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NEW: Click on members' blog to read a new blog entry by Sarah Ludford MEP on the illegal trade in tiger parts

We have a problem with killing joeys!
25 March 2010

This was the statement which an Australian Government research scientist (Dr. Steve McLeod) stated recently in an article about the killing of Australia's best known icon, the kangaroo.

 

Thought for years to be overrunning the country as a result of poor monitoring of the species and information to the public, the kangaroo is now facing a crisis. Each year, in one of the worst wildlife slaughters ever carried out, some 440,000 joeys or baby kangaroos are dying after the female is shot. The deaths of these joeys is regarded merely as a "by-product" of the killing of the adult kangaroos.

 

When it comes to kangaroos it could be understandable to think that they are not in any danger of becoming extinct because of what we are told, but to believe this would be wrong. It would be wrong because the population has dropped in the last eight years, in some cases by 64%, yet the killing goes on at the rate of some 3-4 million animals per year.

 

Each female killed is likely to have at least two young with her: one in the pouch and one at foot. Shooting the female will cause the young-at-foot to run off to face a certain death through starvation or predation. The pouch young have a worse fate. They will be ripped from the safety of the mother's pouch and then have their heads bashed in (like seals) with a blunt instrument. No monitoring of these numbers has ever been carried out.

 

 

Samples of kangaroo meat from supermarkets are regularly tested with frightening results. Two recent independent samplings show more that 50% was found to have above acceptable levels of salmonella bacteria present.  Russia has imposed an immediate ban on all kangaroo meat. This ban is still in place, yet we in the EU do not have that protection.

 

Kangaroos are shot in the bush, gutted and bled in the field then hung up on the back of an open truck all night before being loaded into chiller units prior to be taken to meat processing plants. These chiller boxes we are told, are checked regularly yet one inspector is reported to have said:- "Not a single chiller box has been found which is up to standard, with most  being unclean or uncleanable.” (Eddie Anndriessen, AQIS Meat Inspector, Australia).

 

Kangaroos who's skins are destined for the sports footwear trade are skinned in the field. Head shots are stipulated in the code of practice, but when this practice is carried out in the bush and heads and carcasses are dumped where they are skinned, how can effective inspections be carried out to ensure the code is being followed?

 

The 440,000 Joeys campaign calls for a total ban on the trade of all kangaroo products across the Union and asks for others to give their full support. We count on the support we have from MEPs, actors, writers and television personalities and over 7,000 citizens calling for this ban. The President of the European Parliament also expressed his full backing and support for the campaign.

 

For more information, visit: www.440000joeys.eu

 

Caroline Lucas
Chairwoman of the Intergroup

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president's blog - members' blog

Saving the tiger

23 February 2010

The tiger – the world’s most potent symbol of biodiversity – is in crisis. Only around 3,000 remain in the wild and these last remaining populations are in serious danger from habitat loss and poaching.

But all is not lost. 2010 is the Chinese Year of the Tiger, a symbolic time to redouble our efforts to protect this species and everything it stands for.

Despite being found in fourteen countries, more than half of the remaining tigers are in India.

As a result, India has become a focus for criminal networks which kill tigers and illegally smuggle their parts to China where they are used for decoration, luxury clothing and traditional medicine.

To make matters worse, tiger farmers in China are calling on their government to lift its ban on the trade in tiger parts so they can sell products from their captive bred animals. This would have a devastating effect on the remaining wild animals by stimulating a market which they can be laundered into.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What role can Europe play in the coming months? Well to begin with we can raise awareness of the issue and ensure that tiger products are not being bought and sold in our towns and cities, and ask people not to buy products containing tiger parts when abroad.

Secondly, Europe has a powerful voice on the international stage. We play an important role in many bodies which deal with biodiversity and the environment, including the UN’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Recently the European Parliament passed a strong Resolution in advance of the next CITES meeting in March 2010, calling on EU’s representatives to push for stronger protection of tigers, and to oppose any moves to allow the trade in farmed tigers.

Finally, Europe can support those international agencies which can help to deal with wildlife crime, including Interpol, UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Customs Organisation. These bodies can provide intelligence, training and coordination to officers and park rangers to help tackle the criminal networks behind the wildlife trade.

Saving the tiger is not just about saving a species, but about everything it stands for, the forests it lives in and the people which depend on them. It is symptomatic of how we treat the wider environment and our ability to deal with a whole range of environmental problems. If we cannot save the tiger, what can we save?

