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Graphic Media: TweetStorm And Petitions To Help Close THE 2015 DOG AND CAT EATING FESTIVAL

January 20, 2015

preciousjules1985 Action Alert, Animal Emotions Behaviour & Instincts, Animal Severely Beaten, Animal slaughter, Animal Torture, animals, Cat & Dog Meat Trade, China, Cold Calculated Heartless Bastards, Consumer Goods, Petitions to sign please, Twitterstorm Academic publishing, Adobe Illustrator, Adoption, Alexandria, Allstate, Alt-Tab, and paste, Animal shelter, Animal welfare, Bronze Age, China, Computer monitor, copy, Cut, Dog, Dog meat, Facebook, Humane Society International, Ilsan, Mid-Atlantic states, Seoul, South Korea, Twitter, United States, Virginia Comments Off on Graphic Media: TweetStorm And Petitions To Help Close THE 2015 DOG AND CAT EATING FESTIVAL

Apologies for delay, no internet & usual pain!! POSTING FOR & ON BEHALF OF THE FOLLOWING TO BRING AWARENESS TO THIS HORRIFIC FESTIVAL (all material, sites & petitions copied with permission from #‎StopYuLin2015‬ Stop Yulin Dog & Cat Meat Festival 2015 – 停止榆林狗與貓肉節2015

**TEAM, WE ARE STEPPING UP THE ACTIONS!**

Today (1/19) we are asking you to push a little bit harder and write a letter to the Chinese government. We have put together a letter, kindly explaining our utter disgust at the YuLin dog and cat meat festival and also how tourism will be hit hard as word is spreading across the internet. We have translated the letter into Chinese as this will be most effective, the English version is for your reference only. Of course you are more than welcome to draft and mail your own letter!
You will need to copy and paste the letter into an email, remembering the add your name and address at the top and add your name, city, state, and country at the bottom.

Link to CHINESE letter: http://bit.ly/1CpW7pt

Link to letter in English/Dutch/German/Spanish (Ref only): http://bit.ly/1BQ5mBw

We thank you for your constant support and for taking this direct action to ‪#‎StopYuLin2015‬.

THIS IS VERY SIMPLE, YOU CAN HELP CLOSE THE 2015 DOG & CAT EATING FESTIVAL…BY DOING A TWEETSTORM – WEDNESDAY 21ST JANUARY

(Must be that date, do not use the #tag before the 21st)

21/01/2015 Tweets List to post on Twitter:-https://sites.google.com/site/12115stopyulin2015/

YOU CAN ALSO HELP BY SIGNING ALL THE PETITIONS BELOW.

Stop Yulin Dog & Cat Meat Festival 2015 – 停止榆林狗與貓肉節2015

STOP THE KILLING & EATING OF CATS & DOGS AT THE YULIN 2015 FESTIVAL

** A FRIENDLY REMINDER **For all those planners and organizers out there, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21ST, is the date for our next BIG tweet storm. Mark your calendars, set your alarms or put a post-it on your computer monitor. See the poster for the time schedule. If you’re not sure how to convert it to your time-zone, please leave us a message and one of us will get back to you.Also, if you are looking for additional ways to help us spread the word about Wednesday’s tweet storm, starting today (Monday), could you please tweet the following message to YOUR individual followers on your Twitter account, that would really help us create even more awareness.

Here’s the message to copy & paste to your Twitter followers:-

‪#‎StopYuLin2015‬ needs you. Pls join me on Wed.1/21 -help end the YuLin Dog Meat Festival. http://t.co/Y9PbVJyOnE RT!

Bringing a permanent end to this festival is going to take a global push and we have 3 months to work jointly letting YuLin city know that we don’t like what they’re doing to the cats & dogs in and around their city.

Stop Yulin Dog & Cat Festival 2015

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITIONS THEN TWEET THEM; SPREAD THEM FAR & WIDE

The last set of petitions & tweet links

Here is a list of the various levels of corruption I found connected to the festival:

*STOLEN PETS

“An animal rights lawyer in Beijing said that official claims that all dogs are bred by local dog farmers is false. An Xiang said according to research there are no such farms and that all dogs are abducted from the streets.”

(http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-dog-meat-festival-2014-10000-dogs-be-slaughtered-yulin-summer-solstice-celebration-1451869)

“It is thought most dogs are pets or strays abducted from streets. Vendors then buy them for around nine yuan (85p) and sold for 25 yuan. People who steal the dogs make the biggest profits of all, the news agency said.

”(http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-dog-meat-festival-2014-dogs-sold-85p-cooking-solistice-hotpot-1452814)

*CRIMINAL LAWS ARE BROKEN

“Some of the animal thieves broke Criminal Law using weapons to threaten residents to hand over their dogs,” Li said.

(http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-dog-meat-festival-2014-dogs-sold-85p-cooking-solistice-hotpot-1452814)

*MEAT NOT PROPERLY QUARANTINED

“Another risk factor highlighted is poor food safety. Liu Lang, director of the Beijing Small Animal Veterinary Association said butchers slaughtering the dogs are at risk of rabies, while the meat is not properly quarantined or inspected, increasing the chance of food safety problems.”

(http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-dog-meat-festival-2014-10000-dogs-be-slaughtered-yulin-summer-solstice-celebration-1451869)

“While a quarantine regulation on dogs and cats was introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture last year, meaning all cats and dogs had to be quarantined before transport, this is rarely observed, he added.”

(http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-dog-meat-festival-2014-dogs-sold-85p-cooking-solistice-hotpot-1452814)

*ILLEGAL SLAUGHTERHOUSES

“Li said there were no dog farms or slaughterhouses that safely produce dog meat: “I was told there are four major workshops that produce dog meat in the city. I visited them and found all of them had no business licences or certificates.”

(http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-dog-meat-festival-2014-dogs-sold-85p-cooking-solistice-hotpot-1452814)

*UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO PROTECT ONE GROUP BUT NOT THE OTHER

“Medical staff have been banned from attending the dog meat festival by health authorities from three local hospitals: “According to the directive issued by higher authorities, hospital staff are prohibited from having dog meat at food stalls, restaurants or hotels in Yudong and Fumian districts,” the notice read.”

