Author: Kristin Stone

LONDON—Eighty-three animal charities from across the world, including Humane Society International, Change for Animals Foundation, the Jane Goodall Institute, FOUR PAWS, and Animals Asia, have called for stronger action by governments to tackle the significant threat of rabies posed by the brutal and often illegal dog and cat meat trade.

An estimated 50,000 – 70,000 people die of rabies globally every year, with approximately 90 percent of cases reported from Asia, and the campaigners including the Dog Meat-Free Indonesia coalition, the Asia Canine Protection Alliance, China’s Capital Animal Welfare Association and the RSPCA, warn that the global goal to end human rabies deaths by 2030 will be impossible to achieve without a robustly enforced ban on the dog meat trade.

The organisations, representing groups from across China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan as well as Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, are highlighting the significant role that the dog meat trade can play in spreading the lethal rabies virus throughout Asia, across countries, islands and provinces and into densely-populated cities. The World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control have both acknowledged the link between the spread of rabies and the dog meat trade, which sees large numbers of dogs of unknown disease status moved vast distances. The trade operates in breach of rabies control recommendations by all leading human and animal health experts including FAO, OIE, WHO and PAHO¹, as well as national disease control and animal welfare laws and regulations.

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There is considerable evidence spanning decades from throughout Asia of the link between the dog meat trade and rabies transmission. Studies from Vietnam², China³ and Indonesia⁴ have proven that rabies-positive dogs and carcasses often appear in markets and slaughterhouses — as high as 16.4 percent in Vietnam⁵ – and the movement of different strains of the rabies virus in dogs being traded for human consumption has also been tracked. There have also been a number of human rabies deaths directly linked to slaughtering, butchering, handling and even consumption of meat from infected dogs. For example in Vietnam, a 2007 rabies outbreak in Ba Vi saw 30 percent of human deaths linked to exposure during the slaughter and butchery of dogs⁶. And in the same year, research conducted in markets in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province demonstrated that between 7.8 and 10.6 percent of dogs being sold for human consumption were infected with rabies⁷.

Professor Louis Nel of Global Alliance for Rabies Control says: “We may not be able to easily change culture or habit, but we should ensure compliance with proven animal disease prevention measures and stop the smuggling of dogs to limit the spread of rabies, an endemic disease across Asia. These traders are driven solely by profit and are disregarding the risks to human and animal health.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States commented in an email to a Dog Meat-Free Indonesia campaigner: “There are reports that dog-meat markets have a higher rate of rabies than the general dog population, as people often sell dogs to the markets when they act sick; some of these sick dogs have rabies.… Furthermore, there are at least three published reports of humans acquiring rabies from activities associated with the dog meat market, emphasizing that the risk is very real.”

The U.S. House of Representatives voted this month to ban the trade of dog and cat meat in the United States.

The groups signing the open letter want governments to not just implement bans on the dog meat trade, but to also take action to ensure these bans are enforced. In the Philippines for example, the trade is banned by law but the consumption of dog meat persists. The Philippines has consistently failed to get to grips with its spiralling rabies crisis.

In Vietnam, Hanoi’s Vice Mayor Nguyen Van Suu recently urged residents to stop eating dog meat because consuming the meat could lead to the spread of diseases like rabies and leptospirosis. The move is part of a nationwide program to stamp out rabies by 2021, but Humane Society International/Vietnam director, Tham Thi Hong Phuong, says the country needs actions not just advertising campaigns.

Phuong says: “We estimate that around 20,000 dogs are transported every month from the south to the north of Vietnam for slaughter, creating an easy way for rabies to be spread across the country. It’s encouraging to see the Hanoi authorities publicly acknowledge the risk and commit to banning the trade from central districts in Hanoi by 2021, but if they are serious about tackling rabies, they need to get serious about stamping out the dog meat trade across the whole country.”

In Indonesia, although the central government made a public pledge in July this year to ban the dog and cat meat trades, the Dog Meat-Free Indonesia coalition is still waiting for Ministers to act, and says that some provincial governments are utterly failing to take the rabies risk or extreme animal cruelty seriously at all.

