Graphic Video – Animals Australia; Greyhound Racing, What Everyone Needs To Know – Petition To Sign

Greyhound racing authorities publicly call it ‘abhorrent’. They also say it has been ‘outlawed’. But that hasn’t stopped high profile trainers across the country from subjecting defenceless animals to barbaric live baiting rituals in an attempt to gain a ‘winning’ edge on the racetrack.

Viewer Discretion Advised

Published on 18 Feb 2015

They’re the victims you’ll never see at the racetrack. Tied up, terrified, and savagely mauled in widespread ‘live baiting’ sessions. Groundbreaking Animals Australia / Animal Liberation Qld investigations uncover the shocking truth. More @http://www.GreyhoundCruelty.com

***WARNING*** Please note that this video contains footage of which many will find distressing. To take immediate action to help animals without watching the video, head to http://www.GreyhoundCruelty.com

POSSUMS  

Native possums — a protected species — were also tied to lures and flung violently around training tracks. Before being used as live bait, one mother possum watched on helplessly as her baby was killed in front of her.

PIGLETS  

Piglets — one of the most intelligent and sensitive of all species — were a common choice among live baiters. Their futile squeals could be heard as their bodies were torn apart.

RABBITS  

After several laps, rabbits with pieces torn from their bodies twitch and writhe in agony. Their spine-chilling screams ring out across the training track.

KITTENS  

While investigation footage captured only piglets, rabbits and possums — kittens have long been reported to be among the victims of live baiting, too.

GREYHOUNDS  

Investigation footage shows naturally gentle dogs provoked into displaying aggressive and violent behaviour in ‘blooding’ sessions. Those who don’t race fast enough to turn a profit are often killed — sometimes they are shot.

The inherent conflict of interest presented by those ‘promoting’ the sport also ‘policing’ it could not be more damning. While self-regulation continues, there can be little hope that live baiting will ever be eradicated from this industry.

You can help put a stop to this cruelty. Make your voice heard today.

 PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION 

The damning Animals Australia and Animal Liberation Qld investigations have revealed that this sadistic training method is all too common.Terrified piglets, rabbits and native possums are all victims of live baiting — tied to lures, flung around racetracks at breakneck speeds, and then mauled to death. Some animals who survived their first attack were ‘re-used’ multiple times…

‘Bait‘ animals are not the only victims of this industry. Greyhounds themselves — naturally gentle dogs — are often kept in deplorable living conditions off-track. Live baiters will taunt and incite their dogs to chase, attack, and ultimately kill small animals.

If dogs fail to ‘perform’, they too may be killed. Industry-wide, some 18,000 greyhounds are killed every year because they aren’t deemed fast enough to win races.

The big question is — how can state governments and sponsors continue to support an industry that has been exposed for such abhorrent widespread illegal activity?

With the horrific revelations of live baiting cruelty in the greyhound racing industry following our investigations, I have been desperate to share with you a side to greyhounds that didn’t make it to the media this week. This little video has gone viral — watch it now and you’ll see why!

Published on 22 Feb 2015

If you’ve ever wanted a gentle, loyal, loving couch-potato to share your home with, consider adopting or fostering a greyhound today:http://www.AnimalsAus.org/beg

Despite their deep pockets, greyhound racing authorities have utterly failed to take effective action to address shocking brutality and illegal activity at the heart of this ‘sport’. Apparently, they didn’t even know about it. That is, until investigations by two small charities on a shoestring budget exposed routine and systemic ‘live baiting’…

 Something else that will you make you smile: Schweppes, Hyundai and Bendigo Bank are just some of the big names to end their support of this cruel industry in recent days:

In fact, of all the major corporate supporters, just one company continues to support greyhound racing. Click here to see who’s left.

 The greyhound racing industry is on notice. Those who are willing to tie up, torture and kill animals in pursuit of a ‘win’ now have a national spotlight on their activities for the first time. With dozens of trainers now suspended, thousands of possums, rabbits and piglets will now be spared from the horror of being used as ‘live bait’. But while greyhound racing continues, we fear that innocent animals will still be tied up and mauled to death on private training tracks — albeit more carefully hidden.

If you haven’t already, please click here to add your voice to over 100,000 people taking a stand against greyhound racing cruelty. If you have — please share this with your friends and family today.

Together we can end greyhound racing cruelty, once and for all.

 Lyn White AM
Campaign Director

 Thank you.

Animals Australia and our colleagues at Animal Liberation Qld have been overwhelmed by the response to our investigations into the greyhound racing industry. Because you spoke out, this industry is under more scrutiny than ever before. State governments have launched inquiries; industry heavyweights have been stood down; sponsors are backing out; and commentators are questioning the future of the ‘sport’. Importantly, thousands of animals will be spared from the terror of being used as ‘live bait’. But there’s still much to do.

Please keep your voices loud, for the animals.

GREAT BRITAIN – Dark side of Greyhound Racing Investigation by BBC Panorama full Documentary 2014

NM- Dark side of Greyhound

Published on 4 Nov 2014

Panorama –
03/11/2014
The integrity of greyhound racing has been called into question by a Panorama investigation which has exposed blatant cheating and the drugging of dogs at the heart of the sport.
The undercover investigation caught a trainer revealing how he dopes greyhounds in order to effect betting coups – some of which he claims to have paid out up to £150,000.
The programme’s findings have prompted animal welfare campaigners to call for the government to reconsider the sport’s self-regulatory status.

Like if you agree, wild animals DO NOT belong in circuses!: “Animal circuses”: Cruel entertainment or a dying art?”

“I understand, there may be some circuses who do put the animals needs first; I’m not saying all circuses are cruel to their animals! But I still don’t think wild animals should be in cages, travelling from town to town; to perform unnatural tricks, to the paying public; no matter how well they are cared for. The circuses may very well maintain their animals are well fed & cared for, that’s all well & good. But no pitched circus can provide its animals with a likeness to the animals own living habitats. It would be impossible for circuses to provide lions or tigers with rocks, caves, trees, brush or access to a lake, for tigers & other animals that love the water. These are the basics, so the animals can exhibit their natural behaviour; especially when they are constantly on the move! The council floor space granted to the circuses probably just about holds all the wagons carrying the animals, along with all the trucks needed to erect the circus tents, caravans & other stalls etc. So there is little room for the animals between performances; to act in a natural way!

Horses & zebra love to run round etc. but In the News Link below, it says that ponies are tethered to the circus tents, camels are tethered in fields, with horses in temporary stables & makeshift paddocks; animals can not express their natural instincts when denied their normal living habitats! Where do the tigers or lions go when not performing; tigers love to swim! Or do they just stay in their beast wagons? I’ve seen enough evidence to convince me that circus animals are not happy animals! They are denied their basic instincts, they are not meant to perform or stay in holding cells in between shows. As such many animals exhibit repetitive stereotypical behaviour; due to their lifestyles, they would never do it in the wild! So I still say wild animals do not belong in any type of exhibit where they are forced to perform…it’s wrong & about time our Government got off their backsides & implemented a BAN like they promised! .”

POST By Jonathan Brown 26/9/2014 http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ 

Changing times: With a legal ban on the use of wild animal acts in UK circuses impending, Jonathan Brown goes behind the scenes at one of only two left in the UK to get to the heart of the debate.

Petra Jackson pictured with Zebedee the zebra at Circus Mondao, in Tingley, Leeds. Picture by Simon Hulme

Behind the big top at Circus Mondao – one of only two licensed animal circuses in the UK – zebras, camels and reindeer are roaming to the disgust of animal rights campaigners.

At its current resting place at Thorpe Lane, Tingley, there are Shetland ponies tethered to the circus tent, camels tethered in the fields, while its seven horses are split between airy temporary stables and makeshift paddocks to keep them separated from the freely wandering elderly zebra ‘Zebedee’.

By any means it’s a strange, if not slightly unnatural, sight to see at fields between Leeds and Wakefield nevertheless the animals seem contented and oblivious to the legal and moral storm that surrounds Circus Mondao’s very existence.

