This momentous decision will save countless elephants from being snatched from their families and natural environment, says Humane Society International at CITES CoP18 in Geneva
Humane Society International / Global
GENEVA—Wildlife experts from animal protection charity Humane Society International are celebrating a momentous win for elephants at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), where delegates have just affirmed in plenary the decision to limit the controversial trade of wild-caught African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to zoos
The European Union presented a series of amendments to last week’s decision which would allow trade of wild-caught elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to zoos only if approved by the CITES Animals Committee, in consultation with the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, an expert group that has publicly stated it does not believe there to be conservation benefits to wild caught elephants being sent to captive facilities. The amended text was passed by a vote of 87 in favour, 29 opposing and 25 abstaining.
Notably, the United States opposed both the original and amended proposal.
Audrey Delsink, wildlife director at Humane Society International/Africa says: “This is a momentous CITES decision for Africa’s elephants and despite compromised language being introduced by the EU, we are relieved by its passing. While it is disappointing that it is not an outright ban on trade in live elephants, the new language adds vital independent oversight and scrutiny. Speaking personally as an elephant field biologist I am jubilant that we have secured this victory for all the elephants who will now be spared the ordeal of being ripped away from their families. The capture of wild African elephants for export to zoos and other captive facilities is incredibly traumatizing for individual elephants as well as their social groups. Public sentiment is shifting, and people are increasingly outraged at the senseless and cruel practice of snatching baby elephants from the wild to live a life as a zoo exhibit.
“Countless elephant experts, animal lovers and celebrities from around the world urged countries to end this injustice by affirming the CITES ban, and we are so glad that our collective voices were heard. The definition of what is an appropriate destination is key, and the independent oversight by elephant specialists is critical, and so we will remain vigilant as that discussion develops, and fight against any attempts to justify or prolong trade in live baby elephants for captive purposes. We are extremely grateful to Kenya and the African Elephant Coalition for their efforts to protect wild African elephants.”
African elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana are currently listed on Appendix II of CITES with an annotation that allows live elephants to be exported to “appropriate and acceptable” destinations. Under this definition, Zimbabwe has been capturing live baby African elephants in the wild and exporting them to zoos in China and elsewhere.
The practice has been highly controversial, drawing the condemnation of animal protection and conservation groups as well as elephant scientists who note that elephants are complex creatures who suffer both physically and psychologically as a result of captivity.
During the CITES conference, conservationist Dr Jane Goodall issued a statement of concern, and a host of celebrities such as Joanna Lumley, Ricky Gervais, Judi Dench, Pamela Anders and others submitted an open letter to European Union officials, calling on them not to oppose the CITES ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants ripped from their families and shipped off to foreign zoos.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
United Kingdom: Wendy Higgins, whiggins@hsi.org +44 (0)7989 972 423
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Humane Society International / Global
CITES
GENEVA—Tropical rainforests in Central America will continue to be plundered for tiny translucent glass frogs to supply the pet trade in Europe and elsewhere, after a proposal for international trade controls failed at the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), largely due to the 28 countries in the European Union voting against protections. Glass frogs have become popular in the pet trade due to their unique transparent skin which shows their internal organs. The proposal to give glass frogs Appendix II protection lost by just one vote, and animal protection charity Humane Society International hopes there may yet be a chance to secure the necessary votes in plenary later this week.
The European Union is a key destination for amphibian and reptile species such as glass frogs, iguanas and geckos—animals that are popular in the exotic pet trade. This trade is often illegal and, even when it is legal, is harmful to wild populations. More than 30,000 live reptiles were confiscated from the EU between 2001 and 2010, and glass frogs are regularly sold on the internet and at reptile and amphibian fairs in Europe. Yet, despite the European Union’s role as a major consumer of glass frogs, the voting bloc failed to support protections for animals negatively impacted by European demand.
The proposal from Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras to give trade protections to 104 species of glass frogs received overwhelming support from the majority of other countries that are home to the species in Latin America, but failed to reach the 2/3 majority required to be successful. It was opposed by the 28 countries in the EU.
