animals – Page 2 – Vegans.UK

Protest!

October 10, 2015 by Tofu Temptress 1 Comment

I have a confession to make. Although I’ve been what acquaintances have often referred to as ‘one of those animal rights people’ for the thick end of thirty years, I have never attended a formal protest. Having staged small, individual protests at school (refusing to cook with meat in home economics, opting out of the ‘humans are superior to animals’ rhetoric in religious education classes, that sort of thing) I found them to be quite useful. Even if my little acts of non conformity didn’t affect immediate change, they certainly made people stop and think. Those who stick to the norm through passiveness are often pleasantly surprised by someone who takes a different path. It makes them go ‘hmm’ and it plants a seed in their brain.

It was with this lack of experience in mind that I, somewhat apprehensively, joined the Edinburgh March Against Extinction on Saturday 3rd October, organised by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The march was a protest against the exploitation and needless killing of Rhinos, Lions and Elephants in Africa and was just one of many such marches taking place globally over the weekend.

Awareness of this problem was of course given quite a shot in the arm by the recent case of poor Cecil the lion, who was murdered by an American dentist. It seems that lions are not only hunted for fun (and in exchange for lots and lots of money) but also bred and raised to be petted by tourists. They’re kept in captivity and then when they get too big to be cuddly they are released to be hunted by rich idiots with more money than sense.

Marching for elephants, lions and rhinos

Elephants fare little better, with one being killed every fifteen minutes, according to the Trust’s website. They’re killed for their tusks, despite being worth more to the tourist trade alive. Scant regard is given to the fact that elephants are social animals who play a vital role not only in their own herds but to the ecosystem in general. There are even some countries in Africa where the elephant is already extinct – Senegal and Sierra Leone, to name but two.

Rhinos are killed for their horn which is believed, wrongly, to have medicinal benefits by some cultures, mostly in China. Rhino horn does nothing to help headaches or impotence or any other ailments. All it does is kill Rhinos, who are another precious species we must save from extinction.

The friendly folks from Network for Animals

The protest itself went very well. A warm Edinburgh day (yes, you read that correctly) attracted over a hundred people to march from the Scottish Parliament, through the streets of Edinburgh, to the square outside the Scottish National Gallery. On arrival I met some friendly types from Network for Animals, a small charity concerned with affecting change throughout the world on all sorts of animal welfare issues. They offered me a placard, which I gratefully accepted (I’d been too disorganised to make my own) and we set off, chanting and chatting and hoping we’d make an impact.

Some made their own, very effective placards

On our way we passed many people (Edinburgh’s always pretty busy on a Saturday) who seemed to smile and stare, but were mainly preoccupied with taking our picture. However others, including several groups of tourists atop the open top bus, (whom we must’ve been delaying due to the brief road closures) waved and gave us the thumbs up, showing I think that this issue is a no brainer for most people.

On arrival at the National Gallery, we were treated to talks by those running the march, giving us more information. A crowd had gathered, so I really hope we touched some other people with the plight of African wildlife and perhaps inspired them to action.

The outrage surrounding Cecil’s death shows that the public do care, but we simply need to harness that outrage and direct it in such a way that gets through to the hunters and breeders and poachers. We need to let them know that the money should be in caring for the environment and keeping wildlife alive, not ruining the ecosystem exploiting animals for profit. The killing must stop, or else extinction of these beautiful creatures will happen, and soon.

If you’d like to know more about the plight of wildlife in Africa, and perhaps do something to help, check out the following:

The Born Free Foundation
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Save the Elephants
Save the Rhinos International
Mahouts Elephant Foundation
Boon Lotts Elephant Sanctuary
Network For Animals
Four Paws

Sheep. Fools or cool?

February 19, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

We recently celebrated Chinese New Year, with a few simple stir fries and such that even I couldn’t screw up, and welcomed in The Year of the Sheep. It got me thinking of how people view sheep. Would you be proud to be born in a year of the sheep, or a little embarrassed? Because the word sheep has become short form for those who don’t think and simply follow the crowd, we tend to be rather patronising towards our fleecy friends. Yes, sheep can act a bit stupidly when they’re in a crowd, but then, so can humans. Who ever looked at footage of a riot or of an entire stand-full of people chanting offensive songs at a football match and thought ‘Well, there are some obviously highly evolved individuals who cannot only think for themselves but are also clearly very intelligent.’? No-one, that’s who.

Sheep are seen as a bit dim, pretty inoffensive and even quite picturesque when roaming a hillside in the distance. Unfortunately, the cuteness of the gambolling lamb doesn’t stop the sheep from being one of the most abused animals in Britain. Recent secretly filmed footage at a slaughterhouse in Yorkshire reveals horrific cruelty towards sheep that is both shocking and sickening. This is why compulsory CCTV in all UK slaughterhouses must be brought in.