Next month draft legislation to enforce an outright ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, which could eventually come into force by December 2015, will have its crucial second reading amid increasing public protests.

Touring the circus on its eighth visit to rural Tingley in as many years, a vast convoy of 17 trucks, cars and caravans hauled around the country by a 30-strong workforce nine months of the year is gearing up for its next show.

We’re led around the site by veteran ringmistress Petra Jackson as Romanian gymnasts warm up in the big top and the animals are given time to relax outside. She is immediately on the defensive. “Have a look at where our animals live – you can’t believe everything you read on the internet,” she said. “It’s very hard to get our voice across. They are not kept in a shoebox under the bed, they’re grazing freely with fresh food and fresh water.”

It’s not surprising that she is on her guard. Life on the road with a modern day animal circus consists of a relentless stream of protests and media criticism outside of daily performances and weekly travel.

But having entered circus life aged 16 to train and care for dogs and ponies, Ms Jackson is used to the pressure. She has spent 22 years in the industry and joined Circus Mondao nine years ago.

Forthright in her view that all her animals live fulfilling lives, she is adamant that traditional circus is by no means the “Victorian relic” campaigners suggest.

“The people who come and see the show don’t say it’s outdated – it’s not what the general public are saying,” she said.

“The Great British public want to be able to make their own decision about what they want to see. If they didn’t want to see animals perform in the circus they wouldn’t come to see us and we would be out of business.” “The public did make their own decision about animals in circuses, according to a report by Born Free Foundation and RSPCA (2006).   “See Link To PDF – Its time Parliament changed it’s act;Below”

 98.9% of readers of the Sunday Mirror newspaper who expressed a view thought that the UK’s only remaining circus elephant (see section 6.1 – UK Circus elephant) should retire (2005). 

The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee The Environment,Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) is a cross-party committee appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure,administration,and policy of the Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and its associated bodies. In its examination of the Animal Welfare Bill,the Committee has recommended that: In addition,to date (11/01/06),92 Members of Parliament have signed Early Day Motion No.468 recognising that the circus environment cannot provide for the needs of wild animals. The use of wild animals in circuses be prohibited The use of all other performing animals in circuses,television,theatre,films,advertising etc.be licensed “See Link To PDF – Its time Parliament changed it’s act;Below”

In spite of her defiance, the evidence suggests the days of UK animal circus acts are numbered – even aside from the looming change in the law.

From 1998/9 the number of circuses practicing with wild animals in the UK fell from 20 to four in just five years, with dwindling audiences and high-profile animal cruelty cases contributing to the fact that only two such circuses exist today.

Circus Mondao, with its collection of over 30 mainly grazing stock, and Peter Jolly’s Circus, which features five lions and tigers, have rarely been out of the headlines as a result.

And having worked with big cats herself, Ms Jackson is hardly damning of their use. “The natural environment out there isn’t what it used to be with deforestation and there is so much more poaching and hunting going on,” she said. “People don’t realise they (big cats) relax a lot in the daytime and what they do in the circus is no different to what they do in the wild – they jump and leap from one rock to another, it’s just a trained movement.”

She argues that most circus animals are “captive bred” and are used to a circus routine which causes them no harm, meaning animals such as Mondao’s zebra and one of its mules have easily outlasted their predicted life expectancies.

“The tide of opinion is against us. There’s no scientific evidence against us. We’ve been inspected by the Government, they have licensed us and all the inspections that have happened previously didn’t find anything wrong with the animals in the circus, it’s just that the animal rights people don’t think it’s right to have them in captivity.”

5.3 Abnormal behaviour
It is known that wild animals in captivity often display abnormal behaviour,with a particular problem being repetitive, seemingly functionless actions referred to as stereotypic behaviour. Stereotypic behaviour may be the result of frustrated needs,or be a coping mechanism developed in a current or previous inadequate or stressful environment,and the presence of stereotypic behaviour is generally acknowledged to be an indicator of current or previous poor welfare. Evidence exists for stereotypic behaviour being significant in circus animals (e.g.Friend & Parker 1999,Gruber 2000,Krawczel et al.2005, Schmid 1995),and this is supported by anecdotal evidence and video footage. Indeed,legislation in New Zealand attempts to tackle the problem,stating that animals displaying continuous signs of distress must not be held or used in circuses. Presence of stereotypic behaviour in some species may serve as partial evidence that circuses are unable to meet the needs of wild animals.  “See Link To PDF – Its time Parliament changed it’s act;Below”

Nationwide around 200 local authorities, including Leeds City Council, have pre-empted a wider ban by refusing to warrant animal circuses using council-owned land.

The arrival of Circus Mondao and Peter Jolly’s Circus in West Yorkshire last year attracted the attention of protestors in Otley and Queensbury, Bradford, last year, and Circus Mondao’s visits to Thornton, Calverley and Tingley so far have attracted similar responses from the likes of Leeds Animal Protection and Bradford and Calderdale Animal Friends.

Meanwhile Animal Defenders International has called on residents to avoid the circus as wild animal acts are an “outdated practice which is overwhelmingly opposed by the public”.

Jan Creamer, president of ADI, said: “Most people are now aware of the terrible suffering of wild animals in circuses and shun such acts. A national ban has been promised but, until it is brought in, these animals are forced to perform silly tricks and endure conditions which deny them their natural behaviours. We urge local people not to support circus suffering.”

Recent high profile cases of mistreatment have scarred the perception of animal circuses for many. Circus owner Bobby Roberts was given a three-year conditional discharge in 2012 for mistreating the UK’s last circus elephant. The conviction came after a groom was secretly filmed striking the 58-year-old elephant, called Anne, with a pitchfork in early 2011.

Nevertheless animal cruelty and circuses are not necessarily intertwined. Both remaining UK animal circuses are regularly vetted and have been licensed by DEFRA.

In fact after publishing the Wild Animals in Circuses Report which looks set to bring about the ban on wild animal acts, committee chair Anne McIntosh MP said “there is no overwhelming welfare case for a ban on wild animals in travelling circuses”, stating there are already laws in place to deal with welfare abuse.

But whether wild animal acts are at all necessary or viable remains debatable. Either way, the impending ban looks set to spell the end of a 150-year-old industry.

Ms Jackson added: “We don’t know what’s going to happen, that’s very true. We don’t think like to think about it.”

HISTORY OF ANIMAL CIRCUSES IS CHEQUERED

• The use of animals in the circus dates back around a century and a half.
• Prior to travelling circuses and the advent of public zoos, those wanting to lay their eyes on exotic wild animals would head to fairs.
• Before animals were exhibited, travelling shows were likely to be exhibiting people with physical abnormalities, regarded at the time as ‘freaks of nature’.
• From the 19th Century animals were taken on tour as displays of exotic creatures before they were combined with traditional circus shows – the first true animal acts involved horses.
• US circus performer Isaac Van Amburgh is recognised as the first wild animal trainer in circus history, having entered a cage with several big cats as early as 1833.
• Equestrian circus became a world phenomenon during the 1800s, with travelling circuses pitching up American-style big top tents from the mid 1830s.
• In Europe, the travelling circus and menagerie reached its peak between the two world wars.
• But while exotic animals once drew large crowds, the animal rights movements of the 1960s onwards pressured circuses to re-think their links with animals.
• Shows began to present circus in a more artistic light, while many circuses began to end or amend their association with animal acts.
• Although not a travelling circus, German-American duo Siegfried & Roy who performed with white lions and tigers in Las Vegas ended their 13-year stage careers after Roy was attacked and nearly killed by a seven-year-old male tiger named Montecore in 2003.
• Such high profile accidents were added to by cases of ill treatment among some of the more unscrupulous circuses and began to shape perceptions.