Grettel Delgadillo, deputy director of Humane Society International/Latin America, says: “The international pet trade threatens the very survival of glass frogs and many newt species such as the crocodile newt and Asian warty newt, which are also collected for food. Glass frogs are astonishingly beautiful, almost entirely transparent creatures which is why they have soared in popularity in recent years, regularly advertised for sale on the internet for buyers in the United States and Europe. Yet this trade is slowly killing off populations so it is a major blow to conservation efforts on the ground and around the world that CITES parties failed to better protect these creatures. This failure is in large part due to the European Union’s shameful opposition; the EU is a huge consumer of glass frogs for the pet trade and therefore directly contributes to this species’ demise.”
A proposal by China, Viet Nam and the European Union seeking to protect 40 currently unlisted newt species also in high demand for the pet trade succeeded.
Humane Society International commends the proponent governments for seeking to bring the greedy pet trade in amphibians under CITES control but regrets the EU did not see fit to give CITES protection to the glass frogs.
The decisions will need to be approved in a plenary session at the CITES meeting on August 27/28.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1-202-360-3532
Goodall sends plea to EU; follows open letter from Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Brigitte Bardot, Pamela Anderson, Thandie Newton, Evanna Lynch, Virginia McKenna, Joanna Lumley and Bryan Adams
Humane Society International / Europe
JGI
GENEVA–World-renowned conservationist Jane Goodall Ph.D., DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, and UN Messenger of Peace, has issued a heart-felt plea to the European Union not to overturn a ban passed this week at the CITES wildlife trade conference in Geneva that would end the capture of baby African elephants from the wild for export to zoos and circuses in China, the USA and elsewhere.
The ban was voted on and passed by the required 2/3 majority vote in Committee I of CITES largely because the EU was unable to vote due to a procedural issue (it had not yet filed its credentials). However a representative for the European Commission took to the floor to speak against the ban, and with its credentials now in order, the voting bloc of 28 looks set to oppose the decision in the plenary next week.
Dr. Goodall said: “This is to say that I am absolutely shocked at the thought of capturing young elephants, taking them from their families, and sending them off to a future which will inevitably involve a great deal of trauma and suffering. The bonds between infant elephants and their mothers are as strong and enduring – in some cases more so – as those between human children and their mothers. To break that bond is cruel and inhumane. I cannot imagine any caring person agreeing to such an unethical proposal and I hope with all my heart that the EU will not vote against the provisional decision taken in CITES with a two thirds majority.”
Dr. Goodall’s message to the EU follows an open letter signed by a host of stars such as Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Evanna Lynch, Bryan Adams, Virginia McKenna, Thandie Newton, Pamela Anderson, Peter Egan and Jenny Seagrove. The letter was co-ordinated by Humane Society International, the Born Free Foundation, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, World Animal Protection, and David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
Jeffrey Flocken, President of Humane Society International said: “The capture of African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to captive facilities is highly controversial. These highly social and emotional creatures can suffer physically and psychologically in captivity. There is no excuse for allowing this heartless trade to continue. As a 28-country voting bloc, the European Union’s vote is substantial and could easily overturn the decision if it chooses to oppose the ban. We hope EU leaders take heed of Dr. Goodall’s wise words and won’t condemn more elephant families to being ripped apart.”
Ian Redmond, tropical field biologist and conservationist who is renowned for his work with great apes and elephants, also expressed his opposition to the live elephant trade, saying: “Having studied elephants, I know how important an elephant’s childhood is – every elephant child learns how to thrive in their family’s habitat and that habitat benefits from the elephants. To separate a young elephant from his or her family for a life of social and sensory deprivation in captivity is bad for the captive, bad for the grieving family left behind, and bad for the habitat.”
At present, African elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana are allowed to be captured and exported to so-called “appropriate and acceptable” destinations based on the annotation to the Appendix II listing of their elephant populations. However, it is under these conditions that Zimbabwe has captured more than 100 live baby African elephants in the wild and exported them to zoos in China since 2012. If the EU supports the ban and it is voted through, such international trade in live wild African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana will cease and be limited to only “in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the species’ natural range, except in the case of temporary transfers in emergency situations.”
Photos, video and interviews
Wildlife experts from HSI attending CITES are available for interview on request. Photos and video of the baby elephant captures are also available here.
