Author: Cassie Bodin-Duval

Over 80 exhibitors to sell trophy hunting trips to kill precious wildlife at Jagd & Hund

Humane Society International / Europe

Jagd & Hund trophy hunting convention in Dortmund Germany January 2020, HSI.

BRUSSELS—From 24 to 29 January, Europe’s largest hunting fair will take place in Dortmund, Germany. Over 80 national and international exhibitors from Canada, Argentina, Namibia, South Africa, Germany, Spain, Poland and others, will attend Jagd & Hund 2023, offering trophy hunting trips, that cost between a few hundred and tens of thousands of euros, around the world to kill elephants, big cats, rhinos, polar bears and numerous other iconic species. In a joint letter with 30 organizations, Humane Society International/Europe called on Mayor Thomas Westphal and the Dortmund City Council to stop the selling of trophy hunting trips in the Westfalenhallen, the location for the fair.  

For years, Humane Society International has been raising the alarm over the impacts that hunting fairs offering trophy hunts like Jagd & Hund have on wildlife product demand, animal welfare and biological diversity. Between 2014 and 2020, trophies of 5,409 animals of internationally protected species were imported into Germany, including 194 leopards, 208 brown bears, 166 hippos 229 elephants, 138 lions, nine polar bears and two black rhinos. Many of these animals were killed because of the hunts sold at hunting fairs such as the Jagd & Hund. It is time for industry and governments—from city councils up through national and international offices—to end their support of trophy hunting. 

Sylvie Kremerskothen Gleason, country director of HSI/Europe in Germany, says: “It is not acceptable that in 2023 trophy hunting outfitters are still legally selling trips to shoot protected species for fun and games at a fair in Germany. For years we have been urging the responsible authorities in Dortmund to exclude these offers – but they keep silent and in doing so, support this gruesome industry that adds an additional danger to the survival of species that are already struggling to survive. It is long overdue that a stand is taken against trophy hunting of imperiled species.”  

Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN peace ambassador, is also appealing to those responsible: “The fact that hunting trophies of rare and endangered species are still legal is absolutely shocking! Please stop the sale of organized trophy hunting trips in the context of the ‘Jagd & Hund’ fair in Dortmund. Support thereby the animal and species protection!”  

The Wildlife Animal Protection Forum South Africa—a coalition of non-governmental organizations in South Africa, which is a significant range state for many hunted species—also spoke out against the hunting fair and wrote an open letter to the Mayor of Dortmund. The letter was signed by more than 90 supportive organisations mainly from South Africa, including members of forum and of the Pro Elephant Network and was endorsed by world renowned wildlife conservationists, wildlife veterinarians, international dignitaries, politicians and environmental lawyers.  

Trophy hunting is a form of entertainment rooted in wealth and pageantry that results in both severe cases of animal harm and far reaching damaging biological and ecological impacts. Yet, more than 120,000 animals are killed in Africa each year by big game hunters. The EU is the second largest importer of hunting trophies from internationally protected species, behind the United States.  Germany is by far the greatest importer within the EU.  

HSI/Europe is particularly concerned about the trophy hunting industry’s promotion of inhumane killing methods advertised at the Jagd & Hund fair and has already identified multiple travel offers for hunts being sold at the fair that promote hunting methods banned in Germany because of their inhumane nature, such as bow hunting. It also appears that many vendors are already in violation of exhibition regulations for the fair which clearly state that the marketing of “shooting opportunities” is forbidden for bred animals as well as for animals who are kept in closed areas—called canned or captive hunting. However,  vendors were identified that advertise canned hunting trips for sale  ahead of the fair. 

Trophy hunting undermines international efforts to protect imperiled species, drives global demand for animal parts and products, and calls into question ethics around sport hunting as a form of sustainable use, as highlighted in a letter sent to the German Government by the IUCN Ethics Specialist Group calling for an end to German imports of hunting trophies from regulated species. In the 2020 election campaign, Mayor Westphal promised, if he took office, to set up an ethics committee to objectively examine the issue of trophy hunting and the corresponding marketing at the fair. To date, this ethics commission has not been appointed.  

Trophy hunts allowed at fair despite overwhelming public opposition:

Despite overwhelming public opposition to trophy hunting—including from the majority of Germans—Dortmund’s government and exhibition centers have continued to facilitate the slaughter of thousands of animals by allowing these fairs to continue year after year.  Opinion polls show that the vast majority of EU citizens (over 80%) oppose trophy hunting and want to end trophy imports. In South Africa, one of the most popular destinations for German hunting tourists, 68% of the respondents across all social backgrounds reject trophy hunting.  

Many governments and industry leaders are already taking action to end their involvement in the trophy hunting industry. Some of the world’s largest travel providers, including Booking.com, TripAdvisor and Expedia Group, called on the South African government to end trophy hunting and focus on a wildlife-friendly future. There are also more than 170 NGOs from around the world calling for an end to trophy hunting, and the European Parliament recently positioned itself in favor of an EU-wide ban on the import of hunting trophies. The Netherlands, Finland and France already ban the import of hunting trophies of certain species. The UK, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Poland are also discussing this. In addition, Germany withdrew from the International Hunting Council CIC at the turn of the year. The Westfallenhallen should take note that in Italy, the IEG Italian Exhibition Group SpA recently cancelled their country’s largest hunting fair, highlighting its conflict with the company’s ecological values. 

