GRAPHIC VIDEO: MFA Undercover – Confined, Chained And Abused, Canadian Veal Industry Exposed. Petition To Sign

“I can’t deny shedding tears for these little ones, chained up in tiny boxes, they can’t even turn around in; before their short lives end at the slaughter plant! These sentient beings may be, just a by product, but they still deserve to be treated with kindness & respect…it doesn’t cost anything to show empathy etc. Animals are far more humane than humans are & always will be!

“As with all animals, especially those that are raised for human consumption; at the very least, surely they deserve to have the 5 Freedom acts adhered to. The five freedoms that no animal kept by humans for whatever reason; should ever be without, it’s not much to ask for, is it?

1. freedom from hunger and thirst
2. freedom from discomfort (shelter from heat and rain)
3. freedom from pain, injury and disease
4. freedom to express normal behaviour (without inconveniencing or harming others)
5.  freedom from fear and distress.

Please sign petition: http://www.cratedcruelty.ca/

NONE OF THE ABOVE FREEDOM ACTS APPLY TO THESE CALVES; NOR DO THEY FOR OTHER FARM ANIMALS RAISED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. THE  CONDITIONS THEY ARE FORCED TO LIVE IN, ARE QUITE FRANKLY HORRIFIC, DESPICABLE & APPALLINGLY CRUEL…THIS IS 2014! CRATED CRUELTY….SIMPLY TORTURE CHAMBERS FOR BABIES; WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT IN THE DARK AGES….PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION & SHARE WITH ALL…WE MUST JOIN TOGETHER & RAISE OUR VOICES; WE MUST HELP CHANGE THE WAY FARM ANIMALS  ARE KEPT & SLAUGHTERED!!

EXPOSED, CANADIAN VEAL INDUSTRY

Please sign petition: http://www.cratedcruelty.ca/

From December to February 2014, a Mercy For Animals Canada investigator worked at a Délimax veal factory farm in Pont-Rouge, Quebec. Our hidden camera captured horrific animal cruelty and neglect, including:

• Calves crammed into feces-covered wooden boxes barely larger than their own bodies
• Baby animals chained by the neck, unable to even turn around or lie down comfortably for their entire lives
• Animals driven mad from boredom and stress, denied even their most basic natural behaviours
• Workers violently kicking, punching, and tormenting baby animals
• Animals painfully stuck in the wooden slats of their crates
• Sick and injured animals left to suffer and slowly die in their own filth without proper veterinary care

EXPERT OPINIONS

After reviewing the undercover footage, Dr. John Webster, Professor of Animal Husbandry at the University of Bristol, and Europe’s leading expert on dairy cattle welfare, stated: “In all my experience, this is the worst, cruellest system that I have ever seen, in every sense, housing, health and stockmanship. [T]he system as seen on the video is now illegal in Europe, both in regard to individual housing, and denial of access to solid feed containing sufficient digestible fibre.”

Dr. Sara Shields agreed, concluding: “Veal crates are the epitome of a poor animal housing system, and it is almost shocking to see them still being used… Studies have shown that calves tethered in stalls have higher physiological stress responses than those kept in groups or in pairs.”

DITCH VEAL, DITCH DAIRY

Veal is a direct by-product of the dairy industry. Since they will never produce milk, male calves born into the dairy industry are ripped away from their mothers’ sides shortly after birth and end up in veal factory farms like this one.

These calves spend their short, wretched lives languishing in their own waste inside a tiny wooden box. They never get to see the sun, breathe fresh air, feel the grass beneath their feet, walk, run, play, or do anything that makes life worth living. Their short lives are filled with misery, violence, and deprivation.

Although cruelty and violence are standard practice for Canada’s veal industry, caring consumers can help end the needless suffering of calves and other farmed animals by choosing a compassionate vegan diet.

“If you cant go fully vegan then help by trying to be a vegetarian & don’t drink milk (It’s made for animals offspring, not humans) drink soya milk instead. I drink Soya milk, Almond & Hazelnut are my favourites. They taste great to drink when cold & have quite a sweet taste (ditch the sugar) so it’s great in coffee & on cereals. Think about it, do you really want to be a party to the horrific & abusive ways, theses sentient little babies are kept in? Would you deny them the right to be with their mother’s??  Many people think being vegetarian means eating nut cutlets, rice & beans; personally I hate that type of stuff. Whatever recipes that require meat, can be made just as well with Quorn.  Go to my Pinterest site to see recipes made with Quorn & also the pre-made Quorn burgers, mince, chicken etc. The Linda  McCartney range of meat free foods are also delicious, especially the sausages! My daughter isn’t vegan or vegetarian like me; but she eats what I do; with no complaints because she finds it so tasty!

