Category: Press Release

Chinese police intercept 1,408 pet and stray dogs and cats in appalling conditions

Humane Society International / Global

Yidu Center/ CAWA

BEIJING—Chinese animal activists have released shocking footage of dead and dying dogs and cats on a truck crammed with 1,408 animals being trafficked for the meat trade in China. Three hundred and seventy dogs and cats perished on board, or shortly after removal from, what activists are calling the “death truck” which was stopped by police on the highway headed for slaughterhouses and markets in Yulin, in south China. The footage was released to global animal protection group Humane Society International which campaigns across Asia to end the dog and cat meat trades.

The truck was intercepted in Xian Tao city in central China’s Hubei province, half way along its intended 1,200km journey from Fucheng in the north to Yulin in the south. Rescuers from local animal groups converged at the scene, joined by Beijing-based dog meat campaign specialists from Capital Animal Welfare Association who were able to carefully unload the traumatised animals. Alongside the lifeless bodies of dead dogs and cats, they found animals suffering with open wounds, broken bones, respiratory disease and severe dehydration. The activists administered what emergency treatment they could on the roadside, temporarily transporting the dogs to a nearby school and the cats to a holding facility before local shelters could rally to collect them.

CAWA’s Hao Da-yue attended the scene and estimates that most of the 718 dogs were likely stolen pets, and the 690 cats were probably snatched from the streets. The surviving animals are now being cared for by staff at local shelters who are administering life-saving treatment. They fear that the animals have endured such an ordeal, more may yet succumb to their injuries and sickness. HSI is providing emergency funds to help some of the shelters caring for the animals.

Hao Da-yue said: “I’ve attended many rescues of dogs and cats from the meat trade, but never before have I encountered such a shocking scene. This was a death truck, crammed full with desperate, frightened, traumatized animals caged up with their dead and dying companions. The smell of death, diarrhoea and vomit was overwhelming, and the sound of the animals whimpering and crying for our attention, was just heartbreaking. I saw a number of dogs and cats die on the roadside despite desperate attempts to help them, there was nothing that could be done but hold them as they passed away. Activists worked with tears in their eyes, many clearly shocked by what they were witnessing. The world needs to see how these poor dogs and cats suffer for China’s meat trade. Such appalling cruelty brings shame on China and shame on the majority of Chinese people who want nothing to do with this despicable trade.”

Although China has no animal protection laws with which to prosecute the traders for cruelty, Chinese health and safety regulations do present an opportunity. The two truck drivers have been detained by police and reported to Xian Tao officials, and the trader who contracted them and accumulated the animals now faces investigation by the Agriculture Bureau and could face charges for transporting sick animals across provincial boundaries without legally-required quarantine papers.

Dr. Peter Li, Humane Society International’s China policy specialist, said: “I want to pay tribute to the dedication and bravery of Chinese animal activists who work so hard to help animals caught up in the dog and cat meat trades. Having been to dog and cat slaughterhouses and meat markets myself, I know first-hand how traumatising it is to see this scale of animal abuse, and yet they are committed to exposing this cruelty in the hope of ending the trade for good. It is a tragedy that so many of these poor animals died on this truck, and the suffering they all endured at the hands of the meat traders is unimaginable. Most people in China don’t support this trade and it doesn’t reflect modern Chinese society, but without robust animal protection laws in place, we will continue to see this terrible cruelty.”

​Facts:

  1. The truck was intercepted by police on 1st October 2022.
  2. Most people in China don’t eat dogs and cats. In fact they are only eaten infrequently by a small percentage of the Chinese population. Even so, it is estimated that as many as four million cats a year could be killed for the meat trade.
  3. In 2020, two major cities in mainland China–Shenzhen and Zhuhai–banned the consumption of dog and cat meat, a decision polling of 378 million people in mainland China by news site com shows is supported by nearly 75% of Chinese citizens.
  4. In addition to Shenzhen and Zhuhai in mainland China, across Asia the trade in and slaughter, sale and consumption of dogs is banned or otherwise ended in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Siem Reap in Cambodia, and 19 jurisdictions across Indonesia. In South Korea a government-initiated task force is currently considering the issue of a ban. President Yoon Suk-yeol has stated he would not oppose a dog meat ban provided there is social consensus, and first lady Kim Keon-hee has spoken publicly of her desire for an end to dog meat consumption.

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ENDS

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

Humane Society International / Europe

Hippo
Imagebroker/Alamy

STRASBOURG, France—Today, the European Parliament adopted a resolution unequivocal in its demands regarding the European Union’s objectives for the upcoming meeting of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

While Parliament is making clear statements about eliminating the scourge of wildlife trafficking, closing the loopholes in the EU wildlife trade regulations and ending the imports of hunting trophies from CITES-listed species, Humane Society International/Europe has concerns as to whether the European Commission and the Member States will pay heed to the Parliament’s demands.

