Commercial trade in ivory is the biggest threat to the survival of African elephants, says Humane Society International
Humane Society International / Global
Iris Ho/HSISeized elephant ivory in Kenya waiting to be destroyed, 2016
GENEVA—Elephant advocates are celebrating in Geneva as the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has today roundly rejected proposals to open up international commercial trade in elephant ivory.
Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe had proposed they be allowed to lift restrictions on their Appendix II CITES listings to allow trade in registered government-owned ivory stock piles. They offered a floor amendment to allow a one-off sale followed by a six-year moratorium. The amended proposal was defeated with only 23 countries in support, 101 opposing and 18 abstentions. Zambia proposed that its elephant population be down listed from Appendix I to Appendix II, also so that it could trade in its registered raw ivory and other elephant specimens. Its proposal was overwhelmingly defeated as well with 22 in support, 102 opposed and 13 abstentions.
Iris Ho, Humane Society International’s senior wildlife specialist: “Commercial trade in ivory is the biggest threat to the survival of African elephants. So it was incredibly important to see so many African nations show their unwavering opposition to this destructive trade at today’s vote. While it is unfortunate that a handful of southern African countries showed themselves to be out of touch with reality, supporting ivory trade despite an increase in poaching and alarming transnational ivory trafficking in certain areas, at the end of the day common sense prevailed. We are thrilled that the CITES Parties overwhelmingly rejected the reopening of the international commercial trade in ivory.”
Humane Society International strongly commends the 32 countries in the African Elephant Coalition for opposing the commercial ivory trade and all of the CITES parties that stood with them today.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Wildlife advocates applaud global wildlife convention’s decision to regulate international trade in the species
Humane Society International / Global
Michelle Riley/HSUS
GENEVA—The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today agreed to protect giraffes for the first time by listing the species on Appendix II, which will now regulate international trade in giraffe parts, such as hides, bones and meat. Today’s decision now moves forward to the plenary session for full ratification on 27/28th August.
Adam Peyman, Humane Society International’s wildlife programs and operations manager, said: “Securing CITES Appendix II protection for the giraffe throws a vital lifeline to this majestic species, which has been going quietly extinct for years. This listing could not come soon enough. CITES listing will ensure that giraffe parts in international trade were legally acquired and not detrimental to the survival of the species.
Humane Society International is concerned the giraffe has been in danger of suffering a silent extinction, because the 36-40% population decline it has suffered over the past 30 years has received insufficient attention.
Once ranging over much of the semi-arid savannah and savannah woodlands of Africa, today giraffe are only found south of the Sahara and only about 68,000 mature individuals remain in the wild. The species was recently classified as ‘Vulnerable’ to extinction by the IUCN. International trade in body parts of poached giraffes threatens the survival of Critically Endangered, Endangered, small and declining giraffe populations. Other threats include habitat loss, and civil unrest.
HSI’s Adam Peyman continues: “Although this new CITES listing won’t ban the trade in giraffe parts, it will for the first time provide critical measures to track and trace this trade, which in turn should produce the data needed to further protect this imperiled species in the future. With the wild population of giraffes having dwindled to around 100,000, in order to truly protect this species from being slaughtered into extinction for trophies and trinkets, we need CITES to update its definition of what constitutes international trade. It is absurd that the scourge of trophy hunting is not currently considered trade in wild species, despite its devastating impact, and we intend to push to see that change.”
Humane Society International has examined United States trade data and found that at least 33,000 giraffe specimens were commercially imported into the country between 2006 and 2015 and almost all were wild sourced. They included bone carvings, bones, skin and bone pieces. An undercover investigation conducted by Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States in 2018 illustrated this thriving trade in giraffe.
Humane Society International warmly congratulates the governments of Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Senegal for proposing the giraffe for listing and the other countries in the African Elephant Coalition for giving it their strong support.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Brigitte Bardot, Pamela Anderson, Thandie Newton, Evanna Lynch, Virginia McKenna, Joanna Lumley and Bryan Adams call on EU leaders at CITES wildlife conference not to overturn ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants for zoos and circuses
Humane Society International / Europe
Carole Deschuymere/Alamy
GENEVA–Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Evanna Lynch, Bryan Adams, Virginia McKenna OBE, Thandie Newton, Pamela Anderson, Peter Egan, and Jenny Seagrove are among a host of compassionate personalities who have joined forces with animal protection and conservation groups including Humane Society International, Brigitte Bardot Foundation, The Born Free Foundation, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, World Animal Protection and the Species Survival Network, in signing an urgent Open Letter to EU officials calling on them to support, not oppose, a ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants, ripped from their families and shipped off to foreign zoos.
