Ag-Gag FAIL: Idaho Ordered to Pay $250 Thousand in Legal – Very Graphic Video

by Joe Loria

“Please, Note there is a video at the end of this post. however it is very graphic”

 According to the Idaho Statesman, Idaho has been ordered to pay nearly $250,000 in legal fees for a case, that could have been avoided.

 In 2012, Mercy For Animals released findings of an undercover investigation at Bettencourt Dairies in Hansen, Idaho, where workers were exposed stomping, beating, dragging, and otherwise torturing the cows.

 In response to the investigation, the Idaho Dairymen’s Association drafted and sponsored an ag-gag bill, which was passed by the Idaho legislature and signed by Governor Otter in February 2014. This law created a new crime: “interference with agricultural production.” It essentially criminalized undercover investigations on factory farms.

A federal judge overturned this dangerous and un-American law last August for violating the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. U.S. district judge B. Lynn Winmill stated in his ruling:

The effect of the statute will be to suppress speech by undercover investigators and whistleblowers concerning topics of great public importance: the safety of the public food supply, the safety of agricultural workers, the treatment and health of farm animals, and the impact of business activities on the environment.

The coalition of nonprofit groups that challenged the law has now been awarded $249,875.08 in legal fees. Clearly ag-gag laws are not only unconstitutional, but a huge waste of taxpayer resources. Idaho is now appealing the court ruling, which will result in an even greater waste of taxpayer money.

 The governor and lawmakers of Idaho should be ashamed. They clearly don’t value their hard working constituents and will accept money from big corporations at the taxpayers’ expense.

We urge Idaho lawmakers to focus their efforts on improving animal welfare and rewarding the brave whistleblowers who uncover criminal activity in the state’s agricultural operations.

This ruling should also be a wake-up call to the meat, dairy, and egg industries that attempt to keep consumers in the dark about where their food comes from will not be tolerated.

For more information, please visit NoAgGag.com.

VERY GRAPHIC – This is just one of Mercy For Animals Video’s taken in an Ohio Dairy Farm (not the video in question)

Uploaded on 25 May 2010

Hidden camera video secretly shot by an investigator with Mercy For Animals at an Ohio dairy farm reveals shocking, malicious cruelty to calves and cows. The video, recorded between April and May, 2010, shows dairy farm workers beating cows in the face with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks, breaking their tails, and punching, throwing, and kicking calves.

Find out what you can do to help at:
http://mercyforanimals.org/ohdairy/

News Link: http://www.mfablog.org/study-number-of-vegans-in-britain-up-360

Puppies dumped in a box outside San Antonio ACS, investigators need help

“Somebody must know who these puppies belong to, imagine if they had died from the cold; could you live with that on your conscience? If they have done it once, they will do it again…please help find those born without a heart & make them pay! Everybody knows there are charity’s that will take your dogs if you can’t care for them. To simply leave them in a box outside a shelter isn’t good enough, they could have died due to weather conditions; it’s just a cowardly way out, for someone who doesn’t give a SxxT about living sentient beings…& it makes me so fxxxxxg mad!!

By Sharon Ko, KENS 53:23 p.m. CST January 24, 2015

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Animal cruelty investigators are asking for the public’s help to find the person responsible for dumping puppies outside Animal Care Services.

Friday morning, a veterinary technician discovered the puppies in a cardboard box with a plastic bag tied around it. ACS named them the seven dwarfs after the Snow White fairytale.

“Leaving them outside, unattended, and nobody is around. And the weather conditions are bad where they could potentially die,” said Audra Houghton, ACS field operation supervisor.

ACS asks anyone who has information about the person who left the animals to contact the organization at (210) 207-4PET (4738).(Photo: KENS 5)

In 2014, ACS issued more than 5,000 citations for animal cruelty and sent 42 cases to the district attorney‘s office. Animal cruelty investigators said San Antonio can do better. They said it comes down to public education.

“That’s probably what the biggest issue is. We have owners who can’t necessarily afford to care for their pets and don’t think they can afford to. Those are all things that can be remedied. So our officers try very hard to educate the public,” said Houghton

Abandoning animals is considered a misdemeanor with a four thousand dollar fine and up to a year in jail. The puppies appear to be two-month old Spaniel blends. ACS says the puppies are not old enough to be adopted yet. ACS asks anyone who has information about the person who left the animals to contact the organization at (210) 207-4PET (4738).