News Link:-http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/animal-circuses-cruel-entertainment-or-a-dying-art-1-6862167

 Public Opinion.
Recent decades have seen increasing public exposure to media such as television documentaries and to foreign travel, allowing people the opportunity to observe either directly or indirectly animals in the wild, their natural behaviour and habitats. In addition, examples of animal cruelty such as those uncovered during the investigation and successful prosecution of individuals from the Chipperfield family in 1997-1999 have aroused considerable public concern. It is of little surprise therefore that there has been a concurrent decline in the popularity of circuses featuring performing wild animals, which in turn may have led to circuses disposing of their wild animal acts. There have been several polls that serve to indicate this change in public opinion:“See Link To PDF – Its time Parliament changed it’s act;Below”

NOW:-Take action!

Ask the government to keep their promise to end the use of all wild animals in circuses by 2015!

If your local authority has allowed animal circuses on council-owned land, you can write a letter expressing your concernto your local councillor.
[1]  Harris S, Iossa G & Soulsbury CD (2006) A review of the welfare of wild animals in circuses (PDF 404KB). Report submitted to the Circus Working Group, 4 December.

Relevant documents

A report into the welfare of circus animals in England and Wales (1998) (230KB)

A review of the welfare of wild animals in circuses (2006) (PDF 632KB)

It’s time Parliament changed its Act: An examination of the state of UK circuses with wild animals (2006) (PDF 1.25MB) (Part of PDF Link noted above)

News Link:-http://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/captivity/circuses

Wild animals in captivity

In 2012, the Westminster Government announced it would finally grant wild animals in circuses their long overdue ban. Two and a half years later and it appears that the government has turned its back on wild animals in the circus.

Our last chance before the election lies with Jim Fitzpatrick MP who has tabled a banning bill to pick up where the government has left off. The banning bill will have it’ssecond reading on 17 October. This is a very important date as it could be our very last chance to see this much discussed ban become a reality.

 News Link By RSPCA: http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/bigstop/-/articleName/CAM_The_Big_Stop_v2

Breeding animals for a few generations doesn’t wipe out thousands of years of evolution; essentially a tiger born in a circus has the same needs as a tiger born in the wild.

We’re not saying that the wild is an idyllic place free from problems – it’s not! But animals have evolved over thousands of years, adapting to live in certain types of natural environments.

Placing an animal in surroundings that are unsuitable for the species can cause stress and behavioural problems. Animals kept in an improper environment or fed the wrong diet can suffer, resulting in illness or death. In some environments, we believe it’s best not to keep certain wild animals at all, as their needs cannot be met – particularly if the animal is there for entertainment. Examples are;

• Primates as pets,
• Elephants in zoos (PDF 1158KB),
• Whales and dolphins in dolphinaria,
• Wild animals in circuses.

If you cannot meet the needs of an animal then you should not keep that animal.

 News Link By RSPCA:-http://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/captivity/-/articleName/WLD_InCaptivity

Wild animals don’t belong in circuses…

The complex needs of wild animals can never be adequately met in a circus environment and regular transport, cramped and bare temporary housing, forced training and performance are all unavoidable realities for the animals.

We have no confidence in the licensing scheme introduced by the government as an interim measure while the ban was being passed. Put simply, it does virtually nothing to protect the welfare of wild animals in circuses.
So what are we waiting for? In March 2012 the Westminster Government announced it would ban wild animals in circuses and the Welsh Government later announced they were keen for Wales to be included in the legislation. However, the animals are still waiting.

Take action, email your MP now and urge them throw their support behind this ‘last chance’ bIll…

News Link RSPCA:-http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/bigstop/-/articleName/CAM_The_Big_Stop_v2

Related articles

• Huge Victory! UK Ban on ALL Wild Animals in Circuses to Go into Effect in 2015 (onegreenplanet.org)
• Travelling circus under fire for use of wild animals after arriving in Wirral (liverpoolecho.co.uk)
• Campaign to ban wild circus animals wins huge public support (environmentaleducationuk.wordpress.com)
• Animal circus in Chepstow under attack (southwalesargus.co.uk)
• Circuses remove last of the big cats from UK’s big tops (guardian.co.uk)

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY LIKING THIS POST… “Why life in captivity is the last hope of saving tigers” VIA CIRCUSES!!!!

“Yes I agree, due to the dwindling numbers of tigers in the wild & those that are legally shot for pleasure; there aren’t many left in the wild; BUT there are some decent wildlife parks that tigers can be kept in, whilst following the proper gene protocol etc.. But to say they are better in a circus is too much for me to swallow!!! As an animal advocate of many years, I don’t think tigers are or should be allowed in CIRCUSES.” To say tigers are trained without the use of brute force or cruelty is something I can not accept, i.e jumping through rings of fire!!! Please read the following report on why this person thinks tigers are better off in zoos, someone who is an animal welfare specialist!!! PLEASE READ THIS POST…FOR ME ME IT STANDS AGAINST EVERYTHING I BELIEVE AS AN ANIMAL ADVOCATE.”

“PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AGAINST WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES BY LIKING THIS POST…Thanks!

Why life in captivity is the last hope of saving tigers

By Western Morning News  |  Posted: September 23, 2014

By Jamie Foster

I recently went to visit a family who are being attacked. They are hard-working and do not live off state benefits despite being anything but wealthy.

They are a part of a minority community that has been subject to venomous attacks for many years by people who are never called to account. In many ways the prejudices that they suffer are amongst the last socially acceptable, thoughtless bigotries it is possible to openly express.

 

The family I went to visit was a circus family, from Peter Jolly’s circus, the first in Great Britain to be licensed by Defra to have and exhibit big cats. It is a traditional circus maintaining a 300-year-old tradition of showing performing animals to adoring crowds. The family live and work every minute of every day with their animals, which, as a result are in the condition one would expect of pedigree show cattle.

They are physically healthy and mentally stimulated from the constant contact with their trainers. What is odd is that the animal rights lobby has been so successful in persuading a nation of animal lovers that these animals should be in the wild, and that both captivity and being asked to perform are acts of cruelty.

On September 3, Jim Fitzpatrick MP introduced a private member’s bill calling for all wild animals in circuses to be banned.

This is quite an odd legal approach to an activity that is licensed by Defra. It is even more odd considering that the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has already reported on this issue. The committee included the current Farming Minister, George Eustice; Neil Parish, the East Devon MP currently working closely with the RSPCA on animal welfare matters, and Barry Gardiner, a Labour MP well known for his anti-hunting stance.

The committee’s report recommended the Government should not consider a banning wild animals in circuses but should allow the current licensing system to regulate the activity. This was because the committee found that there were no welfare implications to wild animals being kept captive or performing in circuses. This may surprise many people who are used to hearing the opposite in public, but it doesn’t surprise me. I have seen the conditions that these animals are kept in and the condition of the animals for myself.

If you are against animals in circuses, or have no particular view about them, I would invite you to consider a couple of points.

Take tigers. In the past century we have lost 97 per cent of wild tigers on this planet. There are essentially two reasons for this. Tigers are an apex predator that require a large area of land to survive in the wild. Man has encroached on that land and man is not good at sharing. Worse still, for the tigers, man has decided that their component parts are far more valuable after their death than when they are alive. The reality is that there is not so much wild for them to be in anymore and many people willing to go into the wild to shoot them and sell them on the black market.

The reality is that we cannot turn the clock back. The task of providing a habitat and preventing poaching is simply not one we can complete before tigers become extinct if all tigers were to remain in the wild. This is an appalling reality but it is a reality nonetheless. “Exactly…but they shouldn’t be subjected to training tactics, to entertain the public either”

So we are left with the unavoidable conclusion that some tigers must be kept in captivity, despite how much this offends some people’s aesthetic sensibilities.

Of course we can and should keep tigers in zoos and safari parks. These are both places where the animals are safe and can be studied from a distance. They also, however, have an inherent disadvantage. Tigers in zoos and safari parks do not enjoy the level of mental stimulation they would in the wild, largely because it would be frowned upon to allow them to hunt the other residents. It is for this reason that safari parks came into being in the first place.

People wanted to display animals in settings that more closely resembled the wild than traditional zoos, and where the animals had more to keep them occupied.

