‘Animals in the News’ Category

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Why won’t the UK Government ban wild animals in circuses?

Monday, February 6th, 2012

By Nicola Gothard

In light of today’s news that the Greek government has banned the use of all animals in circuses, it would be timely to explore this situation in the UK. Greece joins a growing number of countries to prohibit or limit the use of animals in circuses. National measures have been adopted in Bolivia, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Peru, Portugal, Sweden, Singapore, Costa Rica, India and Israel. So, why is the UK, a nation of animal lovers, lagging behind not only European countries but also third world countries not normally known for their animal welfare standards? Despite a unanimous vote in the House of Commons in favour of a ban on June 23rd 2011, the UK government has failed to implement a ban on wild animals in circuses.

The Tory led government appears adamant that there won’t be a ban but the reasons for their position remain unclear. There are very few circuses in UK that even have performing wild animals and unlike fox hunting – visiting the circus is not a favourite past time of Tory MPs and the general elite. Perhaps there is a connection between the Conservatives and powerful people in the circus industry or perhaps they view any measures to improve animal welfare to be another affront on their lifestyle and another step on the slippery slope to ruining all of their country pursuits?

Initially the government said that a ban might be an illegal act under European Union law as it could be seen to contravene the European Services Directive. The European Commission clarified their position to concerned MEPs, stating that in theory a ban could be against the Services Directive but it could also be justified by ‘overriding reasons of public interest’ and that public concern for animal welfare is a legally valid reason under this exemption. The British government said that there was already a legal challenge against Austria after they banned wild animals in Circuses and they would wait to see what the outcome of this challenge would be. In December 2011, the Austrian Constitutional Court in Vienna announced that it had thrown out an application by Circus Krone to overturn Austria’s ban on wild animals in circuses – therefore negating another of the governments arguments.

So what is public opinion in the UK on this matter? In 2011, an independent poll carried out by YouGov revealed that 72% of the public backed the ban with only 8% against. Furthermore, In 2010, Defra announced the results of their 2009 public consultation on animals in circuses, which resulted in a huge 94.5% public support for a ban.

All the arguments against a ban have been answered; by the European Commission, by the Austrian courts, by public opinion and by a unanimous vote in parliament.  If like me you think the government should get their act together and take in to account the opinions of democratically elected MPs and the general public they are supposed to represent, then please write to your MP and ask them to sign EDM 2563 directing the Government to use its powers under section 12 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to introduce a regulation banning the use of all wild animals in circuses to take effect by 1 July 2012.

You can see if your MP has already signed here

Find out how to contact your MP here

Read more about this campaign here

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Posted in Animals & Politics, Captive Wild Animals | 1 Comment »

EXPOSED: Japan buys votes for whaling!!

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

British newspaper ‘The Sunday Times’ led an investigation in to allegations that Japan has been bribing smaller nations to vote in favour of allowing commercial whaling to recommence after a 24 year ban!

Many land-locked and/or poor countries have recently joined the International Whaling Commission after receiving large sums of  ‘aid’  from Japan and several countries have admitted they vote ‘pro-whaling’ because of the ”help” Japan has given them.

You can read the article in full here.

It appears that Japan is recruiting small nations in need of financial aid to join the whaling commission to bolster the number of pro-whaling votes. When the ban came in to place in 1986 anti-whaling countries far out-numbered pro-whaling nations. However over the years more pro-whaling nations have joined the commission – some of them completly land-locked.  Most of the anti-whaling nations are European with the notable exceptions of Denmark and Norway. However Europe must vote as a block and if they can’t agree all 22 European members will have to abstain from the vote – further bolstering Japans chances of success!

