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Figures that kill…

Figures that kill…

Figures that kill…
17.02.2020
Europe
Figures that kill…
Animal testing

European statistics on animal experiments were made official on 5th February by a report from the Commission1, the last of its kind. The report was presented to elected representatives of the European Parliament. Six documents, thousands of pages of vast intrigue from which the animals are the losers. This is all but a smoke screen to hide more than 22 million animal victims in European laboratories!

Official figures from Brussels, compiling data from the 28 Member States in 2017, tell us less than 10 million victims in European laboratories, 9.58 million precisely.

We put it bluntly: this is a truncated, cosmetic vision, which does not take into account all the animals used directly or indirectly for scientific purposes! The symbolic bar of 10 million (they were 11.5 million in 2013) of animals used in various procedures was artificially obtained, because from this total all genetically modified animals, presented separately, and all animals reused several times. But not only…

Experiments carried out on foetal forms are not taken into account either, although the European Directive includes them in its boundaries². Animals killed to harvest organs and tissues, which are widely used in in vitro research, are also excluded. Yet all of them feel anguish and pain, and remain full victims, don’t they?

And above all we forget a terrible figure, noted by scientists from the ECEAE, the European coalition that One Voice represents in France: some 12.6 million animals raised in the laboratories of the Union die or are euthanized without even having been « experimented on » because they are too old, too sick or simply useless.

How to play with the data…

By dint of statistical restatements and changes in scope, today in Europe as yesterday in France, comparisons are impossible, the reality is hidden.

A European regulation(3) introduced in June 2019 thus changed the standards for collecting national statistics. As a result, it is at best the end of 2022 that we will have consolidated figures in the new European format. They will be incomparable to those of previous years and perhaps by then a new boundary will confuse the old figures with the current ones, and the future ones. This game of three card brag can continue to envy in order to make the practices illegible for the citizens …

Animals suffer more!

Any other bad news? Certainly! The proportion of animals reused in several consecutive experiments, the worst nightmare, remains stable (2%). We also see the level of suffering inflicted in laboratories increasing: the so-called procedures without awakening or with severe pain, the highest level, increased by 3% between 2016 and 2017. 17% of animals tested in European laboratories are subjected to these procedures to irreversible damage. That’s huge, 429,000 animals in France alone in 2017!

Animals therefore remain the cannon fodder for « fundamental » research or applied to disorders or diagnoses intended for humans (while 90% of the results obtained by animal experiments are, in fact, not transposable to our medicine), or for tests on the toxicity of commercial products which involve lethal methods in more than one in three cases.

In France, the third most killer country in Europe, just behind the United Kingdom and Germany, 126 ethics committees are keeping an eye on the grain and spreading the message of increased respect for animals. The proof: Brussels notes, however, that in 2017, none of the 3,708 research projects submitted in France to ethical committees was refused. What doubts the vigilance of these committees, which often operate behind closed doors without respecting the rules of representation of members of civil societies in their debates.

An unbearable deception!

Animal welfare being a value, that is enshrined in Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Europe claims as a final objective « the total replacement of the procedures applied to live animals for scientific or educational purposes », but specifies: « when it will be scientifically possible ». At the same time, the Commission slashed the budget of the only European body responsible for promoting alternative methods … So, let’s not be surprised if the figures are disappointing, and especially if the method used reveals just a facade, behind which the worst horrors are endured purely for the profit of a system of killing.

Faced with a vast disinformation operation, and because we know the suffering at work in research structures or of their suppliers, such as in the case of the Mézilles dog farm, One Voice remains all the more mobilized on this black issue, called animal experimentation!

1 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/com-2020-16-f1-en-main-part-1.pdf
2 Directive 2010/63/EU
3 Règlement (EU) 2019/10102, OJ L 170, 25.6.2019, p. 115–127
4 L’EURL ECVAM avait un budget de 8 millions d’euros en 2016, de 6,5 millions en 2017…

Sixteen dogs miraculously saved from the clutches of a mistreating hunter from Perigord

Sixteen dogs miraculously saved from the clutches of a mistreating hunter from Perigord

Sixteen dogs miraculously saved from the clutches of a mistreating hunter from Perigord
14.02.2020
Périgord
Sixteen dogs miraculously saved from the clutches of a mistreating hunter from Perigord
Domestic animals

After our investigation and the dissemination of our successive images on the deleterious conditions of dogs detained at Richard Mandrals place, a hunter based in the Dordogne. We were able after taking legal action to force the Prefect to act, we were then allowed to save sixteen of them.