Lola Webber from Change for Animals Foundation, says: “It is estimated that just 7 percent of Indonesia’s population consume dog meat, but the trade continues to jeopardise the health and safety of the entire nation. It is no coincidence that the provinces and regencies with the greatest demand for dog meat are also those with the highest prevalence of rabies, with devastating societal, economic and animal welfare impacts. Attempts to maintain rabies-free statuses of cities and provinces, and to control and eliminate rabies where rabies is still present, will fail without addressing the trade in dogs for human consumption.”

The DMFI’s campaign for a ban in Indonesia has received high-profile support from global and Indonesian celebrities including Cameron Diaz, Chelsea Islan, Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres, all calling for urgent action to protect animals and people.

In the Kingdom of Cambodia, rabies remains a major public health burden, killing more than 800 people every year. Dr. Katherine Polak from FOUR PAWS explains, “To put it in perspective, the annual incidence of human deaths from rabies in Cambodia is about six per 100,000 citizens. This is comparable to the annual incidence of road deaths in the entire European Union⁸ in the mid-2000s. In a country with no national program to address rabies and limited post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), tackling the dog meat trade would be one of the simplest, cheapest, and high-impact interventions the government could take. In neighboring Thailand, we applaud the actions taken by the Thai Department of Livestock to stop the illegal transport of dogs for meat.”

Animals Asia Founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said: “It is time for Asia to finally wake up to the true cost of the dog meat trade. It is a public health emergency directly responsible for thousands of deaths every year due to the spread of rabies. This is one industry every country can do without. No meal is worth so many innocent lives.”

An estimated 30 million dogs are killed each year across Asia for the meat trade. The groups’ open letter concludes:

“Based on mounting evidence from throughout Asia and on decades of experience in successful rabies elimination programs from around the world, it is undeniable that the dog meat trade and rabies elimination efforts are incompatible, and that cities and countries around the world will never be able to maintain rabies-free statuses without addressing the trade in dogs for human consumption. We, the global animal protection community, therefore call on the national and regional governments of all countries where the dog meat trade is prevalent to take strong and urgent actions to end the trade in dogs for human consumption and the sale and consumption of such meat and associated products. If we are serious about eradicating human rabies deaths, we have a global responsibility to end the dog and cat meat trade for good.”

ENDS

Download video b-roll here and photos here.

Signatories to the letter are:

• Ananta Jyoti Dhayn Kendra
• Andhra Pradesh Goshalala Federation
• Animal Friends Jogja
• Animal Friends Manado
• Animal Kingdom Foundation
• Animal Liberation Sanctuary
• Animal Rescue Cambodia
• Animal Rights Committee of Georgia
• Animal Rights Hawaii
• Animal Sanctuary Trust Indonesia
• Animals Asia Foundation
• Bali Animal Welfare Association
• Bharatiya Prani Mitra Sangh, Hyderabad
• Blue Cross of Hyderabad
• British Hen Welfare Trust
• Capital Animal Welfare Association (China)
• Change for Animals Foundation
• Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth
• Community Dog Welfare
• Compassion Works International
• CPR Environmental Education Centre
• Department of Livestock Services – Bangladesh
• Djurrättsalliansen (The Animal Rights Alliance)
• Dog Meat Free Indonesia
• Dogstop
• Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan
• Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisation (FIAPO)
• FLIGHT
• FOUR PAWS International
• Free the Bears
• Friends of the Orangutans
• GAIA (Voice of the Voiceless)
• Help Animals India
• HERD
• Himalayan Animal Rescue Trust
• Hollow Logs
• Humane Society International
• Instituto Pasteur de São Paulo
• International Animal & Birds Welfare Society
• International Otter Survival Fund
• International Primate Protection League
• Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN)
• Japan Anti-Vivisection Association
• JBF (India) Trust
• Korea Animal Rights Advocates
• Korean Alliance for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Landmark Foundation
• Life Conservationist Association
• Love Animal House Thailand
• moonbears.org
• Nepal Street Animal Rescue
• Nowzad Dogs
• Orangutan Aid
• PAWS for Compassion – Vietnam
• Pecinta Hewan Surabaya
• People for Animals, Trivandrum
• PETA Asia 亚洲善待动物组织
• Philippine Pet Birth Control Foundation, Inc.
• Plants and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS Asia)
• Pro Natura Foundation
• Sahabat Anjing Surakarta
• Sahayog Organisation, Andhra Pradesh Goshalala Federation, Hyderabad
• Sanctuary for Health & Reconnection to Animals & Nature
• Scorpion Foundation Indonesia
• Showing Animals Respect and Kindness
• Society for the Protection of Animals Ljubimci
• Society for Travelers Respecting Animal Welfare (STRAW)
• Stray Relief and Animal Welfare
• Sun Bear Centre – Kalimantan
• Taiwan SPCA台灣防止虐待動物協會
• The Cattitude Trust – Chennai
• The Jane Goodall Institute – Global
• The Kerulos Center Elephant Liberation
• The Kerulos Center Science in Service to Animals
• Vietnam Cat Welfare
• Voice for dogs abroad
• VShine (China)
• Wild Futures
• Wildlife Alliance
• Wildlife Salvation
• Working for Animals
• Zhuzhou Small Animal Protection (China)
• Zoocheck Inc.

