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In some of the most unsurprising news, meat production company Maple Leaf Foods was one of the lobbyists of Bill 156, the bill that targets activists and heavily protects the meat industry in Ontario. Now that Bill 156 has passed, companies like Maple Leaf Foods are spared the exposure of animal abuse and can continue to operate without worry of being investigated. This is the same company that was investigated for animal cruelty in the past so why wouldn't they support a bill that protects them?
These big meat processing companies had everything to gain from Bill 156 passing. The bill abolishes transparency in the meat processing industry which would bring to light the many instances of cruelty or abuse animals on these farms endure. It prevents anyone from exposing abuse which would ultimately hold the company accountable and instead, allows them to operate under the radar without being held accountable for the welfare standards the animals on these farms are held to. This means that they can essentially get away with whatever they want because no one is allowed to investigate whether they are operating at appropriate welfare standards.
It's worrying that these companies would be so invested in blocking investigations as opposed to operating at the appropriate welfare standards. Why wouldn't these companies rather happily invite activists in if they are operating appropriately? Wouldn't it do more for their image to welcome activists in and demonstrate an adherence to standards rather then lobby to block them from visiting? In my opinion, this is a clear admittance of guilt and should indicate to all of us that these companies are not trustworthy nor are they operating with animal welfare standards in mind. Instead, they can now continue their operations without anyone ever knowing exactly what is happening. Maple Leaf Foods is a disgraceful company. One that would abuse animals simultaneously as they promote a plant based meat line. A company that claims to always be improving welfare standards but won't let anyone see those improved standards at work. It's clear why they lobbied for Bill 156, they don't care about consumers, they don't care about animal welfare, they care only for money. Boycott this horrible company and their lack of an ethical compass. HAPPY VEG
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Canada is set to invest 100 million dollars in a plant based production plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The plant will be the first of its kind in the world with the capability of producing food-grade canola protein ready and safe for human consumption. This will help position Canada as a leader in plant based food production. The Merit Functional Foods plant is set to become operational in December and will source 100% of its inputs from Canadian sources. This will create Canadian jobs and commit to a more plant based future for Canadians amidst growing plant based consumerism. “This is a very exciting project that demonstrates our Government’s commitment to positioning Canada as a leader in production of plant proteins.” Honorable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada has an abysmal record on animal welfare. Our country continues to support some of the most cruel, gruesome, and exploitative activities in the world when it pertains to animals. For example, the yearly seal hunt that activists have been fighting to end for years continues yearly despite the outcry of disapproval from Canadians. This is contradictory to being a leader in anything plant based. Canada continues to promote the Calgary stampede which exploits animals for entertainment despite activists outlining the many reasons that animals suffer tremendously at this event. Once again, we cannot be a leader in a movement if we are working against the movement on the other hand.
If Canada truly wants to be at the forefront of the plant based movement, then it must commit to improving animal welfare standards throughout the country. Our animal welfare laws in the country have remained virtually unchanged for decades despite growing support for stricter animal welfare laws. We have yet to put an end to fur farming, commit to an end to trophy hunting, or as mentioned, end the gruesome yearly seal hunt. We are demonstrating blatant hypocrisy by trying to be at the forefront of the plant based movement while ignoring our lackluster welfare standards. Don't get me wrong, this new plant will be the start of something very amazing for plant based food production but I can't help but wonder when Canada will commit to actually improving welfare standards for animals across the country. Until we appropriately stand up for animals and demonstrate a true commitment to the plant based movement, this plant and these initiatives fall on deaf ears. Canada must do more! HAPPY VEG The Dutch parliament has just voted in favour of shutting down the remaining 128 mink fur farms across The Netherlands. It is now in up to the Dutch Government to act and put an end to the mink fur farming industry in The Netherlands once and for all.
Fur farming is quite possibly the worst exploitation of animals out there. Breeding animals in horrific conditions only to skin them for fashion is despicable and disgraceful. There is no place for fur in fashion when synthetics are readily available and don't involve the torture of living, breathing animals. Many countries across the world have already enacted bans on fur farming or are in the process of proposing similar bans recognizing the cruelty of fur farming and the lack of necessity in producing fur for fashion.
Despite the many countries that have banned it, an estimated 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year with the largest producers of fur being China, Finland, Denmark, and Poland. Animals like raccoon dogs, rabbits, mink, and foxes live their short lives crammed into cages without appropriate veterinary care, living among their own urine and feces as they await their time to be painfully slaughtered for their fur. It's abhorrent the way we have used animals for our own ambitions and fur farming is the worst of them all. It's time to put an end to fur farming. Across the globe, there is overwhelming support for an end to fur farming but despite this, it continues to operate. We cannot move forward with animal welfare and animal rights if we are still allowing archaic, cruel practices to continue. Ban fur globally, it's time. HAPPY VEG An undercover investigation has exposed gruesome evidence of serious neglect on a chicken farm in Spain. Advocacy group Animal Equality along with newspaper Publico visited the farm several times throughout the growth period for chickens leading up to their slaughter and documented the conditions they were left in on their final visit.