Ironically they turned to circus people, who assisted in designing the first safari parks in order to minimise the boredom that can be experienced by animals in captivity.

Tigers in a modern circus, on the other hand, have a great deal of mental stimulation, which comes in the form of the training it takes in order for them to perform. The suggestion that cruelty is employed in this training simply isn’t true. If you were to train a tiger by beating it you would end up with an animal whose only act would be cowering in fear. As anyone who has ever tried to train a dog knows, you may be able to stop an animal from doing something by scaring it but you can’t encourage an animal to do something in the same way.

Tricks that tigers do in a circus may be characterised as “undignified” or “demeaning” but the tiger has no understanding of such concepts. To the tiger, the training is fundamentally similar to the play that it would undertake in the wild and prevents boredom and depression that simply locking it in a cage risks. “Oh Please, there is more that enough undercover investigations to prove this wrong…on all levels”

More than this, however, the circus brings the tiger into contact with humans in an entirely positive way. The tiger makes money while it is alive, rather than only having a value in death. It was a quaint hippy concept from the 1960s that money doesn’t matter and everyone should be free, but real life doesn’t work that way. Conserving tigers is a costly business.

In circuses tigers can contribute to this effort. The truth is we have been working alongside animals for millennia. There is nothing wrong with that as long as welfare standards are as good as they can and should be.

In this country we have the highest welfare standards in the world.”Really??? is that why Britain is the last Country to ban wild animals in circuses?“

We need to continue to set an example through the way we maintain those standards, not restrict the areas that good practice can occur in.

Clearly there have been examples of animals being mistreated in the past. This occurs in every walk of life from circuses to our own homes.

The law is entirely adequate to deal with abuse. If someone abuses an animal they should be prosecuted. But banning animals being kept in circuses because some people have mistreated animals is like banning cars because some people crash.

In the US, the Ringling Brothers circus is a multi-billion dollar industry. It grew out of traditional UK circuses and still employs many British performers.

It is an industry that ploughs a fortune into animal conservation. The company owns huge facilities where retired circus animals are kept in fantastic conditions. It is an example of the contribution that private industry can make to the conservation effort and it is an example we should follow, not shy away from.

Currently the animal rights lobby is attacking circuses, and zoos, safari parks, farms, race tracks and abattoirs. The same argument is used to object to all of them. “Sorry I disagree, different living accommodations & racing young horses has nothing to do with zoo life!”

A tiger that lives free in the wild in the way they advocate has an average life span of 15 years. In captivity the average is 25 years, but many go on to 30 years or more. Next time you think about circuses ask yourself if you know the whole truth, or if you have really thought about it at all.

What the legislation says

According to the gov.uk website, anyone in England operating a travelling circus with wild animals must still apply for, and receive, a licence under the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012. These ensure that if a travelling circus continues to use wild animals before a ban can take effect, they will be subject to regular inspections to check they are meeting strict licensing conditions and welfare standards. The regulations are made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This act includes the duty of care that applies to owners of animals as well as the offence making it illegal to cause an animal to suffer unnecessarily.” As far as I am aware, Circuses are licensed by their own staff!!”

The RSPCA is campaigning against the use of wild animals in circuses and is lobbying the Westminster and Welsh governments to ban their use in England and Wales. The organisation says: “We don’t believe animals should be subjected to the conditions of circus life. Regular transport, cramped and bare temporary housing, forced training and performance, loud noises and crowds of people are often unavoidable realities for the animals. Scientific research has shown that travelling circus life is likely to have a harmful effect on animal welfare.

Behind the big top

Philip Astley is credited with being the ‘father’ of the modern circus when he opened the first circus in London on April 4, 1768

The word circus derives from the Latin circus, which is the romanisation of the Greek kirkos, which itself derives from Homeric Greek krikos, meaning ‘circle’ or ‘ring’

In 1825 Joshuah Purdy Brown was the first circus owner to use a large canvas tent for the circus performance

In 1919, Lenin expressed a wish for the circus to become ‘the people’s art-form’, with facilities and status on a par with theatre, opera and ballet. Russia later nationalised its circuses

A 2011 Defra consultation saw 94 per cent of respondents, including the British Veterinary Association, backing an end to the use of wild animals in circuses

Keeping wild animals in circuses is to be banned in England from the end of 2015

Attendances for the three travelling circuses using wild animals in 2011 were approximately 153,000

News Link:– http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/8203-life-captivity-hope-saving-tigers/story-22967942-detail/story.html

Comments on the above

The following are a few comments from people regards the above post:-

 

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  lovelylizzy  |  September 24 2014, 9:43PM

  The videos are proof of cruelty. These creatures were beaten. Actual fact. Nothing to do with “animal rights lunatics.” It doesn’t matter who made the video. It DID happen. You surely don’t deny this cruelty happened, do you?

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  Equaliser  |  September 24 2014, 8:41PM

  No. I don’t think anything Animal Rights lunatics rely on to feed their insatiable appetite for self righteous human hatred has anything whatever to do with facts.

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  lovelylizzy  |  September 24 2014, 12:57PM

  *That still is factual isn’t it ?*

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  lovelylizzy  |  September 24 2014, 12:55PM

  Did they not lose the case because of their extreme stupidity with not using a credible witness, not anything to do with the cruelty shown on the video. That still is factual isn’t? We can’t deny elephants getting beaten across the face before they go out to perform tricks can we?. It is there in the video. And also the tigers getting whipped is still factual, don’t you think?

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  Equaliser  |  September 24 2014, 7:49AM

  Peta lost their case, HSUS lost their case, Aspca lost their case, the list of Vegan front organisations on the hook for legal fees is unending. Try googling Peta loses court case. It will keep you reading for a week. Vegan racketeering is expensive in thenStates apparently.

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  lovelylizzy  |  September 24 2014, 6:29AM

  @equaliser, I genuinely cannot find anything that says Peta had to pay feld. I would honestly be interested if you could send me a link, it would be interesting. The link you sent me named other groups, but not Peta. Are they as one? As I said I am genuinely interested.

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  lovelylizzy  |  September 24 2014, 6:06AM

  Is the abuse not there to see. The camera never lies now does it? What do you think of these people who beat the elephants? It is irrelevant regarding the paid witness, ( although reckless and bloody idiotic) because the abuse of these animal took place. Surely you can’t deny that? What about the gentleman who wrote the article who said and I quote “The suggestion that cruelty is employed in this training simply isn’t true.” (re tigers) there is another link I posted proving they do get beat. You can’t argue with video evidence. So in summery two questions Did Elephants repeatedly get beaten just before they went out to “perform” ? and is the other video proof that tigers are also whipped and beaten so they will “perform.”?

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  Equaliser  |  September 23 2014, 11:34PM

  You are out of date Lizzy. Peta had to pay Feld due to AR lies and racketeering http://tinyurl.com/lcfkoff

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  lovelylizzy  |  September 23 2014, 7:58PM

  Oh yes and the lovely Ringling Brothers “Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, must now pay the largest settlement of its kind in U.S. history―*270,000―for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) dating back to 2007” http://tinyurl.com/pl9fd7w

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  lovelylizzy  |  September 23 2014, 7:47PM

  Oh yes no one in circuses ever beats the tigers. Are you sure? https://http://tinyurl.com/qe5fsmc That is just one of many you can google if you would like to look. These beautiful animal are not here to perform tricks for us humans.

Comment Link on above:-http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/8203-life-captivity-hope-saving-tigers/story-22967942-detail/story.html#comments

“So why does the writer not take the above into consideration? I completely agree with the RSPCA & Scientific research; which is why wild animals should be banned from circuses…PERIOD. I presume this writer knows about the lawsuits & what Ringling have paid in the past due to poor conditions etc. “SERIOUSLY, DOES THIS GUY EXPECT US TO BELIEVE TIGERS ENTERTAIN… BECAUSE THEY ENJOY IT??  IT STIMULATE THEIR MINDS ETC…..I don’t think so…do you???

 Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus , must now pay the largest settlement  of its kind in U.S. history―$270,000―for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) dating back to 2007. http://www.ringlingbeatsanimals.com/

PETA has been after the USDA all this time to take action against Ringling for abusing the animals in its care. In recent meetings, we presented unequivocal evidence of animal abuse, including beatings, the death of a lion, lame elephants forced to perform despite chronic pain, and a baby elephant who died during a training routine. We had recently filed a new formal request for action against Ringling, and our attorneys had met with the USDA’s general counsel and urged her to begin enforcement proceedings.

Ringling Beats Animals: A PETA Undercover Investigation

Uploaded on 22 Jul 2009

PETA’s 2009 investigation of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus found that workers were beating, whipping, and hooking elephants and striking tigers. Watch the shocking footage now: http://ringlingbeatsanimals.com

Related articles

• Sad But True: This is What Life in the Circus is Doing to the Health of Performing Animals (onegreenplanet.org)
• UK Government to Ban Performing Circus Animals (ibtimes.co.uk)
• Mersey MP backs calls for ban on use of wild animals in UK circuses (liverpoolecho.co.uk)
• Cameron Stands By Wild Animals Circus Ban (news.sky.com)
• THE FINAL CURTAIN: UK Government Announces 2015 Ban On wild Animals In Circuses In England (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)
• It’s All Over for Wild Animal Circuses – or is it? (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)

Petition: RSPCA – Circuses are no fun for animals, Hold the Government to its promise!

“I don’t know about anyone else but I am sick & fed up of contacting my MP about a ban on Wild animals in circuses across England & Wales. How come other Countries have managed to introduce a ban with no problems? Just WTF are the Government dithering about for? I just pray for all the animals forced to perform, that the Government will not go back on their word & will introduce the much-needed ban ASAP!”

In 2012, the Westminster Government announced it would finally grant wild animals in circuses their long overdue ban.

No Animal Should Be Used & Abused For Entertainment

Two years later and there is a real danger that Parliamentary time will simply run out to deliver the ban and wild animals could languish in circuses for many years to come…

We’ve come this far, we can’t let the animals down now! If you live in England or Wales act now using the form below to make sure the Westminster Government keeps its promise…

The wild animals unfortunate enough to be part of a circus act today live lives of forced performance, prolonged confinement and unnatural social groupings.

 The complex needs of wild animals can never be adequately met in a circus environment and regular transport, cramped and bare temporary housing, forced training and performance are all unavoidable realities for the animals.

So what are we waiting for?

In March 2012 the Westminster Government announced it would ban wild animals in circuses and the Welsh Government later announced they were keen for Wales to be included in the legislation.

However, two years and one meaningless circus licensing scheme later, the animals are still waiting.

 Take action and urge your Government not to break its promise…

Use the form below to email your MP (or if you live in Wales, the Minister for Natural Resources & Food, Alun Davies AM) urging them to ensure the Government keeps its promise! 

Use this link to the form to Contact Your MP:-http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaigns/bigstop/takeaction

Also use form by PETA to contact your MP:-http://action.peta.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=5&ea.campaign.id=26477

RSPCA – Circuses Are No Fun For Animals

Published on 15 Nov 2012

Join the campaign to end circus suffering at: http://www.rspca.org.uk/CircusesAreNoFun

Despite the Westminster Government’s promise to ban wild animals in circuses, the licensing scheme planned for the interim period could mean even more suffering, for even more animals…

In fact, we could still see wild animals suffering in travelling circuses in 2020! It’s time the Government listened to the majority of the people in this county and granted the animals their long overdue ban. Please share this video and spread the work that Circuses are #NoFunforAnimals

News Link:– http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaigns/bigstop

Related articles

• UPDATE: Circus Malta: Petition Supporting Animal Circuses Gains 5,000 Signatures
• Wild Animal Circus Ban Under Threat!
• Graphic Video: Animals Are Not Ours To Use For Entertainment : Petitions to sign
• Graphic Video Inc. Circus Was About Exploitation and Cruelty
• Hippopotamus Death in Circus Leads to Protest
• It’s All Over for Wild Animal Circuses – or is it?
• City Council Vote Means Circus Animals Still Welcome In Worcester

Essex Horse Sanctuary ‘inundated’ with abandoned animals

“Where I live there are many travellers horses grazing at the side of the road! I fear for their safety & that of the people travelling past in cars that may not see them until it’s too late. In previous years, before being in wheelchair, I have had to go round-up loose horses & wait whilst police try to find the owners; but without the horses being chipped the police have no idea who they belong to! So we have just had to move them away from the road & hope the travellers or owners will see to them.

An Essexhorse sanctuary has said it has been “inundated” with animals that are being dumped in fields to “fly-graze” without the permission of landowners.

Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary, near Ingatestone, has had to turn away horses and said the recent floods have made conditions worse for abandoned animals.

The RSPCA said most of the horses are not micro-chipped so the owners cannot be traced.

The government has said it is looking for ways to tighten laws to stop horses being deserted.

Cordelia Hemming reports: News Link:–http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-26314152

Essex horse sanctuary ‘inundated’ with abandoned animals, BBC News

Published on 23 Feb 2014

An Essex horse sanctuary has said it has been “inundated” with animals that are being dumped in fields to “fly-graze” without the permission of landowners.

Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary, near Ingatestone, has had to turn away horses and said the recent floods have made conditions worse for abandoned animals.

The RSPCA said most of the horses are not micro-chipped so the owners cannot be traced.

The government has said it is looking for ways to tighten laws to stop horses being deserted.

Cordelia Hemming reports.

How This Starving Horse Shames The Middle-Class Families Who Dump Pet Ponies They Can’t Afford

“Firstly I have to point out that those who know nothing about horses (aside from riding them) shouldn’t bloody buy or own one; unless they first do a proper course at an agricultural college on Horse & Pasture Management etc. I did when I was age 17 & although I thought I knew it all, the course showed I knew very little; aside from how to ride! Horse prices have dropped so at the moment horses are very cheap, meaning anyone could be easily tempted to buy one; but it’s not just about having land to keep it on, there are many many cost’s involved so one must ensure they can pay for the horses upkeep!”

” I’ve said this before & will keep on saying it; certain horse owners breed them, because that’s their means of income, from travellers to racehorses; but it the horse that pays the price when they either don’t make the grade at racing, or can’t be sold at auction, other than to a killer buyer! All this indiscriminate breeding has meant many horses are either dying of hunger because their owners can’t afford to feed them hard food & hay; a horse needs more than just grass! Then there are those that don’t have their own pastures so think nothing about fly grazing their horses on public or council land.” 

“Some are in such a bad state they are on their way to slaughter, most of which come from breeders who just don’t bloody care!”

By LIZ JONES COLUMN PUBLISHED: 00:56, 2 March 2014 | UPDATED: 10:33, 2 March 2014

She was obviously loved, once. A chestnut mare with a sweet disposition who seems to have a radar to detect the Polo mints in my pocket.

She’s wearing an expensive rug, only now it’s ripped and tangled around her legs. Her coat is worn white where the rug has slipped and rubbed.

Her mane and tail are dreadlocks, entangled with twigs. The ground is sodden, due to the recent flooding, but as I stand with this mare I might as well be in Ethiopia, or some other Third World country where horses roam, abandoned, often starving, rather than where I am: an industrial wasteland in Avonmouth, near Bristol.

Liz Jones visited Avonmouth near Bristol with an officer for World Horse Welfare, whose job it is to monitor horses abandoned in North Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire and South Wales

I’m with an officer from World Horse Welfare whose job it is not just to monitor horses abandoned here in North Somerset, but in Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire and South Wales: no wonder he looks exhausted.

I ask if I can take off the chestnut’s rug to free her and avoid terrible sores, but he tells me no. The red tape that enmeshes animal welfare officers is almost as confining as the straps around the mare’s legs.

The officer tells me I cannot mention his name, either, for fear of alienating the travellers who control these wastelands and wage fierce turf wars. He tells me he gets a lot of ‘verbal abuse’.