(http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-dog-meat-festival-2014-dogs-sold-85p-cooking-solistice-hotpot-1452814)

*HIDING THE FACTS/TRUTH

“According to South Morning China Post, local restaurants have been ordered to cover the word, dog, on signs to appease protesters: “Food safety authorities told us to change our signboards due to the objection of certain dog lovers,” staff members reportedly said.”

(http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-dog-meat-festival-2014-dogs-sold-85p-cooking-solistice-hotpot-1452814)

*LOCAL YULIN GOVERNMENT STILL CULPABLE*IT’S UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO NOT PROTECT YOUR CITIZENS“In Yulin, local authorities have stressed that they had no hand in organizing the controversial dog fest.

”(http://www.worldcrunch.com/china-2.0/china-traditional-dog-meat-recipes-v.-new-animal-rights-activism/animal-rights-animals-shark-fins-dog-pets-wildlife/c9s17554/#.VI1hztKG89l)

Conclusion: Corruption is flagrant and decimating China’s cats and dogs ruins China’s reputation, threatening their economy.

Conclusion: The YDMF is detrimental to the social and moral development of China’s citizens.

Conclusion: China needs to develop animal welfare laws and not use the YDMF to “clean-up” their stray cats and dogs.

Conclusion: Allowing the YDMF to continue, contravenes the Chinese Constitution and other laws and administrative regulations because every aspect of the YDMF is illegal and makes China look bad in the world’s eyes. There is more to this festival than China’s ability and freedom to eat cats and dogs and the false health benefits derived from part-taking in the consumption of cat and dog meat, but the festival enables corruption to run rampant throughout China and its bordering countries, like Vietnam.It is imperative to the people of China, specifically for the prosperity of their children, for the good of their social and moral development and the benefit of good health, that the local YuLin government be encouraged to cancel the festival.

Here is additional information on the YuLin Dog Meat Festival: http://bit.ly/166Svi2

Here is the link to our FB page: http://on.fb.me/1t1UxUR

News Link:–https://sites.google.com/site/newsletterstopyulin2015/

500 Likes For The YuLin You Tube Video

16 January

Tuesday, 1/13/2015 the “YuLin, Hell On Earth For Cats & Dog” You Tube video, demonstrating the cruelty cats and dogs go through prior to the festival, was posted.Today, 3 days later, it has been viewed 500 times. And the world does not like what it sees going on In China with the complete heartless exploitation of cats and dogs.Please stay with us as we continue to march on toward the June 21st festival date. Thank you for sharing the video. We all must continue creating awareness about this horrid festival.Collectively with our united international voices, we can #StopYuLin2015!!

Stop Yulin Dog & Cat Meat Festival 2015 – 停止榆林狗與貓肉節2015

Please don’t look away from our video. The cats and dogs of YuLin need our global voices to defend them from the slaughter.

We ask for your time, not your money. Won’t you please join our campaign to help end the intolerable suffering of the cats and dogs in YuLin, China?

PLEASE NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT

Published on 13 Jan 2015

The annual YuLin Summer Solstice Dog Eating Festival takes place on June 21st, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China.

This video demonstrates the cruelty cats and dogs go through prior to the festival. Their journey to the festival is wrought with much pain and agony. Because there are no animal welfare protection laws in China, saving them from the sordid dog meat trade (DMT) is difficult. The owners of stolen pets have no recourse either because laws are not broken.

Take action with us to help permanently remove cat and dog meat from the Yulin Festival in China.
Join us on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1t1UxUR for ways to get involved in preventing further torment.
You can also follow us on Twitter @StopYuin2015.

Stop Yulin Dog & Cat Meat Festival 2015 – 停止榆林狗與貓肉節2015

15 January at 00:21 · Edited

Good evening/morning to all our wonderful followers to ‪#‎StopYulin2015‬. As the countdown continues towards the June 21st deadline, and this past Tuesday tweet sheet being a huge success with 9719 tweets going out for all the dogs and cats that suffer, we thought we’d ask our followers to get involved in the creation of the monthly sheet!

We are asking for you to come up with amazing tweets and we will put them on the February 21st tweet storm sheet. Also, remember along with your tweet to include any pictures you would like added. All we ask is to please do not submitted any tweets threatening to boycott China or hate tweets. We must always remember the good people in China that are fighting for this cause along with us.

To those that have never used twitter, it’s restricted to 140 characters, a picture counts for 23 characters and don’t forget to add handles to any tweets you want to go to someone in specific.

We are inspired by all the wonderful people involved with helping to #StopYulin2015 and we know you can do this! We are excited to see what all of you come up with so please send your tweets to us in a direct message, all tweets are kept secret until the time of the storm :0 Just click on the Stop Yulin Dog & Cat Meat Festival 2015 link and it will take you to the Group page and you can direct message us there.

So get your thinking caps and your tweets on!! Deadline for tweets is February 1st and once again, a huge thank you for all your hard work in helping to stop the torture and suffering of these beautiful dogs and cats that are victims of this horrible festival.

NB We use a different # for each monthly storm to enhance chances of trending – for your submitted tweets use – #stopyulin2015 – however we will adjust that to our chosen # when inputting it into the tweetsheet. Thanks so much

News Link:–https://www.facebook.com/events/297433457123120/?ref=5

#stopYuLin2015 ‏@BanYULIN2015 10h10 hours ago@preciousjules2 HUGE success 🙂 & Friday Favour is out … https://m.facebook.com/707295279337186/photos/a.707766665956714.1073741828.707295279337186/795768007156579/?type=1&source=46&refid=17&notif_t=page_new_likes … TYSM ReTweet! X pic.twitter.com/iqJhbJsN7F

https://sites.google.com/site/newsletterstopyulin2015/

Forced Inbreeding and Bloody Battles—Killer Whales Live in Horror at Spanish Theme Park

July 4, 2013

preciousjules1985 Action Alert, Animal Abuse, Animal Behavior, Animal Breeders, Animal Cruelty, Animal Health & Welfare, Animal Trainers, Animal Welfare, animals, Animals in entertainment, Captive Breeding, Crimes Against Nature, Gross Neglect, Health and wellness, Marine Mammals, Sea Aquariums, SeaWorld, Whales, Wild Animals In Danger Humane Society International, Killer whale, Kohana, List of captive orcas, LoroParque, Morgan, SeaWorld, United States Comments Off on Forced Inbreeding and Bloody Battles—Killer Whales Live in Horror at Spanish Theme Park

“My apologies for these late posts” March 15, 2013 David Kirby

Attacks against low-ranking orcas are not only intolerable—they’re illegal. Will U.S. officials step in and save them?