These sorts of stories are the exact reason ag-gag laws are wrong on every level. When you have a law that prevents people from exposing negligence and abuse, you are very clearly admitting that those sorts of things are occurring. This farm is yet another in a string of farms that have exactly the same deplorable conditions but have yet to be exposed. Whether it's chickens, pigs, cows, or sheep, animals on factory farms are suffering at the hands of negligent operators every day and without these exposures, nothing will ever be done about it.
Hopefully this operator is slapped with fines and forced to improve on the welfare standards of their facility. Without making an example out of these operators, this sort of negligence will continue and animals will continue to suffer. HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE! HAPPY VEG Scotland has taken steps to better protect seals after enacting a ban on shooting seals by the fisheries industry. The ban will prevent seals from being shot and killed simply for consuming fish in their natural habitat.
Too often are animals killed to help humans profit and this is yet another example of our entitlement showing. To think that we have given ourselves the right to shoot and kill animals in their natural habitat for doing things that come naturally to them all because we want to steal their food and sell it. Often times, the animals we are killing already face unprecedented perils in the wild which include food shortages, habitat loss, and poaching, and yet we still deem it necessary to contribute to their perils by shooting and killing them for interfering with our livelihoods. It's a sickening cycle of entitlement that humans have contributed to for decades.
These situations are not specific to seals as I mentioned. When you look at elephants for example, they are being killed frequently for their conflicts with humans despite the fact that they are an endangered species. There is a lack of empathy for the struggles of animals, especially if it interferes with our existence. Endangered animals being shot and killed because we have taken their land. Endangered animals being shot and killed because we have overdeveloped and left them with little to no space to find food. This cycle of entitlement has pushed so many animals further and further towards extinction and humans have failed to see the bigger picture. In this case, this ban is a necessary step in protecting seals in UK waters. As temperatures continue to rise, there will undoubtedly be more displacement and trouble for seals in these waters and we should be looking at ways to protect them, not protect ourselves. Congratulations Scotland for stepping up to protect seals. HAPPY VEG The Colombian Senate voted almost unanimously this week to enact a ban on animal testing for cosmetics. This would prohibit the testing of cosmetics on animals as well as their ingredients produced in Colombia. The bill will now move to the house for final drafting before hopefully being signed by the President effectively ending cosmetics animal testing by 2024.
Cosmetics testing on animals is as unnecessary as can be imagined. Cosmetics are NOT NECESSARY products. There is no cosmetic that is going to cure cancer or Alzheimer's, cosmetics won't solve world hunger or overfishing, there is simply no justification for continuing to use animals for these cruel tests. These poor animals live in laboratories, stuffed into cages as they await the next tests administered to them, scared and emotionally worn down. All of this to determine if a new skin cream causes skin irritation. It's ridiculous.
What's especially sickening about cosmetics testing is that the animals are discarded like trash at the end of their repeated abuse. Not to mention that many a scientist has spoken out against animal testing for its lack of accuracy in determining results in humans. While animals can be inflicted with similar diseases and ailments, humans and animals simply don't react to products or treatments the same ways. Are humans and rabbits truly that similar that we can guarantee that a skin cream won't cause a rash on us because a rabbit didn't suffer any ill effects? It's an abuse of power and blatant exploitation of animals. It's time to end cosmetics testing across the globe. Animals are not ours to test on and abuse repeatedly for some stupid lipstick or mascara. Enough is enough, ban cosmetics testing on animals period. HAPPY VEG Ontario introduced Bill 156 in December of 2019 which is a direct attack on animal activists and a big support to the animal agriculture industry. The bill would limit access to slaughterhouses, transport trucks, and farms, and make it illegal to go undercover to expose animal abuse. This bill is designed to prevent exposure of cruelty and allow the animal agriculture industry to operate without fear of being exposed for poor animal welfare standards.
Look, if you're operating a slaughterhouse and you're operating it to the welfare standards set out, then you wouldn't have any issue with allowing activists to tour the facility. One would only seek to prevent them from filming or getting inside because there are likely several instances of lackluster welfare standards. Animal abuse is rampant in this industry as animals are viewed as nothing more than products. Videos have shown instances of animals being kicked, choked, punched, thrown, and trampled on. Videos have shown animals that were in dire need of veterinary care, left to struggle and die as their peers watch in horror. Animals crawling over one another, covered in maggots and feces. These things are happening and without whistle blowers, it will continue to occur. Why does the government think it is wiser to prevent exposure as opposed to monitoring these facilities properly and ensuring welfare standards are met? Why is it always the animal agriculture industry that is pandered to when animals are being mistreated and abused? It's disgusting and as I said, an admittance of guilt in the situation. We need to be holding these facilities accountable and forcing them to comply with welfare standards, not allow it to continue and penalize those who try to expose wrongdoings. Enough is enough. There is still time to send a very clear message to Doug Ford that ag-gag laws are immoral and should not pass to law. Follow the link below to a petition from LAST CHANCE FOR ANIMALS demanding that Doug Ford cease Bill 156. Take a minute to sign it, animals depend on us in Ontario! stopontarioaggagbill.com/ HAPPY VEG
A few days ago I shared a saddening story with you all about an elephant that consumed a firecracker laden pineapple that blew up in its mouth ultimately killing it. The elephant suffered in agonizing pain, unable to eat while pregnant for 4 days before ultimately succumbing to her injuries. Well, there has been one arrest in the case after such a short time while two other potential suspects remain at large.
