Animal Aid

Ask Your MP to Back Early Day Motion for Racehorses

Every season the clock ticks down to death and destruction for thousands of race horses. Hundreds are shot in the head on racecourses or during training due to catastrophic injury, whilst thousands more who lack the ability to race meet the same fate in the slaughterhouse.

Now, Portsmouth South Lib Dem MP, Mike Hancock, has tabled an important Early Day Motion (EDM) calling on the Government to undertake a full audit of racehorse production, death and injury, and to make its findings public. He has also urged the government to curb the industry's over-breeding of Thoroughbreds.

Animal Aid already collates details of race horse deaths (see http://www.horsedeathwatch.com/ ) but we recognise that not all injuries and fatalities come to our attention.

The racing industry is largely self-regulated. It is, therefore, vital that it should present detailed information on the fate of Thoroughbreds so that an informed public and political debate can take place.

• Approximately 18,000 foals are born into the closely-related British and Irish racing industries each year, yet only around 40% go on to race.
• Some horses who do not make the grade are used in other equestrian events but many others are slaughtered for meat or repeatedly change hands in a downward spiral of neglect.
• Around 6,000 horses leave British racing every year. The industry provides an insultingly small amount for their care.
• Each year, more than 400 horses die or are destroyed due to racecourse or training injuries.

Lobby your MP to sign EDM 137

In both 2009 and 2013, additional regulations are due to come into force which should lead to a total ban on the sales of cosmetics containing ingredients or combinations of ingredients which have been tested on animals. This momentous Cosmetics Directive could save thousands of animals every year if allowed to come into force fully. However, concerns have been expressed that the British government does not have adequate checks in place to determine whether cosmetics manufacturers are obeying existing laws and that further legislation may therefore also be ignored. Consequently, they may continue with animal testing as they always have done. Additionally, cosmetics manufacturers are already lobbying to push the next deadline back - despite widespread public opposition to the testing of cosmetics on animals. An Early Day Motion has been raised condemning the testing of cosmetics on animals, supporting the transparent and thorough implementation of the ban, and urging the government to resist attempts to water down or postpone it.

View the EDM Contact your MP

Enforce the ban

Despite the much-welcomed ban on hunting with dogs, many hunts are continuing to kill foxes and other wild animals as normal. Often they escape prosecution by claiming that the deaths were accidental - even when they have deliberately led the hounds through areas where they know foxes will be. To try and put a stop to this blatant flouting of the law, an Early Day Motion has been put forward to add an amendment to the Hunting Act to include a 'reckless behaviour' clause. Please contact your MP and urge them to sign EDM 122.

Challenge Council's Lifting of Animal Circus Ban

Wycombe District Council recently voted to lift the ban on performing animal circuses in their area. This is a sad and retrograde decision to take, especially as more and more councils are banning such circuses due to the animal cruelty they embody. Circus animals are often kept in cramped conditions, with much of their natural impulses and behaviours frustrated. They may be forced to endure brutal training, and then perform for our entertainment. Such exploitation of animals is cruel and immoral.

Please voice your complaints about the council's decision to:
Wycombe District Council
Queen Victoria Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP11 1BB
Telephone: 01494 461000

Shame on the Danes

We have had many emails recently expressing disgust at the annual slaughter of thousands of innocent pilot whales in the Danish Faeroe Islands. Entire pods are driven into shore where they are brutally killed. This senseless murder of beautiful, intelligent creatures is inexcusable and must be stopped. Please complain.

Save Australia's Kangaroos

Kangaroos are now 'quasi-extinct' across much of Australia, yet they are still being killed for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. Many of the animals killed are juveniles, and this killing is a serious threat to the survival of this beautiful creature. Not only that but the senseless murder of sentient beings is always wrong, whether they are threatened with extinction or not.