ENDS

Media contact: Adeline Fischer, senior communications manager for HSI/Europe: afischer@hsi.org; +49 17631063219

 

The UK has imported more than £16million of fur from Finland since 2000

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

Oikeutta eläimille

LONDON—Shocking footage showing fur-farmed foxes in Finland with weeping and swollen infected eyes and ears; injured and bloodied tails; and deformed, splayed feet has been released by animal protection groups Oikeutta eläimille and Humane Society International/UK. The footage also shows obese “monster foxes” with huge skin folds from selective breeding; and baby foxes cannibalising their dead siblings.

The footage exposes the suffering of animals for fur fashion, even in a country like Finland where the fur trade boasts that almost 100% of fox fur farms are certified by the fur trade’s SAGA Furs assurance scheme. The scheme promises “the highest level of animal welfare”, but the atrocious conditions documented show a different story. Fox fur originating from Finland is used by brands including Fendi, Yves Salomon, Woolrich, Herno, Ermanno Scervino and Max Mara, and is seen in stores including Harrods and Harvey Nichols.

The exposé comes as more than 1.2 million EU citizens so far have signed the EU-wide “Fur-Free Europe” European Citizens’ Initiative petition calling on the European Commission to ban the farming and sale of fur in the EU. The shocking footage also shines a spotlight on the UK’s fur trading double standard because since banning fur farming in 2000, the UK has imported more than £16million of fur from Finland.

Through its #FurFreeBritain campaign, HSI/UK is urging the government to end this by banning UK fur imports, a move supported by 77% of the British public. A petition calling for a ban on the sale and import of fur in Britain currently stands at over 1.1million signatures.

Claire Bass, senior director of public affairs at Humane Society International/UK, said: “The suffering that millions of animals endure on fur farms, spending their entire lives in tiny barren cages, is heart breaking. Pus oozing sores, mental breakdown, and cannibalism are the reality of fur farming, and a million miles away from the glossy PR the fur trade tries to sell with its assurance schemes. The UK must stop providing a market for the fur from appallingly treated animals like these, and high-end department stores like Harrods that still sell fur should recognise that there is no such thing as responsibly-sourced fur.

“In 2021, the UK government ran a consultation on the UK fur trade to which 30,000 people responded, but 18 months later it has still not released the results or set out a policy position. For as long as the UK is part of the global fur trade, we’re complicit in this cruelty. The enormous public support for bans on fur farming and sales in both the EU and UK give politicians an overwhelming mandate to consign this cruel trade to the history books once and for all.”

Finnish animal group Oikeutta eläimille filmed at six randomly selected fur farms in the Ostrobothnia region of western Finland between June and November 2022. OE’s Kristo Muurimo said: “The majority of Finns want to ban keeping animals in barren cages just for their fur, but our politicians have failed to bring an end to the cruelty. An EU-wide ban would help the animals also in other member countries where the greed for money is valued over animal welfare. The UK, which led the way with the first fur farming ban, should certainly not be providing a market for products shamefully derived from the diseased, injured and suffering animals who are languishing in Finland’s fur farms.”

Fur facts:

  • More than 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year worldwide—that is equivalent to three animals dying every second, just for their fur.
  • Fur farming has been banned in 19 European countries (14 of which are EU member states), including the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland, Estonia, France, Italy and most recently on 22nd September 2022, Latvia. Political discussions on a ban are also underway in Romania, Lithuania, Spain and Poland. A further two countries (Switzerland and Germany) have implemented such strict regulations that fur farming has effectively ended, and three other countries (Denmark, Sweden, Hungary) have imposed measures that have ended the farming of certain species.
  • An increasing number of fashion designers and retailers are dropping fur cruelty. In the last few years alone, Canada Goose, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Chanel, Prada and other high-profile brands have announced fur-free policies.
  • The fur trade in Finland is in financial decline, with many fur farms closing down and some fur farmers in Europe diversifying or transitioning to other livelihoods such as solar panels, to secure their future.

Download photos and video

ENDS

Media contact: Wendy Higgins, director of international media: whiggins@hsi.org

Gyudon House, Trust Me I’m Chef, Go Coffee & Ice Cream will go cage-free for eggs across all menus by 2026

Humane Society International

HSI

Update: As of January 2023, Gyudon House and Trust Me I’m Chef have published that they no longer buy eggs from caged hens. As of December 2022, Go Coffee and Ice Cream has published that it no longer buys eggs from caged hens.

BANGKOK—Humane Society International in Thailand welcomes Gyudon House, Trust Me I’m Chef, and Go Coffee & Ice Cream’s commitments to exclusively use cage-free eggs in all of their menus by 2026, including products they create for other restaurants and cafés. Trust Me I’m Chef and Gyudon House plan to reach this target earlier, by 2023. Humane Society International has been working behind the scenes with the brands to make this possible and is continuing the collaboration by supporting the development of a cage-free egg implementation plan. Go Coffee & Ice Cream is committed to issuing annual progress reports toward their 2026 target, to demonstrate their responsibility to both their customers and the animals.

In 2020, Thailand kept 94,8 million egg-laying hens (FAO database), typically confined in wire cages so small that they cannot freely spread their wings. Cage-free production systems provide a much higher level of welfare, allowing the birds to express their natural behavior, including ground scratching and pecking, laying their eggs in nests, perching and fully spreading their wings, which are all scientifically documented behavioral needs. Gyudon House, Trust Me I’m Chef, and Go Coffee & Ice Cream are sending a clear message to the egg industry and related stakeholders: In Thailand, the future of egg production is cage-free.