In November, representatives of the countries that have signed the CITES treaty will meet in Panama for the 19th meeting of the parties. At COP19, they will decide whether an array of threatened and endangered species, including the common hippopotamus, African elephants, requiem sharks and glass frogs, should be given stronger, or weaker, international protection from overexploitation for commercial trade. Humane Society International/Europe is deeply concerned that the Commission has already recommended that the EU should not support a proposal from 10 African range states to transfer the common hippo to CITES Appendix I, which would prohibit all commercial international trade in hippo parts and products and throw a lifeline to this imperilled species. In addition, the Commission has recommended that the EU abstain on the proposal from 14 CITES Parties to list glass frogs on Appendix II, which would provide crucial protections and trade monitoring of these imperilled amphibians.

Dr Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for Humane Society International/Europe, says: “We are delighted that MEPs have adopted such a strong resolution in advance of the CITES COP19 meeting, recognizing the persistent threat posed to wildlife by international trade. Given that the EU is a highly influential bloc in CITES decision-making, they are often in the position to make or break decisions. Failure to support the hippo, glass frogs and other proposals put forward by range States, who are seeking to gain much-needed extra protection for their endemic species whose survival is threatened by overexploitation for commercial trade, may push them further towards the brink of extinction. It is unconscionable for the EU not to support such proposals given its own loudly trumpeted biodiversity strategy commitments to do all it can to halt global biodiversity decline.”

In addition to demonstrating its support for various CITES proposals, the European Parliament’s resolution recognizes that the EU’s role in the global fight against wildlife trafficking needs further strengthening. MEPs echo Humane Society International’s call for the Commission to take action to close the loopholes in the existing EU wildlife trade regulations by delivering a legislative proposal to criminalize the import, export, sale, acquisition or purchase of wild species that are taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of the law of the country of origin.

HSI also welcomes the European Parliament’s call for urgent action to be taken to prohibit the import of hunting trophies derived from CITES-listed species. The EU is the world’s second largest importer of hunting trophies behind the United States. EU law continues to allow hunters to import trophies from threatened species, many of which are protected internationally through CITES and the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations and Habitats Directive.

Liam Slattery, Humane Society International/Europe’s trophy hunting campaign director, said: “The European Parliament’s call for urgent action to curb the import of CITES-listed species hunting trophies is a move supported by a clear majority of the public across member states. The Netherlands and France have already implemented bans on certain species of trophy. The Belgian Federal Parliament has passed a unanimous resolution demanding the government stop authorising trophy import permits. And the Environment Ministry in Germany has expressed an intention to restrict import of hunting trophies from protected animal species. With other Member States also actively considering proposals to limit or prohibit trophy imports, the Commission must display leadership on this issue in line with such measures, and the EU’s own biodiversity strategy.”

Facts:

  • HSI strongly urges the EU to support the CITES COP19 Proposal 1 to list the common hippo on Appendix I. Wild hippo populations are declining or unknown in 65% of countries they inhabit. Hippo ivory is popular among consumers and nearly 80,000 hippo products—nearly all wild sourced—were imported in the most recent decade for which data are available. Poaching and trafficking are a primary threat to hippos, and the illegal trade is often intermingled with legal trade. Further, the current levels of offtake—both legal and illegal—are predicted to result in future declines in wild hippo populations. This indicates the need to curtail international commercial trade in this species due to conservation concerns and the risk of promoting the illegal killing and trade. The EU contributes to the exploitation of hippos—nearly 800 hippo trophies were imported by EU Member States between 2014 and 2018.
  • HSI strongly urges the EU to support the CITES COP19 proposal to list glass frogs on Appendix II. Half of the species in this family are threatened with extinction, and individuals of highly threatened species are indistinguishable from others, necessitating the inclusion of the entire family in Appendix II. As the males of many of these frog species actively defend clutches of eggs, removal of males results in depredation of entire clutches, causing high mortality rates. Further, glass frogs have become increasingly popular in the international pet trade, and much of the trade happens illegally. Listing the family on Appendix II would bring much-needed monitoring of international commercial trade and help to stem illegal trade in these species.
  • HSI strongly urges the EU to support all of the proposals to add or increase protection for reptile and amphibian species. There are 21 of these covering 239 species which includes 53 turtle species. All these vulnerable species face threats including overexploitation for international trade. It is alarming that the Commission is not recommending support for many of these proposals from range states seeking assistance from importing countries including EU countries in controlling trade to ensure wild populations are not decimated.
  • Between 2014 and 2018, the EU imported nearly 15,000 hunting trophies—around eight per day—of 73 internationally protected species.
  • The number of trophies coming into the EU increased by 40% in five years, despite opinion polls indicating that the vast majority of EU citizens surveyed are clearly against trophy hunting and would like to see an end to this brutal industry.

