Animals

A monthly Magazine edited and published by Maria Lopes - December 2006

Dear Friends,

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Unfortunately this period is not a holiday for the animals. In fact, more of them suffer and are killed at this time of the year.

Once again the apparently good intentions of the EU seem to have failed us. Although the Commission has presented a proposal to ban the trade in dog and cat fur, this proposal has a serious loophole in that it contains an article allowing for an exception when cats and dogs are not killed exclusively for their fur.

As you might be aware this proposal will now be considered by the European Council and the Parliament, therefore it's most important to write to the Agricultural Ministers of each Member State (write to your own Minister of Agriculture) as well as to your own MEPs asking them to exclude this article.

The article in question reads:

"Article 4

Implementing powers

The following may be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2):

1. provisions on the use of analytical methods to identify the species of origin of fur;

2. provisions which derogate from the prohibitions provided for in Article 1 for such fur or products containing such fur

– which is labelled as originating from cats or dogs that have not been bred orkilled for fur production or

– which are personal or household effects being introduced into the Community, or exported therefrom."

The list of the MEPs can be found at:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public.do?language=en

For the Animals

Maria Lopes
Coordinator of the International Movement Against Bullfights

As you know the bullfights that should have taken place in Chongquing were postponed.

We have new information that say that they will take place the 1st and 2nd january of 2007.

Most American leather goods begin in foreign countries. In India, a top leather producer, cows die miserably inside slaughterhouses swarming with flies. Fallen cows drape their heads across each other in 100-degree heat as they await inhumane death: Workers saw through their necks with dull knives...

Anyone who wears leather is likely clothed in leather from from India or China. Shoes or other goods produced in Italy, the U.S. and other countries use raw materials (skins) imported from India or China...

Feel free to use portions of our letter, but please add some original thoughts. Hundreds of identical letters may lessen the impact.

Please initiate humane standards for the transport and slaughter of cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats used in the Indian leather trade.

I urge the Council for Leather Exports to recognize ongoing animal abuse within the leather industry and implement animal welfare guidelines now.

I respectfully ask government officials to enforce anti-cruelty laws and penalize workers who batter and overload animals; deprive animals of food, water and shelter; sell abused animals; or inhumanely slaughter animals.

Graphic documentation shows pervasive and unlawful abuse, including unsanitary and hazardous conditions inside slaughterhouses. Fallen cows lie on floors splattered with blood, feces, guts and urine. Workers drag animals into abattoirs where they often cut them apart with filthy, dull knives. Some animals remain conscious as they are skinned and dismembered.

Animals gouge and crush each other while transported hundreds of miles in rickety trucks. Drivers break their legs and necks to cram in more animals.

Investigators have found bullocks and cows tethered by strings pierced through their noses. They've seen animals whose tails were broken so many times, swollen, tumor-like joints protruded from their tail areas.

Despite assurances from Indian officials, no visible improvements have been made. Animals are still transported under wretched conditions. Slaughter facilities are still unhygienic. Unlicensed abattoirs still operate. Small calves are still illegally butchered to process as leather.

Please strengthen animal protections laws in India. I am eager to know about any reforms that actually enhance the lives of animals.

Each year on the 1st of February, six cebu bulls are tortured and killed during the "Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria" in the town of Tlacotalpan, in the Mexican state of Veracruz. First they are dragged through a river by ropes attached to boats. Then they are chased through the streets Pamplona style and tortured until they are physically and psychologically destroyed.

The part of the fiesta, which takes place in the river is called "embalse de toros" and is even promoted by the tourism authorities. Last year due to an international campaign and meetings with Mexican animal rights activists, the governor of the state of Veracruz banned the use of the cebus in the fiesta. However, the mayor took sides with the animal abusers and the fiesta went ahead as usual. Shocking images and reports by Mexican TV stations and newspapers showed how one bull, in terror, tried to escape from his pen.

