Wildlife advocates applaud global wildlife convention’s decision to regulate international trade in the species
Humane Society International / Global
Michelle Riley/HSUS
GENEVA—The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today agreed to protect giraffes for the first time by listing the species on Appendix II, which will now regulate international trade in giraffe parts, such as hides, bones and meat. Today’s decision now moves forward to the plenary session for full ratification on 27/28th August.
Adam Peyman, Humane Society International’s wildlife programs and operations manager, said: “Securing CITES Appendix II protection for the giraffe throws a vital lifeline to this majestic species, which has been going quietly extinct for years. This listing could not come soon enough. CITES listing will ensure that giraffe parts in international trade were legally acquired and not detrimental to the survival of the species.
Humane Society International is concerned the giraffe has been in danger of suffering a silent extinction, because the 36-40% population decline it has suffered over the past 30 years has received insufficient attention.
Once ranging over much of the semi-arid savannah and savannah woodlands of Africa, today giraffe are only found south of the Sahara and only about 68,000 mature individuals remain in the wild. The species was recently classified as ‘Vulnerable’ to extinction by the IUCN. International trade in body parts of poached giraffes threatens the survival of Critically Endangered, Endangered, small and declining giraffe populations. Other threats include habitat loss, and civil unrest.
HSI’s Adam Peyman continues: “Although this new CITES listing won’t ban the trade in giraffe parts, it will for the first time provide critical measures to track and trace this trade, which in turn should produce the data needed to further protect this imperiled species in the future. With the wild population of giraffes having dwindled to around 100,000, in order to truly protect this species from being slaughtered into extinction for trophies and trinkets, we need CITES to update its definition of what constitutes international trade. It is absurd that the scourge of trophy hunting is not currently considered trade in wild species, despite its devastating impact, and we intend to push to see that change.”
Humane Society International has examined United States trade data and found that at least 33,000 giraffe specimens were commercially imported into the country between 2006 and 2015 and almost all were wild sourced. They included bone carvings, bones, skin and bone pieces. An undercover investigation conducted by Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States in 2018 illustrated this thriving trade in giraffe.
Humane Society International warmly congratulates the governments of Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Senegal for proposing the giraffe for listing and the other countries in the African Elephant Coalition for giving it their strong support.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Brigitte Bardot, Pamela Anderson, Thandie Newton, Evanna Lynch, Virginia McKenna, Joanna Lumley and Bryan Adams call on EU leaders at CITES wildlife conference not to overturn ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants for zoos and circuses
Humane Society International / Europe
Carole Deschuymere/Alamy
GENEVA–Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Evanna Lynch, Bryan Adams, Virginia McKenna OBE, Thandie Newton, Pamela Anderson, Peter Egan, and Jenny Seagrove are among a host of compassionate personalities who have joined forces with animal protection and conservation groups including Humane Society International, Brigitte Bardot Foundation, The Born Free Foundation, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, World Animal Protection and the Species Survival Network, in signing an urgent Open Letter to EU officials calling on them to support, not oppose, a ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants, ripped from their families and shipped off to foreign zoos.
The ban was first voted on and approved earlier this week by a majority of countries attending the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Geneva, but the EU voting bloc of 28 is expected to attempt to overturn it at the plenary vote next week.
The full letter and list of celebrity signers and the organizations be read here.
Forty-six countries attending CITES voted to end the highly-controversial trade in wild-caught African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to captive facilities such as zoos in China and elsewhere. This represents an historic, landmark decision for elephants, who are social and emotional creatures and can suffer physically and psychologically in captivity. However, there is concern that the vote could be reopened at next week’s plenary meeting on August 27th and 28th and that the ban will be opposed by the European Union.
The ‘ban’ was passed by the required 2/3 majority vote in Committee I of CITES largely because the EU was unable to vote due to a procedural issue (it had not yet filed its credentials). The European Union – which spoke against the ban before the vote, and now has its credentials in order – looks set to vote against. As a 28-country voting bloc, the European Union’s vote is substantial and could overturn the decision if it opposes the ban. In that case, elephant families would continue to be ripped apart, and baby elephants condemned to a lifetime of suffering in captivity.
