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Jun 182009
Further Shocking Terror: 3 more House Searches in the Animal Protection Repression Case
House searches take place despite peaceful blockade, but as expected, nothing was found!
2 years and 7 months of investigations and 26 house searches are obviously still not enough. In an unbelievable escalation the state prosecution ordered a further 3 house searches: all addresses of one of the same people targeted in last years spate of searches. This time his flat was searched for a second time and in addition, his mother and fathers separate homes were also searched. Particularly tragic is the fact that this person’s father has recently committed suicide, but his home was nevertheless turned upside down.
Although the search warrant stated that they were looking for chemical substances, police took away 5 DVDs, 3 computer hard-drives, 4 old computers, a mobile phone and a camera memory card. In other words, the search was unsuccessful.
In protest at this police terror, supporters raced to the scene and blocked the entrance to the flat, successfully hindering access to the police. After some hours and police reinforcements, the supporters were removed, with unnecessary force, and the search took place. One person was arrested for not giving ID, but was later released.
VGT’s Dr Martin Balluch: “What on earth is happening here? Which country are we living in? Those from the police special commission and from the state prosecution responsible for this escalation appear to have really lost the plot! They have no evidence against the accused and now they want to show us all that any of us can be raided at any time. This is an attempt to keep us in a permanent state of fear. This is what one normally refers to as terror!“
Jun 102009
Pig welfare campaigners target national pork conference
Pig welfare has become a serious concern for the New Zealand public however animal advocates say the pig industry remains ‘pigheaded’ and is not taking the welfare of the animals seriously.
Pig farmers, pork processors, veterinarians and consultants will discuss getting more productivity out of pigs during the ‘Advancing Pork Production’ conference in Palmerston North on Monday. National animal advocacy organisation SAFE says the primary focus of the pork industry right now should be the welfare of its animals, not simply how to exploit them further.
SAFE will be outside the conference to demand the pig industry abandons cruel farming practices, along with other animal rights and welfare organisations.
“The New Zealand pig industry has been exposed as using extremely cruel confinement systems where pregnant sows are kept in small crates. We are holding them accountable for animal cruelty and will be reminding those within the pig industry that they need to take immediate action to improve pig welfare,” says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.
“The public outcry that followed the Sunday programme on TV One should have sent a clear message to the industry that it is time to change their cruel practices. However conference agenda topics such as ‘The Growth Potential of New Zealand Pigs’ and ‘Pork Flavour and Composition’ show that the industry remains more interested in its profits than addressing serious animal welfare problems,” says Mr Kriek.
In New Zealand over 20,000 pregnant sows are confined in crates merely 60 centimetres wide. These animals can suffer leg weakness and other health problems and often exhibit unnatural behaviour such as bar biting, indicating that they are under severe stress.
Pork conference protest details
Starts 9am on Monday, 8 June, outside the Kingsgate Hotel at 110 Fitzherbert Avenue in Palmerston North.
The protest will be followed by a public meeting at 7pm at the Palmerston North City Library on George Street.
For more information contact Hans Kriek on 027 446 2711.
19 May 2009
MEDIA RELEASE
The identity of the intensive piggery at the centre of a national investigation which has left Mike King and most New Zealanders disgusted and horrified will be revealed by the national animal advocacy organisation SAFE today.
SAFE says it will disclose the identity of the farm to the Minister of Agriculture tomorrow in order for MAF to investigate, however the group maintains the North Island piggery is a typical sow stall operation and is unlikely to be breaking the law.
SAFE can reveal the owner is a leading pig industry representative and former director of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board, who owns five piggeries.
“The owner of the intensive piggery at the centre of public outrage is no rogue farmer. He owns several intensive piggeries worth an estimated $4m. This farm has previously been investigated by MAF, who found nothing in breach of the law. The farm is disgusting but appears to be operating within the law, so we doubt if MAF will find anything different this time,” says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.
SAFE was surprised to hear comments from the chairman of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board denying ever seeing similar conditions on other intensive pig farms with sow stalls.
Chris Trengrove said on Close Up tonight:
“I have not been on a farm that looks anything like that. We are horrified as well. We support the minister in investigating that farm.”
“SAFE says over 22,000 pregnant sows live in sow stalls in New Zealand and suffer the same fate as those pigs on the exposed piggery. Other pig farms may look a bit cleaner but the cages are just as small and cruel,” says Mr Kriek.
For more information contact Hans Kriek on 027 446 2711.
Apr 062009
SAFE MEDIA RELEASE
24 MARCH 2009
The resumption of live sheep exports to the Middle East will seriously damage New Zealand’s international reputation and set back animal welfare by a decade.
New Zealand’s second-largest animal advocacy organisation SAFE says the National-led government has made its first move to reveal it is not committed to animal welfare. The Minister of Agriculture’s decision to allow the cruel live export trade to resume has sparked immediate talks of action between leading national and international animal advocacy agencies.
The Minister of Agriculture has signed a death-sentence for New Zealand sheep and perhaps also New Zealand’s thriving export industry. Exporting petrified sheep halfway across the world by sea for nearly a month only to have their throats cut in the most barbaric way at their destination is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by overseas consumers, says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.
SAFE refutes the Minister of Agriculture, David Carter, can assure animal welfare standards can be maintained on board and will challenge the Minister to prove otherwise.