They are called Heroes, Ondine, Inano, Xena, Léonie, Plume, Rosalie, Mimi, Freya, Napoleon, Ido, Hiti and Gascogne. There are also three puppies that Richard Mandral didn’t even bother to name, care for or identify, we called them Theo, Lina and Axel. They are dogs and bitches who, unlike their comrades who stayed with the hunter, have the chance to find a loving home, a warm family, who will not treat them like machines, some for hunting and others for breeding.

Thursday February 6th 2020, the hunter gave up these unfortunate sixteen, under the eyes of the DDSCPP. Our relentless checking and follow-up had increased the pressure, and they had to keep their commitments to the judge.

Each dog was installed in a transport crate, after the very natural first worry, most of them fell asleep, those who had never known the reassuring and soft sensation of a warm blanket under their aching bodies…

After a few hours of travel, they were all taken to vets. The accounts are unequivocal: worms, fleas, ticks, nodules, lesions, conjunctivitis, dental abscesses, ear infections, bedsores, mastitis, vulvar oedemas, hernias, lameness, etc. How long have they lived with a stomach ache? With painful paws, eyes, teeth and ears? How much pain is still going through those who have not yet been saved?

«The result is a threat to the life of these animals, because some of these pathologies (parasitism, infections, uncontrolled reproduction, etc.) can lead to serious general disorders, which can possibly lead to death.»

Extract from the veterinarian’s certificate

Then, it was the discovery of loving, warm people. They savoured the first real caresses, felt the fresh grass under their paws, they who for the most part had known only the law of the strongest to survive … They began their treatments, and the puppies, of which we did not know if they would survive, are already in better shape.

Obviously, this is not the case for all of these dogs who are on the verge of thinness with cachexia, and some have serious health problems resulting from obvious carelessness. When we know that for the DDCSPP, there is « no reason » to remove all of its animals from this hunter, it has shocked us. Many of them are not identified, some do not even belong to him!

We are going to need you to rehouse these large dogs who are waiting for a loving home to flourish, and long daily walks to discover a taste for life, as well as the comfort that should have been offered to them in the past. About seventy-five dogs are still there, we will do everything so that they are saved in turn. As for this hunter without conscience and the authorities who have lets this happen, we will not stop there.

In the case of “hunting” dogs, who are they kidding?

In the case of « hunting » dogs, who are they kidding?

In the case of “hunting” dogs, who are they kidding?
13.02.2020
In the case of “hunting” dogs, who are they kidding?
Domestic animals

Inspection after inspection at the home of a Dordogne hunter, the reports written for the prefecture are worse than the previous ones. However, the Prefect refuses to impose measures that would allow the dogs to benefit from appropriate care. We lodged a summary of complaints with the administrative tribunal of Bordeaux. Once again, the Prefecture of Dordogne has been seeking to counter us instead of putting the interest of the animals into the foreground. These animals are in obvious suffering at the home of Richard Mandral. But exactly as for Bony and Glasha, as soon as our summary was filed, the Prefect ordered measures, and therefore the court rejected our requests pending the application of Prefectural measures. We will see what happens after the deadline for the Prefectural decree, and we will not let go.

Inspections by the DDCSPP, the state veterinary services, at the Dordogne hunter’s home, concluded that the situation was worse than the previous one, and the prefect did not, however, order measures commensurate with the problem.

What pressures are at work? Those of hunters?

At this point, our images released months apart prove the situation is dire and the authorities are not doing anything tangible. Why do they prefer to protect the hunter rather than the dogs, who are clearly victims of mistreatment? For months, we have been investigating and broadcasting videos of the kennels of this Perigord hunter who breeds in total violation of the law, and in which the dogs do not benefit from care, are tied up or in large starving packs where the law of the fittest reigns.

We have provided the proof through the images of cannibalistic dogs, puppies, tethered adults, sick dogs and even abandoned corpses. However, for the authorities: « no reason » to take away all the hunter’s dogs. There is no emergency or abuse. A simple quota is enough. No coercive measures have been put in place to improve the situation! The inspections of the veterinary services of the Prefecture go in our direction, but the Prefecture refuses to take adequate measures for these dogs, which are nevertheless under its responsibility.

How far does the power of hunters extend in our country, those who make us live in many regions in areas of lawlessness? What makes these dogs so different that they are not protected like other dogs?