The battle scars of Tekoa, a killer whale living at Loro Parque, a Spanish theme park. (Photo: timzimmermann.com)

Animal welfare advocates are desperately seeking U.S. government intervention in the case of seven Sea World-owned killer whales on “loan” at Loro Parque, a theme park in Spain’s Canary Islands.

Armed with photographic evidence showing at least two lower-ranking orcas raked with teeth marks, and a new, damning report from a leading whale scientist, advocates say the federal government must repatriate the animals back to the United States at once.

“The group of orcas held at Loro Parque is fundamentally dysfunctional and the trainers there are not experienced enough to recognize or address this. Remote oversight by SeaWorld has been insufficient to prevent systemic social problems within this group of animals,” Dr. Naomi Rose, senior scientist at Humane Society International, wrote last month to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which shares jurisdiction over captive marine mammals with the USDA.

“The situation at Loro Parque cannot safeguard the orcas’ well-being and once again, we urge you to compel SeaWorld to repatriate these animals,” Rose said in a letter cosigned by the Animal Welfare Institute and Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

The two low-ranking members of the artificial, dysfunctional pod at Loro Parque are routinely subjected to violent attacks, leaving deep scars etched in their skin that would be unthinkable among orcas in the natural environment, critics allege.

One victim is the young female Morgan, a wild orca who became lost off the Dutch coast and, following lengthy court battles, ended up in Tenerife.

“Since her transfer she has been brutally and continually attacked and is subjected to excessive sexual pressure from a male orca who she is often locked into the same tank with,” Dr. Ingrid Visser of New Zealand’s Orca Research Trust wrote of Morgan in the report, which has been submitted to USDA and NOAA as evidence in the repatriation effort.

Trainers at the park show “a clear lack of empathy for this animal,” Visser said, “who ignore her calls for attention and her cries for help and disregard aggressive attacks on her by the other animals.”

Visser observed Morgan for 77 hours over eight days, and witnessed an “unprecedented 91 aggression events” involving the newcomer, who arrived in 2011. “Morgan, was attacked, on average, more than once an hour,” she wrote, noting that a similar study of another captive orca “recorded an aggressive episode only once every 234 hours.”

In other words, Morgan is “over than 100 times more likely to be attacked at Loro Parque than the orca in the other study,” Visser said. Morgan has suffered more than 320 puncture and bite marks (all documented by photographs), she added. “This does not include the damage she has self-inflicted from abnormal and repetitive behaviours such as banging her head on the concrete tanks.”

The other abused orca is Tekoa, who Visser once called in court documents “the most attacked and bitten orca in the world-wide captive industry.”

The young, confounding life of Tekoa has never been easy, and he has been both perpetrator and victim of serious attacks that simply do not happen in the wild. But when one considers the messed up little society in which he has been forced to live, the aggression becomes easier to comprehend.

In 2006, Sea World sent four young whales, all born in captivity, to Loro Parque on a renewable 25-year loan in exchange for a percentage at the box-office and ownership of offspring produced at the park.

All four transplants, two males and two females, had already led lives that I described as “interrupted” in my book Death at SeaWorld. The females were Kohana, and Skyla. Both males are related to Skyla. Keto is a half-brother though their mother Kalina and the oldest and perhaps most dysfunctional of the quartet. But it’s the ravaged Tekoa, Skyla’s half-brother through Tilikum, who caught the attention of many advocates.

Tekoa was born in Orlando to an unstable mother named Taima, a bizarre hybrid of Icelandic mother and Pacific-transient father who could only be bred in captivity. Taima attacked her first-born and was equally aggressive with Tekoa. Mother and son were separated after Taima tried to kill him. In April 2004, Sea World sent Tekoa to San Antonio before “lending” him to Loro Parque in 2006.

Advocates were aghast at the trans-Atlantic arrangement. Killer whales, whether in the ocean or a crowded pool, are highly socialized animals who learn from elders about proper norms of behaviour. Mothers, grandmothers and older siblings keep youngsters in check, and extinguish outbursts of disharmony that disrupt cohesion and proper pod functioning.

“These whales are so young, without a normal upbringing, and now they’re in Spain together without any sort of adult orca supervision,” one observer said. “It’s like Lord of the Flies over there.”

The little dysfunctional family has grown recently.

In October 2010, the very young Kohana gave birth to a male calf, Adan, who she immediately rejected. Last August, she gave birth again, to a female named Victoria, who was also promptly rejected. Keto is the father of both, but as Elizabeth Batt pointed out at Digital Journal, he is a blood relative of Kohana, meaning she was bred twice “to her own uncle.”

Killer whale society is highly stable, though at Loro Parque, it seems to be anything but. Trainers have paid the price for this instability, but so have the orcas, especially the sub-dominant members of this matriarchal world.

Lowly Tekoa has borne much of the physical abuse, as evidenced by photos taken before and after his skin was covered in “rake marks” etched from the sharp conical teeth of tank-mates. Unlike the ocean, when an orca is attacked at Loro Parque, there is nowhere to escape, nowhere to hide.

This image, first published by journalist Tim Zimmermann, shows that Tekoa’s dorsal side is scarred, scraped and battered by teeth-marks inflicted by his tank-mates, some of whom are related to him, in Sea World’s tiny, inbred universe of captive orcas.

“Tekoa is definitely subordinate, although he is probably no longer the lowest in the hierarchy—Morgan and the two calves are in that position now,” Naomi Rose told TakePart. “In wild orca society, no one gets beat up like this.”

In the wild, offspring likely inherit their mother’s status, which along with age determines pecking order. Thus, “beating each other up doesn’t need to occur and doesn’t, occur,” Rose asserted. Calves might nip others out of “youthful ignorance and exuberance,” she said, and relatives sometimes show a few nicks.