Gyudon House, Trust Me I’m Chef, and Go Coffee & Ice Cream are joining 50 other companies in Thailand, such as Minor Food and Tesco, that have pledged to use exclusively cage-free eggs in their supply chains. With more than 2,000 corporations all around the globe—such as Burger King, Bimbo, Sofitel Saigon Plaza and Accor—having committed to go cage-free, Thailand is part of a global trend toward cage-free eggs.

Mr. Khunglang Khukuntin, restaurant owner and head chef for Gyudon House, says: “This new commitment is an important milestone towards a society more respectful of farm animals’ welfare. We are delighted to be leading this change and hope to influence companies of all sizes to do the same. A business cannot be good and sustain itself without a sense of responsibility for the well-being of others. Giving is of higher value than receiving.”

Trust Me I’m Chef’s top management team says, “Once we learned about the intensive cage confinement of hens in barren cages when alternatives are readily available, we were compelled to change our policy immediately. Not only will this change ensure that we are reducing suffering and helping to ensure that these animals have room to move, but we are also ensuring that we support farmers who care about animal welfare. It is our responsibility to our customers to not only source ingredients regarding safety and hygiene, but also to know where they came from and how they were produced. Cage-free is the right thing to do.”

“We are seeking to implement the best practices on all aspects of corporate social responsibility, and we are aware that our long-term growth depends on new generations who value social responsibility and seek to help the world. Good actions come with good results. The café sees this as an opportunity to promote better welfare for hens and to educate consumers, to encourage others to support a better life for farm animals. Adopting a cage-free egg sourcing policy emphasizes the café’s care for consumers and animals. This modification will accelerate higher welfare for animals, and support producers’ fortune,” says Miss Vorawan Suvattanapim, co-founder of Go Coffee & Ice Cream.

Lalada Tangjerdjaras, program manager for Humane Society International’s Farm Animal Welfare and Protection program in Thailand celebrated the announcements. “Gyudon House, Trust Me I’m Chef and Go Coffee & Ice Cream have taken an important first step to improve the welfare of farm animals by providing these sentient beings with enough room to spread their wings, and Humane Society International is excited to be part of this growing global movement by working with stakeholders here on the ground in Thailand.”

Humane Society International will continue working alongside Gyudon House, Trust Me I’m Chef, Go Coffee & Ice Cream to ensure the full implementation of their commitment. HSI will work with these restaurants by supporting them in relationship-building with suppliers, training and workshops to educate teams and customers, marketing, quality management, and compliance in cooperating with good practices for animals’ wellbeing.

HSI’s work to improve the welfare of animals in agriculture is both science-based and collaborative. The organization works with companies, farmers, processors, scientists and certifiers to support a transition to cage-free housing systems, and offers a wide range of support to companies including farm visits, consumer education and corporate roundtables and workshops to enhance their supply chains.

Humane Society International / Viet Nam

HSI

HANOI, Viet Nam—Seven grocery stores and a bakery in Viet Nam are supporting Nguyen Khoi Green JSC (the makers of Nguyen Khoi – Natural Pork brand or Nguyen Khoi) to end the gestation crate confinement of female breeding pigs and to implement group housing, which gives these intelligent animals room to move.

The supplier’s transition plan will see 25% of pigs in group housing by the end of 2023, with the expectation that all Nguyen Khoi facilities will be gestation and farrowing crate-free by 2025. These improvements are in response to growing awareness and demand for higher animal welfare. Humane Society International, a global organization working to protect all animals, is providing technical assistance—conducting farm visits, connecting Nguyen Khoi with animal welfare experts, and facilitating certification to a meaningful program.

Nguyen Khoi in Phu Tho Province (north of Hanoi), is among the first pork producers in the country to join the global movement to phase out gestation crates. In much of the pork industry, sows are confined to crates roughly the same size as their bodies throughout each of their nearly four-month long pregnancies. These crates confine sows so tightly they are unable to turn around, easily lie down or take more than a few steps forward or backward.

Instead, Nguyen Khoi will transition to group housing, which has been successfully used by farmers around the world to provide sows more space to move, socialize and adopt more comfortable resting postures during their pregnancies.

“Animal welfare is a growing global issue and we want to do our part. This is something we value, and we believe our customers appreciate that too,” said Thao Nguyen Phuong, co-founder and COO- Nguyen Khoi. “We are also looking forward to working further with HSI and our retailer partners to educate the market on animal welfare since we are one of the first companies implementing such a humane initiative in Viet Nam.”

Xanh Sam, a grocery store in Hanoi has committed to sell exclusively 100% crate-free pork from in all of their stores and future locations by 2025. Ms. Lai Thi Huong, CEO and co-founder of Xanh Sam stated: “As an organic and sustainable food store in Hanoi, we applaud Nguyen Khoi for this pioneering transition. This next step on animal welfare is very crucial and aligns with Xanh Sam’s core values.”

Three of Nguyen Khoi’s buyers in Hanoi’s neighboring provinces have committed to 100% crate-free for their entire supply chains too.