The letter reads: “Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey into captivity have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heart-breaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.”
We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish Presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range States, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts, and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.”
Speaking from the CITES meeting, Audrey Delsink, Humane Society International/Africa Wildlife Director and elephant biologist, said, “Elephants are highly sentient and social beings, and the loss of captured individuals causes sustained psychological trauma for both the captured elephant and the remaining family. Public opinion is shifting and people throughout the world are appalled by the capture of baby elephants from the wild for export to zoos. The EU must not turn its back on elephants.”
Will Travers OBE, President of the Born Free Foundation said, “The public are increasingly distressed at the plight of elephants in captivity and sanctuaries in the US, Brazil, Europe and elsewhere are now doing their best to care for numerous elephants that are being increasingly shed by traditional captive facilities in the West. If the EU scuppers this progressive and positive CITES measure next week it will demonstrate just how massively out of step EU leaders are with the compassionate views of its citizens.”
“France is supportive of this measure but most of the EU countries oppose the proposal although it would be an historic step forward for the conservation of the African elephant,” said Elodie Gérôme-Delgado, Programme Leader Wildlife Worldwide at the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. “We’re urging EU Member States to follow France’s lead as they have a unique chance today to put an end to a cruel and useless practice.”
Cassandra Koenen, Global Head of Wildlife not Pets at World Animal Protection said, “We urge the EU to protect these majestic animals. The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world. Elephants have suffered enough, and the absolute last thing we should subject them to is long, stressful transportation across the world, and unsuitable new homes in the name of entertainment.”
“This historic step could turn the tide on the brutal and torturous reality of the live trade in elephants. Elephants are sentient beings that belong in the wild, they are not a commodity to be traded to the highest bidder. The sooner we put the emotional wellbeing of the species before our own short-sighted financial gain, the sooner we will regain a small slice of our humanity,” said Karen Botha, Chief Executive of David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
If the ban is not passed next week, African elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana will continue to be allowed to capture and export live elephants to so-called “appropriate and acceptable” destinations based on the annotation to the Appendix II listing of their elephant populations. Under these conditions, Zimbabwe has captured more than 100 live baby African elephants in the wild and exported them to zoos in China since 2012.
If the EU supports the ban and it is voted through, such international trade in wild African elephant exported from Zimbabwe and Botswana will be limited to only “in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the species’ natural range, except in the case of temporary transfers in emergency situations”.
Photos, video and interviews
Wildlife experts from supporting NGOs are available for interview on request. Photos and video of the baby elephant captures are also available here.
-ENDS-
Media contacts:
Humane Society International – Wendy Higgins whiggins@hsi.org +44 (0) 7989 972 423
Born Free Foundation – Gemma Hook hook@pmwcom.co.uk+44 (0)7920 820 018
Alan Carr, Alesha Dixon, Bella Lack, Bill Bailey, Bonnie Wright, Brigitte Bardot, Bryan Adams, Dan Richardson, Deborah Meaden, Dougie Poynter, Evanna Lynch, Gordon Buchanan, Jenny Seagrove, Joanna Lumley, John Challis, Judi Dench, Kate Humble, Lauren St John, Leona Lewis, Lily Travers, Brendan Courtney, Marc Abrahams, Mollie King, Nicky Campbell, Pamela Anderson, Paul O’Grady, Peter Egan, Ricky Gervais, Robert Lindsay, Rula Lenska, Simon Pegg, Susie Dent, Thandie Newton, Virginia McKenna.
List of the animal and wildlife conservation organizations that support this sign-on letter:
Animal Welfare Institute
Born Free Foundation
Born Free USA
Brigitte Bardot Foundation
Eurogroup for Animals
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Fondation Franz Weber
Humane Society International
Pro Wildlife
Robin des Bois
Species Survival Network
The People and Earth Solidarity Law Network
World Animal Protection
Content of the Letter:
For the attention of Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, incoming EU Commission President, and Antti Juhani Rinne, Prime Minister of Finland and President of the EU Council of Ministers
PLEASE DON’T OVERTURN THE CITES BAN ON SENDING BABY AFRICAN ELEPHANTS TO FOREIGN ZOOS AND CIRCUSES
The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world.
