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 the petition to give better protection to EULivestock being exported abroad; as soon as they leave the EU they are no longer protected… we must change this; by being their voice!
I believe All animals deserve the 5 freedom act throughout their entire life; which they ultimately give to humans for food…the following is the very least we can do for them; whilst they are alive:-
freedom from hunger and thirst
freedom from discomfort (shelter from heat and rain)
freedom from pain, injury and disease
freedom to express normal behaviour (without inconveniencing or harming others)
freedom from fear and distress.
Scientific research is constantly revealing new evidence of animals’ intelligence and emotions. This interest is reflected in burgeoning numbers of journals, books and reports. Professor Marian Dawkins of the Oxford University has called the study of animal sentience “one of the most exciting and the most important in the whole of biology.”
There is now evidence that many animals can learn new skills and some appear to show emotions similar to human empathy. They can also be reduced to a state resembling human depression by chronic stress or confinement in a cage. This new understanding of the sentience of animals has huge implications for the way we treat them and the policies and laws we adopt. Read More about sentient beings:-Http://www.ciwf.org.uk/animal_sentience/default.aspx
Three million animals a year are exported live from the EU to non-EU countries. As soon as they leave European Union borders they are no longer protected by European law. They’re on their own out there.
At the end of 2013 we released evidence showing appalling cruelty to European animals at a slaughterhouse in Beirut. Now, Compassion’s Investigation Unit, in partnership with Animals Australia, has also documented brutal handling at abattoirs and on the streets in Jordan, Turkey and the West Bank.
The handling and slaughter these animals can face is nothing short of horrendous. But it shouldn’t be that way. All of the countries we visited have signed up as members of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and in doing so have signed up to a code of recommendations on the slaughter of livestock.Yet, everywhere we visited we saw multiple breaches of even the most basic OIE recommendations.
In slaughterhouses we filmed staff moving animals into place by dragging them by the tail, legs, fleece and even by the eye sockets.Some animals were strung up with chains; their whole body weight on one leg. Others were restrained in mechanical boxes that flipped them completely upside down and then dropped them onto the bodies of other dying animals.
When animals don’t end up in slaughterhouses, they face death on the streets – an even more brutal and unregulated ending.
We found animals being pulled out of the backs of trucks without ramps, bound by the feet, tripped over with ropes, contorted into position and then tied to the ground or pinned down by large groups of people before being slaughtered. Often, when it came to slaughter the knives used were blunt and ineffective and animals remained conscious for many minutes after having their throats cut.
What’s the solution? Much of the suffering we witnessed could easily be stopped with just basic and inexpensive changes to slaughterhouses and staff training.
Ultimately, Compassion wants an end to all long-distance transport of farm animals. But the cruel trade in animals from the EU is vast and will take time to crack. As an interim measure, we’re therefore calling for action to ensure that exported European animals are slaughtered to at least the standards recommended by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
EU Member States that wish to export animals outside of the EU should be providing practical support to improve the standards of slaughter in importing countries.
Supporting improvements to slaughter in this way will of course not only help any European animals that end up in non-EU countries.It would also reduce the suffering of all animals facing slaughter in those countries.
Please watch our exposé today and then take action by filling out the form to the right to email the Agriculture Ministers of the EUs biggest exporters of live animals.
Viewer Discretion Advised – The Fate of Exported European Animals
Published on 19 Feb 2014
The contents of this video are graphic and will be distressing – please take action here:http://goo.gl/5MbYoR
What happens when European animals are exported live beyond the borders of the EU?
Compassion in World Farming‘s Investigation Unit, in partnership with Animals Australia, investigated the trade and documented brutal handling at abattoirs and on the streets in Jordan, Turkey and the West Bank.
“All animals deserve respect & kindness, none more so than those who are raised, then killed for human consumption!
Few Australians would realise that right now, in rural areas across the country, wild goats are being rounded up, packed in crates, and exported for slaughter. Even fewer have ever seen inside this trade.
Last month, AnimalsAustralia conducted our first ever investigation in Malaysia — Australia’s largest live export market for goats. Once again, we discovered that the new live export ‘rules’ are being blatantly disregarded. And as a result, animals have been left totally exposed to cruel treatment.
Across 6 facilities in Malaysia, goats were filmed being roughly handled; stuffed into bags and car boots; and sold into unapproved facilities — often with their ear tags removed to conceal this clear breach of export regulations.
Like so many animals in the live trade, in their final moments of life, these goats had their throats cut whilst still conscious. You won’t witness such graphic vision in this video, but you will feel their pain, sense their fear and hear their cries.
