Received this in email….Well done PETA…at last the courts are taking this despicable act of cruelty, seriously!
Dear Julie,
For three years, PETA Asia has been working with authorities in the Philippines to help them find and prosecute the makers of horrific “crush” videos in which scantily clad girls (one as young as 12 years old) are filmed stepping, standing and stamping on and slowly crushing animals – from the smallest of mice to large dogs who are tied down and helpless.
Now PETA Asia’s efforts to shut down the makers of these sick fetish videos have resulted in a landmark ruling against those who tortured and killed puppies, rabbits and other animals.
This huge victory began with a single compassionate person who stumbled upon these vile videos and took the time to report them to PETA Asia, which then worked with the help of authorities to ensure that the Ridons were located, investigated, arrested, prosecuted and ultimately sentenced for their crimes. PETA Asia hired one of the top law firms in the country to assist the prosecutor, thereby ensuring that the case was given full attention. The group also stands ready to fight an appeal.
In videos made by the Ridons, one dog is skinned alive and another is burned with a clothes iron. Rabbits flail and scream while their ears are cut off or they’re set on fire. One video shows a puppy who is crushed until the animal vomits up internal organs. The Ridons’ long sentence is a warning to anyone involved in the vile crush video industry that there are grave consequences for harming animals.
Their sentence is also a powerful reminder of PETA Asia’s commitment to helping animals no matter how long it takes. Thank you for all you do for animals in need. Compassionate people like you are helping PETA and our international affiliates save animals’ lives.
By RYAN GORMANPUBLISHED: 21:32, 5 April 2014 | UPDATED: 21:32, 5 April 2014
Police say Sara Zamora mutilated and beat to death chickens while performing sex acts on camera
She also karate-chopped and killed rabbits and other animals, cops said
The heinous acts were filmed for a fetish video titled ‘SOS Barn’
A Miami woman faces up to 40 years in jail after being charged with an unthinkable crime – killing animals while performing sex acts for fetish videos.
Sara Zamora’
Sara Zamora, 28, decapitated chickens, beat rabbits to death and more for sexual gratification, Miami-Dade Police claimed.
The sickening videos were filmed at the Homestead home of Adam Redford, 54, of Homestead, said cops. He declined comment when reached by MailOnline.
An arrest report cited by the Miami Herald details the horrors carried out by Zamoraand others in a video called ‘SOS Barn.’
Zamora and other women were shown in the the video ‘torturing and killing a wide variety of animals, including chickens, rabbits and more for the sexual gratification of its viewers,’ said the report.
The mortifying video is part of a genre of pornography called ‘crush,’ according to the paper.
Zamorais said by police to have been groping a man’s genitals with her left hand while ‘repeatedly cutting a chicken’s neck using hedge clippers with her right’ in one video.
Other videos had her scantily clad while ‘hacking off the head of another screaming bird, or [beating] chickens to death with a wooden stick.’
She is also shown karate-chopping the necks of rabbits while they howled in pain, police said, adding that she admitted to killing them.
’I’m glad I didn’t have breakfast because I would have puked all over the place,’ the woman’s defence attorney told the paper after he viewed portions of the video in court. ‘It was disgusting.’
Redford was already on parole for a similar animal cruelty violation last year, he has yet to be charged in the heinous crimes.
Adam Renford (right), he has yet to be charged but has a prior animal cruelty conviction
The ship captain’s website boasts that he has ‘been a part of many video productions related to South Florida fishing.’
Zamora’s Model mayhem profile, in which she goes by Gloria Shynez, talks up her ‘Middle-Eastern look,’ which she says ‘distinguishes from many models.
‘I am so excited to see what fun, beautiful shots we create together!’
Other Florida listings for a Gloria Shynez appear on Tampa Foot Party, tickle fetish sites and on another site that claims she ‘is a hot model available for nude and fetish custom videos.’
Her rates are flexible and she is ‘extremely easy to work with,’ according to her Model Mayhem profile.
Zamora was was hit with eight felony counts of animal cruelty, each carries a maximum five year prison sentence if convicted.
She was already on parole for a litany of criminal charges including grant theft with a firearm, multiple counts of credit card fraud, holding a fake driver’s license and multiple drug possession counts, records showed.