Sheep in truck bound for slaughter. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

Although it’s not just in the slaughterhouse that sheep face appalling treatment. Ironically, because of their cognitive processes they can be used for research into human neurological disorders. They are also used for research into other diseases for which they suffer enormously. One of these is heart disease and the experiments done by the BHF have been widely criticised. As I’ve said elsewhere on this website, experiments on animals are patchy in their results at best, and no substitute for research that studies humans themselves in the forms of genes and cells.

Sheep also suffer to produce woolly jumpers and carpets. Recent undercover filming highlighted horrific abuses in the wool industry in Australia. You see, just like the meat trade, workers are encouraged to ‘process’ as many animals as possible in an hour to maximise profits. As you can imagine, this doesn’t lead to the sheep receiving care and gentle attention – quite the opposite.

Thankfully, there are plenty of wool alternatives for shoppers and knitters alike so there’s no need to put sheep through this grief. There are also many sanctuaries, including this dedicated one in Devon which may change your mind about those idyllic hillside scenes. And just to finish off, here’s some happy footage of a sheep who, having been raise alongside dogs, jumps about and plays and basically behaves like a big, woolly canine. Sheep are intelligent, fun, joyful animals who are sadly mistreated because of their gentle nature. Maybe next time someone calls you a sheep, you’ll say thank you.

Sheep. Definitely cool. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

Religious slaughter on the rise

January 31, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Depressingly, I noticed in the paper today that the incidence of religious slaughter has increased, by as much as half in some cases, in the last couple of years or so. For the uninitiated, religious slaughter generally means killing an animal without stunning them first. As if the sometimes intensively farmed animals had not gone through enough with their cramped cages, many having never seen outside until the day they’re bundled onto a truck to be taken to what amounts to a torture camp and house of death.

And that’s the interesting thing. Both Kosher and Halal meat is guilty of the non-stunning of animals, and the British government, in their ‘wisdom’ have decided that there should be exemptions to basic animal welfare if there are religious ground – something the British Humanist Society, amongst others, takes issue with. But from the Jewish point of view there are many Jews, including holocaust survivors themselves, that see the factory farming of today as little more than a non-human animal version of the holocaust. In fact, Israel has been flagged up recently as one of the most vegan-friendly countries in the world. Life is certainly no picnic for vegetarian or vegan Muslims either, as this article on an Egyptian festival of sacrifice shows. It seems crazy considering the numerous Islamic teachings that promote kindness towards animals. Many chain restaurants including Pizza Express (whose chicken is all halal), Subway and KFC, have halal options as standard. However, before we go blaming religious people for dragging down animal welfare standards, maybe we should take a long hard look at ourselves.

Pig arrives at a slaughterhouse. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

Animal Aid have a campaign going at the moment to try and make it law for there to be properly reviewed CCTV in all slaughterhouses in the UK. This comes from an investigation they did a few years ago, where they randomly chose nine slaughterhouses and filmed secretly inside. They found animal welfare laws being broken, routinely, in eight of them. This included all sorts of horrific behaviour, such as kicking and stamping on animals, grabbing them by their ears and even burning cigarettes out on them. Clearly this is not what the public think they are supporting by ‘buying British’ and so-called high welfare abattoirs seemed to be no better than standard ones. The government doesn’t seem to think we have a problem. They are clearly deluded as to the conditions inside abattoirs, either that, or they don’t care. Either way things need to be cleaned up across the board. Whether slaughter is religious or not (because some halal meat is said to be from stunned animals, but definitions in this area tend to be hazy) we have to sit up and recognise that animals are not things. They are not objects. They feel pain and fear and as Jeremy Bentham the utilitarian philosopher (born in the eighteenth century) said ‘The question is not Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but Can they suffer?’ a sentiment echoed years later by the great Peter Singer in his ground-breaking work ‘Animal Liberation’.

As you will have guessed by now, I have a very simple solution to all of this cruelty, crisis of conscience and confusion. I don’t think we need to point the finger at religious slaughter in particular, or indeed regular slaughterhouses really. We need to point the finger squarely at ourselves. There is no supply where there is no demand. Cut out the middle man and go vegan. Easy.

CCTV for all slaughterhouses. Animal Aid

(If you’d like to help get CCTV into slaughterhouses, sign this petition before 30th March 2015. Thank you.)