Other nicks, scratches and scars “are probably inflicted when discipline is meted out within a maternal group,” Rose said. But those are minor wounds that only sometimes become permanent scars. “We never see this kind of mish-mash of scars and rake marks and wounds when photo-identifying a wild orca,” she said.

Ingrid Visser concurred. “In the wild, even these playful nips are exactly that: You don’t see the outright attacks like I’ve seen at Loro Parque.” She compared such aberrant activities to what takes place in prison, calling it “seriously aggressive behaviour, typically manifested on the lower individuals in the population,” as opposed to the “protective behaviour” of more “normal” societies.

The beat-up Tekoa is himself no stranger to displaying “seriously aggressive behaviour,” at least against people.

In October 2007, trainer Claudia Vollhardt was warming up with Tekoa when he became frustrated and took her arm into his mouth. Then he dove to the bottom. Tekoa held her underwater a moment, then dragged her to the surface. After escaping, even as Vollhardt lay injured and bleeding, Tekoa tried to lunge from the water at her. Her right lung was punctured and her forearm fractured into three pieces.

Suzanne Allee, a former Sea World employee who worked at Loro Parque, recalled that in the summer of 2007, “Tekoa was forced to perform while injured and bleeding after the supervisor lost control of Keto and he raced into the show pool and attacked Tekoa.” The supervisor ordered the show to go on, but “Claudia was the one who continued to perform with Tekoa,” Allee said. “I still believe Tekoa remembered this incident when he attacked her just a few months later.”

Both Tekoa and half-sister Sklya were banished from “water work” with trainers, due to aggressive unpredictability. Now, only Kohana and Keto could be trusted to swim with humans.

That illusion shattered on Christmas Eve, 2009, when Keto brutally rammed and killed trainer Alexis Martinez, a close friend of Orlando employee Dawn Brancheau, who’d spent time in Tenerife training trainers. Two months later, Brancheau was killed by Tekoa’s father, Tilikum.

Because these unstable creatures belong to SeaWorld, they still fall under the jurisdiction of the USDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Activists continue to lobby for action, but so far the feds refuse to intervene.

“We’re in touch with the U.S. regulatory authorities to pressure them to act under what we believe are their obligations under the law,” explained Courtney Vail of Whale and Dolphin Conservation. But the government has “put the onus on us to prove there are issues over there, and I think that Ingrid Visser’s eyewitness accounts, and these other photos, provide all the evidence they need to intervene,” Vail said. “We are awaiting their response.”

Meanwhile, she added, the Canary Island orcas are “beating each other up over there.”

Activists say the time to return these hapless whales to the United States is now, before more injuries and deaths occur. And though some might scoff at “repatriating” marine mammals, scientists like Rose take the idea quite seriously.

Rose noted that SeaWorld repatriated the orca Ikaika from Marineland Ontario after decrying his sub-par conditions in Canada. “Clearly the company is able and willing to relocate orcas when conditions at a present holding facility put them at risk,” she wrote, adding that, “Loro Parque and Sea World must act—if Sea World will not, NOAA must compel it to.”

News Link:–http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/03/14/activists-us-repatriate-seaworld-orcas-dysfunctional-spanish-tanks

TAKE THE PLEDGE:- Don’t the Ticket! Whales & Dolphins Shouldn’t Be in Captivity:- Please click link to sign :- http://www.takepart.com/actions/dont-buy-ticket-whale-show?cmpid=tp-ptnr-tab-d84909c52edcceb20c7bba62052b1b01

India Bans Testing of Cosmetics on Animals

June 29, 2013

preciousjules1985 Animal Abuse, Animal Cruelty, Animal Emotions Behaviour & Instincts, Animal Experiments, Animal Health & Welfare, animals Bureau of Indian Standards, Cruelty to animals, Crueltyfree, European Union, Humane Society International, India, Israel, Maneka Gandhi Comments Off on India Bans Testing of Cosmetics on Animals

India is the first country in South Asia to ban the testing of cosmetics and its ingredients on animals.

Alokparna Sengupta, Humane Society International (HSI)/India’s Be Cruelty-Free campaign manager, said: “This is a major victory for countless animals who will no longer be made to suffer, and it is a proud moment for India as it becomes the first country in South Asia to end cosmetics cruelty.”

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Cosmetics Sectional Committee, chaired by the Drugs Controller General of India and is in line with the European Union’s stand.

The decision follows appeals from various quarters, including that from the National Advisory Council Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and campaigner for animal rights Maneka Gandhi, to prevent cruelty to animals.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, India, has also been campaigning to end the testing of household products and their ingredients on animals.

Any cosmetic product which carries out animal testing will face action as per provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Animal Cruelty Act. Violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act by any person or corporate manager or owner is liable for punishment for a term which may extend from 3-10 years and shall also be liable to fine which could be Rs.500 to Rs.10,000, or with both.

Dressed as Easter bunnies, three members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India protest against the use of animals in painful and archaic cosmetics tests, near India Gate in New Delhi. File Photo: V.V. Krishnan

The use of modern non-animal alternative tests also becomes mandatory, replacing invasive tests on animals. This means that any manufacturer interested in testing new cosmetic ingredients or finished products must first seek the approval from India’s regulator Central Drug Standards Control Organisation. A manufacturer will be given approval to test only after complying with the BIS non-animal standards.

More than 1,200 companies around the world have banned all animal tests in favour of effective, modern non-animal tests, but many still choose to subject animals to painful tests.

Member of Parliament Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda said, “This is a great day for India and for the thousands of animals who will no longer suffer, yet more work must be done. Our government must go a step further by banning cosmetics products that are tested on animals abroad and then imported and sold here in India. Only then will India demonstrate its commitment to compassion and modern, non-animal research methods and truly be cruelty free.”

Israel and the 27 countries that make up the European Union have implemented both testing and sales bans to bring an end to cosmetics animal suffering in their respective jurisdictions, and HSI is leading the campaign to persuade India to become the next fully cruelty-free cosmetics zone. A sales ban will prevent companies from outsourcing testing and importing animal-tested beauty products back into India for sale.