News Link:–http://www.kvue.com/story/news/state/2015/01/24/puppies-dumped-in-a-box-outside-acs-investigators-need-help/22279603/

Graphic Video: California Towns Ban Bullhooks For Elephants

 “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.

“(That) will be the last time we will be in Oakland because we can’t perform without the elephants,” said Stephen Payne, spokesman for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

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.”

News Link:-http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20141219/business/141218357/

“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:

• Do Elephants Really Have Exceptional Memories?
• The Elephant Condemned to Death by Hanging
• 12 Interesting Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Rhinoceroses
• How the Sun Burns Your Skin and How Sunscreen Prevents This
• Why Skin Wrinkles in Water

Bonus Elephant Facts

• Elephants can be either “right-handed” or “left-handed,” and this is often shown by greater wear on one tusk as opposed to the other. Dogs and Cats are also often right or left “handed”.
• 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

News Link with more interesting facts about elephants:–http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/07/skin-african-elephant/

Graphic Media: Mercy For Animals – Ducks In Despair, Secret Video Exposes Horrific Animal Abuse at Duck Factory Farm

“PLEASE SIGN THE PLEDGE BELOW…THIS IS HORRIFIC!!!”

Dynamic World of Ducks

Ducks are friendly animals who prefer to spend their days swimming in lakes or ponds. At night, ducks will sleep in groups called paddlings. Cleanliness is extremely important to ducks, who will spend hours grooming and preening their feathers and keeping their nests free of waste and garbage.

A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation at one of the largest duck factory farms in the country has exposed rampant abuse and neglect of these gentle birds.

HORRIFIC!!

An MFA investigator working at Reichardt Duck Farm in California documented:

• Baby ducklings having the tips of their beaks burned with red-hot metal
• Ducks suffering from illness and injuries without proper veterinary care
• Birds trapped in or under the wire cage flooring left to slowly suffer and die
• Ducks having their throats cut while still conscious and able to feel pain

Following the undercover investigation, MFA immediately alerted law enforcement authorities to violations of California’s anti-cruelty laws and presented them with a detailed legal complaint and meticulously compiled evidence of the violations. The evidence demonstrated an ongoing pattern of cruelty, neglect, and needless suffering.

Perhaps the worst abuse factory-farmed ducks are forced to endure is life without access to water for swimming or bathing. As waterfowl, ducks evolved to spend most of their time in ponds or lakes. In fact, ducks require pools of water to maintain proper health and to regulate their body temperatures.

At Riechardt Duck Farm and most duck factory farms, these semi-aquatic animals are forced to spend their entire lives on barren, wire mesh flooring. Since their fragile legs were not meant for standing or walking for extended periods of time, let alone their entire lives, many factory-farmed ducks develop crippling leg deformities and injuries, such as “bumble foot,” a painful inflammatory infection of the bottoms of their feet.

Without access to water, ducks become stressed and start to exhibit abnormal behaviors, such as head shaking and excessive feather preening. Unable to properly clean themselves, factory-farmed ducks often develop infections and painful eye diseases that can lead to blindness. Sadly, the first and only pool of water factory-farmed ducks will see is the electrified bath as they are hanging upside down about to have their throats cut open at the slaughterhouse.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. And you can help change it. As MFA continues to expose the unconscionable cruelties inherent in factory farming, and to diligently pursue justice by aiding prosecutions of animal abusers, consumers still hold the greatest power of all to end the needless suffering and death of farmed animals by adopting a compassionate vegan diet.

SIGN THE PLEDGE…News Link:-http://www.mercyforanimals.org/ducks/#petition

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED

 

Published on 22 Oct 2014

Like chickens and turkeys, factory-farmed ducks are subjected to horrific abuse from the time they hatch until they are violently killed at the slaughterhouse. A new Mercy For Animals investigation at one of the nation’s largest duck factory farms exposes sickening cruelty and criminal neglect of these gentle birds. Take action at http://www.MercyForAnimals.org/Ducks

Man accused of stalking girlfriend, killing her dog, then feeding it her….is out of jail, free on Bail!!

September 18, 2014 – Penny Eims, a lifelong animal lover, has dedicated the past 4 years to a large, non-profit dog rescue in Washington. Her experiences include fostering, writing web content, creating dog biographies, pet memorials and contributing to rescue newsletters.

According to Wednesday’s KRCR TV News, a Redding, California, man who is accused of attacking his girlfriend, killing her dog and then feeding the dog to the woman, is free on bail.

