Wednesday 13 February 2013

Let's talk horse.

Source: Google

The headlines are screaming about the discovery of supermarket products containing horse and potentially donkey meat.  Residents of the UK and Ireland are shocked, disgusted and angry that they have been eating horse instead of < insert name of farm animal here > and the police are now involved in tracing how the horse meat entered our food system.

Although what has happened is both appalling and wrong I struggle to feel any sympathy for people who have little or no regard of where their food originates and how the animals killed are treated prior to and during slaughter. What do they expect? As I write, I am listening to a conversation between work colleagues (one of them claims to be an animal lover) and feel disappointed at how uninformed they are about the factory farming industry.  The only positive comment from “the animal lover” was a vow never to buy processed meats again.  I suppose that is better than nothing.

In most of the articles, news bulletins and conversations I have followed not a single person has spared any thought for the horses and possibly donkeys that have been slaughtered but why should they if they never consider cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks and any other animals they enjoy eating.  Is it too much to hope this wakes people up and makes them take more care in what they are buying and eating?

Reports now suggest that a Romanian abattoir is one of the main sources of the horse meat and openly butchers hundred, potentially, thousands of horses each year.  Abattoirs in the UK have also been raided by police and there have been claims of pork being passed off as beef in some supermarket ready meals.

As mentioned previously here, Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) has been campaigning for more transparency in how our food is produced and quite rightly say that food should be simply, clearly and correctly labelled to enable consumers to know what they are eating and if an animal product, how the animal has been reared.

Compassion in World Farming’s CEO, Philip Lymbery says:

“Today’s scandal of horse meat in beef products is likely the tip of the iceberg. There are real and deep-rooted problems sitting below the surface of our broken food system. And the bottom line is that we clearly, all too often, just don’t know what’s in our food or how it’s produced.”

Please support the Labeling Matters campaign by clicking here.

As well as clearer food labeling we also need to closely monitor slaughterhouses to ensure animals are being treated humanely prior to being slaughtered.  Barbaric treatment of animals has been exposed by undercover investigations and the RSPCA are campaigning for CCTV monitoring equipment to be installed in slaughterhouses across England, the Food Standards Agency agrees that this would be a useful tool. 

The campaign has already had a degree of success with the majority of supermarkets now demanding that the abattoirs where they source their products are fitted with CCTV monitoring equipment.  RSPCA wants to make it compulsory CCTV to be present in all slaughterhouses.

As it happens, the Government are due to update legislation concerning the slaughter of animals so now would be a good time to take action by clicking here.

Whilst people have been forced to think about what they eat and where it has come from why not use this perfect opportunity to spread the word about the two very worthy and on topic campaigns so please do share on Facebook and Twitter (which you will be able to do at the links provided above).

Finally, without wishing to sound preachy (but failing that and sounding preachy anyway) why not consider giving up meat and become a vegetarian?


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Tuesday 25 December 2012

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Unexpectedly Long Hiatus!

Hello all,

Just a quick note to apologise for the long hiatus, we moved house last week and it is going to be another few weeks before we have Internet connection unfortunately (yes, I'm surprised too!).  

I am doing all I can from the 3G on my phone and all Animal News actions will be via Twitter (Warning - there are lots!).  If you don't already follow me on Twitter you can do so here: https://twitter.com/TheAnimalNews in due course I will try and add updates on Facebook as well. 

Thank you so much for your patience and my apologies once again!

xx
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Wednesday 10 October 2012

Lunch Time Links #29


My inbox has been inundated with requests to take action for animals and I am struggling to keep up!  This weeks Lunch Time links has quite a few links for you to check out but I would really appreciate it if you could spare some time to take action and share the actions with your friends and family too.  As promised, the links also include some nice surprises!







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Thursday 4 October 2012

The fight continues...


