Stray cats and dogs to be used in labs?

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Back in August of 2011 I posted about the government's plans to integrate new EU Directives on animal experimentation into UK legislation (Lab Animals Directive - A step back?) It appears that the government are planning to remove the current protection granted to stray domestic animals.  If the new rule is added to UK legislation it means that the government could allow the use of stray, lost or abandoned cats and dogs to be used in experiments.  I find this appalling and agree with BUAV's statement that "subjecting lost pets to painful experiments would be an extraordinary betrayal of the trust that companion animals put in us."

An Early Day Motion, supported by members of all parties, has been tabled by Adrian Sanders MP.  Adrian told the BUAV:

"I'm shocked that the government is considering removing the current protection given to our stray cats and dogs from being used in experiments. Losing a pet is distressing, but the idea that the animal could potentially end up in a laboratory is ghastly and unacceptable, and I urge the government to reconsider.”

If the government go ahead with this would contradict their previous claims that British legislation would not be weakened.

  

Please spare some time to contact your MP and urging them to sign Early Day Motion 193 opposing this proposition.  Find and contact your MP by clicking here and entering your postcode, you will then be directed to a form in which to contact them.  First, have a look at this link showing who has already signed Early Day Motion 193 to see if your MP has already signed.

_______________________________________________________

Suggested text (Feel free to copy + paste)

I am writing with regards to the government's integration of new EU Directives in relation to animal testing.  

Plans to remove the current protection granted to stray domestic animals could mean that stray, lost or abandoned cats and dogs could be used in experiments.  I am shocked and appalled by this decision and echoing Adrian Sanders MP, I think losing a pet is extremely distressing and the idea that a much loved pet could potentially end up in a laboratory is ghastly and unacceptable.  

Going along with this plan contradicts the government's previous claims that British legislation would not be weakened.

I urge you to please sign Early Day Motion 193 opposing this proposition.

Thank you for your time.

_______________________________________________________

Once your message has been sent you will need to check your e-mail as you will be sent a confirmation message from Write To Them, open this message and click on the link to confirm your correspondence to your MP.

Update on Battery Cage Ban (Good News)

CIWF reports that the EU Commission has taken action to enforce the barren battery cage ban by starting the procedure that could mean 13 EU member states facing fines for not complying with the EU wide ban that came into force at the beginning of this year.  Formal letters have been sent to the 13 states about their non-compliance, which are effectively starting infringement proceedings against these Countries.

The UK needs to act now to avoid being the 14th rogue state failing to implement the ban, CIWF is calling on Defra to act swiftly against those flouting the ban.  The Commission  has stated that action would be taken against the UK in February if the illegal battery cages were still being used.

You can help by clicking here to be redirected to CIWF's Big Move campaign page.

Thank you!

The Pigs Directive

Source: HSI

Back in 2001 a Directive was adopted in the EU to ban individual sow stalls in order to improve the welfare of pigs by moving all breeding pigs into group housing systems.  The ban on individual sow stalls is due to come into force on 1st January 2013.  This is under a year away and many pig producers have much to do before the ban begins.

Individual sow stalls restricts the movement of sows in such a way that they are unable to turn around for their entire pregnancy (four months).  HSI tells us; 

"These intelligent, inquisitive animals are practically immobilised, unable to express their natural range of complex social, foraging, and exploratory behaviour. The barren stalls also lead to behavioural and health problems such as bar biting, foot and leg disorders, and infections."

If this legislation is properly implemented the lives of thousands of pigs can be improved enormously, please sign this petition addressing Commissioner Dalli urging him to ensure this Directive is fully implemented throughout the EU in good time BEFORE the deadline.

Please tell your friends on Facebook and Twitter and encourage them to sign the petition as well.

Thank you!

BUAV calls for Parliamentary debate on animal experiments

{Image Source}

After working with MPs over the last few months BUAV has reported that animal testing is an issue that concerns both politicians and the public.  Because of this BUAV has launched a Government e-petition calling for a Parliamentary debate on animal experiments in order for the views of MPs and their constituents can be heard.  

In 2010 the UK reached a 25 year high by using over 3.6 million animals in experiments.

(Figure taken from BUAV)

The Government are currently considering its approach to three important aspects of animal testing:

• Adopting a new EU Directive on animal experiments into the UK law.
• A plan to accomplish the Governments pledge to reduce the use of animals in scientific research
• The Government’s position on a possible delay to the 2013 deadline for the EU marketing ban on new animal tested cosmetics.

If you are a UK resident, please spare a moment to sign this petition calling on the Government to hold a Parliamentary debate.  Once you have signed the petition, please share this with your friends and family.

If you are not a UK resident then you can still help by letting any of your friends or family in the UK know about this by sharing this on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you.

Good News for Dogs in Europe?

Suki is pleased!

The European Parliament has been busy, not only are dabbling in the Animal Testing for Cosmetics procedures, they are also considering an extremely useful proposal which could improve the way that dog populations are managed within Countries belonging to the EU.  The RSPCA reports that the European Parliament are aiming to stop inhumane methods of collecting and killing dogs and start a mandatory method of dog identification.  This could also mean good news for dogs in Britain as we don't currently have mandatory dog licensing or identification.

In order to succeed, the proposal needs the support of 369 Members of the European Parliament.  At the time of writing to me, the RSPCA had 140 signatures and needed to increase this before 6th October.  Although, it is way past that date now the action is still live on the RSPCA webpage so it is well worth clicking here and contacting your MEP and asking them to sign the declaration to improve the welfare of dogs in Europe.