The repeat offender had been in jail for the past month after violating the terms of her parole by failing a drug test, according to the paper.
She was due to be set free and was arrested only hours before her scheduled release.
More than 80 percent of NATO nations have confirmed to PETA that they do not use any animals for military medical training exercises—including Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey.
This is clear evidence that there is no need to harm animals to prepare military medical personnel to save lives.
Only five NATO nations—Canada, Denmark, Norway, the U.S., and the U.K.—continue to use animals in these barbaric exercises. The Canadian military cuts apart and poisons live pigs with toxic chemicals, the military of Norway shoots live pigs with high-velocity bullets and inflicts numerous life-threatening injuries and bone fractures, and the military of Denmark—with participation from the U.K. Ministry of Defence—subjects live pigs to horrific bullet and blast wounds. The U.S. military stabs, shoots, dismembers, burns, and kills thousands of animals each year as well.
PETA has released disturbing, never-before-seen photographs of live pigs hung from a wooden frame and shot with rifles and handguns during a military training course in Denmark.
Lifelike human simulators that “breathe” and “bleed” and can be used in realistic battlefield scenarios have been shown by military and civilian studies to prepare doctors and medics to treat injured humans more effectively than mutilating and killing animals.
These barbaric animal laboratories also go against the spirit of Canadian, British, Norwegian, and Danish national laws and regulations as well as likely violating European Union law, which requires the use of non-animal training methods whenever possible.
Please take a moment to contact military officials in Canada, Norway, Denmark, and the U.K. and politely and urge them to stop harming and killing animals by joining the overwhelming majority of their NATO allies who use exclusively modern non-animal methods for military medical training exercises.
We’ve obtained exclusive photos (from photographer Jørn Stjerneklar) of what happens to animals in these shocking drills. They tell a dark story of abuse and bloodshed.
Troops tie a live pig to a wooden frame by his legs and mark his body with “targets”.
A soldier shoots the helpless animal with high-velocity bullets, inflicting severe wounds, bone fractures and organ damage. Harming animals in this way is not permitted in Britain under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Personnel perform invasive surgery on the maimed and bleeding animal.
Bandaged, with his wounds dressed, the pig is still alive.
Later, the victim’s lifeless body is taken away and disposed of.
There are no Geneva Conventions for animals, but anyone with a sense of right and wrong can see that these gruesome exercises need to stop.
Not only is this a deplorable way to treat animals – it’s also bad for our soldiers. UK troops deserve to have access to the best cutting-edge modern training techniques – military experts recommend high-tech human simulators as the best way to prepare surgeons for battle, methods which are used by 80 per cent of NATO armies.
PETA UK and its German affiliate have appealed to the Danish Minister of Defence, Nicolai Wammen, to end Denmark’s invasive and deadly animal-based trauma training exercises.
You can take action too – please write to Danish authorities asking them to stop these sick drills:
“I am seriously shocked & disgusted at the following painful treatments these poor horses have to endure. A horse, forced to run with a makeshift super glued hoof; later had to be killed! Please watch the video & read on screen or listen to how trainers, vets or owners talk about their horses…the sick POS need putting down; not the horses! I am furious & sickened by what PETA documented. If you love animals; Please DO NOT BET ON any RACE HORSE either in the US or UK!!”
“PLEASE TAKE ACTION at the link BELOW; please don’t let them suffer!”
Imagine being forced to run, being pushed beyond the breaking point, the bones in your legs straining to hold up the weight of your body, your bleeding lungs incapable of breathing in enough air, and forced to keep running in spite of it all.
This is what life is like for racehorses who are chronically drugged by trainers in order to mask their pain and make them run faster.
All this, just so their owners and trainers can win money or fame.
For the first time ever, PETA has captured these cruel, standard industry practices on camera during an undercover investigation of leading thoroughbred trainer Steve Asmussen. Watch now:
UGH: Horses Drugged for Racing!
Published on 20 Mar 2014
A PETA undercover investigation of a leading thoroughbred trainer reveals that horses are DRUGGED to make them run faster and to hide their injuries. http://peta2.me/2nnnb
“We witnessed a horse so sore it hurt him even to stand, thyroid medication dumped into horses’ daily feed, and horses who had been blistered in a bizarre attempt to stimulate healing. Even at this top level of racing, the syringe is the top training tool, and if the horses get out alive, they’re broken.”