News Link:-http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-bans-testing-of-cosmetics-on-animals/article4860969.ece

Europe Finds 4.4% of ‘Beef’ Really Horse

May 11, 2013

preciousjules1985 Animal Anatomy, Animal Health & Welfare, Animal Investigator, Animal Rights, Animal slaughter, Animal Trade, Animal Welfare, animals, Consumer Goods, Contaminated, Environmental Health, European, Horse Abuse, Horse Killed, Horse Meat, Horse Slaughter, Horses, Humane Society, Sentient beings, Warning To Public European Union, Food, France, Greece, Horse meat, Humane Society International, Netherlands, Romania, Tonio Borg Comments Off on Europe Finds 4.4% of ‘Beef’ Really Horse

BRUSSELS—Europe-wide tests of “beef” products conducted after the region’s horse-meat scandal found that nearly 5% were contaminated with horse meat, and the percentage was sharply higher in a few countries, especially France and Greece.

The European Union, Switzerland and Norway organized the tests in February after horse-meat DNA was found in products labeled as beef in a number of countries, prompting a public outcry, criminal investigations and pledges from authorities to discover whether the presence of horse meat in Europe’s beef supply is widespread. The authorities found 200 positive samples out of 4,497 tested, or 4.4%.

Nearly a quarter of all positive tests in the 27 EU nations occurred in France, home to a food processor, Spanghero, that shipped large amounts of horse meat found in frozen lasagna, spaghetti Bolognese and other beef dishes in the U.K. and elsewhere. Greek samples accounted for nearly 20% of all EU positive tests. Around 13% of samples were positive in both countries, the highest rate in Europe.

In a separate round of tests, less than 1% of all horse-meat samples tested positive for

A worker handles animal carcasses at an abattoir in northern Romania, in this file photo dated Feb. 12, 2013.

phenylbutazone, known as “bute,” a painkiller used on animals that is a health risk for humans.

“Today’s findings have confirmed that this is a matter of food fraud and not of food safety,” said Tonio Borg, the EU health commissioner. “In the coming months, the commission will propose to strengthen the controls along the food chain in line with lessons learned.”

The commission, the EU’s executive arm, could seek new legal authority that would give it the power to require action from member states to fight fraud in the food chain, commission spokesman Frédéric Vincent said.

The horse-meat scandal offered a window into the complex supply chains that move food ingredients from farms across Europe, through trading firms, processing plants and ultimately to packaged food products on supermarket shelves. The horse meat that found its way to U.K. supermarkets originated from slaughterhouses in Romania; at various points, it moved through a warehouse in the Netherlands owned by a Cypriot firm called Draap Trading, Spanghero’s facility in southwestern France, the French food-processing firm Comigel SAS and finally to the frozen-food company Findus Group.

Comigel and Findus have pointed the finger at their suppliers for mislabeling horse meat as beef, while Draap and Spanghero have said the meat they shipped was labeled as horse meat. Authorities in several countries are conducting criminal investigations. The U.K. has arrested three men in a separate horse-meat investigation who worked at processing plants in Wales and West Yorkshire.

The French government said its positive tests were particularly high because it focused on suppliers and products that were already suspected of mislabeling horse meat.The government said it would propose EU-wide rules that will strengthen penalties for food-chain fraud to a maximum of five years in prison and 10% of a company’s annual revenue.

The animal-protection group Humane Society International said European governments should have also tested for other common medications administered to horses that pose a health risk to humans.

“Testing for just one of the many drugs banned for use in animals that enter the food chain falls short of a precautionary and thorough approach to addressing fraud and ensuring food safety standards are met,” said Joanna Swabe, Humane Society International’s EU director.

News Link:-–http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324030704578426622446482126.html

Graphic Images:Toro Jubilo Fiesta: Where It Is Legal To Set A Bull On fire: In The Name Of Entertainment

November 27, 2012

preciousjules1985 Action Alert, Animal Abuse, Animal Abusers, Animal Cruelty, Animal Neglect, Animal Rights, Animal slaughter, Animal Torture, Animal Welfare, animals, Animals Doused In Dangerous Chemicals, Animals in entertainment, Animals Perished In Fire, Animals Set On Fire, Blood Sport, Caught On Tape, Cold Calculated Heartless Bastards, EU Law, European, F-ing Knob Heads, Farmed Animal Abuse, Gross Neglect, Guilty, Health and wellness, Heartless Bastards, History, HSI, Humane Society, UNESCO animal pain, Bulls, culture, Festival, fierce flames scorch the skin, Gallur, Humane Society International, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Madrid, Medinaceli, Spain, Tormenting animals for fun, Toro de Fuego, Tradition, UNESCO Comments Off on Graphic Images:Toro Jubilo Fiesta: Where It Is Legal To Set A Bull On fire: In The Name Of Entertainment

“If there is a way to torment a bull (amongst other animals) or inflict pain, whilst calling it a tradition, therefore a part of culture; you can count on some countries to do so. Spain being one of them for allowing this particularly horrific show.”

IF you thought bullfighting was bad, prepare to be even more revolted. These shocking images of a bull with its head engulfed in flames are of the Toro Jubilo, an annual festival in the town of Medinaceli in central Spain.

The bull is burnt alive and taunted by the public before it is butchered/ solarpix

Celebrated every November, the twisted revelry centres around the prolonged torture of a bull by attaching flares of burning pitch to its horns and then goading it as the poor creature thrashes around in terror and desperate agony.

All in the name of tradition and entertainment. Yet ludicrously the Spanish insist that it causes no distress to the bull. “Then let them replace the bull”

This year’s fiesta began at 11.30pm on Saturday and attracted 1,500 people – a crowd almost twice the town’s population. Small children clapped and cheered along with their parents as 30 men dragged the bull into the town square by a rope wound round its horns.

The square had been scattered with sand to turn it into a makeshift bullring. Men then lit a circle of five bonfires to complete the transformation while a brass band played in the background.

Image for Ref. Only

The bull – a three-year-old named Liebro – had arrived in Medinaceli an hour and a half earlier on a lorry from Gallur ranch in the province of Aragon. Now it fought with every muscle in its body as the men forced it to the ground, tied it to a wooden post and strapped a wood and steel frame to its horns.

Attached to this grotesque headdress were torches soaked in pitch – a mixture of turpentine and sulphur. The men then smothered the bull’s face and neck in mud to stop its fur catching fire before igniting the torches.