Ms. Nguyen Thuy My, the owner and founder of Khoẻ 365 Mart in Hai Phong Province, said, “We’re very delighted about this opportunity, we are very ready to follow our long-term supplier’s journey by committing to 100% crate-free by 2025.”

In Lao Cai Province, TrangHealthy has partnered with Nguyen Khoi for years because of a similar vision. The shop owner, Ms. Nguyen Huyen Trang, said, “We are very excited to be leaders in by adopting 100% crate-free by 2025.”

Similarly, Ms. Hoang Thi Minh Trang, the owner of Organio Corner in Hai Duong province, said, “Farm animal welfare is something quite new in Viet Nam, and Organio Corner is very proud of pioneering on this journey. We have committed to work with our partners to ensure 100% of pork sold in existing and future stores is from crate-free farms.”

An Nong Farm, a food retailer in Quang Binh, has also followed its pork supplier’s path by adopting a commitment of having a 100% crate-free supply chain by 2025. “We have the same vision of producing and selling sustainable foods not only focusing on humans and the environment, but also animals. The new chapter of Nguyen Khoi on animal welfare is aligns with our values,” shared by Ms. Le Thi Thanh Thuy, CEO and co-founder of An Nong Farm.

Another client of Nguyen Khoi joining the call for better animal welfare is Stephanie, the first organic bakery in Hanoi. The bakery chain has committed to switch to 100% crate-free pork. “We will continue sourcing pork from Nguyen Khoi as we share the same core values and vision,” said Ms. Le Thu Tra, CEO and co-founder of Stephanie.

Similarly, two other food retailers, Eco foods and Leaf Organic have committed to source crate-free pork, 50% and 80% respectively, by 2025. The two retailers have additionally committed to source pork from other suppliers that don’t use gestation crates.

Nguyen Khoi joins other producers in Southeast Asia, such as Betagro, that are already converting to group housing systems.

Hang Le, HSI’s Southeast Asia regional farm animal welfare program manager, said, “Nguyen Khoi, Xanh Sam, Khoẻ 365 Mart, TrangHealthy, Organio Corner, An Nong Farm, Stephanie, Leaf Organic and Eco foods have taken animal welfare seriously by adopting a crate-free commitment. Consumers care about the way animals are treated in food production and oppose the cruel, lifelong confinement of sows in gestation crates. These companies are sending a clear message that in Viet Nam the future of pork production is crate-free.”

HSI works with members of the food industry and producers to help ensure a successful transition to higher animal welfare systems through educational events, technical workshops and by facilitating the exchange of best practices among experts.

Because of this work and due to the growing demand from the global food industry, producers in Viet Nam and the entire region are now improving the lives of farm animals by committing to crate-free pork production. A growing number of food and hospitality companies, including Tesco Lotus in Thailand, Unilever, Sodexo and Hilton Worldwide, have adopted crate-free pork procurement policies as part of their corporate social responsibility goals.

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Media contact: Hang Le, Southeast Asia regional farm animal welfare program manager: hanglt@hsi.org

Reference in this release to any specific commercial product or service, or the use of any brand, trade, firm or corporation name is for the information of the public and does not constitute or imply endorsement by Humane Society International or its affiliates of the product or service, or its producer or provider, and should not be construed or relied upon, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as investment advice. Links and access by hypertext to other websites is provided as a convenience only and does not indicate or imply any endorsement with respect to any of the content on such website nor any of the views expressed thereon.

Humane Society International / Europe

Chinchilla fur farms in Romania 2021. HSI
Romanian Chinchilla Farm Investigation
Romanian Chinchilla Farm Investigation HSI in Romania
BUCHAREST, Romania—The Romanian Senate has voted in favour of a draft bill to ban chinchilla and mink fur farming, following an investigation by Humane Society International/Europe that exposed shocking suffering on the country’s fur farms.

Andreea Roseti, Romania country director for HSI/Europe, welcomed the vote, saying: “The broad cross-party support for this bill in the Senate strongly signals the willingness of the Romanian Parliament to put an end to the cruel practice of breeding and killing animals for fur.

HSI/Europe welcomes the quick legislative path of this bill, and hopes that when it comes to the Chamber of Deputies in the next few months, the decision-making chamber will act decisively so that Romania can become the 20th European country to ban fur farming. The European continent can be considered a trailblazer in ending the suffering of animals for fur fashion, a practice that is being rejected by consumers, designers, retailers and policymakers across the world.”

The bill was initiated in October this year, after which it was presented in the Standing Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies on 7 Nov. and submitted and recorded in the Senate on the same day.

Chinchillas and minks are the only species of fur-bearing animals who are intensively bred on fur factory farms in Romania. If successful, the ban would therefore mark the end of fur farming in the country. In September this year, HSI/Europe revealed the results of its investigation at several of Romania’s chinchilla fur farms, documenting serious animal welfare concerns, including animals confined in small, wire-mesh cages, with females forced into a cycle of almost perpetual breeding, with total disregard for the natural behaviour of the species.

The vote in Romania comes while there is also growing support across Europe for an EU-wide ban on fur farming and imports. The “Fur-Free Europe” European Citizens’ Initiative, launched in May and supported by more than 70 organisations, has already collected more than 1.1 million signatures of EU citizens.