This week, 46 governments attending the triennual Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in a landmark decision voted in committee to end the barbaric practice of capturing live wild-caught baby and juvenile elephants for this heartless trade. In doing so they voiced their overwhelming support for the 32 African nations who advocated for a ban on all such transports of live elephants, and restrict these transports exclusively to in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the African elephant’s natural range. An open letter by 55 elephant experts this week agrees entirely with this position.
Shamefully, the European Union wants to overturn this historic victory. The CITES Parties will still need to take a final vote next week and the EU intends to vote against the ban. If it does so the EU’s vote will condemn wild-caught elephants to a lifetime in unnatural captivity just so that zoos and circuses in the EU and elsewhere can continue to have a steady flow of live elephants from the wild.
Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heartbreaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.
We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range states, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.
It would be obscene for the EU to endorse snatching wild baby elephants and condemning these beautiful leviathans to a life of captive misery.
Humane Society International / Global
Adam Peyman/HSIAfrican elephant ivory products for sale in Tokyo, Japan
GENEVA—The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today confirmed its commitment to closure of domestic ivory markets agreeing by consensus to focus scrutiny on remaining legal markets like Japan and the EU. The discussions focused attention on markets that remain open with obvious concern regarding their contribution to illegal trade and poaching. In a positive step forward, Israel noted its recent announcement on closure of its domestic markets in elephant and mammoth ivory, and Australia announced its intent to close its market. The European Union stated that they will tighten regulations.
The previous meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2016 called on countries to close domestic ivory markets that are “contributing to poaching or illegal trade.” Some countries, notably Japan and the EU, have claimed that their markets were not known to be contributing to elephant poaching or illegal trade and have held out on taking action. Under today’s agreement, countries whose ivory markets remain open will now be requested to report on the measures they are taking to ensure that their domestic ivory markets are not contributing to poaching or illegal trade. Japan – which has a significant domestic ivory market and has been implicated in ivory trafficking to China – will be bound by this agreed decision, if affirmed by plenary next week.
A number of Parties, including several African elephant range States such as Gabon, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nigeria Angola and Liberia, reiterated that all legal domestic ivory markets create opportunities to launder illegal ivory contributing to poaching and illegal trade.
Iris Ho, Humane Society International’s senior wildlife specialist says: “It is a welcome reassurance that the CITES Parties recognize the necessity of and urgency for any remaining significant ivory markets, such as Japan and the European Union, to shut down their ivory trade. No country should be off the hook when a growing number of countries including China, the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom have adopted measures to restrict or ban their domestic ivory trade. We call on Japan to heed the recommendation of the CoP and close its domestic or intra-EU commercial ivory trade as soon as possible.”
Humane Society International warmly congratulates the governments of Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic for championing this proposal, as well as all 32 countries African Elephant Coalition for advocating for closure of domestic ivory markets worldwide. The agreement reached today will now go forward to the plenary of the conference for ratification on 27/28th August.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1-202-360-3532 (cell/WhatsApp)
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Humane Society International / Global
Anagramm/iStock.com
This release has been corrected.
GENEVA—The first vote at the 18th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties has delivered a historic win for African elephants to end the cruel practice of removing live elephants from the wild for export to captive facilities. CITES is the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Iris Ho, senior wildlife specialist for wildlife programs and policy for Humane Society International, said: “This decision will save countless elephants from being ripped away from their families in the wild and forced to spend their lifetimes imprisoned in substandard conditions at zoos. HSI applauds this decision and calls on all Parties to affirm this decision at the plenary session next week.”