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Media contacts:
Humane Society International – Wendy Higgins, director of international media, whiggins@hsi.org, tel. +44 (0) 7989 972 423
Jane Goodall Institute – Shawn Sweeney, senior director of community engagement, ssweeney@janegoodall.org, tel. 703.682.9283
Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Brigitte Bardot, Pamela Anderson, Thandie Newton, Evanna Lynch, Virginia McKenna, Joanna Lumley and Bryan Adams call on EU leaders at CITES wildlife conference not to overturn ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants for zoos and circuses
Humane Society International / Europe
Carole Deschuymere/Alamy
GENEVA–Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Evanna Lynch, Bryan Adams, Virginia McKenna OBE, Thandie Newton, Pamela Anderson, Peter Egan, and Jenny Seagrove are among a host of compassionate personalities who have joined forces with animal protection and conservation groups including Humane Society International, Brigitte Bardot Foundation, The Born Free Foundation, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, World Animal Protection and the Species Survival Network, in signing an urgent Open Letter to EU officials calling on them to support, not oppose, a ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants, ripped from their families and shipped off to foreign zoos.
The ban was first voted on and approved earlier this week by a majority of countries attending the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Geneva, but the EU voting bloc of 28 is expected to attempt to overturn it at the plenary vote next week.
The full letter and list of celebrity signers and the organizations be read here.
Forty-six countries attending CITES voted to end the highly-controversial trade in wild-caught African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to captive facilities such as zoos in China and elsewhere. This represents an historic, landmark decision for elephants, who are social and emotional creatures and can suffer physically and psychologically in captivity. However, there is concern that the vote could be reopened at next week’s plenary meeting on August 27th and 28th and that the ban will be opposed by the European Union.
The ‘ban’ was passed by the required 2/3 majority vote in Committee I of CITES largely because the EU was unable to vote due to a procedural issue (it had not yet filed its credentials). The European Union – which spoke against the ban before the vote, and now has its credentials in order – looks set to vote against. As a 28-country voting bloc, the European Union’s vote is substantial and could overturn the decision if it opposes the ban. In that case, elephant families would continue to be ripped apart, and baby elephants condemned to a lifetime of suffering in captivity.
The letter reads: “Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey into captivity have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heart-breaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.”
We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish Presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range States, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts, and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.”
Speaking from the CITES meeting, Audrey Delsink, Humane Society International/Africa Wildlife Director and elephant biologist, said, “Elephants are highly sentient and social beings, and the loss of captured individuals causes sustained psychological trauma for both the captured elephant and the remaining family. Public opinion is shifting and people throughout the world are appalled by the capture of baby elephants from the wild for export to zoos. The EU must not turn its back on elephants.”
Will Travers OBE, President of the Born Free Foundation said, “The public are increasingly distressed at the plight of elephants in captivity and sanctuaries in the US, Brazil, Europe and elsewhere are now doing their best to care for numerous elephants that are being increasingly shed by traditional captive facilities in the West. If the EU scuppers this progressive and positive CITES measure next week it will demonstrate just how massively out of step EU leaders are with the compassionate views of its citizens.”
“France is supportive of this measure but most of the EU countries oppose the proposal although it would be an historic step forward for the conservation of the African elephant,” said Elodie Gérôme-Delgado, Programme Leader Wildlife Worldwide at the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. “We’re urging EU Member States to follow France’s lead as they have a unique chance today to put an end to a cruel and useless practice.”
Cassandra Koenen, Global Head of Wildlife not Pets at World Animal Protection said, “We urge the EU to protect these majestic animals. The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world. Elephants have suffered enough, and the absolute last thing we should subject them to is long, stressful transportation across the world, and unsuitable new homes in the name of entertainment.”
“This historic step could turn the tide on the brutal and torturous reality of the live trade in elephants. Elephants are sentient beings that belong in the wild, they are not a commodity to be traded to the highest bidder. The sooner we put the emotional wellbeing of the species before our own short-sighted financial gain, the sooner we will regain a small slice of our humanity,” said Karen Botha, Chief Executive of David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
If the ban is not passed next week, African elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana will continue to be allowed to capture and export live elephants to so-called “appropriate and acceptable” destinations based on the annotation to the Appendix II listing of their elephant populations. Under these conditions, Zimbabwe has captured more than 100 live baby African elephants in the wild and exported them to zoos in China since 2012.