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Media contact: Cassie Bodin-Duval, international coordinator media relations: cbodinduval@hsi.org ; +32 (0) 469 149 469

Moves to lift global ban on commercial whaling a major concern, says Humane Society International

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

HSI Humpback Whale, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

LONDON—Ahead of the upcoming 68th meeting of the International Whaling Commission which begins on 13th October in Slovenia, animal protection and conservation non-profit Humane Society International warns that the very future of the IWC and the global moratorium on commercial whaling could be in jeopardy.

The global economic crisis, the pandemic and the exit of Japan―a whaling nation and formerly a major IWC funder―have created a serious budgetary emergency at the IWC. Efforts to reduce costs, including selling the IWC Secretariat headquarters in Cambridge, have stalled. The financial survival of the IWC as the only international body that focuses on cetacean conservation hangs in the balance at a time when almost half of the world’s known species, subspecies and subpopulations of cetaceans, are listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable. The negotiations to balance the budget will be critical for the future of whales.

Rebecca Regnery, senior wildlife director at Humane Society International, said: “Whales face myriad threats from human activities including whale hunting; fisheries bycatch; chemical, plastic and noise pollution; ship strikes; habitat loss and the urgent climate crisis. If the IWC were to collapse now, everything it has done to establish and maintain the global whaling moratorium, the Southern Ocean sanctuary and multiple other scientific and conservation work would also collapse. The framework the IWC has provided for global cetacean conservation and management would disappear, leaving these ocean giants even more vulnerable in increasingly challenging and hostile seas.”

The threat to the IWC’s vital work, and even the global moratorium on commercial whaling, are at further risk because the IWC is considering allowing voting rights for nations even if they have failed to pay their membership fees, a move that would largely benefit pro-whaling countries. While the proposal aims to assist countries hit hard by the pandemic, many of which rely on tourism, it could tip the balance on some key pro-whaling draft resolutions including one by Antigua and Barbuda to lift the commercial whaling ban.

Regnery says: “The global moratorium on commercial whaling, which has spared the lives of hundreds of thousands of cetaceans and been instrumental in pulling many species back from the brink of extinction, is in very real danger. Scrapping the moratorium is what Japan has been pushing for since it was first adopted in 1982. Ironically, although Japan has withdrawn from the IWC, its pro-whaling influence is as menacing as ever via country allies beholden to Japan that continue to push its dangerous agenda. This year, if many more pro-whaling nations are allowed to vote, it could be the beginning of the end for global whale protection. So we are urging all whale-friendly countries to assemble at the IWC ready to fight once again to save the whales.”

Other top IWC priorities for Humane Society International include:

  • A marine plastic pollution draft resolution by the European Union that, if adopted, will provide critical IWC support for international negotiations on a global plastics treaty to tackle the serious threats to cetaceans including entanglement and ingestion, both of which can also lead to strandings and death.
  • A proposal to establish a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. The IWC has considered this proposal many times at past meetings, but it has consistently been blocked by pro-whaling nations. However, due to climate change and the biodiversity crisis, establishment of this sanctuary is increasingly important for the continued survival of marine mammals and our oceans.
  • A food security proposal by Gambia, Guinea, Cambodia, Antigua and Barbuda, countries very closely aligned with Japan. None of these countries provide any evidence that they rely on whale meat for subsistence or national food security. Conversely, whales kept alive in the ocean may provide financial and therefore food security and poverty alleviation to communities reliant on whale watching income, as well as contributing to healthy fish stocks as marine ecosystem managers.
  • A newly developed Cetacean Welfare Assessment Tool which will be presented at the meeting. We foresee this tool being extremely useful for our work and others for assessing welfare threats and solutions.
  • The fate of Greenland hunts, especially of killer whales which are in need of a full population assessment, harbour porpoises which may be overhunted especially when combined with the threat of bycatch, and narwhals which are being excessively hunted causing changes to life history and population dynamics. The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission has recommended a zero-hunting quota stating that narwhals in Greenland are at “high risk of extirpation of the stocks if harvest at any level continues.” The 2022 hunting quota for narwhals in Greenland is 50. Atlantic white-sided dolphins are also hunted in high numbers in Greenland, Norway, Newfoundland, Canada and the Faroe Islands (where direct take is especially high and has occurred without a full assessment).

ENDS

Media contact: Wendy Higgins, director of international media for HSI/UK: whiggins@hsi.org

Notes

Of the 90 species, 12 subspecies and 28 subpopulations of cetaceans that have been identified and assessed to date, 22 are listed as Critically Endangered, 22 as Endangered and 16 as Vulnerable.

