China: Yun Lin dog meat festival

13Jun2013

Colombia bans wild animals in circuses

Posted in Circus, Colombia by Action 4 Animal Rights

Bogota, Colombia: The Colombian Congress passed on 12 June Bill 244,2012 to end the use of wild animals in both static and travelling circuses, after a six-year public campaign following the release of critical evidence of animal suffering collected by investigators from Animal Defenders International (ADI).

ADI led the campaign as part of its global Stop Circus Suffering initiative and the organisation expressed its delight that the years of undercover investigations, scientific reviews, public debates and awareness-raising days had resulted in the ban being secured.

Jan Creamer, Chief Executive of ADI said: “We congratulate the Colombian Congress for approving this Bill and are delighted that Colombia has shown that animals should not suffer for our entertainment. ADI stands ready to assist with rescue and relocation of the animals, whenever the Government of Colombia requires assistance. After this momentous decision, it is important that these animals are allowed to live out their days, free from the circus and the suffering they have endured.”

House Representative Augusto Posada, author of the Bill, said: “This is good news for the country because with the prohibition of the use of animals in circuses we are taking a significant step in the conservation of wildlife, the awareness to preserve nature and thus demonstrate that as humans we can respect the status and dignity of other species. Those who still have animal shows will have two years to evolve and allow the return of these creatures to a suitable habitat and to create new forms of entertainment without the presence of animals.”

Eduardo Peña, ADI campaigns coordinator for Latin America: “Our warmest thanks and congratulations go to more than 50 national animal protection organisations who helped with this bill, and of course the individuals, celebrities, academics, officials, congressmen, artists and non-animal circuses who joined with us to stop animal suffering in circuses in Colombia. Now circuses have the opportunity to strengthen human talent, support the Colombian Government’s ethical position and evolve shows that respects human values and protect nature.”

ADI investigators worked undercover in South American circuses for two years filming, photographing and takes notes on the deprived environments, small cages, psychological suffering and the violent and brutal treatment of animals when being handled and trained. The evidence shocked the continent and governments in South America have been swift to take action to show that such treatment of animals is unacceptable in civilized society.

The ADI campaign was launched in Colombia in 2007 with a screening of its first investigation, the images from which were some of the most sickening ADI investigators have ever seen. Since the launch of the investigations, bans have been introduced in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay.

Bill 244, 2012 sought to prohibit all animals in circuses, however domestic species were excluded in the Senate. Circuses will have two years to comply with the new legislation.

source: Animal Defenders International

National measures to restrict either all or wild animals in circuses are in place in over 20 countries, including: Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Malta, Slovakia, Sweden, Portugal, Taiwan, Singapore, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Costa Rica, India and Israel.

Similar laws are being discussed in the United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands, Brazil, Chile and Norway.

6Jun2013

“Shark finning”: The Council regulates against the practice

Posted in EU, Shark by Action 4 Animal Rights

The Council adopted an amending regulation on the removal of fins of sharks on board vessels following a first reading agreement with the European Parliament (76/12).

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This text aims to eliminate existing derogations to the ban on “shark finning”. The Portuguese and Spanish delegations voted against and made a joint declaration (9692/1/13 REV 1 ADD 1 REV 1).

The position of the European Parliament at first reading was adopted in November 2012 and a corrigendum to that position was adopted in May this year. The regulation should be applicable once it has been formally signed and published in the Official Journal.
The controversial practice of “shark finning” (whereby the fins are removed from sharks, with the remainder of the shark being discarded at sea) has been forbidden on EU fishing vessels since 2003. However, a derogation remains in force that allows special fishing permits to be issued for on-board processing, whereby shark fins can be removed from the carcasses (with the fins and the remainder of the shark being landed together or separately). The Commission proposal aims to eliminate this derogation so that sharks can only be landed with their fins attached.

Sharks, skates and rays are generally very vulnerable to overexploitation owing to their life cycle characteristics of slow growth, late maturity and small number of young. In recent years, some shark populations have been severely targeted and put under serious threat as a result of a dramatic increase in demand for shark products, and fins in particular, which are used in soups and traditional cures in Asia. While the practice of shark finning is forbidden in EU waters and on EU vessels, the fact that on-board processing is still possible has cast doubts on the effectiveness of controls – which rely on carcase-to-fin weight ratios – and hinders improved landing statistics, the latter being necessary to allow for science-based management of shark species. With its policy of fins remaining attached, the EU will also be in a better position to push for shark protection at international level.

The Member States consider that EU fisheries policies should be based on scientific advice. In this specific case, the Scientific, Technical, and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) has confirmed the appropriateness of a finning ban, and has called for more accurate shark landings statistics; the most straight-forward way to achieve this is by landing sharks together with their fins. The STECF is the scientific body that assists the EU in the implementation of the CFP in the fields of marine biology, marine ecology, fisheries science, fishing gear technology and fishery economics.