The Minister cannot possibly guarantee that animal welfare standards will be maintained on board these death ships. Every sheep shipment that has left New Zealand for the Middle East for the past 20 years has resulted in hundreds of animals dying, and thousands more suffering. The Minister is treating the suffering of these animals with contempt.
SAFE will ask the Minister to explain what he considers to be an acceptable level of animal suffering and mortality on board these ships.
How can the government sanction sending tens of thousands of New Zealand sheep to endure slaughter and handling methods which are illegal in this country? We will advise the Minister to expect unprecedented national and international campaigning if resumption of this cruel practice is approved.
For more information contact SAFE spokesperson Hans Kriek 027 446 2711.
Visit http://safe.org.nz/Campaigns/Ban-Live-Sheep-Exports/ for more campaign information.
March 11, 2009
PHILADELPHIA — The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics and the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, the animal protection organizations who administer the Leaping Bunny Program in the United States, Canada and Europe, join together to celebrate the end of animal testing for cosmetics in the European Union.
As of today, the EU has banned all animal tests for cosmetic ingredients, formulations and final products. In addition, the sale of cosmetics and ingredients that have been tested on animals, regardless of where the testing occurred, is also prohibited, with the exception of three test areas (repeated-dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity and toxicokinetics). The final three test areas will be banned in March 2013.
“This is an historic occasion and a significant step forward for animals in laboratories,” said Michelle Thew, chief executive of the ECEAE. “We are delighted that this ban has finally come into force. We will now continue our global campaign to seek an end to the appalling suffering inflicted on animals in the name of beauty worldwide.”
The EU cosmetic testing law will have an enormous impact on the cosmetics industry both in the EU and abroad as the law sets specific deadlines not just for the production, but also for the sale of products that have been tested on animals or contain animal-tested ingredients. In today’s global economy, companies based in the U.S. and Canada depend on profits from their European markets. This dependence will inevitably require these companies to more aggressively pursue non-animal alternatives for product testing.
“We are thrilled that Europe has taken a stand against cosmetic testing on animals,” said CCIC Chair Tracie Letterman. “We hope lawmakers in the United States and Canada will pass similar measures and put an end to this unnecessary cruelty.”
Companies certified through the Leaping Bunny Program in the U.S., Canada and Europe make a voluntary pledge to eliminate animal testing from all stages of product development. The company’s ingredient suppliers make the same pledge and the result is a product guaranteed to be 100 percent free of new animal testing.
The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics is made up of the following organizations: American Anti-Vivisection Society; American Humane Association; Beauty Without Cruelty, USA; Doris Day Animal League; The Humane Society of the United States; and the New England Anti-Vivisection Society. CCIC’s international partners are Animal Alliance of Canada and European Coalition to End Animal Experiments. On the web at LeapingBunny.org.
Wellington, Dec 9; NZ Press Association
Visiting US medical researcher Neal Barnard warns of a diet high in meat and dairy
United States medical researcher Neal Barnard says he makes no apologies for promoting a vegan-style diet in New Zealand whose farmers rely on the world eating meat and dairy foods for their livelihood.
Dr Barnard, in Wellington to address Victoria University students, told NZPA that obesity and “terrible” eating habits increasingly meant that people in affluent countries were facing a rising tide of adult-onset diabetes and premature deaths.
People with type-2 diabetes – a result of a combination of genetics and poor eating and exercise habits – ran a high risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and limb loss.
He said meat-based diets were a problem in the US, where individual meat consumption had gone up from an average 68kg a year to 93kg, and cheese consumption has risen from 2kg to 15kg a head.
He compared unhealthy foods with modern attitudes to cigarettes, suggesting that junk food should carry warning labels about diabetes.
Dr Barnard said that fat build-up inside muscle cells interfered with signalling by insulin inside the cells and their ability to “burn” fat.
His research showed that type-2 diabetics could “repair” their insulin function by cutting meat and dairy from their diet, and slashing their intake of food oils.
“The low-fat vegan diet is more effective at treating diabetes than the typical diet or oral medications,” he said.
“I want people to stop focusing on how much pasta, how much glucose, and how much rice they eat,” he said. “Instead, I want to take the grease out of the diet.
“This approach could put a huge dent in the diabetes epidemic,” he said.
Over 175,500 New Zealanders have congenital diabetes (type-1) or the adult-onset form (type-2). Dr Barnard described the illness as “the disease of our time”.
“In the US, one third of all children born since 2000 will develop diabetes,” he said.
People who ate a low-fat vegan diet – cutting out all meat and dairy products and slashing their intake of vegetarian oils – could lower their blood sugar levels more and lose more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet, said Dr Barnard. Though he is promoting his book the Reverse Diabetes Diet, Dr Barnard said he was not promising everyone following the diet could be cured, but that blood sugar levels could be reduced, and insulin resistance turned around.
Vegan dieters could lower their cholesterol more and end up with better kidney function, and the vegan diet was easier to follow because it did not involve counting calories or portion control.
“What really happens is a change in energy density: you get foods low in fat – fat has nine calories per gram while carbohydrate has only four grams – and all the fibre fills you up.”
NZPAWGTkcadjnb 09/12/08 20-30NZ