CITES Parties voted to limit trade in live wild African elephants to ‘in situ’ conservation in their natural habitats, which will end the trade in live wild elephants to captivity in zoos and entertainment venues, effectively ruling them unacceptable and inappropriate destinations. (CoP18 Document 44.2)
Forty-six countries voted in favour, 18 voted against and 19 countries abstained. This achieved the 2/3 majority for the proposal to pass in committee.
Audrey Delsink, director of wildlife for Humane Society International/Africa and an elephant biologist, said, “The export of live wild elephants serves no credible conservation purpose and is opposed by numerous elephant biologists. Elephants are highly intelligent, social animals with strong family bonds. The capture of baby elephants is horribly cruel and traumatic to both the mothers, their calves and their herds that are left behind. Calves suffer psychological and physical harm when taken from their mothers. Zoos and other captive facilities force these calves to live in an unnatural, unhealthy environment that does not meet their complex needs.”
The decision applies to the elephants in Botswana and Zimbabwe* with elephant populations on Appendix II of CITES, which has an annotation that permits this trade to “appropriate and acceptable destinations.”
Zimbabwe has captured and exported more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012. These calves, severely traumatized by being torn from their mothers, were subsequently abused through violent handling that included being kicked and beaten, and several have consequently died.
HSI warmly congratulates Burkina Faso, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan and Syria for putting forward this important proposal, which was backed by the 32 member countries of the African Elephant Coalition.
END
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1 518-487-0975 (cell and WhatsApp)
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
*An earlier version of this news release erroneously stated that the proposal affects elephants in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The proposal applies only to Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Humane Society International / Global
WASHINGTON—The Board of Directors of Humane Society International announced today that it has selected Jeffrey Flocken as its new president. Flocken, who has been the organization’s senior vice president for programs and policy since February 2018, succeeds Kitty Block, who became president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States earlier this year.
“I’m so pleased that Humane Society International will be led by my colleague Jeffrey Flocken,” said Block. “HSI’s work is so vital to the protection of animals around the globe, and we are fortunate to have Jeff leading the way.”
“I’m honored to have been selected to lead this tremendous organization and I look forward to the opportunity to continue working with our talented and dedicated team both at our headquarters in Washington and our country offices around the globe,” said Flocken. “The need to protect animals in a fast-changing world is a moral imperative, and the threats are only increasing. But while the work can be daunting, growing public awareness, concern and action give us all reason to be hopeful that we can meet these challenges head on. And HSI is the right organization for tackling these challenges.”
Prior to coming to HSI, Flocken was the head of North America for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, he worked on international wildlife conservation at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and he served as a director at Conservation International. In 2005, Flocken co-founded Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders, a training program for young conservation professionals around the world. He also co-authored the award-winning book Wildlife Heroes, and he is an active board member for EWCL, the Jaguar Conservation Fund of Brazil, GRACE Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center, and the IUCN Tapir Specialist Group.
A native of Michigan, Flocken graduated from the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School. He lives in Arlington, Va., with his wife Mary Crimmings, their daughter Collette, and rescue cat Dasher.
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Troubling news on former giraffe stronghold shows need for global protection
Humane Society International / Global
Donna Gadomski/HSI Giraffe in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, March 2019
WASHINGTON—Highlighting the need for global action to fight giraffes’ silent extinction, a body of scientific experts today declared giraffes in Kenya and Tanzania — called Masai giraffes — endangered.
Masai giraffes, one of nine giraffe subspecies, had long been considered a key population for the species. But today’s assessment by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature finds that these majestic animals are profoundly threatened by illegal hunting and land-use changes. The subspecies’ population has fallen by an estimated 49 percent to 51 percent in the past 30 years.
Adam Peyman, wildlife programs and operations manager for Humane Society International, said, “Masai giraffes have long had a robust wild population. An endangered assessment is an eye opener that signals the critical need for giraffe protections.”
Africa’s overall giraffe population has declined by up to 40 percent over the past 30 years. The species was assessed as “vulnerable” to extinction by the IUCN in 2016. That assessment was confirmed in 2018, and Masai giraffe now join reticulated giraffes as endangered; two other giraffe subspecies are critically endangered.