PETA’s investigation revealed the following …
Many if not all horses in Asmussen’s New York stable were giventhyroxine, a powerful drug that treats hypothyroidism. Horses may not have needed the drug―they may have been given it solely to “juice them up” and push them beyond their natural capabilities.
A horse’s legs were burned with liquid nitrogen, according to one trainer, and other horses’ legs were blistered with chemical paint, purportedly to stimulate blood flow to their sore legs but leaving multiple scars.
Horses were also given muscle relaxants, sedatives, and other potent pharmaceuticals―treatments designed for ailments such as ulcers, lameness, and inflammation―at times when they had no apparent symptoms.
Horses are reportedly sometimes electro-shocked with concealed buzzers to make them run faster.
One horse, Nehro (who came in second in the 2011 Kentucky Derby), was forced to run with chronically painful hooves that actually had holes in them and that were held together with superglue and was eventually killed after becoming violently ill.
HELP HORSES NOW!
Contact your U.S. representative and senators and ask them to support the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2013, Senate Bill 973 and House Bill 2012, which would increase oversight and penalties for overusing drugs in horse racing.
Remember: The best thing you can do to help horses in the racing industry is never to attend any race, including the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.
Participation in this action alert is limited to those who live in the U.S., but if you are outside the U.S., you can still help horses by sharing the video and encouraging everyone you know to skip horse races.
“I don’t know about anyone else but I am sick & fed up of contacting my MP about a ban on Wild animals in circuses across England & Wales. How come other Countries have managed to introduce a ban with no problems? Just WTF are the Government dithering about for? I just pray for all the animals forced to perform, that the Government will not go back on their word & will introduce the much-needed ban ASAP!”
No Animal Should Be Used & Abused For Entertainment
Two years later and there is a real danger that Parliamentary time will simply run out to deliver the ban and wild animals could languish in circuses for many years to come…
We’ve come this far, we can’t let the animals down now! If you live inEngland or Walesact now using the form below to make sure the Westminster Government keeps its promise…
The wild animals unfortunate enough to be part of a circus act today live lives of forced performance, prolonged confinement and unnatural social groupings.
The complex needs of wild animals can never be adequately met in a circus environment and regular transport, cramped and bare temporary housing, forced training and performance are all unavoidable realities for the animals.
So what are we waiting for?
In March 2012 the Westminster Government announced it would ban wild animals in circuses and the Welsh Government later announced they were keen for Wales to be included in the legislation.
However, two years and one meaningless circus licensing scheme later, the animals are still waiting.
Take action and urge your Government not to break its promise…
Use the form below to email your MP (or if you live in Wales, the Minister for Natural Resources & Food, Alun Davies AM) urging them to ensure the Government keeps its promise!
Despite the Westminster Government’s promise to ban wild animals in circuses, the licensing scheme planned for the interim period could mean even more suffering, for even more animals…
In fact, we could still see wild animals suffering in travelling circuses in 2020! It’s time the Government listened to the majority of the people in this county and granted the animals their long overdue ban. Please share this video and spread the work that Circuses are #NoFunforAnimals
Most animal charities & the public want to see a ban worldwide of wild animals being used in circuses. Now the owner of this circus is circulating his own petition to keep his Malta circus open. So please if you don’t agree with animals performing degrading tricks, kept behind bars & of course the cruelty that has been documented in circuses: PLEASE SIGN THE PETITIONS BELOW. We can’t let this circus continue, if it does through its petition, the flood gates for circuses using wild animals may open again; that would be tragic after all the hard work has been done to stop them!!
Circus promoter says 2013 could be last year for animal circuses in Malta due to the proposed ban.
But circus promoter Silvio Zammit has collected 5,000 signatures as part of a petition to overturn a proposal to ban animal circuses.
The circus has now moved to Ghajnsielem, Gozo, where Zammit hopes to continue collecting more signatures. The petition will then be passed on to the competent authorities.
Zammit, who has been bringing circuses to Malta for the past 16 years, said he could not allow the banning of animal circuses from Malta without taking any action.