Last week, 34-year-old Ryan Watenpaugh was arrested on multiple charges, including stalking, animal cruelty, domestic violence…this Wednesday, after posting bail, he was freed from jail. Watenpaugh allegedly stalked his girlfriend and killed her small Pomeranian, “Bear,” and then cooked and served the dog’s meat to his unwitting, now “ex” girlfriend.

SICK POS!!!!

The disturbing incident allegedly took place during a brief reconciliation in September – after the alleged meal, Watenpaugh sent a text message to the woman asking her how her dog tasted. Later, he came to her house and left a bag on her front porch which contained the dog’s paws.

Watenpaugh has been ordered to stay away from his estranged girlfriend; he is scheduled to be back in court on September 23.

Prior story about this situation here. Sept 12th 2014

A Shasta County, California, man is accused of a shocking, almost unbelievable act of cruelty which has resulted in his arrest and a charge of animal cruelty and stalking, reported Friday’s ABC News 7. On Thursday, authorities arrested 34-year-old Ryan Watenpaugh who has been accused of killing a small dog and feeding the dog’s meat to his girlfriend.

Watenpaugh’s former girlfriend claims that she was assaulted by Watenpaugh on August 4 – though she managed to escape from her Redding home, her dog, a Pomeranian named “Bear,” was left behind and was missing by the time that she came back home.

According to the Merced Sun Star, the couple briefly reconciled in September and Watenpaugh cooked a meal for his girlfriend – this past weekend, he allegedly sent her a text and asked “how her dog tasted.” A few days later, the woman heard a vehicle outside of her home and she claims to have spotted Watenpaugh walking to her door carrying something; she later found a bag with her dog’s paws inside.

Police arrested and charged Watenpaugh for stalking, animal cruelty, domestic violence and false imprisonment; he is being held in jail on $250,000 bond. Further weapons charges may be forth-coming after authorities found an AK-47 assault rifle and several high-capacity magazines at Watenpaugh’s home.

Watenpaugh has denied that he cooked the dog and served the meat to his estranged girlfriend, but he has not denied leaving the dog paws at her home, or the disturbing text messages

News Links

1. http://www.examiner.com/article/man-accused-of-stalking-girlfriend-and-killing-her-dog-is-out-of-jail?CID=examiner_alerts_article
2. http://www.examiner.com/article/man-accused-of-killing-girlfriend-s-dog-and-then-feeding-it-to-her

Related articles

• Man accused of killing girlfriend’s dog and then feeding it to her (examiner.com)
• Man Accused of Feeding Girlfriend Her Own Dog (kktv.com)
• Man accused of cooking dog, feeding it to ex-girlfriend (wcti12.com)
• Man allegedly cooked dog, fed it to ex-girlfriend (newsday.com)
• Man allegedly cooked dog, fed it to ex-girlfriend (sfgate.com)

Police: Man dragged dogs with car, rope tied around their necks

“Sorry, don’t buy it, owner “William Wilkinson” said he put a rope around necks of dogs; but didn’t realise it would strangle them?? WTF…the word thick, stupid & irresponsible, come to hand! The guy shouldn’t be allowed to own such sentient beings, if he doesn’t realise rope, when pulled tight, around a neck; strangles!!!”

Updated: 3:52 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014 | Posted: 1:23 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014

WAYNE TOWNSHIP, Pa. —

A 59-year-old man is accused of tying rope around the necks of two dogs and dragging them by the hitch of his car last month in Wayne Township.

According to police, officers were called to the area of Dewey Avenue on July 27 for the report of a man dragging dogs with a rope using his vehicle.

A responding officer reported that he found the two dogs badly injured with multiple gashes. The ropes were still around both dogs’ necks.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, the dogs’ owner, William Wilkinson, told police the dogs got out of his yard while he was at the doctors.

The affidavit said Wilkinson said he couldn’t find anyone to help him when he located the dogs, so he tied the rope around the dogs and traveled about 2 mph with them tied to the hitch.

At one point, according to affidavit, Wilkinson said he stopped to give one of the dogs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Police talked with a witness who said he saw the dogs being dragged so he raced in to help. The witness told police he noticed one of the dogs was not breathing so he got a knife from his truck to cut the rope.

According to the affidavit, the witness told police he couldn’t get his fingers under the rope because it was so tight. The witness said Wilkinson eventually resuscitated the dog.