The ban was first voted on and approved earlier this week by a majority of countries attending the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Geneva, but the EU voting bloc of 28 is expected to attempt to overturn it at the plenary vote next week.
The full letter and list of celebrity signers and the organizations be read here.
Forty-six countries attending CITES voted to end the highly-controversial trade in wild-caught African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to captive facilities such as zoos in China and elsewhere. This represents an historic, landmark decision for elephants, who are social and emotional creatures and can suffer physically and psychologically in captivity. However, there is concern that the vote could be reopened at next week’s plenary meeting on August 27th and 28th and that the ban will be opposed by the European Union.
The ‘ban’ was passed by the required 2/3 majority vote in Committee I of CITES largely because the EU was unable to vote due to a procedural issue (it had not yet filed its credentials). The European Union – which spoke against the ban before the vote, and now has its credentials in order – looks set to vote against. As a 28-country voting bloc, the European Union’s vote is substantial and could overturn the decision if it opposes the ban. In that case, elephant families would continue to be ripped apart, and baby elephants condemned to a lifetime of suffering in captivity.
The letter reads: “Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey into captivity have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heart-breaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.”
We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish Presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range States, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts, and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.”
Speaking from the CITES meeting, Audrey Delsink, Humane Society International/Africa Wildlife Director and elephant biologist, said, “Elephants are highly sentient and social beings, and the loss of captured individuals causes sustained psychological trauma for both the captured elephant and the remaining family. Public opinion is shifting and people throughout the world are appalled by the capture of baby elephants from the wild for export to zoos. The EU must not turn its back on elephants.”
Will Travers OBE, President of the Born Free Foundation said, “The public are increasingly distressed at the plight of elephants in captivity and sanctuaries in the US, Brazil, Europe and elsewhere are now doing their best to care for numerous elephants that are being increasingly shed by traditional captive facilities in the West. If the EU scuppers this progressive and positive CITES measure next week it will demonstrate just how massively out of step EU leaders are with the compassionate views of its citizens.”
“France is supportive of this measure but most of the EU countries oppose the proposal although it would be an historic step forward for the conservation of the African elephant,” said Elodie Gérôme-Delgado, Programme Leader Wildlife Worldwide at the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. “We’re urging EU Member States to follow France’s lead as they have a unique chance today to put an end to a cruel and useless practice.”
Cassandra Koenen, Global Head of Wildlife not Pets at World Animal Protection said, “We urge the EU to protect these majestic animals. The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world. Elephants have suffered enough, and the absolute last thing we should subject them to is long, stressful transportation across the world, and unsuitable new homes in the name of entertainment.”
“This historic step could turn the tide on the brutal and torturous reality of the live trade in elephants. Elephants are sentient beings that belong in the wild, they are not a commodity to be traded to the highest bidder. The sooner we put the emotional wellbeing of the species before our own short-sighted financial gain, the sooner we will regain a small slice of our humanity,” said Karen Botha, Chief Executive of David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
If the ban is not passed next week, African elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana will continue to be allowed to capture and export live elephants to so-called “appropriate and acceptable” destinations based on the annotation to the Appendix II listing of their elephant populations. Under these conditions, Zimbabwe has captured more than 100 live baby African elephants in the wild and exported them to zoos in China since 2012.
If the EU supports the ban and it is voted through, such international trade in wild African elephant exported from Zimbabwe and Botswana will be limited to only “in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the species’ natural range, except in the case of temporary transfers in emergency situations”.
Photos, video and interviews
Wildlife experts from supporting NGOs are available for interview on request. Photos and video of the baby elephant captures are also available here.