If the EU supports the ban and it is voted through, such international trade in wild African elephant exported from Zimbabwe and Botswana will be limited to only “in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the species’ natural range, except in the case of temporary transfers in emergency situations”.
Photos, video and interviews
Wildlife experts from supporting NGOs are available for interview on request. Photos and video of the baby elephant captures are also available here.
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Media contacts:
Humane Society International – Wendy Higgins whiggins@hsi.org +44 (0) 7989 972 423
Born Free Foundation – Gemma Hook hook@pmwcom.co.uk+44 (0)7920 820 018
Alan Carr, Alesha Dixon, Bella Lack, Bill Bailey, Bonnie Wright, Brigitte Bardot, Bryan Adams, Dan Richardson, Deborah Meaden, Dougie Poynter, Evanna Lynch, Gordon Buchanan, Jenny Seagrove, Joanna Lumley, John Challis, Judi Dench, Kate Humble, Lauren St John, Leona Lewis, Lily Travers, Brendan Courtney, Marc Abrahams, Mollie King, Nicky Campbell, Pamela Anderson, Paul O’Grady, Peter Egan, Ricky Gervais, Robert Lindsay, Rula Lenska, Simon Pegg, Susie Dent, Thandie Newton, Virginia McKenna.
List of the animal and wildlife conservation organizations that support this sign-on letter:
Animal Welfare Institute
Born Free Foundation
Born Free USA
Brigitte Bardot Foundation
Eurogroup for Animals
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Fondation Franz Weber
Humane Society International
Pro Wildlife
Robin des Bois
Species Survival Network
The People and Earth Solidarity Law Network
World Animal Protection
Content of the Letter:
For the attention of Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, incoming EU Commission President, and Antti Juhani Rinne, Prime Minister of Finland and President of the EU Council of Ministers
PLEASE DON’T OVERTURN THE CITES BAN ON SENDING BABY AFRICAN ELEPHANTS TO FOREIGN ZOOS AND CIRCUSES
The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world.
This week, 46 governments attending the triennual Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in a landmark decision voted in committee to end the barbaric practice of capturing live wild-caught baby and juvenile elephants for this heartless trade. In doing so they voiced their overwhelming support for the 32 African nations who advocated for a ban on all such transports of live elephants, and restrict these transports exclusively to in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the African elephant’s natural range. An open letter by 55 elephant experts this week agrees entirely with this position.
Shamefully, the European Union wants to overturn this historic victory. The CITES Parties will still need to take a final vote next week and the EU intends to vote against the ban. If it does so the EU’s vote will condemn wild-caught elephants to a lifetime in unnatural captivity just so that zoos and circuses in the EU and elsewhere can continue to have a steady flow of live elephants from the wild.
Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heartbreaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.
We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range states, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.
It would be obscene for the EU to endorse snatching wild baby elephants and condemning these beautiful leviathans to a life of captive misery.
Humane Society International / Global
Adam Peyman/HSIAfrican elephant ivory products for sale in Tokyo, Japan
GENEVA—The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today confirmed its commitment to closure of domestic ivory markets agreeing by consensus to focus scrutiny on remaining legal markets like Japan and the EU. The discussions focused attention on markets that remain open with obvious concern regarding their contribution to illegal trade and poaching. In a positive step forward, Israel noted its recent announcement on closure of its domestic markets in elephant and mammoth ivory, and Australia announced its intent to close its market. The European Union stated that they will tighten regulations.
The previous meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2016 called on countries to close domestic ivory markets that are “contributing to poaching or illegal trade.” Some countries, notably Japan and the EU, have claimed that their markets were not known to be contributing to elephant poaching or illegal trade and have held out on taking action. Under today’s agreement, countries whose ivory markets remain open will now be requested to report on the measures they are taking to ensure that their domestic ivory markets are not contributing to poaching or illegal trade. Japan – which has a significant domestic ivory market and has been implicated in ivory trafficking to China – will be bound by this agreed decision, if affirmed by plenary next week.
