 horses at a location between Bridgend and Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Following a report to the Vale of Glamorgan Trading Standards team, welfare officers and vets moved quickly to assess the horses and provide treatment for those needing it. Over six days (12-17 November), more than 300 horses were removed from the site to places of safety by the organisations involved, with assistance from South Wales police and Bristol-based charity HorseWorld who provided vital support.
These horses will be cared for and receive further treatment as necessary whilst the investigation continues. Redwings have taken immediate responsibility for 19 horses from the site, including 12 orphaned foals.
Sadly, as the operation on site progressed and more animals were assessed, it became clear that a number of the horses were in such a state of suffering that there was only one option for them. Over 100 of the horses had to be put to sleep on veterinary advice.
Redwings Head of Welfare and senior vet Nic de Brauwere said, “I am incredibly proud of the work my team and staff from the other agencies have carried out over the last week to deal with what was an incredibly severe welfare situation. Our interest at all times was to do the best we could for each horse we found, and tragically for some that meant giving them a peaceful end after all their suffering. This operation has been an astonishing feat considering the small number of people involved and the overwhelming number of demands on our time and resources. Our staff worked tirelessly to meet the needs of the animals on the site despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, and we must give special mention to Vale of Glamorgan Trading Standards team who took quick and decisive action in what was nothing less than a state of emergency for these horses.”
Martin Hubbard from the RSPCA said: “This was a difficult and tragic situation that developed very quickly, leaving many of the horses in a desperate condition. It is thanks to the Vale of Glamorgan local authority and to the fast response and hard work of everyone involved that we managed to attend to the animals and get the majority moved to safety.”
Christina Roberts-Kinsey, Principal Trading Standards Officer for Vale of Glamorgan Council, said, “We take all complaints regarding animal welfare very seriously. After visiting the site and witnessing the appalling conditions it was necessary to take this prompt action to prevent any further suffering to the animals. This action would not have been possible without the help and support of Redwings, the RSPCA and South Wales Police.”
This case is sadly typical of the situation right across the UK, where it is believed up to 7,000 horses and ponies are currently at risk of abandonment or neglect. Welfare charities have produced a report into the current equine welfare crisis, which can be downloaded here http://www.redwings.org.uk/news-updatedhorsecrisis.php.
Since January 1st this year we have taken 219 horses and ponies into our care, and we are currently looking after 1300 rescued residents at our Sanctuary sites across the UK.To donate and help us continue to help horses, please text code RWHS00 followed by the amount you’d like to give (eg RWHS00 £5) to 70070, or follow this link to the donation pages, thanks so much.
We are in the middle of an equine crisis situation in the UK. Redwings has justhelped rescue 300 horses from a site in South Wales,a few weeks ago we helped move 46 seemingly abandoned horses from a site in Hampshire, and we are already operating at capacity, with over 200 horses having coming into our care this year already.
Fly grazing and abandonment are two of the major issues contributing to this crisis. We have been delighted to see the fast tracking of new legislation from the Welsh Government to tackle the fly grazing of horses and ponies in Wales and are urgently asking the UK Government to follow suit in England to help stem the tide of unwanted horses across the country.
The new Control of Horses (Wales) Bill was passed in the National Assembly on December 10th and just needs to receive Royal Assent to become law. It grants more powers to local authorities to take action to help fly grazing and abandoned horses. However, the UK government has no such plans in England at a time when thousands of horses are at risk of suffering and death and landowners and local authorities struggle to cope with the problem.
On Tuesday 26th November 2013, MPs held a debate in Westminster Hall and we would like to thank everyone who asked their MP to go along. there was a really good turnout and a fascinating discussion which we hope will have helped pushed this issue up the political agenda. You can watch the full debate here: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=14264
At the end of September, welfare charities joined forces to remove 46 very hungry and many thin and sickly horses from a bare field in Alton. Eight of the most poorly horses came into the care of Redwings, while the rest found homes at private yards, where the RSPCA is providing for their care.