This World Animal Day, give the gift of an amendment of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to India, organizations urge as they continue to demand #NoMore50 for animal cruelty

Humane Society International / India

Darren Mower/iStock

NEW DELHI—On World Animal Day, Humane Society International/India and People for Animals have jointly launched a multi-state billboard campaign as they continue to demand an amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Started in 2016, the #NoMore50 campaign seeks an amendment of this outdated law to better address animal cruelty and abuse in the country.

“A community is best able to protect itself when it is able to protect the animals who are a part of it. Research has established the link between violence against animals and violence against humans. A holistic approach to a safer society, for women, for children, includes an effective law protecting animals against cruelty. Through these billboards, we continue to urge the Government of India to table the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 2022 bill in the upcoming winter session of the Parliament,” says Alokparna Sengupta, managing director, HSI/India.

The billboards, which are placed in Delhi (Patel Chowk and Lodhi Road), Mumbai (Nariman Point) and Hyderabad (Kavadiguda and Khairatabad), carry well-shot images of indie dogs, elephants and cats with witty pop-culture references.

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act was enacted in 1960 to replace colonial-era legislation and sought to prevent the infliction of pain and suffering on animals. However, the law has not been updated in the last 62 years and is inadequate to address animal welfare concerns in the present day.

Currently, the maximum penalty for even the most heinous form of animal abuse—including poisoning stray dogs, brutally beating them to death or burning them alive—is a petty Rs.50.

“The highest courts of the country, the Law Commission, several eminent jurists have all recommended an amendment to the PCA Act,” says Gauri Maulekhi, trustee, People for Animals. “This much-needed amendment will help our police to take effective action and enable the judiciary to deliver justice,” she adds.

Use your power at the till point to help the animals who feed our nation

Humane Society International / South Africa

Erin Van Voorhies

CAPE TOWN, South Africa— Sunday, 22 Oct. 2022 is World Farm Animals Day, an opportunity for members of the public to recognize the suffering and climate impacts of the approximately 88 billion land animals who are bred, raised and slaughtered globally for human consumption each year. This year, while animal protection organization Humane Society International/Africa works with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and industry bodies to improve the welfare of these animals, the organization also calls on the public to use their purchasing power and make conscious consumer choices.

Despite farmed animals playing such a significant role in human lives, most people have little knowledge of how those animals actually become their food. Over the years, the methods used to raise animals have changed significantly, and the idyllic image of farms with animals on green pastures has given way to a massive industry in which animals are intensively confined, seen as commodities and raised in a way that has negative consequences for both animals and humans.

Animal agriculture is one of the most significant contributors to climate change, representing more than 16.5% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions globally, which is on par with all forms of transportation combined. It is also the single largest anthropogenic user of land and a major driver of deforestation, species extinction, land degradation, exhaustion of water resources and pollution. The increasing demand for animal feed is also a major driver of the loss of habitat, biodiversity and the destruction of rural livelihoods.

If the implications of intensive animal production appear this dire for people and the planet, the consequences for the animals can only be described as horrendous. Animal production has been optimized in whatever way the pursuit of profits sees fit. Selective breeding, unnatural diets, castration, tail-docking, debeaking, amputation without anesthetics, the routine use of prophylactic antibiotics, long distance live transport and industrial scale slaughter are some of the common inhumane practices that animals on farms face. In many cases the conditions in which farmed animals live their pathetic lives deny them even their most basic needs such as stretching their limbs, running, flapping their wings, foraging for food, mud and dust bathing, natural reproduction and other everyday behaviors.

This happens on South Africa’s doorstep. Nearly 70% of the 135 000 sows in South African production systems are confined to crates and more than 90% of the 27 million egg-laying hens in the country are housed in small wire battery cages, giving each hen less than an A4 piece of paper’s space. Studies show that the intensive confinement of these animals not only cause them physical pain but also great psychological stress.

Further, crowded and unhealthy conditions in which animals are kept, whether on farms or during live transportation, present the ideal environment for zoonotic diseases to spread, potentially raising the risk for future pandemics. Industrial agriculture and livestock farming also promotes intensive use of agricultural chemicals which could affect food quality, human and environmental health.

Candice Blom, farmed animal welfare specialist for HSI/Africa, says South Africa is an animal-loving nation. We are exceptionally proud and protective of our diverse wildlife, and we express great outrage towards cruelty inflicted upon companion animals. It is tragic then that the same mercy is not shown for the over 1 billion farmed animals who are bred and slaughtered in South Africa every year, many in horrific conditions. The mass production of animals for meat, eggs and dairy has grave consequences for the animals, people and the planet but is largely ignored and even disguised. Decades have passed without material amendments of legislation to improve the welfare standards for farmed animals. HSI/Africa hopes that acknowledging a day dedicated to farmed animals and raising awareness of the lack of welfare in our intensive animal production facilities will help increase South Africans’ consciousness about where their food comes from. This day also serves as an opportunity to call on government, producers and industry bodies to urgently transition towards a sustainable food system that is not premised on systemic animal cruelty. “

World Farm Animals Day stemmed from the birthdate of the late Mahatma Gandhi who lived and worked in South Africa for 21 years, fighting against injustice and discrimination. He was an outspoken advocate of non-violence – towards both human beings and animals. The unimaginable suffering of farmed animals in South Africa’s industrial production systems should not continue unnoticed. South Africans have the opportunity to improve farmed animal welfare now and in the future by assuming responsibility at the till point and purchasing higher welfare products and/or alternatives to animal-proteins. The increase in demand for higher welfare products will encourage the government to enforce anti-cruelty legislation and the agricultural industry to commit to environmentally sustainable food production systems not premised on cruelty.