MEDIA CONTACTS BY COUNTRY:

• Lola Webber, Change for Animals Foundation – Indonesia – Lolawebber@changeforanimals.org, +62 813 3740 8768
• Wendy Higgins, Humane Society International – UK, Vietnam, China, Philippines, India – whiggins@hsi.org, +44 (0)7989 972 423
• Katherine Polak, FOUR PAWS International – Cambodia/ Thailand – Katherine.polak@four-paws.us, +660987077421
• Maya Gottfried, Animals Asia – United States – mgottfried@animalsasia.org, +1 347-885-9051
• Nancy Hwa, Humane Society International – United States – nhwa@hsi.org, +1 202-676-2337

________________________________________

¹Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States; World Organisation for Animal Health; World Health Organisation; Pan American Health Organization.

²Nguyen, A. K. T., Nguyen, D. V., Ngo, G. C., Nguyen, T. T., Inoue, S., Yamad, A., Dinh, X. K., Nguyen, D. V., Phan, T. X., Pham, B. Q., Nguyen, H. T., Nguyen, H. T. H. (2011). Molecular epidemiology of rabies virus in Vietnam (2006–2009). Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases, 64, 391-396.

³Hu, R. L., Fooks, A. R., Zhang, S. F., Liu, Y., Zhang, F. (2007). Inferior rabies vaccine quality and low immunisation coverage in dogs (Canis familiaris) in China. Epidemiol. Infect., 136, 1556-1563.

⁴Adiani & Tangkere (2007), “Rabies Case Study On Dog’s Head (Canis Familiaris) In Manado, Airmadidi & Langowan Wet Markets

⁵Nguyen, A. K. T., Nguyen, D. V., Ngo, G. C., Nguyen, T. T., Inoue, S., Yamad, A., Dinh, X. K., Nguyen, D. V., Phan, T. X., Pham, B. Q., Nguyen, H. T., Nguyen, H. T. H. (2011). Molecular epidemiology of rabies virus in Vietnam (2006–2009). Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases, 64, 391-396.

⁶Hampson, K., 2009. Mission Report: Vietnam. WHO (unpublished)

⁷Adiani & Tangkere (2007), “Rabies Case Study On Dog’s Head (Canis Familiaris) In Manado, Airmadidi & Langowan Wet Markets

⁸ERSO. Annual statistical report [Internet]. European road safety observatory. 2008. Available at: http://www. webcitation.org/6XebZzMOP. (Accessed 2015 Apr 9). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jtm.12228

WASHINGTON—Conservation and animal-welfare groups today urged Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider a federal decision to allow a Texas billionaire to import a critically endangered black rhino shot as a trophy hunt in Namibia.

