Humane Society International welcomes move but urges the company to commit to a ‘cleaner and clearer’ no fur policy
Humane Society International / Global
Nathan Hobbs/iStock.com
WASHINGTON—Canada Goose has announced in a new report that from 2022 it will no longer buy fur from trappers and instead will use reclaimed fur in its products. Animal protection organisation Humane Society International welcomes the announcement as ‘another nail in the coffin for the fur trade’ but hopes for a ‘cleaner and clearer’ no-fur policy from the company in the near future.
PJ Smith, director of fashion policy at the Humane Society of the United States, said, “While we congratulate Canada Goose for taking this step, and are happy to see yet another nail in the coffin for the fur trade, switching to ‘reclaimed fur’ feels like an unnecessarily long-goodbye for this company’s outdated relationship with fur; ultimately their future must be fur-free. We urge Canada Goose to make a cleaner and clearer commitment to sustainability by switching to bio-fake-furs, and closed-loop recycling of faux fur materials. We hope in the near future to see Canada Goose following the vast majority of top designers in cutting all ties with cruel and outdated fur.”
Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International/Canada, said, “Fur trapping results in prolonged animal suffering, amputation and death for target and non-target wild and companion animals. Notably, the traps used throughout North America are banned in many other countries for animal welfare reasons. Canada Goose’s announcement that it will shift from new to reclaimed coyote fur is a partial victory for animals. However, significant clarification is required about the company’s definition of ‘reclaimed fur,’ its certification methods and its timeline for implementation. Consumers must carefully scrutinize the implementation of this new policy but ultimately we urge Canada Goose to stop using animal fur entirely in favour of humane and environmentally friendly alternatives.”
Canada Goose is infamous for selling garments trimmed with coyote fur from animals caught in cruel leg-hold traps. The company’s continued use of fur has led to global criticism and protests from leading animal groups over the last decade.
Wild animals such as coyotes and wolves who are trapped for their fur, can languish in agony in cruel traps for hours or even days before dying from dehydration, starvation, attacks by predators or being killed when the trapper returns. Animals on fur farms fare no better; in addition to the physical and psychological torment of being confined in small, barren cages for their entire lives, the killing methods typically used on fur farms are equally distressing. Mink are killed by gassing, and fox and raccoon dogs are killed by electrocution.
Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States have long fought the global fur trade, eliminating the demand for fur products around the world by working closely with top designers and retailers to go fur-free and banning fur sales in cities and states. In the UK, HSI leads the #FurFreeBritain campaign to ban fur sales countrywide.
Since the beginning of 2017 alone Burberry, Versace, Gucci, Chanel, Coach, Donna Karan, Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s, Michael Kors/Jimmy Choo, Diane von Furstenberg, Columbia Sportswear, Farfetch, Yoox Net-a-Porter, Burlington, VF Corporation (Timberland/The North Face) Furla and Bottega Veneta, have all stopped using fur in their collections.
Indonesia, India, Vietnam among countries where wild animal markets pose a disease risk
Humane Society International / Global
Jayne Russell/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News
WASHINGTON —Wildlife campaigners across the globe from animal charity Humane Society International have called for an urgent worldwide ban on the wildlife trade after China’s announcement that it will prohibit the buying and selling of wild animals for food in light of the mounting threat associated with coronavirus. The capture, market trade, and butchery of wild animal species for human consumption happens across large parts of Asia and Africa such as Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and West, Central and East Africa, as well as in Latin America, says HSI, posing a very real threat of spreading zoonotic and potentially fatal diseases. Governments around the world must take China’s lead and shut down this trade for good. HSI leadership in South Africa, Nepal, India, South Korea, Canada, the United States, Australia, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica have joined the call for global action.
Jeffrey Flocken, HSI president, says: “China has taken decisive action to halt the wildlife trade for human consumption implicated in the global coronavirus crisis, but it would be a grave mistake for us to think that the threat is isolated to China. The capture and consumption of wild animals is a global trade that causes immense suffering for hundreds of thousands of animals every year, including endangered wildlife species being traded to the brink of extinction. The trade can also spawn global health crises like the current coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the deadly bird flu. Wildlife markets across the globe, but particularly in Asia and Africa, are widespread and could easily be the start of disease outbreaks in the future.”
