“Nobody will die if dog & cat are taken off the menu!!!”
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Around 30 animal campaigners carried out the protest today in bid to stop Yulin dog meat festival in China
The controversial festival sees as many as 10,000 animals butchered and eaten on summer solstice
A petition signed by over 11 million people has been submitted to the authority, animal charity claimed
During the event, activists called Yulin in rural Guangxi Province a ‘scumbag’ and ‘a total embarrassment’ to China
A group of animal activists staged a protest today in Beijing in a bid to stop a Chinese dog-eating festival set to occur later this month.
This must stop: A group of around 30 animal activists staged a protest today in Beijing in a bid to stop the Yulin dog meat festival
The demonstration, initiated by three animal protection groups, submitted a petition allegedly signed by over 11 million people, calling on the Chinese authorities to end the Yulin dog meat festival.
The annual festival, which takes place in south China’s Guangxi Province, sees tens of thousands of animals beaten to death, cooked and sold on the market to celebrate summer solstice.
Around 30 activists carried out the protest outside of the Yulin government office as the petition was presented to the authority by three animal charities: Humane Society International, VShine and Beijing Mothers Against Animal Cruelty.
Pictures from today’s event show animal campaigners, many of whom brought their own pet dogs, holding signs saying ‘Scumbag of China’ in English and ‘Shame on Yulin’ in Simplified Chinese.
Wendy Higgins, the Director of International Media at Humane Society International, said over 11 million signatures had been collected worldwide through the internet to demand the festival to stop.
The petition also included signatures gathered by four other international animal welfare organisations. They are RaiseURPaw in Canada as well as the Duo Duo Project, Care2 and Avaaz from the United States.
The petition has been accepted by officials from the Yulin government in Beijing, according to Ms Higgins.
Peter Li, the China Policy Expert at Humane Society International, attended the protest in Beijing today.
Mr Li told MailOnline:
‘There was a huge presence of police, but our hand-in went very peacefully. It was a great feeling to join with our Chinese partner group activists in Beijing today, there was a tremendous sense of determination to get our voices heard to the global media, and to let the world know that many people across China want the brutal Yulin dog meat festival shut down.
He added: ‘We gave a show of strength and defiance against the dog thieves and the blatant animal cruelty, to say loudly – you will not steal our best friends!
‘I hope that the authorities listen, they really should do as the strength of public upset about Yulin and the trade here in China is really growing.
‘Next stop for me is Yulin, where I have been a number of times before, for the grim task of visiting the slaughterhouses before the festival starts.’
Sickening feast: Residents in Yulin tucked in their dinner made with dog meat during last year’s festival. Many of the animals, which were caged and beaten before being slaughtered, are thought to be stolen pets!
Xu Yufeng, founder of Beijing Mothers Against Animal Cruelty who were also present at the protest, said: ‘Yulin is a total embarrassment to China.
‘Its failure to stop mass dog slaughter and mass dog consumption shows that the local authorities are not doing their job to protect the people, especially young children.
‘We urge the Yulin authorities to stand on the right side of history and to end the “festival” in the interests of public security, food safety, social morality and China’s reputation.’
Another member of the protesters, Pan Danyang from China-based small animal protection group VShine, said:
‘This is the third year of our participation in the nation-wide campaign against the Yulin dog meat festival. ‘Since we have over the last few years helped accommodate dogs rescued from the dog meat trade, we know Yulin’s dog meat market relies on dogs from suspicious sources. ‘I hope that Yulin authorities will take actions to stop the dog trucks from going into their city so that the mass slaughter on the summer solstice day won’t happen.’
Visitors play with rescued dogs at a shelter ranby Yang Xiaoyun in Tianjin, China, July 8, 2015. Yang said she spent 300,000 RMB (48,248 USD) to purchase 500 dogs to rescue them from dog meat dealers at Yulin’s annual dog meat festival last month. She keeps more than 1,000 dogs in her shelters, mostly abandoned or she purchased from dog meat traders. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
To learn more & signn other petitions, please visit the following, just a handful of sites that contain very informative material:-
“This is cruel, despicable, illegal & heartbreaking. Caught & imprisoned from cub to adult in tiny rusty cages; their world is one of pain, irritation, infection, teeth pulling & repulsive food; literally going stir crazy!! They simply won’t know what it is like to live as a wild bear should, with fresh air, lush grass & trees etc. They can not be returned to the wild as they simply wouldn’t be able to survive; having been kept a prisoner most of their pitiful lives!. Although the video documentary is 43 minutes long, I urge you to watch it, see how Animal Asia started undercover investigation to save these sentient beings. It is hard to imagine how these beautiful bears can still be bought or caught, entrapped some wear a metal jacket around them, with a tube constantly fixed; to extract bile. But it’s not just bile, parts of the bear can also be acquired; the farmers will make money dead or alive. Public demand warrants this abuse; even though there are now synthetic bear bile products, there is no need for these bears to live & die in a cage; in constant pain. These bears need to be rescued so please help by signing the petition at the end of this blog & share amongst your social media friends etc.”