A proposal by several African nations to regulate giraffe trade will be discussed at a meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, next month in Geneva. The proposal has been put forward by the Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Senegal, and is supported by the 32 African nation members of the African Elephant Coalition.
Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said, “This shocking news about Masai giraffes is a call to action from prominent scientists. The international community needs to give giraffes the protection from exploitation that they so desperately need. We have to regulate the international giraffe trade or risk losing one of our planet’s most remarkable animals.”
While giraffe populations continue to wane, the species has become common in the wildlife trade. A Humane Society International report shows that the United States imported nearly 40,000 giraffe specimens between 2006 and 2015, in the form of hunting trophies, decoration items and knife handles, in addition to large shipments of live animals. The European Union is also a key consumer of giraffe products; online research detailed in the proposal records over 300 giraffe products for sale by sellers based in seven EU countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. The CITES listing proposal would regulate the giraffe trade for the first time.
With a recent international report having found that one million species face extinction due to human activity, it is critical to ensure that exploitation does not contribute to further declines, including that of giraffes.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Humane Society International and its partner organizations together constitute one of the world’s largest animal protection organizations. For more than 25 years, HSI has been working for the protection of all animals through the use of science, advocacy, education and hands on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide — on the Web at hsi.org.
Humane Society International / Global
World Branding Forum/Michael SeirerClaire Bass, Executive Director of HSI/United Kingdom, accepts the Global Animalis Edition Brand of the Year – Animal Protection award at the 2019 World Branding Awards by the World Branding Forum.
VIENNA–Global animal charity Humane Society International has been declared “Brand of the Year” at this year’s Animalis Edition of the prestigious World Branding Awards 2019, in recognition of its leading contribution to the protection of animals around the world. With programs in more than 50 countries, HSI challenges animal cruelty across the globe including Asia’s dog meat trade, trophy hunting in Africa, as well as factory farming, the fur trade, puppy farming and animal testing worldwide.
HSI was selected as the Animalis winner out of more than 800 nominated brands from 35 countries following a rigorous brand assessment including voting by 95,000 members of the public from around the world.
HSI’s UK director Claire Bass attended the ceremony held at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna to receive the award on behalf of the global HSI family. Bass said: “HSI is immensely proud to win Brand of the Year at the prestigious World Branding Awards in acknowledgement of our global campaigns to protect animals from cruelty and suffering. For the Animalis category to stand alongside awards for some of the biggest brands, demonstrates that campaigning for a humane world is now a mainstream endeavour and that our advocacy for animals, through legislative and corporate reform, consumer education and direct animal rescue, is something that people across the globe are supporting.”
Active on nearly every continent, Humane Society International is one of the few global animal protection organisations working to protect all animals—including animals in laboratories, animals on farms, companion animals and wildlife. HSI campaigns to help the greatest possible number of animals and to save those who are suffering from the most severe abuse, investing our time, effort and resources in ways that will make a real difference. With hundreds of thousands of supporters, HSI is a voice for all animals through public education, undercover investigations, animal advocacy, and working to prevent cruelty and promote compassion.
The World Branding Awards is the premier awards programme of the World Branding Forum, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing branding standards for the good of the branding community as well as consumers. The Awards recognise and celebrate some of the best global, regional and national brands for their work and achievements. There are three tiers of awards. The Global Award is presented to truly international brands that have a presence in 10 or more countries, on three or more continents.
The Animalis Edition, which HSI has been awarded, focuses on pet and animal-related brands, and sees the world’s best brands, organisations and charities recognised for their work and achievements in conservation, education, protection and welfare of animals. Previous winners of the Animalis Edition include the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, the Jane Goodall Institute and The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
Richard Rowles, Chairman, World Branding Forum, said: “This is a celebration of the continuous efforts that is vital to building outstanding brands. These brands have established strong brand recall, top-of-mind awareness and trust among their consumers. The Animalis Edition of the Awards are an acknowledgement to the tireless effort of the teams that build and maintain their brand presence in an ever-changing market in the pet and animal industry.”