But this horse doesn’t look like a traveller’s horse: she’s too fine, not a stocky, coloured cob that is the traveller norm. Her owners have obviously spotted this grazing group, and simply added her to the pile.

She is just one more addition to the estimated 7,000 horses currently at large, abandoned by owners who can no longer afford to keep them – and  it seems that unwanted family pets have now joined these roaming herds of so-called ‘gipsy’ animals.

Horses, for whatever reason – whether they buck off their young owners or cost too much in vet fees and feed – can often enter a downward spiral. Sold again and again, they are eventually picked up by dealers for as little as £5, and sent  for slaughter. Many owners perhaps feel that leaving a horse to fend for itself is a better option.

It’s a huge issue that has been overlooked for years. But now, in an economic and environmental crisis, where flooded land means there is less to go round for grazing, it’s one we can no longer ignore.

Three of the abandoned horses at the site. They are just some of the estimated 7,000 horses currently believed to be at large in the country

Many of the horses are abandoned by their owners who can no longer afford to keep them, while some are unwanted family pets

I’m patron of Equine Market Watch, a small rescue centre in Herefordshire. We took in two colts abused  by a local trader, Mark Hall, from Bringsty, who in September was jailed for ‘immense cruelty’ to 18 horses.

Elaine Tasker, the amazing woman who runs the charity, said: ‘Calls come in every day from people who simply cannot cope any more: they have lost their job, or got divorced.

‘We used to get three calls a day. Now we get seven or eight. I’ve had so many people in tears over ponies that have been in the family a long time.’

Elaine says too many people just don’t notice the animals in sodden, barren fields or wandering, desperately in search of food, on wasteland.

‘They drive past places where hungry animals stand in mud and they just don’t care,’ she laments. ‘The time is approaching when a nationwide cull will be the only way to get the equine population under control.

It seems shameful and shocking that in a horse-loving nation, there is a herd of perhaps 40 horses fly-grazing here at Avonmouth, a few hundred yards from the roaring M49.

Most of the mares are heavily pregnant, still suckling last year’s foals. There is no shelter from the

Liz Jones is patron of Equine Market Watch, a small rescue centre in Herefordshire

elements, meaning lovely heads are bowed against the biting wind, their backs covered in the skin disease rain scald. All the horses are thin – the poor grass is woefully insufficient.

These animals need hay and supplementary hard feed. Their feet are neglected and painful, forcing many to totter uncertainly.

The sight is repeated right across the country, as The Mail on Sunday has highlighted in recent weeks, with increasing numbers of animals, including pregnant mares and foals, being abandoned everywhere from Norfolk and Kent to South Wales.

The RSPCA in England took in 1,526 equines (horses, ponies, donkeys and mules) last year, a staggering 69 per cent increase over 2012.

Redwings horse sanctuary, based  in Norfolk, says that in 2009 it had 161 reports of abandoned horses, but in 2013 there were 806.

In January, the sanctuary was alerted to an abandoned cob in the Romford area of Essex, a county that is something of a hotspot for abandoned equines. She was so thin the bones in her hips and spine were visible, and she was suffering from liver damage. She had to be destroyed.

Already this year, 300 horses have been rescued from a site in South Wales, while 46 have been moved from a site in Hampshire.

The Remus Memorial horse sanctuary in Essex has been inundated since Christmas with abandoned horses. Molly, a cob  with a bouffant hairdo and sweet expression, was recently found pregnant, blind and starving, staggering on a verge next to a busy road, while several horses were found grazing beside the M25.

No one seems clear what should be done. The 2006 Animal Welfare Act is woefully vague. Only if a horse is pronounced to be in a perilous state by a vet can it be seized, and then only with the assistance of the police.

Even if an animal is microchipped, trying to trace the owner is often futile. So these horses roam, some destined to be hit by cars, others to shiver, depressed and starving. My rastafarian mare seems to be wondering what on earth she did wrong to deserve  such a fate.

The horses have joined roaming herds of so-called ‘gipsy’ animals

It was normal to see horses grazing common land and wasteland before the Enclosures Acts, which became law between 1750 and 1850. These Acts denied free grazing, or what is now known as fly-grazing. Like fly-tipping, it means a horse, like a bag of rubbish, has been dumped on land without permission. The travelling community, whose history has never been to settle, use horses and ponies as currency and, having no common land for grazing, dump equines on any available patch.

This is obviously dangerous if the horses are left near  roads – for animals and humans. But it’s very difficult to get the horses off these sites, even through the courts.

While my WHW officer says the travellers treat valuable horses well, it’s a different story for those used to hunt with dogs or raced on hard, unrelenting dual carriageways. I have received many accounts, from Harlow to Hull, of travellers’ horses tethered on bleak roundabouts. I’ve was told of one incident where a foal was strangled by her mother’s rope.

Animal rights group Animal Aid believes one answer to the problem is for local councils to set aside land for grazing. This could save council money and police time, and improve welfare.

Defra Minister Lord De Mauley wants new powers to seize equines, but Animal Aid’s horse consultant Dene Stansall said: ‘There is a current police effort to seize fly-grazed equines, but where do they go? To the RSPCA? Their sanctuaries are full and costing millions of pounds a year in feed and keep costs. Or to slaughter?’

All the animal charities I spoke to want ‘life plans’ for horses: the licensing of stallions, grading of all breeding mares, and even credit checks for prospective owners.

The British Equestrian Federation’s annual National Equine Forum is due to take place in London on Thursday. Nick de Brauwere, welfare director at Redwings and chairman of the National Equine Welfare Council, will press Environment Secretary Owen Paterson for action.

Whatever the outcome, the problem is now so acute that we cannot ignore it any longer. It’s a national scandal.

Horses built this country: they ploughed our fields, helped build an empire and fought for us in two world wars. Let’s not abandon them. We owe them a debt of gratitude. Don’t look the other way.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2571196/How-starving-horse-shames-middle-class-families-dumped-pet-ponies-afford-writes-LIZ-JONES.html#ixzz2vOQ4Ft6d
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

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• Redwings Horse Sanctuary: State of Emergency Appeal
• Asheville Area Residents Charged With Cruelty To Horse Who Starved To Death
• Abandoned Thoroughbred, Defense Team, rescued by South Florida SPCA
• Video: Emaciated Horse Seized; Owner Faces Animal Cruelty Charges
• Graphic Image: Outcry Over Dead Ponies on Bodmin Moor
• Tom Price: Wick Horse Trader Convicted Of Animal Cruelty
• Dozens of ponies on Bodmin Moor starve to death in the freezing spring weather after being dumped by cruel owners

Video: Sussex neglected horse rescued from mud

“Yet more horses just left to fend for themselves….this makes me so fxxxxxg mad…Please watch the video at the link below”!!! If you can’t look after your bloody horse, then let someone else do it…or contact NGO’s for help…please don’t the animals pay for your mistakes!!”

26 February 2014 Last updated at 07:05 GMT

Footage sent to BBC South East has shown the rescue of an abandoned and neglected horse that was so weak it was unable to stand up.

It comes three weeks after a horse died in the same field near Hailsham, East Sussex.

Alison Van Beirendon, a resident who lives nearby, said she went into the field to lift the animal’s face out of the water and mud.

Vet Imogen Burrows said the horse was suffering from exposure, skin disease, and possibly other conditions that were making it thin.

Video & News Link:-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-26347208

Shocking photos show the moment a fox is dragged out of its hole by hunters and shot in front of children as young as FIVE

“THIS DESPICABLE HEINOUS CRIME MUST STOP….PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION BELOW. How can anyone say that chasing an animal with the intention to kill it is a normal act! These POS get a buzz out of chasing a small animal, purely to kill it…it’s the thrill of the chase; & they love it!!”

By LIZZIE EDMONDS – 27 January 2014

• Images, released by anti-hunt campaigners, show men setting dog on fox
• They then use spades to dig creature out of a hole before shooting it dead
• Critics have today condemned ‘cruel’ and ‘horrific’ incident 
• But Countryside Alliance say the men acted legally under Hunting Act

This is the moment a fox was dragged out of a hole and shot dead while children as young as five watched on.