ENDS

Media Contact:

  • Romania: Andreea Roseti, country director HSI/Europe in Romania: aroseti@hsi.org ; 0741-188-934
  • United Kingdom: Wendy Higgins, director of international media: whiggins@hsi.org

 

Humane Society International / Africa

Kobus Tollig Photography

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—Animal protection organization Humane Society International/Africa has launched its Healthy Pets, Healthier Community pilot program in Struisbraai and Bredasdorp, Cape Agulhas, to improve the welfare of roaming and owned community cats and dogs. As part of the launch, HSI/Africa and partners conducted the program’s first sterilisation marathon or “sterithon” at Struisbaai North Primary School and the Bredasdorp East Sports Grounds, sterilising 142 animals (111 dogs and 31 cats) and providing vaccinations, deworming and other treatment for 100 other animals, all of whom also received other primary veterinary care and grooming—as well as treats and toys from HSI/Africa volunteers.

The Healthy Pets, Healthier Community program provides local pet owners with the knowledge to help families maintain a healthy and humane lifestyle for their pets. This pilot program is also delivering humane education for local schools and families, low-cost veterinary services, and includes an animal law enforcement component that will strengthen the protection of animals in these communities. HSI/Africa will work with partners, other animal welfare groups and school children in the communities to improve the lives of their companion animals.

The program is being rolled out following a Monitor and Impact Evaluation Assessment survey for communities, that showed low dog and cat sterilization rates in Bredasdorp East and Struisbaai North, and high euthanasia and shelter surrender rates at the Cape Agulhas Municipality animal control facility. The survey indicated that most pets are not kept inside the home or do not have suitable outdoor kennels. This resulted in cruel practices such as dogs being kept on heavy chains and pets suffering from severe untreated tick, mite, lice and fly infestations.

Audrey Delsink, wildlife director and acting campaign manager for HSI/Africa’s companion animal and engagement program, said: “HSI/Africa is very proud to launch its very first Healthy Pets, Healthier Community pilot program in Cape Agulhas. The program aims to improve the health and welfare of companion animals in these communities through enhancing the family and pet bond. This is being achieved through high sterilization and vaccination rates. Meaningful and effective community engagement and humane education will be central to the success of our program. We encourage the communities of Struisbaai North and Bredasdorp East to participate and help us implement locally humane solutions for their dogs and cats through affordable veterinary services.”

In addition, HSI/Africa also visited two local schools to teach students the importance of responsible pet care and to encourage them to bring their pets to the “sterithon” and clinic days in the areas. The talks were focused on more than 400 children, who received educational coloring books to help them learn about caring for their pets at home.

Cape Agulhas Municipality executive mayor Paul Swart said: “Roaming dogs are a real challenge in our communities. To change this situation, we need to better inform our communities and I want to commit myself to doing so, starting here with HSI/Africa. Cape Agulhas is the most Southern point in South Africa, and we want to become an example for the rest of the country. We want to be a humane society that cares for one another – not only for us as humans, but especially for our pets. Through the ’Healthy Pets, Healthier Community’ program we wish to change the mindsets of our people to help them become better parents to their pets. Healthy and happy pets can improve our personal health and bring happiness to our homes. We thank the HSI/Africa team for the work you’ve already done in Cape Agulhas, and we look forward to becoming kinder, animal-loving communities with you.”

HSI/Africa encourages all community members to register their animals for sterilization and bring their furry friends to upcoming clinics to be hosted in 2023. For enquiries about the Struisbaai North registration, call Trevor on (084) 511-8705 and for enquiries about the Bredasdorp East registration, call Kerri-Lee on (082) 712-8331. For program enquiries, call Audrey Delsink from HSI/Africa on (083) 390-0337.

For video and photos click here.

ENDS

Media contact: Leozette Roode, specialist media communications and meat reduction: LRoode@hsi.org ; 071 360 1104; E

Humane Society International welcomes announcement from hotel in Africa

Humane Society International / Africa

Stock Photography

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—Hotel Verde has committed to exclusively source pork from suppliers who do not confine soon-to-be mother pigs in crates. With this announcement, Hotel Verde joins the growing list of global companies that have pledged to procure only crate-free pork. This announcement follows discussions with Humane Society International/Africa, which welcomes the commitment.

Chef Adrian Schreuder, executive Chef at Hotel Verde said, “As the greenest hotel in Africa, Hotel Verde is committed to source and serve only the highest welfare products available. As part of our animal welfare and sustainability policy, we pledge to transition our entire pork supply comes from only local farms that do not use gestation crates for pregnant sows. We are working towards a 100% implementation goal by the end of 2023. Hotel Verde is proud to work with Humane Society International/Africa on the implementation of this animal welfare policy.”

Gestation crates are used to house sows during each of their nearly 4-month long pregnancies on commercial farms to maximise profit by packing as many animals into a facility as possible. Pregnant pigs kept in these steel gestation crates cannot fully express their natural behaviour and are confined so tightly that they are prevented from turning around or even extending their legs when lying down. Not only do the pigs suffer physical discomfort and injuries, but they also experience frustration and psychological stress.

Candice Blom, farmed animal specialist for Humane Society International/Africa, says: “We applaud Hotel Verde for prioritizing the welfare of farmed animals by adopting this commitment throughout its supply chain. These policies drive the demand for higher welfare standards on piggeries and will ultimately eliminate the use of cruel crates. Consumers care about the way animals are treated in food production systems and oppose the inhumane, near lifelong confinement of sows in crates.”

