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Please help us to help vulnerable animals. Every action counts:



URGENT ACTION IS NEEDED NOW

Please write to your MEP asking them to sign Written Declaration 54/2009. If more than half of all MEPs sign this before 30th December 2009, we will be one step closer to ending these brutal and totally unnecessary journeys. These animals can be slaughtered in their country of origin and do not have to be dragged half way across Europe.



However, if less than 50% of MEPs support the Declaration it will fail, weakening the case for new laws ending the long-distance transportation of horses to slaughter in the European Union. Please use the template letter below to contact your MEP today, and ask your friends in Europe and the UK to do the same.



Contact your local MP
The Government and European Parliament need to know the strength of feeling the public has on the issue of long distance transportation of horses to slaughter throughout Europe.



Spread the word
Tell your friends and family about Europe's single biggest abuse of horses and ask them to get involved



Send a postcard

to the President of the European Commission asking for an end to the long distance transportation of horses to slaughter. You can request postcards using our online form.



Write to your local newspaper
The issue of long distance transportation to slaughter is one that needs as much publicity as possible.



If you would like more information about how to campaign on behalf of World Horse Welfare, please contact us with your details.

http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/you-help/take-action

BUAV News Alert: Cruel animal tests to be replaced

*BUAV STATEMENT*
European Commission finally approves in vitro methods for REACH*
*Cruel Rabbit Skin Irritation Test is Finally Replaced*
The *BUAV *has today welcomed the
announcement by the European Commission of the adoption into EU regulation of an alternative to the cruel rabbit skin irritation test. This means that it is no longer permissible to
use rabbits to test the irritation of chemicals, biocides and cosmetics.
The alternative is an in vitro
method using
skin donated from human volunteers. It is commercially available as
EpiSkin,
EpiDerm and SkinEthic.
Animal protection groups have
been strongly
pressing for the EU to finally accept the new method, which was
validated by
the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods in April
2007. We
are disappointed, however, that it has take over 2 years for a valid
and
commercially available method to receive regulatory approval in the EU.

Chief Executive of the BUAV, Michelle Thew*
states: “The
BUAV welcomes this important step forward in eliminating cruel animal
tests. Last
year 740 rabbits were used in such skin irritation tests in the UK. We
are now calling on
the Home Office to immediately stop this cruel rabbit skin test from
taking place in the UK.”

For further information please contact the BUAV press
office.

For more information contact: *
Dr Katy Taylor +44 (0) 207 700 4888 *
Out of hours mobile: 07850 510 955 /
Email:
katy.taylor@buav.org

Animal experimentation rising as Government scrutiny decreases

Animal experimentation rising as Government scrutiny decreases
Two leading MEPs have criticised the sharp rise in animal experiments in
the UK announced by the Home Office yesterday. The number of animal
experiments increased by 454,000 (14%) to 3.7 million experiments - the
highest level in over 20 years.
Labour MEP David Martin and Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MEP have
been quick to join the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) in
condemnation of the shocking rise.
The further revelation that, in 2008, the Home Office granted 16% more
project licences to experiment on animals indicates that another
significant rise in animal experimentation is taking place in
laboratories right now.
The shock rise coincides with news that the Government has implemented
the fast tracking of animal use licences. The Government's report
revealed a decrease in the number of inspections of animal laboratories
and the number of inspectors.
The NAVS is concerned that the Home Office is dismantling certain
controls at the very time Europe is reviewing new rules for animal
experimentation and attempting to put replacement of animal use with
advanced techniques at the heart of the revision of the Directive on
animal experiments, which is currently before the Council of Ministers.
Caroline Lucas MEP: "The Home Office figures throw new light on the
Government's shocking failure to address the continued use of animals in
experiments - despite increasing evidence that animal tests often fail
to reliably predict human reactions, and that newer non-animal methods
can offer greater accuracy and safety assurance."
"The UK Government must take urgent action to reverse the trend
highlighted in these latest figures and work towards replacing animal
experiments with viable non-animal alternatives. We need Europe to
establish a world-leading Centre of Excellence in non-animal research to
speed up the development of new techniques, moving away from the era of
animal research and bringing a new era of modern science without animal
suffering."
David Martin MEP: "Quite frankly I am shocked by these figures. We have
just gone through a European Parliament election where one of the
biggest issues in my mail bag was animal welfare and the reduction and
abolition of testing, especially on primates. This is a moral issue.
People want these experiments to end. This is an area where the UK
should be leading Europe not increasing experiments. We now have
alternatives to animal testing and they should be the way forward."
Jan Creamer, Chief Executive NAVS: "The shocking truth revealed this
week is there are more animal experiments with less scrutiny. The Home
Office appears to have been modifying the authorisation process and
reducing controls, including laboratory inspections, at precisely the
time Europe is considering new rules on animal experiments. It had been
hoped the UK would press to increase animal protection here and across
Europe. Instead before this process is even concluded there are
indicators that certain protection is already being dismantled in the
UK."
What's happening in UK labs - what the figures tell us