The Fish and Wildlife Service gave notice Sept. 20 of its intent to issue the permit in 10 days. Black rhinos are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, but the government unlawfully approves trophy imports in a “pay-to-play” scheme.

Today’s letter from the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, Humane Society Legislative Fund and Center for Biological Diversity argues that such permits undermine conservation of Africa’s endangered wildlife, contrary to industry claims. “[K]illing a critically endangered rhinoceros and importing the trophy does not benefit the species,” the letter states.

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The approximately 27-year-old western black rhino was shot last year by the Dallas hunter, who has his own museum of trophy kills. The permit application notes the intent to import a life-size mount of the rhino.

“Approving this permit betrays the core principles of the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service is endorsing the import of a hunting trophy of an endangered species under the pretense that killing animals promotes conservation,” said Anna Frostic, managing wildlife attorney with the Humane Society of the United States. “It is telling that the three endangered species that FWS has authorized trophy imports for — black rhinoceros, bontebok and cape mountain zebra — are highly prized by trophy hunters.”

Black rhinos are highly imperiled with roughly only 5,500 existing worldwide by 2015, of which 1,946 are in Namibia.

“It’s disgusting to see federal wildlife officials giving a Texas billionaire a pat on the back for blowing away this incredibly rare rhino,” said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director with the Center for Biological Diversity. “We shouldn’t be sanctioning the death of this majestic animal by allowing this trophy into the United States. The cruelty of trophy hunting simply doesn’t comport with efforts to save Africa’s imperiled wildlife.”

Poaching of rhinos for their highly coveted horns still threatens to drive the species toward extinction. Official Namibian government figures show that rhino poaching escalated from nearly zero to more than 80 in 2016, and the vast majority of rhinos poached were black rhinos. Due to the poaching crisis, the country is under consideration to join a handful of “Priority Countries for Attention” at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which will meet in Russia next week.

The agency also approved elephant and lion trophy imports from Zimbabwe and Zambia last fall and has adopted policies favorable to trophy hunters.

The administration set up the International Wildlife Conservation Council, an advisory committee packed primarily with trophy hunters to further advise officials on how to liberalize trophy imports. The council is scheduled to meet later this week. The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, Center for Biological Diversity, and Natural Resources Defense Council, represented by Democracy Forward, have a pending lawsuit in New York challenging the various illegalities in the establishment and operation of the IWCC.

Media contacts:

• Nancy Hwa, Humane Society International, 202-596-0808, nhwa@hsi.org
• Tanya Sanerib, Center for Biological Diversity, 206-379-7363, tsanerib@biologicaldiversity.org

HYDERABAD—Humane Society International/India and life sciences start-up ReaGene Biosciences have joined hands to develop alternatives to animal testing, to promote their use, and to foster their acceptance by regulators.

The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a network of Indian scientists to shift research focus to non-animal methods and accelerate their acceptance worldwide, while keeping government officials and the scientific community updated on the latest advancements.

The project also supports education through internships on validated non-animal technologies. In the pilot phase of the internship program, three postgraduate students will train for six months, receiving in-depth instruction and hands-on experience in applying techniques of human-centric research. Interested candidates should contact Dr. Brinda Poojary at bpoojary@humanesociety.org.

The project is part of the Biomedical Research for the 21st Century (BioMed21) Collaboration, which brings together scientists and institutions from across Asia, Europe, and the Americas who share a vision of a human-focused paradigm in health research. As part of the BioMed21 initiative, HSI aims to establish new partnership opportunities with like-minded organizations and individuals.

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“Research has time and again shown that animals are not the correct models for research on human diseases. This agreement, a first of its kind, will look to further prove the need to develop alternate models for biomedical research through real-time research and hands-on education. We believe this programme will be key to providing an impetus to regulators and funding agencies to look beyond animal models and invest in more advanced, reliable, human-centric alternatives,” says Dr. Poojary, the scientific advisor for HSI/India.