More companies are adopting responsible consumption policies in South Africa and the world, including Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Nestle and others. Humane Society International/Africa will continue working with Hotel Verde and other companies to improve the welfare of animals in their supply chains.

ENDS

 Reference in this article to any specific commercial product or service, or the use of any brand, trade, firm or corporation name is for the information of the public only, and does not constitute or imply endorsement by HSI/Africa or any of its affiliates of the product or service, or its producer or provider, and should not be construed or relied upon, under any circumstances, by implication or otherwise, as investment advice. Links and access by hypertext to other websites is provided as a convenience only and does not indicate or imply any endorsement with respect to any of the content on such website nor any of the views expressed thereon.

Media contact: Leozette Roode, media specialist for HSI/Africa, e: LRoode@hsi.org, t: +27 71 360 1104

 

Minister Francesco Lollobrigida urged to resolve the fate of thousands of minks left in legal limbo

Humane Society International / Europe

Kristo Murrimaa, Oikeutta Elaimille

GALEATA, Italy—The World Organisation for Animal Health has announced Italy’s third outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 on a mink fur farm, located in the municipality of Galeata (FC). The farm has been closed since Italy’s national fur farming ban came into force on 1 January this year, with 1,523 minks remaining caged on the premises.

Italy’s permanent fur farming ban was approved in December 2021 as an amendment to the Budget Law 2022, and according to Italian production data, it prevented the exploitation of at least 60,000 mink per year. A ministerial decree that has been due to be issued since 31 January, should have seen the remaining closed fur farms cleared of mink, including rehoming as many animals as possible in suitable sanctuaries. However, the decree titled “Criteria and procedures for the payment of compensation to the owners of mink, fox, raccoon dog, chinchilla and any other kind of animal breeding farms for the purpose of obtaining fur, as well as the discipline of transfers and possession of these animals” has not yet been issued despite being created by the Minister of Agriculture and in agreement with the Ministers of Health and Ecological Transition. Animal protection groups Essere Animali, Humane Society international/Europe and LAV appeal to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Safety Francesco Lollobrigida. Fur farming and trade throughout the European Union must be banned, a claim supported by the European Citizens’ Initiative #FurFreeEurope.UPDATE Dec. 7, 2022: The European Commission confirmed that the remaining 1,522 mink on the farm were “culled and destroyed”.

“Since January, we have been waiting for the inter-ministerial decree to start emptying the last five fur farms where more than 5,000 minksare still housed and crammed into tiny cages and now risk being killed. It is clear that the inaction of the competent ministries is continuing to pose a risk to public health and continues to ignore the most basic principles of animal welfare. We ask the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, to intervene urgently to implement the provisions of the 2022 Budget Law and thus allow the transfer of at least some of the mink still locked up in the cages of intensive fur farms,” state Essere Animali, Humane Society international/Europe and LAV.

In Italy, two outbreaks of coronavirus have already occurred in mink farms: the first in August 2020 in Capralba (Cremona) and the second in January 2021 in Villa del Conte (Padua). In November this year, as part of the compulsory diagnostic screening aimed at intercepting the possible introduction of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in mink farms as ordered by former Health Minister Roberto Speranza in December 2020, two minks were found to be positive for coronavirus infection in a third farm, in Galeata (FC). The screening consisted of 60 swabs every 15 days on each farm. On 24 November, the World Organisation for Animal Health reported that the animals were swabbed (real-time PCR) for clinical signs compatible with infection. Although one mink is reported to have died, it is not clear whether the remaining animals on the farm have been culled or whether more have since died from the infection.

The farm in question is located in the municipality of Galeata (FC) and, together with the other farms in Ravenna—fraction of San Marco (640 mink), Capergnanica (Cremona, 1,180 mink), Calvagese della Rivera (Brescia, 1,800 mink), and Castel di Sangro (L’Aquila, 18 mink) —it is one of the last facilities in Italy where thousands of breeding mink are still locked up in cages.

These animals would ordinarily have been used to start a new production cycle in 2021. However, the temporary fur farming ban ordered by the then Minister of Health as an anti-Covid measure in recognition of fur farms as potential reservoirs of the coronavirus, and the subsequent permanent ban on farming animals for fur has left the animals in a sort of limbo for more than 10 months. They could not be killed for commercial fur trade purposes nor for public health needs in the absence of a confirmed coronavirus infection, but could not be released into the wild, since they are non-native predators and potential reservoirs of the pandemic virus.

According to the provisions of the law, the Minister of Agriculture should have regulated by decree the system of compensation for mink farmers and the possible transfer of animals to facilities managed directly or in collaboration with animal welfare associations. If the decree had been adopted in time on 31 January, at least some of the mink present on the mink farms that were being decommissioned would probably have been able to be relocated to other facilities such as sanctuaries. This would have helped reduce the population density and, consequently, the concentration of animals particularly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection.

This grave delay in managing over 5,000 minks remaining on now closed fur farms, is a significant animal welfare problem. These minks have been confined in the same cages of just a few square centimetres for at least two years but possibly as much as three to four years, because they qualify as “breeding” animals. In addition, it also puts public health at risk. The human-mink-human spillover chain has been well documented since the first cases were reported in the Netherlands in May 2020.