When they were aflame the bull was cut free from the post and began to run around the ring, furiously shaking its head as red hot droplets fell from the torches on to its face.

Young men played at matadors, taunting the bull with coats spread open like capes. When the animal charged they leapt over a safety fence, the spectators cheering them all the way.

Can you see the shear terror & agony on the face of that bull??? Who could carry on such barbarity??

After 40 minutes the bull was exhausted as well as petrified. It came to a halt with breath steaming out of its nostrils, saliva dripping from its mouth and the hide on its flanks charred black.

When the torches finally burned out, hundreds of fire crackers were set off, terrifying the bull further before it was led out of the ring to be slaughtered. The locals then celebrated by partying until 6am. The fiesta of the Toro Jubilo (jubilant bull) is said to date back 400 years but the dictator General Franco banned it in 1962 after the British press revealed its cruelty to the world.

However, the ban was lifted in 1977 and the festival revived in Medinaceli, which lies 100 miles north-east of Madrid.

” This is nothing but sadistic torture, if someone has to see this sadistic evil torture to have fun, there is something seriously wrong with them!”

A petrified bull stands as the hot liquid flows down the bulls face, blooded mouth from running into objects desperately trying to stop the suffering!….Really is that what they call entertainment…suitable for children?

THE FESTIVAL has been accorded special cultural status by the authorities of Castile and Leon in Spain and the municipality of Medinaceli is applying for it to be awarded Intangible Cultural Heritage status by Unesco.

“This is part of our cultural heritage,” argued Walter Jesus Moreno, 33, one of the participants. “The bull doesn’t suffer at all.” No the bull doesn’t suffer, just look at the above picture, the bull is having a great time…NOT “Let him say that after someone straps lit flames above his head, ignorant bxxxxxd”

But animal rights groups in both Spain and Britain are campaigning to have the festival banned. Mark Jones, a vet and UK executive director of the Humane Society International, told the Daily Express: “This barbaric festival causes the animal phenomenal stress and fear. The animal would be incredibly frightened by the whole process.

In this day and age people shouldn’t be using animals in this way for their entertainment and they shouldn’t be using culture as an excuse for cruelty.“ Well said Mr Jones”

Spanish animal rights groups say there are numerous fiestas based on animal cruelty around the country. “In the province of Valencia alone there are 6,000 festivals involving cruelty to bulls. It is barbaric and has to stop.”

The Toro Jubilo fiesta which took place in Medinaceli last year had been banned between 1962 until 1977 after some British reporters denounced the fiesta and the authorities responded by banning its celebration, but now times have changed.” We have done it before, so lets do it again & stop these heinous forms of entertainment”

“Medinaceli Town Hall has this year started the application for the ‘Toro de Fuego’ fiesta to be recognised by UNESCO to obtain ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ protection for the practice which has been going on for hundreds of years. I just hope amongst the panel who say yea or nea or some animmal”

“UNESCO purpose is to contribute peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the UN Charter.”

“Do you seriously think the right to torture animals via so called traditions; can be included in the above?”

Spanish animal rights groups say there are numerous fiestas based on animal cruelty around the country.
In previous years they have organised demonstrations in Medinaceli to protest against the festival but they have had no effect in deterring the locals who see it as their cultural right.

Now they are concentrating on pressuring politicians into banning the fiesta. Silvia Barquero, spokeswoman for PACMA, a political party campaigning for animal rights, said: “In Spain, there are hundreds of festivals involving burning bulls and thousands more involving other forms of cruelty.

“In the province of Valencia alone there are 6,000 festivals involving cruelty to bulls. It is barbaric and has to stop.”

This poor bull looks like he just wants to give up, enough of the pain & torture!!

“I have never seen such pain captured in single images as these have done. They should make all those who support this cruelty, feel so ashamed!!!

“Honestly…can anyone look at that poor bull without conscience, without feeling its unrelenting pain, through burning flesh, his poor eyes singed & scorched so much by the heat he can barely see; the poor beast runs into walls, through the fires set alight around the arena”.

Exhaustion: Gasping for air, the bull reaches a state of exhaustion after nearly 45 minutes of torment and is soon dragged out the ring by villagers.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article-2232031/Toro-Jubilo-The-grotesque-Spanish-bull-burning-festival-animal-rights-campaigners-want-banned.html

“Well if you can’t muster up any sympathy for this, then I would prefer you to clear off my blog; you best go nosy around someone else’s, who doesn’t care about how animals are treated by human beings.”

Blood flows from the bulls mouth & nose where it tried to ram walls to put the fire out & end it’s nightmare!!

News Link:-http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/357709/Bull-is-set-on-fire-and-tortured-for-entertainment-in-Spainish-traditionrrrrrrrrrr

“This is a festival of animal abuse, showing you children that’s it’s ok to treat an animal with such heinous acts of barbarity”

Uploaded by talibanser on 13 Nov 2011

Translation

One more night of animal abuse. PACMA complaint with a video of an animal suffering during the so-called ‘Toro Jubilo’, in which the bull by the horns remains tied to a pole to more easily set you an iron frame on which capture calls “fish balls “made with oakum, turpentine and sulfur.

“Please sign the following petitions to stop this horrific torture:”

Brian May heads to Bristol for badger cull rally

September 13, 2012

preciousjules1985 Action Alert, Agriculture, Animal Aid, Animal Attacks, Animal Cruelty, Animal Investigator, Animal slaughter, Animal Welfare, Compassion in World Farming, Compassion Over Killing, Conservation, Defra, Diseased Animal, Health and wellness, HSI, League Against Cruel Sports, Petitions to sign please, RSPCA, Wild Animals Badger, Bow Group, Bristol West, Conservative, Culling, Defra, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, HSI, Humane Society International, killing, League Against Cruel Sports, Mycobacterium bovis, RSPCA Comments Off on Brian May heads to Bristol for badger cull rally

Queen guitarist to front event that marks launch of national campaign called ‘Stop the Cull’ led by animal welfare charities opposed to cull

Queen guitarist Brian May will be in Bristol next week as part of a rally against government plans to introduce a cull of badgers.

The rally marks the launch of a national campaign called ‘Stop the Cull’ – led by animal welfare charities opposed to the cull, including the RSPCA, League Against Cruel Sports, Save Me and Humane Society International (UK).