3.7 million experiments were performed on animals in 2008.
Examples of animals used:

Primates: 4,598
Dogs: 6,105
Cats: 360
Mice: 2.4 million
Rats: 355,370
Rabbits: 17,060
Guinea pigs: 29,293
Horses: 9,365
Examples of how the animals are used:
Genetic modification: 1.3 million animals were genetically modified
(37%), a rise of 186,000; mainly mice but with a huge increase in
genetically modified fish, where numbers doubled.
Household product testing: After being at zero (or 1) for some years,
there was a rise to 132 experiments on mice - especially disturbing
since this coincides with the implementation of replacement tests for
cosmetics across Europe.
Toxicology: 484,000 experiments were carried out for toxicology.
141,000 of these were not required by legislative requirements (29%) so
did not have to be performed.
Academic research: The vast majority of animal experimentation now
takes place in academic institutions with universities accounting for
44% or 1.6 million experiments. Commercial establishments, such as
pharmaceutical companies, account for 36% or 1.3 million experiments.
Fundamental (or basic) research with no immediate application to humans
or animals accounted for 1.2 million experiments.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

For further information, photos, video of animals in laboratories,
contact:
Angie Greenaway
Switchboard Tel: 020 7630 3340
Mobile: 07785 552548
Email: pr@ad-international.org
See the NAVS/ADI technical briefing on competitiveness of European
science and industry at
http://www.savetheprimates.org/briefs/download-our-technical-briefs
The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS), founded in 1875, is the
world's leading NGO campaigning for the use of animals in research to be
replaced by advanced scientific methods.
www.navs.org.uk
Through its department, the Lord Dowding Fund, since 1974 the NAVS has
funded scientists conducting non-animal scientific and medical research,
including cancer, Parkinson's, and more. http://www.ldf.org.uk/research/

Animal Defenders International (ADI): A partner group with NAVS:
With offices in London, San Francisco and Bogota, Animal Defenders
International (ADI) campaigns to protect animals in entertainment,
replacement of animals in experiments; worldwide traffic in endangered
species; vegetarianism; factory farming; pollution and conservation.
ADI also rescues animals in distress worldwide. Our evidence has led to
campaigns and legislative action all over the world to protect them.
http://www.ad-international.org/
ADI PR Desk
Animal Defenders International
Millbank Tower
Millbank
LONDON, SW1P 4QP, UK
tel. +44 (0)20 7630 3340
fax. +44 (0)20 7828 2179
http://www.ad-international.org/


http://www.ad-international.org/

-----------------------------------------------
www.YouTube.com/AnimalDefenders

www.CafePress.com/AnimalDefenders

House of Lords back proposals for Animal Testing

The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) today welcomed the conclusions of the House of Lords European Union Committee, which has supported the key changes that the NAVS wished to see in the proposed new Directive on animal experiments.

The House of Lords EU Committee has sent today a preliminary opinion to Home Office Minister Lord West of Spithead on the new European Directive on animal testing. This opinion is based on a public consultation and a series of hearings where the NAVS gave evidence.

The Peers advise the Home Office to broadly support the most important articles of the European Commission's draft new Directive. In particular, the EU Committee says that:

* The revision of the animal testing Directive is needed, and a full authorization process for procedures, including an ethical review, should apply across the EU;
* Unambiguous limitations to primate experiments are necessary, and the phase-out of the use of wild-caught primates in breeding should be supported;
* The proposed care and accommodation standards contained in the Directive will not affect the UK's pharmaceutical industry competitiveness and should be supported;
* It does not believe that raising animal welfare standards in Europe will contribute to diverting animal testing in developing countries, as has been claimed by industry.

NAVS Chief Executive Jan Creamer: "We are very pleased to see that the Peers did not yield to the industry's scaremongering, as most MEPs did in the European Parliament. It is shameful that during the European Parliament vote, primate trade and user industries spread rumours claimining that research would go abroad and people would lose jobs if welfare standards were raised in Europe, or that patients would be left without cures. The Peers found this to be nonsense and were not swayed by it. The House of Lords has made a stand for common sense. We urge the Home Office to follow the opinion of the House of Lords."

Unfortunately, many MEPs were intimidated by these claims and voted to dramatically lower the level of protection originally afforded to animals in the European Commission's project. NAVS provided substantial evidence to dispel the industry's claims and is urging the Home Office to follow the opinion of the House of Lords.

The proposed Directive is now in the hands of the Council of Ministers and NAVS is pushing Member States to undo the worst amendments voted in the European Parliament.