We very tragically lost Georgiana, only two weeks after her rescue. Georgiana was suffering with salmonella – a disease which several of these horses have – and also had an horrendous small redworm burden. Thousands of small redworms can hide inside the walls of the digestive system undetected, and can suddenly erupt out all at once, causing terrible diarrhoea and internal damage.
The Redwings Adoption Club is the fun way to support our charity and make a new friend in the process! A year’s adoption of a Redwings horse, pony, donkey or mule costs just £12.50, which goes directly towards the daily care of your chosen equine and their friends.
The moving story of Faith, who was rescued from Essex after she had collapsed and could not get up by herself – she was taken to Redwings Horse Sanctuary and against all the odds, she survived – watch her story here and read more about her at www.redwings.org.uk.Text £5 to RWHS00 to 70070 to donate to Redwings.
“OMG…isn’t anyone helping these neglected animals? They live in appalling conditions, which I have already written about! I’m ashamed to be called human when others are capable of this. So who is going to help stop the animal deaths; why are animals dying? Surely the animals could be sent to other zoo’s or parks,:why are they still suffering, they need the best of care! It’s going to take a bloody miracle to get this park back to a standard fit for animals…so what are they going to do in the mean time? IF THEY DO NOTHING & THEN THE ANIMALS DEATH COUNT WILL CONTINUE. See the video at the end of this post; it’s just heart breaking….PLEASE SIGN THE PETITIONS BELOW. Please use Viewer Discretion.
The video does not play on its own, but is is very upsetting; So Viewer Discretion advised.
By RICHARD SHEARS PUBLISHED: 15:55, 8 January 2014 | UPDATED: 11:32, 9 January 2014
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE & VIDEO BELOW
Michael the 18-month-old lion ‘got his head stuck between steel cables’
Zoo denies negligence saying animal must have been ‘playing around’
His body has disappeared and police have not been able to examine it
More than 40 animals died at zoo between July and September last year
Previous expose revealed dead giraffe had 20kgs of plastic in its stomach
Tiger’s digestive tract rotted after being fed meat laced with formaldehyde
The world’s cruellest zoo has claimed another victim after an African lion was found hanging in its cage, it emerged today.
Shocking: Michael the lion is found hanging in his cage after apparently getting his head stuck between steel cables at Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia which has been heavily criticised for its treatment of its animals
The Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia, which has outraged MailOnline readers around the world after an expose on the treatment of its animals, is being investigated by police following the death of the 18-month-old lion called Michael.
But the lion’s body was removed before police were able to examine it and cannot now be found.
A senior officer declined to say whether it was believed the zoo was trying to hamper the investigation.
Michael was found strangled in his cage after his head became stuck between steel cables, the Jakarta Globe reported today.
The tragedy comes just 24 hours after it was learned that a wildebeest died in its enclosure from a stomach problem, although the zoo said that the wet weather was partly to blame.” well of course they are not going to say otherwise!!”
The death of Michael the lion is certain to cause further demands from animal lovers around the world for urgent action to be carried out at the zoo.“Yes indeed, please sign the petition below, thanks; on behalf of the animals “
Closing it down, however, is not an option because no other zoo has expressed an interest in taking the animals. “Really? I can’t believe that?”
Latest statistics, covering the months between July and September last year, reveal that 43 animals died at the zoo during that period. “43 animal deaths, surely that is enough grounds to take away all the remaining animals & find them homes were they can behave in & on their natural habitat”
Horrific: Chained by three legs, this juvenile male elephant was one of several animals which featured in a recent expose for MailOnline last month that has outraged readers around the world
Among those which have died there previously is a giraffe that was found to have 20 kilograms of plastic in its stomach and a Sumatran tiger found to have a rotten digestive tract after being regularly fed meat laced with formaldehyde.
In the wake of Michael the lion’s death, zoo spokesman Agus Supangkat denied that his death was caused by zookeepers’ negligence.
‘We are still investigating how the steel cables could entrap the African lion’s head,‘ he told the Globe.