Campaigners will wear badger costumes at the free event. The charities are urging local people to come along and demonstrate their opposition to the cull.

The pilot culls are designed to reduce tuberculosis in cattle. Farmers and the government say the disease, which can be spread by badgers as well as among cattle, has become a huge cost to the industry. In 2010-11, nearly 25,000 cattle were slaughtered in England at a cost of £91m in government compensation.

But the charities say scientific studies have shown that culling would be of little help in reducing the disease and even suggest that it could make things worse in some areas.

Research undertaken by the Independent Scientific Group that took nearly a decade, cost approximately £50million and the lives of 11,000 badgers concluded “badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain”, they say.

The Stop the Cull campaign is pushing for the government to rethink their policy and implement a vaccination programme, along with increased levels of testing, improved farm biosecurity and stricter controls on the movement of cattle rather than culling 70% of the badger population, the vast majority of which are disease free.

Gavin Grant, chief executive of the RSPCA said: “The RSPCA and many other organisations oppose the cull of badgers for both scientific and animal welfare reasons. The campaign is rapidly gaining public support and over 100,000 objections to the cull have been recorded to date. The Government should look at the science, the results achieved in Wales and change their policy to one of vaccination – let’s cure and not kill.”

Meanwhile, their campaign has drawn cross-party support from Bristol, including leading Conservatives. Bristol24-7 reported in March that the Conservative Party spokesman in Bristol West had urged the coalition government to scrap its controversial plans.

Graham Godwin-Pearson’s statement came after Conservative think-tank the Bow Group unveiled a major paper saying the culls were likely to be more costly and less practical to conduct than ministers believe.

Mr Godwin-Pearson, the principle author and Tory spokesman in the Bristol West constituency, added the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) focus should be on vaccination instead.

The rally on Tuesday will take place at College Green from 4.30-7pm.

News Link:–http://www.bristol247.com/2012/09/07/brian-may-heads-to-bristol-for-badger-cull-rally-81576/

HM Government Petition:-http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/38257

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON ANIMAL WELFARE

July 27, 2012

preciousjules1985 Action Alert, American Humane Society, Animal Abuse, Animal Cruelty, Animal Rights, Animal slaughter, Animal Trade, Animal Welfare, Animal Welfare Act 2006, animals, Animals in entertainment, Compassion in World Farming, EU Law, European, Farmed Animal Abuse, Food Chain/Products, Gross Neglect, Guilty, Horse Abuse, Horse Slaughter, HSI, Humane Society, IFAW, Petitions to sign please, Pets, Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, WSPA Animal welfare, Cruelty to animals, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, sentient, United Nations, Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, World Society for the Protection of Animals Comments Off on UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON ANIMAL WELFARE

“As a follow on from the previous posts, nothing will change unless we make it change…I see animals as sentient beings…but I have to convince others of it too! Why, because too many people think animals are only there for human consumption, human ridicule, human torment, human entertainment, garden ornaments, throw away items etc. Truly understand the meaning of ‘sentient’ which is; capable of feeling! So if it breathes & bleeds, just like animals sent to slaughter… it can feel pain…just like we can!!”

“Hard to believe but it’s true, so please, do the right thing by signing the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare…because farm animals, horses, etc. feel exactly the same feelings as your pet dog or cat, some may not be as smart, but they hurt all the same…they are sentient beings… just like us!!”

Please support the campaign to achieve a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) at the United Nations.

In principle, the Universal Declaration will call on the United Nations to recognise animals as sentient beings, capable of experiencing pain and suffering, and to recognise that animal welfare is an issue of importance as part of the social development of nations worldwide.

The campaign to achieve the UDAW is being co-ordinated by the World Society for the Protection of Animals, with a core working group including Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Humane Society International (HSI).

A Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare would be an agreement among people and nations that:

Animals are sentient and can suffer
Animals’ welfare needs must be respected
Animal cruelty must end for good.

View the draft declaration ( 65KB)

What will it achieve?

The adoption of a UDAW by the United Nations would:

Establish animal welfare as an international issue
Encourage governments to improve and enforce national animal welfare legislation by providing a benchmark
Recognise that animal welfare is a key factor in humanitarian and environmental policy making
Encourage industries which use animals to keep welfare at the forefront
Acknowledge the risks to animals caused by environmental factors such as climate change, habitat loss and pollution
Create a more compassionate global attitude to animal welfare, including their needs and habitats

A declaration would also enhance the lives of over 1 billion people who rely on animals for their livelihoods, and the countless others look to animals for companionship.

You can support this campaign by signing the “Animals Matter to me” petition:

Visit the petition website and sign the declaration

Link:-http://www.ciwf.org.uk/animal_sentience/universal_declaration_on_animal_welfare/default.aspx

New Report Documents Yahoo! Profits From Killing Endangered Whales and Dolphins

June 11, 2012

preciousjules1985 Animal slaughter, Animal Welfare, Anti-whaling, CITES, Conservation, Food Chain/Products, HSI, Killed, Marine mammal organisations, Wild Animals Amazon, Environmental Investigation Agency, Humane Society International, International Whaling Commission, Japan, Natural Resources Defense Council, Selling, Yahoo, yahoo japan Comments Off on New Report Documents Yahoo! Profits From Killing Endangered Whales and Dolphins

Internet giant urged to ban all sales of whale and dolphin products

Hundreds of whale products for sale on the Japanese website of Internet search engine company Yahoo! show how the California-based company profits from the venture, according to a new report released today that can be found by clicking here.

“Killing for Commerce,” released by the Environmental Investigation Agency, in conjunction with Humane Society International and the Natural Resources Defense Council, details how the website Yahoo! Japan facilitates the sale of meat and other products of endangered whale in Japan. EIA tests have also turned up evidence that products derived of dolphin are sold.

“Yahoo! continues to ignore international outrage over the sale of whale and dolphin products via its Japanese website, even as it continues to profit from the slaughter of whales and dolphins,” said EIA President Allan Thornton.

Although Yahoo! has banned the sale of endangered and protected species from all other Yahoo! sites, EIA, HSI and NRDC are deeply concerned that the company has made no significant effort to persuade its Japanese subsidiary to end the sale of whale and dolphin products.