-ENDS-
Media contacts:
Humane Society International – Wendy Higgins whiggins@hsi.org +44 (0) 7989 972 423
Born Free Foundation – Gemma Hook hook@pmwcom.co.uk+44 (0)7920 820 018
Alan Carr, Alesha Dixon, Bella Lack, Bill Bailey, Bonnie Wright, Brigitte Bardot, Bryan Adams, Dan Richardson, Deborah Meaden, Dougie Poynter, Evanna Lynch, Gordon Buchanan, Jenny Seagrove, Joanna Lumley, John Challis, Judi Dench, Kate Humble, Lauren St John, Leona Lewis, Lily Travers, Brendan Courtney, Marc Abrahams, Mollie King, Nicky Campbell, Pamela Anderson, Paul O’Grady, Peter Egan, Ricky Gervais, Robert Lindsay, Rula Lenska, Simon Pegg, Susie Dent, Thandie Newton, Virginia McKenna.
List of the animal and wildlife conservation organizations that support this sign-on letter:
Animal Welfare Institute
Born Free Foundation
Born Free USA
Brigitte Bardot Foundation
Eurogroup for Animals
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Fondation Franz Weber
Humane Society International
Pro Wildlife
Robin des Bois
Species Survival Network
The People and Earth Solidarity Law Network
World Animal Protection
Content of the Letter:
For the attention of Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, incoming EU Commission President, and Antti Juhani Rinne, Prime Minister of Finland and President of the EU Council of Ministers
PLEASE DON’T OVERTURN THE CITES BAN ON SENDING BABY AFRICAN ELEPHANTS TO FOREIGN ZOOS AND CIRCUSES
The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world.
This week, 46 governments attending the triennual Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in a landmark decision voted in committee to end the barbaric practice of capturing live wild-caught baby and juvenile elephants for this heartless trade. In doing so they voiced their overwhelming support for the 32 African nations who advocated for a ban on all such transports of live elephants, and restrict these transports exclusively to in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the African elephant’s natural range. An open letter by 55 elephant experts this week agrees entirely with this position.
Shamefully, the European Union wants to overturn this historic victory. The CITES Parties will still need to take a final vote next week and the EU intends to vote against the ban. If it does so the EU’s vote will condemn wild-caught elephants to a lifetime in unnatural captivity just so that zoos and circuses in the EU and elsewhere can continue to have a steady flow of live elephants from the wild.
Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heartbreaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.
We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range states, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.
It would be obscene for the EU to endorse snatching wild baby elephants and condemning these beautiful leviathans to a life of captive misery.
Humane Society International / Global
Adam Peyman/HSIAfrican elephant ivory products for sale in Tokyo, Japan
GENEVA—The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today confirmed its commitment to closure of domestic ivory markets agreeing by consensus to focus scrutiny on remaining legal markets like Japan and the EU. The discussions focused attention on markets that remain open with obvious concern regarding their contribution to illegal trade and poaching. In a positive step forward, Israel noted its recent announcement on closure of its domestic markets in elephant and mammoth ivory, and Australia announced its intent to close its market. The European Union stated that they will tighten regulations.
The previous meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2016 called on countries to close domestic ivory markets that are “contributing to poaching or illegal trade.” Some countries, notably Japan and the EU, have claimed that their markets were not known to be contributing to elephant poaching or illegal trade and have held out on taking action. Under today’s agreement, countries whose ivory markets remain open will now be requested to report on the measures they are taking to ensure that their domestic ivory markets are not contributing to poaching or illegal trade. Japan – which has a significant domestic ivory market and has been implicated in ivory trafficking to China – will be bound by this agreed decision, if affirmed by plenary next week.
A number of Parties, including several African elephant range States such as Gabon, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nigeria Angola and Liberia, reiterated that all legal domestic ivory markets create opportunities to launder illegal ivory contributing to poaching and illegal trade.
Iris Ho, Humane Society International’s senior wildlife specialist says: “It is a welcome reassurance that the CITES Parties recognize the necessity of and urgency for any remaining significant ivory markets, such as Japan and the European Union, to shut down their ivory trade. No country should be off the hook when a growing number of countries including China, the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom have adopted measures to restrict or ban their domestic ivory trade. We call on Japan to heed the recommendation of the CoP and close its domestic or intra-EU commercial ivory trade as soon as possible.”