Please spread the word by telling your friends and sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter, also the RSPCA site enables you to e-mail your friends with the link to the action.

Thank you!

Stop the Delay (Petition Bonanza!)

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My hiatus has been a lot longer than I anticipated, and I hope you will forgive me for this.  We have relocated again to the Big Smoke and this has been my first real chance to sit down and get cracking on The Animal News (and there is lots of it!) 

Back on 3rd August 2011 I posted about an EU Directive regarding lab animals being implemented into UK law threatening current standards, read it here.

Testing on animals for cosmetics is not only cruel and unnecessary but also selfish, is lipstick really worth the life of an animal?  

Back in 2003 it became illegal to test on animals for cosmetics within Europe.  Then in 2009 a ban on the sale of cosmetics that had been tested on animals came into effect.  By early 2013 every shop and Internet supplier must be free of and no longer market animal-tested cosmetics, the deadline for this is March 2013.  The bad news is that the EU is considering delaying this deadline for years.  This risks removing any motivation for companies to work on developing alternatives and condemning tens of thousands of animals to suffer and die.

Please can you spare some time to sign the petitions below calling for the European Parliament to adhere to the original 2013 deadline.  Members of the public are against animal testing in cosmetics on ethical grounds therefore it is important that the government listen to the overwhelming majority European citizens .

When you have signed each petition (it takes less than 2 minutes) please take advantage of the links provided and share the petitions on Facebook or Twitter, as well as e-mailing your friends.

To Do List

Please sign Peta's Petition here.

Please sign BUAV's Petition here.

Please sign HSI's Petition here.

Please sign Care2's Petition here.

P.S. Ladies, if you do wear make up I can recommend a good non animal testing brand in Urban Decay.

Lab Animals Directive - a step back? (Deadline 7th September 2011)

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Back in June a public consultation on how to implement a new EU Directive into UK law was announced.  The Directive has been introduced to bring current standards into line for lab animals including dogs, mice and rabbits across the European Union.  This could be a good thing for many of the EU member states but unfortunately the new Directive could threaten the standards for lab animals here in the UK.

The RSPCA has said "if the new Directive is implemented word for word into UK law, animals may undergo more suffering and pain, inhumane methods of killing may be allowed and many labs could go years without being inspected!"

Our government could quite easily choose to allow our current higher standards to stay as they are, however, the RSPCA believes they are cutting standards in order to reduce regulation.

We only have until 5th September to voice our opinions and to save our standards, please click here and enter your details to contact your government representative and let them know that you care.  This action will take more time than usual as a template letter has not been prepared by the RSPCA, a letter in your own words is the only way the Home Office will accept your response to the consultation.  

The RSPCA have listed points to include, and please feel free to make some changes to the letter below that I have sent:

I was dismayed to hear that you are seriously considering amending our current standards for lab animals to bring it into line with the new Directive put in place across the EU member states.  The new Directive is could threaten the standards we have worked so hard to achieve here in the UK.

If the Directive is implemented word for word into our law, it is a concern that animals may undergo more suffering and pain, inhumane methods of killing may be allowed and labs may not be inspected for years at a time.

I agree with everything listed on the RSPCA website about the new Directive including the following points:

1.      No reduction in the number of Home Office Inspectors or frequency of official inspections of establishments. A significant number of inspections must be unannounced.

2.      No lowering of existing housing and care standards for animals – where UK standards are higher than the Directive these must be kept.

3.      The current tasks and membership of local Ethics Committees (Ethical Review Process)   must remain. These committees should continue to review all projects locally as well as ensuring animal use and suffering is reduced and high standards of housing and care are maintained.

4.      Procedures that cause animals long-lasting severe pain, suffering or distress must never be allowed.

5.      Inhumane methods of killing must not be used.

6.      The use of great apes must never be allowed and there must be a robust system to critically scrutinise any use of primates.

7.      Experiments on birds and reptiles before they are hatched must continue to be regulated.

Thank you for taking the time to read my objections and I sincerely hope that you will consider the points I have made. 

Yours sincerely... 
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PETA is also campaigning against the new Directive and have an action here which you can take, they have already prepared a letter for you if you don't have the time to write one from scratch. 

Please remember to tell your friends! 

WHALING BAN STAYS!

After two days of talks in Agadir - Moscow, delegates from the IWC were unable to agree on a proposal which would see commercial whaling being legalised. Therefore the ban still stands. However, Japan, Iceland and Norway continue whaling outside the IWC sanctions.

Despite presentations by pro-whaling advocated the majority were not convinced by their arguments that killing whales via commercial whaling was acceptable. It has also been rejected that quotas be given whilst the ban still stands. (Quotas meaning the amount of whales killed)

Australia and the Latin America countries were clear in their opposition and after weeks of uncertainly the EU took a strong position and rejected the proposed deal but is still willing to negotiate. The pro-deal advocates did not push their proposal to a vote so they didn’t risk being publicly rejected.

WDCS anticipated further discussions but calls on the world to realise that the old world view of whaling is over. Nicolas Entrup the spokesperson for WDCS in Agadir says “We now call on governments to work together to ensure the moratorium is implemented fully and effectively ending commercial, and so-called scientific whaling, which have no place in the 21st century. WDCS believes that the IWC has a strong future, but not one that legitimizes this cruel, unmanageable and unnecessary industry.”

The IWC meeting now continues and will now be looking at agenda items including a demand from Denmark that Greenland is allowed to expand it’s hunt to include 10 humpback whales per year.

WDCS Report
IFAW Report