Commissioner Damanaki, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, commented on the adoption of this amended regulation by the Council:
“No more shark finning in Europe! I welcome the Council’s decision to follow up on the Commission proposal to introduce a shark finning ban in the EU. After the Parliament endorsing this ban earlier, it needed this last step to confirm this legislation. We can say that the practice of shark finning has been banned from the EU once and for all and for good.”

1Jun2013

Big Precious Animal Products Smuggling Case Seized

Posted in China by Action 4 Animal Rights

A big precious animal products smuggling case was intercepted at the airport, announced Dalian Customs District on May 13. 4 suspects and 373 precious animal products were seized in the case. The items captured, which included 367 ivory products, polar bear’s skin, narwhal tusk, Corallium rubrmm (red coral or precious coral) and some other endangered animal products, were valued at more than RMB4 million, said customs officers. The case is the biggest one of its kind that Dalian Customs District has seized in history, since it involved a large quantity of exquisite animal products with really high street value.

At 13:00 on April 1, when exercising control over an inward flight (Nagoya-Dalian)，customs officers found anomalies on the X-ray images of the 11 suitcases of 4 passengers. Especially, the shadows of the three items that looked like animal tusks arouse suspicion of Hou Junqing, the Section Chief of customs control on duty that day. “The three items are all about 3 meters long. Tusks of this length are rarely seen even in cultural artifacts market, not to mention here at the customs control venue. So we thought the items were not something normal. They might be the precious tusks of narwhal that lives in the Arctic”, said Hou, who has more than 10 years experience as a customs officer checking passenger’s luggage. “The 4 passengers looked really nervous at that time. They told us again and again that those items in their suitcases were art works given by Japanese friends and not worth a pin. But that made the whole thing look even more suspicious.” Hou then decided to check the luggage manually. When opening the suitcases, customs officers saw Buddha figures, vases, censers, pen containers and other beautifully made ivory products. Hou then detained the suspected endangered animal products and passed them on to the Anti-smuggling Bureau of the customs administration.

The investigation done by the Anti-smuggling Bureau of Dalian Customs District showed that most of the items inside the 11 suitcases were ivory products. Such endangered animal products as polar bear’s skin from the Artic, narwhal tusk, and Corallium rubrum were also found in the luggage.

The suspects had been arrested and the case would be transferred to the Procuratorate, according to customs officers.

Source: General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China

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visit our campaign for Chinese animals:

Care for Chinese Animals

26May2013

Italy: Our friends at “Oasi di Camilla”

Posted in Non Profit, Shelter Animals by Action 4 Animal Rights

Dear friends,

I would like to introduce you an Italian friend, “Oasi di Camilla”, a little animal protection association in
Genoa.

from Oasi di Camilla

We are a little association in Genoa, “Oasi di Camilla” is a completely volunteer run association.
All work undertaken by us is done entirely on a voluntary basis.
Every day we face every kind of emergency and our few resources (we do not receive public money) are not
enough.
We host animals at home, every kind of animals, all of them were found abandoned and in sad conditions. All of them receive veterinary cares, food, love and we look for new adoptive families.
The Municipal Hall gave us a space inside “Villa Duchessa di Galliera” in a Genoa Voltri, that we have cleaned, removed blackberry bushes, growth of bushes and garbage, but we don’t have not enough funds to finish the works and build a shelter).
Recently we have rescued a kitten, few days old, found abandoned, we are giving him all the care he needs; a pregnant cat who had 5 kittens; a paroquet with a broken wing and an infection (a veterinary surgeon, operated on the animal successfully and now is better).

Siamo una piccola associazione genovese, basata esclusivamente sul volontariato di poche persone. Ogni giorno ci troviamo ad affrontare emergenze di ogni genere e le nostre magre risorse (non riceviamo alcun tipo di sovvenzione) non ci permettono più di andare avanti. Ospitiamo nelle nostre case (ci hanno assegnato dal Municipio uno spazio all’interno di Villa Duchessa di Galliera a Genova Voltri, che noi abbiamo pulito da rovi, arbusti, sterpaglie e spazzatura, ma non abbiamo i fondi per poterlo sistemare ed attrezzare come rifugio) animali di vario genere, tutti raccolti da situazioni “tristi” o da abbandoni. Li curiamo, li nutriamo e, quando possibile, cerchiamo per loro una buona adozione. Gli ultimi arrivi sono un parrocchetto dal collare che ci è stato consegnato con un’ala staccata ed una brutta infezione (lo abbiamo già fatto operare e si sta riprendendo),un gattino di pochi giorni, trovato orfano, che stiamo allattando ed una micia in stato di gravidanza che ha appena partorito cinque piccolini … credo che tutti possano facilmente immaginare le spese che ci troviamo costretti a sostenere.