A situation that worsens from inspection to inspection without any consequences …

In June 2018, state services counted 112 dogs instead of the 45 authorized. The problem was not new … On this occasion, they mentioned the non-compliance of the conditions for storing food for dogs, protection against bad weather and excessive temperatures, as well as those of places of detention (the presence of old agricultural equipment that can cause injuries, animals injured or without care, lack of veterinary follow-up, unsuitable accommodation with dogs kept tethered outside all year round, etc.). And in the formal notice, the problems of identifying dogs, their watering, attacks between congeners, known as « hierarchical conflicts », are already mentioned …

Since then, inspections have followed one another and have shown that the condition of these animals is worsening without anything being put in place by the state to enforce the application of the regulations! Worse, he allowed the situation to escalate and left dogs suffering, at least one of whom has died.

«The administration therefore argues that it has not been inactive in this case and that it has carried out five inspections. However, these steps are the consequence of the complaints filed and the images published by the requesting association! Moreover, while non-conformities persist throughout inspections, no effective sanction has been taken for almost two years to protect dogs and stem births.»

Extract from the One Voice summary

Wild breeding and dog trafficking

The authorities hide behind the rustic appearance of the place, and the fact that they are « hunting dogs », but as our lawyer writes:

«There are no specific regulations for hunting dog packs. Therefore, it is the law concerning dogs that applies here, in other words that of pets of domestic species. No one can believe that Mr. Mandral’s 100 dogs, who is on his own to care for them, can receive the same attention and care, or that he hunts daily with such a large pack.»

All dogs – regardless of how humans use them – should receive the same care, protection, and respect! There, the holes dug in the ground by some dogs held in tether around their kennels testify to the restriction of their movements … The others get bitten in the common enclosures, and die there…

The summary judge refused to order the Dordogne prefecture to identify, withdraw and carry out a clinical assessment of the dogs held by this hunter, and to monitor the animals transferred to an animal protection association, pending the end the application of the prefecture’s measures. We will always be there after!

Our country must urgently turn the tide when it comes to animal welfare and the conditions in which they are kept. To note that there is a double standard between the so-called hunting dogs and the others in the eyes of the authorities is more than worrying. Turning a blind eye to the unhappiness of these poor sick animals is unacceptable. The neglect and rustic appearance of a property should not blind the authorities, let alone the judges! We will not let go, the dysfunctions in animal protection are alarming. The death and suffering of these poor dogs will not go unpunished.

It’s time for marine sanctuaries

It’s time for marine sanctuaries

It’s time for marine sanctuaries
05.02.2020
International
It’s time for marine sanctuaries
Exploitation for shows

Inexorably, the time for marine sanctuaries is coming. The Western public is gradually turning away from captive cetacean shows and dolphinarias will soon be forced to make the following choice: either deliver their last detainees to China or the Middle East, or entrust them to a sanctuary.

Some of these parks have also started their transformation by increasing the number of alternative attractions to dolphin exhibitions, by accepting the end of the reproduction of their orcas, or by moving towards supposedly « educational » presentations that do not fool anyone.

However, the future is already here, very real!

In Iceland, Little Gray and Little White, the two female belugas released from the Changfeng Oceanworld in Shanghai, are only waiting for spring to finally discover the icy waters of Klettsvik Bay, arranged for them by the Sea Life Trust, their legal owners.

In Canada, the Whale Sanctuary Project is preparing to open the first of its retreat locations in Nova Scotia.

In the heart of a closed bay sheltered from storms, the surface of which will exceed by more than 300 times that of a dolphinarium pool, orcas and belugas formerly prisoners will soon be able to find the ocean, dive into the depths and swim in living, natural water. Several similar sites are also planned in British Columbia and Washington State.

But to keep who?

Until now, no marine park in the United States or Canada has ever agreed to grant any retreat to its inmates gorged with antibiotics, painkillers and antidepressants. All died at an early age in their place of detention. « It would be irresponsible to risk the health of these magnificent animals by physically moving them into a dangerous experimental environment, » dares to assert SeaWorld, which calls the sanctuaries the scornful term « sea cages ».

Lori Marino, the neurobiologist who has been piloting the Whale Sanctuary Project since 2011 alongside other specialists and to whom we owe the first study on self-awareness in dolphins, remains confident:

«We expect SeaWorld and Ontario’s Marineland to eventually seize the full advantage of working with us. More and more people refuse to go to their live animal shows. It is not a question of closing these parks but of helping them to reconvert themselves by giving up cetaceans.»

Dr Spong isn’t giving up hope, either

For years, he has been planning a closed bay for the Corky Killer Whale at Double Bay, on Hanson Island, Canada, until SeaWorld finally decides to release it.

