Shocking animal abuse

Like most New Zealanders I used to enjoy a good steak and chips for dinner or a fry-up of bacon and eggs for breakfast. However a while ago I became a vegetarian and am glad that I did. Don't worry though, this post isn't about trying to persuade you to cutout meat from your diet, it's about the terrible conditions many farmed animals live in and who allows such inhuman conditions to occur.

Yesterday, One News reported:

Pork farm inspections under scrutiny

The Pork Board is defending its inspection process following allegations that meat certified as being farmed safely and humanely under their pork care label comes from a farm with substandard conditions.

TVNZ's Sunday programme (video) showed footage filmed by animal rights group Farm Watch, which showed pigs living in squalid conditions. In fact it was difficult to watch because of just how horrendous those animals were being treated.

"They found dozens and dozens of rats running over the animals, just shocking conditions" Hans Kriek from SAFE told the programme. "The whole pig care labelling scheme is a complete nonsense and basically it's just a bogus scheme to mislead consumers."

Here's the Farmwatch video:

Yesterday, Scoop also reported on a Green party press release::

Horrendous conditions on pig farm show MPI failing

The horrendous conditions animals are living in at a Canterbury pig farm are completely unacceptable and show that MPI are failing to do their job by putting economic interests ahead of animal welfare, said the Green Party today.

Footage obtained by Farm Watch and SAFE from a Canterbury farm, which featured tonight on TV One’s Sunday programme, showed animals living in horrendous conditions and revealed how inadequate New Zealand’s regulation of the pig industry is.

Documents obtained show that this farm was investigated by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in April 2013 following a complaint. In August 2013, MPI claimed that the farm was compliant.

Another thing that was unacceptable was Nathan Guy's response to questions concerning the well documented animal abuse that has occurred at the Canterbury pig farm. After trying to say that he wasn't responsible and any questions should be directed to the Ministry for Primary Industries, Guy basically said that the inspection process was "robust" and there wasn't any problem at all. What a load of rubbish!

When pressed on the issue the Minister said MPI would be ensuring there wouldn't be any further abuse. However that's exactly the same assurance they gave last time the same piggery was found to be abusing its livestock. The only reasonable conclusion one can reach is that National has been ignoring the fact that these pigs were being abused.

My question to the Minister is that if the piggery was being inspected properly in the first place, why do those terrible images of pigs being abused exist? This points to a complete failure on the part of MPI, a failure that Nathan Guy should accept responsibility for.

Real men don't shoot ducks

Kindness not cruelty sought for New Zealand’s ducks. Tomorrow is the first day of duck shooting season and we’ve got a message for the shooters who delight in taking pot shots at animals!

Read more about SAFE's campaign against duck shooting here.

Hens' Night Trailer

Hens' Night Trailer from Debbie Matthews on Vimeo.

If fast food could talk...

Nathan Guy MIA

Today, the NZ Herald reported on Primary Industries Minister, Nathan Guy, deciding to stay in South America instead of returning home to contend with the drought.

"I can't make it rain. This is a very important trip and we're opening doors to getting our products into these markets. What I can tell farmers in New Zealand is that I am getting a regular update. The areas I have declared a medium drought event support is flowing.

Support is flowing? The Herald also reported:

A spokesman for Work and Income said no rural assistance payments had been made since drought had been declared. The payments are equivalent to the unemployment benefit and are available in extreme hardship.

So, despite no support payments being made to farmers, Nathan Guy thinks support is flowing? What an idiot!

It appears that National is trying to minimize the effects of the drought as best they can because to do otherwise might mean they had to acknowledge one of the main reasons for its severity; climate change.

Instead of waking up to the reality of anthropogenic climate change and realising that agriculture is not immune, National are simply burying their heads in the sand... What a pack of dipshits!

Bright Eyes (NZ)

Click here to sign the global campaign against cosmetic animal testing.

Forest & Bird, KCC's Kereru Count

Logan Dawson - Asshole of the Week

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

A young farmer who encouraged his dogs to attack boars at his property and then filmed the attack has walked free from court.

Logan Dawson pleaded guilty to two charges of ill-treating a boar, and two charges of baiting a boar - charges which have never before been laid in New Zealand, the RSPCA said.

The 24-year-old was discharged without conviction, but ordered to pay almost $8400 in reparation and a $500 donation to the RSPCA when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court today.

Dawson admitted encouraging his dogs to attack a number of boars at his Waikato property to train them for pig hunting.