Humane Society International warmly congratulates the governments of Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic for championing this proposal, as well as all 32 countries African Elephant Coalition for advocating for closure of domestic ivory markets worldwide. The agreement reached today will now go forward to the plenary of the conference for ratification on 27/28th August.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1-202-360-3532 (cell/WhatsApp)
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Humane Society International / Global
Anagramm/iStock.com
This release has been corrected.
GENEVA—The first vote at the 18th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties has delivered a historic win for African elephants to end the cruel practice of removing live elephants from the wild for export to captive facilities. CITES is the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Iris Ho, senior wildlife specialist for wildlife programs and policy for Humane Society International, said: “This decision will save countless elephants from being ripped away from their families in the wild and forced to spend their lifetimes imprisoned in substandard conditions at zoos. HSI applauds this decision and calls on all Parties to affirm this decision at the plenary session next week.”
CITES Parties voted to limit trade in live wild African elephants to ‘in situ’ conservation in their natural habitats, which will end the trade in live wild elephants to captivity in zoos and entertainment venues, effectively ruling them unacceptable and inappropriate destinations. (CoP18 Document 44.2)
Forty-six countries voted in favour, 18 voted against and 19 countries abstained. This achieved the 2/3 majority for the proposal to pass in committee.
Audrey Delsink, director of wildlife for Humane Society International/Africa and an elephant biologist, said, “The export of live wild elephants serves no credible conservation purpose and is opposed by numerous elephant biologists. Elephants are highly intelligent, social animals with strong family bonds. The capture of baby elephants is horribly cruel and traumatic to both the mothers, their calves and their herds that are left behind. Calves suffer psychological and physical harm when taken from their mothers. Zoos and other captive facilities force these calves to live in an unnatural, unhealthy environment that does not meet their complex needs.”
The decision applies to the elephants in Botswana and Zimbabwe* with elephant populations on Appendix II of CITES, which has an annotation that permits this trade to “appropriate and acceptable destinations.”
Zimbabwe has captured and exported more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012. These calves, severely traumatized by being torn from their mothers, were subsequently abused through violent handling that included being kicked and beaten, and several have consequently died.
HSI warmly congratulates Burkina Faso, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan and Syria for putting forward this important proposal, which was backed by the 32 member countries of the African Elephant Coalition.
END
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1 518-487-0975 (cell and WhatsApp)
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
*An earlier version of this news release erroneously stated that the proposal affects elephants in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The proposal applies only to Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Humane Society International / Europe
Marcos Calvo Mesa/istock
Brussels – Bullfighting has returned to the Balearic Islands in Spain. The cruel spectacle, held at Mallorca’s Coliseo Balear on Friday 9th August, came in the wake of a Spanish Constitutional Court ruling that struck down legislative measures adopted by the autonomous community’s Parliament in July 2017.
Rather than explicitly banning bullfighting, the proposed amendments to the existing Balearic Islands’ Animal Protection Law introduced regulatory measures such as banning the use of sharp implements, limiting bulls to just 10 minutes in the ring and banning bull slaughter. Lawmakers adopted this strategy, which would make it more or less impossible to hold bullfights, after the 2010 Catalan bullfighting ban was annulled by a Spanish Constitutional Court ruling, which stipulated that regions do not have the autonomous power to ban bullfighting.
Humane Society International/Europe’s executive director, Ruud Tombrock, issued the following statement condemning the resumption of bullfighting in Mallorca:
“It is reprehensible that this much-disdained bloodsport is making a return to Mallorca after a two-year absence. The decision to revive the torment of bulls for public entertainment flies in the face of public opinion. It is an insult to both the Parliament of the Balearic Islands and the majority of this autonomous community’s population who strongly oppose bullfighting and did their utmost to end this anachronism. Spaniards are increasingly turning their backs on bullfighting, but – despite diminishing audiences and a decreasing number of bullfights being held – a powerful political elite doggedly continues to shore up this bloodsport by casting it as part of the country’s intangible cultural heritage.”
Facts
An opinion poll of Spanish citizens commissioned by HSI in 2013 showed that only 29% of Spain’s population support bullfighting (just 13% support it strongly). A total of 76% oppose the use of public funds to support the bullfighting industry.
