VIVA! EMAIL NEWS ALERT



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www.factoryfarming.org.uk <http://www.factoryfarming.org.uk/>
www.savethekangaroo.com <http://www.savethekangaroo.com/>





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In This Viva!City: Chinese New Year: Door-drop for the Ducks!

M&S U-turn on Ducks

Bird Flu - The Chickens' Revenge?

Britain's Badgers Need You!
Tracy the Turkey Betrayed

Live Exports - The Battle Continues
Get Involved: Local Events

Your Viva!City





Chinese New Year: Door-drop for the Ducks!

Chinese New Year is traditionally a time for luck and new beginnings.
However, luck has sadly run out for the 18 million ducks that are
slaughtered each year in the UK to supply both the restaurant and
supermarket trade.

This month Viva! is launching a major new offensive to persuade
visitors to Chinese restaurants to turn their back on 'Crispy Duck'.
Sadly, this barbaric dish is the third most popular take-away in the UK
- despite the fact that practically all the meat comes from exactly the
same factory-farms that Viva! has exposed time and time again. Because
of its perceived 'exotic' nature, most consumers of duck meat products
in restaurants and take-aways are even more removed from the reality of
modern duck meat production than many consumers in supermarkets.

Once again, Viva! aims to save animals by changing consumer buying
habits - but we need your help. We know this approach really works: the
last couple of years have seen the number of ducks slaughtered in the UK
drop by two million! Please join our door-dropper army - even if you
can only deliver a few leaflets locally, every single one has the
potential save the lives of thousands of animals!

Find out more about how to get involved, the background on this hidden
trade in duck meat and a whole load of scrummy vegan Chinese recipes
here <http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks/unhappy_duck.htm> .



M&S U-turn on Ducks

In 2004, Viva! and its supporters persuaded Marks & Spencer to drop
factory-farmed whole duck, after countrywide protests outside its stores
and a blitz of media attention. M&S assured us that they intended to
roll out this decision to all of their duck meat products. However, a
recent undercover investigation has revealed that not only has the chain
cynically gone back on its word but it is still taking ducks from the
same supplier, Manor Farm Ducklings, we exposed two years ago. This new
footage shows the usual litany of misery: thousands of ducks crammed
into a shed, filthy and dejected; soaking litter; ducks blinded from
lack of water with which to preen; and ducks with open, bleeding sores.

Last week, Viva!'s Justin Kerswell was interviewed on Sky News, where he
openly criticised M&S and called on consumers to take the lead and
boycott duck meat entirely.

M&S's response has been to drop MFD Foods as a supplier, whilst they
undertake an investigation. We've heard it all before. Please contact
M&S <http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks/contactm&s.html> to express
your disgust that they have gone back on their word, and to tell them
that they should drop factory-farmed duck once and for all. With our
virtual postcard it only takes a second!



Bird Flu - The Chickens' Revenge?



Unless you live in a bubble you'll be acutely aware that bird flu has
moved one step closer to the UK this month with an outbreak of the H5N1
virus in Turkey, killing four people and bringing the global human death
toll to 80. Of course this is just the latest in a long line of diseases
brought about by animal farming, including BSE, swine fever and foot and
mouth disease to name just a few. Governments should be tackling the
root cause of these diseases - animal agriculture - which still receives
millions of pounds in subsidies every year.


Read our bird flu factsheet here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/chickens/brdflu_factsheet.html> .



With any luck, bird flu will do for the poor maligned chicken what BSE
did for cattle - put people off eating them! No longer can people
pretend that chicken is a health food. Millions of people already become
ill every year and hundreds die from Salmonella and Campylobacter
poisoning caused by poultry products, far more than bird flu has killed.



Now is the time to push the veggie message to the forefront. Organise a
street stall, hand out our free veggie recipe leaflets outside your
local supermarket, door-drop our new 'Unhappy Duck' leaflet, write a
letter to your local paper or anything else you can think of to get the
veggie message to people. We'll be happy to send you any materials you
need, just email campaigns@...


Britain's Badgers Need You!



In December 2005 the Government announced a 12 week 'public consultation
period' to consider whether and how to kill badgers as part of their
strategy for controlling bovine TB in cattle. Viva!, along with many
other animal protection and conservation organisations, believes that
badgers have become a scapegoat for the increasing problem of bTB in
cattle which is actually a result of modern, intensive dairy farming
practices. We know that past human TB epidemics were caused by poor
nutrition, overcrowded and unhygienic housing, stress and heavy
workloads - all conditions suffered by most modern dairy cows. The
spread of the disease in cattle is further exacerbated by the trade in
live cattle, with approximately 14 million cattle movements occurring in
Britain each year. Newly purchased animals harbouring the disease can
infect previously unaffected herds and transmit the disease to
neighbouring cattle farms.