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Media contact: Leozette Roode, media and communications specialist for HSI/Africa: LRoode@hsi.org ;  0713601104

 

No meaningful action from the EC on EP’s resolution despite the once-in-a-decade opportunity presented by the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability

Humane Society International / Europe

unoL/iStock.com

BRUSSELS— Just one year following the adoption of a groundbreaking resolution by the European Parliament to reduce the use of animals in scientific experiments asking the European Commission “to set reduction goals […]through a more proactive implementation of the current regulations on the safety of chemicals and other products”, Humane Society International is calling on European executives to use the revision of the EU’s chemical legislation to deliver on the MEPs’ request.

More than 10 million animals each year are used in laboratories around Europe for research and testing procedures that can cause them agonizing pain and suffering. The number of animals used in experiments in the European Union is not decreasing, and as the European Parliament resolution highlighted, the EU is not properly equipped to achieve the mandatory goal of replacing animals in research, regulatory testing and education.

In the next few months, the Commission will publish proposals for revising the key chemical management laws such as REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals), CLP (classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures) and Cosmetic Products. This legislative package proposed as part of the EU’s Chemical Safety Strategy represents a unique opportunity for proposing a coherent and efficient strategy to reduce the use of animals in chemical testing through the wider use of more efficient and ethical approaches.

Aviva Vetter, Humane Society International’s senior manager for cosmetics, says: “Although current binding legislation prescribes the end of animal testing, at present no operational plan with a timeline, targets, indicators and milestones is in place. Present legislation does not indicate cut-off dates for achieving progress towards the end of animal testing. The compulsory objective to achieve total replacements is therefore weakened by the absence of an operational plan.”

Humane Society International also urges the Commission to close the existing loopholes between REACH and the Cosmetic Products Regulation which still allow animal testing to be carried out for ingredients solely used in cosmetics, despite a mandatory ban being placed in 2013. Illustrating the strength of public opinion on this subject, about 1,4 million signatures have recently been collected through the “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics” European Citizens Initiative , which calls on Member States to implement a full ban on animal testing for cosmetic products and their ingredients.

New Approach Methodologies, which describe non-animal advanced methods, offer a variety of opportunities in terms of safety, competitiveness, growth and employment which are currently being missed to the benefit of other countries such as the U.S. and Singapore, which are leading in research and innovation with NAMs.

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Media contact: Cassie Bodin-Duval, international coordinator media relations, cbodinduval@hsi.org ; +32 (0) 469 149 469

Campaigners deliver petition names to Downing Street, as Labour and Liberal Democrat spokespeople write to Defra Secretary in support of a fur import ban

Humane Society International / Europe

Alice Russell

LONDON—A week after a senior Conservative MP told Politico that the government intends to drop plans to ban cruel fur and foie gras, campaigners from animal NGOs Humane Society International/UK,  FOUR PAWS UK, and PETA have gathered outside Downing Street to hand in a petition with over 300,000 signatures. Launched earlier this year by TV conservationist Chris Packham, the petition was today handed in to Prime Minister Liz Truss calling on her to end the “obscene double-standard” that allows these products of cruelty to be imported and sold in UK shops. The petition is also delivered just days after wildlife and conservation groups including the National Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds accused Liz Truss of “an attack on nature” for weakening environmental rules.  
 
Fur farming has been banned on ethical grounds across the UK since the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act came into force in 2003, and force feeding of geese and ducks to produce pâté de foie gras is similarly illegal. However, the UK currently permits trade in both fur and foie gras. Since the fur farming ban took effect, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs records indicate that almost one billion pounds worth of cruel fur has been imported from countries including China, Italy, Finland and Poland. The petition urges Liz Truss to “send a global message that we will not trade in such disgusting cruelty.” 
 
In May 2021 the government launched a Call for Evidence on the UK fur trade, with the stated intention of using the findings to inform possible future action. The consultation had received almost 30,000 responses when it closed in June 2021. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has completed its analysis of the results but despite Ministers publicly confirming these findings would be released, it has still failed to do so more than a year later. 
 