 

 

 

Sarah Ludford
British MEP (ALDE)

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president's blog - members' blog

My support for the online virtual march, "Making Animal
Testing History"
19 November 2009

The legislative process for the revision of the outdated EU Directive on the protection of animals used in scientific research is finally coming to an end with trialogue meetings being held between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission to find an agreement before the end of this year. Sadly, the omens are not looking good, and there is a need to re-double pressure on all players.

  

This is a good moment to remind decision makers about the main issues at stake in this revision process. They have been highlighted in a very original way by the on-line petition make animal testing history which was launched by the Dr Hadwen Trust, Four Paws and HSI in April 2009.

 

 An impressive number of about 70,000 citizens across the world have signed the online pledge and have created their own personalised character to join a mass cyber parade through Brussels towards the European Parliament.

  

The petition supports a revision of Directive 86/609/EEC without further delay, to better protect all animals used in EU research and testing and to implement a Europe-wide strategy to achieve the ultimate goal of replacing animals with modern, humane techniques.

 

The new legislation should provide, amongst others:

 

strategic direction to replace animals in research and testing through the compulsory use of existing alternatives, and the creation of EU and national facilities dedicated to advancing additional non-animal methods;

 

transparent systems of ethical evaluation and ethical review, application and authorisation, retrospective review and laboratory inspection reports;

 

an immediate ban on the use of great apes and wild-caught primates in experiments, and the phasing out of all experiments on non-human primates in line with European Parliament Written Declaration 40/2007;

 

regular reviews of animal protection rules, and public reporting on progress made towards reducing animal suffering and replacing animal methods.

 

 II support this pledge and would encourage everybody to join this virtual march.

 

http://www.makeanimaltestinghistory.org/

 

Caroline Lucas
Chairman of the Intergroup

The benefits of farm animal welfare
12 February 2009

The goal of farming is to produce safe, healthy food in sufficient amounts and at a price that is fair to both the producer and the consumer. For farmers, this means reconciling many factors: complying with standards and regulations, optimising productivity and production costs in a context of global competition, preserving the environment, exploiting new technologies, and adapting to changing consumer needs, preferences and demands.

Taking animal welfare into account is a focal piece in this complex puzzle. Farm animal welfare depends largely on how animals are fed, housed, treated, handled, transported and slaughtered.

Public concern and interest for this issue continues to grow. The concern stems from ethical considerations, but it is also closely linked to the concept that happy animals are healthy animals and that proper care leads to safer, better quality meat, eggs and dairy products. This is an uncontested benefit.

It is definitively possible to reconcile animal welfare and economic imperatives. Although some animal welfare measures increase the cost of production, this is counterbalanced by higher product quality and fewer losses due to disease or injury. The benefits of animal welfare should outweigh increased costs as the competitiveness of EU agriculture in the world is based on high quality produce. There are also ways to improve animal welfare without compromising productivity production costs.

It will be essential in the next future to further explore the economic and societal impact of animal-friendly measures and production alternatives and to increase consumer information in this regard.

Neil Parish
Chairman of the Intergroup

 

EU egg production

One of the questions that I am asked most often by voters is 'why does it take so long to get new laws adopted in the EU? They often do not realise that most MEPs are equally frustrated, but the fact is that there are a lot of stakeholders to be heard and many different views have to be taken into account before a final decision can be taken. In addition, long time-frames for implementation are often adopted.

It was therefore with some trepidation that I read a recent report by the European Commission about the EU ban on battery cages for egg production. Despite years of public campaigning, scientific studies and the availability of alternative systems, many in the egg production industry are still reluctant to abandon these cruel cages for fear of becoming economically uncompetitive.

I was relieved to read that the Commission remains committed to phasing-out the battery cage by 2012 in accordance with the wishes of EU citizens and their elected representatives in the European Parliament.

Clearly there is still important work to be done to ensure that EU egg production is not replaced by imports from battery systems in third countries, but the constructive way forward is to address those problems directly and not to try to re-open the debate on banning the battery cage.

Neil Parrish
Chairman of the Intergroup

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Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP

Carl Schlyter took over from Caroline Lucas MEP as Intergroup president in May 2010. He will be posting his first blog very soon.