Dr. Subrahmanyam Vangala, CEO and co-founder of ReaGene Biosciences Pvt Ltd, commented, “ReaGene is founded and led by established scientists from academia and pharmaceutical industry with global experience. With this venture, we aim to meet the unmet needs and gaps in practicing science in India. We are experts in translational technologies for substituting traditional animal models in pharmacology and toxicology to accelerate drug discovery research. We are happy that, with HSI India’s support, we are propelling our vision ahead.”

HSI/India has been successful in persuading the government to end the practice of animal testing for cosmetics, ending the import of animal-tested cosmetics, while also prohibiting the use of the Draize test in drug testing and ending animal testing on drugs that have already been tested on animals in another country. For centuries, the use of animals in science was thought to be the only way for science to progress. Statistics show that this is no longer the case, as 95 percent of drugs tested on animals fail when tested on humans. Advanced, more relevant methods have proven to be more effective and are increasingly accepted by regulators worldwide.

Media contact: Alokparna Sengupta, +91 9849094113, asengupta@hsi.org

SEOUL—Humane Society International is celebrating a successful end to its campaign in South Korea to abolish the use of beagles in long-term testing of pesticides. This follows an announcement by the country’s pesticide authority that it will join the United States, European Union, India, Canada and Japan in removing the unnecessary 1-year dog test requirement.

The decision was announced as a part of the “2018 Regulatory Innovation” project by Korea’s Rural Development Administration to harmonize pesticide regulation internationally, following intense pressure from HSI, industry and members of Korea’s National Assembly. This represents the final step in a nearly 20-year effort to abolish this cruel and needless test. More than 250,000 HSI supporters worldwide signed the petition to abolish the outdated test.

HSI Vice President of Research & Toxicology Troy Seidle stated, “We welcome Korea’s decision to abolish this unnecessary and inhumane test on dogs but urge the Rural Development Administration to move more swiftly toward the replacement of obsolete animal test requirements and the adoption of new approaches once the scientific evidence is in. It is unacceptable that thousands of beagles have been made to suffer needlessly for two decades due to bureaucratic foot-dragging.”

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Pesticides are among the most extensively animal-tested products in existence. As many as 10,000 rodents, fish, birds, rabbits, dogs and other animals are killed in government-required toxicity (chemical poisoning) tests for every pesticide chemical authorized for use. There is a great deal of redundancy in current requirements, such as repeating the same test in two or more species, or via different routes of exposure (force-feeding, forced inhalation, skin contact). Scientists have questioned the value of the 1-year dog test since the late 1990s, and its removal from government test requirements across the globe has been a gradual process driven by a variety of stakeholders, including HSI.

HSI’s team in Korea has briefed Rural Development Administration officials and the Korean Society of Pesticide Science on this topic, and HSI was responsible for bringing this issue to the attention of members of the National Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Oceans & Fisheries. During the Assembly’s 2017 inspection process of government ministries, agriculture committee member Mr. Wanju Park urged the administrator of RDA to do more to reduce animal testing for pesticide tests, to which the administrator responded that RDA will strengthen its efforts to replace animal testing.

Mr. Park stated, “I applaud the authority’s decision to stop unnecessary animal suffering of dogs for the testing of pesticides. I hope this is one of many more progressive regulatory changes to come by the RDA.”

Although RDA’s recent announcement is encouraging, HSI notes with disappointment that the December 2017 updated test guidelines continue to require animal tests where non-animal replacement approaches are readily available, particularly in eye and skin irritation tests involving rabbits. HSI is urging Korean authorities to move more swiftly to adopt internationally recognized test methods and to collaborate more actively across ministries to lead regulatory science into the 21st century and away from outdated animal testing.

Rural Development Administration announcement (Korean)

END

Media contact: Borami Seo, bseo@hsi.org, +82 (0)2 2015 7988

WASHINGTON—Two days before World Rhino Day, in a disgraceful action that disregards the precarious status of a critically endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has granted approval for the importation of a black rhino hunting trophy into the United States from Namibia, where rhino poaching has dramatically increased in recent years. The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, and the Humane Society Legislative Fund call on the agency to rescind its approval and deny any other trophy import permits to hunters seeking to import their kills of the world’s last remaining black rhinos.