29 January 2015
Thirteen more bears have died at Cau Trang Bear Farm in Halong Bay, Vietnam bringing the total death toll since November last year to 18.
In the two months since Animals Asia inspected three farms in the vicinity of the World Heritage Site, 26 of the 49 moon bears – a protected species – are said to have died leaving just 23 alive in Halong City.
(Some scenes are graphic) Although this video is long, please watch it to understand what happens to these poor bears & how Animal Asia came about to rescue them!
“Published on 13 Sep 2012
Watch the hard-hitting, undercover documentary showing the brutality of the bear bile industry across China, which recently won a top award at the Fifth China Ya’an International Panda, Animals and Nature Film Week. The documentary was made by three independent film-makers who devoted four years to its production, visiting small and large bear bile farms, revealing “legal” farms with conditions that are clearly breaking current regulations for such farms in China.”
Having previously focussed just on Cau Trang Farm, Animals Asia is now pressing the Vietnamese government to allow it to bring all 23 remaining bears in the Halong City area to its Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre in nearby Tam Dao.
The latest news has left Animals Asia staff devastated and angry that bears have been allowed to die when an offer for their rescue remains on the table.
Authorities, concerned that the bears are being slaughtered for parts for use in traditional medicine have also ordered that TV cameras cover their burial – as interest in the case continues to grow in Vietnam.
Animals Asia’s Vietnam Director Tuan Bendixsen said:
“The eyes of the country are now on Quang Ninh province and the relevant authorities to see that right course of action is taken. We cannot be sure of the exact details surrounding the bears’ deaths but we can say the farmer chose to let them die. We offered to treat the animals and the offer was rejected. It was the farmer who took the decision to let the animals die. It was a conscious choice. We can only speculate as to his motives.”
The Central Forest Protection Department (FPD) has informed Animals Asia that it is urgently requesting the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) form an investigation team.
The team, expected to include representatives from Central FPD, CITES and MARD’s Nature Conservation Department, would travel to Quang Ninh province to investigate the exact causes of death, whether the correct procedures were followed to dispose of the bodies and to ascertain how the remaining bears can be saved.
Animals Asia founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE, said:
“These deaths are utterly tragic and unnecessary. It’s heart breaking to learn that so many bears have spent years suffering on the farms, and have now needlessly died when there is a sanctuary ready and willing to give them the life they deserve just a few hours down the road.”
“Through the increased local coverage of the deaths of these bears, Vietnam is seeing the reality and brutality of bear bile farming. While their deaths have shone a spotlight on the industry in Vietnam, there was no need for them to die at all.”
“There have been enough delays and we’ve seen what that has achieved. The time has come to act, and act now. We are beseeching the authorities – let us save the remaining Halong Bay bears before it’s too late.”
Nearly 2,000 bears remain in cages in Vietnam being farmed for their bile for use in traditional medicine – despite the practice being made illegal. Bear bile farming technically became illegal in 1992 when Ministry of Forestry approval became necessary to keep bears. In 2002, bears came under CITES group I, making their exploitation strictly illegal. However it wasn’t until 2005 that the first species-specific regulations were enacted.
Animals Asia has rescued over 500 bears from bear bile farming as part of its work to end bear bile farming in China and Vietnam.
HELP US SAVE THE HALONG BAY BEARS
Emaciated, missing limbs, some near blind, others with open wounds, all starving – these are the animal collateral of Vietnam’s cruel bear bile industry.
Help us force the farmer who profited for years from these poor bears to hand them over to Animals Asia for urgent medical care and rehabilitation.
Sign the petition and ask the Vietnamese government to remove the bears from the farm so Animals Asia can give them the care they deserve.
