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DOLPHINARIA TO BE BANNED IN INDIA

The Indian Minister of Environment, Jayanthi Natarajan, has clearly stated that the government will not allow dolphinaria to be established in India.

Credit for achieving this historic ban goes to The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) along with their partners Born Free Foundation, Global Green Grants Fund, Earth Island Institute’s Dolphin Project and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation who have been working on bringing about this prohibition in India for the past year and have together been leading the campaign across the country.

All State Governments are asked to reject any proposals for establishing dolphinaria ‘by any person/ persons, organizations, Government agencies, private or public enterprises that involves import, capture of cetacean species to establish for commercial entertainment, private or public exhibition and interaction purposes whatsoever’.

This statement is groundbreaking also in that it accepts that ‘the unusually high intelligence; as compared to other animals means that dolphin should be seen as “non-human persons” and as such should have their own specific rights and is morally unacceptable to keep them captive for entertainment purpose’…

The spirit of ahimsa lives on in India and the minister and animal advocacy groups are to be congratulated on this wonderful advance.

Download MoEF’s circular here

QCA reproduces this photo by kind permission of the photographer Jim Capaldi (c) and Chris Draper at Born Free.

Please visit www.bornfree.org.uk

May 22, 2013MHPermalink Leave a comment

THE DOGS IN BALI – updated

Anna Sternfeldt, a friend of the excellent Indonesian organisation BAWA Bali, writes:

I have written an eBook with stories about dogs in Bali, with support of BAWA.

http://www.dog-stories-from-bali.com

Together we can make changes happen.

This book, of which a proportion of the sales goes to benefit BAWA Bali, is a very comprehensive account of the lives of dogs in Bali, encompassing much interesting information about the island, its people and their perceptions of this wonderful animal.

The accompanying photos, like the text, are moving and sometimes disturbing.

But the excellent organisation founded by Janice Girardi, BAWA Bali, is there to help and inspire. Read about their rescue and campaigning work at:

www.bawabali.com

Update:

Anna adds:

I can give away my Kindle version free during five days as a promotion.

By this means, readers can donate directly to BAWA. It will be free for five days next week, 27th to 31st of May.

You can download the The Dogs in Bali by following the link:

http://goo.gl/uzPPb
For those who don’t have a Kindle reader, it is easy to download, just follow instructions on the same page.

Also:

Anna has put up some of her stories on the writing site Hubpages for visitors to read for free, with the purpose inspiring people to donate to BAWA directly.
You can read a few of the stories here:
http://hub.me/af2Td
http://goo.gl/xNR0g
http://goo.gl/n04L2
http://goo.gl/uiUeo

QCA note: On the occasion of revelations of extreme cruelty in Indonesian slaughterhouses made public by Animals Australia in 2011, QCA joined many campaigning groups in protesting to their authorities. It was BAWA Bali which translated our letters into the local language, Bahasa, for us.

May 22, 2013MHPermalink Leave a comment

REPORT ON THE ANTI-CORRIDA DEMO IN SOUTH WEST FRANCE

Whilst members of Quaker Concern for Animals gathered for our AGM at Friends’ House in London on Saturday, May 11, we held in the Light the anti-bullfight campaigners, who were holding a major two day rally in the corrida town of Alès.

This Breton campaigner says: 'The bull has a soul, but you...? — This Breton campaigner says:
‘The bull has a soul, but you…?

CRAC Europe, the oldest association in the struggle for abolition of the bullfight, created in 1991, was the organiser of this international event, which we report below:

Ales, wake up, the Middle Ages are long gone!

Ales, you have grown up, your suits of lights are too small

The Paris bus arrived in the vicinity of Alès on the morning of May 11 and a police patrol stopped us, asking where we were from, how many we were, and where we were staying. The police were cordial, gave us plans of the town and its off-limit areas and escorted us to Colombier park. Campaigners were waiting there behind a barrier and could not move out without good reason. There was concern among the demonstrators about the risk of being confined to an unfrequented part of town.

Riot police and officers in plain clothes were everywhere. Buses arrived, escorted by police.

The chief of police introduced himself, assuring us that he would do everything to make our stay in Alès pleasant – a good start !

Demonstrators contined to flow into the park, speaking French of course – including with Belgian accents, Catalan, Spanish, Italian and English, and when Jean-Pierre Garrigues, president of CRAC, arrived, we were very numerous in our famous red tee shirts, symbol of the demo.