“It is shocking that the Fish and Wildlife Service has chosen to issue a permit when rhino poaching in Namibia has skyrocketed from zero in 2006 to 90 rhinos killed in 2015. The agency should not endorse the killing of a critically endangered species to cater to a wealthy few,” said Iris Ho, senior specialist for wildlife programs and policy at Humane Society International. “The rise of rhino poaching in Namibia shatters the claim that trophy hunting benefits conservation. The United States shouldn’t indulge such pay-to-slay schemes by trophy hunters in search of gruesome prizes to take home. We call on the Fish and Wildlife Service to rescind this permit.”

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Background information:

• Two trophy hunting organizations, the Dallas Safari Club Foundation and Conservation Force, auctioned off the killing of the rhino in December 2016 for $275,000. The hunt took place on Feb. 26, 2017, at the Veronica Game Lodge in Namibia. Conservation Force filed the import permit application on behalf of the billionaire hunter on April 12, 2017, and the USFWS opened a 30-day public comment period on Jan. 4, 2018.
• Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to import endangered species unless such action is determined to enhance the propagation or survival of the species or for scientific purposes. Given the increasingly precarious status of black rhinos and the fact that trophy hunting itself constitutes a threat to the species, this vanity import fails to meet that standard.
• Fewer than 5,500 wild black rhinos are left in the world, with just 1,946 in Namibia. Poaching of black rhinos and white rhinos there jumped from zero in 2006 to 30 in 2014 and then tripled to 90 just one year later. The vast majority of rhinos poached in Namibia between 2014 and 2016 were black rhinos. According to the IUCN Species Survival Commission African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups and TRAFFIC, “The geographical shift in poaching to Namibia over the last two years is worrying.”

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Media contact: Nancy Hwa, 202-676-2337 (office), 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org

TOKYO—On Monday, September 17th, the Japanese Coalition for Animal Welfare and Humane Society International hosted a Citizen Forum to build momentum toward the forthcoming revision of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals (Animal Welfare Act). The forum addressed the challenges in transforming the current law (which is perceived as only providing a moral philosophy on how society should handle animals) into a set of concrete regulatory provisions that would create actual protections for animals. Participants also discussed the current status of and trends related to non-companion animals, including laboratory and farm animals. Ahead of the 2020 Olympics to be held in Tokyo, the discussion highlighted the need for a law with specific regulatory measures that protect all animals.

The Citizen Forum was part of an effort by JCAW and HSI to engage with regulatory authorities and policymakers for the next revision of the Animal Welfare Act, as well as to raise public awareness about animal welfare in general. The forum was attended by members of the animal protection community as well as citizens who are interested in the revision of the Act, and the venue was filled with approximately 50 participants.

Some policy stakeholders involved in the revision process noted that the purpose of the current Act is not to protect animals, but instead to protect property and to merely express a moral obligation to love and protect animals. If this becomes the mainstream interpretation of the Act, Japan will be the only nation among developed countries that does not have any animal protection laws. Amidst such concerns, attorney Tomoko Asano explained the Act’s weaknesses and what needs to be changed so that it provides specific measures that truly protect animals.

In addition, the forum addressed challenges specifically related to lab and farm animals. There has been a shift away from animal testing to state-of-the-art non-animal alternative methods, and the most recent trends on such alternative methods were presented. A transition to human-biology based test methods not only saves animals, but also leads to improved product safety for consumers. JCAW and HSI have collaborated to improve protections for animals in laboratories in Japan by lobbying for the inclusion of a stronger clause on lab animal regulations in the Animal Welfare Act.

For farm animals, the forum introduced to the audience a manufacturing system in which the welfare of animals is appropriately addressed. As with lab animals, improving the welfare of farm animals not only benefits the animals, but has positive impacts on the quality of life of humans, including improved public health and food safety, and boosting the economy of agricultural industry.