Animals Asia was founded in 1998 and is devoted to ending the barbaric practice of bear bile farming and improving the welfare of animals in China and Vietnam.
More than 10,000 bears – mainly moon bears, but also sun bears and brown bears – are kept on bile farms in China, and just under 2,000 in Vietnam. The bears are milked regularly for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine.
Bile is extracted using various painful, invasive techniques, all of which cause massive infection in the bears. This cruel practice continues despite the availability of a large number of effective and affordable herbal and synthetic alternatives.
Most farmed bears are kept in tiny cages. In China, the cages are sometimes so small that the bears are unable to turn around or stand on all fours. Some bears are put into cages as cubs and never released. Bears may be kept caged like this for up to 30 years. Most farmed bears are starved, dehydrated and suffer from multiple diseases and malignant tumours that ultimately kill them.
“PLEASE DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO HELP SAVE THE REMAINING BEARS! “
“Seriously, if you were caught using a bullhook, stick or broom etc. on a dog, cat or horse etc. whipping or poking it until it bleeds; I’m sure, you would be charged with animal abuse; & quite rightly so! These bullhooks are used to control elephants; via pain, just as various other weapons are used for the rest of the circus animals! Elephants may have thick skin, but did you know they can feel a fly land on them?? So how do you think a bullhook feels to an elephant when it’s used aggressively by an impatient trainer or handlers mucking out stalls etc. I bet it hurts like hell! Bullhooks are used to keep circus elephants in check, by tugging on sensitive parts of the elephant like their ear’s & gouging at their legs to make them perform unnatural tricks for the paying audience! Elephants were not made to entertain humans, which is why they are forced by the bullhook & electric prods (verified on undercover surveillance) to entertain! How else would one get an elephant to lift off front or rear feet, walk around a big ball with one foot on it, the other turning it, or how about getting them to do a handstand; using their trunks as a balancing aid? I’m pretty sure they don’t conform to words alone, or snacks! These elephants are performing stunts in such a way as they would never, in the wild; their bodies are simply not made to do balancing acts, it’s so unnatural for them to even consider doing tricks…but a bullhook used by a human, aimed at the right place, makes it much easier to get the job done, by causing pain. They’re not dogs who can learn a trick within half an hour using treats alone. Plus the tricks elephants are forced to do; adds injuries to their ailments later in life!!!
“Those that intentionally inflict pain & suffering & enjoy carrying out their sickening hold on animals, are not worthy of being called animal trainers or handlers etc.; they are good for one thing; picking up the mess after said animal has been to the toilet!! If they can yank an elephant round, how do the treat their family pets? They shouldn’t be or in the care of any animal; if they don’t mind whacking an elephant around its body, for simply getting a verbal command right!! Torture devices can be used right under the noses of the people, paying to watch the elephants or other animals at the circus; paying customers have no idea the animals are suffering; whilst performing ridiculous tricks! Innocent looking walking sticks can be used to enforce pain, yet they look totally harmless to the distanced crowd! However, they are anything but innocent, a simple walking stick can be turned into a torture device used on any animals whilst performing etc. Props like this can have spiked nails in one end that the trainers uses to control the animals! Those watching the performance wouldn’t be able to see nails in sticks etc…they are simply too far away; but it still looks so innocent to those watching!”
“To be honest I’m astounded that more elephants haven’t attacked, killed their trainers or gone on a rampage; like several have over the years, due to the constant abuse from humans carrying bullhooks or other items, such as a walking cane, filled with spiked nails, that when touched, cause pain etc! Could it be that elephants who were caught in the wild, remember the heartache of being taken from family & the torture chamber called the Phajaan? I’m sure those that were caught wild will never ever forget the pain of being taken from its mother & family! But it’s the Phajaan, the poor little elephant will remember forever, because that was home where he was a victim to horrendous abuse! The Phajaan is where all wild caught small elephants are horrifically tortured daily; used for one reason other than a horror chamber…it breaks the spirit of the elephant!
