Author: Kristin Stone

The European Parliament adopted a strongly worded Resolution on whale hunting in Norway, a move welcomed by animal protection organisation Humane Society International. MEPs raised concerns about the transiting of whale products to Japan via a number of EU ports during a debate with the European Commission in July. In this Resolution, they unequivocally called upon Norway to cease all of its commercial whaling operations and to abide by the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling that entered into force on 1986, and to halt the trade in whale meat and other whale products. The Parliament also urges the Commission to ensure that EU ports block the transit of whale meat.

Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for Humane Society International/Europe, issued the following statement:

“We applaud MEPs for addressing the issue of the transhipment of whale products and sending a strong message to Norway about its continued disregard of international multilateral agreements to protect whales from commercial exploitation. It is reprehensible that Norway continues to subsidise the whaling industry and even to try to find new markets for its products, such as food supplements and feed for animals on fur farms. The EU has long prohibited the cruel and unsustainable trade in whale products. It is an affront to EU citizens that whale meat is being transited through some of the Union’s ports. Humane Society International/Europe strongly supports the European Parliament’s call for action to halt the transhipment of whale meat.”

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Facts

• In 1993, Norway resumed commercial whaling under an objection to the International Whaling Commission’s moratorium. Between 1993 and 2016, Norway has hunted almost 12,400 minke whales – and this number does not include the 2017 season.
• Norway has used its formal reservation to the international ban on commercial trade in whale products implemented by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (in support of the IWC whaling moratorium), to ship hundreds of tonnes of whale meat to Japan, It also exports minke whale products to Iceland and the Faroe Islands;
• Norway has quietly become the world’s leading whaling nation, killing more whales in the past two years than Japan and Iceland combined.
• In February, Norway increased its 2017 whaling quota to 999 animals; the Fishery Minister of Norway also announced an intention to double the quota, which would mean that Norway would allow the hunting of up to 2,000 minke whales annually;
• As domestic demand for whale products in Norway has declined, whalers have sought new markets; for example, fur farms use whale meat as feed, and the government has granted funding for the development of food supplements and pharmaceutical products derived from whale oil.

Media contact: Raul Arce-Contreras, rcontreras@humanesociety.org, +1 (301) 721-6440

Animal protection organizations Humane Society International/India, ResQ Charitable Trust, People for Animals and Action against Cruelty and Trauma coordinated a joint rescue operation to save 56 cats from an overcrowded apartment in Lulla Nagar, Pune.

The owners of the property, who are suspected of having taken the cats in from the streets in what media reports indicate was an attempt to care for them, were apparently overwhelmed by the animals’ needs, and refused to surrender the cats voluntarily. The rescuers filed a first information report (FIR) that allowed police to seize the animals and hand them over to ResQ for immediate veterinary attention.

N. G. Jayasimha, managing director HSI/India, said: “This is an unfortunate case of rescuers who became overwhelmed, overextended their limited resources and simply had more animals than they can properly care for. We are grateful to our partner organisations for their prompt response and to the police department for its immediate action to rescue these cats.”

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When honorary animal welfare officers arrived on scene, they found 56 cats, many of whom were pregnant, nursing or diseased and injured, living amidst piles of fresh and dried faecal matter and scattered kibble. The rescuers estimate that the apartment had not been cleaned in more than three years.

The cats have been transported to ResQ Charitable Trust where they are being checked by veterinarians and will receive the necessary care. Following their treatment, they will be evaluated and be put up for adoption.

Media Contact:
Vidhi Malla, +919560103078, vidhimalla@gmail.com

The following is a statement from Teresa Telecky, Ph.D., senior director of the Wildlife Department at Humane Society International, the international affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States, welcoming Wednesday’s decision by the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii requiring the state to assess the environmental impact of commercial aquarium fish collection prior to issuing permits to collectors:.

“The Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii ruled that the collection of animals for the international aquarium trade must be subjected to environmental impact review, which should spare millions of Hawaii’s coral reef animals. We have been trying to stop this unsustainable and cruel trade for nearly a decade. This is major victory for Hawaii’s wildlife and for people who rely on healthy coral reef ecosystems for their survival.”

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HSI and HSUS were among the groups to support SB 1240 in Hawaii, a bill that would have limited the capture of reef wildlife for personal aquariums. Despite widespread public and legislative support, Governor David Ige vetoed the bill. HSUS joined a coalition of conservation and animal protection organizations in this lawsuit against the state for issuing aquarium collection permits in violation of the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act.

Media contact: Raul Arce-Contreras, rcontreras@humanesociety.org, (301) 721-6440

Humane Society International/Latin America assisted the Costa Rica’s Animal Health Department, known as SENASA, and the Judicial Investigation Agency in the rescue of 68 dogs and cats from a suspected cruelty and neglect situation in Montes de Oca, San Jose. The owner voluntarily surrendered all the animals to officials with SENASA and the Judicial Investigation Agency, who acted together for the first time in accordance with the new mandate Law No. 9458 approved last June.