If you want support this group, please visit their site http://nuke.oasidicamilla.org/ - Paypal is in the home page

Martina when rescued

Martina after the rescue. She needed one month of veterinary cares

A rescued chinchilla

Photo taken during the rescue, after the volunteers put them in a bigger and confortable space

Recently rescued

Recently rescued kitten

Romeo now is well after the cares

Romeo at the moment of the rescue

Oliver when rescued

Oliver now

The following are photos of a rescued chinchilla

Cincillà cincillà1

cincillà5 cincillà3 cincillà4

21May2013

Serbia: New appeal for help

Posted in Felix cat shelter, Non Profit, Serbia by Action 4 Animal Rights

UPDATE from

Danica Mirkovic, President of Felinologic Association Felix and the owner of Cat Shelter Felix

The Biggest Problems Are yet to Come

This year’s round of shelter repairs is currently well underway. Paving of the sheltered area under the eaves is finally finished and we’ve already undertaken our next challenge – fixing the only cat room in the front yard. Not until the workers began to rip out the ceiling were we aware of its true condition and the real reason why that huge bump had formed in it months ago. The old saying “You never know what lies beneath” takes on a whole new meaning during repairs at Felix shelter.

Like all of the other auxiliary rooms, the one in question has originally been made of reeds and rammed earth, with random bricks scattered here and there. The ceiling sagged down because the roof was leaking water and not only that, the rammed earth and reeds became wet and heavy, which has caused one of the beams carrying the weight of the roof to frighteningly bend down in the middle. That particular beam lies on top of the walls and supports the structural roof beams so it can’t be replaced, as the entire structure would fall down otherwise. Nevertheless, it can stay as it is without causing any additional problems. OSB sheathing has already been placed above, and an insulating layer of Styrofoam will be attached beneath. After that, special nets will be adhered to both the inner walls and the ceiling and Bavalit, which is a kind of mortar, will be applied afterwards. New electrical installations of cables, plugs and wall sockets will replace the old ones and the best news is that all of the costs of renovating that room in the front yard are covered. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning…

The biggest problem is the roof of the auxiliary rooms itself – half-rotten and cracked in places, it must be replaced entirely, not a single part of it is worth saving. The only cat room in good shape is the last and the biggest one in the backyard, as it was built out of normal building materials just before I moved in a few years ago, so it’s still quite new. Raising enough money to replace the roof sounds like science fiction at the moment, but if we miraculously succeed, there will be plenty of hard work ahead. Additional layers of bricks will be added onto the existing walls and after that, the wooden frame will be placed on top of the bricks to allow the concrete to be poured into it. Once the concrete frame is finished, it will be ready to carry the new roofing. Roof beams and rafters will be set in place to make a new roof structure, which will then be covered with an insulation layer and the final step will be putting up new roof tiles. With this new roofing, all of the auxiliary rooms will be ready for next winter.

However, if the lack of funds prevents us from accomplishing what we have planned, Felix kitties will be facing an extremely uncertain future. We can try and put a nylon cover under the old roof that is already leaking in multiple places, hoping that the water won’t continue soaking the ceilings of the auxiliary rooms, but this patched up roof can’t reasonably be expected to endure another snow. The longer we wait, the greater the risk we run that this rotten roofing will collapse in on the cats and everything will fall apart. It’s been said a long time ago that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…

Please, help us if you possibly can! Felix kitties look pampered and happy, without a care in the world, but their lives will change dramatically if the roof above the rooms they eat and sleep in caves in. Some of them are very old or chronically ill, while others are very young, they have all been through a lot before they arrived here, and now the question is just how many hardships these delicate, brave little creatures can endure in their lifetime. After all of the misery, fear, violence and hopelessness they were forced to experience, they have found their safe haven that gave their lives a completely new dimension. It would be so unfair to let anything shatter their hope again…

Together, we can make their fairy tale last! Every little bit helps!

click on the image to enlarge it

For more info and support this shelter, please visit:

Watch more video: http://www.youtube.com/user/Felixshelter

Past news: http://legalaction4animalrights.net/category/felix-cat-shelter/

Cat shelter Felix: http://catshelterfelix.com/

Blog: http://novisadcats.blogspot.com/

Cat Shelter Felix – CafePress http://www.cafepress.com/catshelterfelix

19May2013

Beijing: 400 Living Spiders Seized

Posted in China, Wild animals by Action 4 Animal Rights

Officers of Beijing Customs District said they had seized 400 living spiders and a hundred other insects a few days ago. Customs officers said they suspected that these spiders would fall under the profile of highly endangered species or precious species.