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Give Whales A Voice @ IWC

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) will be meeting on 21st June to discuss a possible lifting of the commercial whaling ban. The IWC regulates the whaling industry and is responsible for the ban on commercial whaling which came in to force in 1986.  However the commission is largely focused on regulating the whaling industry so that it can be sustainable and the ban had little to do with animal welfare. Whale stocks were hunted to near extinction and a ban was necessary.  However three countries; Japan, Norway and Iceland have continued to hunt whales. Iceland and Norway have objected to the ban and set their own hunting quotas – ignoring international law. Japan operates it’s whaling industry under the guise of ’scientific’; research – the ban allows for limited whaling in the interest of scientific research. Australia have recently filed a suit claiming that Japanese whaling has nothing to do with science and is more commercially motivated.

At the upcoming meeting members will vote on a deal which will see the end to the ban and legitimize commercial whaling. The proposal would allow the three countries that have defied the ban to hunt legally provided they kill less whales than they have been doing illegally. This is a ridiculous proposal, it’s like telling a criminal that their activities are no longer illegal but as a trade-off they can no longer commit the crime so often. Firstly they probably won’t listen because they have already shown they have no respect for the law. Secondly, the international community should not bow to bully nations throwing their weight around. Thirdly, it completely disregards the fact that whaling is inherently inhumane and as such should not be inflicted on any number of whales.

How to Help

I have scouted around the net for various ways you can show governments and the IWC that you do not want to lift the ban on commercial whaling:

1. Everybody can sign this petition to the Norwegian Government  here

2. Everybody can join WSPA Australia’s campaign to give the whales a voice. They are asking everyone to record messages to the International Whaling Commission which they will take to the meeting on June 21st here

3.  In America you can write a letter to your senator asking them to support the International Whale Conservation Protection Act here. The USA is as ever a key decision maker and it id vital that they vote against lifting the ban.

4.  Email the International Whaling Commission to tell them what you think at secretariat@iwcoffice.org

5. In this international community it is important that we all show our national representatives how we feel.  You can find the name of the representative of your country in the IWC  here.  Please contact them and tell them how you would like your country to vote.

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Posted in Animal Welfare in Action, Animals & Politics, Animals in the News, Wild Animals | 1 Comment »

Australia Files Law Suit Against Japan over Whaling

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

Australia took a decisive step to protect whales, filing a suit in the International Court of Justice against Japan’s “scientific whaling” in the Southern Ocean. The suit seeks an injunction to bar Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whaling Sanctuary a 50-million square kilometer area surrounding the continent of Antarctica, where the IWC has banned all types of commercial whaling.

This news comes as the International Whaling Commision meet to discuss a possible compromise with whaling nations that would allow them  to resume commercial whaling with the understanding that they abide by quotas. The IWC is the body responsible for the management of whaling and its main purpose is to regulate the whaling industry. Established in 1946, in 2008 it has over 79 member countries.

Australia claims that Japan has abused its right to conduct scientific research whaling under Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which provides for a scientific exemption. They also assert that Japan has breached the terms of CITES by hunting endangered whale species.  In 2008-09 Japan killed 1,004 whales, including 681 in the Southern Ocean. Since the moratorium came into effect, more than 33,000 whales have been killed under the scientific exemption clause.

The Australians are willing to call Japanese whaling what it is — a mockery of science and a crime against nature. Lets hope the rest of the international community back them up on this one!

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What does new British government mean for fox-hunting?

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

Ok, so bad news first – the Conservative party are the largest party in British government with 307 seats. The good news is that they needed at least 323 to form a majority government and therefore had to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Why is this good news? Well, because the Conservatives and Liberals couldn’t be further apart ideologically. The conservatives look after the landed classes and people with money in general, wanting to lower taxes on the rich, cut back on public spending and most importantly to me, repeal the fox-huting ban – favourite past time of the ‘old money’ landowners. On the other hand the Liberal Democrats care about people and to some extent animals too.

Unfortunately as part of the coalition agreement, on page 18 it states,  ”We will bring forward a motion on a free vote, enabling the House of Commons to express its view on the repeal of the Hunting Act.” So it appears likely that a vote on the issue will come up in parliament at some point in the next five years – provided the coalition makes it that far. However the Liberals are anti fox-hunting and don’t have to vote with the conservatives to repeal the ban. Labour brought the ban in to place and won’t want to see it repealed either. Hoever there may be other marginal parties that will side with the conservatives on the issue and it could be a very close contest.