The images, released by anti-hunt campaigners, show a group of terriermen setting their dog on the  creature.

The fox tries attempts to hide in a badger’s sett – but the three adults fire into the ground and use spades to dig it out.

These images show the moment a group of men unearthed and shot a fox as three young children watched on

A farmer who captured the killing on camera says the group then called over three children to show them the remains.

The men can then be seen walking away with two dead animals. It is unclear where and how the second fox was killed.

The shocking incident happened shortly after a hunt on December 28 by the Modbury Harriers, which rides in south Devon.

The League Against Cruel Sports has handed the photos over to the RSPCA and asked them to investigate it as a possible breach of the Hunting Act..

The law bans hunting foxes with a pack of hounds – however it doesn’t cover the use of dogs to flush out animals underground.

The farmer, who has asked not to be identified, said the fox was initially chased across the field by hounds.

The Countryside Alliance said there was ‘no question’ the behaviour was legal – describing the killing as ‘professional and humane’.

“Just read the above comment on the picture…how can any sane animal lover, who owns just a dog or cat; say this is normal!! I see no difference in this than I do inhumane POS chasing & killing elephants or rhino…they are all sentient beings FFS!!”

The huntsmen moved on but before it could climb out of the badger’s set three men with guns and spades arrived – with three children following close behind.

The farmer said: ‘I sat there in disbelief – how could those guys think any of what had played out was fit for young children to witness?

‘I watched in horror as a whole pack of hounds poured into our neighbour’s field then piled into our meadow.

‘They made that hideous blood-curdling squealing – known as ‘speaking’ – which means they are on the scent of a fox.

‘I saw a beautiful vixen flash across the meadow and disappear into an old badger sett on my neighbour’s farm.

‘At the top of the hill I saw a couple of guys carrying spades and a terrier on a lead. They were going to dig her out and kill her right then and there.

‘The men came down and filled in the exit holes to stop the fox escaping and then called the children over to watch as they dug out and killed the young vixen.’

Sick Neanderthals!!

The farmer said the three men came across a second badger inside the hole which they also shot dead as the children craned their necks to see what was happening.

He added: ‘This is the dirty underbelly of fox hunting, the bit they don’t like even their followers to see.

‘But I was disgusted to see the terriermen had brought three youngsters to watch – one was only about five years old.

The farmer, who keeps a flock of 140 breeding ewes and a few chickens, is strongly anti-hunting and has complained about huntsmen trespassing on his land.

oe Duckworth, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), said: ‘This horrific incident of animal cruelty shows not only a total disregard for the dogs and foxes but also for the welfare of the children.’

The Countryside Alliance, however, said there was ‘no question’ the behaviour was legal – describing the killing as ‘professional and humane’.

Spokesman Tim Bonner said the outrage merely demonstrated that outsiders do not ‘understand the realities of the countryside and country life’.

Mr Bonner said he had spoken to the hunt, who told him the killing had been carried out as ‘pest control” with the permission of the landowner.

He said: ‘The children were not in the hole – they were close by – and as far as we are concerned it was a totally professional operation and nothing which should upset anyone.

‘They were using the terrier work exemption and properly, professionally and humanely managing the killing of those two foxes.

‘There would be plenty of children of that sort of age involved in pheasant shoots and ferreting.

‘The vast majority of children eat meat and at the end of the day it is a dead animal.’

The Hunting act:-

The Hunting Act came in to force in February 2005 and was passed under the 1997 Labour government. It bans hunting any wild mammal  – including foxes, deer and hares -with dogs in England and Wales.

Under the Act it is completely legal to ‘flush out’ – i.e. coax an animal from a hole or a sett – with dogs.

It is also legal to drag hunt with hounds. This is when the dogs are trained to follow an artificial scent and is now common practice across the country.

Hunting mammals with dogs was banned in Scotland two years earlier under the Protection of Wild Mammals Act 2002.

It is still legal to hunt in Northern Ireland.

Breaking the law is a summary offence. Those found guilty of doing so would be fined.

There were 181 convictions under the Hunting Act up to the end of 2010.

Petition Link:-http://www.yousign.org/en/justice-for-uk-fox

News Link:-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2546867/Shocking-photos-moment-fox-dragged-hole-hunters-shot-children-young-FIVE.html

TAIJI TRAGEDY CONTINUES: Dolphins continue to die!

December 21, 2013 by Ric O’Barry, Earth Island Institute

By Ric O’Barry
Director
Dolphin Project
Earth Island Institute

I’ve been in Taiji since last week, working closely with Sakura and other Japanese activists who are visiting.  My friend Satoshi, head of Flippers Japan, is coming to visit here soon.

TAIJI TRAGEDY CONTINUES

The good news is that there is a growing movement of Japanese animal rights activists who agree with us that the dolphin hunts in Taiji are cruel and should end.  They are conducting demonstrations in Tokyo and coming to Taiji to see the dolphin hunts for themselves.

Sakura has been posting updates from Taiji for the past three months in both Japanese and English (including on our Dolphin Project Facebook Page).

She is really dedicated, talking to every Japanese tourist who comes to visit Taiji about the dolphin hunts.  We wish we could clone her!

All this activity in Japan gives me hope for the future.

I need hope right now.  The dolphin hunts here are still very ghastly and would make anyone sick.

Risso’s dolphins in the Cove from a drive hunt on Friday in Taiji. These beautiful animals were all killed. Photo by Sakura Araki.

Some other good news:  the dolphin killers have announced they will be stopping hunts on their annual end-of-year break, from Dec. 24th through January 4th.

So at least some dolphins and whales will get a respite for the holidays.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, too.  We cannot give up our efforts to stop the dolphin hunts here in Taiji and throughout Japan.

We should draw strength from our progress so far – we have accomplished quite a bit since 2003 when I first saw the dolphin hunts in Taiji for myself.

The Earth Island Dolphin Project Team and I will continue the effort for as long as it takes.  I can guarantee to you that we will not give up!

If you would like to help us with a donation, that would be great!

Dead Risso’s dolphins being transferred from the killing grounds of the Cove to the slaughterhouse in Taiji harbor. Photo by Sakura Araki.

If you are helping us with your volunteer work and spreading the word, my deepest thanks.

Take care and happy holidays to you and yours from all of us at Earth Island Institute and the Dolphin Project!

Photos of recent Risso’s dolphin hunt in Taiji by Sakura Araki.

News Link:–http://savejapandolphins.org/blog/post/taiji-tragedy-continues

 Not Belong in Captivity!

ORCAS AND DOLPHINS DO NOT BELONG IN CAPTIVITY!
Orcas and Dolphins Do Not Belong in Captivity!

The recent documentaries Blackfish and The Cove show that putting dolphins and orcas in captivity is unethical and cruel, ripping them from their families that they would normally grow up with and depriving them of the freedom of the open ocean, instead confining them to small concrete tanks to do tricks for dead fish.

 MAKE A DONATION TO HELP KEEP THE CAMPAIGN GOING

DONATE HERE to our efforts to STOP the SLAUGHTER/TRADE/and DISPLAY OF DOLPHINS AND WHALES IN CAPTIVITY.

WATCH OUR NEW “RELEASE ME” VIDEO AND SPREAD THE WORD TO FRIENDS

https://vimeo.com/77548465

Release Me :15 DolphinProject.org PSA from Dolphin Project on Vimeo.

DolphinProject.org “Release Me” :15 PSA

Director Lincoln O’Barry
Editor: Tracy Hof
Post: MPC LA
Song: Release Me
Special thanks to the amazing Frida Ohrn on vocals
Oh Laura
ITunes: itunes.apple.com/us/artist/oh-laura/id254454772
Cosmos Music Group
Warner/Chappell

Special Thanks to Elexis Stern at MPC LA

Help us spread the word so that millions of people can see this video and get involved. PLEASE SHARE THIS LINK.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Dolphins have evolved over millions of years, adapting perfectly to life in the ocean. They are intelligent, social and self-aware, exhibiting evidence of a highly developed emotional sense. Here are just a few of the issues with captivity:

Captures of dolphins are traumatic and stressful and can result in injury and death of dolphins. The numbers of dolphins that die during capture operations or shortly thereafter are never revealed in dolphinariums or swim-with-dolphins programs. Some facilities even claim their dolphins were “rescued” from the ocean and cannot be released. This claim is almost invariably false.