“It was a personal initiative after finding out that the government had moved on to publish a White Paper proposing to ban animal circuses,” he said.
See all the animals, such as, Long horn cattle, Donkeys, Lama, Camels, Lions, Tigers, Zebra, Elephant, Giraffe, Baboon, Horses, Ponies, Donkeys performing pitiful & degrading acts; acts they would never do in the wild. The animal acts stop at 12 mins; then the human artists perform!I believe the only thing not seen is the Hippo; but is in a video below!!
He argued that only 390 persons took part in the consultation process initiated by the government, of which 49% said they were against such a circus.
“We know that the majority of these were NGOs, and NGOs do not reflect popular opinion. I am doing this petition on my own. I know that there are many others who would like to sign it, but I have neither the time nor the manpower to go on a nation-wide petition,” Zammit said.
He said he was “very happy” with the number of signatures collected: “This shows that the Maltese do love the circus. They won’t flood the streets of Valletta with placards to support the circus.”
He also said that a number of MPs from both sides of the House visited Circo Orfei this winter.“Some came with their children while others accompanied their grandchildren. They thanked me for the level of the show and all said they had fun,” Zammit said.
He however refused to name them.
The debate as to whether Malta should ban animal circuses for good has been going on for a number of years, with animal rights NGOs insisting that circuses solely operate to maximise profits while completely disregarding the safety of the animals and the adverse effects they may impose.
Animal Rights Coalition said veterinarians only attend to the animal’s physical needs and as a result, the psychological issues brought about by the circuses are not being addressed.
With a number of countries moving to ban animal circuses for good, Zammit said in Italy alone there were 800 circuses. He said the UK was one of the countries which will stop animal circuses as from next year. “But this was the result of many circuses caught mistreating their animals,” he said, adding that the circus he brought to Malta did not see animals performing any tricks and only a minimal part of the show was dedicated to animals.
Zammit argued that the circus animals were born in captivity “and therefore they do not know otherwise. Their trainers threat them like their pets”.
He said Animal Welfare Department officials and veterinarians made regular checks to verify that the animals were well-kept.
Circo Orfei’s travelling team is made up of 60 people, whose living depends on the shows, Zammit said.
“This is their life. They are a community who live on the road and have been doing so for years on end. This is how they earn a living… their bread and butter,” he said.
The Animal Rights Coalition has also called for a full ban on dolphinaria and aquaria. The coalition has said it was unjust to deny dolphins the right to roam free in their natural habitat and called for the ban on dolphinariums as these restrict the creatures to a mere pool.
The Coalition also said that this should extend to aquaria as in this case, animals are likewise being “confined to cages and restricted from roaming in their natural habitat”.
But Zammit feels that two weights and two measures were being applied when talking about animal circuses and aquaria.
He also said that circuses gave people the opportunity to see animals which would otherwise require them to travel abroad to zoos or safaris.
He insisted that a proper discussion was required and said he agreed that animals like elephants, pandas and monkeys should be banned. “What we have in our circus are horses, ponies, donkeys and tigers,” he said, adding that tigers in captivity lived for an average of 25 years while those in the wild lived for 12 years.
Circo Orfei also has a hippo and an emu as part of their travelling repertoire.
Published on 7 Jan 2013 – This video shows the hippo in the ring, but its towards the end of the video, after the trapeze act! What the hell is a hippo doing in a circus? Bloody outrageous!! Search CircoOrfei on You Tube to see all the animals when not entertaining :-http://youtu.be/GEMx3YVIRmg
Published on 6 Sep 2013 – This is about the lions & tigers in the outside enclosure plus RARE WHITE LIONS & TIGERS?? Are they interbreeding??:-http://youtu.be/K40RjOFsX4c
“This is yet another way humans have learnt how they can abuse animals; & profit from their pain! See video below, which brought me to tears, rabbits screaming in pain as their fur is repeatedly ripped from their bodies. Please please don’t buy clothes made from Angora wool; if you do, then you are condoning this barbaric abuse & cruelty! The video is at the bottom of this post, viewer discretion is advised!”
UPDATED: 13:28, 15 December 2013
High Street clothes shops are cancelling orders for fashion items made from angora wool after disturbing images of how the animals are farmed emerged.