Dr. Koichi Aoki, a representative of JCAW said, “We are expecting the bill for a revised Animal Welfare Act to be submitted to the Diet soon. We are hoping that this revision will become a crucial step in transforming the Act into a law with more concrete provisions that protect all animals. We also hope that this Citizen Forum helped boost public awareness and further enhance momentum to prepare for the revision of the Act.”

Troy Seidle, vice president HSI’s Research & Toxicology Department, said, “Many countries around the world have comprehensive animal welfare regulations for the purpose of protecting animals, and there has been tremendous progress in animal welfare regulatory policy globally since the Animal Welfare Act was first enacted. One example of such progress would be cosmetics animal testing, which has served as an incentive for transitioning to non-animal methods worldwide. Already 37 major economies have enacted laws prohibiting or restricting cosmetic animal testing and/or trade. Similar bills are under active political discussion in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Sri Lanka, South Africa and elsewhere. We encourage Japan to follow the global shift in public policy.”

END

Media Contacts

HSI (Japan): Sakiko Yamazaki, syamazaki@hsi.org (interview in both Japanese and English)

JCAW: Koichi Aoki, info.dokyoren@gmail.com

　

FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil—Reacting to the news that the International Whaling Commission has rejected Japan’s comprehensive attack on the global moratorium on commercial whaling, Kitty Block, President of animal charity Humane Society International said, “It is an immense relief that the IWC’s moral compass has led it to reject Japan’s reckless and retrograde attempt to bring back commercial whaling. What Japan tried to do here was to bend and break the rules of the IWC to lift an internationally-agreed ban on killing whales for profit. It deserved to fail; the world has moved on from commercial whaling, and so must Japan. We hope that the IWC can now get on with the business of protecting these ocean leviathans from the myriad other threats they face.”

At this the 67th meeting of the IWC, Japan advanced a set of recommendations calculated to undermine the prohibition on commercial whaling agreed to in the 1980s. These included proposals to establish a “Sustainable Whaling Committee” and a process to determine catch limits for what Japan calls “abundant whale stocks/species.”

With no consensus on the proposal, Japan pushed for a vote on its package, which required a 3/4 majority to pass but achieved only 27 votes in support with 41 countries voting against and two abstentions.

Australia was the first country to rebut Japan’s proposals, describing commercial whaling as “a business proposition against which many parties hold legitimate environmental and welfare concerns.” Countries including Iceland, Nicaragua, Senegal and Norway spoke in support of the proposal, claiming that the IWC would be “dysfunctional” if it did not approve it. Countries including Australia, Argentina, and the IWC’s 24 European Union member states completely dismantled Japan’s unreasonable proposals and robustly defended claims of dysfunctionality. “Disagreement does not mean dysfunction,” said Australia’s Commissioner Nick Gales.

Block commented: “The IWC has a large, expanding and impressive marine conservation agenda, bringing countries together to find ways to protect whales from problems like bycatch and pollution. Against that important and urgent backdrop, Japan’s pro-whaling ambitions look regressive and vastly out of step with enlightened global efforts to act as stewards for the world’s largest mammals. It’s clear from exchanges this week that those countries here fighting for the protection of whales are not prepared to have the IWC’s progressive conservation agenda held hostage to Japan’s unreasonable whaling demands.”

END

Media contact: Wendy Higgins, whiggins@hsi.org

FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil—On the third day of the 67th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Florianopolis, Brazil, the Commission adopted two resolutions, focused on recognizing the crucial role of whales in ecosystems, and mitigating the threat of anthropogenic (human-caused) noise pollution on cetaceans. The delegates also endorsed the IWC’s new bycatch initiative which addresses a massive threat to cetaceans worldwide.

Rebecca Regnery, Senior Director of Wildlife, Humane Society International, says: “The IWC’s Bycatch Mitigation Initiative is of special importance to whale conservation and health. Each year around the world, hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins and porpoises are accidentally caught and drowned in fishing nets, causing immense suffering and threatening several species with extinction. The IWC is forging a pathway for countries and international partners to find solutions to this global problem.”