In parallel with the petition hand-in, Shadow Animal Welfare Minister Ruth Jones MP and Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron MP have sent letters to Defra Secretary of State Ranil Jayawardena, each stating their party’s support for a fur import and sales ban and urging the government to release the findings of the Call for Evidence.

Ruth Jones MP said: “It was a Labour government that banned fur farming in 2000, blazing a trail that now 18 other countries have followed. Untold millions of animals have been spared lives of misery thanks to these bans. The next logical step is for the UK to lead the way on a fur import ban, closing UK borders to the cruel and dangerous fur trade. Government policy should be based on evidence, so surely it should be a simple job for the results of the Call for Evidence to be released and an informed policy position to be taken. Drip-feeding unevidenced U-turns to the press is a dismal way to run the government.”

Tim Farron MP said: “We are a nation of animal lovers, and how we treat animals is a measure of our humanity. The Liberal Democrats stand firm on animal welfare issues and are proud to support calls to end the UK’s complicity in the cruel global fur trade by banning the import and sale of fur.”

Each year more than 100 million animals suffer and die for their fur, the majority (around 95%) spending their entire lives trapped in barren wire cages measuring just one metre square. Injuries and disease are common on fur farms, as are animals displaying signs of psychological distress.

Chris Packham said: “There is no place in modern Britain for fur or foie gras, both of which are products of appalling cruelty. We don’t allow the freedom of choice to import elephant ivory, or whale meat, or seal, dog or cat fur, because all these things are unutterably immoral. So too is causing animals enormous pain and suffering for frivolous fur and foie gras.”

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, said: “Almost 80% of British people agree that fur should not be imported and sold here, and given fur’s plummeting popularity with designers and retailers, it certainly isn’t going to be playing any part in the prime minister’s ambitions for booming economic growth. Moving ahead with a fur ban is an opportunity to reassure people that the government’s trade strategy has a moral compass, in line with voters’ expectations. No government should underestimate how much animals matter to the British people, and ending trade in products so cruel their production is already banned here, is an easy way for Liz Truss to demonstrate she understands that.”

Sonul Badiani-Hamment, FOUR PAWS UK country director, said: “Given Liz Truss’s determination to recklessly backpedal on every commitment made to British voters, we are uniting with Chris Packham and the opposition parties to send a firm message to Downing Street that we will be the thorn in their side until they start delivering for animals. We’re demanding they make public the responses to the 2021 UK fur trade Call for Evidence. But for this government, that seem to have forgotten their electoral mandate and to whom they answer, even a request for a transparent evidence-based approach is too much. Animals Matter to our climate, our health, our economy and to us, the British public, and we will not allow Liz Truss and her cabinet to forget this.”

Elisa Allen, PETA vice president of programmes, said: “The government has long promised to close our borders to cruelly produced foie gras and fur by implementing an import ban on both—legislation that is welcomed by everyone in this country except the inherently selfish. Any backtrack on these promises would betray both animals who desperately need a caring and the public, which has made its opposition to these items clear.”

National polling carried out in April 2022 shows that over three quarters (77%) of British voters think the government should ban the importation of animal products where the production methods are already banned in the UK, such as fur. 
 
The petition hand-in comes as across Europe, more than 70 NGOs have joined together to support the “Fur Free Europe” European Citizens’ Initiative which calls for an EU-wide ban on fur farming and the import of fur products. The ECI petition was launched in May this year and has gathered more than 336,000 signatures to date.  

Download Photos  

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Notes: Polling was run on the Focaldata platform. Data was collected from a nationally representative sample of 10,018 adults between 11th and 20th April 2022.   
 
Media contact:  Sally Ivens, senior media manager, HSI/UK: sivens@hsi.org 

Campaigners urge Romania to become 20th country in Europe to ban cruel fur farming

Humane Society International / Europe

HSI in Romania

BUCHAREST, Romania—Romania is being urged to become the 20th country in Europe to ban fur farming following revelations from an undercover investigation by Humane Society International/Europe which uncovers serious animal welfare concerns. Following discussion with HSI/Europe, deputies from the National Liberal Party have submitted a bill to Parliament to ban mink and chinchilla fur farming, and HSI/Europe has submitted its dossier of investigation evidence to Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă with a formal request for the government to introduce a national fur farming ban.

In the first ever exposé of chinchilla fur farms in Romania, filming by HSI/Europe reveals animals confined in small, filthy, wire mesh cages stacked three or four on top of each other, in windowless “farm” rooms, with piles of excrement accumulating under each cage. Baby chinchillas are seen struggling to walk on the wire cage floor, their legs slipping through the mesh, and adult chinchillas are filmed frantically chewing at the bars.