It's true that you can use a real pig to start training a dog to hunt, but they're meant to be kept from actually attacking the pig. So let's get something clear, this has absolutely nothing to do with how you're meant to train a pig dog. There simply doesn't need to be any blood shed to start training a pig dog properly.

That makes Dawson's excuses for why he was particularly cruel to a number of wild pigs entirely unacceptable. To actively torture an animal in that way displays a level of inhumanity that should not be tolerated. But to then film and promote that cruelty online shows that Dawson is a complete sadist!

In fact to maim or kill because one desires to see the pain of an animal shows that Dawson is sick in the head, and the judge should have at least ensured he was psychologically assessed to determine if there was any further risk. Who is Judge Riddell to say Dawson won't do the same thing again but keep it secret, or perhaps even move onto torturing humans?

Another thing that's pissing me off about all this is the way in which it's been reported. The granny Herald's article for instance is written to ensure Dawson is painted favourably. The online version is also half the size of the print edition FFS! That's not proper journalism, that's biased reporting... Here's a bit of what they didn't bother to publish online for some reason:

Once a person had an animal in captivity after catching it in a wild state, that person became the person in charge of the animal and subject to the Animal Welfare Act 1999.

Being that Dawson is guilty of killing an animal in such a manner that the animal suffers unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress, he should have been charged according to what the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (PDF) actually states:

25 Penalties

(a) in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to both.

Clearly the fine given to Dawson by Judge Riddell is a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket in comparison to his crimes and what should have been handed down. Such a pathetic punishment will likely not change his nasty behaviour at all.

Dawson's lawyer Thomas Sutcliffe told the court his client was a novice hunter and had taken advice on training his dogs from hunting books, television and off the internet, Radio New Zealand reported. Dawson never knew what he did was wrong.

That's because Logan Dawson is a sadistic asshole! There's also the fact that ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Judge Rosemary Riddell ruled that a conviction far outweighed the gravity of the offence and would seriously affect his career prospects in farming.

A conviction would seriously affect Dawson's career... Good job. Why would we want a fuckwit like Dawson who has displayed such a complete lack of empathy towards animal's suffering working on a farm?

New Zealand has a serious issue with animal cruelty with a lack of proper law enforcement which allows it to continue. Until we properly ascribe punishments that fit the crimes, animal cruelty will be an unresolved issue and a blight on our international reputation.

MAN

White Kiwi hatches

Boycott The Hobbit

Today, the Guardian reported:

Just three days before the film premieres in New Zealand's capital, Wellington, the long-awaited Peter Jackson adaptation of JRR Tolkien's first foray into Middle-earth is under attack from several quarters. Its Hollywood producers stand variously accused of cruelty to animals, suppression of the press and exploitative merchandising.

There is that... But there's also the lead into this story, one of the National government reducing workers rights and gifting millions of taxpayer dollars to the US movie industry.

My sympathy really does go out to all the hard working creative types who’ve put huge amounts of time and effort into this production, and must be feeling disappointed at the negative press the franchise is currently receiving. But this does not atone for nor excuse the wrongdoing that has occurred in making The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

The abuse of New Zealand employment laws, disregarding a signed contract with JRR Tolkien's estate to breach copyright laws, undeniable animal cruelty and trying to inhibit free press with vindictive decisions is a sign that the Hobbit is a production that is rotten to the core.

Therefore people shouldn't be promoting such abuse by providing further money to the environmentally destructive and socially detrimental practices of "Sir" Peter Jackson. He's assuredly a vile money grubbing scumbag that only deserves people's contempt, nothing more.

Instead, we should listen to the actors guild and animal rights group PETA in boycotting The Hobbit movies… After all, the book is bound to be better.

Propaganda

Imagine a world without factory farming

Jackson must be spewing

On the back of bad publicity concerning the mistreatment of animals comes more bad news for the makers of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey movie just days out from its premiere at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington.

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

The estate of JRR Tolkien is suing the producers of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for causing "irreparable harm" to the author's legacy, just a week out from the film's official premiere in Wellington.

A $98 million lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles District Court by the Tolkien estate and its book publisher HarperCollins accuses Warner Bros, New Line Cinema and Saul Zaentz Co of copyright infringement and breach of contract.

It claims the studios did "irreparable harm" to Tolkien's legacy by authorising inappropriate merchandise based to his works, including Lord of the Rings-themed online gambling games, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

Clearly they're unhappy with the extensive commercialization of JRR Tolkien's work, with the estates attourney claiming that the defendants have:

With increasing boldness, engaged in a continuing and escalating pattern of usurping rights to which they are not entitled.