When you look at habitat loss, these beautiful animals have less space to roam freely as human development grows. This obviously will lead to an increase in elephant traffic as their land is being taken away from them. We must work in unison with wild animals, especially those that face extinction and should be looking at every way possible to help them thrive rather than being bothered by their existence. A world without elephants is not a world I want to be living in considering we have known for a long time now that elephant populations are in grave danger.
Ultimately, this arrest is a positive thing that will hopefully lead authorities to the remaining two suspects. This will hopefully have authorities enforcing the country bomb bans a little more diligently so we don't see more animals suffering tremendously until they perish alone. I will update when the remaining suspects have been arrested! HAPPY VEG A rare gray wolf made its way to Utah and government officials have set out traps in order to kill the wolf after it was suspected of killing livestock. This is the first wolf that Utah has targeted since eradicating wolves in 1920 making this case especially saddening. The area of Utah that this wolf has been located no longer has wolves listed under the ESA meaning it has no protections whatsoever and if fund, will be shot and killed.
The animal agriculture industry is heavily protected by the government as it is an extremely profitable industry. In almost every case, the animal agriculture industry comes out on top and will be helped in any way possible. When we look at gray wolves and being currently endangered, it's saddening but expected that their only solution is to slaughter this wolf rather than try to trap and release it back to an area where it is protected. It's the right thing to do but when we're talking about the livestock industry, the lines between right and wrong are incredibly blurred.
If wild animals continue to lose their habitat in favour of the continued growth of the animal agriculture industry, we will see more and more animals ending up on the Endangered Species List. It almost seems like we push them to being nearly extinct, list them as endangered, spend hoards of money and time on protecting them only to delist them and repeat the cycle. All of this because the animal agriculture industry gets a pass in almost every situation they encounter. It's despicable and if people aren't seeing a very serious problem with this, then they're as corrupt as the industry itself. Stop pandering to the livestock industry. They pollute our planet excessively, steal land from wild animals to allow for livestock grazing and punish wild animals for hunting in their own habitat. This cycle is pushing natural carnivores towards extinction and all anyone seems to care about is this big, money-making machine that is the animal agriculture industry. It's time to start protecting wild animals before it's too late. Follow the link at the top of this post for contacts and information you can use to help protect this beautiful animal before it's too late. HAPPY VEG A pineapple filled with an explosive blew up in a pregnant Asian elephant's mouth leaving her in agonizing pain before she died 4 days later. The explosive went off, shattering her jaw and injuring her tongue, trunk, and mouth leaving her unable to eat and ultimately, starve for the remaining days of her life. Farmers will use these "country bombs" as a means of controlling wild boar populations that destroy their crops. Explosives are shoved inside of fruits like papaya, pineapple, and watermelon which lures the boars to them ultimately killing them when they start to engage with the explosive laden fruit. The practice is illegal but farmers regularly use this method despite the illegality. Unfortunately, these bombs are indescriminate and can harm non-target animals and humans as made evident by this poor elephant that suffered tremendously as a result of coming in to contact with the bomb.
On top of regular monitoring, there needs to be additional steps taken to prevent these bombs from being used. As World Animal News suggests, India must stop the sale of any parts that could be used to manufacture these bombs. If the parts are readily available, there is no guarantee that these bombs will not continue to be used. Not only should these parts & pieces be taken off the market, but as I mentioned, farmers must be educated on humane wildlife population control. This will make it easier to hold them accountable when regular enforcement of the ban on these bombs comes into effect. There will be no excuse if they've been educated on more humane methods.
Look, it's a no brainer here. These bombs will blow up anything that comes into contact with them. Some of the creatures that can come into contact with them are endangered species including bears & elephants. These animals already face unimaginable perils in the wild without factoring in these horrific fruit bombs. This elephant suffered for 4 days with a destroyed jaw, in agonizing pain and starving while pregnant. She wandered to a nearby river, partially submerged to ease some of the pain she was experiencing and she remained there until she passed away. There is no excuse for the amount of pain and suffering this beautiful mother endured. Enforce the laws, stop the sale of parts that manufacture bombs, and monitor farmers regularly to ensure their compliance. Animals deserve better than being left to starve and die for several days. It's despicable. HAPPY VEG |
Stay educated and remain involved in animal welfare. Together, we can all make a difference!
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