Most of the animals showed signs of malnutrition, with severe skin problems, extreme knots in their fur and long nails. A number of the dogs and cats had health problems that required immediate specialized attention. Once removed from the property, the rescuers transported the animals to the Humanitarian Association for Animal Protection, where a veterinarian checked and treated each animal. The rescued animals also received teeth cleaning, grooming services, vaccination, deworming and treatment for the severe skin problems.

Andrea Borel, executive director of HSI/LA, said: “Unfortunately, neglect situations like this one are common. Well-intentioned people try to help stray animals by taking them in, without considering the real implications of this action. They soon find themselves in an unmanageable situation that descends into animal suffering. We found these cats and dogs living in their own filth, with untreated medical conditions and inadequate food and water. Thanks to the joint efforts of SENASA and the Judicial Investigation Agency, and timely action afforded by Costa Rica’s new animal protection law, these animals will have a second chance.”

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The animals will be sterilized and then placed in foster homes. HSI/LA will cover the cost of sterilization and their recovery, and will follow up on the adoption process.

Media contacts:
In Costa Rica: Amanda Chaves, achaves@hsi.org, (506) 22 33 03 03
In the USA: Raúl Arce-Contreras, rcontreras@humanesociety.org, +1 (301) 721-6440

Less than a year after the conservation community commended Romania for introducing a critically-needed ban on the hunting of brown bears, wolves, lynx and wildcats, Environment Minister Grațiela Gavrilescu has released an executive order confirming that lethal population control and trophy hunting of bears and wolves will resume.

The temporary prohibition saved the lives of many as 1,691 bears, wolves and wildcats. While the new bear and wolf hunting quotas effectively eliminate the protection these animals had been afforded over the past nine months, the order also clears the way for trophy hunters to shoot bears and wolves as long as they do so in the presence of “technical staff”. According to the order, by the end of 2017, the local authorities and independent hunters may kill up to 140 bears and 97 wolves deemed to be ‘nuisance’ animals. 

Under the terms of EU legislation (Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC) lethal population control is only permitted once the Member State has exhausted all non-lethal methods. This requirement is notable by its absence from Romania’s new order. In the past, the Romanian Academy’s Commission for the Protection of Natural Monuments has strongly cautioned against unjustified lethal take, since it may be detrimental to the survival of bears and wolves in Romania. Key scientists and experts also dispute the effectiveness of lethal population control or trophy hunting in mitigating human-wildlife conflict. In fact, human persecution of carnivores can actually lead to greater conflict with humans and farm animals, because it disrupts social structures and alters predation patterns, leaving these predators more reliant on farm animals as food.

Humane Society International/Europe and the Romanian conservation organisation, Agent Green, together with other world’s leading wildlife organisations have urged the Romanian Government to rescind the order and require a case-by-case analysis for each problem bear or wolf. The groups also urge the government to direct the majority of the resources toward educational programmes for the affected communities and non-lethal mitigation strategies, such as electric fencing, visual deterrents (known as “fladry”) and bear-proof rubbish bins.

Ruud Tombrock, executive director for Humane Society International/Europe said, “The Romanian Government’s U-turn on the trophy hunting of brown bears is beyond disappointing.  Less than a year ago, the conservation community praised the previous government for taking decisive action to stop the unjustified persecution of Europe’s large carnivores. This change of policy is clearly in response to strong lobbying efforts from the trophy hunting and animal agriculture industries. This order threatens the very survival of bears and wolves in Romania.”

Gabriel Paun, CEO of Agent Green, said, “This new order not only allows the lethal population control of bears and wolves as we feared it would, but outrageously just made it possible for trophy hunters to openly participate in these killings and sell the parts of the animals’ remains, shamelessly making a business out of it.”

Background and facts:

• Romania announced the prohibition on trophy hunting of brown bears, wolves, lynx and wildcats in October of 2016.
• Brown bears play a vital role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem in Romania, and while official figures put the Romanian bear population at more than 6,000, HSI and our partner groups fear that may be an over-estimate due to inaccurate counting methods.
• Scientific experts also strongly dispute the effectiveness of lethal population control or trophy hunting to manage these iconic mammals. 
• Brown bears face a number of threats to their survival, including habitat destruction, increased motorized activity near their habitat, climate change, and human persecution.
• The population estimates on which the proposed brown bear and wolf kill quotas are based are biologically implausible and biased.
• The effect of human persecution on brown bears and wolves is “super additive,” meaning that hunting kills result in mortality exceeding the simple 1:1 ratio and generates pressures on the population that far exceed what would occur in nature.
• One study found that killing large wild predators has, in some cases, the reverse effect of increasing their predation on livestock and only two non-lethal mitigation techniques proved to have “preventive effects.”
• Co-adaption and coexistence are key if carnivores are to persist. Humans must be willing to share the habitat and tolerate the small level of risk these animals pose.