First demonstration and first bullfight :

(Reminder: 6 bulls were tortured and killed at the bullfight)

Good news: the meeting with the Deputy Prefect on the evening before had been fruitful and the planned march route would allow us to approach the bullring and the fair.

An extract from a letter sent by Brigitte Bardot was read by Christophe Marie, of her Foundation.

National TV channels and newspaper reporters interviewed the speakers and campaigners.

The march set off and it was soon apparent that the majority of local residents supported us, some opening their windows to applaud.

Enough of the bullfight! Banner on the bridge over the Gardon — Enough of the bullfight!
Banner on the bridge over the Gardon

This was the first time in my experience that a demonstration for an animal cause had been so warmly welcomed. We only came upon two people whose attitudes were aggressive and provocative. Support from the public was particularly obvious along the banks of the Gardon.

This is what bulls are like. The poster shows Fadjen, the Spanish bull rescued by Christophe Thomas and now living in France.

‘This is what bulls are like’ – the poster on the right shows Fadjen, the Spanish bull rescued by Christophe Thomas and now living in France.

When we arrived at the bullring, we saw that two barriers had been erected, manned by riot police.

Some bullfight supporters, coming out from the first corrida of the weekend, passed behind the police – one of them shouted out an insult which enraged campaigners. A request was made that they should be contained far away from us, since all efforts had been made to keep us at a distance!

The situation became charged, campaigners’ discontent was growing as they whistled and shouted their determination to make bullfighting torture disappear.

The police lost their cool and started using teargas. The deputy director of the Gard region himself admitted to Jean-Pierre Garrigues that it was the provocation of the bullfighting supporters and certain over-zealous police officers who had caused this slip-up.

At the same time, a lorry full of Camargue bulls was passing further down and somone on the top of the vehicle was striking the bulls with a pike. Plastic water bottles were thrown, and a chair at the person using a pike on the bulls, which is of course regrettable. Why had the authorities not simply closed the road lower down and avoided conflict? Someone on the lorry threw a stone and hit a demonstrator and an official complaint is being lodged.

Sunday 12 May, second demonstration and second corrida:

The next morning we were determined to get ourselves heard even more clearly. Paolo, an Italian cyclist, had come by bike from Turin: cycle for the bulls.

We followed a different route, but again felt the support of the vast majority of the local population. The speech by Jean-Marc Montegnies, who had attended the Saturday afternoon corrida in order to bear witness in words and pictures to the cruelty of the bullfight, moved the campaigners. It was shocking to hear that a young bull whose belly had been pierced by a sword and whose entrails were falling out was the subject of joking by the fans, who were comparing him to a Christmas tree.

Sunday afternoon, last demo and last corrida :

The sound system lorry with Jean-Pierre and 20 demonstrators carrying flags was allowed to enter the off-limits area of the fair, whilst the thousands of others stayed outside in accordance with police instructions, whistling and shouting for the abolition of the bullfight.

~ Jean-Pierre Garrigues, President of CRAC.

The demo ended with a few minutes of meditation in memory of the bulls tortured in Alès this weekend which we wanted to be the « week-end of abolition ». On Sunday, we reiterated our promise to rid Alès for ever of the shame of the bullfight – before moving on to the next town!

Thanks go to all the demonstrators and volunteers. Those who couldn’t attend this time, please join us !

Muriel FUSI, CRAC Europe representative for the Ile de France region.

http://www.anticorrida.com/Compte-rendu-des-manifestations-d-Ales.html

Italian demonstrators: Bullfighting is a crime. — Italian demonstrators:
Bullfighting is a crime.

Support from Spain: ENOUGH! no more bullfights. The Hispanic network Animanaturalis. — Support from Spain:
ENOUGH! no more bullfights.
The Hispanic network Animanaturalis.

Pictures above in this post have been selected from the complete photo report of the demonstrations in Alès, which contains a great number of wonderful pictures of this extraordinary event:

Before the 1^st. demo on May 11:
http://min.us/mbpviggn4nJyGA

1^st. demo on May 11:
http://min.us/mbid65DP2eFwUa

2^nd. demo on May 12:
http://min.us/mZhsbD0H5079a

3^rd. demo on May 12:
http://min.us/mbpkvE7j4Jt6Jf

Important: permission to use the photos has been granted, but QCA is happy to acknowledge them as the intellectual property of Jean-Pierre Garrigues, President of Comité Radicalement Anti-Corrida (CRAC)

www.anticorrida.com

Abridged and translated by Marian Hussenbux.