(Image Source: RSPCA)
 
After the deaths of over 40 sheep and subsequent suspension of live animal exports at Ramsgate port Ipswich port helped the Live Export trade to continue just one week later.  Since then CIWF has reported that over 63,000 emails have been sent to Defra Minister David Heath and Ipswich port owners ABP against the live exports from Ipswich.  On 28th September it was reported that ABP had suspended the live exports from Ipswich.  The fight is not over as transporters will now be contacting other ports to take their place.

We need to show the farming sector that the public do not support live exports and call on UK farmers seeking their help in ending the live export trade.

It is the UK farmers, as well as the government, that have the power to end this trade.  As the sheep and dairy farming sectors receive generous subsidies from the tax payer they have a responsibility to respond NOW to public opposition.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU), the National Sheep Association (NSA), and DairyCo represent the majority of farmers involved in the live export trade, although most sheep and dairy farmers in the UK do not export their livestock. We ask that the NFU, NSA and DairyCo to respond to the tragedy at Ramsgate, and the suspensions of the trade that have followed, by calling on the farmers they represent to end this trade for good.


Please click here to email Associated British Ports today and urge them to ban the trade in live animals across all its ports, for good.


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Wednesday 3 October 2012

Lunch Time Links #28



How has your week been so far?  

The nights are getting darker and I am finding it so difficult now the mornings are darker too, although Autumn is my favourite season for so many other reasons.  Change is afoot and I have decided on a little overhaul to Lunch Time links!  Instead of just posting links to petitions and causes and demanding you get clicking, I want to give something back - so I am going to throw in some links to articles you may find of interest, humorous or just plain weird as well as the usual very important links to causes.  

I hope this makes Lunch Time Links feel less like work and more like a break!

Enjoy!










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Wednesday 26 September 2012

Lunch Time Links #27



Are you feeling the autumn chill yet?  I am finding Suki's early morning and evening walks quite bracing.  This time next week it will be October!  Sip some nice warm soup and check out today's links...






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Thursday 20 September 2012

Help Australian Sheep

Source.

I am absolutely disgusted to hear of the way millions of sheep in Australia are treated when they are not able to produce enough wool to generate profits for farmers.  PETA reports that the sheep are sold for slaughter and forced to travel for weeks on end to the Middle East and North Africa on hot, multi-tiered ships where they endure weeks of misery.  If they survive the disgusting conditions on board they then face slaughter.

Back in 2005 PETA US and Australian activists released the results of an undercover investigation which exposed shocking cruelty to sheep.  The Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has insisted that the current regulatory system is working despite the fact that it was animal activists and not government officials that documented the cruelty.






Please sign this petition allowing PETA to continue to expose the horrors of the wool, meat and live export industries and to raise awareness and put pressure on decision makers to make the urgent changes needed to save the lives of animals.

Your signature really will make a difference, PETA and their affiliates have sparked an international outcry and resulted in promises of industry and government reform.  A growing number of retailers are moving away from wool from mulesed lambs or have banned it outright.







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Wednesday 19 September 2012

Lunch Time Links #26


It's back to work and back to school, why not have a break, a nice spot of lunch and get clicking...

Save Spanish Greyhounds

Ban Irish Fur Farms

Stop Animal Cruelty at Marine Land

Save British Bees


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Tuesday 18 September 2012

Groupon Circus Deals

Source.
 
Groupon ("Group Coupon") is a deal of the day website featuring discounted gift vouchers for national or local companies.  I regularly receive e-mails from them and have, on occasion, treated myself or somebody else to a coupon.  I was very disappointed when I received an e-mail from PETA informing me that Groupon unfortunately continues to offer deals for cruel circuses across America.  






Until Groupon agree to stop promoting circuses featuring animals I am no longer going to purchase any of their coupons and will be telling others to do the same.  Although I have no evidence that they offer deals for circuses here in the UK, what's to stop them doing so in the future?  Please spare a few moments to click here and fill in a few details and send a message to Groupon urging them to stop promoting animal based circuses.





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