Topshop, H&M, Boden, Primark suspend orders for Angora products
It follows a storm of protest following release of undercover video
Cruel methods at Chinese Angora farm revealed by Peta investigation
Rabbits trimmed then plucked using painful and cruel techniques
Longer Angora hair comes from using inhumane plucking method
High Street clothes shops are cancelling orders for fashion items made from angora wool after disturbing images of how the animals are farmed emerged.
More than 35 popular brands such as Topshop, H&M, Boden, Primark, Calvin Klein, Whistles and Next have said they will not stock Angora.
Factory horror: An angora rabbit is tied up by its feet and its skin stretched as it is being cut with an electric shear
Topshop told The Sunday Timesit stopped buying clothes made of Angora after more than 100,000 people petitioned the company.
Marks & Spencer also told the paper: ‘We will not place any further orders from our suppliers for products containing Angora until we have concluded our visits to farms.’
The agora fibre is prized even more than cashmere, merino wool or mohair because it is considered softer and fluffier than all the rest.
These sought-after knits are produced from the fur of the Angora rabbit — giant balls of fluff with tiny faces peeking out, bred for their long, soft wool.
Angora fibres are hollow, which gives clothes a fluffy texture. It’s warmer than wool and the fibre is also exceptionally fine — just 11 microns (11 thousandths of a millimetre) in diameter — which means Angora is softer than cashmere.
It is also far cheaper than the luxury fabric. Angora jumpers were on sale in Topshop for £36 and scarves in John Lewis for just £30.
The images, taken at an undisclosed location in China, shows angora rabbits in cages
But the Peta investigation revealed for the first time how these bargain knits may be coming at an immense cost to the animals that produce this fluffy Angora wool.
The group released a gut-wrenching exposé into the Angora industry in China, which is responsible for 90 per cent of the world’s supply of Angora wool.
The rabbit is bent across the woman’s knee before being trimmed of its fur using scissors
Investigators went to ten different Angora farms and witnessed, they say, appalling abuse of animals at all ten locations. At half of the farms a particularly barbaric form of live plucking is used to remove the fur.
PETA, which is campaigning for shoppers to boycott Angora, did not name the farms to protect its sources, but has documented its hard-hitting findings in video footage.
Cruel: The dead rabbits are processed for meat after their fur is taken for wool
Peta’s campaigns manager Yvonne Taylor told The Sunday Times: ‘Many retailers have taken on board customer complaints, but, while we welcome their decision to stop sourcing Angora products, we would urge them to also pull existing Angora stock.
The footage (below) showed terrified white rabbits, screaming with fear, stretched prone on wooden boards and held by the neck while their fur is plucked by hand.
In other scenes, the defenceless creatures are tethered with rope by the front and back legs while they are sheared by men armed with metal scissors, who pay little attention to the cuts they are inflicting on the animals.
Animal cruelty: The Angora rabbits are alive throughout the plucking and are kept for several years, plucked every few months, before their throats are slit
Angora has a trade value of £22 to £28 per kilogram, but the longer hair that comes from plucking, as opposed to shearing, can sell for more than double that.
Angoras can live for five years, or even as long as ten years when well looked after, but farmed rabbits have a much shorter lifespan, which can be as little as two years.
Yet it is not just the manner in which these animals — which are more commonly kept as pets in Britain — have their fur harvested that has sparked animal welfare concerns.
Pictures show forlorn looking rabbits with tattered and partially shaved fur cowering in tiny cages in half-covered sheds.
Pain and suffering: The terror in the animal’s eyes is unmistakable as a worker with a Chinese Angora trader stretches it out and yanks out its fur
The rabbits are forced to spend their entire miserable lives standing on the thin cage wires that constantly cut into their sensitive footpads, never having a chance to dig, jump or run around.’
Once the rabbit’s health fails, they are of little use to breeders.
Those who survive the brutal conditions in these rabbit farms are killed by having their necks broken, and are hung upside down and have their throats slit before their flesh is sold to local markets, PETA says.
There are thought to be more than 50 million rabbits on Angora farms in China, producing more than 4,000 tonnes of fur a year.
Left to recover: After the rabbit had had all its fur yanked out it is thrown into a cage to regrow its fur in complete solitude
It is by far the world’s biggest producer, followed by Argentina, Chile, the Czech Republic and Hungary, which produce the bulk of the remaining 10 per cent of the supply chain.