Julian Andersen, Managing Director, World Branding Forum, said: “The world is full of brands, but a truly exceptional brand has to ensure that people know what they stand for. Being a winner at the Awards is very competitive. Brands that do win show that they have set the standard for what is expected of other brands to be at the top of their game. To be a winner at the Awards, a brand has shown that they have built themselves up to such a degree that they are placed amongst the best brands in the world.”
About Humane Society International
Humane Society International and its partner organisations together constitute one of the world’s largest animal protection organisations. For more than 20 years, HSI has been working for the protection of all animals through the use of science, advocacy, education and hands on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide – on the Web at hsi.org. With a presence in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latin America, Liberia, Mauritius, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam, HSI is continuing to expand its operations to help animals worldwide.
About the World Branding Forum
The World Branding Forum (WBF) is a global, non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing branding standards for the good of the branding community as well as consumers. This includes those who work in the branding, design, marketing, advertising, public relations and communications disciplines worldwide. The WBF produces, manages and supports a wide range of programmes covering research, development, education, recognition, networking and outreach. For more information, visit brandingforum.org.
About the World Branding Awards
The World Branding Awards is the premier awards of the World Branding Forum. The Awards recognises the achievements of the best brands in the world. Winners are selected based on brand valuation, market research, and online public voting. For more information, visit awards.brandingforum.org.
Humane Society International / Global
Cramped conditions, poor hygiene, stress, injuries and disease, minimal veterinary care and lack of genetic diversity all mean that fur farms create ideal conditions for viruses to be transmitted.
Humane Society International/Korea says closures of Moran and Gupo dog meat markets mark end of a gruesome era
Humane Society International
SEOUL – South Korean authorities have shut down Gupo dog meat market in Busan, notorious for being one of the country’s largest markets selling chilled dog meat as well as live dogs killed to order. More than 80 live but terrified dogs were rescued as part of a negotiated closure with the dog meat vendors who will be offered compensation to set up alternative businesses as part of a remodelling project to regenerate the area.
The dogs are now in the care of animal charities Humane Society International/Korea, Korean Animal Welfare Association, Korea Animal Rights Advocates and Busan Korean Alliance for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who worked with the authorities to close Gupo market. Busan’s Mayor Geodon Oh and the Head of Gu office, Myung Hee Chung, worked together with the dog traders to find a solution.
The closure of Gupo is the latest in a series of crack downs by officials on the cruel trade. In November last year, Seongnam city demolished Taepyeong, the country’s largest dog slaughterhouse, and closed down most of the related dog meat vendors. However, the closure of Gupo market is the first such closure where complete agreement has been reached between the vendors and local authorities.
Nara Kim, dog meat campaigner for Humane Society International/Korea (휴메인 소사이어티 인터내셔널) who attended the closure and rescue, says: “I cannot express enough my joy at helping to close down the dog meat shops and slaughterhouse at Gupo market. For decades they have stood as a very public symbol of the immense cruelty of the dog meat trade, with live dogs displayed in cages on the street for shoppers to select for slaughter by electrocution. The closure of Gupo’s dog meat market means the end of a gruesome era in South Korea’s dog meat history, and a sign of the times that law enforcement and local authorities are cracking down on this increasingly unpopular industry that most Koreans want nothing to do with. I know we have a long way to go to end the dog meat trade here, but even two years ago I would never have believed we would see such progress. It has been a pleasure to work with the Busan authorities, and especially in being able to save the last remaining dogs we found alive.”
At the height of business at Gupo in the 1970s and 1980s, the market housed around 60 dog meat shops but after the Seoul Olympic in 1988 it started to decrease. Just 17 dog meat vendors and two dog tonic (gaesoju) shops remained before today’s closure.