Channel 5 Animal Cruelty

Our attention has been drawn to Channel Five's ‘Unbreakable’ programme as a paradigm of animal cruelty. Monday's edition featured contestants cutting open a dead alligator, and then later wrestling a live one in order to be declared ‘unbreakable’. Mealtimes also consist of a variety of animals being slaughtered as they attempt to prove they can survive in the wild. Please voice your complaints to Channel Five at:

Five
22 Long Acre
London
WC2E 9LY
Telephone: 020 7421 7270

Protest the O2 Arena's Use of Animals

The O2 Arena is going to feature a stage production of Ben-Hur next year, using 100 animals including horses, camels, donkeys, chickens, falcons and eagles. Inevitably this will involve a huge amount of animal suffering, as the animals will be forced to endure intensive training, are likely to be kept in cramped, unnatural conditions, and will potentially be exposed to the light, sound, water, wind and pyrotechnic effects that the production will involve.

Please voice your concerns to:
Customer Services and Public Enquiries
The O2
Peninsula Square
London
SE10 0DX
Telephone: 020 8463 2000

Defend Threatened Sharks

The UK is currently one of five EU member states allowing their fishermen to remove the fins of live sharks at sea. After their fins are removed the sharks are dumped in the water to bleed to death in agony. Over half of the 30 species of shark found in British waters are threatened with extinction, and yet this barbaric practise continues.

Please contact Huw Irranca-Davies, Minister for the Natural and Marine Environment at DEFRA, to express your concern at:
DEFRA
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR

Stop the Bulgarian Dog Massacre

Despite the Bulgarian animal protection act having come into force in January 2008, stray dogs are still being abused, slain and poisoned. The former ‘isolators’ (death camps) are now called ‘animal shelters’. Docs for Dogs has a petition to urge politicians to end the cruelties of the death camps.

Free the Dubai Whale Shark

A young whale shark has been taken from the ocean and dumped into a tank to entertain tourists at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. This poor girl will spend the rest of her life in a bowl after having the entire ocean as her home. She is unlikely to acclimatise and may die as a result. All they need to do is just release her back into the sea again.

The hotel maintains that it ‘rescued’ her but it is reported that the fishermen who ‘saved’ her are employed by the hotel.

Stop the Staines Pigeon Cull

Staines Town Football Club has recently employed a pest control contractor to shoot pigeons at their Wheatsheaf Park ground. Its commercial manager wrote on their web forum:

‘Our cleaning contractor who cleans the loos and dressing rooms, has added another hour onto his contract to clean the offending seats before each game. Alas as soon as they are squeaky clean again, the pigeons drop again, sometimes before he's left the stand. We have solved the problem – a pest control company came in last week and shot 15 of them.’

So, rather than pay for one hour's cleaning, Staines FC prefers to pay contractors to kill the birds. Please contact them to complain.

Staines Town FC
Wheatsheaf Park
Wheatsheaf Lane
Staines
Middlesex
TW18 2PD
Office telephone: 01784 225943

Food not Feed

The European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA) has launched an appeal to the United Nations and its agencies to channel available food resources to needy people and not to farmed animals. The petition states:

‘It is not acceptable that even in a grim situation with hunger and malnutrition killing nearly six million children each year, huge percentages of available crops are still being fed to farm animals.’

Scrap Livestock Subsidies

The Nutrition Ecology International Centre (NEIC) has launched a Europe-wide petition calling for an end to every kind of animal production-related subsidy, whether for breeding, fishing and crop cultivations intended for farmed animals' feed. NEIC estimates that in 2007, the annual support for animal farming across the EU was £2.75 billion – and that does not include promotional costs or subsidised animal feed costs.

In the last 50 years, in Europe and elsewhere in the industrialized world, there has been an exponential growth in the consumption of animal products. Today these items cost little to buy, sometimes even less than vegetable products, which inevitably require far fewer raw materials, energy and labour.

This is because farmers and fishermen receive direct and indirect funding, both from the state and the European Union. What we do not pay for at the cash register we pay for in taxes. And those who choose not to buy animal products pay, too.

This is all the more serious because the negative consequences of high consumption of animal products are greater on the environment, on human health and on poorer countries.

Given the huge health and environmental costs of animal product consumption, the European Community should, instead, support and promote only the growing and consumption of foods that are healthy and have little environmental impact.

