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CAMPAIGNS UPDATE: MAY 2004



In this Update: Live Horse Exports

Kangaroo Kill Continues

'Welfare' at Slaughter

Duck Campaign





Live Horse Exports from the UK: Back from the Brink



As those of you who received our last Campaigns Update will know, the EU
Commission had proposed a new set of regulations about the transport of
animals in the EU and those rules would have prevented Britain from
maintaining the individual national laws that prevent horses from being
exported for meat. However, at the crucial meeting in April at which the
Agriculture Ministers of the EU countries were to adopt the propsals,
there was no agreement. This means that our existing laws remain in
place.



It isn't clear yet exactly what position the UK Government took. They
had been unhappy with various aspects of the new Regulations but had
broadly welcomed them and had indicated that they wouldn't support any
special protection for British horses. In the days leading up to the
meeting they had shown a little more open-mindedness however and after
the talks collapsed issued a statement saying that they could not
support the proposals as they stood. They didn't mention horses at all
in their statement.



Although British horses have been "winners" in this instance, the
situation remains that other farmed animals in the EU still face long
journeys in appalling conditions. We are pleased that the unsatisfactory
regulations being proposed were not adopted and that there is a
possibility that better regulations may now result. On the other hand,
EU negotiations of this kind are tortuous and animals will continue to
be abused until a new deal is struck and made law, which could take a
long time. The presence of the new EU accession countries like Poland -
many of whom are struggling to meet existing EU welfare standards - will
also act as a brake on progress so the situation remains serious.
Undoubtedly, British horses have benefited for the moment and it may
well be that in the longer term other farmed animals will benefit but
right now, animals across Europe continue to suffer during export and
transport.



For the present, animals other than horses continue to be exported from
the UK and you can support the campaign to end this by writing to your
MP and the Government minister responsible - Ben Bradshaw MP, Defra,
Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1A 0AA.











Kangaroo Slaughter: the Madness Continues



The largest slaughter of wild land animals on the planet continues,
despite the mounting evidence that kangaroo populations are under
threat. This year alone, hunters are licensed to kill 4.4 million adult
kangaroos to supply the kangaroo industries - that figure does not
include the huge numbers of infant and still-dependent joeys who will be
killed or die as a result of their mothers being shot.



Information that has recently emerged about the state of kangaroo
populations and the systems which are supposed to regulate them shows
that not only is the kangaroo killing industry unsustainable, the
Government in Australia is aware of this but is so reliant on the trade
that it is taking no steps to tackle the issue.



Leaked Government documents have shown that "kangaroo populations have
declined so much in the past 12 months there would not be enough to meet
the demands of the kangaroo industry", according to an article in the
Australian Daily Telegraph . The article 'Too few roos to go round' goes
on to say that the situation is "unprecedented" in that commercial
demands now far outweigh the sustainable population, according to an
internal Department of Environment document. There is "deep concern" in
the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) about the conservation of
kangaroo populations, already decimated by drought and that "... numbers
are as low as they have in 22 years". In an article published just a
couple of weeks ago, one of the top kangaroo shooters reports seeing the
biggest fall in population in his twenty-five years of shooting. A
University of New England zoologist reports numbers in New South Wales
being cut by a half.



It is therefore shocking that despite an internal NPWS document showing
that the Government was warned three years ago about the increasing
demand for kangaroo 'product' and "the problems with sustaining
populations", the NPWS actually recommended that quotas for 2004 be kept
at current levels. It may be shocking, but it is hardly surprising: the
article goes on to state that the NPWS' kangaroo management division -
the body responsible for advising the Government on cull quotas -is
entirely funded by money it receives from the kangaroo industry.



The commercial kill continues to satisfy two markets - meat and skin.
Remarkably, the use of kangaroo skin in football boots like David
Beckham's Adidas Predators underpins the whole shooting industry which
is why we continue to apply pressure to Adidas. Please get in contact
with them to express your concern (click here
<http://www.savethekangaroo.com/> for more details). Secondly, if you
come across anywhere selling kangaroo meat, please complain and please
let us know their details so that we can contact them ourselves. To find
out more about the sale of kangaroo and other exotic meat, click here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/exoticmeat/index.htm>





'Welfare' at Slaughter



Following the Government's announcement that it will not ban religious
slaughter, Viva! has now prepared its submission to the Government's
consultation on welfare of animals at slaughter. The Government's
statement was made as part of its response to the Farm Animal Welfare
Council's report on the subject, published almost a year ago. FAWC's
report covered all aspects of the slaughter of "red meat" animals (ie
not fish or poultry) and highlighted a number of other issues of deep
concern, including the huge problem of ineffective stunning leading to
animals being conscious when their throats are cut. Scientific evidence
suggests that millions of animals each year are either inadequately
stunned, experience pain on stunning and/or recover consciousness before
being killed. While attention has rightly been focused on religious
slaughter without prestunning, we must not lose sight of the terrible
suffering that takes place in every abattoir. To find out more about
slaughter click here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/slaughter/index.htm> . To read Viva!'s
full submission, click here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ritual_slaughter/fawcdefraresponse.htm
l>



Stop Press: Viva! has now arranged a meeting with Ben Bradshaw MP, the
Minister for Animal Welfare, to discuss the issue of religious
slaughter. Please sustain the pressure on the Government over this issue
- we still have a chance to influence them before their policy is
formalised later in the summer. To find out more about religious
slaughter without prestunning and how you can help, click here
<http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ritual_slaughter/index.htm>





Duck Campaign: Supermarkets in the Spotlight



Following excellent media coverage for our Day of the Ducks campaign
against Marks & Spencer, we have been in contact with M&S and also other
supermarkets supplied by Manor Farm Ducklings to seek meetings to
discuss the issue. M&S have now agreed to a meeting which will take
place next month. While they have previously been quick to rubbish our
evidence, they have seen almost none of it and we believe they will find
it very hard to maintain their public relations exercise once they have
done so.



You can find out more about our investigation and the day itself by
clicking here. <http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks/ms.html> Marks &
Spencer are clearly incredibly sensitive about this issue and we firmly
believe that they will change policy if we can sustain the pressure. If
you haven't already done so, please send our e-postcard to M&S Chief
Executive Roger Holmes by clicking on the button on the right of the web
page.



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.



Thanks again for all your support.





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