Media contact: Wendy Higgins, whiggins@hsi.org, +44 (0)7989 972 423

Humane Society International is calling on the Korean government to review the Environment Ministry’s recently introduced budget plan and are asking for the adoption of a chemical safety assessment policy using advanced non-animal technologies to replace or minimize animal testing, as mandated by Korean laws on chemicals and new biocides.

The Ministry of Environment budget plan, called a ‘Sustainable human and environment protection’ plan for 2018, includes increased funding to manage chemicals for public health and environment protection. Without a mandate to focus on non-animal science, however, funding proposed would continue to go to outdated and cruel animal testing. The ministry is expected to submit its budget to the National Assembly on 1 September.

HSI Korea Policy Adviser Borami Seo said, “The Ministry of the Environment is a leading authority responsible for developing better science for public safety. Investing in chemical assessment with non-animal methods is not only about protecting animals, it is about improving human safety. We urge the government and members of National Assembly to review the 2018 budget plan before it is too late.”

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HSI urges Korean environmental authorities to prioritize investment in development of modern and more accurate non-animal science for chemical assessment, as is the case in the United States, the European Union and other countries. A ‘21st century’ approach to toxicology offers better prediction models based on understanding human-biology rather than relying on cruel animal models. The U.S. National Research Council proposed this in 2007, motivating U.S. agencies to invest in the ‘Tox21’ approach to toxicological testing that focuses on using modern techniques along with fewer or no animals. This paradigm shift has also caused the European Union to launch the multi-year Safety Evaluation Ultimately Replacing Animal Testing (SEURAT-1) and EU-ToxRisk projects, with a combined budget of €80 million, toward safety testing without using animals along with several other similar governmental research projects aimed at reducing animal use while increasing predictability for humane safety around the world.

The new non-animal technologies are already capable of assessing safety and risk with the same level of human relevance and predictiveness as the old animal testing system.  However, the new approach costs a fraction of animal testing methods and could be completed in just a few years compared to the 500 or more years that would be needed to test the 30,000 or so chemicals now identified in the EU chemical registration and evaluation process. 

The 2018 plan includes an $8.6 million investment for small-to-medium size enterprises. Since Korea’s Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (known as K-REACH) came into effect, the government has provided support to these enterprises to help reduce the cost for data production for chemical registration. However, this support resulted in unnecessary spending on the production of animal test data because either test data already exists or the risk of a chemical is well known. Instead, investing in data production using non-animal methods and maximizing in sharing existing chemical information will greatly benefit the industries and avoid redundant animal use. HSI raised these concerns with the Korean government and is now urging Korean environmental authorities to ensure that repeat animal tests are no longer carried out.

Media contact: Raúl Arce-Contreras, rcontreras@humanesociety.org, +1-301-721-6440

In light of the recent dog culling in Jessore, Chittagong and Feni, Humane Society International in Bangladesh Country Director Maya Barolo-Rizvi issued the following statement:

“The recent culling of stray dogs is based on the misplaced belief that indiscriminate killing of dogs is the solution to rabies. Dog culling actually increases the spread of rabies. According to the World Health Organisation the most effective and cost-efficient strategy to prevent rabies is mass vaccination of dogs, along with humane methods of population control through animal birth control, such as sterilisation. The animal birth control, or ABC, approach to rabies elimination is backed by evidence showing that it results in the overall reduction of dog population, as well as reduced aggression in stray dogs and reduced biting incidents. Dealing with stray dogs in a manner that is inconsistent with the ABC approach is counterproductive and measures to undertake culling of stray dogs are unlawful – the practice has been banned in Bangladesh.”

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In 2010, the Centre for Disease Control at the Ministry of Health and Welfare stablished a national strategy for rabies control in Bangladesh, based on the two-pronged approach of mass dog vaccination and treatment for humans who were exposed to rabies. Since then, according to Health Ministry figures, the average number of deaths from rabies has dropped from 2,000 people each year to under 200.

Bangladesh has one of the lowest dog populations per capita in the world, with an estimated 0.5 dogs per 100 people in Dhaka, according to a Humane Society International (HSI) survey conducted in 2014. The stray dog population in Bangladesh can easily be managed through ABC, as has been shown by the Dog Population Management Programme, a programme jointly run by the HSI and Dhaka North City Corporation since 2012. In the past year, the HSI clinic has sterilised and vaccinated almost 4,000 dogs in Dhaka North alone. Preventing the transmission of rabies through dog vaccination costs 240 taka per animal, whereas the average cost of rabies treatment in humans is 7,000 taka per person.

Barolo-Rizvi adds: “Bangladesh can eradicate rabies domestically and reduce the global burden of rabies if it continues with its national street dog population management plan, supported by trained human resources and sufficient budget. Indiscriminate dog culling will prevent Bangladesh from achieving this goal.”

Media contact: 
USA: Raúl Arce-Contreras, rcontreras@humanesociety.org, +1-301-721-6440