Paul Spong is a Cetologist who set up the OrcaLab research station not far from Vancouver to study the Northern Resident Killer Whale community, from which Corky was kidnapped. The 54-year-old is now the oldest captive orca in the world, but she could still live to 90 years, if not beyond. « She will swim again in the ocean water and her family will be able to come and visit her », assures Dr. Spong, who adds: « It can happen and I am convinced that it will happen ».

And in France?

For the moment, Parques Reunidos, which notably owns the Marineland in Antibes, would not consider any other solution for its orcas than to send them abroad. We know that the Spanish company continues its international expansion thanks to an agreement concluded with Harves Century Group for the development of future theme parks in China and Vietnam. In particular, it is participating in the construction of a gigantic dolphinarium on the Chinese island of Hainan, which will soon need many killer whales, dolphins and beluga whales to furnish its pools. And at this point, of course, ethics no longer have their place, nor concern for animal welfare, let alone the idea of a sanctuary. There is no longer anything but the sole search for profit.

But Marineland will have to hear him if it wants to say something and become prosperous again: for Wikie, Inouk, Keijo and Moana too, the time for marine sanctuaries has indeed come … Sign our petition to save our orcas.

Behind the brambles and the brick walls, there are nine tigers

Behind the brambles and the brick walls, there are nine tigers

Behind the brambles and the brick walls, there are nine tigers
30.01.2020
Picardie
Behind the brambles and the brick walls, there are nine tigers
Exploitation for shows

For over a year now we have been investigating these tigers, held by circus trainer Mario Masson. A stone’s throw away from the amusement parks of Saint Paul and Saint Léger, between the four walls of an abandoned factory in Picardy, we discovered that the nine tigers were locked up all year round in a lorry cage. They have no real protection against bad weather, with barely enough room to go around in circles. We are pressing charges against this trainer who has already been in trouble with the law.

For over a year our investigators have been monitoring the tigers of Mario Masson. Barricaded in the heart of a village, behind the thick protection of brambles growing over large brick walls that run along a national road. The trainer protects his tools of work from view. Behind a used car for sale business, the nine tigers that serve as his livelihood are pacing around, locked in a lorry cage, whether it is raining, windy or in temperatures where the thermometer reads 40 degrees Celsius. Sultan, Begel, Junior, Hashley, Tara, Ima, Houna, Hister and another whose name we don’t know. Very rarely are they allowed outside of their cages and when they are it’s to obey and undergo a life of stress under the threat of the whip.

Abused from birth

At the Saint Paul amusement park Mario Masson shows off his trained tigers, then offers spectators to hold a baby tiger in their arms while being photographed, all with cash subsidies. The show is accompanied by a speech that is only propaganda against those who defend wild animals that are exploited by circuses.

All these tigers were born in captivity and were then torn from their mother at an early age. They are the subject of wild genetic experiments to obtain inbred individuals with coats of white or orange with ochre stripes, deformations and with notorious genetic diseases. In addition to this the potential underlying traffic of lion cubs and tigers it allows the working season to gain access to young cubs, available at any time. Their manipulation by humans is nothing more than mistreatment. We have publicly denounced these acts – common in this environment – and attacked the park, as well as more recently the ministerial decree on captive wild life and facilitating unsupervised farming.

Locked up all year round …

This summer these nine adult tiger products have appeared six times in public within four days during the circus festival, daily life couldn’t be less rosy. We are revealing today the reality of their daily lives: they are locked up all year round, except on the rare occasions for (shows, short films or photos in magazines) …

The winter quarters are just a name, our investigators have seen them on the spot each time they went there. Both in the hot summer, weather in the region of Picardy is changing and, in the fall, and winter when the cages are battered by the wind and the freezing rain during those wet and cold seasons. They were photographed and filmed locked inside these caged compartments which is no more than a heavy-duty trailer for up to six days in a row. During the six days the tigers were held in confinement and were filmed, they had but two brief periods where they were allowed out, this being observed and filmed under great risk…

Protected animals, in danger of extinction, here they are enslaved

No enrichment or stimulation is offered to these tigers to break the monotony of the passing hours. The (minimum) regulations require that they can stretch their legs daily in an exercise space, which is the approximate size of a circus ring and that they have access to a swimming pool. Once again, all this was absent. At most, they change compartments when their litter is cleaned.