Help end the killing of Scottish seals

Scotland is fortunate to be the guardian of around 90 per cent of the UK's internationally-important seal populations - yet some colonies have already declined by around 40 per cent.

Thousands of seals are needlessly shot by the fish and farming industries in Scotland every year. The Conservation of Seals Act 1970 permits seals to be shot during the closed season, which means that pregnant seals or those with dependent pups can legally be shot. There is no requirement for shooters to meet any standard of proficiency, resulting in additional suffering.

The Scottish government is currently consulting members of the public about a new Marine Bill. Please contact them and ask for the Marine Bill to include full protection for seals.

Help to Get Jumps Racing Banned in Australia

Animal Aid is supporting the Ban Jumps Racing campaign in the Australian States of Victoria and South Australia.

You can assist us by writing to the two politicians below. Please tell them you have seen the internet videos (links are pasted below) and that Australia's international reputation is being damaged by allowing jumps racing to continue.

Mr John Brumby
Premier of Victoria
1 Treasury Place
Melbourne
Australia 3000
john.brumby@parliament.vic.gov.au

Mr Rob Hulls
Minister for Racing
473 Keilor Road
Niddrie
Victoria
Australia 3042
rob.hulls@parliament.vic.gov.au

Watch 'Jumps Racing: The Real Story. This took place during the prestigious 'Australian Hurdle' on June 14th

Watch 'Horse Racing Kills (Again)' (This is the ABC's evening news coverage on 28th June).

Visit www.animalsaustralia.org to find up to date information about the campaign.

Protest Against Reintroduction of Shooting on Ilkley Moor

Bradford Council plans to reintroduce grouse shooting to Ilkley moor a decade after it was banned. The Bingley Moor Partnership, which operates grouse shooting on the neighbouring Bingley and Burley moors, has been granted permission by Bradford Council to run shoots on Ilkley Moor for the next 10 years.

Bradford Council's own Environmental Policy states that they will make every effort to: 'Safeguard natural habitats and species and preserve the nature and character of the district' and 'Prevent environmental pollution arising from its own operations and use its powers to minimise the impact of others within the District.'

These objectives are not compatible with grouse shooting or the burning and draining of moors. Not only is the shooting of live quarry cruel, but there is good evidence to show that many so-called 'pest' species are killed to encourage grouse populations, and that moorland 'management' actually harms the natural landscape and may be environmentally damaging.

There is also concern over safety, as many people currently enjoy the natural beauty of the moor with their families, free from the noise and potential risk of shotguns.

Please contact Bradford Council's Chief Executive, Tony Reeves politely asking the council not to put profit before the welfare of people, animals and the environment. Please also copy your communication to the Leader of the Council, Kris Hopkins to Ilkley Town Hall, and to Ann Cryer MP.

Tony Reeves (Chief Executive)
Bradford Metropolitan District Council
City Hall,
Centenary Square,
Bradford, BD1 1HY
Tel: 01274 432111 (switchboard) 01274 432240 (licensing)

Kris Hopkins (Leader of the Council)
Leaders Office
City Hall
Bradford
BD1 1HY

Ilkley Town Hall
Station Road
Ilkley
LS29 8HB
Tel: 01943 436 212

Ban Electric Shock Collars

Electric shock collars for dogs will now be banned in Wales, thanks to pressure from concerned individuals and groups. With Wales leading the way, it's time these cruel and unsuitable training methods are made illegal in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland too. Shock collars consist of a small battery fitted to the collar, which has two blunt metal probes that make contact with the dog's neck. To teach the dog not to do something, the owner can administer an electric shock - that can be increased in strength - using a remote control. In addition to causing pain, electric shock collars can cause behavioural problems, as the dog may associate anything they happen to see in front of them with the shock. Many dogs can be turned into nervous wrecks as a result. Dogs love to learn so training should always be enjoyable and rewarding, not a frightening or painful experience. Please contact your MP and ask them to ban these unnecessary, cruel and outdated devices and instead promote responsible training methods.