In the north eastern states of India, wild species such as the Chinese pangolin and several species of wild birds are routinely sold for human consumption. Bengal monitor lizard meat is also consumed across India, driven mainly by the superstitious belief that the fat stored in the tail can cure arthritis, and meat from the Indian flap-shell turtle is also popular across the country, despite both species being listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. In some north Indian states, owl eyes are also consumed for their perceived medicinal benefits for human vision.
Indonesia also has hundreds of “extreme” animal markets where the conditions are the same as those described by scientists as the perfect breeding ground for new and deadly zoonotic viruses, such as coronaviruses. Wild animals are sold and slaughtered in public and unsanitary conditions. The trade takes place alongside that of dogs and cats which itself has already been shown to pose a risk of rabies transmission. In January this year, Humane Society International wrote to Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo as part of the Dog Meat Free Indonesia coalition, calling for urgent measures to ensure that Indonesia does not become the next point of origin of a deadly virus by tackling the risk posed by these animal markets.
Mr. Flocken adds: “We already know that dog and cat meat markets in Indonesia are a hotbed for disease transmission, and we also know from our investigations that rabies-positive dogs are being sold and slaughtered for consumption in these markets. Given that dogs are caged and slaughtered alongside wild animals such as snakes, bats and rats, Indonesia must surely take preventative measures now to ensure it does not become the next point of origin of a deadly virus. Similar risks can be observed in wild animal markets across the globe and especially in Asia and Africa. The trade in wildlife is a global crisis that calls for global action, now.”
Wild meat consumption is also an issue in Vietnam where wild pig, goat and bird species are eaten as well as softshell turtle, bear, snake, pangolin and civet, and snake wine is also consumed. A number of studies conducted in recent years reveal that a significant percentage of the Vietnamese population consumes wild animals.
Bush meat, including that derived from primates, is still consumed in many parts of Africa. Earlier this month, the Tanzanian government endorsed the establishment of butcheries specifically for the bushmeat trade. And in South Africa, approximately 12,000 lions are captive bred in deplorable conditions, to facilitate the export of lion skeletons to Southeast Asia for tiger bone wine. Lions are hosts for the tuberculosis (TB) virus, which can survive in bones ground to powder.
In Guatemala and El Salvador, meat from crocodile, iguana and other reptiles is often eaten during Lent despite it being illegal to do so.
This week, the National People’s Congress, the Chinese national legislature, elevated an originally temporary ban on wildlife trade for human consumption from an administrative action to the level of a national law. Specifically, the announcement, issued as an emergency measure, creates a comprehensive ban on the trade in terrestrial wild animals bought and sold for food, including those who are bred or reared in captivity.
Donald Trump Jr. was a speaker at the February convention
Humane Society International / United Kingdom
LONDON — As the UK government considers introducing a ban on hunting trophy imports and exports, an undercover investigation by Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States has exposed the sale of sickening pay-to-slay trips to kill iconic wild animals all over the world, including in England, Africa, Canada and Russia. Also on offer were grotesque wild animal products, such as belts and boots made of elephant, hippo, stingray and giraffe skins.
The shooting excursions and animal items were being sold by exhibitors at the world’s largest trophy hunting convention held in Nevada, USA, organised by Safari Club International. The event took place on February 5th – 8th, just over a fortnight before the UK government’s trophy hunt import / export ban consultation closes on February 25th.
Hunting trips for sale at the SCI convention included:
A $350,000 hunt for a critically endangered black rhino in Namibia.
An outfitter advertised its “Trump Special” – a $25,000 hunt for a buffalo, sable, roan and crocodile.
A captive-bred lion hunt in South Africa for $8,000.
A $6,000 hunt for any six animals that a customer can choose to kill in South Africa, such as zebras, wildebeest, warthogs, impalas, hartebeest, gemsbok, nyala, and waterbuck.
A polar bear hunt in Canada sold for $60,000.
An Asiatic black bear hunt in Russia for $15,000.
A Roe and Muntjac deer hunt in England for $7,000.
A red deer hunt in Scotland for $4,200.
Hunts of a range of animals in EU countries such as wild boar in Italy and Kri Kri ibex in Greece.