Female or male, in the wild each would reign over a territory of several thousand hectares of tropical jungle … Here, only Sultan benefits from an individual cage (but without a roof!). The others are crammed in four by four. They who enjoy independence more than anything, are more stressed than ever, enslaved and forced to live with their fellow tigers, under the eyes of their jailers. In the evening, they have to fight to get their food, water which is vital, is only distributed to them sparingly. Then, the walls of the truck are closed, this is their misfortune, the truck becomes a dark box…

For these reasons and in addition to recording such revolting images of these nine convicts locked up day and night and then made available to the public, we are pressing charges for ill-treatment committed by a professional, placement or maintenance of a captive wild animal in a habitat, environment or installation can be cause of suffering, and irregular operation of establishment. We propose to take charge of these tigers and place them into one of the sanctuaries of which we are a partner.

Victory for macaques in Italy!

Victory for macaques in Italy!

Victory for macaques in Italy!
29.01.2020
Italy
Victory for macaques in Italy!
Animal testing

The highest administrative law court fully recognizes animal rights, against the advice of universities and the Ministry of Health. One Voice’s Italian partner in the ECEAE international coalition to end animal testing in Europe, the LAV, has therefore just won this showdown. With them, let us call on Minister Roberto Speranza to revoke the authorization for the experiments and allow macaques to be freed. 425,300 people have already signed the LAV petition to this end. #CIVEDIAMOLIBERI!

The Italian Council of State (Consiglio di Stato, the Supreme Court of Administrative Law in Italy), supporting LAV’s complaint, overturned a previous judgment by the Lazio Regional Administrative Court. He pronounces the end of an infamous experiment which the universities of Turin and Parma were about to perform on six macaques. The animals were to be made blind (before being euthanized) for the purposes of research into a specific vision disorder called « blind vision ». According to the State Council, the Ministry of Health has not been able to prove that there is no alternative to invasive surgeries carried out on the brains of macaques. According to the judges, researchers have a duty to demonstrate that the suffering their experiments can cause animals is inevitable, and that the « use » of the latter for scientific purposes is the only way to carry out research. The same duty falls on the Ministry of Health, which authorizes this research.

By comparing the various rights and interests involved (animal rights on the one hand, freedom of science and research on the other), the State Council decided that the protection and safeguarding of animals must prevail. The court also ordered the ministry and the universities to reimburse LAV 3,000 euros for its legal costs.

A few days before the court hearing, the ministry ordered an inspection of the laboratories belonging to the University of Parma to show that the conditions in which the macaques were held were optimal. However, the report following this visit was clearly incomplete and contained many gaps. It did not take into account several animal welfare parameters such as light, noise, exercise, burrowing, handling and cognitive activities appropriate to the species.

This judgment represents a real breakthrough in relation to the vagueness maintained around this project in order to camouflage its absence of prerequisites and its inconsistencies.

Now, with our help and citizen mobilization, the LAV, which since last summer has been leading the #civediamoliberi campaign accompanied by a petition signed by some 425,300 people, urges the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza to revoke the authorization of experimentation and freeing the macaques. These animals were captured in the desert, brought to China and from there sent to Europe, forced to live in cages for the so-called needs of an experiment that was already conducted in the past and which turned out to be devoid of any benefit to patients.

Moreover, a few days earlier the European Commission responding to a question on Horizon 2020 funds and the Animal Protection Directive, said that scientific projects like this can only be funded on the basis of existing national authorizations – which is not the case for the University of Turin…

«We want to celebrate this fantastic epilogue with the hundreds of thousands of people who signed the petition in defence of macaques and demonstrated peacefully alongside us in the streets of Turin, Parma and Rome. This legal victory, the result of such a long battle, is essential to end the experiments on these animals now and to keep them safe from invasive operations.» said Gianluca Felicetti, president of LAV.

Muriel Arnal, president and founder of One Voice adds: «It is now necessary to secure the release of these macaques, so that they can have a worthy end of life! In France, experiments of this type are still legal and it is very difficult to obtain such information about these experiments. The world of research must evolve, and invest heavily in other methods, excluding any forms of testing on animals!»

New scandal concerning “hunting” dogs

New scandal concerning « hunting » dogs

New scandal concerning “hunting” dogs
27.01.2020
France
New scandal concerning “hunting” dogs
Domestic animals

It was howls of death that first alerted the residents. Last August, a couple of residents in the town of Allaire, in Morbihan, worried about hearing dogs barking day and night in the area. Quickly, witnesses suspect a shady affair. Armed with a simple tape recorder, they record the horribly audible cries of animals as they come from a house at the other end of a field. And then, after two reports to their town hall, they are emboldened and decide to go and meet the owner of the dogs themselves in order to talk to him.