Chinchillas were housed individually (except when rearing young) despite being highly social creatures, and provided just a fraction of their species’ natural range in the wild—they can jump as high as one metre, and horizontally up to two metres. HSI’s investigator was told females are forced into a cycle of almost perpetual pregnancy, which can start again just several hours after giving birth. Fur farms employ an unnatural and likely stressful polygamous breeding system which allows the same male to have access to, and breed with, up to 10 females who are fitted with neck braces or collars to prevent them escaping their own cage during mating. Several fur farmers were also filmed holding chinchillas upside down by the tail, a practice that goes against veterinary advice due to the risk of tail snapping.

The investigation breaks as across Europe, EU citizens in their thousands are signing a European Citizens Initiative calling for an EU-wide ban on fur farming. The ECI must achieve one million signatures to trigger a response from the European Commission.

Andreea Roseti, Romania country director for Humane Society International/Europe, said: “This investigation provides shocking evidence of the deprivation these animals are suffering in Romania for the fur industry. Such cruelty brings shame on Romania and we hope that our investigation marks the beginning of the end for the fur industry here. I am sure that most Romanian citizens will be horrified to learn that hidden from view, thousands of gentle chinchillas are suffering in silence for the sake of frivolous fur fashion items that nobody needs. There is no future in fur farming in a modern, compassionate society. That is why 19 countries across Europe have fully banned the practice.

We are calling on Romania’s Prime Minister Ciucă to act swiftly with a comprehensive ban on fur farming of all species, to stop this atrocious suffering in the name of fashion. Top designers and manufacturers across the globe are shunning fur, and soon we hope the fur industry will be consigned to the history books. This is Romania’s chance to be on the right side of history.”

Unlike mink fur farming where animals are housed in rows of cages in field units in rural areas, chinchilla farming in Romania typically takes place in a room or even a basement of a building in more residential areas. The deprived conditions HSI/Europe found, fail to meet the very basic Five Freedoms of animal welfare as well as the requirements of Council Directive 98/58/EC. HSI’s investigation also raises questions about the methods used to kill chinchillas in Romania. A number of the fur farmers told HSI’s investigator that they break the animals’ neck, a practice not listed as an authorised killing method for chinchillas (Council Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009). One fur farmer showed the investigator his homemade gas chamber he had constructed using a pressure cooker, and another revealed chinchilla carcasses stored in a freezer.

Professor Alastair MacMillan, a veterinary consultant who viewed the footage, said: “The factory farm style caging in which these chinchillas are forced to exist, piled high floor to ceiling, fails to meet almost every measure of the internationally recognised Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare. Chinchillas are naturally very sociable animals, yet on these fur farms they are kept in solitary caging. They have a strong desire to run, jump, burrow, forage for food and regularly take sand baths, and yet their tiny cages with only the very minimum of enrichment, means they are unable to exhibit these natural behaviours to any meaningful extent, which must cause them significant frustration and psychological distress. Having to stand for long periods on wire mesh floor will cause pain and injury to their delicate feet and is clearly a physical challenge for the young kits. Cervical dislocation—breaking the animal’s neck—is an entirely unsuitable method of killing chinchillas, and if these animals are routinely being killed this way, as some of the fur farmers admit, that will surely be an horrific end to a miserable life.”

HSI’s analysis shows that a fur farming ban in Romania would have minimal economic impact because the industry has been in considerable decline for some time. Farmers told HSI’s investigator that pelt prices had fallen steeply from 40 euros to 25 euros each, and that the farming of chinchillas was not economically viable as a full-time occupation. One chinchilla farmer commented that in the past he was producing 4,000 pelts a year, but now it is closer to 1,500 pelts. In 2013, Romania produced 200,000 mink, 30,000 chinchilla and 2,000 fox pelts, exporting 1,585,098 euros worth of fur garments. In 2021 the value of exports dropped to just 762,359 euros and recent statistics show pelt production halved to 100,000 mink and 15,000 chinchilla. Financial information seen by the investigator shows that Romania’s two remaining mink farms reported zero profits every year from 2014 to 2021 and employ just 46 people at the farms.

Although the fur market is in decline, chinchilla fur items still come with a high price tag. A chinchilla fur lined coat by Yves Salomon retails at Harrods in the UK for £12,600. Spanish homeware website Dentro Home, which ships to the UK, is selling a chinchilla throw for 124,950 euros. Chinchilla fur is also used by Fendi and Loro Piana.