As luck would have it a timetable for such a vote failed to materialise in the Queen’s Speech, effectively indicating that it was no longer a priority and had been shelved! This is possibly because they would be heavily criticised for prioritising a law that affects few people and is effectively about a past-time  when the country is facing a massive financial deficit and their are more universally important issues to address. It also might cause unnecessary friction with the Liberals.

So, it looks like the foxes are safe to live another day – for now! But we must not get complacent and we must continue to show that many more people oppose fox-hunting than support it. The country-side alliance is making more noise on the issue because they don’t have their way, we must not let them manipulate the issue. So 4000 members of the country-side alliance want fox hunting back – there are 70 million people in the UK!

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Posted in Animals & Politics, Animals in the News, Wild Animals | No Comments »

Christian the Lion

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

Christian was a lion cub born in to a life of captivity and sold to the exclusive department store Harrods, for sale in their pet department back in 1969! John Rendall and Ace Bourke purchased him and what happened next became a beautiful story of friendship that ultimately saw Christian return to his rightful place in the wilds of Africa.

At first he lived with John and Ace in their London home and went to work with them at their furniture store but they soon came to realise that he was getting too big and growing to love him, they now wanted a better- more natural life for Christian!

Luckily for Christian, Virginia McKenna (founder of Bornfree) happened to visit their furniture store and suggested that Christian go to live with conservationist George Adamson in Kenya, where he could hopefully be rehabilitated back in to the wild.

Christian went to Africa to start a new life and joined 2 other rescued lions, Boy and Katania, forming a close bond with the older lion, Boy. When Boy later died Christian sat by his grave for days.

In 1972, Rendall and Bourke went back to visit Christian after a year apart.  They were prepared for him not to remember them at all. What happened that day was caught on film and with the explosion of video sharing became the most watched video on Youtube in 2008. The film shows the lion at first cautiously approach and then quickly leap playfully onto the two men, standing on his hind legs and wrapping his front legs around their shoulders, nuzzling their faces. The documentary also shows the female lions, Mona and Lisa, welcoming the two men.


Rendall and Bourke returned to see Christian again in 1973. They had been told not to bother coming because Christian hadn’t returned to the reserve for 9 months and they probably wouldn’t see him.  As fate would have it, Christian returned to the reserve the day before their arrival and they were reunited for a final time.

‘We called him and he stood up and started to walk towards us very slowly. Then, as if he had become convinced it was us, he ran towards us, threw himself on to us, knocked us over, knocked George over and hugged us, like he used to, with his paws on our shoulders.’

This renunion lasted all night with the men drinking beer and Christian lounging around and playing with them. The next day he left and never returned to the reserve.

If you are interested in reading more about Christian’s life, there are several films, biographies and even a children’s book about this incredible true story, demonstrating the power of friendship and importance of animal conservation.

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Posted in Animal Feelings, Animal Friendships, Captive Wild Animals | 1 Comment »

Fish have feelings too

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

Even as late as the eighties, surgeons operated on new born human infants without anaesthetic wrongly believing them not to feel pain because of their age. This view is still widely believed when it comes to young animals, for example new born sheep are castrated and tail-docked and chicks are beak-trimmed. However the science has proven that young animals do feel pain and this view is slowly changing. Now science has asked the same question of fish and the evidence once again proves that they too have feelings and are capable of experiencing pain and suffering. This may come as a surprise to many, even some ‘vegetarians’ believed it was ok to eat fish because they don’t have any feelings.

Mammals have special pain detectors in their skin known as nociceptors. The nociceptors transmit signals to the brain when pain occurs. It is now known that fish have these pain detectors too.

Not even this was enough to silence the skeptics though. They argue that just because fish feel pain, it doesn’t mean they experience it consciously. However recent experiments by Dr Peter Laming, have gone some way to answering this criticism. He showed that a fully developed pain ‘pathway’ is present in goldfish, linking receptors in the skin, via the spinal cord, to the brain.