‘Michael was relatively young. He was only one and a half years old. It could be that he was playing around and somehow his head got stuck.’
Mr Agus said each of the zoo’s lions – there are now only four left – spends its days in two different cages.
Each morning, the lions are taken to a display cage where visitors can view them. Then, in the afternoon they are moved to another cage where they sleep, said Mr Agus.
He explained that the zoo used steel cables to secure the cage so zookeepers did not have to manually open or close the cage door with their hands.
This, he said, was a safety precaution to prevent the keepers being injured.
Michael was sent to the zoo last March by the East Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency
Emaciated: This camel’s ribs were plain to see as it ate grass in its enclosure when reporter Richard Shears visited the zoo last month
Surabaya Police detectives chief Senior Commander Farman told the Globe that a team of officers had visited the zoo to gather evidence but the corpse was missing.
He said that if the lion’s body could be found ‘we are going to wait for the autopsy results, then we can further examine the case.’ “Well somebody knows where the body is, probably the one that killed it, or found it dead, so I suggest the police move up a gear & kick some Ass!”
Dwindling numbers: A zoo spokesman said each of the lions – there are now only four left – spends its days in two different cages, one for displaying to visitors, the other for sleeping
A MailOnline investigation into the zoo before Christmas found numerous cases of animals living in miserable conditions, including a young elephant that was chained by three legs, one of which was ulcerated because of its tight shackles.
Dozens of petitions were started pleading for the zoo to be closed and animal rights groups have added their voice to the demands.
Exposed: A MailOnline probe before Christmas found several cases of animals in miserable conditions
But a management team, headed by the Surabaya Mayor, Mrs Tri Rismaharini, has resisted improvements saying they want to retain the original structures erected by Dutch colonialists in 1916.
“WTF…only a non caring animal lover would say such a thing; all zoos have to be updated to fulfil regulations etc. protecting the animal & the public. But the animals should also be allowed to exhibit normal behaviour; to do so they better make a start & build cages that give the animal a sense of freedom, to allow natural behaviour.
I believe all animals, whatever they do or where ever they are; are entitled to the 5 F’s
Five Freedoms
The welfare of an animal includes its physical and mental state and we consider that good animal welfare implies both fitness and a sense of well-being. Any animal kept by man, must at least, be protected from unnecessary suffering.
We believe that an animal’s welfare, whether on farm, in transit, at market or at a place of slaughter should be considered in terms of ‘five freedoms’. These freedoms define ideal states rather than standards for acceptable welfare. They form a logical and comprehensive framework for analysis of welfare within any system together with the steps and compromises necessary to safeguard and improve welfare within the proper constraints of an effective livestock industry.
1. Freedom from Hunger and Thirst – by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
2. Freedom from Discomfort – by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
3. Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease – by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
4. Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour– by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind.
5. Freedom from Fear and Distress – by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
Now I bet not many facilities can attest to the above, but they should; a simple act to follow! Surely if an animal is going to be used by humans for entertainment or killed for its meat; it is entitled to a decent life, before its last breath!!!! Living in the countryside, I’m just glad I see animals in fields & know that I can look them in the eye , & say sorry you’re going to be slaughtered; but I shall never eat you or your friends”
Raw: Horrifying footage of starved Sumatran Tiger in ‘World’s Cruellest Zoo’
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TO UNDERSTAND THE URGENCY IN HELPING THESE SUFFERING ANIMALS!
Horrifying footage of starved Sumatran tiger in ‘world’s cruellest zoo’ AP visited Indonesia’s Surayaba Zoo, where 50 animals have allegedly died in the last three months. One giraffe died with 20kg of plastic bags in its stomach.
World’s cruellest zoo: Shackled elephants, starving camels, 150 pelicans crammed into one cage – and a death toll that rises daily.
More than 50 animals have died in the last three months at Indonesia’s Surayaba Zoo, a former keeper has claimed One giraffe died last year with 20kg of plastic bags in its stomach after they blew into its cage and weren’t cleared.