Essere Animali, Humane Society international/Europe and LAV conclude: “To avoid the risk of new coronavirus outbreaks on European mink farms and to spare the lives of millions of animals exploited solely for the value of their fur, we urge those who have not yet done so to sign the European Citizens’ Initiative petition ‘Fur Free Europe,’ which calls on the European Commission to ban fur farming and trade EU-wide. By May 2023 we have to reach one million signatures throughout the EU. To date, more than 600,000 EU citizens have already given their consent.”

ENDS

Facts on coronavirus outbreaks in Italian mink farms:

  • The first outbreak occurred at Capralba (Cremona).With more than 26,000 mink, the Capralba farm was the largest mink farm in Italy. In August 2020, a mink worker tested positive for coronavirus. Diagnostic tests followed on the animals (but not a diagnostic screening in all the farms which was the most reasonable option) revealing a number of animals testing positive for coronavirus. All mink were then slaughtered in December 2020, after further confirmation of infection with serological tests.
  • The second outbreak occurred at Villa del Conte (Padua). In the absence of compulsory screening (despite the outbreak detected in August in Capralba) all Italian mink farms were able to complete their production cycle and commercialize the minks’ fur. In 2020, Villa del Conte breeding was also able to obtain fur from over 10,000 minks present at the time and put them on the commercial circuit. Only in January 2021, with the start of compulsory screening, did it become apparent that those furs had been obtained from coronavirus-positive animals and were potentially a further vector for the spread of the virus. The approximately 3,000 “breeding” minks who remained on the farm after 2021 and tested positive, including in serological tests, were slaughtered on Dec. 14, 2021.
  • The third outbreak occurred at Galeata (FC). The outbreak was suspected on Nov. 9, 2022, with tests conducted on Nov. 14, 2022. The tests identified two coronavirus cases. The European Commission confirmed that the remaining 1,522 mink on the farm were “culled and destroyed”.
  • Further mink mismanagement occurred at Castel di Sangro (AQ) in August 2021, with the death of mink due to food poisoning. Exactly 1,035 minks died a sudden and extremely painful death due to food poisoning. According to investigations conducted by the health authorities, the animals were fed damaged or contaminated chicken meat. Less than 20 minks remained on the farm.

Media contact: Martina Pluda, HSI in Italy’s country director: mpluda@hsi.org; 3714120885

Updated on Dec. 13, 2022

HSI/Europe delivers 48,226 signatures calling for EU action against hunting trophy imports

Humane Society International / Europe

Hélène Terlinden, BOLDT

BRUSSELS—Yesterday, Humane Society International/Europe handed a petition signed by nearly 50,000 citizens from all over the world to the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, urging the EU to take action against the trade in hunting trophies. The petition offers concrete interim policy recommendations to strengthen existing EU rules regarding the import and export of hunting trophies.

Iconic species like lions, rhinos and elephants are killed for their parts and shipped to and from the EU, earning the EU the sad title of the second-largest importer of animal trophies in the world. It makes the European Parliament well placed to address the repeated failure of the EU to properly implement existing regulatory protections.

Dr Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for Humane Society International/Europe, said:

“We greatly appreciated the chance to be able to use our speaking time in the Committee on Petitions to counter the European Commission’s contentious and hackneyed claims—in response to our petition—that ‘well-regulated’ trophy hunting has benefits for both wildlife conservation and the livelihoods of local communities. It is unfortunate that they have swallowed the Kool-Aid predictably served up by apologists for trophy hunting, rather than evaluating the mounting evidence that killing threatened and endangered species for sport is harmful to species’ conservation and can actually contribute to increasing wealth inequalities, rather than benefiting all members of local communities. We are disappointed that even the recently adopted revised EU Action Plan on Wildlife Trafficking also listed ‘well-managed trophy hunting’ as a form of sustainable form of income. We strongly contest this characterisation.”

While critical of this attitude, HSI/Europe still welcomes the recent commitment in the revised EU Action Plan on Wildlife Trafficking to apply greater scrutiny to imports of hunting trophies and be more transparent about decision-making concerning country-species combinations. The action plan also states that the Commission will consider extending the EU legal requirement for hunting trophies to be accompanied by import permits for more species. Such import permits provide the EU with important oversight over the imports’ compliance with regional and international laws that aim to protect species from overexploitation through trade. At present, the EU requirement for an import permit for hunting trophies only applies to species in Annex A of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation and six additional species listed in Annex B: the African elephant, common hippopotamus, African lion, southern white rhinoceros, polar bear and Argali sheep.

While HSI/Europe welcomes this change as an interim step, the ultimate goal for the EU is to work quickly to restrict all hunting trophy imports of regulated species. It is a vital step to curb the demand for imperilled species’ parts and products, as well as for protecting animals like giraffes, polar bears and cougars from the compounding, extensive consequences of this cruel practice.

Last month, in its Resolution on the EU’s strategic objectives for the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species COP19, the European Parliament urged the Commission and the Member States to “take immediate effective action in the framework of its commitments outlined in the EU biodiversity strategy to ban the import of hunting trophies derived from CITES-listed species.”

HSI/Europe’s petition to the European Parliament—as well as recent public opinion polls and our various submissions to Commission stakeholder consultations—highlights not only the urgent welfare, conservation and biological needs for these additional trade protections, but also the general public’s desire for the EU government to take immediate action to ban hunting trophy imports in line with a precautionary approach to species protection.