May 18, 2013MHPermalink 1 Comment

ENDANGERED SPECIES DAY USA

American Bald Eagle, photo courtesy of Flickr/Pero MHC

Blackfooted Ferret, courtesy of J. Michael Lockhart/USFWS

Sea Otters, courtesy of Flickr/Mike Baird

Leatherback Turtle, courtesy of Flickr/ZA photos

Lots more information at:

www.BiologicalDiversity.org

May 18, 2013MHPermalink Leave a comment

A HAMSTER WHEEL IS NOT ENOUGH

Our member and painter Ann Johnson reports:

I’ve recently embarked on a long-term project to draw and paint the rescue parrots who live permanently at the Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare, near Lewes, East Sussex.

The Centre boasts modern facilities for all kinds of rescue animals and these temporary homes for small mammals who will be re-homed, are particularly imaginative, ensuring their stay is as enjoyable as possible. So many small creatures are kept in tiny cages, largely bereft of objects with which the animals can engage. But here, as you can see, the staff have used great creativity in using recycled objects to create comfort and interest and encourage activity for rats, hamsters, mice and gerbils, helping keep them busy and happy.

These photographs demonstrate the staff’s imaginative use of everyday objects. All manner of household bits and pieces, including egg and sweets boxes, shredded newspaper and components of non-dangerous domestic appliances objects etc… are made into hammocks, platforms, tubes to run along, ladders, and materials with which to shred and build.

Raystede offers a whole range of activities for adults and children, as well, including educational events on animal care for local schools.

Ann will continue to report on her time at Raystede over the coming months.

http://www.raystede.org/

See Ann’s work here on our site and on her own web site at: www.annjohnsonpaintings.net

May 18, 2013MHPermalink 1 Comment

BADGERS – REPORTS & BADGERGATE

BADGER CULL MARCH, London, 1st June 2013

With less than 2 weeks to go to the march, the final preparations are now being done.

If you are able to help out on the day as a steward, please contact: protestthecull@gmail.com

Meet: MILLBANK, near Tate Britain at 12pm on Saturday 1st June

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/110322372498385/?fref=ts

DRESS IN BLACK AND WHITE FOR THE BADGERS!

Please support this very important event – if the cull goes ahead, many thousands of badgers will be killed. According to the DEFRA website, they will not distinguish between healthy and infected badgers, so the killing will be indiscriminate. This is despite the fact the cull is scientifically flawed, has been shown to possibly increase the spread of TB and is scapegoating an endangered species to hide poor farming practices.

A touching literary contribution from our member in Totnes Meeting, Heidi Stephenson:

The Badger

(In homage to William Blake, a compassionate man who would have strongly opposed a badger cull – and his magnificent poem ‘The Tyger’.)

Badger, badger blazing white

In the woodlands of the night,

What indifferent hand or eye

Would take your precious liberty?

In what pseudo-science lies

‘Proof’ that all your kind should die

On what grounds dare they acquire

The ‘right’ to slay you in your byre?

Wiping out your ancient part

In our landscape, like the hart

Blaming you for some great feat

The rise of TB. How they cheat!

Now see the politicians feign,

Twist statistics, smear your name

Hoodwink farmers, make them gasp

The blatant truth, they rasp and rasp

Intensive farming through the years

Sick animals, worn down by fears

Did He who made us want to see?

You trapped and shot at for a fee?

Badger, badger, blazing white

In the woodlands of the night

What trigger-happy hand or eye

Dare take your sacred liberty?

Visit the new group Badgergate at:

http://www.badgergate.org/

LATEST ON BADGER NIGHT WALKERS

The Badger Night Walkers will be raising public awareness, seeking support for the e-petition and promoting future events, in Minehead which is at the western edge of the cull area. We really do need to try to step up our activities and keep pressure on Government.

There are now over 223,000 signatures on the e-petition, so lets keep the momentum going. There are still people who are unaware of the cull proposals and certainly poorly informed. We owe it to the badgers to put that right. We are always pleased to see new faces and they will of course get a Night Walkers warm welcome.

Please car share to help the environment. Please wear your hi-viz jackets.

The details are:-

Date Saturday, 25th May 2013.

Time 11.00 am to 2.00 pm.

Meeting Place Wellington Square, Minehead, Somerset TA24 5NH. National Grid Reference SS 9676 4617.

We must not waver or be distracted. The vast majority of the public are on our side, let’s make sure we continue to win hearts and minds and turn good wishes to positive support.