Some 45 hunting outfitter exhibitors from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Portugal, Spain and the UK were at the convention.
Jeff Flocken, president of Humane Society International, said, “Our shocking investigation shows that no animals are off limits to trophy hunters. From shooting giraffes, hyenas, zebras, elephants, hippos, primates and lions in Africa to deer, ibex and wild boar in the UK and Europe, the trophy hunting industry reveals its true nature – one that is motivated by the thrill to kill, and not by conservation.”
Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK said, “Any of the animal hunts offered at the SCI convention could easily have been bought by a UK hunter, and without an import ban they could then import those hunting trophies back to the UK. As bragging and trophy display is integral to the appeal, a comprehensive UK ban on imports and exports of hunting trophies would be a major nail in the coffin of this cruel and archaic industry. HSI urges the UK government to implement a ban as soon as possible.”
Records from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species show that a staggering 2,260 trophy parts from more than 50 CITES-listed species were exported to the UK between 2008 and 2017. The top five exporting nations were South Africa, Canada, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana. These UK imports included 565 trophies from African elephants, 303 from hippos and 265 from American black bears. The macabre haul included 262 ‘skins’, 249 ‘skulls’, 53 ‘feet’ and 16 ‘tails’.
Among the other items for sale at the SCI convention were boots made of giraffe skin ($1,390) and kangaroo skin ($1,080), and trips to hunt Asiatic black bears, giraffes, elephants, lions, hippos, and more. One outfitter said hunting a giraffe costs “only” $1,200 because they have “too many giraffes” and need to “get rid of the animals.” The truth is that giraffe numbers have declined by 40% in the past 30 years, plummeting to fewer than69,000 mature animals left in the wild.
For the second year in a row, the investigator found “canned” lion hunts for sale, where customers pay to shoot a captive-bred lion, violating SCI’s own ban that it implemented in February 2018. One vendor bragged that his safari company holds five of the top 10 lions ever recorded in SCI’s Record Book.
Among the featured speakers and entertainers at the convention were Donald Trump Jr. and the Beach Boys. A “dream hunt” with Donald Trump Jr. in a luxury yacht in Alaska to kill black-tailed deer and sea ducks was sold at auction at a whopping $340,000. A taxidermy ibex mountain goat that Trump Jr. reportedly killed was on display on the convention floor.
HSI believes that some animal product items on sale appear to violate Nevada’s law on wildlife trafficking. This is not the first time that vendors at SCI’s convention defied local authorities. Last year a dozen vendors were found selling illegal wildlife products in potential violation of the state law. HSUS and HSI have submitted evidence of the violations of state law to local enforcement authorities.
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.
Donald Trump Jr. will speak at the event taking place in Nevada, USA February 5-8
Humane Society International / United Kingdom
Video screen grabs from an undercover investigation at Safari Club International’s annual hunter’s convention in Las Vegas.
LONDON — Thousands of trophy hunters from around the world will gather next week in Nevada, USA, for the world’s largest trophy hunt convention, held by Safari Club International, at which trophy hunter Donald Trump Jr. is also scheduled to speak. One of the hunts up for bid is a black-tailed deer hunt with Trump Jr. in Alaska for $17,000.
The annual convention will feature approximately 870 exhibitors selling wildlife parts from animal heads to hides, as well as trophy hunting trips to kill animals including black bears, wolves, leopards and elephants. As the UK government conducts a consultation on introducing a ban on hunting trophy imports, exhibitors at SCI will offer hunts to kill Roe and Muntjac deer in England for $7,000, red deer in Scotland for $4,200, as well as a range of animals in EU countries such as wild boar in Italy and Kri Kri ibex in Greece. Wolf hunts in Macedonia and brown bear hunts in Russia will also be sold. Additionally, 45 hunting outfitter exhibitors from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Portugal, Spain and the UK will be at the convention. The SCI event takes place February 5 – 8.
Records from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species show that a staggering 2,260 trophy parts from more than 50 CITES-listed species were exported to the UK between 2008 and 2017. The top five exporting nations were South Africa, Canada, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana. These UK imports included 565 trophies from African elephants, 303 from hippos and 265 from American black bears. The macabre haul included 262 ‘skins’, 249 ‘skulls’, 53 ‘feet’ and 16 ‘tails’.