The witness then called police, who came to the scene. The affidavit said Wilkinson told officers dragging the dogs was an accident, and he didn’t know the rope would strangle them.

The dogs were taken to a veterinarian and are currently in an unspecified safe location.

Copy of Video link File:-http://www.wpxi.com/videos/news/police-say-man-tied-rope-around-dogs-neck-dragged/vCpx3f/

Channel 11’s Jennifer Tomazic is working on uncovering more information about this story. Look for her full report later tonight on Channel 11 News at 5.

News Link:-http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/police-man-dragged-dogs-car-rope-tied-around-their/ng9m2/

Related articles

• Woman accused of dragging dog with truck arrested after missing court (kens5.com)

The Biggest Scandal In Modern Pig Farming? FARMAGEDDON – Solutions and Survivors

“Please sign this petition, We have to keep the public updated on animal welfare issues. But with the AG- Gag Laws trying to be introduced to protect those who are blatantly flaunting the law; it’s hard to know what or where to turn to next.  Please sign the petition here or further down.”

News Link & Petition:–http://action.ciwf.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=119&ea.campaign.id=20836&ea.tracking.id=2d57aea1

“We have to be the voice of the voiceless & ensure laws put in place to protect them; are in use!”

“YOU The PUBLIC have a voice, if you eat meat, don’t you want it to come from healthy farms, where the animals are cared for as they should be.? There are no excuses as you can see in the second video…but farmers cut corners to produce meat cheaply…would you honestly want to eat the meat that came from ill, diseased or filthy animals fed with slop??”

“Every time you open the door to one of these farms, you tell yourself: ‘it will be better than the last. They can’t all be ignoring the law, they can’t all be inflicting such misery.’ But then you see the pigs, and realise the scale of the suffering. It breaks your heart.”

Compassion’s Head of Investigations.

We have created a short video to summarise the findings of our investigation. Please help us to protect the pigs by watching it and sharing it as widely as possible.

The biggest scandal in modern pig farming?

Published on 23 Oct 2013

Much of the EU pig industry is completely ignoring basic welfare laws — leading to the suffering of millions of pigs. Compassion in World Farming has pulled together evidence from across Europe — join us in standing up for pig welfare by signing the petition: http://www.ciwf.org/EUpigvideo

Last year Compassion visited 45 pig farms across the EU. We went south to Italy and Spain; south-east to Cyprus; west to Ireland; and east to Poland and the Czech Republic. On every single farm we found the laws put in place to protect pig welfare were being flouted – the suffering was hard to witness.

And it doesn’t stop there.

We believe aspects of the Pigs Directive are being blatantly ignored all across the EU, inflicting illegal cruelty on millions of intelligent and sensitive animals. There are over 140 million pigs in the EU at any one time. Sometimes the scale of the challenge we are facing seems overwhelming.

But we have good news. The response to our petition has been amazing. It is the fastest growing petition in Compassion’s history; please help us keep up the momentum.

Take action

• Sign the petition:-http://action.ciwf.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=119&ea.campaign.id=20836&ea.tracking.id=1174f49c&utm_campaign=pigs&utm_source=shared&utm_medium=link
• Take action on illegal sow stalls
• Call on the Irish Agriculture Minister to improve conditions for Ireland’s pigs
• See Hope in London and sign the petition in person

FARMAGEDDON – Solutions and Survivors

Published on 20 Feb 2014

An alternative to the Californian mega dairy.

Humane, sustainable dairy farming can and does exist in California! In this film, Philip visits Strauss dairy whose organic dairy herd graze on pasture and are treated as much more than just units of production.

Over a three-year period Philip Lymbery (CEO of Compassion in World Farming) has travelled the world bearing witness to the hidden cost of cheap meat and the devastating impact of factory farming — on people, animals and our planet.

The findings of this journey are brought together for the very first time in Farmageddon (published by Bloomsbury).

Farmageddon is now available to order online and in all good bookshops: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/14…

Help us stop factory farming. Join Compassion in World Farming today: http://www.raw.info/farmageddon

Related articles

• Five Workers at Wyoming Premium Farms Convicted of Animal Cruelty following Undercover Investigation
• Animal Abuse Persists At Some Meat Plants
• ALDF: Taking Ag Gag to Court, Please Act Now
• Emily Deschanel’s PETA Ad Targets Troubling Dairy Farm Practices (Video)
• Animal Welfare Groups Plan Suit in Response to USDA Decision to Support the Slaughter of Horses for Human Consumption

Complaints Filed Against Veterinarian for the California Rodeo Salinas

August 22, 2013 Conflict of interest cited as motivating factor for false reporting/non-treatment of injured animals.