The report shows how in March, Yahoo! Japan was found offering 249 whale products, including sashimi, bacon and canned whale meat, for sale on its fee-based sales and auction sites. That’s around 100 more listings of individual products than Amazon’s Japanese website was found to be selling when it was exposed earlier this year. In response to pressure from around the world, Amazon swiftly announced a ban on all such sales.

The report also confirms that many of the products are from internationally protected great whale species including fin, sei, minke, sperm and Bryde’s whale – all of whom are protected under the moratorium on commercial whaling established by the International Whaling Commission in 1986 and have the highest level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. In one example, despite the international trade ban, seven companies on Yahoo! Japan’s website were selling endangered fin whale imported from Iceland.

“Yahoo! should respect international laws rather than offering market access to those who want to profit from flouting these protective agreements,” said Kitty Block, vice president of HSI.

Moreover, whale products sold via the Japanese website have been found harmful to human health. EIA commissioned laboratory tests on 10 products purchased from the website and found that five exceeded Japan’s guidelines for mercury levels in food for human consumption. One product was 16 times the “safe” limit.

“We appeal to Yahoo! to follow Amazon’s lead and stop the sale of all whale and dolphin products,” said Taryn Kiekow, staff attorney for NRDC. “By selling these products, Yahoo! Japan is condoning the slaughter of internationally recognized endangered and protected species. Whale meat is not only unsafe for human consumption; it is a travesty for the biological diversity of our oceans.”

News Link:-http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2012/06/yahoo_whales_dolphins_060612.html

World’s Rhino Conservationists Gather in China to Call for an End to Illegal Rhino Horn Trade

June 11, 2012

preciousjules1985 Animal Abuse, Animal Attacks, Animal Rights, Animal slaughter, animals, Conservation, Endangered, HSI, Killed, Rhino, Tradition & Culture, Wild Animals 2010 FIFA World Cup, Africa, Animal welfare, China, Humane Society International, Rhinoceros, South Africa, United States Comments Off on World’s Rhino Conservationists Gather in China to Call for an End to Illegal Rhino Horn Trade

Wildlife experts and conservationists from China, South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom, including representatives from Humane Society International/UK, gathered in Beijing today to call for urgent action from China to help save the world’s rhinos from poaching. Hundreds of rhinos are poached for their horns every year largely to supply the Asian traditional medicine market.

The Rhinos In Crisis conference, organized by Beijing’s Capital Animal Welfare Association with the support of Humane Society International, is one of the largest gatherings of international rhino conservationists ever held within China. Their message to China: Rhinos are being poached out of existence, and Chinese consumers’ demand for rhino horn must end.

“Rhino poaching has reached a crisis point with animals being brutally slaughtered in huge numbers to supply horn for the Asian medicine trade. It’s vital that China takes urgent action to eradicate consumer and business demand for horn which has no scientifically established medicinal benefit whatsoever,” said Mark Jones, executive director of HSI/UK. “China is a crucial partner in the global battle to save this endangered and iconic animal from extinction. If it doesn’t act now, this species is unlikely to survive the crisis. That would be tragedy for the whole world.”

Rhino poaching has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2007 there was a global average of 12 poaching incidents reported annually. By 2011 in South Africa alone, 448 rhinos were killed for their horn and predictions are that around 600 rhinos will have been killed by the end of 2012. There are now fewer than 30,000 rhinos in Africa and Asia combined and four of the five surviving rhino species are listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List as threatened with extinction.

“We know that Chinese people care about animals too, and we’re desperately hoping that by communicating to them the impact that rhino horn consumption is having on our precious rhino, they will respond quickly and with compassion, as they have often done before,” said Karen Trendler, co-ordinator of the Rhino Response Strategy in South

Read full news:-http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2012/06/rhino_horn_trade_060712.html

Humane Society International Congratulates Swiss National Council for Landslide Vote to Ban Commercial Seal Product Trade

June 2, 2012

preciousjules1985 Animal slaughter, animals, Climate Change, Conservation, HSI, Hunters, Marine mammal organisations, Victory, Wild Animals Canada, Canadian government, COMTEX, Federal Assembly of Switzerland, Humane Society International, Russia, Swiss National Council, United States Comments Off on Humane Society International Congratulates Swiss National Council for Landslide Vote to Ban Commercial Seal Product Trade

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, May 30, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX)

Humane Society International applauds the Swiss National Council, for voting 132 to 28 in favour of a prohibition on commercial seal product trade on May 29. The Council noted the cruelty associated with commercial seal hunting, the opposition of many of its citizens to this practice, and the need to ensure the Swiss market does not operate as an alternative for the European Regulation banning commercial seal products trade. The Swiss National Council is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland.

“Global markets for seal products are closing for good, climate change is devastating the seals’ sea ice habitat, and it is very clear there is no future in commercial sealing,” said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International Canada. “Instead of providing artificial life support to this dying industry, our government should do as Canadians want and stop the senseless slaughter of baby seals for good.”

“I have personally observed Canada’s commercial seal slaughter since 2006, and both the cruelty of the killing and the serious impact of climate change on these ice dependent seals have been very difficult to witness,” said Vera Weber, vice president of the Franz Weber Foundation. “I am exceptionally proud of my government for taking action to stop our trade in seal products. While the Senate still has to vote on the ban, the people of Switzerland have been heard and my country will never be a market for seal fur.”

Last year, the Customs Union compromising the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Belarus prohibited the import and export of fur from harp seals, the primary markets of Canada’s commercial seal slaughter. The United States and the European Union – Canada’s two largest trading partners also prohibit trade in commercial seal products. The Canadian government has confirmed that 70,000 seals were slaughtered in the 2012 commercial seal hunt. Local government financed the kill, funding a seal processor to purchase and stockpile seal skins, despite an apparent lack of markets.

HSI/Canada calls on the Canadian and provincial governments to support a federal buyout of the commercial sealing industry, which would involve ending the seal hunt, providing immediate compensation for sealers, and investing in economic alternatives in the communities involved.

Read the rest here:-http://www.marketwatch.com/story/humane-society-international-congratulates-swiss-national-council-for-landslide-vote-to-ban-commercial-seal-product-trade-2012-05-30