In another case, a Sumatran tiger’s digestive tract rotted away after it was routinely fed formaldehyde-laced meat A Zoo spokesman defended the attraction, branded the worst in the world, but admitted: ‘We also have issues’
The young elephant has tugged at his shackled hind leg so often that the manacles have cut through the flesh, leaving it raw.
Not that freeing himself would help. A chain on his left front leg means he can move neither forwards, backwards nor sideways.
The elephant’s owner has tethered the youngster because he prefers to tend to his small shop in the grounds of the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia.
Money comes first. And so, day after day, week after week, the elephant stands there, being released from his chains only at the end of each day.
Anyone finding the scene depressing, and who turns away to look for more happy animals in the zoo would eventually leave, as I did, utterly depressed.
Surabaya Zoo has been branded the worst in the world and when I walked through this animal torture ground I was left in no doubt its reputation was well-earned.
I live near Sydney harbour where it is a joy to watch pelicans gliding low across the waters of Blackwattle Bay. But at the Surabaya Zoo I could only shake my head in despair at the sight of more than 150 pelicans jammed into a cage, trying to share a small pool of water, so tightly packed that they could not even spread their wings, let alone fly.
‘How many pelicans does this zoo need?’ I asked a keeper. ‘They’re not endangered. There’s no need to keep this many penned in.’ He knew what I said, but I received only shrugs.
Each step took me through a macabre animal dungeon. While I saw dishes of chopped vegetables for the primates, the ribs of several large animals could be seen. One camel in particular appeared appallingly thin. A Capuchin monkey I came across appeared to almost plead to be released.
In another cage, a sad rhinoceros horn bill looks up at the blue sky, trying to take off from its perch, but there is no room to flap its wings.
Well over 50 animals have died here in the past three months, says Tony Sumampau, a former member of the zoo’s temporary management team, who had finally left in despair. ‘The keepers have stalls that they run selling food and drinks and it’s more important for them to make money than it is to be taking care of their animals.’
The zoo, was opened in 1916 during Dutch colonial rule, and next to nothing has been done to improve it. Instead, more and more animals have been packed in. A report by an independent team set up by Indonesia’s forestry ministry called for the animals be moved to other zoos but nothing has been done. Other zoos refuse to take the animals because of their condition and the fear that many of them carrying diseases.
The state of the zoo’s animals came to world-wide attention following the death of a giraffe in 2012 that was found with no less than 20 kilograms of plastic bags in its stomach. They had blown into its enclosure and the keepers had not bothered to pick them up.
The giraffe’s death would possibly have faded from the world’s conscience had it not been for the discovery of a dead female orang-utan, Nanik, in its enclosure a few weeks ago. Orang-utans, an endangered species, live up to the age of 60 in captivity, but Nanik was just 12 years old when she died, a large tumour being found in her intestines.
Sitting alone is another orang-utan. I cannot believe what I see — she is chewing on the yellow top of a marker pen someone has thrown at her. She pushes it forward between her lips, then sucks it back into her mouth. I fear she will soon swallow it. Beside her, rats scurry in and out of holes around her!
I stare at a Sumatran tiger — or rather just its face — as it peers out from behind the bars of its stone living quarters. One of its brothers, I was told, had been seriously ill with its digestive tract rotted away due to the formaldehyde-laced meat it had been fed. An African lion is reported to have died in pain, adding to the zoo’s shameful catalogue of deaths from starvation, mistreatment and other unnatural causes.
“These important signatures are to support shutting this zoo or getting some sort of management in that can raise the welfare of the animals: & getting rid of those that just don’t give a shit about the animals, just their pay packet!!”