A number of Parties, including several African elephant range States such as Gabon, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nigeria Angola and Liberia, reiterated that all legal domestic ivory markets create opportunities to launder illegal ivory contributing to poaching and illegal trade.
Iris Ho, Humane Society International’s senior wildlife specialist says: “It is a welcome reassurance that the CITES Parties recognize the necessity of and urgency for any remaining significant ivory markets, such as Japan and the European Union, to shut down their ivory trade. No country should be off the hook when a growing number of countries including China, the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom have adopted measures to restrict or ban their domestic ivory trade. We call on Japan to heed the recommendation of the CoP and close its domestic or intra-EU commercial ivory trade as soon as possible.”
Humane Society International warmly congratulates the governments of Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic for championing this proposal, as well as all 32 countries African Elephant Coalition for advocating for closure of domestic ivory markets worldwide. The agreement reached today will now go forward to the plenary of the conference for ratification on 27/28th August.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1-202-360-3532 (cell/WhatsApp)
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Humane Society International / Europe
Marcos Calvo Mesa/istock
Brussels – Bullfighting has returned to the Balearic Islands in Spain. The cruel spectacle, held at Mallorca’s Coliseo Balear on Friday 9th August, came in the wake of a Spanish Constitutional Court ruling that struck down legislative measures adopted by the autonomous community’s Parliament in July 2017.
Rather than explicitly banning bullfighting, the proposed amendments to the existing Balearic Islands’ Animal Protection Law introduced regulatory measures such as banning the use of sharp implements, limiting bulls to just 10 minutes in the ring and banning bull slaughter. Lawmakers adopted this strategy, which would make it more or less impossible to hold bullfights, after the 2010 Catalan bullfighting ban was annulled by a Spanish Constitutional Court ruling, which stipulated that regions do not have the autonomous power to ban bullfighting.
Humane Society International/Europe’s executive director, Ruud Tombrock, issued the following statement condemning the resumption of bullfighting in Mallorca:
“It is reprehensible that this much-disdained bloodsport is making a return to Mallorca after a two-year absence. The decision to revive the torment of bulls for public entertainment flies in the face of public opinion. It is an insult to both the Parliament of the Balearic Islands and the majority of this autonomous community’s population who strongly oppose bullfighting and did their utmost to end this anachronism. Spaniards are increasingly turning their backs on bullfighting, but – despite diminishing audiences and a decreasing number of bullfights being held – a powerful political elite doggedly continues to shore up this bloodsport by casting it as part of the country’s intangible cultural heritage.”
Facts
An opinion poll of Spanish citizens commissioned by HSI in 2013 showed that only 29% of Spain’s population support bullfighting (just 13% support it strongly). A total of 76% oppose the use of public funds to support the bullfighting industry.
In February 2016, the Balearic Islands Parliament voted in favour of a proposal to ban bullfighting and bull fiestas, which would have revised the Balearic Islands’ Animal Protection Law 1/1992 and made the Balearics the third Spanish autonomous community to ban bullfighting, after the Canary Islands and Catalonia. However, the bill came to a standstill in October 2016 when the Spanish Constitutional Court overturned Catalonia’s 2010 bullfighting ban and declared that the regions do not have the autonomous power to prohibit bullfighting.
In July 2017, Balearic Islands Parliament voted for legislative measures that included restrictions on the transport, origin, age and weight of bulls; a requirement for veterinary inspections; a ban on the use of sharp implements; a limit of 10 minutes of bulls ‘performing’ in the ring; a ban on the slaughter of bulls or their return to their ranch of origin afterwards; a ban on the use of horses at bullfighting events, and a ban on alcohol consumption at the events.
HSI supported the Mallorca Without Blood initiative, led by AnimaNaturalis and CAS International, which aimed to end bullfighting in the Balearic Islands, and was present at the Balearic Islands Parliament vote in July 2017.
Humane Society International / Europe
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Consumer, environmental and animal welfare organisations have come together to call on the new Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) to reject proposals that seek to prevent the producers of plant-based foods from using terms typically associated with meat or dairy, thereby banning widely-used and widely-understood terms such as ‘veggie burger’, ‘yoghurt style’ or ‘cheese substitute’.