MY Vegan & Vegetarian Pinterest site:-http://www.pinterest.com/presciousjules/vegan-vegetarian/

Please sign petition: http://www.cratedcruelty.ca/

CRATE CRITICS

“In all my experience, this is the worst, cruellest system that I have ever seen, in every sense, housing, health and stockmanship. [T]he system as seen on the video is now illegal in Europe, both in regard to individual housing, and denial of access to solid feed containing sufficient digestible fibre.”

John Webster, PhD

“Cows are highly intelligent and sentient, feeling beings, and it’s clear that the calves in this video are suffering. Deep fear and pain can be seen in their eyes and in their behavior. Calves are just as sentient as dogs – we would never tolerate such abuse inflicted upon a dog.”

Marc Bekoff, PhD

“Psychologically, the isolation and restricted movement [of veal crates] thwarts the calves need to suckle from their dam, prevents social interaction with their mother and with other calves, severely limits mental stimulation and investigative behavior, and disallows any sort of play.”

Debi Zimmermann, DVM

“Veal stalls… we need to get rid of, plain and simple.”

Temple Grandin, PhD

“This video provides clear evidence of deliberate institutionalized animal abuse in Canada’s veal industry. Veal calves are shown imprisoned in narrow stalls on slatted floors. Many animals are chained so tightly that they can barely move or can only perform a few short movements, which they do repeatedly.”

John Sorenson, PhD

“No animal should be so physically limited in its’ movement. The calf can stand or lie in one place only. He can’t turn around, lick his back, or stretch out. The chain around his neck ensures that he can’t lie down flat (something that calves do naturally). Not surprisingly, stereotypies are common. ”

Mary Richardson, DVM

Please sign the petition: http://www.cratedcruelty.ca/

 Please view at your own discretion – WATCH: Baby Calves Kicked, Beaten, and Chained in Crates for Veal

Published on 19 Apr 2014

Sickening cruelty to animals at a veal factory farm was captured on hidden camera by an investigator with Mercy For Animals Canada. Workers violently kick, punch, and torment baby calves who are crammed into filthy wooden crates so small they can’t even turn around or lie down comfortably for nearly their entire lives. Learn more and take action at: http://www.CratedCruelty.ca

Related articles

• Calves killed because of ‘wrong sex’
• Viewers’ outrage over harrowing scenes of day-old calves being lined up and shot DEAD just because they’re male
• Male dairy calves are killed, but why the surprise? People have no right to complain if they don’t inform themselves about food

Stiff Sentence Imposed For Man Who Abused Pug

“I would hardly call this a stiff sentence, but it’s a start if jail hasn’t been given before...the maximum sentence for animal cruelty is now set at five years…yet this heinous crime only warranted six months prison for Laberge? My god, I dread to think what one has to do to warrant the maximum five years; if these dogs had died from their wounds I doubt it would have been five years. Surely this heartless monster deserved, at the very minimum, one year in jail, along with a life long ban on owning any animals.

MONTREAL—Last August, Geoffrey Laberge’s neighbours heard the sounds of dogs being beaten and abused.

On Friday, a Quebec judge handed Laberge the stiffest sentence ever meted out for animal cruelty in the province.

When police arrived at the corner of Pie-IX and 55th Avenue in 2011, they found one of Laberge’s dogs covered in blood. The three-year-old pug had been stabbed multiple times, beaten with a lead pipe and shards of ceramic were poking through her fur.

This pug-mix suffered trauma to the head, including a number of stab wounds, shards from a broken ceramic plate, and being beaten by an iron pipe.

Laberge, 37, will now spend six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to five counts of animal cruelty. Both the defence and crown recommended a sentence that also forbids him from owning an animal for the next quarter century.

“Up until Friday there really was no deterrent effect,” said Alanna Devine, the SPCA’s director of animal advocacy. “Even in egregious cases of animal cruelty when people were found guilty and being sentenced, they  weren’t getting jail time.”

Both dogs have since made a full recovery and have been adopted by new homes. The story of Roo, the abused pug, stood out for Devine.