Training of dolphins is often deliberately misrepresented by the captive dolphin industry to make it look as if dolphins perform because they like it. This isn’t the case. They are performing because they have been deprived of food.

Most captive dolphins are confined in minuscule tanks containing chemically treated artificial seawater. Dolphins in a tank are severely restricted in using their highly developed sonar, which is one of the most damaging aspects of captivity. It is much like forcing a person to live in a hall of mirrors for the rest of their life – their image always bouncing back with no clear direction in sight.

Dolphins and whales have been shown by recent scientific research to be sensitive with likely more ranges of emotions than humans, with culture that is handed down through generations, and personal names.  They deserve our respect and the right to remain in the wild, free from harassment and harm.

Earth Island Institute’s campaign to protect dolphins and whales focuses on stopping the killing of these animals in the wild in places like Japan, Indonesia, the Faroe Islands and the Solomon Islands, as well as stopping the blood dolphin$ trade to dolphinariums around the world.  In fact, these dolphin hunts are often supported by the dolphin trade to catch some individuals for captivity, while the remainder are slaughtered.

Click here to see a list of Captive Dolphin Facilities that have been Closed or Never Opened.

These success stories were accomplished by people like you taking action and stopping all support of dolphin shows and all swim-with-dolphin facilities.

WRITE A LETTER to Your Local Newspaper.  Click HERE for a sample.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD – Let your friends, family, school mates, and service club members know about the problem of keeping whales and dolphins in captivity.

For Further Information:

A great Editorial from the Los Angeles Times opposing captivity.

Ken Brower’s excellent Blackfish Review for National Geographic.

With the annual Taiji, Japan, dolphin hunt starting in September,Georgia Woodroffe goes into detail about the horrors facing whales and dolphins.

Earth Island Dolphin Project Blogs:

India Ban on Captivity

Korean Dolphin Release Success

Beluga Import Permit Denied

Empty the Tanks Demonstration in Vallejo

Don’t do Dolphin-Assisted Therapy

One Thousand Protesters at Marineland, Canada

Birth of Orca in SeaWorld Nothing to Celebrate

WAZA Could Stop the Slaughter

One Sad Orca

Follow the Money: Captivity and Dolphin Slaughter

Taiji Whale Museum: Dolphin Traffickers

The Problem with Captivity

Tilikum in a scene from BLACKFISH, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Photo credit: Gabriela Cowperthwaite.

Motion To Dismiss Denied In Animal Cruelty Case

A pretrial hearing was held Monday in Ellis County Court at Law No. 2 on a case involving animal cruelty.

Waxahachie police officers arrested Michelle Lehman on July 29, 2011 for the alleged offence.  Lehman has been charged with 11 counts of cruelty to a non-livestock animal.

Lehman’s attorney, Rodney Ramsey, presented a motion to dismiss to Judge Gene Calvert at Monday’s hearing. Ramsey based his motion that the police officers illegally entered the property and had no probable cause to do so.

Judge Calvert then asked both sides to present evidence.

Ellis County Assistant County and District Attorney Seth McCloskey presented a recording of a 9-1-1 call that prompted the officers to respond to the property. On the recording, the caller reported to dispatchers that he saw a woman beating a dog with a stick in a field as he drove by on Ovilla Road.

Following the playing of the recording, McCloskey called Waxahachie Police Officer David Bittle to the stand. Bittle testified after he had received the call he met with the motorist at a church down the road before going to the location.

Bittle said at the location officers met Lehman at the fence line of the property. Bittle explained their reason for being there. He said Lehman denied the claim that she had beaten an animal.

Both Ramsey and McCloskey asked Bittle if officers had permission to go on the property. Bittle informed the court that Lehman had given the officers permission.

Upon entering the property, Bittle said Lehman had multiple dogs chained up in different places. Plastic barrels had been cut in half to be used as shelters for the animals and some of the animals appeared to be mangy and sick.

Ramsey asked Bittle if he knew what condition the animals were in when they were brought to Lehman’s property, when they were fed or last received water. Bittle said he did not know.

Since the police department does not deal with many cases that involve animals, Bittle said help was requested from Waxahachie Senior Animal Control Officer and Advanced Animal Cruelty Investigator Warren Howell.

Following Bittle’s testimony, Waxahachie Police Officer Brian Fuller was called to testify.

Fuller corroborated Bittle’s testimony about Lehman giving them permission to enter the property and his assessment of the animals.

Waxahachie Police Lt. Billie Pendleton was then called to the stand to reaffirm that the officers made first contact with the defendant outside the gate leading into the property and gained permission first.

Pendleton said she observed that some of the animals where skinny and had skin conditions. Pendleton stated the only food available for the animals at the site, which Lehman referred to as a “rescue facility” was pizza crusts. The water in the bowls was green in some cases, she said.

Ramsey asked Pendleton what made her think that she had a case of animal cruelty? Pendleton said one of the big factors that led to the arrest was the condition of a dog that had been tied up, was out of the reach of water, was sickly and appeared to be deceased or near death.

Howell was then called to the stand and stated that he spoke with the defendant and asked to conduct a welfare check of the animals on the property, which she gave permission to do so.

Howell reported that there were animals that were on short leashes, which resulted in cuts around the neck. He added food bowls were overturned, there were some animals that appeared to be very skinny and some had bones showing.

Some of the animals were in need of immediate medical care, Howell said. One of the examples Howell cited during the hearing about the poor condition of the animals was seeing a cat that passed a tar-like substance directly in front of him.

Lehman then took the stand to provide the court with her testimony. Before answering questions, Judge Calvert advised Lehman of her rights and told her that she was not required to testify in court.

Ramsey asked Lehman if she provided consent for the officers to enter her property. She told the court she did not give consent and said she “didn’t know who the woman who was swinging the stick but wishes (the police) could find her.”

McCloskey asked Lehman how she obtained the pets for a “rescue” shelter. Lehman told the court that some of the animals were owner surrenders because the current owner could not financially take care their pet any more.

Other animals were ones Lehman found on the streets who appeared to be abandoned and in poor health.

Lehman said when she picked them up off the street, she would place flyers at the location where the animal was found or at a local business in effort to contact the owners. A few times owners did contact her and retrieved their pets, but Lehman could provide the court with no records of these events.

During the times she did adopt animals, Lehman told the court she did require a home visit to ensure the safety and welfare of the animal but could not provide any paperwork on adoptions.

McCloskey asked Lehman if medical care was provided to the animals and how she was able to fund these operations. Lehman said she supported the operations on the property through the money she earned as a part-time stagehand. These funds paid for the medical care if the animals got sick and had to see the veterinarian. Visits to the vet were paid in cash, Lehman said. She told the court she did provide documentation of these visits to Howell when he was at the site conducting the welfare check.

Lehman was asked about where the food she received for the animals came from. She told the court the pizza crusts came from a friend who saved them from cleaning tables at local restaurant.

Judge Calvert asked Lehman if she had a separate residence. Lehman said she had places that she could go to but chose to stay with the animals at the barn. Through earlier questioning, Lehman indicated that the barn only had running water that was provided by an outdoor water spicket.

At the end of the pre-trial hearing, Judge Calvert ruled that the officers responding to the call had probable cause and had the right to enter the property based on the evidence provided in court.

Calvert denied Ramsey’s motion to suppress.

Following his decision, jury selection for the trial was set for 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 12.

News Link:-http://www.waxahachietx.com/news/waxahachie/motion-to-dismiss-denied-in-animal-cruelty-case/article_574da396-d18c-584c-9fa3-34ce5c0aecf6.html