Humane Society International/Korea’s rescue team was on site to assist the closure and rescue with partners KARA, KAWA and Busan KAPCA. They found more than 80 mainly jindo mix dogs cowering in their cages, just a handful of the estimated 2 million dogs bred on thousands of dog meat farms across the country. HSI/Korea specialises in working with dog meat farmers to close down these farms and transition farmers to alternative, humane livelihoods. Increasingly, dog farmers are keen to exit the controversial trade due to societal shame, family pressure and decreasing profits.
HSI/Korea’s Nara Kim says: “The dog market scene was really upsetting, with dogs displayed in cages in front of each store. The smell was overwhelming. HSI has closed down 14 dog meat farms in South Korea and rescued nearly 1,800 dogs, all of whom would have ended up in a terrible place just like this. All the dogs at Gupo have been removed and transported to a temporary shelter where they will recover from their ordeal. A few will remain in Korea to find new homes, but HSI will fly all the others overseas to Canada or the United States to get the love and care they deserve before being placed with shelter and rescue partners who will seek adoptive homes.”
Kim Ae-ra, president of Busan Korean Alliance for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said: “We started anti-dog meat protests in front of Gupo dog meat market for the first time in 2007 and so we are deeply moved that the market will be the first complete shutdown of its kind in Korea.”
Yim Soonrye of Korea Animal Rights Advocates, said: “Dog slaughterhouses are collapsing one by one, from Seongnam Moran Market to Taepyeong-dong and Busan Gupo Market, and in addition Gyeonggi Province has introduced its own judicial polices to crack down on illegal dog slaughterhouses. This all shows that the Korean dog meat industry is starting to fall. As local governments are moving forward, the Korean government must also take action by closing all illegal dog farms, by the Blue House keeping its promise to exclude dogs from the legal definition of ‘livestock’, and by the National Assembly passing the proposed bill to end the dog meat industry before the end of next year’s session. We welcome the decision made by Busan Metropolitan City and the merchants of Gupo, and believe that the shutdown of Gupo dog market will be a major stepping stone towards ending dog meat in Korea.”
Cho Hee-kyung, president of Korean Animal Welfare Association, said: “The permanent shutdown of Gupo dog meat market is a long-awaited victory against animal cruelty in our campaign to end the dog meat trade in South Korea. We will now step forward to call for the shutdown of Chil-seong market, another large dog meat market in Daegu.”
Facts
Dog meat consumption is declining rapidly in South Korea, particularly among younger generations. A survey by Gallup Korea conducted in June 2018 shows that 70% of South Koreans say they will not eat dog meat in future.
Busan city has signed a closure contract with each dog meat vendor, contractually prevented from transitioning to other dog meat related businesses. The entire street of stores will be demolished.
The regeneration plan is due for completion by 2020 and will culminate in the launch of a community park.
Busan city veterinarians will give all the rescued dogs a health check, and further care and vaccinations will be performed by HSI and partnering local groups. Every dog will be tested for the presence of the H3N2 virus (dog flu), and vaccinated against rabies, DHPP, corona virus vaccines, distemper and parvo. The dogs will then be quarantined in Korea under the groups’ care before travel to Canada and the United States.
The decision by the Busan authorities to close the dog market at Gupo is the result of lots of factors, not least years of protests by local residents and Korean animal groups including CARE, and Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation.
Ricky Gervais, Stephen Fry, and Dr Jane Goodall, among stars urging G20 to act for whales
Humane Society International / Global
LONDON — Celebrities and animal conservation and welfare NGOs from across the globe are calling for an ‘international whaling intervention’ to be staged at the G20 summit in Osaka as summit hosts Japan prepare to launch a renewed commercial whaling programme.[1] The programme will see Japan openly killing sei, Bryde’s and minke whales for consumption with no pretence of science. [2]
Letters have been sent to all G20 leaders calling on them to publicly object at the summit to Japan’s commercial whaling intentions, and to deliver a joint declaration calling for the end to all commercial whaling globally. See the full letter here.
Celebrities Stephen Fry, Ricky Gervais, Dr Jane Goodall, Liz Bonnin, Steve Backshall, Virginia McKenna and Nicky Campbell, alongside more than 100 conservation charities and champions[3] within almost all the countries in the G20,[4] are backing pleas for international anti-whaling pressure to be placed on Japan.