Badger Night Walkers will be taking part in the National March Against The Badger Cull in London on 1st June. The Somerset Badger Group has booked two coaches, one leaving from Taunton and the other from Glastonbury calling in at Secret World Wildlife Rescue. Cost is £13 per person so if you can join in and would like a seat then please email somersetbadgers@waitrose.com giving your name, location and contact telephone number. There are a limited number of seats currently available, so please confirm as soon as you can.

Network for Animals writes:

“Following the success of their vaccination project last year, we have given a further £5,000 to Somerset Badger Group to continue their efforts to vaccinate badgers – an initiative which will allow farmers to remove their land from the cull area and promote a humane alternative.

Network for Animals will continue to lobby politicians in both the British and European Parliament for sustainable alternatives in addition to working with our friends in Team Badger to raise awareness and campaign for an end to this madness…”

Please visit:

www.networkforanimals.org And: www.badgertrust.org.uk

Somerset Badger Group have produced a flyer, part of which is reproduced here:

Did you know?

That shooting badgers, at night in West Somerset and Gloucestershire is due to start any time after the 1st of June 2013?

This is the Tourist Season for people caravanning, camping and enjoying other outdoor activities.

Did you know?

That between 4937 and 5094 badgers will be shot in a six week period this summer.

These are the target figures for the cull: in Somerset 2081 minimum – maximum 2162 animals and Gloucestershire 2856 minimum – maximum 2932 animals.

Do you realise that this could mean a nightly average of 121 badgers shot each night ?

and: Animal Aid:

For latest actions to take, please visit:

http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_wildlife/ALL/2858//

Please visit:

www.viva.org.uk/badgers

Badger Trust

The new campaign leaflet is now available and you can view it here. To order, please e-mail staff@badgertrust.org.uk, stating quantity required and name and address for delivery. It is important to have these distributed as widely as possible so we look forward to receiving your orders in the near future and these will be processed as promptly as possible. If you require them for a particular date, please say so.

Best wishes, Pat Hayden, Vice Chairman.

www.badgertrust.org.uk

May 12, 2013MHPermalink Leave a comment

SONORA STATE IN MEXICO BANS THE BULLFIGHT

The state of Sonora, in the west of Mexico, with 3 million inhabitants, has just banned the bullfight within the jurisdiction, the first Mexican state to do so. Sonora is one of the biggest states and one of the most densely populated.

The local Congress voted unanimously for a new animal protection law – sponsored by the Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM) – Green Ecology Party of Mexico – banning the bullfight in all its forms.

The law also obliges communities to provide free sterilisation for companion animals.

Fines of up to 400 days of salary may be imposed and prison of up to four years in cases of non-compliance.

The new law will be enforced in the state of Sonora three days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

We shall write to thank the congressman, pointing out, however, the need to extend judicial protection to all animals; cockfighting, horse shows and circuses with animals are unfortunately not affected by this legislation.

~ Animanaturalis Mexico : http://www.animanaturalis.org/home/mx

Our friend Ara Ferris, Mexican ambassador for World Animal Day, describes this as a great step forward and also reports that four towns in the state of Veracruz are already anti-corrida: Teocelo, Fortín de las Flores, Xalapa and Boca del Río.

www.worldanimalday.org.uk

No more of this in Sonora…

May 6, 2013MHPermalink Leave a comment

SUSPENSION OF EXPORTS OF CATTLE FROM AUSTRALIA TO EGYPT

Yet another instance of cruelty inflicted on animals exported to Egypt:

From North Queensland Register on 03 May, 2013:
Live export industry members are moving to address a fresh crisis today (Friday), amid reports of an alleged complaint of animal cruelty towards Australian cattle in Egypt.
Industry sources are saying exports have been voluntarily suspended to the facilities in question, effectively suspending all cattle exports to Egypt.

It’s understood the complaint is based on vision from Animals Australia which could also appear in television media at a later date, as per previous allegations.

A statement posted on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) website today has confirmed a complaint has been received about alleged animal welfare concerns in Egyptian abattoirs and is being investigated…

UN-COOPED: DECONSTRUCTING THE DOMESTICATED CHICKEN

Un-cooped: Deconstructing the Domesticated Chicken

Our member in the Republic of Ireland, Sandra Higgins, Director of Eden Farm Animal Sanctuary tells us that three of their residents will feature in the forthcoming online portrait exhibition at the National Museum of Animals & Society, entitled Un-cooped: Deconstructing the Domesticated Chicken.