In February 2016, the Balearic Islands Parliament voted in favour of a proposal to ban bullfighting and bull fiestas, which would have revised the Balearic Islands’ Animal Protection Law 1/1992 and made the Balearics the third Spanish autonomous community to ban bullfighting, after the Canary Islands and Catalonia. However, the bill came to a standstill in October 2016 when the Spanish Constitutional Court overturned Catalonia’s 2010 bullfighting ban and declared that the regions do not have the autonomous power to prohibit bullfighting.
In July 2017, Balearic Islands Parliament voted for legislative measures that included restrictions on the transport, origin, age and weight of bulls; a requirement for veterinary inspections; a ban on the use of sharp implements; a limit of 10 minutes of bulls ‘performing’ in the ring; a ban on the slaughter of bulls or their return to their ranch of origin afterwards; a ban on the use of horses at bullfighting events, and a ban on alcohol consumption at the events.
HSI supported the Mallorca Without Blood initiative, led by AnimaNaturalis and CAS International, which aimed to end bullfighting in the Balearic Islands, and was present at the Balearic Islands Parliament vote in July 2017.
Humane Society International / Brazil
Bryan Mitchell/AP Images for the HSUS Teddy, an 18-month-old beagle, has fun at his new home Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Teddy is a survivor from an animal testing facility in Michigan and was adopted by Greta Guest and David Rubello in April of this year.
BRASILIA—Humane Society International has welcomed sweeping animal welfare reforms to regulations governing the testing of agricultural pesticides in Brazil, including abolition of a controversial year-long poisoning test in dogs, recognition of modern animal testing alternatives, and creation of a process by which companies can request that scientifically unnecessary animal test requirements be waived. These and other reforms were published on 29 July by Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) in RDC n. 294, replacing a nearly 30-year-old testing ordinance from 1992.
Publication of the new regulation has been delayed for years, so the test has remained an official requirement until now, despite HSI’s success in negotiating for the removal of the one-year dog test from a 2015 draft. A 2018 undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States found more than 30 beagles in a U.S. laboratory being used to test a pesticide for sale in Brazil, which the company defended on the grounds that the test is still officially “on the books.” Following intervention by HSI, ANVISA agreed to grant a waiver for the pesticide, and the company agreed to stop the test and release the surviving dogs – all of whom have now been adopted into loving homes.
Antoniana Ottoni, government relations manager for HSI in Brazil, said: “Today we celebrate the abolition of cruel year-long dog poisoning tests for pesticides in Brazil and worldwide. This and other changes to Brazilian regulations are a life-saving victory for animals, yet it’s disgraceful that it’s taken authorities 20 years to take action after the uselessness of the dog test was recognized by scientists. This underscores the need for increased dialogue and cooperation with authorities, industry and NGOs like HSI to ensure that continued progress doesn’t take another 20 years.”
HSI began negotiations with ANVISA around pesticide reform in Brazil in 2013, hosting a regulatory science workshop, a webinar and high-level meetings with agency scientists and executive leadership. In response to lengthy delays in publishing the new regulation, HSI launched in 2017 the campaign #AnvisaPoupeVidas, collecting over 160,000 signatures in a matter of weeks, calling for swift action by ANVISA.
Facts:
Pesticides are among the most heavily animal-tested substances in existence. For a registration of a single new pesticide “active ingredient” (the poisonous component that makes it effective), it is used on as many as 10,000 rodents, fish, birds, rabbits and dogs in dozens of separate chemical-poisoning tests. Many of these tests are overtly redundant, repeating the same test procedure using two or more different animal species or routes of exposure (oral, inhalation, skin, etc.), the scientific value of which has come under intense scrutiny.
The one-year dog toxicity test consists of force-feeding groups of beagle dogs a pesticide chemical every day for an entire year, after which the animals are killed and dissected to examine the chemical’s effects on their internal organs. Based on sound scientific evidence that this long-term poisoning test is completely unnecessary for pesticides safety assessment, every other country that had previously required the test has dropped it.