Compassion in World Farming-EU, Eurogroup for Animals, European Environmental Bureau, European Vegetarian Union, FOUR PAWS, Humane Society International/Europe, ProVeg International, SAFE-Safe Food Advocacy Europe, The Good Food Institute Europe, and The Vegan Society signed a joint letter expressing their deep concerns regarding the proposed ban, which was included in a file forming part of the reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The organisations argue in the letter that consumers have long been accustomed to the use of such common-sense terms as ‘vegan sausage’ and ‘veggie burger’ to designate plant-based alternatives to meat, and that banning the use of those widely-understood terms would “result in confusing consumers and preventing them from making informed choices while purchasing products.”
Animal agriculture is a major greenhouse gas emitter, and experts agree that reducing global meat and dairy consumption could play a significant role in mitigating climate change. In light of considerable public support for policy action on climate change, the letter signatories also highlight that restricting the commercial speech of producers of plant-based products that are well known to have a lower environmental impact than their animal-based counterparts, would be counterproductive in achieving a greener CAP.
Finally, the letter points out that slowing down the development of plant-based alternatives would penalise the growing number of consumers looking for more sustainable food.
Alexandra Clark from Humane Society International/Europe said “During another heatwave that focuses our minds that we are in the midst of climate breakdown, it is madness that MEPs are spending valuable time on trying to limit the growth of the plant-based market by banning terms such as ‘veggie burger’ when instead they should be dedicated to making agricultural policy more sustainable and climate friendly. The European vegetarian and vegan food market has grown massively in recent years with consumers increasingly choosing to reduce or replace meat and dairy with plant-based options. Common sense terms like vegan sausage or cheese substitute have been used for years and it is absurd to suggest that banning them is in the best interest of consumers who are actively seeking out these products because they’re animal-free.”
Petitions against this proposal have now already gathered more than 80,000 signatures.
Brussels – Humane Society International/Europe and Humane Society International/Vietnam have cautiously welcomed the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in Hanoi on Sunday 30 June. While this trade deal offers little beyond cooperation, technical assistance and capacity building with respect to advancing animal welfare, it does have significant potential to protect wildlife, if resourced adequately.
Dr Joanna Swabe, HSI/Europe’s senior director of public affairs said:
“It is encouraging that the EU has succeeded in negotiating a trade deal that goes beyond the usual boilerplate commitments from the Parties to properly implement and enforce multilateral environmental agreements. The inclusion of provisions that require both the EU and Vietnam to actively take effective measures to reduce illegal wildlife trade, such as awareness raising campaigns, monitoring and enforcement measures, is an incredibly helpful tool to aid the global fight against wildlife trafficking. Likewise, we welcome the explicit commitment in the agreement to enhance cooperation between the Parties to increase species protection through proposing new listings on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) appendices. This move could help protect a variety of species from over-exploitation to supply, for example, the exotic pet trade. In this regard, we applaud the EU and Vietnam for already starting this cooperation by submitting proposals to list various salamander, gecko and newt species on CITES Appendix II at the upcoming COP18 meeting that will be held in Geneva this August.”
Phuong Tham, executive director of HSI/Vietnam added:
“Vietnam used to be one of the top countries rich in biological diversity. Unfortunately, Vietnam is facing “empty/silence forests” due to habitat loss, massive poaching and illegal wildlife trade originating from within or outside of our borders. Recent research indicates that Vietnam continues to serve as a source, consumer and transit country for the illegal wildlife trade (IWT). Limited enforcement capacity, equipment, resources and lack of cooperation among enforcement agencies are some of the key reasons why much wildlife trade goes unregulated and laws enforcement is not strong enough to combat wildlife crime. HSI/Vietnam hopes that, as a result of this trade agreement, the EU can help provide financial support for our government’s efforts to help curb the trade in wildlife products and to assist with demand reduction and enforcement by providing Vietnam with the training and tools it needs through development cooperation.”