Abandoned dogs

When they arrived on the scene, they were surprised to discover an uninhabited house…. Indeed, a neighbour explains to them that the person who lived there, an elderly man, left his home by allowing his hunter nephew to use a tiny piece of his land for his dogs. Upon discovering the dismal, dirty and smelly enclosure, the couple were shocked: two terrified and skinny animals stand there, among the rubbish, in immense distress. One is hidden under a corrugated iron sheet which is supposed to provide them with shelter! Abandoned all the time outside, subjected to all types of bad weather, surrounded by a concrete wall on one side and a fence on the other, the unfortunate dogs hardly ever receive a visit from their « owner » outside of his hunting times. Deprived of water and food, they are reduced to eating their own faeces!

Act fast

Catastrophic, the couple stepped up their efforts with the authorities to save these poor dogs. Sadly, time drags and while humans procrastinate and these animals wither away. For now, they are still in the hands of the hunter who has seen fit to place them in an enclosure … which is even smaller! Fortunately, the witnesses have also just informed us of this sinister affair and the Zoe Cell seizes the opportunity by taking this to court. We have filed a complaint against the dog’s owners or keepers who abandon them to the point of leaving them to stagnant like rubbish when not using them for hunting. And we are also urgently calling for the seizure of all the animals held by these people to protect other potential victims!

Fur Industry “WelFur” scheme criticized by veterinarians for masking animal suffering and condemned as “cynical PR spin” by animal campaigners

Fur Industry “WelFur” scheme criticized by veterinarians for masking animal suffering and condemned as “cynical PR spin” by animal campaigners

Fur Industry “WelFur” scheme criticized by veterinarians for masking animal suffering and condemned as “cynical PR spin” by animal campaigners
21.01.2020
Europe
Fur Industry “WelFur” scheme criticized by veterinarians for masking animal suffering and condemned as “cynical PR spin” by animal campaigners
Fashion

A fur industry animal welfare certification scheme being showcased by the fur trade in the European Parliament this week has received in-depth criticism by renowned veterinarians, and been condemned as a cynical ‘smoke and mirrors’ attempt to hide animal suffering, in a damning report published today by the Fur Free Alliance.

BRUSSELS (21 Jan 2020) — A fur industry animal welfare certification scheme being showcased by the fur trade in the European Parliament this week has received in-depth criticism by renowned veterinarians, and been condemned as a cynical ‘smoke and mirrors’ attempt to hide animal suffering, in a damning report published today by the Fur Free Alliance.

In the face of widespread public concern about animal suffering on fur farms, “WelFur” has been launched Europe-wide by the fur industry. However, world-respected veterinarians say that the scheme — which is entirely fur industry-led and voluntary — does not ensure that farmed foxes and mink living in battery cages have their behavioural needs met, nor does it provide assurance that individual animals do not suffer from physical or mental health problems.

According to industry body Fur Europe, only WelFur-certified pelts will be sold in European fur auctions from 2020 onwards. Animal protection experts from the Fur Free Alliance who have visited fur farms across Europe say Welfur is cynical PR spin from a fur industry desperate to shake off its reputation for animal cruelty.

Poor welfare being masked

In the Fur Free Alliance’s report “Certified Cruel”, a detailed analysis by veterinarian and Professor Emeritus, Bo Algers, reveals that: « The WelFur schemes combining of different welfare measures into overall scores obscure individual measures and therefore allow serious cases of individuals suffering from poor welfare to be masked.” He continued: « The WelFur protocol is not an assessment of animal welfare in relation to an “absolute” animal welfare level, nor is it assessing animal welfare on an individual animal level. »

WelFur also fails to take into account the species-specific needs of fur-bearing animals. For example, in the wild digging forms a core part of a fox’s activity, and mink are semi-aquatic so access to water for swimming is vital to maintain their physical and mental well-being. However, in the WelFur scoring system, these essential needs are completely ignored.

“So-called welfare certification schemes like WelFur do not measure or tell us anything meaningful about the welfare of the animals on fur farms in scientific, absolute terms. They simply measure how farms compare with each other in the context of a fundamentally inadequate caged-based farming environment. For as long as they are kept in small, barren wire-floored cages, animals such as foxes, mink and raccoon dogs will continue to suffer from a long list of problems including cannibalism, self-mutilation, and stereotypical behaviours. WelFur does nothing to change those housing conditions – or address the resulting inherent welfare issues – for these millions of animals.” says veterinarian, Professor Alistair MacMillan, who contributed to the report after reviewing footage taken on Finnish fur farms in 2019.