Once they are in the Phajaan they can’t turn or even lay down; heavy duty rope or chains cause terrible suffering & injuries! Each foot is tied down so tightly to stop them having any chance of hurting the people who are torturing them. Rope is tied around the neck & body so there is no way they can escape! Food & water is used as a training tool too (it still is being used today) the elephants get neither if they haven’t complied with the human commands being barked at them all day for weeks or months! The elephant will stay tied in the phajaan, being whipped, poked & prodded daily to the point of bleeding from wounds!! It stops, only when & depending on how quickly the humans can break the little elephants spirit! That is what the phajaan is made for…to literally break the elephant down, both physically & mentally, until it has no fight left in it & the elephant starts to obey the human commands!! Captured young, these elephants have to be submissive before they can be trained for log work or to be sent somewhere to be trained as a circus elephant! Nobody will pay for an elephant if it will not obey human commands. The Phajaan is used as a medieval cage of wood & it succeeds in breaking the most hardened spirit of an elephant…over time the elephant just won’t be able to stand the beatings or go on without water or food; he must submit to stop the pain & he realises; he is now a slave to humans!”
“I have a theory about why most captured elephants try not to retaliate after a beating with a bullhook etc. They say elephants have fantastic memories…well perhaps it’s the thought of being taken back to that torture chamber, where the elephants endured terrible suffering & beatings…in the Phajaan; at the hands of humans!! The horror of that place must be tattooed in the memory of every elephant that suffered there. The elephants don’t understand they will never return to that horrible place if they don’t conform. The Phajaan & the humans, who mentally & physically broke them using such weapons like the bullhooks, will stay with the elephants forever! They may be in a different place, but it is still the humans who control them! Do the elephants even know their own power & strength against humans; probably not, because it was forced out of them in the Phajaan? They only know that humans are the leaders & with their torture tools, can still physically beat & hurt the elephants, if they don’t comply!!”
“Could fear alone stop the elephants from causing harm to their trainers or owners, after all, thats all the elephants know about humans; how much pain they can cause! When they are shipped off to do other work, where all elephants know of humans is they are to be feared & must be obeyed in order not to receive punishment, I wonder if the new elephant looks at the other elephants old wounds & realises; that they too came through the same cruel path! So do they actually behave & perform out of fear? Fear of going back to the Phajaan perhaps ensures most elephants comply! What do you think?”
“Please watch the video below, to help understand what elephants endure through life. A circus elephant could have come through the same route; tortured & abused in the Phajaan, their spirits forever broken at the hands of humans!”
By Kristin J. Bender Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. — The circus will stop coming to Oakland in a few years after a tool used by elephant handlers was banned in the city.
The Oakland City Council earlier this week unanimously approved an ordinance outlawing bullhooks. The instrument resembles a fireplace poker, with a sharp hook on one end that is used by trainers to control the animals.
Tom Rider, a former circus elephant trainer, shows a bullhook that is used by elephant trainers. The Oakland, Calif., City Council earlier this week unanimously approved an ordinance outlawing bullhooks, an instrument resembling a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end that is used by trainers to control the animals. Oakland is now the second city in California, after Los Angeles, to ban the use of a bullhooks. File photo
Oakland is now the second California city, after Los Angeles, to ban the use of a bullhooks. The circus will stop performing in Los Angeles in summer 2016. The Oakland ban takes effect in 2017.
But the circus is still holding out hope about having future performances in Oakland. “We may see if the Oakland City Council wants to reconsider,” he said. Payne said the move is a loss for people who enjoy the circus. An estimated 30,000 people attended the Oakland circus over six days last summer, he said.
“Please Note Viewer Discretion advised! “Breaking the spirit of a young wild elephant” to be used to pull logs, work in the tourist industry or sold onto circuses”
“To Truly understand how an elephant’s spirit is broken & make them afraid of man…you really should watch this video”
Published on 8 Mar 2012
Here are the images of the training of wild elephants that are caught for the tourist trade. Please remind yourself and tell others that by visiting elephant camps you are supporting this!
The Oakland Zoo and animal rights activists supported the ordinance, saying bullhooks are cruel and inhumane. Other U.S. cities to ban bullhooks include Miami Beach, Florida.
Proponents say the tool is designed to give trainers dominance over elephants and does not hurt or harm the animal. “A lot of the information that was presented to the Oakland City Council by the proponents was designed to distort our animal care,” Payne said.
Oakland Zoo Chief Executive Officer Joel Parrott said the practice hearkens back to the turn of the 20th century and has no place in modern times.
“If I suggested using a bullhook on giraffes to get them through gates or to stab tigers to get them to do what I want them to do, everybody would react,” Parrott said. “The only reason it’s acceptable is we’ve grown used to it with the elephants.”