Once the EU-Viet Nam trade agreement provisionally enters into force, both HSI/Europe and HSI/Vietnam intend to apply to join the respective Domestic Advisory Groups that will be established to allow civil society representatives to monitor the implementation of this free trade agreement.
Facts
In August 2018, the EU and Vietnam agreed on final texts for the EU-Vietnam trade and investment agreements. The agreement has finally been signed following endorsement by the Council of the European Union. Once the European Parliament has given its consent to the agreement, it can fully enter into force.
The Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter of the EU-Vietnam agreement includes commitments to the proper implementation and enforcement of multilateral environmental agreements, as well as provisions aiming to protect biodiversity and reduce illegal wildlife trade through information exchange on strategies, policy initiatives, programmes, action plans and consumer awareness campaigns, plus a commitment to enhance cooperation to increase species protection through proposing new CITES listings.
The EU and Vietnam have already jointly submitted proposals for the upcoming CITES COP18 meeting to list the follow reptile and amphibian species on CITES Appendix II:
All 13 species of gecko (genus Goniurosaura) distributed in China and Vietnam, including three endemic to Vietnam: G. catbanensis, G. huulienensis and G lichtenfelderi;
13 species of salamander (Paramesotriton) distributed in Vietnam and China, including a famous native species found primarily in Tam Dao national park, Paramesotriton deloustali;
Many species of newts, known as crocodile newts or knobby newts (Tylototriton) distributed in Southeast Asia and China, including one endemic to Vietnam, Tylototriton vietnamensis.
Rhino horn is valued in countries like China and Vietnam for purported medicinal benefits, although there is no scientific evidence to back these claims. Horn can be sold for high prices on the black market, but there are indications that the price has fallen recently in Vietnam, thanks in part to a campaign to reduce rhino horn demand launched in 2013 by HSI and the Vietnamese government.The multi-faceted campaign has reached an estimated 34 million people – approximately one third of the national population.
In 2016, HSI arranged the first-ever Pangolin Range States Meeting, co-hosted by the governments of Vietnam and the United States, and attended by over thirty pangolin range states in Vietnam. In September 2018, HSI in partnership with Forestry Administration of Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development conducted a national consultation to develop one National Action Plan on Pangolin Conservation.
Since early 2019, HSI, in partnership with Dong Nai Forest Protection Department and Department of Forest Protected Areas under Forestry Administration of Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has been implementing a project in Dong Nai to prevent and mitigate Human Elephant Conflict in a humane manner.
A Humane World: Kitty Block's Blog
Humane Society International / Europe
Good news in our work means animals thrive and we therefore celebrate it. That’s how it was for me this morning when I woke up to the report that there will be no whaling in Iceland this summer. Something my colleagues at Humane Society International and I have fought since Iceland resumed whaling in 2003.
That’s right. For the first time in 16 years, no whales—not endangered fin whales, not minkes, no whales at all—will die at the point of a whaler’s harpoon in Icelandic waters. That just makes my day.
Hvalur hf., the single Icelandic company that hunts great whales, decided not to carry out any whaling. In 2018, another firm, IP Útgerð, that takes minke whales, also halted whaling.
We’ll have to stay vigilant, however, because public policy in Iceland has not been of much help to us, despite the presence of elected officials who deplore the whaling industry and know what a smirch it is on Iceland’s reputation.
In February, Fisheries minister Kristján Þór Júlíusson authorized a continuation of fin and minke whale hunts until 2023, and Iceland’s Marine Research Institute has set a maximum yearly catch quota between 2018 and 2025 of 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales.
Iceland decided to resume whaling in 2003 in opposition to the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) 1986 commercial whaling ban. In 2018, Icelandic whalers harpooned 145 fin whales and six minke whales.
In our book, even one whale killed for high-end sushi is one too many, and the respite gives us some time and space to rev up our public outreach and our work not merely to limit whaling’s political and commercial influence in Iceland, but to drive it into the history books where it truly belongs.
Humane Society International / Europe
BRUSSELS—Humane Society International celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the historic European Union ban on trade in commercial seal products. The EU ban, a watershed event in the global campaign to stop commercial sealing, was adopted by an overwhelming majority in the European Parliament on 5th May 2009.