Jeff Flocken, president of Humane Society International, said, “The trophy hunting industry’s conservation claim is shattered by SCI’s promotion of and profit from killing rare and imperiled animals. Trophy hunting is a colonial hangover, it’s unethical, ecologically devastating, and inflicts cruelty on wild animals. British hunters buying hunts overseas and foreign hunters buying hunts in the UK both want to be able to bring their trophies home. A comprehensive UK ban on imports and exports of hunting trophies would be a major nail in the coffin of this cruel and archaic industry.”
Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said, “This annual event is the largest meeting in the world of people who celebrate the senseless killing, buying and selling of dead animals for bragging rights. As our planet suffers an extinction crisis, it is business as usual for the trophy hunting industry and SCI, who continue to revel in spending millions of dollars every year to destroy imperiled wildlife.”
According to reports, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi is slated to attend this year’s convention to accept an award. Last year, the government of Botswana lifted a ban on elephant hunting in the country, for which he received SCI’s praise, despite local and international backlash and opposition from elephant experts.
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 / United Kingdom
Pete urges fans to ditch fur, calls for UK fur sales ban after witnessing dead animals, tiny fox cubs and horrifically injured mink suffering on fur farms
Humane Society International / United Kingdom
LONDON–A new undercover investigation by TV’s Pete Wicks and animal charity Humane Society International/UK reveals deplorable conditions and distressing animal suffering on fur farms in Finland, a country that exports millions of pounds worth of fur to the UK. The investigation by HSI/UK in partnership with Finnish animal protection organisation OikeuttaEläimille found tiny fox cubs struggling to walk across wire mesh cage floors, dead mink and foxes, and animals suffering from untreated wounds including a live mink whose head was partially cannibalised by cage mates.
Pete Wicks recorded an emotionally-charged video for his fans showing footage from the farm. Pete told fans that fur farms are “far worse than I ever imagined,” and called the fur trade “cruel and disgusting.” Pete asked his followers not to buy fur, and shared HSI’s petition calling on the British government to ban fur sales in the UK.
Pete’s video and additional footage and images from from the investigation can be seen here.
If you are interested in interviewing Pete please contact Harriet Barclay, HBarclay@hsi.org
The UK banned fur farming in 2000 on ethical grounds, but since then has allowed imports of more than £820 million worth of fur from overseas, including Finland. Since the ban the UK imported more than £14 million worth of fur from Finland, and HM Revenue and Customs figures also show sizeable imports from a range of other countries such as Italy, France, Poland, China and Russia. In 2019 so far fur imports to the UK total £25.7million, including over £2.5million from China alone. Finland is by far the biggest ‘producer’ of fox fur in Europe, rearing and electrocuting around 2.5 million foxes every year for the global fur trade; only China farms more foxes globally.
The fur trade claims that the majority of fur farms in Finland are so-called ‘high welfare’, so HSI campaigners took celebrity supporter Pete Wicks to Finland to see for themselves. They found distressing animal suffering across all 13 of the fur farms visited between April and October 2019, with Pete accompanying them to two of those farms.
Pete Wicks said “Despite having seen lots of fur farm footage, nothing could have prepared me for the suffering I saw when I investigated fur farms in Finland with HSI/UK. It was sickening, I really don’t believe that anyone who has seen the state of these poor animals – terrified and trapped in tiny cages – would ever wear fur again. It is great that the UK banned fur farming, but it doesn’t make sense that we’re still selling fur from farms like the ones I visited in Finland. So I hope this new footage will help HSI/UK’s #FurFreeBritain campaign persuade politicians that fur cruelty should be banned from UK shop shelves.”
Finland is by far the biggest ‘producer’ of fox fur in Europe, rearing and electrocuting around 2.5 million foxes every year for the global fur trade; only China farms more foxes globally. UK fur imports are a double standard that HSI/UK through its #FurFreeBritain campaign is urging the government to address by introducing a ban on UK fur sales.
Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International/UK, who investigated the fur farms, said: “We saw a few hundred of the millions of foxes and mink trapped in miles of battery cages in Finland. These poor young animals exist only as vessels for their fur, as broken and tormented souls. We saw weeping eye infections, infected wounds, dead cubs and cannibalism; all of this suffering to provide a frivolous product that the fashion industry does not need. It’s important for consumers, designers and politicians to see that awful reality laid bare, that despite what the fur trade tries to portray on catwalks there is nothing glamorous about fur. As long as the UK allows British businesses to trade in fur, we are complicit in the cruelty. Britain was the first country in the world to ban fur farming, now it’s time for us to finish the job and become the first country in the world to ban fur sales too.”
Kristo Muurimaa of Finnish animal protection organisation Oikeutta Elaimille, who accompanied HSI/UK on the fur farm visits, and visited additional Finnish farms, said: “During my work as an investigator, I have visited almost a hundred fur farms in Finland and other countries. Sadly, the appalling things we witnessed on the investigation with HSI/UK are far from the exception. Small, barren cages and suffering of the animals are the norm in the fur industry.”
HSI’s petition calling for the UK government to ban UK fur sales can be signed here: www.hsi.org/FurFreeBritain
Fur facts:
In 2016 the value of fur imported into the UK was £55.6 million. A provisional estimate of the number of animal skins that equates to in that year is approximately 2,000,000.
Britain imports and sells the fur of a variety of species, including fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, raccoon dog and chinchilla. Fur imports from dogs, cats and commercial seal hunts are banned across the EU, and HSI wants those existing bans extended to protect all fur-bearing species.
Britain imports and sells the fur of a variety of species, including fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, raccoon dog and chinchilla. Fur imports from dogs, cats and commercial seal hunts are banned across the EU, and HSI wants those existing bans extended to protect all fur-bearing species.
Since the United Kingdom banned fur farming on ethical grounds in 2000, more than a dozen countries in Europe, including Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Norway, have legislated against the practice. The government in Ireland agreed, in June this year, to phase out fur farming and draft legislation to end the practice has also been presented to the parliaments of both Bulgaria and Slovakia this autumn. Several cities in the United States, including San Francisco, West Hollywood and Los Angeles have all introduced fur sales bans and a bill to outlaw the sale and manufacture of new fur products across the state of California was passed last week.
In addition to the physical and psychological torment of being confined in small, barren cages for the animals’ entire lives, the killing methods typically used on fur farms are equally distressing. Mink are killed by gassing, and fox and raccoon dogs are killed by anal electrocution.
An increasing number of fashion designers and retailers are dropping fur cruelty. In the last two years alone Prada, Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Burberry, Chanel and other high-profile brands have announced fur-free policies. In addition, online fashion retail platforms Net-A-Porter and Farfetch have introduced no-fur policies.
British Government under increasing pressure from #FurFreeBritain campaign to end UK fur sales after California’s historic ban
Humane Society International / United States
Jillian Cooper/iStock.com Wild mink
LONDON—California has made history today by becoming the first U.S. State to ban the sale of animal fur. Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 44 into law, banning all new fur sales and manufacturing in California. The law, which comes into effect in January 2023, has been welcomed by Humane Society International which hopes it will inspire fur sales bans around the world. In the United Kingdom, Humane Society International’s #FurFreeBritain campaign is urging the UK to follow in California’s footsteps by becoming the first country in the world to ban the sale of animal fur.
The United Kingdom, which was the first country in the world to ban fur farming on ethical grounds back in 2000, still allows imports of animal fur from other countries such as Finland, Poland and China.
Claire Bass, Executive Director of Humane Society International/UK, says, “California has made history by becoming the first U.S state to ban the sale of animal fur, signifying the growing distaste for fur products by consumers who want to see compassion in fashion. It is deeply immoral for animals to suffer miserable lives and painful deaths just to end up as a bobble hat or coat trim, and this ban sends a powerful message to the fur trade that its business model is unethical and its days are numbered. Now is the time for the UK to join the trailblazing to shut down markets for this cruel and outdated industry. We banned fur farming here two decades ago for being inhumane, but now we allow tens of millions of pounds of fur to be imported; by effectively outsourcing cruelty we’ve only done half the job. Our #FurFreeBritain campaign is calling on the British government to follow in California’s footsteps, and make the UK the first country in the world to ban the sale of animal fur.”