“Quote links below; read the & find out something you never knew about elephants”
The Sense of Touch
Despite its thickness, an elephant’s skin is very sensitive, to the point where it can feel a fly land on its back. Surprisingly, it is also sensitive to the sun, and baby elephants are even known to sunburn. The species’ notorious love for mud and baths helps alleviate both of these problems.
If you liked this article and the Bonus Facts below, you might also enjoy:
Unlike the rhinoceros, whose horn is made of hair-like keratin, elephant tusks are actually overgrown incisors. Incredibly long, at least one-third of an elephant’s tusk is inside the animal’s head, outside of view. The outside, ivory part of the tusk is, like its other teeth, comprised of dentine surrounded by a layer of enamel. An elephant’s tusks never stop growing.
The heaviest tusks recorded weigh about 220 pounds per tusk, while the longest ever discovered were 11 feet long! Tusks today are generally much smaller due to the ivory trade and poaching keeping them from reaching such mammoth sizes.
In a rare example of unanimity, the whole world banned the trade in ivory in 1989 with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In the decade preceding the agreement, more than half of Africa’s elephants had been killed in order to harvest the ivory, and today, poaching continues. In fact, in 2011, only a portion of the largest seizures collected found in excess of 50 thousand pounds of poached ivory. To combat this, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had proposed regulations in February 2014 that would have placed “a near-total ban on anything made with ivory moving in and out of the U.S.” However, the sweeping regulation had many concerned that it would inhibit the transportation of “old ivory,” such as that found in antique pieces of art and musical instruments. After a public outcry, particularly from concert musicians who often need to travel with their antique, ivory-fitted instruments to perform, FWS carved out an exception in May 2014.
Today there are somewhere between 400,000 and 600,000 African elephants remaining, and, unless things change, they are predicted to become locally extinct within 50 years
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.
“THIS DESPICABLE HEINOUS CRIME MUST STOP….PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION BELOW. How can anyone say that chasing an animal with the intention to kill it is a normal act! These POS get a buzz out of chasing a small animal, purely to kill it…it’s the thrill of the chase; & they love it!!”
Images, released by anti-hunt campaigners, show men setting dog on fox
They then use spades to dig creature out of a hole before shooting it dead
Critics have today condemned ‘cruel’ and ‘horrific’ incident
But Countryside Alliance say the men acted legally under Hunting Act
This is the moment a fox was dragged out of a hole and shot dead while children as young as five watched on.
The images, released by anti-hunt campaigners, show a group of terriermen setting their dog on the creature.
The fox tries attempts to hide in a badger’s sett – but the three adults fire into the ground and use spades to dig it out.
These images show the moment a group of men unearthed and shot a fox as three young children watched on
A farmer who captured the killing on camera says the group then called over three children to show them the remains.
The men can then be seen walking away with two dead animals. It is unclear where and how the second fox was killed.
The shocking incident happened shortly after a hunt on December 28 by the Modbury Harriers, which rides in south Devon.
The League Against Cruel Sports has handed the photos over to the RSPCA and asked them to investigate it as a possible breach of the Hunting Act..
The law bans hunting foxes with a pack of hounds – however it doesn’t cover the use of dogs to flush out animals underground.
The farmer, who has asked not to be identified, said the fox was initially chased across the field by hounds.
The Countryside Alliance said there was ‘no question’ the behaviour was legal – describing the killing as ‘professional and humane’.
“Just read the above comment on the picture…how can any sane animal lover, who owns just a dog or cat; say this is normal!! I see no difference in this than I do inhumane POS chasing & killing elephants or rhino…they are all sentient beings FFS!!”
The huntsmen moved on but before it could climb out of the badger’s set three men with guns and spades arrived – with three children following close behind.
The farmer said: ‘I sat there in disbelief – how could those guys think any of what had played out was fit for young children to witness?
‘I watched in horror as a whole pack of hounds poured into our neighbour’s field then piled into our meadow.
‘They made that hideous blood-curdling squealing – known as ‘speaking’ – which means they are on the scent of a fox.
‘I saw a beautiful vixen flash across the meadow and disappear into an old badger sett on my neighbour’s farm.
‘At the top of the hill I saw a couple of guys carrying spades and a terrier on a lead. They were going to dig her out and kill her right then and there.
‘The men came down and filled in the exit holes to stop the fox escaping and then called the children over to watch as they dug out and killed the young vixen.’
Sick Neanderthals!!
The farmer said the three men came across a second badger inside the hole which they also shot dead as the children craned their necks to see what was happening.