Media contact: Antoniana Ottoni, aottoni@hsi.org, +5561981403636
Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof embrace global plant-based food trend and join HSI’s Green Monday South Africa movement
Humane Society International / Africa
Shawn Driman
CAPE TOWN – Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof have teamed up with Humane Society International/Africa to join the global movement towards more plant-based, sustainable food by launching three new delicious meat- and dairy-free dishes for their winter 2019 menus. The restaurant chains’ decision to introduce more plant-based food offerings was inspired by HSI/Africa’s Green Monday SA meat-reduction initiative, encouraging South Africans to eat plant-based at least one day every week to improve their health, reduce their carbon footprint, and make a positive difference to the lives of farm animals.
According to the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 2019 Food and Health Survey, one quarter of survey participants said that they eat more plant-based protein than they did 12 months ago. In another poll, which questioned 850 chefs, catering managers, business owners, and kitchen staff, vegan food was rated a top restaurant trend in 2019, as 25 percent of diners are choosing vegan and vegetarian options.
Leozette Roode, media and outreach manager for HSI/Africa, said: “With more South Africans increasing their plant-based food consumption, eating green is going mainstream. While most South Africans aren’t necessarily adopting a completely vegan lifestyle, they are reducing their consumption of animal products and noticing the health benefits alongside the positive environmental and animal welfare impacts. Retailers and restaurateurs have realised this change in consumer preferences, too, and are embracing the opportunity to put more meat- and dairy-free options on their menus. The launch of Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof’s plant-based menu options sets a great example, and HSI/Africa is pleased to have been part of its development, communication and implementation.”
Kobus Wiese, the former South African rugby union player and owner/founder of the Wiese Coffee Holdings Group, said, “Wiese Coffee Holdings cares for the health of our customers, our environment and Africa’s animals. We welcome the global trend toward plant-based foods and are thrilled to endorse Humane Society International/Africa’s Green Monday SA initiative. Throughout our operations we try to reduce our carbon and water footprint and the impact our restaurants have on the environment. Our plant-based options, which are offered on both Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof menus, include Arrabiata Mash Crepes smothered in a spicy napolitana sauce and topped with sautéed onions, mushrooms and cocktail tomatoes, a warming Lentil and Cauliflower Curry with savoury brown rice and a fresh, high-protein Lentil, Chickpea and Avocado salad that can be enjoyed as a shared side or a main. All three dishes are delicious, and we encourage our customers to order and eat the green options – especially on Green Mondays. Together, we can make a positive difference.”
Many benefits come from a greener diet. Numerous studies indicate that a diet rich in plant-based foods can help improve our health, and that people who eat fewer animal products have lower rates of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. Our carbon footprint and water use are also greatly reduced on a plant-based diet, as farming animals requires significantly more water and produces a lot more greenhouse gasses than farming vegetables and grains. Finally, replacing meat, milk and eggs also benefits farm animals, millions of whom spend their entire lives in cages or crates where they are unable to exercise, engage in their natural behaviours and often even turn around because of lack of space.
The Green Monday menu options will be available at all Dulcé Café and Wiesenhof restaurants nationwide from 1 August 2019. Visit https://wcholdings.co.za to find the closest outlets. For more information on the Green Monday SA movement and programs implemented in South Africa, visit www.greenmondayza.org. For information on the benefits of a plant-based diet and for plant-based recipes to cook at home, visit www.greenmonday.co.za.
HSI/Africa: Media and Outreach Manager Leozette Roode, mobile +2771 360 1004, lroode@hsi.org
Humane Society International / Europe
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Consumer, environmental and animal welfare organisations have come together to call on the new Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) to reject proposals that seek to prevent the producers of plant-based foods from using terms typically associated with meat or dairy, thereby banning widely-used and widely-understood terms such as ‘veggie burger’, ‘yoghurt style’ or ‘cheese substitute’.
Compassion in World Farming-EU, Eurogroup for Animals, European Environmental Bureau, European Vegetarian Union, FOUR PAWS, Humane Society International/Europe, ProVeg International, SAFE-Safe Food Advocacy Europe, The Good Food Institute Europe, and The Vegan Society signed a joint letter expressing their deep concerns regarding the proposed ban, which was included in a file forming part of the reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The organisations argue in the letter that consumers have long been accustomed to the use of such common-sense terms as ‘vegan sausage’ and ‘veggie burger’ to designate plant-based alternatives to meat, and that banning the use of those widely-understood terms would “result in confusing consumers and preventing them from making informed choices while purchasing products.”