World’s cruellest zoo: Shackled elephants, starving camels, 150 pelicans crammed into one cage – and a death toll that rises daily
More than 50 animals have died in the last three months at Indonesia’s Surayaba Zoo, a former keeper has claimed
One giraffe died last year with 20kg of plastic bags in its stomach after they blew into its cage and weren’t cleared
In another case, a Sumatran tiger’s digestive tract rotted away after it was routinely fed formaldehyde-laced meat
A Zoo spokesman defended the attraction, branded the worst in the world, but admitted: ‘We also have issues’
The young elephant has tugged at his shackled hind leg so often that the manacles have cut through the flesh, leaving it raw.
Conditions: A former keeper said more than 50 animals have died at the zoo in three months. This calf’s owner tethered it because he preferred to tend to his shop
Not that freeing himself would help. A chain on his left front leg means he can move neither forwards, backwards nor sideways.
The elephant’s owner has tethered the youngster because he prefers to tend to his small shop in the grounds of the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia
Money comes first. And so, day after day, week after week, the elephant stands there, being released from his chains only at the end of each day.
Anyone finding the scene depressing, and who turns away to look for more happy animals in the zoo would eventually leave, as I did, utterly depressed.
Surabaya Zoo has been branded the worst in the world and when I walked through this animal torture ground I was left in no doubt its reputation was well-earned.
Cramped: This Sumatran tiger groaned as it sat in a brick hutch. One tiger last year died after its digestive tract was rotted by the formaldehyde-laced meat it ate
I live near Sydney harbour where it is a joy to watch pelicans gliding low across the waters of Blackwattle Bay. But at the Surabaya Zoo I could only shake my head in despair at the sight of more than 150 pelicans jammed into a cage, trying to share a small pool of water, so tightly packed that they could not even spread their wings, let alone fly.
Overcrowded: One aviary appeared packed to the brim with a mixture of herons and ibises, while another had 150 pelicans crammed into one cage together
‘How many pelicans does this zoo need?’ I asked a keeper. ‘They’re not endangered. There’s no need to keep this many penned in.’ He knew what I said, but I received only shrugs.
Each step took me through a macabre animal dungeon. While I saw dishes of chopped vegetables for the primates, the ribs of several large animals could be seen. One camel in particular appeared appallingly thin. A Capuchin monkey I came across appeared to almost plead to be released.
Marooned: A Moor macaque sat on its own on this island, surrounded by water with no trees to climb – only a chopped-down stump where a tree once grew
In another cage, a sad rhinoceros hornbill looks up at the blue sky, trying to take off from its perch, but there is no room to flap its wings.
Well over 50 animals have died here in the past three months, says Tony Sumampau, a former member of the zoo’s temporary management team, who had finally left in despair. ‘The keepers have stalls that they run selling food and drinks and it’s more important for them to make money than it is to be taking care of their animals.’
The zoo, was opened in 1916 during Dutch colonial rule, and next to nothing has been done to improve it. Instead, more and more animals have been packed in.
A report by an independent team set up by Indonesia’s forestry ministry called for the animals be moved to other zoos but nothing has been done. Other zoos refuse to take the animals because of their condition and the fear that many of them carrying diseases.
Bleak: This stark enclosure including a tank full of dirty water contained a solitary African pygmy hippo, pictured – which ironically enough was named Joy
The state of the zoo’s animals came to world-wide attention following the death of a giraffe in 2012 that was found with no less than 20 kilograms of plastic bags in its stomach. They had blown into its enclosure and the keepers had not bothered to pick them up.
The giraffe’s death would possibly have faded from the world’s conscience had it not been for the discovery of a dead female orangutan, Nanik, in its enclosure a few weeks ago. Orangutans, an endangered species, live up to the age of 60 in captivity, but Nanik was just 12 years old when she died, a large tumour being found in her intestines.
Sitting alone is another orangutan. I cannot believe what I see – she is chewing on the yellow top of a marker pen someone has thrown at her. She pushes it forward between her lips, then sucks it back into her mouth. I fear she will soon swallow it. Beside her, rats scurry in and out of holes in an embankment.
Rat-infested: A female orangutan played with a plastic marker pen in her mouth while a rat, bottom right, poked its head out of one of several holes on the bank
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
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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.
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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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DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
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