The resolution on noise pollution was another triumph, with the IWC agreeing to work with other international bodies to try and address this threat. Regnery says: “Whales use sound to help them navigate the vast oceans, but human-caused noise pollution can interfere with their ability to sense their environment and communicate with each other over vast distances. This acoustic fog can have serious detrimental impacts on cetaceans, and other forms of noise pollution resulting from industrial or military activity, can even cause physical harm.”

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The third measure also shows how far the IWC has evolved in recent years. While the Commission has traditionally looked at whales as resources to be utilized, science now reveals a different and important role for whales as ‘ecosystem engineers’ – moving deep sea nutrients into the sunlight where their fecal plumes fertilize the waters there and help ecosystem productivity. Today, in a significant change of emphasis, the IWC agreed to focus more on this topic.

Later this week the IWC will vote on a raft of proposals by Japan aimed at smoothing a path for the resumption of commercial whaling. Regnery reflects: “Seeing these cetacean conservation measures pass here at the IWC is a bittersweet experience. It is thrilling to see the IWC play such a globally important role in protecting cetaceans in their marine environment and recognizing the vital and unique role these ocean giants play in keeping our seas healthy. Yet all the while there are moves here at the IWC by Japan and others to kill these very same whales for profit.”

HSI’s whale experts at the IWC are available for interview, contact whiggins@hsi.org

ENDS

Media contact: Wendy Higgins, Director of International Media, whiggins@hsi.org

BRASILIA—Leading cosmetic brands represented by the Brazilian Association of Personal Hygiene, Perfume and Cosmetics have taken an aggressive stand against cruelty-free beauty in Brazil by filing two constitutional challenges with the federal Supreme Court on August 23, calling for the repeal of state laws in Rio de Janeiro and Amazonas that ban animal testing for cosmetics. At the same time, ABIHPEC continues to obstruct the passage of a similar law at the federal level. Seven Brazilian states have outlawed animal testing for cosmetics, binding more than 70 percent of the national industry to a cruelty-free production model.

Humane Society International Campaign Manager Helder Constantino said: “This two-faced tactic puts the ugly heart of the beauty industry on full display. The brands are claiming not to oppose an end to cosmetic animal testing in Brazil while doing everything possible to block federal progress and tear down bans at state level. HSI invites progressive brands to stand with us in convincing the federal Senate to vote in support of a meaningful, nation-wide ban on cosmetic cruelty, ending this dispute once and for all.”

ABIHPEC is the trade association for major cosmetic companies established or operating in Brazil. In its pleadings to the Supreme Court, the association calls for the immediate suspension of Rio de Janeiro and Amazonas state bans until the Court pronounces its judgement on their merits. If either law is deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, similar measures in São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul could also suffer the same fate, meaning that the use of animals to tests cosmetics could be reintroduced in these states in the future.

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HSI has offered its support and expertise to the legal teams of the assemblies and governments of Rio de Janeiro and Amazonas to counter these legal challenges. The organization is confident that the industry’s rearguard action will fail in light of the power granted by the Constitution to states to take on additional measures to protect animals, and the fact that ABIHPEC’s case is built on a legal precedent that was recently overruled.

HSI has also written to all companies represented on ABIHPEC’s Council to request confirmation as to whether they provided support and funding for the association’s legal action. Most have either not replied or have declined to clearly distance themselves from the state legal challenges. So far Natura, Baruel and Procter & Gamble are the only brands that have expressly disavowed the ABIHPEC action in writing. HSI applauds these companies for choosing not to support a retrograde action that flies in the face of consumers’ wishes, and the worldwide trend to end these painful and unethical tests.

Globally, cosmetic tests on animals have been banned in 37 countries, including the whole of the European Union, Israel, India, Norway, Switzerland, Taiwan, New Zealand and Guatemala, with similar laws being considered in the United States, Canada, Australia, Chile, South Africa and elsewhere.

ABIHPEC’s Supreme Court challenges (Portuguese):

• Rio de Janeiro (challenging Law n°7.814 of 2017)
• Amazonas (challenging Law n°289 of 2015)

Media contact: Helder Constantino, (21) 98342 4163, hconstantino@hsi.org