Dogs

November 25, 2014 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Dogs

I love dogs. They are unique animals. If you treat them well they’ll be the most loyal, affectionate and enthusiastic friend you’ve ever had! Over thousands of years, humans domesticated the dog to our mutual benefit. They would guard our camps and we would give them any extra food we had. Everybody’s happy. Over time, different groups of humans were drawn to dogs with different characteristics and so as far back as Ancient Egypt, there were recognisably different breeds of dog.

http://www.viva.org.uk/ — Dalmatian at dog show, Australia. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

In modern times however, over the last hundred years or so, those breeds have become so extreme that almost every pure bred dog today has inherent health problems. From the deafness of Dalmatians, to the hip dysplasia of German Shepherds and the breathing problems of pugs, through intensive breeding we have done dogs a great disservice. For a dog loving nation we are one of the worst culprits here in Britain as our kennel club still doesn’t clamp down on the breeding of fathers with daughters and brothers with sisters, which perplexes me greatly as surely that’s just basic genetics. As humans, we discovered that marrying your cousin wasn’t the best idea genetically many years ago. I mean, just look at the royal family of years gone by…There’s a great documentary about this subject called Pedigree Dogs Exposed, which, although eye opening and very informative, does contain scenes of dogs in pain and or distress as a result of their health problems, so be warned. I don’t agree with the documentary maker on everything, but she has been brave and relentless in her pursuit of the truth in an effort to better the welfare of pedigree dogs, so good on her.

Dog in cage in Asia. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

The result of all this domestication is that dogs are in the unique position now of being reliant on humans for their wellbeing. Unfortunately it turns out that many humans are not only irresponsible but cruel, and dogs pay the price for this. From people who chain up their dogs outside, to those who arrange dog fights, to puppy farmers, to the abhorrent dog meat trade in Asia, humans have let dogs down big time.

Dog chained up outside. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

There is hope. Up and down the country and across the world, there are a band of people who should not only be praised to the skies but also given a hell of a lot more money than they are at the moment. I talk of course, of the rescuers. The outpouring of support for the Manchester Dogs Home recently when it was the victim of arson was truly heart-warming. This nation loves dogs, I just wish there wasn’t so much need for these charities.

My dog was a rescue from Dogs Trust West Calder

Dogs Trust (formally The National Canine Defence League or NCDL) is the biggest dog rescue charity in the UK (and they’re now in Ireland too). They run educational programmes to give young people the information they need to be responsible dog owners. They assist homeless people with their dogs, giving them free veterinary care and advice. Their freedom project provides foster care for the dogs of those who are the victims of domestic abuse, as a violent partner often threatens to kill dogs and shelters generally can’t accommodate them. Dogs Trust also try to keep the greyhound racing industry honest as it can be a hotbed of corruption and cruelty.

Greyhound, caged. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

They also work overseas to help dogs in Eastern Europe, India, Malta, Thailand and the Philippines, with neutering programmes, vaccinations and education. Crucially, they attempt to combat the unregulated and horrifically cruel dog meat trade. Back at home, they have environmental enrichment at their rehoming centres so that the dogs’ stay in kennels is as stress free as possible. All Dogs Trust dogs are neutered and microchipped before being rehomed. This is one of the issues I feel most strongly about, as without microchipping there is no responsibility and without neutering there is no hope of keeping the number of unwanted and abandoned dogs down. Once a dog is rehomed, they even give out free advice which may include having a visit from a dog behaviourist, if you are having any issues with the new member of your family. A brilliant initiative Dogs Trust have started is working with young offenders, so they can use their community service to help train dogs in need of a home. This gives them a tremendous sense of achievement and usefulness, helping both the dogs and themselves. Dogs Trust also have a special centre for elderly dogs filled with cosy couches and quiet and they never put a healthy dog to sleep.

Hurricane Katrina rescue dog. Jo-Anne McArthur/We animals

All this is to say nothing of the fantastically dedicated folks who run smaller charities. There are people who stay up all night hand-feeding puppies who’ve been dumped in a bin and left for dead. There are those who train dogs for enriching professions like search and rescue or assisting the disabled with charities such as Canine Partners. Volunteers walk countless dogs and give out cuddles. Canine carers coax shy dogs, abused dogs or those who have had their will broken by being intensively bred from a young age, out into the sun and gently encourage them to have fun again.

We have a responsibility towards dogs. It is our duty to look after them. After all these years of making dogs reliant on us, we cannot let them down. At the very least, we should do all we can to respect dogs and make sure that we educate ourselves and our children how to treat them well. Dogs will find us if we’re trapped under rubble, they’ll sniff us out if we’re lost on a vast hillside, they see for us if we’re blind, hear for us if we are deaf, assist us with everyday tasks if we become disabled, they fight in our wars and keep us safe by finding bombs and illegal drugs. They even listen to children to reduce anxiety as they read, help those with autism and can predict epileptic seizures! Dogs love us, so much. We should love them in return.

There are loads of charities all over the place that help our canine companions, so here are a few of them for you to check out. If they are local to you, perhaps you could ask if they need any donations of old blankets or duvets. Many charities have Amazon wish lists or would just love it if you dropped in to donate a can or two of food. It doesn’t have to cost much, or indeed anything at all, but these organisations need your support. Thanks. Or, if you feel you’re ready, maybe you could think about rehoming a dog yourself. It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.