FACTS

  • Petition No 0976/2021 on the necessity for EU action with regard to trophy hunting was submitted to the European Parliament in September 2021.
  • The EU is the second-largest importer of animal trophies in the world, according to HSI/Europe’s report Trophy Hunting by the Numbers. Between 2016 and 2018, the EU was the largest importer of lion trophies globally. Trophies from at least 15,000 internationally protected mammals from 73 CITES-listed species were legally imported to the EU between 2014 and 2018, with a nearly 40% increase in trophy imports to the EU during this period.
  • Legally obtained hunting trophies of the species listed under Annex A and six species under Annex B of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation can only be imported into the EU after a Member State has issued an import permit and verified that such imports have been legally acquired and will not be detrimental to the conservation of the species. There is no transparent process for the issuance of such permits and non-detriment findings. Hunting trophies of all other species are exempted from this rule.
  • As outlined in a recent report calling for a revision of the trophy hunting regime in the European Union, there is a long history of a lack of proper regulation and oversight when it comes to trade in hunting trophies. Even where trophy hunting is legal and follows management guidelines, there is evidence of population declines, indirect negative effects on populations, biologically unsustainable quotas, offtake of restricted individuals like breeding females and cubs, poor population estimates and monitoring, quotas assigned at the incorrect spatial scale, significant animal welfare concerns and a lack of transparency in data and policy and management decisions. A comprehensive ban on the import of hunting trophies of regulated species is a necessary precautionary approach to protect imperilled species.
  • Various studies have found that trophy hunting does not provide meaningful employment opportunities or revenues for the majority of community members and can instead contribute to wealth inequalities. Community-based natural resource management approaches should not make the poor poorer and the rich richer and should instead focus on more ethical, sustainable and lucrative industry alternatives to trophy hunting.

ENDS

Media contact: Adeline Fischer, communications senior manager: afischer@hsi.org ; +49 17631063219

The state government, in an effort to institutionalize snake rescue, takes a progressive step in recognizing, regulating and humanely managing the growing instances of human-snake conflict.

Humane Society International / India

HSI/India

KARNATAKA, India—In a move that will standardize and certify humane and responsible snake rescue in the state, the Karnataka Forest Department on Monday published an operational manual for certified snake rescuers. The guidelines titled “Effective Human-Snake Conflict Management and Mitigation: An Operation Manual for Certified Snake Rescuers” were released by Smt. Madhu Sharma IFS and Shri Vijaykumar Gogi IFS, and were authored by eminent herpetologists Shri. Romulus Whitaker, Padma Shri award-recipient, as well as The Liana Trust’s Gerard Martin and Sumanth Bindumadhav from Humane Society International/India, which runs a snakebite mitigation and awareness program. The authors also consulted with snake rescuers from across the state.

India is the snakebite capital of the world with more than one million snakebites a year, and has more instances of human conflict with snakes than with any other species including tigers, leopards, elephants and bears combined. Every day across the country, hundreds of thousands of individuals and families encounter snakes in their day-to-day lives, with farmers being particularly at risk as they work often barefoot in the fields.

Karnataka, like other states in India, is home to several hundred passionate individuals who care about snake protection and provide responsible rescue services to mitigate this issue. Unfortunately, not everyone who presents themselves as a rescuer follows such ethical codes of conduct, and it can be easy for desperate families facing snake conflict to be exploited either for monetary gain or to increase the rescuer’s following on social media platforms.

Speaking on the launch of these guidelines, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Shri. Vijaykumar Gogi I.F.S., said: “These guidelines and certification programs to follow are the need of the hour in the state. Recognizing the need for this, we have invited eminent herpetologists such as Padma Shri awardee Shri. Romulus Whitaker, herpetologists Gerard Martin and Sumanth Bindumadhav to produce these guidelines after conducting the required consultation with various other snake rescuers in the state as well. We will soon launch this program systematically with the aim of recognizing, validating and certifying all well-intentioned rescuers in the state and set an example for other states to follow.”

Sumanth Bindumadhav, senior manager of wildlife and disaster response at Humane Society International/India, and one of the manual authors, said: “It is a welcome move by the state not only to recognize but also empower rescuers with the correct knowledge and skills for responsible, ethical snake conflict management. Through this process, rescuers will come to identify that the best rescue solution for people and snakes is to facilitate amicable coexistence between communities and the snakes around them. Several years of research have shown us that removal or relocation of snakes only increases conflict and does not solve the problem. We are excited to be a part of this vital program and build further on this strong foundation laid today.”

Through the guidelines, the department has reiterated the need to identify, train and certify genuine snake rescuers across the state, to empower them further and curb any illegal activities that stem from unorganized snake rescue. These comprehensive guidelines cover all topics from snake biology to step-by-step instructions on humanely rescuing a snake from a conflict situation, knowledge the department recognizes every responsible rescuer should have.

“Human-snake conflict has a much higher cost to life and limb than all other human-wildlife conflict in India combined. However, it is one that can be solved with large scale education and the introduction of effective practices. Snake rescuers have the potential to be catalysts for this change. This manual is the first step in the Karnataka Forest Department’s efforts to bring about positive and effective change in this field.” says Gerard Martin, founder trustee at The Liana Trust and the co-author of the guidelines.

ENDS

Media contact:  Shaili Shah, media relations specialist at HSI/India: sshah@hsi.org ; 993-059-1005,

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