This week Minister for Agriculture, Joe Ludwig, claimed that “99%” of exported animals are treated “humanely”. “What a load of shit!!”This could not be further from the truth. With a government and opposition who unwaveringly defend this trade, with regulations fundamentally failing to protect animals everywhere we look, it would appear that live exporters are getting away with 99% of the cruelty in this trade.
But with your help, we can ensure they can’t get away with it anymore. Every investigation, every email and phone call to a politician — every action you take — brings us a step closer to ending this trade in cruelty.
Please send an urgent message to our political leaders, calling on them to spare animals from such cruelty, by supporting a ban on live export.
Live goat exports to Malaysia exposed – Viewer Discretion Advised
Published on 8 May 2013
Australia’s live goat export trade exposed for the first time. Animals Australia’s investigators document the fate of these animals in Malaysia – the largest market for live Australian goats. Take action at http://www.BanLiveExport.com/goats
“OMG…This has got to be at the top of the pile when it comes to cruelty in abattoirs, This is torture for animals in a living hell; at its worst. I can’t believe this is still being allowed to happen. The only way we can help to stop this is by sharing, making the public aware of the atrocities going on. We must get people signing the Animals Australia Ban on Live Export petition! Help the Australian people understand what is happening & that some in their government are happy for it to continue.
“Voting happens in September, people need to know the truth, the full horror of the export trade; before they cast they vote. We have to rise up, voice our disgust & demand better welfare for these animals; if we don’t who will? This Torture can not be allowed to carry on..PERIOD!! So please share, cross-post etc. If you get an error message when clicking on my link, don’t worry, it’s not spam, it is an error, Facebook have been informed of it! “
“I’m describing the video so that you really are aware of what you’re about to see, should you choose to press play. The first video is horrific, the steers are put in a machine that turns them upside down, then their throats are slit. As they tumble out of the contraption, they stand, their sliced throats flap around as they look for escape! But the second video is the worst. Jacob, a lone steer is repeatedly stabbed with a knife into his eyes, his tendons are slashed repeatedly until he goes down…then his final minutes of torture end with his throat once again being repeatedly slashed. How the fuck is this possible; do their lives really mean so little, that their owners & governments are prepared to stand by; & do nothing??
Further shocking evidence has surfaced of Australiancattle being abused in an Egyptian abattoir.
Once more, this reinforces the cruel nature of un-stunned slaughter. Yet inconceivably, Labor, the Coalition and the live export industry have all rejected calls for mandatory stunning of animals in the live trade.
Just over a week ago, evidence provided by Animals Australia of cruelty to Australian cattle in Egypt sparked a government investigation. This latest evidence was brought to Animals Australia’s attention this week and immediately provided to the Department of Agriculture.
Once again, the industry’s mantra of needing to stay in a market to improve welfare has been exposed for what it is: PR spin designed to maintain producer and government support.
Sadly, farmers have again been deceived by the very industry bodies that purport to represent them. They are being told that their animals are well cared for overseas, only to consistently find out otherwise.
The sky won’t fall in if live export ends. Most Australian farmers don’t live export and those who do can be assisted to transition away from the trade — a move that would be better for them and better for animals.
Animals Australia’s latest live export investigation revealed terrified animals making desperate efforts to escape after having their throats cut open; others with eyes stabbed; leg tendons slashed; and being butchered while still alive… This is the nightmare endured by animals who were exported live from Australia to Egypt.
Shocking live export cruelty in Egypt – Ismailia Viewer Discretion Strongly Advised
Published on 6 May 2013
Shocking cruelty captured in Egypt’s Ismailia abattoir shows an injured Australian steer stabbed in the eyes, and disabled by having his leg tendons slashed.
“The following are “excerpts” from an article in the Tasmanian Times. Please read & do what is necessary to get this torture stopped.”
Iin the House of Representatives, Independent Member for Denison Andrew Wilkie courageously stood up in Parliament with this picture of ‘Jacob’ and demanded some answers from Prime Minister Gillard, who could only reiterate that the government’s system is ‘working’. Andrew’s questioning of the government can be seen here, as well as the totally predictable and fatuous response of the Prime Minister claiming that this evil, disgraceful trade in wretched animal misery and suffering has a ‘social licence’.
The Steer is named Jacob; he is the victim in the second video above
Some things are so obscene, and so depraved, that nothing can ever justify them, and the live animal export trade is absolutely one of those things.