California’s bill was introduced by Assemblymember Laura Friedman last December and sponsored by HSI/UK’s sister organisation the Humane Society of the United States, and Animal Hope and Wellness. It passed six committees and the full Assembly and Senate with overwhelming support. It had many notable supporters among the fashion industry, including InStyle magazine, Stella McCartney, Diane von Furstenberg, 3.1 Phillip Lim, HUGO BOSS, Patagonia, H&M, GAP, J.Crew, Madewell, Des Kohan, Hiraeth and Inditex/Zara.
California’s ban increases the pressure on the UK government to ban the sale of animal fur in Britain. The #FurFreeBritain campaign, launched by HSI/UK, argues that if fur is too cruel to produce in Britain, it is too cruel to sell in Britain. The campaign, backed by celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench, Paloma Faith, Ricky Gervais and Thandie Newton, has strong cross-party political support with MPs Zac Goldsmith, John McDonnell and Jo Swinson in favour of a ban. A UK fur sales ban is also included in the Labour party’s animal welfare plan, published last month. Earlier this month Islington became the first London Borough to ban the sale of fur.
Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, says, ““The signing of AB 44 underscores the point that today’s consumers simply don’t want wild animals to suffer extreme pain and fear for the sake of fashion. More cities, states and countries are expected to follow California’s lead, and the few brands and retailers that still sell fur will no doubt take a closer look at innovative alternatives that don’t involve animal cruelty.”
Humane Society International expects more state-wide bans to follow quickly, as similar bills have been introduced in Hawaii and New York. Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Hollywood and Berkeley have already implemented fur sales bans.
Fur facts:
More than 100 million animals globally are reported to be killed every year for their fur. In addition to the physical and psychological torment of being confined in small, barren cages for their entire lives, the killing methods typically used on fur farms are equally distressing. Mink are killed by gassing, and fox and raccoon dogs are killed by anal electrocution.
An increasing number of fashion designers and retailers are dropping fur cruelty. In the last two years alone Prada, Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Burberry, Chanel and other high-profile brands have announced fur-free policies. In addition, online fashion retail platforms Net-a-porter and Farfetch have introduced no-fur policies.
Britain imports and sells the fur of a variety of species, including fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, raccoon dog and chinchilla. Fur imports from dogs, cats and seals killed during commercial hunts are banned across the EU, and HSI wants those existing bans extended to protect all fur-bearing species. In 2016 the value of fur imported into the UK was £55.6 million. A provisional estimate of the number of animal skins that equates to in that year is approximately 2,000,000 (1,720,000 mink, 110,000 fox, 90,000 raccoon dog and 80,000 skins from animals trapped in the wild, such as coyote, lynx, beaver and otter).
LONDON–Around the world, billions of animals suffer for our food, fashion, beauty and entertainment. Many of them lead deprived, miserable lives confined in unnatural conditions or are subjected to deliberate cruelty. It doesn’t have to be that way. By changing our lifestyles to make more compassionate choices, we can all be animal defenders. This World Animal Day on 4th October, global animal charity Humane Society International shares its top tips for preventing animal suffering.
1. Eat less / no meat and dairy
With more than 80 billion land animals reared and slaughtered globally for food every year, not to mention the nearly 3 trillion fish pulled from the ocean and countless more raised on aquatic factory farms, industrial scale animal agriculture is not only one of the biggest animal welfare issues on our planet, it is also one of the leading contributors to climate change and deforestation. For example more than a third of all British egg-laying hens are still locked up in cages, confined to a space not much bigger than a sheet of A4 paper.
By switching to a more plant-based diet, we can spare animals from suffering on factory farms, reduce water and air pollution, as well as help combat climate change through reducing the carbon footprint of our food choices, and conserve precious planetary resources. Moving towards a more plant-based plate also benefits our health as diets high in fruit and vegetables reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.
2. Choose cruelty-free cosmetics
Hundreds of thousands of animals still suffer and die each year around the world to test shampoo, mascara and other cosmetic products and their chemical ingredients. Terrified mice, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs have substances forced down their throats, dripped into their eyes or smeared onto their skin before they are killed. Cosmetic animal tests are archaic chemical-poisoning experiments devised more than half a century ago, such as rodent “acute toxicity” tests (1920s), rabbit eye and skin irritation tests (1940s) and guinea pig skin allergy tests (1950s). By contrast, modern non-animal methods are faster, more accurate at predicting human responses, and less expensive than the animal tests they replace.