That means they're in breach of contract and copyright laws.

This is a huge headache for Peter Jackson. But unlike the animal abuse that was played down by the Academy award winning director because apparently no animals were hurt on set, the claim by JRR Tolkien's estate (PDF) concerning all non-tangible merchandise such as video games based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit will be much harder to dismiss.

This will also receive widespread international attention, media attention that will cost the makers of the Hobbit at the box office. There goes that feel good coverage Warner Brothers was hoping for to promote the Hobbit movie's and much of their merchandise along with it... Peter Jackson must be spewing.

NZ International Rodeo: The animals' perspective

David Carter tortures chickens

Today, One News reported:

A group of 14 activists blocked off the road to the Mainland Poultry farm in Waikouaiti at around 3am, setting up scaffold towers and hanging protest banners.

Workers arriving at the plant were forced to turn away. ONE News reporter Megan Martin said staff have stopped turning up.

"The bosses must have got hold of them and said there's no point in coming to work today," she said.

"The farm can't operate, there's only one access road into Mainland Poultry and at the moment the protesters have completely blocked that off."

Police are at the scene, but have taken no action so far. Protesters have indicated they plan to stay for as long as possible and will have to be physically removed before they end their action.

Coalition to End Factory Farming spokesperson Carl Scott alleged the company is keeping its hens in cages in a cruel and inhumane way.

"An undercover investigation of Mainland Poultry's new colony cage system by Open Rescue in March revealed that hens are still suffering inside cages," he claimed.

A claim based in reality...

Hen from Mainland Poultry farm

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Send an e-card to the Minister David Carter, asking him to oppose all cage systems for layer hens. Invite your friends and family to do the same in support.

Support SAFE’s campaign by getting involved, and making a donation

Above all, don’t fund factory farming, don’t buy cage eggs.

Boycott Rabobank

Black Leopard - Panthera pardus

Today, Yahoo News reported:

Thirty-six endangered big cats at Northland's Zion Wildlife Garden could be killed off if an urgent hearing goes ahead.

Their fate was to be decided in the High Court next month, but the park's receivers Rabobank have applied for a hearing to be held tomorrow.

Evgeny Orlov, lawyer for park operator Patricia Bush, says if the hearing goes ahead the cats will be moved or euthanased.

"They're applying for a court order to kill them, that's not only inhumane, that's ridiculous that you have one of the biggest collections of cats in Asia, if not in the world, they're all endangered, they're beautiful animals and even looking at them makes you cry.

Evgeny Orlov says the cats' owner Ms Bush is distraught at the bank's move.

Is Rabobank crazy? To even contemplate killing these endangered animals is fucking unbelievable! Many of the big cats are included on the International Union for Conservation's Red List of Threatened Species.

Zion Wildlife Gardens has 3 Bengal (Panthera) Tigers - Endangered, 7 Royal White Tigers - Endangered, 1 Leopard pardus (Black Panther) - Near threatened, 2 Asiatic Cheetahs - Vulnerable, 14 Asiatic (Panthera) Lions - Vulnerable and another 10 White Lions, which makes them even more unique.

I really do hope Rabobank will see some sense and retract their despicable court action that could potentially have these endangered big cats killed.

The Northern Advocate reported:

Evgeny Orlov, lawyer for park operator Patricia Busch, said he was more than surprised by the move.

"I'm angered and offended that they could even contemplate asking for an order to kill 36 wild animals that are perfectly healthy," he told APNZ.

"If they want the animals to be killed or thrown away, why not just give them to Ms Busch, withdraw from these proceedings and let her move them to a place where they will be looked after, where they will be safe."

Mr Orlov will argue in court tomorrow that Rabobank does not have the right to ask for any order over the animals.

Rabobank should think about the international scandal this is turning into, with the despicable idea causing New Zealand worldwide embarrassment.

In the mean time, lets boycott Rabobank for even contemplating killing these endangered big cats for a miserly $100,000 debt. What a bunch of cretins.

Lion vs Jackal

Daring jackal image wins BBC Wildlife Magazine Camera-trap Photo of the Year 2011 competition, in association with the World Land Trust.

© Ken Stratford - Ongava Research Centre.

A black-backed jackal confronting a young adult male lion – in broad daylight: this is the incredible winning image of this year’s BBC Wildlife Magazine Camera-trap Photo competition.

The photograph by Ken Stratford is exceptional, but more importantly it has directly raised funds for the conservation organisation he works for, the Ongava Research Centre in Namibia.