The impact of the EU ban — and of the many other seal product trade prohibitions that followed — is undeniable. Prices paid for seal fur in Atlantic Canada have declined by more than 70%, while 90% of licensed commercial sealers no longer participate in the slaughter because it is not profitable for them to do so. As a result, more than 3 million seals have been spared a horrible fate in the past decade alone. International prohibitions on the seal product trade contain clear exemptions for products of indigenous seal hunts.
Rebecca Aldworth, executive director for HSI/Canada, said: “Ten years ago, I watched firsthand as the European Parliament voted to prohibit commercial trade in seal products. In the minutes before the vote, images of so many suffering and dying baby seals kept flashing through my mind. When the vote was in, I knew that the beginning of the end of this brutal industry had just happened. As someone who has observed commercial sealing for 18 years, I will be forever grateful to the EU for its moral leadership and for saving so many seals from a horrible fate.”
Dr Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for HSI/Europe, added: “The adoption of the EU Regulation on trade in seal products was certainly an amazing landmark victory for animal protection, but this was not the end of the story. In the years that followed, the legislation was subjected to and, most importantly, withstood separate spurious legal challenges in the European Courts and at the World Trade Organization. Most importantly, the WTO Appellate Body ruled that, while the legislation needed tweaking, the EU was justified in banning the cruel products of commercial seal hunts on the grounds of public morality. By 2015, I found myself back in the European Parliament talking about seals again as a legislative proposal to amend the ban to make it fully compliant with WTO rules was considered by MEPs. Yet again, the seal product trade ban survived cynical attempts from opponents to water it down and thankfully the EU’s borders remain firmly shut to commercial seal products.”
FACTS
In 2009, the European Parliament voted 550 to 49 in favor of a strong ban on trade in products of commercial seal hunts. In 2010, the EU ban came into force.
The commercial seal hunt in Atlantic Canada has been the largest slaughter of marine mammals on earth, with hundreds of thousands of seal pups clubbed and shot to death each year.
The seals are killed primarily for their fur. The Canadian government notes that the pelts of young seals are the most valuable and not surprisingly, more than 98% of the seals killed each year are less than three months of age.
The commercial seal hunt in Atlantic Canada is conducted by commercial fishermen who, on average, earn a tiny fraction (less than 5%) of their annual incomes from killing seals. Today, only a few hundred fishermen participate in the annual slaughter.
Harp seals—the primary targets of the Atlantic Canadian commercial seal hunt—are ice-breeding animals, and climate change is fast destroying their sea ice habitat. According to Garry Stenson, section head for marine mammals for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, “We’re seeing two things: fewer animals pupping and when they do, there is a high mortality with it…The ice isn’t thick and it breaks up before the animal can survive on its own… We’ve been seeing years where ice mortality is very high. We’ve seen dead pups that have drowned. It has a big impact on mortality.”
To date, more than 37 countries—including the 28 Member States of the European Union—have prohibited trade in products of commercial seal hunts for conservation or animal welfare reasons.
Canada and Norway challenged the EU ban at the World Trade Organization. In 2013, the WTO upheld the right of the EU to ban the trade in commercial seal products on the grounds of public morality. In 2014, the WTO considered an appeal to that ruling. Although the WTO Appellate Body, once again, ruled largely in favour of the EU, the EU agreed to make minor amendments to the ban to achieve full compliance to WTO rules before 18th October 2015
The WTO ruling in seals set a legal precedent because it was the very first time that animal welfare has been recognised by the WTO as a legitimate public moral concern.
In September 2015, the European Court of Justice rejected an appeal brought by commercial sealing interests and some Inuit representatives with regard to the EU ban on trade in seal products. This appeal concerns a 2013 decision by the European General Court, which rejected the appellants’ request to find the legal basis and implementing measures for the EU ban on commercial seal product trade unlawful.
In October 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Union preserved the EU ban on commercial seal product trade by dismissing an appeal by commercial sealing and fur trade interests and some Inuit representatives. The appeal sought to overturn a 2011 decision from the European General Court that the applicants’ action against the EU ban was inadmissible.
A separate application to have the EU seal product trade ban overturned was rejected in April 2010.