Dogs are for life, not for rent

A dog rental company called FlexPetz has recently opened in London with the intention to expand to other cities across the UK. FlexPetz customers get to rent a dog for certain periods of time without accepting the responsibilities that come with owning an animal. Dogs are sentient creatures who form bonds with their guardians. They need stability and to make an emotional attachment. If they are routinely rented out to more than one person, these basic needs will remain unfulfilled. They may become disturbed and are likely to develop behavioural problems. The company promises to rent out only dogs aged 2-5 years old and to date FlexPetz has not commented on the fate of the dogs once they pass this age. If FlexPetz customers feel the urge to spend time with a dog then they could volunteer at one of the many animal shelters where there are plenty of dogs who, while waiting for a permanent owner, would be glad of the attention. Please contact your MP and ask them to sign EDM 1699, which calls for the renting of dogs to be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Keep Giant Pandas Out of Edinburgh Zoo

As part of its centenary anniversary in 2009, Edinburgh Zoo is planning to rent a pair of giant pandas from China for exhibition and captive breeding over the next 10 years.

Giant pandas are extremely popular with the public and, according to The Scotsman, Edinburgh Zoo estimates its visitor figures could increase from 750,000 to over one million each year.

However, animals in zoos lead miserable lives and exhibit repetitive behavioural patterns resulting from the stress of their unnatural confinement, and from being gawped at by zoo visitors. Giant pandas can also become overweight in captivity and unable to mate naturally.

In captivity, only around 28 per cent of pandas breed, whereas in the wild around 100 per cent appear to be involved in breeding. There have been no successful reintroductions to the wild of captive-bred pandas. The best way to help these animals is by conserving their natural habitat.

Parliamentary ministers in England and Scotland have expressed concern at the plans by Edinburgh Zoo. Scottish Green MSP Robin Harper has tabled a Motion in the Scottish Parliament and MP Mike Hancock has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) in Westminister, urging the 'Scottish and UK Governments not to become involved in using live animals as currency in the course of diplomatic exchange.'

If you live in England, Wales or Scotland, please write to your MP and ask her or him to sign Early Day Motion 1588 – Pandas from China – tabled by Mike Hancock MP.

If you live in Scotland, please also write to your MSP and ask him or her to sign Motion S3M-1906 – Better Policies for Giant Panda Conservation, Breeding and Welfare – tabled by Robin Harper MSP.

Stop Export of Nepalese Macaques for Experimentation

A coalition of groups - known as Stop Monkey Business - are campaigning against the export of Rhesus Macaques from Nepal to the United States, where they will be used in biomedical research (especially in the development of vaccines for diseases such as HIV/AIDS). The Nepalese macaques are in demand as they are genetically similar to the Indian macaques traditionally used in this type of research. India banned the export of all macaques in 1978, resulting in the increased interest in Nepal's monkeys. In 2003, the Nepalese government enacted a policy allowing the use of captive-bred animals for scientific research.

In Nepal, there is a groundswell of support for the campaign to ban the export of these animals as the monkeys are revered as sacred in both Hinduism and Buddhism. As export licences for the monkeys are still pending, it would seem possible that the government are deliberating about whether to issue the permits.

This is not a call for a boycott of Nepal, but instead to support the Nepalese activists who are putting pressure on their own government.

Please send a polite message of protest to the Embassy of Nepal
12A Kensington Palace Gardens
London
W8 4QU

Labour Supports Bloodsports

Although Labour pushed through a ban on hunting with dogs, the government is trying to appease bloodsports fanatics by promoting 'gamebird' shooting.

At the 2007 Labour Party conference, Ministers - including the Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe; Rural Affairs Minister, Jonathan Shaw; and Home Office Minister, Vernon Coaker - gave their support to the shooting industry at a reception organised by the British Association for Shooting & Conservation (BASC).

Every year, around 40 million pheasants and partridges are factory-farmed to be shot for so called 'sport'.

Take Action:

Please write to your MP of whichever party to register your disgust with Labour’s promotion of shooting, and ask your MP to contact Hilary Benn (Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) to demand an end to the mass production of birds to be shot for sport.