Be careful what you wish for when you cast your vote at the September Federal election. A vote for the coalition will see even more support for the gross animal abuse seen throughout Animals Australia’s 19 investigations. Tony Abbott says ‘one of his first jobs will be to apologise to the Indonesians for the ‘catastrophic’ ban on the cattle trade’ there following the exposure of similar torture of our cattle shown on the ‘Four Corners’ program’A Bloody Business’ in May 2011. In this, the Gillard government and the Abbott coalition are as one.
Will Abbott and his sycophants also want to apologise to Egypt? Bahrain? Kuwait? Pakistan? Malaysia? And all the other countries to which Australia happily sends millions of innocent, gentle animals to be so heinously abused? Tony Abbott wants to make the all-but-meaningless ESCAS ‘more exporter friendly’, if that is indeed possible.
Jacob, the Australian bull filmed at an Egyptian slaughterhouse last month, spent his last horrific many minutes of life having his eyes stabbed and his leg tendons slashed. He had been forced into an appallingly cruel slaughter box, from which, in panic, he escaped, trying to run on three legs because one was already broken. His throat had been slashed and he ran with his head almost hanging off. Jacob was a gentle, Western Australian Brahman bull, who had done nothing wrong. He spent weeks on a Third World live export ship on his way to Egypt before facing this ultimate horror and depravity.
The evidence of the abuse first came from a courageous Egyptian veterinarian, Dr Abdelwahab, a man with seven years experience in Egyptian abattoirs. He expressed to Animals Australia that animal cruelty in Egypt is rife and that neither abattoir management nor on-site veterinarians intervene to stop cruel treatment. He said ‘this action happened yesterday, today, and it will happen tomorrow’. He described the facilities, claimed to be ‘state of the art’ by the Australian government and exporters, detailing the slaughterbox used there which turns the terrified animals upside down, often crushing their ribs and pelvises in the process.
So please demand that your current Federal MPs and Senators do whatever it takes to bring down this trade. But also take it up with coalition candidates as well, because their agenda is to EXPAND this morally bankrupt industry. Don’t be fooled by the argument that if Australia withdraws from the trade the animal abuse will be even worse, because if millions of Australian animals are nor put on the rotten old ships, that is millions of animals saved – and that many less animals subjected to this horriific and systemic torture. No other countries can supply the volume of animals Australia does.
Don’t buy the argument that the ‘cattle in the north are starving;’ either. If these people have bred thousands of animals for this trade which is going nowhere if the Australian people are heard by their government, then they are obligated to feed and care for them. If they don’t, they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law as anyone else would be. Their failure to respond to market forces is their fault and no-one else’s, and there is no more subsidised and privileged sector in the community than the ever-complaining farmers.
Andrew Wilkie asked the Prime Minister to end the live export trade or give a clear personal guarantee that there would be no further animal welfare abuses in Australia’s live export industry.
An Animals Australia investigation has again found Australian sheep being illegally sold in a cruel livestock market in Kuwait, despite Animals Australia first notifying Australian authorities of breaches at this market some five months ago.
Under the new live export rules, exporters must ensure that animals remain within approved supply chains. New evidence from Animals Australia has revealed that months after our initial complaint, Australian sheep have continued to be sold and brutally slaughtered at the notorious Al Rai livestock market, in Kuwait. Animals at this marketplace are known to have their legs bound together, be stuffed into car boots, dragged over concrete slabs, and have their throats cut while fully conscious.
This footage taken in August 2012 sparked Animals Australia’s original complaint to the Department of Agriculture.
Warning Very Graphic Video
In January 2013, an investigator returned to the Al Rai market and found even more Australian sheep being offered for sale by at least 11 separate merchants.
Many admitted knowing that they shouldn’t have Australian sheep and ear tags had been ripped out or removed despite the fact that Australian sheep are clearly distinguishable from local sheep in the region. All of the merchants at the market offered slaughter onsite as an ‘after sales’ service.
The Al Rai market in Kuwait City is notorious for cruelty. Animals Australia has conducted a number of investigations there, each time documenting the brutal handling, transport and slaughter of Australian sheep. Preventing Australian sheep from being sold in such circumstances was a cornerstone of why the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System was implemented. Yet nearly one year after ESCAS came into effect in Kuwait, rules continue to be breached and animals continue to suffer.
Al Rai market was already the obvious place in the Middle East for exporters to monitor – the fact they have not done so, even after breaches were discovered, shows how little they care and their willingness to thumb their nose at government regulations. If exporters are not prepared to follow the rules they should have their export licence removed.