Fur facts:

  • More than 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year worldwide—that is equivalent to three animals dying every second, just for their fur.
  • Fur farming has been banned in 19 European countries, including Malta, Ireland, Estonia, France, Italy and most recently on 22nd September 2022, Latvia. Political discussions on a ban are also underway in Lithuania, Spain and Poland. A further two countries (Switzerland, Germany) have implemented such strict regulations that fur farming has effectively ended, and three other countries (Denmark, Sweden, Hungary) have imposed measures that have ended the farming of certain species.
  • In Denmark, only 1% of fur farmers applied for state aid to re-start business if the temporary fur farming ban is lifted after December 2022. Mink farming is also being phased out in the Canadian province of British Colombia. The UK was the first country in the world to ban fur farming, in 2003.
  • Outbreaks of COVID-19 have been documented on over 480 mink fur farms in 12 different countries in Europe and North America since April 2020. Fur also comes with a hefty environmental price tag including C02 emissions from intensively farming carnivorous animals, the manure runoff into lakes and rivers, and the cocktail of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, such as chromium and formaldehyde, used to preserve the fur and skin to stop it from rotting.
  • An increasing number of fashion designers and retailers are dropping fur cruelty. In the last few years alone, Canada Goose, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Chanel, Prada and other high-profile brands have announced fur-free policies.

Download video and photos from the investigation

ENDS

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

Notes: filming took place between April and October 2021 at four chinchilla fur farms in Transylvania, as well as neighboring regions to the north and south.

Animal protection groups release new report urging legal loopholes be closed

Humane Society International / Europe

Errey Images/iStock.com

BRUSSELS/Munich—The European Union continues to be a main hub and destination for stolen wildlife from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania. A new report released today by Pro Wildlife, Humane Society International and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Stolen Wildlife: The EU—a destination for wildlife traffickers, exposes European complicity in this illegal trade. EU citizens are not only involved in the smuggling of nationally protected wildlife, but helping to perpetuate the market for these animals.

While the European Union is one of the biggest importers of animals destined for the exotic pet trade, only a very small fraction of the species in this trade are actually covered by international and/or EU legislation. However, many species in trade, which are protected in non-EU countries under domestic legislation, have nonetheless been caught in the wild and exported in violation of the country of origin’s national law. This is the case with the Philippine sailfin lizard and the glass frog species from Latin America, popular targets in the exotic trade at present.

Dr. Sandra Altherr, Head of Science at Pro Wildlife, says: “In their quest to own unique wild animals, wealthy exotic pet keepers in Europe are driving the global trafficking of rare species. Wildlife smugglers are openly selling illegally acquired animals at European trade shows in the full knowledge that they can get away with it because of the loopholes in the EU legislation. With each rare lizard fetching up to thousands of Euros, big money can be made with virtually no legal risks.”

Ilaria Silvestre, Head of EU Policy & Campaigns at IFAW says: “The Internet is a major channel for directly connecting traders and clients from all over the world. It is the ideal platform for criminal animal traders. The online trafficking of protected species, which is partly fuelled by the promotion of exotic pet ownership and interactions on social media, poses a huge challenge for enforcement authorities. Illegal wildlife trade, both online and in physical markets, is increasingly targeting rare wild species that are not protected by the EU legislation, and this is a contributor to the catastrophic biodiversity loss seen globally.”

Dr. Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for Humane Society International/Europe says: “It is time for the EU to act. Its recent Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 shared many good words about halting global biodiversity loss. Now it must turn those words into concrete deeds. The European Commission will soon deliver its revised Action Plan Against Wildlife Trafficking. This is a golden opportunity  to tackle this form of illegal wildlife trade and to develop supplementary legislation to criminalise the trade in wildlife  taken for the pet trade in violation of other country’s laws.”

Stolen Wildlife: The EU—a destination for wildlife traffickers provides detailed case studies from Cuba, Brazil, Morocco, South Africa and the Philippines, it also provides an overview of attempts made by range states to protect their unique biodiversity, for example, by tabling several proposals for the upcoming CITES Conference of Parties meeting in Panama to restrict the international trade in their endemic species.

The three animal and wildlife protection organisations are calling for EU  action to introduce a law to prohibit the import, sale, purchase and possession of wildlife that has been illegally sourced in its country of origin. This demand has also been repeatedly backed by the European Parliament over the past few years, in several adopted resolutions that urge the European Commission to deliver such legislation.

Download the Full Report

ENDS

Media contacts:

Humane Society International / Canada

Foxes on a fur farm
We Animals Media

MONTREAL—Kelly Butler, HSI/Canada wildlife campaign manager, issued the following statement, reacting to images released from a Québec fur farm investigation:

“We were deeply disturbed by the images appearing in the media of foxes and mink on fur farms in Québec. Such images underscore the urgent need for governments and the public to bring the cruel and outdated fur farming industry to an end.

“In fur farms, wild animals—primarily minks and foxes—are intensively confined in cramped, filthy cages, denied the most basic of their needs. These inhumane and overcrowded conditions may also promote the proliferation of zoonotic diseases including COVID-19. We are calling on the Québec Government to follow the lead of British Columbia in taking action to end fur farming within its borders. To date, over 20 countries have taken action to prohibit or severely restrict this cruel, high-risk and needless industry.”

END

Media contact: Kelly Butler, wildlife campaign manager: kbutler@hsi.org

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