Watch the video showing the injured animals at the 2013 rodeo HERE

SHARK has filed two complaints with the Veterinary Medical Board of California against Tim Eastman, the veterinarian of record for the California Rodeo Salinas. The first complaint deals with his apparent underreporting of the number of injured animals, while the second deals with his lack of care for those same injured animals.

A steer that was trampled to death at the California Rodeo Salinas

In his report of injuries that is mandated by state law, Eastman stated that only three animals were injured. SHARK, however, video-documented twenty-three animals that had been injured during the rodeo. A video showing each of these injured animals has been published on YouTube.

California law (4830.8 of the Business and Professions Code) states that,“attending or on-call veterinarians at a rodeo event are required to report to the Veterinary Medical Board any animal injury at the event requiring veterinary treatment within 48 hours of the conclusion of the rodeo.”

On the California Veterinary Medical Board website it states that “Anyone who witnesses or believes that a licensed veterinarian or unlicensed person’s behaviour or activities may cause harm (or the potential for harm) to animal patients or may be illegal, can file a complaint.” 

Another animal injured at the rodeo

If Eastman allowed up to twenty animals who suffered visible injuries to go untreated, then his behavior caused them harm. If he did treat the animals, then his filing with the California Veterinary Medical Board was false. Either way, we believe he violated the law.

SHARK has also discovered that Eastman’s ties to the rodeo may have played a significant role in him wanting to protect the public image of the rodeo by downplaying the cruelty present at the rodeo. According to the California Rodeo, Inc.’s 2011 IRS  form 990, Eastman was not only listed as being on the Board of Directors, but that he had family members on the Board as well. The document can be downloaded HERE.

Tim Eastman, Board Director and Veterinarian for the California Rodeo Salinas, seems to have cared more about the well-being of the rodeo’s public image than about the suffering of nearly two-dozen animals. That’s the brutal nature of rodeo. It is long past time that the veterinarians who whitewash rodeo cruelty are held accountable for their actions.

The two complaints can be viewed on the following links:

http://www.sharkonline.org/images/handouts/vetcomplaint.pdf

Click to access vetcomplaint2.pdf

News Link:-http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=fe819b23916cc9824726717ab&id=b268b5e13f&e=3c7db98f6d

Salinas Rodeo Vet Mis-Represents Injuries

Published on 16 Aug 2013

California law requires that rodeo injuries must be reported to the California Veterinary Medical Board within 48 hours of the rodeo. Rodeo Veterinarian Tim Eastman reported THREE injuries.

So why did SHARK cameras document TWENTY-THREE apparent injuries?

The following are also at the same link:–http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=fe819b23916cc9824726717ab&id=b268b5e13f&e=3c7db98f6d

• Multiple Violations of Illinois Humane Law at Barnyard Scramble
• Oregon Rodeo so Violent, YouTube Bans Children from Watching it

SHARK Calls on County Commissioners to Age-Restrict Future Rodeo Events

On July 13, 2013, SHARK videotaped a horse tripping event held at the Harney County Fairgrounds in Burns, Oregon. On August 3, 2013, SHARK published a video exposing multiple acts of horses having their legs roped and then crashing to the ground. The horses often struggled terribly to get back up.

Horse Tripping Abuse in Harney County, Oregon

Published on 3 Aug 2013

Again, and in spite of rodeo thugs’ attempts to stop us (that will be another video), SHARK filmed brutal horse tripping in Oregon.

The only thing this video shows are horses being hurt at a public event. That the largest video sharing website in the world has declared that that footage is so disturbing that children shouldn’t see it fully exposes how violent and inappropriate rodeos are. They are not family entertainment. They are modern gladiatorial events where rodeo thugs brutalize innocent animals for the crowd’s pleasure.