HSI and our partners are leading the global effort to ban cosmetic animal testing in the world’s largest and most influential beauty markets. Our #BeCrueltyFree campaign has been instrumental in driving the European Union to become the world’s largest cruelty-free cosmetic market, and in securing subsequent bans in India, Taiwan, New Zealand, South Korea, Guatemala, Australia and in seven states in Brazil. Nearly 40 countries so far have banned cosmetics animal testing.
3. Say no to exploiting animals for entertainment
Around the world, many thousands of animals are exploited for entertainment, from the slow-death sadism of bullfights and cockfights to the neglect and mistreatment of captive marine and land-dwelling wildlife kept for display. The suffering of animals only continues for as long as the public pays to watch, so we can all help by not participating. Bullfights are not “fair fights,” but highly staged forms of government-subsidized animal cruelty that perpetuate the idea that the torment and killing of animals for amusement is acceptable, so please don’t attend these events when in Spain, France or elsewhere. Up to 8,000 lions suffer in captivity in South Africa, bred in appalling conditions for the lion cub petting industry in which tourists pay to bottle feed and take selfies with cubs. Ethical tourists have the power to shut down this industry by removing their custom. Wild animals in circuses, traveling shows and attractions often receive insufficient water, food and shelter, lack veterinary care, can be subjected to repetitive and stressful training, and can spend hours chained or confined. Camels, elephants, donkeys and horses used for tourist rides and safaris are often malnourished and physically abused, and suffer open wounds. Elephants are often stolen from the wild when young, illegally trafficked, broken after capture and punished with bullhooks. They are forced to carry excessive weight, suffer sores and diseases, and receive inadequate care. Whales and dolphins also suffer for entertainment – the natural habitat of orcas and other marine mammals simply cannot be replicated in captivity, and swimming with dolphins increases demand for captive animals, including from brutal “drive fisheries” such as the Taiji hunt in Japan.
4. Reject ‘delicacy’ meat
Across Asia, around 30 million dogs and 10 million cats are brutally killed for meat, most of them stolen pets or strays grabbed from the streets. In South Korea dogs are raised on farms and killed by electrocution; elsewhere in Asia they are usually bludgeoned, hanged or more rarely, boiled alive. In China, Vietnam and Indonesia, hundreds of dogs and cats can be crammed onto a single truck, driven for hours or days without water, food, protection from the extremes of cold and heat, and many suffering broken limbs, shock and disease. The World Health Organization warns that the trade, slaughter and consumption of dogs poses human health risks from trichinellosis, cholera and rabies. More than 70 million sharks are also killed annually for shark fin soup. The trade involves cutting off a shark’s fin, often while it is still alive, and dumping the animal back into the sea to die slowly. Don’t be tempted to eat shark fin soup, or dog or cat meat as “bucket list” items when travelling, as it merely perpetuates this brutal and often illegal trade.
5. Don’t wear fur
Millions of foxes, mink, raccoon dogs, rabbits and coyotes die every year for fashion. Confined in small, wire-mesh cages on factory farms or captured by painful metal traps in the wild, their fur is turned into frivolous keychain trinkets or trim on coats and hats. The average life span of an animal intensively farmed for fur is just eight months, after which mink will be gassed and foxes and raccoon dogs will be electrocuted. These terrible conditions can create psychological disorders, causing the animals to constantly pace and circle the boundaries of their cramped space, as well as fighting between cage mates and even cannibalism. Fur – and leather – are also incredibly polluting industries. The dressing and tanning processes, which stop the animal’s skin and pelt from decomposing as they would naturally do, use toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, cyanide, lead and chromium which can be released into waterways and devastate wildlife. These products are only natural whilst they are still on a living animal, after that the processes used to preserve and dress leather and fur are anything but earth-friendly. For the estimated 100 million animals killed for fur, life is typically a miserable existence. The future of fashion is compassion, with cruelty-free alternatives becoming more popular than ever with ethical consumers.