Later one bull almost drowned in the river. The policemen present in the village tried as hard as possible to protect the bulls from the mob in lynching mood, but the police were too small in number.

This year the Mexican tourism authorities should also be included in the campaign. After all, a large part of Mexico's income arises out of international tourism. The Catholic Church should also be included.

The e-Mail addresses work fine, however, due to the international campaign and due to the holidays mail boxes sometimes might be full. Please try again later and there is no harm to send it again so the message is really heard. Sample letter in English and Spanish.

I refer to the torture and killing of the six bulls during the "Embalse de Toros" in the "Fiesta de la Candelaria", which will take place in Tlacotalpan, in the state of Veracruz on February 1, 2007.

Please intervene with the local authorities to get this horrible tradition banned and to take the animals out of the fiesta.

me refiero a la tortura y la matanza de seis toros en el "embalse de toros"en el marco de la "Fiesta de la Candelaria", que se llevará a cabo el próximo 1 de febrero en Tlacotalpan, estado Veracruz.

Por favor intervenga con las autoridades locales para que se acabe con esta horrible tradición para siempre y para que se siga adelante con la fiesta sin animales.

Outcry from animal advocates around the world means some GOVERNMENT MAILBOXES MAY BE FULL when you send comments. If your emails are returned, try to resend at a later time.

Email addresses are compiled from animal advocacy groups AND Serbian government websites. As always, Kinship Circle cannot guarantee the validity of email addresses.

His Excellency Dr. Ivan Vujacic, Ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro in the U.S.

Feel free to use portions of our letter, but please add some original thoughts. Hundreds of identical letters may lessen the impact.

News regarding South Serbia's mass slaughter of dogs and cats continues to circulate the globe via Internet and press, with the present cull scheduled on or around December 18-21 in the City of Nis.

I understand JKP Medijana, the municipal garbage service, is behind the capture and poisoning of some 5,000 dogs at the city dump in Nis. Dogs are to ingest T-61, a poison that paralyzes their lungs.

Whether the present cull is underway or has yet to begin -- any large-scale purge of street animals is wrong. A comprehensive spay/neuter/vaccination drive to humanely control animal numbers in Serbian cities is right. Please do the right thing.

Mass eradications are not new in Serbia. Observers contend the City of Belgrade annually exterminates tens of thousands of dogs in the region. Garbage dumps in Zrenjanin and Novi Sad have functioned as execution sites for strays in Belgrade. In fact, garbage collectors are paid for each animal killed. The government has done nothing to stop these bounty kills.

I call upon officials to enforce animal protection laws and ban the cruel destruction of domesticated animals. I respectfully ask public prosecutors to uphold the Criminal Code of Serbia, article 269, paragraph 2: "Anyone who

uses cruelty towards animals or kills an animal in violation of the Law of veterinary standards must be punished for up to three years in prison."

Those who crudely poison, beat, hang, burn and shoot animals should be arrested, prosecuted and penalized to the full extent of the law. Anything less depicts the government's failure to fulfill legal and ethical standards.

I urge you to seek aid from local and foreign organizations with expertise in animal protection legislation and humane education. Rather than subsidize vulgar forms of killing, please allocate funds for affordable nationwide spay/neuter programs. I encourage you to invest in a network of municipal shelters that maintain veterinary supervision, mandatory sterilization, vaccinations, microchip identification, and responsible adoption policies.

Lastly, Serbia's welfare laws need to embody all animals, not just those intended for human companionship. In Belgrade's private city zoo, distressed and sick animals display stereotypic pacing, head bobbing, bar biting and self-mutilation from years of confinement in shabby, cramped enclosures.

As images of animal suffering resonate around the world, people who value sentient life will boycott Serbia as a travel destination. Personally, I cannot visit your nation until mass killing programs are outlawed and visible strides are made to enforce welfare laws.

Disclaimer: All items published in this magazine were received by us and we pass them on in good faith. We are not responsible for incorrect email addresses, errors, omissions etc. by the originators.