 

president's blog - members' blog

Blog Archive

It's time to ban mink farming

10 December 2009

In nature, mink are solitary animals whose territories can often comprise several square kilometres. They like to live near water and are seldom found far from riverbanks, lake and marshes. In mink farms across Europe, however, these very territorial animals are kept in pairs in small wire cages of about 1 square meter. The only water they have access to, is the water they drink.

 

In the European Union, we like to think of ourselves as leading the way when it comes to animal welfare. Unfortunately, this is by far the case. Breeding for fur is an old European industry which has lived a quiet life at the expense of basic animal welfare principles.

 

In 2008, the EU accounted for more than half of all animal skins produced in the whole world. Eighty percent of these skins belonged to mink. My own country, Denmark, is the largest producer in the world of mink skin.

 

In contrast to many farm animals it is highly contested to what extent mink can be properly domesticated. Despite decades of mink breeding, these animals still have the same wild instincts as they had before the breeding began.

 

The breeding of mink in small cages violates fundamental animal welfare principles. I even leave out the discussion about the ethics of breeding and killing animals merely for the sake of using their fur for luxury products. 

 

Austria, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and some German Länder have already banned fur farming. The Netherlands has banned the farming of foxes and chinchilla for fur and a majority in the Dutch Parliament wants a ban on mink farming in the coming years. Italy has put in place strict conditions which make this business unprofitable in that country.

 

I fully support it when countries ban fur farming at national level. However, I do think we have to deal with this issue on a European level. Therefore, I believe it is time to ban mink farming in the EU. It would send an important signal to the rest of the world: Europe is not afraid to give priority to animal welfare even when it affects our own industry.

 

Dan Jorgensen
Danish MEP (S&D

Stray dogs in Europe

As stray dogs may carry diseases that can easily spread between the animals and even from dogs to humans, they are a pressing problem in almost every country of the European Union. However, killing stray animals cannot be the solution as any killed dog is quickly replaced by another. Responsible alternatives are to vaccinate, de-worm and castrate the dogs, which includes registering and tagging them with a collar and metal plate. To realize this in a proper way, a European solution is necessary.

In 2006, the European Commission presented the Community Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2006-2010. Having been the rapporteur for the Community Action Plan in the European Parliament, I am proud to say that we were able to place important demands on the European Council and the European Commission concerning animal welfare. The most important demand in the final report is that animal protection should be not confined to the protection and welfare of animals used in experiments or farm animals but should cover all animals.

This year the Commission presented the so-called Animal Health Strategy 2007-2013. Here, the European Parliament achieved that stray animals have been included in the final report in the form of feral pets. Furthermore, the Parliament called on the Commission and the Member States to develop the necessary legal and financial measures both to monitor pets and stray animals. Finally, the Parliament demanded that the strategy should include vaccination programmes and other preventive measures in connection with diseases transmitted by stray dogs and cats, especially where no vaccination is currently possible.
The final Report was adopted on May 22, 2008 with an overwhelming majority of 482 votes in favour, 9 votes against and 27 abstentions. This result demonstrates that in all 27 European countries the problem of stray dogs has been recognized and that the Parliament stands for a constructive and European wide solution in this matter.

Elisabeth Jeggle
German MEP (EPP)

Bear bile farming

Imagine being caged up with a metal catheter permanently drilled into your abdomen. That is the shocking treatment endured by around seven thousand moon bears in China. Bile is extracted from the bears’ gall bladders via crude metal catheters or gaping holes drilled into their abdomens known as the free-drip fistula technique.

Bile is used as an ingredient in many traditional Chinese medicines but the process is excruciating for the bears. In 2006 I travelled to China to meet with senior government officials and request they set a date for ending the trade. The Chinese government gave assurances to Neil that they were doing all they could to heavily regulate the bear bile industry.

Following the tabling of a written declaration with huge support from the Animal Welfare intergroup, the European Parliament passed a rare resolution calling on the Chinese government to end the practice. Ever since I have been working very closely with a Hong Kong based charity called Animals Asia (www.animalsasia.org) which raises funds for a sanctuary in China that rescues and rehabilitates incarcerated bears.

On that trip to China, I visited the sanctuary and met several bears that were saved thanks to generous donations from Animals Asia branches across the UK. ANimals Asia are still doing a great job in China and I very much hope that in the very near future we will be able to end this abhorrant practice of bear bile farming once and for all.

Neil Parish
Chairman of the Intergroup

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