Please send an urgent message to your Federal MP to express your opposition to this cruel trade and demand that, while it continues, tough sanctions must be placed on exporters who fail to adhere to the rules.
Australian cattle are again at the centre of a shocking expose that is making international headlines.
Frightened animals being bashed, hit, shocked with an electric prod in the eyes and face before suffering a terrifying death… these are the images filmed by Israeli journalist and undercover investigator, Ronen Bar.Watch his interview…
WARNING: contains Very graphic images.
Published on 11 Dec 2012
WARNING: Graphic vision. YOU CAN HELP: 1) Like & comment. 2) Go to http://AnimalsAustralia.org/israel to sign an instant letter against live animal export.
Please email your Federal MP — express your opposition to this cruel trade and demand that while it continues, there must be independent inspection and oversight in importing countries. For Australian Citizens only:-http://animalsaustralia.org/israel
Live export cruelty continues
Sadly Australia is one of the biggest exporters of live animals for slaughter. In 2011 Australia exported around 700,000 cattle predominantly to Indonesia, and around 2.5 million sheep mainly to the Middle East.
WSPA Australia works actively on this issue of live exports, and the campaign is called ‘Humane Chain’.
During the journey animals can experience stress, heat exhaustion and extreme temperatures. Many don’t eat, are injured or suffer from disease. Despite efforts made by both the Australian Government and the live export industry to regulate the export process, tens of thousands of animals continue to die every year while being exported.
Almost half of all deaths on board sheep vessels are due to starvation because some sheep are not able to identify the unfamiliar pellets they’re given as food.
For every animal that dies, many more suffer further cruelty
Moving to the alternatives to live animal export will not only help animals, it’s also better for our economy
There are alternatives to live animal export that will benefit farmers, jobs, our economy and the animals.
According to an independent assessment (S G Heilbron, 2000) live animal export costs Australia $1.5 billion in lost GDP, $270 million in lost household income and around 10,500 lost jobs.
WSPA funded researched in 2012 that shows that northern cattle farmers could increase their income by 245% if they had access to an abattoir. It would also add $200 million to the regional economy each year and create 1300 jobs. Read the research here.
WSPA funded research in 2010 that shows a sheep processed in Australia is worth 20% more to the economy that one exported live. Read the research here.
This video shows evidence collected during WSPA’s recent investigation into the mistreatment of Australian sheep. Investigators have documented cruelty throughout the live export supply chain, from transportation on ships, through to holding yards and abattoirs in the Middle East. You can take action to help end this cruel trade by visiting http://www.humanechain.org
You can watch a short video that explains the benefits of moving away from live exports and the next steps we should takehere.
Halal certified chilled meat products from Australia are accepted both in the Middle East and in Indonesia. There’s no excuse to continue the live animal export trade.
Australians want an end to live animal export
Three quarters (74%), or 12.4 million, of Australians claim that they are more likely to vote for a political candidate who promises to end live animal export, according to a Longeran Poll from May 2012.
Those animals that survive the journey arrive on foreign soil where they are no longer under Australian protection. Few countries to which Australia sends animals for slaughter have equivalent animal welfare protection laws. Many animals will be slaughtered fully conscious.
“Firstly let me just say the video is not on auto play, to watch it you must click play”
“I’m disgusted at the way these workers treat these sentient beings…To make the slaughter process better, people have to join together TO WANT to make changes. I don’t eat meat but for those that do, I’m sure you too would prefer the animal to have been properly stunned & slaughtered. What you see in the video is blatant abuse, the workers enjoy inflicting pain on the animals, it must make them feel more manly…FFS…I wish they would also only have one animal at a time in the stun room, the other poor animals have to watch, not nice is it? Lets make some changes, stand up & be heard, sign the petition below”.
Although the government has been reluctant to encourage slaughterhouses to install CCTV,ten supermarkets – Morrisons, Waitrose, the Co-op, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Tesco, Lidl, Asda, Marks & Spencer and Iceland – along with wholesalers Booker, have now agreed to deal only with slaughterhouses that have independently monitored CCTV cameras installed. We are now working with the supermarket chains to ensure that the CCTV footage is monitored properly and that incidents of law-breaking are dealt with effectively.
One slaughterhouse – A&G Barber – has closed permanently as a result of our exposé, and legal action was started against nine workers and four slaughterhouse operators. But, in September 2010, DEFRA decided to drop all these cases, offering no convincing explanation for its decision. Animal Aidembarked on a long battle to reverse this decision to bring the abusers to justice, which culminated in two men being jailed for burning pigs with cigarettes and beating them with excessive force and frequency.