Animal agriculture is a major greenhouse gas emitter, and experts agree that reducing global meat and dairy consumption could play a significant role in mitigating climate change. In light of considerable public support for policy action on climate change, the letter signatories also highlight that restricting the commercial speech of producers of plant-based products that are well known to have a lower environmental impact than their animal-based counterparts, would be counterproductive in achieving a greener CAP.
Finally, the letter points out that slowing down the development of plant-based alternatives would penalise the growing number of consumers looking for more sustainable food.
Alexandra Clark from Humane Society International/Europe said “During another heatwave that focuses our minds that we are in the midst of climate breakdown, it is madness that MEPs are spending valuable time on trying to limit the growth of the plant-based market by banning terms such as ‘veggie burger’ when instead they should be dedicated to making agricultural policy more sustainable and climate friendly. The European vegetarian and vegan food market has grown massively in recent years with consumers increasingly choosing to reduce or replace meat and dairy with plant-based options. Common sense terms like vegan sausage or cheese substitute have been used for years and it is absurd to suggest that banning them is in the best interest of consumers who are actively seeking out these products because they’re animal-free.”
Petitions against this proposal have now already gathered more than 80,000 signatures.
One year before the start of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, international and Japanese conservation organizations are appealing to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike to ban the sale of ivory in the city. Japan boasts the world’s largest legal domestic ivory market, and its ongoing support for an industry that fuels the poaching of an estimated 20,000 African elephants each year threatens to tarnish the reputation of Tokyo and the 2020 Games.
The Environmental Investigation Agency US, Humane Society International, WildAid, Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund and Tears of the African Elephant urge the Governor to support international efforts to conserve and protect Africa’s rapidly declining elephant population by closing the ivory market in Tokyo prior to the start of the 2020 Games. The city is home to a significant proportion of Japan’s 17,000 registered ivory manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. With an estimated 10 million tourists expected to visit Tokyo for the games, there is a high risk that many visitors, either intentionally or unknowingly, will buy and illegally export ivory souvenirs from these shops.
In May, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appealed to Governor Koike to follow New York’s lead and ban the city’s ivory trade. Thirty-seven members ofthe U.S. House of Representatives also appealed to the Government of Japan to join other nations that have committed to closing ivory markets in a letter they sent via Ambassador Shinsuke J. Sugiyama. In addition, on their own initiative, many private companies including Rakuten, AEON, Ito Yokado, Mercari, Inc., Amazon Japan and Google Shopping Japan have ceased ivory sales or have announced their intention to do so before the Games begin.
Despite evidence of ongoing illegal trade that exploits loopholes in Japan’s regulations, its government has continued to support the domestic ivory trade. This position threatens to undermine bans in other jurisdictions like China, the United States and the United Kingdom. In China, officials have been ramping up their efforts and have seized an increasing number of shipments of ivory from Japan, making it clear that Japan’s domestic market is contributing to illegal international trade. There have been more than 20 seizures of ivory from Japan so far in 2019.
Japan’s ivory trade will face increased scrutiny at the 18thmeeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), in Geneva, Switzerland next month. The 32 African nations that comprise the African Elephant Coalition are urging Japan and the European Union to close their ivory markets.
Allan Thornton, president of EIA US, said, “Japan’s hold on its domestic ivory trade has the potential to divide nations just as the world comes together for the Olympics. We strongly urge the Government of Japan to close its domestic ivory market and let the global community know it cares about Africa’s iconic elephants.”
Iris Ho, senior specialist for wildlife programs and policy for Humane Society International, said, “There is no better opportunity than the 2020 Summer Games to showcase Japan’s commitment to environmental sustainability, a key theme of the Games. We urge the Japanese government to protect one of the planet’s keystone species by shutting down its ivory market–the largest remaining in the world.”
Masayuki Sakamoto, executive director of the Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund, said“Japan’s domestic ivory market is not only the largest legal market, but also the most open and poorly regulated one. Ivory hanko and wide variety of other ivory products are freely sold on the street and online. None of them can be identified as derived from ivory legally imported before the international ban. Even worse, those ivory products are being produced on daily basis. This market provides a quite useful ‘cover’ for smuggled ivory items as well as an easy place for buying ivory to be illegally exported abroad.”