Alarming conflicts of interest

The Fur Free Alliance report also raises serious concerns about conflicts of interest in  auditing practices. Despite industry statements that assessments are undertaken by an independent third party, the Finnish Fur Breeders ́ Association owns 38% of the stock of the company Luova which states it is in charge of auditing Finnish fur farms, and several of its assessors also have ties to the fur industry.

“While this scheme is being promoted to the public and politicians as independent, that is far from the case in Finland. In truth it’s a scheme without any credibility, not only because it relies on the outdated housing systems that have shown to cause serious welfare issues for animals, but also because it is so closely associated with the very fur industry it purports to monitor”,  says Joh Vinding, Chairman of the Fur Free Alliance.

« Finland is often presented as a model country for animal welfare and transparency. The fur industry with its Welfur PR scheme is really damaging what are thought to be some of our core values. The cruel and vanity-driven fur industry has no place in a civilised country », says Veikka Lahtinen, campaign coordinator for Finnish animal rights organisation Animalia (a Fur Free Alliance member).

The Fur Free Alliance report strongly recommends that the EU and Member State policymakers refrain from endorsing WelFur, or in any way integrating it into animal welfare policies. It also recommends that the EU urgently conducts audits to investigate the ways in which fur farming fails to comply with current EU Directive 58/98/EC and 1999 Council of Europe recommendations. Numerous investigations have shown that practices documented on EU fur farms do not meet the most basic animal welfare needs, nor the 1998 EU legislation (Directive 58/98/EC) relating to animals kept for farming purposes.

Claire Bass, Executive Director of Humane Society International/UK (a Fur Free Alliance member), said: “WelFur is little more than cynical PR spin from a fur industry desperate to shake off its reputation for animal cruelty. Animals farmed for their fur, such as foxes, mink and raccoon dogs are highly active, wide-ranging predators with behavioural and biological needs that simply cannot be met in a barren metre-squared battery cage. Their intensive confinement often leads to serious psychological and physical problems, which I have witnessed first hand when I’ve visited fur farms. No amount of smoke and mirrors from this WelFur scheme can hide the fact that fur farming causes indefensible animal suffering and needs to be banned.”

Fur facts

  • More than 100 million animals globally are reported to be killed every year for their fur.
  • In addition to the physical and psychological torment of being confined in small, barren cages for their entire lives, the killing methods typically used on fur farms are equally distressing. Mink are killed by gassing, and fox and raccoon dogs are killed by anal electrocution.
  • Fur farming has already been prohibited and/or is in the process of being phased-out in the following EU Member States: Austria, the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Belgium. Ireland and Bulgaria are also presently considering bans on fur farming. Fur farming, however, continues to persist in other Member States with Denmark, Finland and Poland being the biggest producers.
  • European fur farming bans details

Mina and Kamala: will the end of the tunnel be in sight soon?

Mina and Kamala: will the end of the tunnel be in sight soon?

Mina and Kamala: will the end of the tunnel be in sight soon?
18.01.2020
France
Mina and Kamala: will the end of the tunnel be in sight soon?
Exploitation for shows

We have multiplied our actions so that these two Asian elephants, exploited by the Medrano circus, can be retired. We finally see the hope of obtaining their transfer to a sanctuary. But their separation must be avoided at all costs! It is together that they have survived so far, they will never be able have a taste of peace without each other!

Mina and Kamala can’t take it anymore… After thousands of kilometres and gruelling acts when the Medrano circus takes them on tour, bored to death when the troupe exhibits them at its technical base in Aimargues, the two elephants captured in Asia need to find a taste for life again. Now more than fifty years old, they have spent most of their lives under the rule of humans as cruel as they are ungrateful.

« Early retirement »

By fighting for these unfortunate people, we have managed to gradually bring the authorities to their knees. Thus, at the end of 2019, we succeeded in getting the Prefecture of Gard to recognize their old age and declare them in « a period of pre-retirement in view of the definitive retirement which should take place in the coming months ». For its part, the Côtes-d’Armor prefecture had also admitted, in the decree on the 21st June last year, that Mina and Kamala were now elderly and had drawn the consequences. The text requires in particular a limitation of their movements, their exclusion from one-day tours and the obligation, except in the case of a Prefectural derogation, that they remain 7 days in a row at the same location.

No half measures!

Even if we welcome these few advances, we can’t be satisfied with them! They are simple « small measures », very unsatisfactory in view of the physical and psychological distress of elephants. These poor beings are still subject to stress, boredom and transportation, which is the cause of enormous damage to their joints. For this reason, we challenged the decree allowing their exploitation before the administrative court of Rennes on January 8th, because it is their proper retirement that we demand!