• Local Activist Gets Home Depot to Withdraw Support for Rodeo
• Bull Shot After Escaping Rodeo

Kindest Regards,
Steve Hindi and Your SHARK Team

“Kindness and compassion towards all living beings is a mark of a civilized society.  Racism, economic deprival, dog fighting and cock fighting, bullfighting and rodeos are all cut from the same fabric: violence. Only when we have become nonviolent towards all life will we have learned to live well ourselves.” – Cesar Chavez, civil rights and labor leader, founder of the United Farm Workers

Link Including other violations:-http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=fe819b23916cc9824726717ab&id=b268b5e13f&e=3c7db98f6d

Dog With Gang Tattoo Rescued In Los Angeles

“WTF…I’m stuck for words; how could anyone torture a young pup by tattooing him? I suppose these gangs are used to violence & murder etc. was the dog destined to be used as another tool of aggression? It obviously wasn’t vicious enough for their gang; bloody knob heads! Thank God he was thrown out like trash, tied to a tree & rescued; he could so easily have been killed & buried. Perhaps one of the gang actually had a heart & couldn’t kill Petey, whatever it was; I’m so pleased he was rescued”!

Petey is a pit bull that has undergone trauma that no puppy should have to endure. Found abandoned and tied to a pole a woman came to his rescue and brought him to ROMP Rescue where they discovered that Petey’s underside was covered with a gang tattoo.

Petey was found about a month ago tied to a pole outside a doughnut shop in Lomita, California. The woman who found him called police for help, but help never came.

So she provided the dog with food and water. When at the end of the day no one had come to help she took him and home and to a veterinarian to be checked out.

“He was crying,” said Randy with ROMP Rescue. “She saw him and she called the police and they said they would call animal control. Neither one ever showed up.”

The woman was unable to keep Petey permanently so she reached out to ROMP Rescue and Randy came to take Petey.

Once back at ROMP he noticed markings on Petey’s belly and thought he might have ringworm. When he shaved Petey’s belly he was shocked by what he found.

A tattoo that lists the name of a “set” of a Los Angeles-area gang covers most of Petey’s underside.

“I’m speechless,” said Randy. “I can’t understand why they would do that. The pain involved is obviously more than any puppy should have to endure.”

ROMP Rescue fears the tattoo isn’t the only pain Petey has endured. Although he is great around people he gets angry and nervous around other dogs. They hope to find him a home in the future, but for now he’s not ready for one.

“His legs just shake,” said Randy. “He’s afraid of the world.”

A fund has been set up for Petey’s training and care. Donations can be made here.

Video & News Link:–http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2013/07/dog-with-gang-tattoo-rescued-in-los-angeles/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LifeWithDogs+%28Life+With+Dogs%29

Nevada County Fair Board Votes To Retain Contract For Elephant Rides

“Another email that warrants being shared, so please send to friends etc.”

The Nevada County Fair board of directors failed to do the right thing a second time, by voting, 8-1, at its meeting on July 16, 2013, to retain its contract for elephant rides. More than 70 people testified for more than three hours, with about 75% of the speakers opposing the rides. Only five of those who spoke out against the rides were not Nevada County residents.

PAWS‘ director of science, research and advocacy, Catherine Doyle, presented testimony at the meeting, including a letter signed by elephant experts and conservationists from around the world who oppose using elephants for rides. 

The Fair board set the tone of the meeting, when it stated that it would only consider new evidence on the topics of safety, the use of animals in entertainment, and the reputation of the company providing the rides, Have Trunk Will Travel.

It was obvious that the board had little intention of changing its position, and it was made clear that the number of people opposing the rides would not be a factor in their decision.

Sign Petitions Here Please:-

• http://www.change.org/petitions/nevada-county-fairgrounds-please-choose-to-not-have-elephant-rides-at-the-2013-fair
• https://secure3.convio.net/bfusa/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=809&JServSessionIdr004=ts7aw6twg3.app332a
• http://www.thepetitionsite.com/707/325/892/keep-elephants-out-of-the-nevada-county-fair/
• http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/820/465/716/

 In the end, the Fair board chose to dismiss undercover video of Have Trunk Will Travel caught by Animal Defenders International that shows the company’s owner and employees viciously striking elephants with bullhooks and using an illegal electric shock device during training.

To us at PAWS, it is unfathomable that anyone could watch the video and not find the treatment of the elephants reprehensible. 

“The board looked long and hard at the video and the testimony,” said Fair board president Tom Browning. “We feel they (Have Trunk Will Travel) have a very good operation…this is the mindset of the board.”  “Bull shit…they obviously didn’t see the video I did, of baby elephants trunk being held & pulled to make him conform to commands. They didn’t see an electric pod being used on an elephant who screamed out in pain, as she was forced to stand on her head! This is appalling, this board is anything but fair!”

Training for rides involves violently breaking and training elephants, and controlling them

Trained by force, fear & abuse

through dominance and fear of pain for the rest of their lives. Handlers use the bullhook – a steel rod resembling a fireplace poker – to routinely prod, hook and strike elephants so they comply with every command.