These insects, which were false-declared as “toys”, were imported from a European country and were hidden in some wet tissues and plastic boxes. Customs officers detained the goods according to relevant laws and regulations and later passed them on to the related departments for testing and further disposal.

seized

source: General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China

visit our campaign for Chinese animals:

Care for Chinese Animals

http://legalaction4animalrights.net/2013/04/29/save-rufus/

13May2013

Haslam Releases Statement on HB 1191/SB 1248

Posted in USA by Action 4 Animal Rights

Gov. Bill Haslam released the following statement regarding Tennessee’s pending Ag Gag legislation, HB 1191/SB 1248 :

“Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Tennessee. Farmers play a vital role in our state’s economy, heritage and history. I understand their concerns about large scale attacks on their livelihoods. I also appreciate that the types of recordings this bill targets may be obtained at times under false pretenses, which I think is wrong,” Haslam said.

“Our office has spent a great deal of time considering this legislation. We’ve had a lot of input from people on all sides of the issue. After careful consideration, I am going to veto the legislation. Some vetoes are made solely on policy grounds. Other vetoes may be the result of wanting the General Assembly to reconsider the legislation for a number of reasons. My veto here is more along the lines of the latter. I have a number of concerns.

“First, the Attorney General says the law is constitutionally suspect. Second, it appears to repeal parts of Tennessee’s Shield Law without saying so. If that is the case, it should say so. Third, there are concerns from some district attorneys that the act actually makes it more difficult to prosecute animal cruelty cases, which would be an unintended consequence.

“For these reasons, I am vetoing HB1191/SB1248, and I respectfully encourage the General Assembly to reconsider this issue.”

———–

Ag Gag bills seek to criminalize individuals who document animal abuse in slaughterhouses and on factory farms.

One More Ag-Gag Bill Bites the Dust!
http://www.care2.com/causes/one-more-ag-gag-bill-bites-the-dust.html

———–

13May2013

Rufus reunited with his family

Posted in Dogs and cats, USA by Action 4 Animal Rights

UPDATES:

UPDATE from Change.org

I’m so excited to share this news: we saved Rufus! Just days ago this adorable Beagle puppy was scheduled to be put down, and now he has been reunited with his family.

Thank you so much for signing my petition to Orange County Animal Control — Rufus was my friend’s dog, and was going to be killed until I delivered my petition and more than 180,000 signatures. When the Animal Control staff at the county shelter realized that so many people like you and me wanted to help save Rufus, they responded right away and promised that they wouldn’t harm Rufus until the controversy was over.

Our outcry was even picked up by TV reporters, who covered the story and Rufus’ safe return back home. Here’s a heart-warming picture of their reunion:

Rufus’ story has shown me how critical it is for animal lovers like us to step in and protect pets from harm.

Thank you again for helping save Rufus, and for everything that you do.

Julie Wheeler

____________________

MAY 11, 2013 - examiner.com: Thanks to a social media campaign and the Lexus Project, a one-year-old beagle named Rufus was finally returned to his Orange County, Fla. home on Thursday evening. Full news, here

Please consider volunteering for an animal shelter, fostering, or adopting an animal. Please be the voice for the voiceless.

____________________

From SAVE RUFUS page:

Rufus Life was spared because of TLP TRO & Atty Dawns Negotiation.

Happy to report that because of the Lexus Projects injunction, Rufus’ life was spared and because of Attorney, Dawn, negotiations were made to avoid TLP going into court. Rufus is home.

In honor of Rufus new life, TLP gave this page to a Florida resident who is dedicated to cross posts dogs on death row. There is no way to change the name of the page.

Every 8 seconds a dog of every age gets killed in the United States. Every 8 seconds, an innocent HEATHLY dog dies because they do not have a home. Please consider fostering for a local group. they will pay all expenses. By fostering you are helping to save a life.

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

Past news:

9May2013

Ruby’s visit to Kunming on 7th May

Posted in China, Non Profit, Rescue by Action 4 Animal Rights

A BIG THANK YOU to our friend Ruby, who travelled to Kunming to the see rescued dogs. Please see the photos shared by Yixin Animal Rescue and their note. We love you ♥

http://careforchineseanimals.net/2013/05/09/rubys-visit-to-kunming-on-7th-may/

_______________________

“We greatly appreciate Ruby, a Canadian volunteer, travelled to our shelter today. Ruby was welcomed by all the dogs, who happily surrounded her the moment she arrived. She helped build a fence to protect the dogs along with other volunteers. Although there were bit language and communication difficulties, but in front of same love, we were happily working together for the whole day, we thank the love that Ruby has for our rescued animals.

Love without Borders. We wish more loving people to join Yixin’s big family”.

Visit our campaign for Chinese animals:

Care for Chinese Animals