“It’s difficult for us to not get emotional,” said Devine, who was present when the dog was brought to the SPCA. “One of the dogs was in such a critical state that we felt she needed emergency treatment.”

Roo was rushed to an animal hospital in Notre-Dame-de-Grace where veterinarians were not sure if the dog would survive the night. Devine credited the cooperation of the Montreal police, SPCA and first responders for helping save the dog.

After an amendment to the criminal code in 2008, the maximum sentence for animal cruelty is now set at five years. Devine would like to see the maximum sentence imposed in more egregious cases.

Quebec has had a spotty past prosecuting animal cruelty, with a US-based animal rights group ranking the province the best place to abuse animals for 2010 and 2011.

“This is going to have a deterrent effect going forward that the judicial system in Quebec is starting to take animal cruelty seriously,” said Devine.

Video & News Link: http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/stiff-sentence-imposed-for-man-who-abused-pug-1.1014317#ixzz2AhL4YsnJ

Breaking News: Seal Pups in Quebec Aquarium Safe from Slaughter

 

“Received via email; great news!”

Aquarium des Îles plans to release two seal pups at sea in response to public outrage at impending kill

After public outcry in response to Friends of Animals’ September 14^thaction alert urging the public to demand that the Aquarium des Îles in Quebec, Canada, stop its senseless plan to slaughter two seal pups, Zak and Mika, whom they’d captured last spring, the Aquarium has released a statement today.

Aquarium officials say they have “received confirmation from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) that [they] had the permission to release its two harp seals at sea. We therefore intend to proceed to the release of the seals at sea as soon as possible, while taking care to ensure their good health and welfare meanwhile.”

Friends of Animals will continue to press the Aquarium for documentation and proof of the impending release of the seals as well as ensure this never happens again. In the meantime, please continue to contact both the Aquarium and the Honourable Keith Ashfield (the Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans) to insist that the seals be safely released and that any future permits to capture seals be denied. 

It’s irresponsible and disgraceful for the Aquarium to capture seal pups at all, but to capture them with the intent to kill them once its season ends cannot be tolerated. Thanks to your phone calls and emails, the Aquarium has reversed this cruel plan, but we need to make sure that they follow through with releasing the seals and that they commit to ending plans to ever capture seal pups again.

Please call the Honorable Keith Ashfield’s office at 613-992-3474 and email him at min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Call the Aquarium des Îles to leave a message at 418-937-2277 and email them at info@aquariumdesiles.ca

 Related articles

• Iles-de-la-Madeleine harp seals spared after worldwide outcry (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)

 

Cavalia’s horses take the spotlight in new show Odysseo

Quebec theatre producer Normand Latourelle is back with Odysseo, the newest production of his equestrian and performing arts troupe Cavalia.

The latest large-scale circus extravaganza from the Cirque du Soleil veteran features 60 horses and 20 acrobats performing together under the largest touring tent in the world. It opens in Toronto on Tuesday after a successful run in Miami.

An Odysseo actor appears on horseback. ‘We take the time to train the horse,’ says Cavalia artistic director Normand Latourelle. ‘This is the most beautiful animal on earth.’ (Canadian Press)

Latourelle formed his company after leaving Cirque about a decade ago. “I was very attracted by the aesthetic of the horse,” he told CBC News.

“This is the most beautiful animal on earth.”

While many of today’s circus troupes have stopped incorporating animals — in part due to concerns over how they are treated — Latourelle is proud of his company’s work with its equine stars.

“We take the time to train the horse,” he said. “We don’t hit the horse with the whips. We do use some sticks to give commands for the horse to understand — go backward, go [forward] — but we don’t use spurs… The bits we have are soft bits.”

Cavalia’s care for its horses is noteworthy, as other entertainment productions have drawn criticism for its treatment of animals. A recent, prominent example is the high-profile HBO racetrack drama Luck, which was cancelled early in its run following the deaths of three horses featured on the show.

The dazzling spectacle of Odysseo is thanks to the sheer size of the 27,000 square foot stage, which gives the horses enough space to run, and not because the animals are forced to perform dangerous stunts, Latourelle says. “I said if ever we have to abuse the animal to do a show, I will stop.”

Equestrian journalists who have visited the show seemed impressed by the treatment of the horses. Still, the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will send an officer to the show to ensure the horses are receiving the proper care.

News Link:-http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/05/15/odysseo-cavalia-horse-circus.html