In China, there are no penalties for the abuse of animals on farms and minimal, if any, standards to regulate their treatment. A new law was drafted in 2009, but has not been implemented.
And there is no doubt that China has a woeful record of factory farming and animal cruelty, particularly when it comes to producing clothes for the fashion industry, many of which end up on sale on British High Streets.
In 2009, campaigners exposed how down used in jackets and other items was being ripped from the bodies of live geese by Chinese suppliers.
Two years later it emerged that raccoon dogs were being skinned while still alive to produce imitation sheepskin boots.
No hope: This young bunny is in the process of regrowing its fur while recovering from an eye infection in a naked steel cage
Viewer Discretion Advised: EXPOSED: The Agony Behind Angora
Published on 19 Nov 2013
An undercover investigation by PETA Asia shows rabbits screaming in pain as the fur is ripped from their bodies on Chinese Angora farms. Once you’ve seen the graphic footage, you’ll never want to buy items made of Angora wool again. Join the campaign against this cruel industry here:http://petauk.org/angora
There will be two circuses featuring animals in Malta this Christmas season, with Circo Viviana ORFEI being set up on Manoel Island and Circo Acquatico in Marsa, just weeks before the ban on animal circuses is expected to come into force.
As well as jugglers, magicians, clowns and acrobats, Circo Viviana ORFEI, brought to Malta by promoter Silvio Zammit, has tigers, horses and ponies, a hippopotamus, camels, donkeys, a zebra, a lama, and ostrich and an emu, among others.
In their advertisements, the promoters of both circuses are saying that they will be here for the last time.
In a statement to the media on Friday, Mr Zammit said the Manoel Island Circus will be giving two or three shows a day between 13 December and 5 January. He points out that Circo Viviana ORFEI is established in Italy and has, for generations, respected tradition and animal rights. All the animals have been born in captivity and the circus owners treat them as other people treat their pets.
Shows by Circo Acquatico, the marine animal circus, were planned to start yesterday evening. Circus Malta, the company owned by Johann Said, is promoting the shows on Facebook and has been selling tickets in Valletta for the past few weeks.
Penguins, seals, pelicans and dogs were seen in Youtube videos of the 2011-2012 show by the same company and snakes, a crocodile and fish were in their 2009 promotional video.
The draft legislation to ban circuses was published early last month and the public was given until 1 December to make comments on it. It was presumed the ban would be in place for this year’s festive season, but organisers managed to bring the circuses to Malta just in time.
The draft regulations address a long-standing bone of contention and seek to prohibit the use of “wild animals” for performances, exhibitions and shows, and also ban the training of animals for such a purpose. It is also proposed, logically enough, to ban the advertising and/or promotion of animal circuses.
The draft regulations – Prohibition of Wild Animals in Circuses Regulations, published by the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change – define a “wild animal” as “an animal that is a member of a species not normally domesticated in Malta”.
According to the draft regulations, anyone contravening the regulations will be liable to a prison term of up to a year and a fine of between €30,000 and €50,000, the cancellation of their permit and the closing down of their circus.
Moreover, upon conviction the court will also have the power to order the treatment and the relocation or forfeiture of wild animals that have been used in circuses, with related costs to be borne by the convicted party.
The absolute majority (94 per cent) of those who submitted their views as to whether or not a ban should be introduced replied positively. Some 398 individuals and NGOs participated in the public consultation, which was held in the summer.
Animal circuses may be banned in Malta by the end of the year if MPs give weight to what people had to say on the matter.
An overwhelming 94 per cent of the 398 people who took part in apublic consultation exercise believe all animals should be banned from circuses, a spokesman for the Parliamentary Secretariat for Animal Rights said.
Only 21 people, or five per cent, said animals should be allowed to perform in circuses. Four people said the ban should only apply to wild animals and that domestic animals, like dogs and cats, should be allowed to perform.
Despite the result of the consultation exercise, the final decision will be taken by MPs who will be debating the subject in Parliament later this year.
Over the past years animal rights activists have protested whenever an animal circus came to Malta.
NGOsinsisted that using animals for entertainment purposes constituted abuse and argued that animals were often beaten during the training process.