Not only did the board reject clear-cut evidence of abusive treatment, it failed to address the fact that the Fair lacks an emergency preparedness plan specific to an elephant escape. PAWS had requested various safety documents pertaining to emergency procedures, which the Fair was unable to produce.

Though many members of the Fair board claimed to have researched elephant rides, they opted to accept only information that supported their already established position, and the information that members presented was often inaccurate.

PAWS is working together with local organizations to plan an educational public demonstration when the Fair takes place in Grass Valley, California, on August 7-11.This will be a peaceful protest that is suitable for all ages. We urge you to attend (invite family and friends!) and show your support and compassion for the elephants. 

In the coming weeks, we’ll be providing more details on our efforts, so stay tuned. Mark those dates on your calendar now. The fairgrounds are located approximately 70 miles north of Sacramento.

Website link:–http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=68strdcab&v=001TTzY1hjm9FiiViisKsGk63YMz9RaRLjYqZrbNYAmP8BG_Q6R4ioqMgHLE6AaNiugYVN4nNi3vXuZJ-v46hq6JnIkVaXtq_2lnf87vEmeR33TN3M7FTbaY5LVmdF1ZKUvGSLoTJLSKHEU3QrnjTJlKbV2NzAVluKIP9MPXxZCvkiG4tsSdm4OuU_M8rTJH1bHpCwLB5HzEJ80lhzZtfhv1g1PIoxgeQKnIfUQF2cxwIQ0miE9qzc5Iw%3D%3D

Letter signed by elephant experts and conservationist:-

July 12, 2013
Statement by elephant professionals in opposition to elephant rides PAWS has invited professionals in science, conservation and elephant care to join us in endorsing the following statement that addresses the use of
elephants for rides.

We, the undersigned, are opposed to the use of elephants for rides at county fairs, carnivals, circuses, zoos and other recreational activities, for the following reasons:

• It is wrong to allow our children to think that elephants used for rides are living an acceptable life, when evidence for the opposite is overwhelming.
• Reducing elephants to the equivalent of a carnival ride distorts the public’s understanding of elephants and of their endangered status in the wild.
•  Elephants are highly intelligent, curious and socially complex animals who possess a range of emotions, and are empathetic and self-aware. It is appalling to see these astonishing animals reduced to walking in small circles for hours as they give rides.
• Elephants used for rides were traumatically taken from their mothers as calves. Female elephants, those typically used for rides, would naturally remain with their families for life.
• Elephants used for rides are deprived of what is natural to them, including the ability to move freely in a vast natural environment, to be part of a family and extended social network, and to have choice and control over their lives.
• Elephants are wild animals. They are not domesticated, so they retain their innate wild natures, which are often brutally suppressed.
• The extreme training that is necessary to dominate and control elephants for providing customers with “safe” rides is abusive. It is well documented that elephants are trained to comply with commands through use of the menacing weapon called the bullhook and fear of painful punishment.
• Elephants used for rides are under a great deal of stress from being held in conditions to which they are unsuited, including prolonged chaining, confinement in cramped trucks and pens, extensive travel, and ongoing threat of punishment.
• There are many documented incidents in which elephants have “snapped,” and have injured or killed people.
• The interests and well-being of elephants used for rides will always be secondary to the profits the company needs to maintain itself.
• Elephant rides do not contribute to the conservation of elephants, or to an awareness of the plight of wild elephants.
• On the contrary, elephant rides may divert funds from genuine, and deeply important, conservation work.
•  Conservation is a noble cause and it is demeaned by unethical companies that use it as a public relations ploy to distract the public from this inhumane, unsafe and outdated use of elephants.
•  It is wrong to keep alive an outdated practice that we know is brutal for elephants.

Given current knowledge, it is unjustifiable to use elephants for recreational rides, and it is wrong to allow elephants to suffer just so they can entertain us.

The times are changing. More and more county fairs and other community events are eschewing elephant
rides due to public safety and humane concerns.

We advise event organizers to reject elephant rides, and we strongly urge the public to refrain from riding elephants, to oppose elephant rides if they are proposed for a community event, and to support legitimate conservation organizations that are making a real difference for elephants.