We don’t know how to tell for certain whether other humans are consciously aware let alone animals of other species. For both human and non-human animals we can only look for behavioural clues that suggest that others are conscious. Fish have been shown to display behavioural signs that they are not just sensing pain but also experiencing it. Dr Braithwaite has shown that fish which have been injected with ‘painful’ stimulants around the mouth react very differently to those that have not – rubbing the affected area and losing interest in their food until the poison had worn off.


Fish are not a stupid as ’some’ thought either. Scientists in Madrid have discovered that goldfish have the ability to learn and remember their way around mazes. And male cichlids, aggressive freshwater tropical fish, have been found to be able to gauge the fighting abilities of potential rivals simply by watching earlier bouts. This ability – to create a mental ranking – is called transitive inference, and humans cannot do it until they are four years old.

This is an amusing video of a school of goldfish following the instructions of their human trainer.


Source

Braithwaite, V (2010) Do fish feel pain. Oxford University Press.

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Posted in Animal Feelings, Animal Intelligence, Animal Sentience | 2 Comments »

Thailands Tiger Temple Sue Conservationists for exposing them

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

The infamous monks of the tiger temple in Thailand are sueing three prominent members of animal rescue organisations for daring to tell the truth about them. You may think this is not very monk like behaviour but then neither is animal explotation and cruelty and turning a profit through the deception of naive tourists.

Edwin Wiek, founder and director of Wildlife Friends of Thailand, Sawan Sangbunlang of the Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Dr. Surapon Duangkae of the Wildlife Fund Thailand have been charged over remarks in an April 2009 article published in the “Thai Post,”. In the report, accusations were made concerning illegal possession of and trade in tigers at the temple, and abuse of the animals. If convicted, they could face jail sentences.

Hundreds of foreign tourists daily visit the Tiger Temple to see and take pictures with the tigers. It is a lucrative business. The entrance fee is 500 baht (US $15) per person while making “special photos” costs 1,000 baht (US$30) extra. For a morning experience, people pay 4,500 baht (US$120) per person to feed the cubs and watch the cub exercise session.

The Tiger Temple’s success is based around claims that its tigers were rescued from poachers and live and move freely and peacefully amongst the temple’s monks, who are actively engaged in conservation and rescue work.However, undercover investigations by the British wildlife charity Care for the Wild International, conducted from 2005-2008, revealed evidence of tigers at the facility being regularly beaten with wooden sticks and clubs, being forced to sit in direct sunshine for hours, and being kept in poor conditions with inadequate food.The CWI investigators observed that when tigers are not obedient before, during or after the photo-sessions they are sprayed by the keepers with urine from bottles in their eyes and faces and/or hit with wooden sticks on their backs and heads.Tigers are reported to be extremely lethargic during photo sessions, leading to concerns they may be drugged. I think it is highly likely they are drugged. It would not be safe to beat a tiger with a stick unless it had no means of defending itself.It is truly disgusting self deception that people think that the tigers would behave that way without being drugged – tigers don’t just sit there so limp and lifeless even if they are in the ‘calming presence of monks’.

When I visited Thailand in 2006 I was offered a trip to the tiger temple by a travel agent on Khao San Road. I have to admit for a second I considered it. Who wouldn’t want to touch a tiger and have their photo taken with one? However, I didn’t go because I knew that whilst I would enjoy the experience very much – the tiger would not. I think we forget all too often that other animals are not here for our convenience. I also know somebody that did go there and he said that the tigers were controlled by suddenly opening umbrellas in their faces to scare them and he observed them licking white powder off the floor. He instantly regretted going, as do many tourists, but by that point the monks already have your cash.