Bristol University is using our footage to train vets and Soil Association inspectors. The industry, government agencies and veterinary bodies are now taking part in ongoing discussions about how to implement changes and bring about improvements in animal welfare in slaughterhouses.
Most importantly, perhaps, the horror of slaughter has been brought to the public’s attention through our footage and through articles in the print media and on television. Many people have seen the reality and chosen to adopt a meat-free diet as a result.
Animal Aid started to film secretly inside Britain’s slaughterhouses in January 2009. To date, we have filmed inside nine randomly chosen slaughterhouses and found evidence of cruelty and lawbreaking in eight of them.
The problems are serious and widespread. Our films reveal animals being kicked, slapped, stamped on, and picked up by fleeces and ears and thrown into stunning pens. We recorded animals being improperly stunned and going to the knife while still conscious. Even where no laws were broken, animals still suffered pain and fear.
And ‘high welfare’ plants, such as those accredited by the Soil Association, were no better than the non-organic ones. Animal Aid believes that whether ‘conventional’, organic, kosher or halal, all slaughter is unnecessary and immoral, and the only way to prevent such suffering is to choose a meat-free diet.
We are calling for CCTV to be installed in all UK slaughterhouses and for the footage to be made available to independent parties outside of the slaughterhouse. We also want better independent training, regular retraining and assessment, rigorous enforcement of the laws. We also believe that people with outstanding convictions for violence or animal cruelty working should fail the ‘fit and proper person’ test and should not be issued a slaughter licence. Finally, we want people to see the shocking truth from inside UK slaughterhouses and choose a humane diet.
The welfare of animals at slaughteris a devolved issue, so we are lobbying each of the four GB countries to introduce a new regulation under section 12 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (England and Wales); Section 26 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006; and Section 11 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.
When the government refused to act, Animal Aid and our supporters lobbied the supermarkets to insist on CCTV in all their slaughterhouse suppliers. The ten largest, along with wholesalers Booker, agreed, and committed to having CCTV installed by the end of 2011.
This means we have a voluntary scheme in which an estimated 80 per cent of slaughterhouses are covered. But it is only a voluntary scheme, and in order to ensure that supermarkets and slaughterhouses do not have a change of heart, CCTV must be installed in all slaughterhouses.
Animal Aid continues to work with politicians and officials in all four GB countries and is encouraged to see progress. But there is still a long way to go.
The Meat Wagon is an ambulance that has been converted to show films about animal farming and slaughter, and to promote a healthy, humane and planet-friendly diet.
It will be touring the country this summer and coming to a town near you.
Eidul Azha saw a 10 to 12 per cent increase in the number of animal sacrifices in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad this year, according to the Pakistan Butchers Welfare Association (PBWA).
Prices of animal hides registered an odd decline. PHOTO: THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE
Talking to The Express Tribune, PBWA President Khurshid Qureshi said the reason behind this increase is that people who could not afford sacrificial animalslast year opted to buy shares instead.
He said that last year, around 50,000 animals were slaughtered in Islamabad, which grew to 55,000 this year. Meanwhile, last year Rawalpindi saw around 100,000 animals slaughtered on Eidul Azha, while this year the number increased to 112,000.Qureshi said that the rise in collective sacrifices caused a decline in the number of smaller animals like goats and sheep slaughtered.
Meanwhile, like every Eid, butchers increased their rates on Eidul Azha. Last year, butcherscharged Rs2,000 to Rs3,000 for slaughtering a goat or a sheep, while this year they asked for Rs2,500 to Rs4,000. The rate for a bull last year was Rs8,000 to Rs10,000, while this year it increased to the Rs9,000 to Rs12,000 range, depending on the size and weight of the animal, said Qureshi.
Oddly, there was a decline in the prices of animal hides.
In past years, the hide of a goat sold for up to Rs 600, while this year, the price range was Rs200 to Rs300. Similarly, lamb hides sold for Rs500 to Rs1,100 last year, while they only fetched a return of Rs400 to Rs600 this time. Bull hides sold for Rs2,000 to Rs4,000 last year, fell to Rs1,600 to Rs2,800 range.
Mohammad Sharif, who has been a leather trader for the past 10 years, said, “Compared to last year, we received more hides, but due to the lower prices we did not earn the profit we expected.”
According to him there is a certain mafia who decrease the prices for its own self interest.
“I posted this, way back in February, but have just noticed the video’s were removed??…so here it is again!”
