Léa has left us

Léa has left us

Léa has left us
06.03.2020
France
Léa has left us
Domestic animals

Léa, this sweet dog that we have followed since 2016 after she endured the worst abuse, has passed away … in peace. Surrounded by the infinite love of her foster family, she will have tasted the joy of living for more than four years.

Lysiane and Philippe are upset. They feel a terrible void since the disappearance of Léa, the pretty dog they had taken in after her ordeal. Extremely strong ties were forged between them and the former animal that had suffered in the hands of a Zoophilic, whom we managed to have imprisoned in 2016.

Terrible loss

The couple wrote us a poignant testimony. Of course, they knew the history of this female, the ignominy she had suffered, her heart weakness. But, even with the heightened awareness that it would not be eternal, the mourning her death turns out to be very difficult: “Léa had taken a place that we would never have suspected, on October 30th, 2015, when, becoming a family of welcome, she had entered into our lives.  »

Four years of happiness

It was with immense generosity that these benevolent humans opened their doors to the unfortunate female. We offered them to take charge of Léa’s behavioural support in order to help her rebuild. We followed her closely, also assuming the heavy treatments she needed. Her heart had suffered badly from past assaults … Yet, surrounded by love and patience, she had managed to gradually heal the physical and psychological traumas of her previous existence. An intelligent and sensitive little dog, she had known how to put aside her sufferings to adopt her human companions « in a sharing relationship and bearer of immense joys ». Thanks to them, she was able to enjoy many pleasures. She loved the seaside in particular, « demanding with great vigor to feel the sand under her paws and the great outdoors to finally breathe freely ». But it was above all the presence of those close to her, the many hugs and the attentions that filled her.

 

United forever

Lysiane and Philippe’s unwavering presence at her side, endless games with Axel, the other dog in the household, enabled Léa to rediscover carefreeness and a communicative desire to live. Today, as the fatigue finally prevails, we share in the grief of his family. But we must keep the flame that inhabited her in our hearts and think about the wonderful years she has had with her owners. She will shine forever.

Fenia : and so it goes on!

Fenia : and so it goes on!

Fenia : and so it goes on!
05.03.2020
Russia
Fenia : and so it goes on!
Wildlife

From an early age, Fenia has suffered violent blows from fate and especially violence from humans. This young Russian bear has experienced life at its worst: the murder of her mother, captivity, abandonment, straying … Fortunately, good fairies fought to reverse this fate. And we are!

It is often said that fate hangs by a thread. Fenia’s was very defiantly hanging by a very thin thread indeed. This young bear would probably not be of this world if two hikers had not saved her. She was indeed chained to a tree deep in a forest in the Altai massif, in southwestern Siberia, when two women discovered her in 2016. Petrified and starving, Fenia was plunged into an indescribable hell and distress. What had happened to her that caused her to find herself trapped and completely isolated? As soon as they were contacted, the police tried to understand the origin of her tragedy. Investigations revealed that the bear cub first had to deal with the death of her mother, killed by poachers. Then it had fallen into the hands of a photographer, only because it was a cute furry bear cub… And then, the baby growing and becoming bulky, the man had ended up getting rid of his toy and abandoning it in the worst kind of conditions …

A wandering road

Supported by Baltic Animal Care, a local animal protection association, with which we had worked during our infiltration of dog training centres to kill foxes, bears, etc., in Russia, Fenia was able to receive first aid and to be saved. But, to this day, this poor female has not yet experienced any real respite. Despite their constant mobilization, her benefactors have failed to provide her with a real home. Since 2016, the bear has been tossed about, by plane, by bus, between Saint Petersburg and Moscow … And from foundation to rehabilitation centre, from veterinary clinic to foster family, no one has been able or agreed to host her in good conditions, for lack of resources and / or space. A trail full of hope was emerging though, apparently, recently there is a sanctuary in Romania who is ready to receive her. Unfortunately, the Russian CITES has refused the export.

A roof for Fenia!

Overwhelmed by this series of disappointments, Baltic Animal Care alerted us to help Fenia. She is currently living in a makeshift shelter, in a centre normally dedicated to captive cubs still able to readjust to the natural environment. A prospect unfortunately unthinkable for Fenia, now too old and too imbued with humans to regain autonomy. On the other hand, she does need a proper enclosure, with enough space to roam around in safety. We therefore immediately responded and paid 7,000 euros to Baltic Animal Care to finance a large enclosure. We can’t wait for Fenia to finally feel at home there, at peace… And we’re happy to have helped to change her circumstances!

Rapport de notre enquête sur le combat d’animaux sauvages et de chiens en Russie

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!

https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/com-2020-16-f1-en-main-part-1.pdf
2 Directive 2010/63/EU
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