Local circus organisers have always insisted that the animals were not ill-treated.
The two-week public consultation, launched by the secretariat, closed on July 28. The public was invited to share views online or by sending a letter through the post. Some also called the offices of the secretariat to have their say.
Participants where asked whether animals should be banned outright, whether there should be restrictions (such as a ban on wild animals like tigers and elephants) or whether animals should remain part of the circus.
Over the past week the feedback received was compiled and it emerged that 373 people wanted an outright ban on all animals.
Most said the training process was abusive and were concerned about small cages and the trauma animals went through while travelling.
One of the 21 people who believed in keeping animals in circuses pointed out that circuses had helped in the protection of dying species.
So what happens next?
The spokesman explained that a White Paper was being drafted and had reached its final stages.
It would then be presented to Cabinet before being discussed in Parliament.
Once this process was completed a legal notice would be published by the end of the year.
Most people go to circuses, zoos, or marine parks because they “love animals” and have no idea what happens behind the scenes or how unnatural it is for animals to be captured, confined, and forced to perform for our entertainment.
Viewer Discretion Advised
Read
Undercover investigations have shown that elephants, tigers, and other animals on the road with Ringling Bros. and other circuses are electro-shocked, beaten with long metal rods called “bullhooks,” and denied proper veterinary care. Animals used in circuses spend most of their lives chained inside boxcars and never get to live freely with other animals, as they would in the wild.
Life in a zoo isn’t much better: Animals often live in barren enclosures—hundreds of times smaller than their homes in the wild. To make money, zoos breed animals in order to have babies to showcase, and sometimes older or less popular animals are even shipped off and replaced with cuter ones.
Even under the best of circumstances at the best of zoos, captivity cannot begin to replicate wild animals’ habitats. Animals are often prevented from doing most of the things that are natural and important to them, such as running, roaming, flying, climbing, foraging, choosing a partner, and being with others of their own kind.
Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to interfere with animals and keep them locked up in captivity, where they are bored, cramped, lonely, deprived of all control over their lives, and far from their natural homes.
Similarly, marine parks like SeaWorld give orcas and dolphins nothing more than what is essentially a concrete bathtub to live in. Forced to perform for large, noisy crowds, orcas become frustrated, bored, and aggressive.
If zoos, circuses like Ringling Bros., and marine parks like SeaWorld really cared about animals, they would let them live freely in the wild and wouldn’t force them to suffer for profit. You can show these industries that YOU care about animals by never purchasing a ticket to a zoo, a marine park, or a circus that uses animals and by spreading the word to your friends and family
( If this petition is launched & you love animals; please don’t sign it)
The promoter of what is being billed as “the last animal circus” in Malta is planning to launch a petition in favour of the genre.
Pressure to ban animal circuses from the island has grown over the years. Last summer an overwhelming 94 per cent of those who took part in a public consultation exercise said they believe all animals should be banned from circuses.
Animal rights activists have staged repeated protests arguing that animals are often beaten during the training process.
And in the last Budget it was announced that a White Paper would be issued on banning circus animals.
Local circus organisers have always insisted that the animals they use in their shows are not ill-treated.
In the face of this trend, two circuses – an animal and a marine one – will be set up in Malta in the coming weeks.
The Viviana Orfei circus, featuring tigers, horses, hippos, zebras, camels and ostriches, among others, is at Gżira this weekend. Its promoter, Silvio Zammit, said in a statement that this was the last opportunity to see an animal circus in Malta.
However, on Facebook he said a petition would soon be launched in favour of animal circuses, in reply to one person who thought they had already been banned.
In his statement he said the animals were born on the circus and formed part of the circus family. Animal cruelty, he added, was totally condemnable.
Animal circuses are accompanied by controversy every time they come to Malta at Christmas time.
But this year’s circus at Gżira came with a twist after two female tigers gave birth to six cubs on their way to Malta.
The cute twist is unlikely to fend off criticism from animal lovers who feel animal circuses are wrong. But as the cubs whine under the watchful eye of their mothers the Viviana Orfei circus owners insist the birth of the cubs is proof of the good care they give animals.
Born in captivity, the owners argue the animals know no better. “They are part of our family,” they insist.
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.
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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