“I’m certainly not trying to convert everyone to become vegetarian…but I do think people should watch this video… as difficult as it is to watch in parts…it is very informative. After viewing it, people are entitled to their own opinions regards the subject matter! I am not telling people what they should or should not eat, it’s a personal preference…I’m merely pointing out the journey, animals take, from field to plate! I will just point out that some things have changed regards animal welfare, since this video was made!”
” I chose to become vegetarian, several years ago, after watching something similar to this…I can’t call myself vegan because I just love egg butties from my friend’s pet chucks! Like I said, were all entitled to eat what we want…my daughter lives with me as my carer, she eats meat (particularly McDonald’s) I may not like it, but I don’t take offence at it & make her eat it in another room! When she does cook, she just substitutes the meat for Quorn, it makes a lovely spaghetti bolognese, which even she a meat eater, enjoy’s!
EARTHLINGS is an award-winning documentary film about the suffering of animals for food, fashion, pets, entertainment and medical research. Considered the most persuasive documentary ever made, EARTHLINGS is nicknamed the Vegan maker for its sensitive footage shot at animal shelters, pet stores, puppy mills, factory farms, slaughterhouses, the leather and fur trades, sporting events, circuses and research labs. The film is narrated by Academy Award® nominee Joaquin Phoenix and features music by platinum-selling recording artist Moby.
Initially ignored by distributors, today EARTHLINGS is considered the definitive animal rights film by organizations around the world. “Of all the films I have ever made, this is the one that gets people talking the most,” said Phoenix. “For every one person who sees EARTHLINGS, they will tell three.”
In 1999, writer/producer/director Shaun Monson began work on a series of PSAs about spaying and neutering pets. The footage he shot at animal shelters around Los Angeles affected him so profoundly that the project soon evolved into EARTHLINGS. The film would take another six years to complete because of the difficulty in obtaining footage within these profitable industries. Though the film was initially ignored by distributors, who told Monson that the film would “never see the light of day and should be swept under the rug,” today EARTHLINGS is considered the definitive animal rights film by organizations around the world.
Nation Earth was established to produce documentary films on socially urgent issues. EARTHLINGS, released in 2005, was the company’s first feature film and is the first of a documentary trilogy. The company is currently at work on the second installment, UNITY, which will explore the unifying force of consciousness found in nature, animals and humankind. UNITY is scheduled to be completed in 2010. For more information please see http://www.unitythemovement.com.
Earthlings is a feature length documentary about humanity’s absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research). Earthlings illustrates human’s disrespect for “non-human providers”, it is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix and features music by Moby.
You can download the full version of Earthlings at http://www.earthlings.com. The film is available with subtitles in 10 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Hindi, Arabic and Portuguese
There are many farm animals, who endure their whole lives in stinking , horrific conditions, from birth to slaughter! Don’t get me wrong, some owners treat their animals as if they were pets, but this is mainly on the smaller family run farms, where the owner probably has names for each pig or cow!!”
“However, it seems that small holdings are being driven out, as the big guns come in, wanting to build bigger factory farms, that can handle thousands of animals a day! They don’t care much about the well-being of the animals or the environment…just the profits they can make from them!
As if that is not bad enough… there will always be farm workers who see fit to direct their anger at these sentient beings…there going to die anyway; so who cares if one is targeted & beaten? Well actually we all should, just because they are raised for human consumption, does not give anyone the right to abuse or harm them, in any way! I think all animal factories & slaughter houses, should have CCTV…where inspectors can call unannounced to view the tapes…If all areas are covered properly by cameras, hopefully it might stop a lot of abuse towards the animals, from the bullies…there is always one who thinks it’s funny to stub a cigarette out on a pigs face & roughly handle the babies…anyone who harms a defenceless animal is just a pathetic coward!!
Cane rats and “shocking” quantities of illegal and “potentially unsafe” meat have been sold to the public in east London, BBC London has found. Secret filming showed meat that broke food safety laws being prepared. BBC London’s Guy Lynn spoke to chartered environmental health consultant Dr Yunes Teinaz, environmental health officer Paul Povey and African Health Policy Network chief Francis Kaikumba.
Cane rats and “shocking” quantities of illegal and “potentially unsafe” meat have been sold to the public in east London, a BBC London undercover investigation has found.
Secret filming in one of the capital’s busiest food markets has revealed butchers and food stores prepared to sell large quantities of meat that break food safety laws.
West African and environmental health officer sources told the BBC the Ridley Road Market, in Dalston, was a known hotbed of illicit meat activity, including sales of illegal “smokies”, a delicacy made by charring sheep or goat with a blow torch.