The NAVS expects the Home Office release of the official statistics on animals experiments for the year 2008 to show a significant increase in the number of animals used.


----
Animal Defenders International
Millbank Tower
Millbank
LONDON, SW1P 4QP, UK
tel. +44 (0)20 7630 3340
fax. +44 (0)20 7828 2179
www.ad-international.org

www.ad-international.org

-----------------------------------------------
www.YouTube.com/AnimalDefenders

www.CafePress.com/AnimalDefenders

Urgent call for enquiry into welfare at slaughter !Action Alert from VIVA UK!

http://www.viva.org.uk/mediareleases/display.php?articlepid=187
Government report highlights a catalogue of failings for British poultry
Viva! – Europe’s largest campaigning vegetarian group – is urging the Government to launch an urgent review of the welfare of ‘white meat’ animals at slaughter in light of a damning report by its own welfare advisory committee.

The report by FAWC (Farm Animal Welfare Council) is a indictment of a system that regularly fails the 853 million poultry slaughtered each year in Britain, claims Viva!. The report states that “A wide variety of stunning and killing systems are used for poultry, and none is ideal”, which Viva! believes supports its claim that there is no such thing as humane slaughter.

Concerns raised in the report include:

- many birds are live shackled (upside down) before slaughter. The report states that “Live shackling may cause considerable pain and distress, which is likely to be exacerbated when heavy birds or fracture-prone, end-of-lay hens are shackled”. FAWC recommends phasing out live shackling.

- throughput at many British slaughterhouses is very high – often over 10,000 birds an hour. FAWC voice their concerns the welfare of individual birds may be deemed less “significant” when large numbers of animals are slaughtered at once.

- resistance of individual birds varies greatly to stunning using the water bath technique. This means that many may not be stunned accurately and could recover before or during having their throats cut. Other birds may arch their necks and miss the water completely. FAWC said that they were “seriously concerned” by missed stuns.

- FAWC said that a stun-to-kill policy would be the only way to avoid some birds regaining consciousness, but because it may taint meat the industry is resistant.

- in controlled atmosphere systems (where the birds are effectively gassed), FAWC cited research that each system studied “had different welfare concerns”.

- a slaughterman’s licence is issued for life, without re-assessment of competence. FAWC said this was clearly wrong.

- the report was deeply critical that the MHS (Meat Hygiene Service) has stopped publishing data that shows compliance with animal welfare legislation.

- there is no maximum transport time for poultry, despite their welfare being significantly compromised on long journeys.

- FAWC recommend that major blood vessels of the neck, including carotid arteries, should be cut to ensure rapid exsanguination. However, on high throughput systems where birds are cut automatically, some cutters only cut one side of the neck. This can mean that there is an increased risk that birds will regain consciousness whilst bleeding to death.

- under British law, all animals must be pre-stunned before slaughter. The only exception to this is for so-called religious slaughter. The report stated that birds killed in this manner are likely to remain conscious for 20 seconds or more after their necks are cut. FAWC said that they were in agreement with prevailing international scientific consensus that slaughter without pre-stunning causes pain and distress. The report states that the MHS no longer collects data on how many animals are killed in Britain via this method.

- each year, more than 30 million male chicks from egg-laying strains, and around 5-8 million ‘unviable’ broiler chicks, are killed. This is done either by IMD (Instantaneous Mechanical Destruction) (live chicks emptied into a macerator) or by gassing. The report says that aversive gases should be phased out, and maceration for large numbers of chicks could be problematic if the rate of delivery exceeds the capacity of the machine.

Viva! campaigns manager Justin Kerswell says: “This report confirms that there is no such thing as such as humane slaughter, and blows out the water the myth that Britain leads the world when it comes to farmed animal welfare. The Government must act on FAWC’s recommendations immediately.

“If a catalogue of problems were uncovered under the beady eyes of an official Government investigation into the industry, just how bad does it get when no one from outside is watching? For FAWC to say that there is no ‘ideal’ method for ensuring welfare for poultry at slaughter you have to ask yourself why are we killing and consuming over 800 million of them every year?

“Thankfully, the number of poultry we eat in this country has fallen rapidly in the last few years* as people start to realise that they can remove themselves from this bloody business by going vegetarian.”

For more information about this media release please contact Justin Kerswell on 0117 904 3823 or email justin@viva.org.uk

Ends

Notes for editors

* Figures show that consumption of poultry meat in the UK last year fell by a massive 67,000 tonnes (four percent): http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/auk/2008/excel.asp (note: these are the most up to date figures provided by Defra and will next be updated in March 2010).

The FAWC report can be viewed here: http://www.fawc.org.uk/
The Report on the Welfare of Farmed Animals at Slaughter or Killing – Part 2: White Meat Animals deals specifically with broiler chickens, laying hens, turkeys, ducks, geese, gamebirds – as well as rabbits.