Here are – on the left, Matilda, and on the right, Joy, soon after rescue:

The exhibition will also feature a synopsis of Enriched Cages and Embodied Prisons (in press), a report produced by Matilda’s Promise Animal Rights & Vegan Education Centre on the exploitation of egg laying hens by the humans who consume their eggs, detailing how the 2012 EU Ban on Battery Cages has resulted in an increase in the exploitation and rights violations of hens, which is characteristic of a welfare approach to non-human exploitation in non-vegan society.

The exhibition can be viewed online at http://www.museumofanimals.org/#/upcoming-exhibits/4158003 from 11th. May to coincide with International Respect for Chickens month.

This is a wonderful exhibition featuring a wide variety of chicken beings and the humans who represent them and advocate for their rights.

The exhibition features several of Eden’s residents: look out for Simon, Mike, Breffni, Joy and our beloved Matilda.

There are also very interesting contributions from Karen Davis of United Poultry Concerns, Robert Grillo, Jonathan Balcombe, Sue Coe, Carol Adams and many others.

It can be viewed online here http://www.uncooped.org/

From the catalogue notes: Homo sapiens and Gallus gallus domesticus share a long and complex history, from the jungles of Southeast Asia to the cockfighting pits of ancient Rome, from the Victorian show ring to the modern day factory farm. Human attitudes toward chickens are likewise vast, ranging from creation myths that revere chickens and the egg in the formulation of the world, to dismissals of chickens as dull and foolish.

Enriched Cages & Embodied Prisons

‘Enriched Cages & Embodied Prisons’ examines the effect of the ban on barren battery cages on the hens who are exploited by the egg industry, exploring the similarity between barren cages and the new ‘enriched’ or ‘furnished’ battery cage system of confinement. It explores how the ban has coincided with an increase in the consumption of eggs which is highly likely to be due to appeasement of what used to be the leading cause of public awareness of animal rights violations, a fact that will not have been lost on the animal agricultural industry that supported the ‘ban’…

Download the complete report here:

http://www.edenfarmanimalsanctuary.com/2013/05/14/enriched-cages-embodied-prisons/

Update: Sandra has launched a new initiative called Association for Creative Maladjustment to Animal Rights Violations and has opened a Facebook Page here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Association-for-Creative-Maladjustment-to-Animal-Rights-Violations/396182187163021?ref=hl

May 4, 2013MHPermalink Leave a comment

VEG*ANISM IN ISLAM

QCA is grateful to our contact in Canada, Anila Muhammad, who wrote an article for The Huffington Post, of which this is an extract:

Is Being a Vegan or Vegetarian at Odds with Being Muslim?

Interestingly enough, the idea of Muslims being vegetarian or vegans has prompted some debate. Islamic scholars such as the late Egyptian scholar Gamal al-Banna agree that Muslims who choose vegetarianism/veganism can do so for a number of reasons including a personal expression of faith or spirituality.

Al-Banna has stated “When someone becomes vegetarian they do so for a number of reasons: compassion, environment and health reasons. As a Muslim, I believe that the Prophet (Muhammad) would want followers to be healthy, compassionate and not destroy our environment. If someone believes not eating meat is that way, it is not like they are going to go to hell for it. It may be the right thing to do.”

Hamza Yusuf Hason, a popular American Muslim scholar has been warning against the ethical and environmental dangers of the factory farming industry and the health related issues of over consumption of meat (at 35 min mark).

Yusuf believes the fallout of industrialized meat production — the abuse of animals, the detrimental impact to the environment and human health, the link of such a system to the exasperation of global hunger — is at odds with his understanding of Islamic ethics. In his view animal rights and protection of the environment are not foreign concepts to Islam but a divine mandate. And his research indicates that the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, and most early Muslims were semi-vegetarians, consuming meat on occasion.

Vegetarianism is not a new concept for some adherents of Sufism. Such as Chishti Inayat Khan, who introduced Sufi principals to the west. The late Sufi Shaykh Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, who did not permit any animal products at his fellowship. Rabia of Basra, one of the most revered female Sufi saints…

Read the whole article at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/anila-muhammad/vegetarian-msulim_b_3124110.html#slide=more286628

The following slideshow, made by Anila, features Muslims who are vegetarians and vegans:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/anila-muhammad/vegetarian-muslim_b_3205096.html

May 2, 2013MHPermalink Leave a comment