Concerns

In addition, the crucial question of where they are placed arises. Who will decide? We fear that they will suffer the same fate as Lechmee, which we are categorically opposed to. As a reminder, Mina and Kamala’s former girlfriend landed in December 2018 in a centre in Britain, far from her lifelong friends. Since then, we have had practically no news of her! The operator had long refused her retirement, arguing that she should not be isolated from her two companions. Our consulting veterinarian, Dr. Yaduraj Khadpekar, recommended « that everything possible be done to ensure that the three elephants are not separated, but rather rehabilitated together ». In the end, the director of the Medrano circus decided otherwise, preferring to get rid of Lechmee and keep Mina and Kamala, with an obvious disregard for their well-being.

No, to a final and fatal blow!

The drama has gone on long enough! Mina and Kamala must be transferred to the same sanctuary. We are also doing everything we can to ensure that Lechmee will be able to join them there in the long run. While the 23rd UN resolution recognises that elephants have their own culture, which must be preserved (by promoting its transmission from one generation to the next, avoiding human disturbance and encouraging research), it is unacceptable to think of making three individuals who are so united and sensitive suffer until their last breath. Lechmee, Mina and Kamala were able to endure the worst thanks to their extremely strong bonds. To tear these siblings apart would be like breaking their hearts. Definitely.

Help us free Mina and Kamala from the circus by continuing to sign our petition to reach 100,000 signatures!

And demand that they and Lechmee finally be reunited in a sanctuary adapted to their needs by writing to the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, you will find a model letter here.

Dogs are being mistreated training clubs: justice warrants an investigation

Dogs are being mistreated training clubs: justice warrants an investigation

Dogs are being mistreated training clubs: justice warrants an investigation
16.01.2020
France
Dogs are being mistreated training clubs: justice warrants an investigation
Domestic animals

Following our 2014-2017 investigation into dog training, we received a complaint from several clubs. Did they feel targeted? Yes. And to hear them and with the whole profession behind them. They demanded the total withdrawal of our investigation and the corresponding online content, a publication in the national and local press, as well as damages … On November 5th 2019, the hearing took place in the Valencia court. The verdict has just been passed: these dog training club officials were dismissed of all their requests. They were even ordered to reimburse our defence costs!

In 2017 when we published our investigation on dog defence training, the hidden camera images brought out the truth: we saw poor dogs receiving smacks from whips, wearing electric or spiked collars around their necks, while orders were yelled in their ears. Fear and cruelty along with weapons were the only methods used by these trainers, aggressiveness on command the only option for the Malinois and German shepherds who will become weapons by destination. What future then for these dogs who have become dangerous? Competitions for the best, the role of a working tool for security guards for the better of it. All of this along with the suffering that we know of.

Freedom of expression wins!

On the one hand, the managers of these training clubs claimed that we had cast a shadow on the entire profession of dog trainers, by generalizing our remarks. This was rejected by the court! We only used our free expression, without ever naming either the places where the practices we denounced took place, or the people. In fact, several hundred dog trainers, like us are promoting non-violent methods of communicating with dogs. They have launched a petition to distance ourselves from our attackers and are supporting our approach.

Neither unfair competition nor collective slander

As well the court also rejected « collective slander » because we obviously did not benefit from any unfair competition. This is what was put forward by our opponents. We have always valued nonviolent practices, and have never benefited from doing so, except for the joy of knowing that we are actively participating in and improving the consideration of these Malinois and German shepherds concerned.

«By publishing […], in accordance with its purpose and in a desire to inform and raise public awareness of canine education practices and methods that may resemble acts of animal abuse, the results of investigations and testimonies following reports […] without providing any information likely to allow the identification of canine clubs or professionals concerned, and by promoting methods and practices of canine education presented as non-violent and more respectful of the property -that being the animals, the One Voice association used means commensurate with the aim sought and […] did not abuse its right of free expression.»

Extract from the judgment of January 14th 2020 of the Valence court

This judgment strengthens our determination to defend victims of violence

This court decision fills us with joy. It strengthens our determination in the fight that has always been ours to defend those who do not have the floor to be heard, as well as our choice to go and seek the evidence where it is hidden, by means of risky investigations… Because they expose serious facts, which no one dares to denounce.

Canine educator’s adept at a non-violent method know this: too many trainers still act today by using terror tactics, including among the humans around them and whom they train. We therefore sincerely thank these courageous people who alerted and supported us in this fight to denounce the violence suffered by these dogs in such clubs of shame. In the face of injustice and cruelty we have never been silent, and we have no intention of starting tomorrow!