He added: ‘This is the dirty underbelly of fox hunting, the bit they don’t like even their followers to see.
‘But I was disgusted to see the terriermen had brought three youngsters to watch – one was only about five years old.
The farmer, who keeps a flock of 140 breeding ewes and a few chickens, is strongly anti-hunting and has complained about huntsmen trespassing on his land.
oe Duckworth, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), said: ‘This horrific incident of animal cruelty shows not only a total disregard for the dogs and foxes but also for the welfare of thechildren.’
The Countryside Alliance, however, said there was ‘no question’ the behaviour was legal – describing the killing as ‘professional and humane’.
Spokesman Tim Bonner said the outrage merely demonstrated that outsiders do not ‘understand the realities of the countryside and country life’.
Mr Bonner said he had spoken to the hunt, who told him the killing had been carried out as ‘pest control” with the permission of the landowner.
He said: ‘The children were not in the hole – they were close by – and as far as we are concerned it was a totally professional operation and nothing which should upset anyone.
‘They were using the terrier work exemption and properly, professionally and humanely managing the killing of those two foxes.
‘There would be plenty of children of that sort of age involved in pheasant shoots and ferreting.
‘The vast majority of children eat meat and at the end of the day it is a dead animal.’
The Hunting act:-
The Hunting Act came in to force in February 2005 and was passed under the 1997 Labour government. It bans hunting any wild mammal – including foxes, deer and hares -with dogs in England and Wales.
Under the Act it is completely legal to ‘flush out’ – i.e. coax an animal from a hole or a sett – with dogs.
It is also legal to drag hunt with hounds. This is when the dogs are trained to follow an artificial scent and is now common practice across the country.
Hunting mammals with dogs was banned in Scotland two years earlier under the Protection of Wild Mammals Act 2002.
It is still legal to hunt in Northern Ireland.
Breaking the law is a summary offence. Those found guilty of doing so would be fined.
There were 181 convictions under the Hunting Act up to the end of 2010.
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.
“I’m posting again as there seems to be a problem with people copying this link.!
“Well you learn something everyday! I had no idea that coffee was made out of civet poop! Hopefully it will put people off drinking it, then the poor things won’t be caged like battery hens; so pass the word around!!”
Coffee Maker Gourmands the world over savor the flavor of the coffee known in Indonesia as Kopi Luwak. The coffee gets its taste from coffee berries that the luwak, a kind of civet consumes and then excretes in its stool.
The globe’s most expensive java, which is madefrom the faeces of catlike mammals called Asian palm civets, is raising concern among animal-welfare organizations, the Guardian reports.
Producers of kopi luwak, based primarily in Indonesia, are facing accusations of “horrific” abuse against the civets, who are kept in cages and fed a diet comprising almost exclusively coffee berries in order to produce a usable excrement. The creation of the predigested coffee has transformed a small rural trade into an intensive farming industry, the Guardian notes.
The reporter from the British papervisited a café on theIndonesian islandof Sumatra and discovered a female civet confined to a tiny cage in the back of the shop. The Guardian also found the creature’s two young offspring in a separate cramped enclosure, as well as 20 other civets in concealed cages on the roof of the building.
According to the paper, animal-welfare groups believe comparable civet “farms” are cropping up acrossSoutheast Asia and creating a serious ethical problem. As of now, tens of thousands of the animals are likely cooped up in cages and forced to live on the unwholesome berry diet. Although Asian palm civets, called luwakin Indonesian, are not endangered, a similar species called the binturong is also used for kopi luwak and has been classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Sorting Stool The beans do not get digested by the civets, thus making it possible for farmers to collect them. Here, Wayan Dira collect the excrement so that the coffee beans can be processed
“The conditions are awful, much like battery chickens,” Chris Shepherd, deputy regionaldirector of the conservation group Traffic in Southeast Asia, told the Guardian. “The civets are taken from the wild and have to endure horrific conditions. They fight to stay together, but they are separated and have to bear a very poor diet in very small cages.”
Shepherd said the conservation risk comes from the high mortality rate of some civet species, as those figures are “ spiralling out of control.” He noted that there is little public awareness about how kopi luwak is made.
“It would put people off their coffee if they knew,” Shepherd said.
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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Sickening feast: Residents in Yulin tucked in their dinner made with dog meat during last year’s festival. Many of the animals, which were caged and beaten before being slaughtered, are thought to be stolen pets!
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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