BAFTA-winning English naturalist, writer and TV presenter, Steve Backshall, said: ‘It has taken the combined efforts of every nation on earth to bring whale conservation to the fore. At the G20 summit, our leaders need to talk to our friends in Japan, and let them know that – on this issue – they are deeply at odds with the rest of the world.’
Kitty Block, president of Humane Society International, said: ‘This week while one part of the Japanese government is proudly facilitating international cooperation by hosting the G20 meeting, another is quietly extricating itself from the obligation for global collaboration on the protection and management of the world’s whales.
‘Japan leaving the IWC and defying international law to pursue its commercial whaling ambitions is renegade, retrograde and myopic, it is undermining its international reputation for an industry whose days are so clearly numbered, to produce a product for which demand has plummeted. The IWC is maintaining its ban on commercial whaling for very good reasons and world leaders meeting in Japan this week should not turn a blind eye to the cruel assault planned on whales of the North Pacific.’
Dominic Dyer of Born Free Foundation, said:‘The fight to protect whales gave birth to the modern environment movement 50 years ago. Yet during a year where Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thurnberg and school children worldwide are challenging our leaders to tackle environmental decline, Japan is sending its whaling ships back to sea, within days of the hosting the G20 Summit.
‘There is no justification for whaling on scientific or economic grounds. World leaders should call on Japan to halt its commercial whaling plans and return to supporting global efforts to protect whales and their ocean habitats. If we fail to protect whales, the future for mankind and our planet will be very bleak indeed.’
There is no commercial or other pressing need for Japan to relaunch its whaling activity, with whale meat consumption in Japan down almost 99% from 1962 to 2017, when less than 4,000 tonnes were eaten.[5] But there is a huge need to prevent a further decline in whale numbers. The IWC international ban on commercial whaling, agreed in 1982, has helped great whale populations increase, saving several from extinction. Yet many whale populations remain low or endangered – and all whales face the huge threats of fishing-related deaths, ship collisions, climate change, and chemical, litter and noise pollution.[6]
With whales playing a key role in our marine ecosystems (including locking up carbon and providing nourishment for phytoplankton essential to ocean food chains) it is vital that Governments around the world help to protect them to keep our seas healthy.[7] G20 leaders have the ideal opportunity at the Osaka summit to echo public opinion on the need for Japan to end this cruel and unnecessary practice. Peaceful anti-whaling protest events will also be taking place in London, Edinburgh and other cities around the world on Saturday to draw attention to this issue.
Media contact:
Wendy Higgins, Humane Society International, Tel +44 (0)7989 972 423 whiggins@hsi.org
Emma Adler, Wildlife and Countryside Link, Tel + 44 (0) 20 7820 8600
Notes to editors:
Japan is leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC), effective 30th June 2019, and will be conducting commercial whaling in its own waters. It will take three species in its new hunts – sei, Bryde’s and minke whales.
Japan claims that its previous whaling programmes were scientific research and allowed under the convention that established the IWC, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. In a landmark case at the International Court of Justice in 2014, Japan’s scientific whaling was put on trial and the court found that it was not in conformity with the convention. Therefore, Japan’s new whaling programme in the North Pacific can be seen as a continuation of its previous activities and not the start of new commercial hunts.
Organisations supporting these calls in the UK include: Animal Defenders, Born Free Foundation, Campaign Whale, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Humane Society International, IFAW, Marine Conservation Society, MARINELife, ORCA, RSPCA, Whale and Dolphin Conservation
For a full list of the more than 100 organisations supporting the letter to G20 leaders, see the letter here
The members of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK, and USA.
Whale populations which have shown good signs of recovery since the moratorium has been in place include some of those of the humpback whale and the Southern Right whale. Whale species which have populations still severely at risk include the North Atlantic Right Whale and the North Pacific Right Whale. See the IWC Intersessional report 2016-2018 for more.
More information about the positive and important roles that whales play in marine ecosystems can be found here.