Viva! is totally opposed to any form of badger cull and is urging the
Government to address the real cause of bovine TB - intensive dairy
production.



Please add your voice to the millions who are opposed to this
unnecessary slaughter of wildlife. Visit http://www.stopthecull.info/
for more information.



Help save Britain's badgers every time you sit down for a meal - go
vegan! Visit www.milkmyths.org.uk <http://www.milkmyths.org.uk/> to
download our How to be Dairy-free guide.



Tracy the Turkey Betrayed

A huge thank you to everyone who joined our campaign to save Tracy the
turkey before Christmas. In a cynical publicity stunt, a Bristol-based
radio station had 'rescued' Tracy from the farm where she was being kept
and were planning to sell her off to the highest bidder as Christmas
dinner. Viva! campaigned ferociously to save Tracy, and we met with the
show's presenters offering to re-home her. However, in yet another
cynical move Tracy was 'saved' again by a film production company who,
ironically, intended to make a film about a boy who saves a turkey for
Christmas. When we were able to speak to the company, to once again
offer her a home, they said they had returned Tracy to the farm where it
is most likely she has been killed.



Naturally, we are appalled at the cynical use of this little bird - a
sentient creature who was used disgracefully in a series of publicity
stunts. We have made complaints to both the station and the production
company - and fully intend to make Tracy's fate known once the film
appears.



Please contact them to make your feelings known:



GWR radio: text them on 07870 150 155 or ring on 0117 929 8888 or email
them via the website
<http://gwrfmbristol.musicradio.com/breakfast_article.jsp?chainid=294946
eb-bd2d-4c47-83c9-a8e5c6fd41c3> (online form).



Aspect Productions: email them on info@...
<mailto:info@...>



The only good news to come out of this was that we were able to
publicise the fate of the other millions of turkeys raised in appalling
conditions in the UK's factory farms. We know that the pro-veggie
message was heard by tens of thousands - and those that have changed to
a cruelty-free lifestyle will be a testament to Tracy.




Live Exports - The Battle Continues



Many of you may already know that the live export of sheep from the UK
to the continent resumed last October, despite the objection by all of
Britain's animal protection organisations. Dairy farmers are now
feverishly preparing to resume the despicable practice of exporting
their unwanted male calves to the continent to be incarcerated in veal
crates. If they get their way the live export of calves will resume in
April, so we must act quickly to try and avert this animal welfare
catastrophe.



Email or write to your MP and tell them that live animal exports have no
place in a civilised society. Find your MP's details at:
http://www.parliament.uk/directories/hciolists/alms.cfm



Contact Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food &
Rural Affairs, and urge her to end to this practice for good. Write to
her at:



DEFRA

Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR



Saturday 4th February, 2006 - National demonstration against live
exports and to commemorate the death of Jill Phipps, an anti-live
exports campaigner. For more info visit: http://www.jillsday2005.co.uk/





Get Involved: Local Events



Wrexham: Do you want to get more involved in local campaigning or would
like some veggie support? If you live in North East Wales then the newly
set up Wrexham Veggies & Vegans would love to hear from you! Email
wxmveg@... or phone 07904 375178 for further info.



Essex: Essex Animal Freedom's Meeting on the 29th January. Phone 0709
2033 024.



London: The London Vegans have a full program of meetings, social and
other events, on their website <http://www.londonvegans.org.uk/> .





Your Viva!City



This email alert reaches thousands of people but we'd like your help to
make it even better. At the moment we have just one list of addresses
which means that we have to send the same email to everyone. From time
to time we'd like to let people know about things happening in their
area or get in contact with our younger supporters but we don't want to
fill everyone else's mailboxes with information that isn't relevant to
them. What we'd like to do is compile email lists separated into
different regions so that if we do have something we'd like to tell
people in Scotland or Yorkshire about, we can send them the information
without bothering anyone else.



The simplest way for us to identify which area you live in is to know
your postcode and so we'd be grateful if you could take a minute to fill
in our online questionnaire
<http://www.timetogoveggie.com/emailconfirm01.php> . We'd also really
like to know your age if you're under 18 - you can fill in your date of
birth on the form. You won't receive any postal mailings (unless you
want them and fill in your other details) and the information will be
used only to sort your email addresses. You don't even have to give us
your name if you don't want to.



As ever, if you would like any more information about any of our
campaigns, check out our website www.viva.org.uk
<http://www.viva.org.uk/> or get in touch with us directly - contact
details at the top of this email. Please don't click "reply", however -
your email won't be seen at that address.



Thanks again for all your support.





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