Any dangerous wild animal that is been cared for properly with respect to it’s natural behaviour and instincts will not be available for a photo opportunity or petting time. Apart from the animal welfare considerations, a  conservation organisation that is to be taken seriously will know that human contact will not do the tigers any good. It is important that they are fearful of people, so that they don’t stray near human settlements and cause conflict and also to avoid poachers. It is also important to maintain the behavioural integrity of the animal when breeding for conservation. If you domesticate them, they will not know how to behave like tigers and they won’t be able to pass information on to the next generation. If you selectively breed animals for tameness or the ability to deal with captivity, you are already changing the gene pool and it is too late to save them. If we only breed tigers in captivity that can’t fend for themselves – we will be creating living fossils. They will look like tigers but they will not be tigers.

Please don’t visit any tourist attractions that use animals for entertainment. As a hard and fast rule – if you are allowed to touch the animals, it is not a good thing for animal welfare or conservation, particuarly with wild predatory animals. It is also very unsafe for you. You better hope they are drugged, de-toothed and de-clawed to within an inch of their lives or you probably wouldn’t escape with yours! You never know when natural instincts will kick in or even when the animal will lose it’s temper and snap! We saw an example of this all too recently when Tilly, the Orca at Seaworld, drowned her trainer.

If you are interested in learning more about the tiger temple – please visit this website

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Posted in Animals & Tourism, Captive Wild Animals, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Middle-east animal trade can ‘no longer be ignored’

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

The trade in endangered animals is flourishing in the Middle East, fueled by corruption, ineffective legislation and poor law enforcement.

“It’s a problem in the Arab world that we can no longer ignore,” said Marguerite Shaarawi, co-founder of the animal rights group, Animals Lebanon. The group is pushing for Lebanon to join the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), whose signatories are meeting this month in Qatar. It is the first time the 175-nation convention is meeting in an Arab country. Lebanon and Bahrain are the only Arab countries yet to sign the convention.

John Sellar, chief enforcement officer for CITES, said it is difficult to estimate the extent of the illegal trade in the Arab world, but Animals Lebanon estimates that it is the third largest illegal trade in the region, after weapons and drugs.

“Much of the illegal trade that takes place here is of a specialized nature,” Sellar said, citing the example of prize falcons, kept by many Arab sheiks in desert encampments, particularly in the United Arab Emirates. “We’ve also seen some smuggling of very exotic species … like very rare parrots, young chimpanzees, gorillas and leopards that seem to be for the private collections of some of the rich individuals in the Gulf area,” he said.

In September, a 2-year-old lion cub was rescued by members of another local animal welfare organization after he was apparently abandoned off the main road in Beirut by the owner of the pet shop that imported him. The severely dehydrated animal was malnourished with open sores on his body, Attempts were made to save the animal, but it died shortly after it was found.

Find out more about the work of Animals Lebanon here.

Source: Y Net News

Anna Claxton

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Cold hearts of Iceland revealed in illegal exports of whale meat

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Icelandic government records state that the country is exporting meat from slaughtered whales to Latvia and Denmark, as well as Japan – in defiance of international law and a global whaling ban.

Data from Statistics Iceland, the source for official Icelandic government statistics, show a number of recent exports of whale products from Iceland to the three countries. Exports to Denmark and Latvia are contrary to EU law, even if the products are re-exported. International trade in whale products is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Exports to Latvia have been confirmed by the Latvian authorities, which have promised a full investigation, which is welcomed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which is deeply concerned about illegal international trade in whale products, particularly due to current discussion over a relaxation of the worldwide ban on commercial whaling. Although both minke and fin whales have been hunted by Iceland in recent years, the products concerned are likely to be from fin whales, an endangered species.

As one of the world’s leading animal welfare organisations, IFAW has representation in 16 countries and carries out its animal welfare work in more than 40. IFAW works from its global headquarters in the United States and focuses its campaigns on improving the welfare of wild and domestic animals by reducing the commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats and assisting animals in distress. IFAW works both on the ground and in the halls of government to safeguard wild and domestic animals and seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people. Visit their website here.

Source: PR Canada.net

Anna Claxton

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