Viva! Vegetarians International Voice for Animals
8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH, UK
T: 0117 944 1000 F: 0117 924 4646 E: info@viva.org.uk

(UK) CRACKDOWN ON ANTI-CORPORATE DISSENT:THE ANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

During the past three years, the police and the Crown Prosecution
Service have launched a new campaign against anti-corporate animal
rights campaigns across the country. The crackdown has lead to the
imprisonment of activists linked to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
(SHAC) for a total of 50 years and the jailing of Sean Kirtley, who
was linked to the Stop Sequani Animal Torture Campaign (SSAT), for
four and a half years. The sentences, the charges and the nature of
the prosecutions have all been political. Public opposition to the
crackdown has been confounded by a media smokescreen thrown up by the
press releases churned out by the National Extremism Tactical
Coordination Unit (NETCU), portraying activists as ‘extremists’ and
disseminating misinformation. Many of those jailed have not committed
any conventional crime but have been targeted by new legislation
intended to counter the threat posed to the pharmaceutical industry by
effective direct action.

--
full story:
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3405

Animals in Russia!Video

Russia needs animal protection laws to protect animals from abuse,neglect,cruelty and killings.Any crime committed against animals goes unpunished!
It is time to stop!
Demand animal protection laws now!

BUAV TO GIVE EVIDENCE TO HOUSE OF LORDS COMMITTEE

BUAV to give evidence to House of Lords committee on proposed EU animal testing legislation



The BUAV, the UK's leading organization campaigning to end animal experiments, is pleased to have been given the opportunity to address the House of Lords Committee currently looking at the proposals to revise the European Directive on the protection of animals used in experiments (Directive 86/609/EEC).



As part of the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE), the BUAV has been actively lobbying the European Parliament to make sure the Directive provides animals in laboratories the strongest possible protection.



Unfortunately, the European Parliament ignored public opinion and voted on the 5 May for measures weakening animal welfare provisions proposed by the European Commission. The Council of Ministers (all 27 EU Member States representatives) will now discuss the proposals. The House of Lords report will provide recommendations to the UK Government before the Council common position is negotiated.



Michelle Thew, Chief Executive of the BUAV, said: "I am delighted that the BUAV has been given this opportunity to address the House of Lords committee. The revision of Directive 86/609/EEC represents the best chance in over 20 years to bring in bold and progressive new legislation which focuses strategically on ending the use and suffering of more than 12 million animals used in experiments in EU laboratories every year."



Erin Seymour

Marketing & Communications Officer

British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV)

16a Crane Grove

London N7 8NN

Direct: +44 (0) 20 7619 6978

Phone: +44 (0) 20 7700 4888

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7700 0252

Web: www.buav.org



The BUAV Vision is: To create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals



Half the battle to bring an end to animal suffering is funded by gifts in our supporters' wills.

If the time is right for you to put a good cause in your will please remember ours.



The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales as The Campaign to End All Animal Experiments (no. 04115167). Registered office address: 16a Crane Grove, London N7 8NN.

EU UPGRADES STUNNING,SLAUGHTER METHODS FOR ANIMALS

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8571035

LUXEMBOURG, June 22 (Reuters) - Slaughterhouses across the European
Union will have to change the way they stun and kill millions of cattle,
pigs and poultry after farm ministers agreed on Monday to tighten the
rules and improve animal protection. Every year, nearly 360 million
pigs, sheep, goats and cattle and several billion turkeys and chickens
are killed in the EU for their meat. A further 25 million animals are
killed for fur and hatcheries also kill around 330 million day-old-chicks.

Welfare and safety rules governing how this may be done date from 1993
and, experts say, are in serious need of an overhaul.

From January 2013, stunning and killing criteria for slaughterhouses
will be updated, and the general parameters for using electricity to
knock out animals, for example, or gas for birds, more concretely
defined than now.
Slaughterhouses will also have to appoint a specific person responsible
for animal welfare and make sure all staff are properly trained and
certified. The updated rules will not ban any major method of stunning,
although the use of certain techniques will be limited.

Carbon dioxide for pigs and poultry, for example, may still be used
despite some scientists' reservations, and using waterbath stunners for
poultry will remain permitted -- to the annoyance of the Dutch, who
wanted a ban.
Slaughterhouse operators will see their responsibilities increase,
regularly monitoring the efficiency of stunning techniques to ensure
animals do not "wake up".

"We have a duty to take care of animals. Their welfare is crucial, not
only for ethical reasons but also to ensure animal health and the
quality of food," EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said in a
statement.
The agreement would make "a real difference to the way animals are
treated at the time of slaughter", she said, adding that distress would
be minimised in the slaughtering process. (Reporting by Jeremy Smith)