“This is shocking, I am just so shocked to see so much of it,” said Paul Povey, one of the UK’sleading experts in meat hygiene and inspections and a member of theChartered Institute of Environmental Health, who examined the meat for the BBC.
“It’s all illegal and hasn’t undergone health control, hasn’t been inspected and may well be contaminated.
“You’ve got to wonder about the contamination level of this meat that anyone’s bringing into their kitchens.”
Hackney Council said it had only received one complaint of illegal meat being sold since 2009 which was not proven.
The practice of creating “smokies” is outlawed under UK and European food laws amid fears about public safety and animal welfare.
It has also been linked to mafia-style gangs in Wales who steal sheep and goats, slaughtering them in unlicensed abattoirs.
Dr Yunes Teinaz, a chartered environmental health practitioner, said: “Behind the underground trade in smokies are criminals who don’t observe the law and are just after financial gain.
“It is disgusting and outrageous that the local authorities don’t take action and remove this meat from the human food chain.”
One Hackney butcher, who was secretly filmed selling a BBC researcher quantities of the illicit meat, said: “Don’t tell anyone, otherwise there will be trouble.”
Two African food stores have sold bush meat such as “grass cutter” or cane rats, which are described as having been imported from Ghana where they are a delicacy.
‘Collapsing a business’
The trade in bush meat is a persistent problem for the UK authorities with illegal meat products smuggled in by passengers in ferry terminals and airports.
The Food Standards Agency says there are worries that bush meat could be of serious risk to both those who eat it and to others from contamination.
There is no suggestion that every butcher and food shop on the Ridley Road Market is prepared to deal in illegal meat.
Confronted with BBC London’s evidence, Islam Halal Meat; Punjab Halal Meat and Fish and Dalston Butchers denied they were selling illegal meat.
The manager of Great Expectations, a food store which sold two Ghanaian rats to the undercover BBC researcher, said: “I don’t sell rats, I never sell rats, I don’t sell rats.
“I don’t have any rats, why you come to video me?”
The manager of Adom Trading, another shop that sold bush meat described as a Ghanaian “grass cutter” rat, also denied selling it.
“What you are saying is a lie, a 100% lie, I don’t sell rats.
“You are collapsing a business, do you know how much it costs us to pay the business rates?”
Councillor Feryal Demirci, Hackney Council’s Cabinet Member for Safer Neighbourhoods, said: “Hackney Council’s team of Environmental HealthOfficers make regular visits and inspections of over 1,000 businesses across the borough, including those on Ridley Road.
“Since 2009, we have only received a single complaint regarding the sale of illegal meat, which upon investigation was inconclusive.
“However, we take all complaints seriously and we will always investigate fully. Now that we have received some information from the BBC we will look into this and take the appropriate action.”
Livestock exporters are being investigated after allegations that Australian sheep are being illegally sold and slaughtered in an inhumane way at a notorious Kuwait market.
It is the second majorAgriculture Department investigation since strict new animal welfare rules were implemented after last year’s cattle slaughter controversy in Indonesia.
A photo taken at the Kuwait market. Photo: Animal Australia
Animals Australia lodged the complaint after the animal protection organisation’sKuwaitiinvestigator discovered exported sheep were being sold in non-approved markets and killed in makeshift abattoirs, with slaughtermen ignoring international killing guidelines.
The case has again raised concerns from activists, Labor backbenchers, the Greens and independents that the new rules rely too much on self-regulation by the industry.
Exportersnow must comply with rules that assurehigh animal welfare standards from farm to slaughter. All animals are tracked so officials know that animals are slaughtered in approved facilities.
Exportersmust have supply chains independently audited, with the audit results given to the Agriculture Department.
The investigation has heightened fears over animal welfare with the upcoming Muslim festival of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha less than two months away.
Animals Australia lead campaigner Lyn White warned the festival was the peak period of animal suffering across the region and called on the government to implore exporters to have staff in every market place to ensure animals are not sold into non-approved facilities.
‘‘Animals being bought en mass for sacrificial slaughter by families and individuals. We hold grave concerns that Australian exported animals will continue to find their way into markets, in breach of regulations,’’ Ms White said.
Many in the industry are also worried about the potential for more cruelty in October.
Labour backbenchersMelissa Parke and Kelvin Thomson have led a vocal campaign against the trade with both seizing on the latest revelations as evidence the industry cannot be trusted to self-regulate.
Ms Parke, and Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, backed calls for Australian officials to be in the Middle East to monitor welfare during the festival.
Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said the new system was working but was ‘‘not perfect’’ conceding there would be slip-ups.
‘‘But we now have the provisions in place to act on those slip ups and hold exporters accountable for their actions and supply chains,’’ Senator Ludwig said.
The department of agriculture is currently investigating alleged breaches of strict new animal welfare The celebration of Eid al-Adha in the Middle-East involves a slaughtering of an animal such as a sheep, camel, or goat, to commemorateAbraham’s act of faith to sacrifice his son. The festival runs from the evening of October 25 to the next night.
Animals Australia has previously uncovered cruelty during the festival, including sheep being dragged along the ground and stuffed into car boots.
Ms White said hundreds of Australian sheep were sold last month at the non-approved Al-Rai market in Kuwait City, the market where she uncovered cruelty in 2010.
Describing the killing of a sheep, she said: ”With the buyer and [his] family crowded into the room to observe, the handling of this sheep included dragging it over and placing it next to and then on top of other just-slaughtered sheep … to prepare it for the throat cut.”
She said the slaughter-man used a knife that was too short, with a fast sawing action, not the quick ”sticking” of the neck required by international rules.
Ms White said the offences were ”critical non-compliances” that could lead to criminal sanctions, adding that the fact that hundreds of Australian sheep were seen at four different sites on two days showed a ”systematic and deliberate breach”.
”The government will no doubt again say that this shows the system is working but how can that be the case when breaches are only being reported by Animals Australia.”
Emanuel Exports and its sister company International Livestock Exports are the only businesses currently exporting to Kuwait. Emanuel Exports would not comment until the investigation was finished.
Earlier this year two exporters were found to have breached the rules in Indonesia after Animals Australia investigations.
Mr Thomson said he would raise questions about the case when Parliament resumes next week.
”The selling and slaughter of animals outside approved supply chains is a serious breach of the new system and exporters who allow it should have their export licence taken off them,” Mr Thomson said.
Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie will introduce a bill in Parliament on Monday to mandate pre-slaughter stunning of all Australian animals overseas.
He said this case made a ”mockery” of the government’s efforts to clean up the trade.
An Agriculture Department spokesman said the investigation would take weeks.
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
You can find out more about me & this blog by reading "ABOUT THIS BLOG" on the menu (when i finish it) lol
PLEASE NOTE.....
Not all of my posts will be current news, or even about animal abuse! I do like to share other animal news, uplifting stories or videos; some that are funny or just touch the heart!
If I have anything to say on any post, you will see it in bold blue writing. I try to remain a lady, but it's hard to contain my anger & emotions at the some of the stories I post; I don’t have a heart of stone, tears stain many articles I write!
Lastly, my apologies for any errors; I am learning whilst posting, so if you find anything that doesn't work or a broken link, sorry, I'm only human!!!!
ABOUT THESE POSTS
I would just like to make readers aware, that I search for stories on the internet; regards animal abuse etc. I copy stories etc. from the internet; assuming these stories are correct at time of publishing. Having said that, sometimes the press get it wrong! So I just want to add that at the time of me posting a news story, I presume all the facts seem present & correct.
Please note....all people mentioned in this blog, are presumed innocent, until proven otherwise, in a court of law.
Error: Please make sure the Twitter account is public.
Flag Counter Added May 2012
Face Book – Please Take Notice
For anyone wishing to connect to me via my Facebook page...PLEASE NOTE, ONLY PEOPLE I ADD AS ANIMAL ADVOCATES CAN SEE MY WHOLE PAGE...I do this out of respect for those friends I have who do not wish to see graphic images, videos or links of animal abuse!
As 99% of my page is animal related; anyone not in the above group of friends; will only see a limited amount of posts!!
DUE TO ANIMAL HATERS...I WILL ONLY ADD PEOPLE WHO CAN PROVE WHO THEY ARE via Facebook, Wordpress, Twitter etc. & WHO HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN ANIMAL WELFARE... i.e. if your Facebook page has absolutely nothing to do with animals, I see no point in joining my page. My Facebook is solely for animal welfare, I am not interested in playing games etc. I don't mean to sound rude but I am not interested in the amount of friends I have, its the quality of those friends that count.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND REQUESTS FOR YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN. I do not want anyone to be upset by graphic images etc.
My aim is to educate & raise awareness to the horrors animals face, at the hands of humans, every day, around the world!!
We can not hope to achieve better laws, to protect animals, unless we unite as one, to speak up for those who are voiceless!!
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DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
STOP ANIMAL ABUSE 
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