Sincerely,

Ed Stewart President and Co-founder, PAWS

Cynthia Moss, Director, Amboseli Trust for Elephants (Kenya)

Joyce H. Poole, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Co-Director, ElephantVoices

Petter Granli, Co-Founder, Co-Director, ElephantVoices

Peter Stroud, Independent Zoological Consultant, Member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature/Species Survival Commission Asian Elephant Specialist Group

Phil Ensley, DVM, DACZM, Former associate veterinarian with the San Diego Zoo

W. Keith Lindsay, Ph.D., Conservation Biologist & Member, Scientific Advisory Committee, Amboseli
Elephant Research Project (Kenya)

David Hancocks, Former Director at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona, Seattle’s
Woodland Park Zoo, Australia’s Werribee Open Range Zoo and Melbourne Zoo

Scott Blais, International Elephant Consultant

Carol Buckley, founder and CEO of Elephant Aid International and founding director of The lephant Sanctuary in Tennessee

John W. Freeze, Retired Animal Husbandry Supervisor (Elephants), North Carolina Zoological Park

Gary Kuehn, DVM, Former veterinarian with the Los Angeles Zoo Henry Melvyn Richardson, DVM

Will Travers OBE, CEO The Born Free Foundation, UK and Born Free USA

Margaret Whittaker, Animal Behavior Consultant, Active Environments, Inc.

Letter Link:-http://www.pawsweb.org/documents/PROFESSIONALS_LETTER_RIDES.pdf?utm_source=Fair+board+votes+to+keep+contract&utm_campaign=UA-16696807-1&utm_medium=email

PDF Document:–

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2013
CONTACT: Catherine Doyle, PAWS Director of Science, Research & Advocacy,
cdoyle@pawsweb.org
Nevada County Fair Lacks Sufficient Safety Precautions for Elephant Rides San Andreas, Calif. –

The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) contends that the Nevada County Fair does not have adequate information or an action plan to protect the public from the serious risks associated with elephant rides.
The controversial rides will be offered for the first time at this year’s Fair, August 7-11, in Grass Valley, California.

“The Fair has been lulled into complacency by false assurances that elephant rides are safe, when that is the farthest thing from the truth,” said PAWS president, Ed Stewart, who has more than 32 years of experience caring for elephants. “Our intention is not to discomfit the Fair board, but to inform the public that elephant rides pose a serious risk, and that there is insufficient preparation on the part of the Fair should an incident occur.”

PAWS recently filed a California Public Records Act request, and learned that the Fair lacks key information necessary to protect public safety.

For example, there is no emergency plan that is specific to an elephant escape, a situation for which most law enforcement agencies are unprepared and unequipped. In fact, the Fair’s evacuation plan calls for preventing people from entering buildings, the very places that might provide safe haven during an escape.

Other safety and security documents the Fair was unable to produce were:

• An elephant escape and recapture plan provided by Have Trunk Will Travel, the Southern California company providing the rides – Without a plan, there would be no communication and coordination between the elephant ride provider and the local first responders in the event of an escape.
•  Have Trunk Will Travel’s protocol for securing elephants when they are not giving rides, during the daytime and overnight – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cited the company last year for failure to safely handle an elephant at a county fair in South Dakota. The elephant was left unmonitored while she was rested from giving rides, creating a risk to the public.
• A history of Tuberculosis test results for all elephants owned by Have Trunk Will Travel, including those to be used for rides –Elephants can carry tuberculosis, which is transmissible to humans. Due to the prevalence of the disease in elephants and risks to public health, the USDA requires that all exhibitors test their elephants annually for tuberculosis.

In addition, the Fair did not produce veterinary records for the elephants to be used for rides, which would show whether they are suffering from diseases, such as arthritis and foot infections, commonly caused by inadequate captive conditions. Chaining and cramped confinement – during travel to the Fair and at the Fair – would exacerbate these conditions and negatively impact the elephants’ welfare.

PAWS has long monitored and documented the numerous incidents involving elephants used for rides that have resulted in human injuries and deaths. In 2000, PAWS co-founder, the late Pat Derby, testified before a Congressional committee on this serious safety issue.

“We are urging the Nevada County Fair to cancel the elephant rides because they are unsafe, outdated and inhumane,” said Stewart. “For over a century the Fair has been successful without elephant rides – and the serious risk and controversy that come along with them.”

Above PDF Document:-http://www.pawsweb.org/documents/PR_NCF_SAFETY_ISSUESx.pdf?utm_source=Fair+board+votes+to+keep+contract&utm_campaign=UA-16696807-1&utm_medium=email