Written by PETA
The following was first published on Animal Writes: PETA UK's Blog
Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Almost 100 PETA U.K. supporters took part in an eye-catching photo opportunity in London Saturday to demand that the government not adopt lower standards of protection for animals in laboratories when it incorporates the E.U.'s new directive regulating animal experiments later this year. If the government adopts the directive without changes, all animals will be affected. But dogs and cats in particular would become far more likely to be used in experiments because they would lose the special protections that Britain has given them for more than 25 years.
"Britons don't want more cats and dogs experimented on or more suffering for the millions of other animals used in laboratories. They want fewer animals used and less pain," said PETA U.K. policy adviser Alistair Currie. "We are calling on the public to send a clear message to the government that the citizens will not accept the laws that protect British animals to fall to the level of the EU's lowest common denominator."
A big thanks to all the fantastic PETA U.K. supporters who sent that message loud and clear.
People have been safely using toothpaste, dish soap, and other household products for generations, but that didn’t stop REACH, the European Union's massive chemical-testing program, from torturing and killing about 200,000 animals in tests on the ingredients in these products, among many other chemicals. A recent report by the agency that oversees REACH reveals that companies are ignoring the requirement to use every available alternative to experimenting on animals and are instead putting thousands of animals through suffering that most people wouldn't wish on their worst enemy.
According to the U.K.'s Daily Mail, "Among these 'unnecessary' tests were 188 studies on eye irritation carried out on rabbits; 336 skin sensitisation studies on guinea pigs or mice; 254 short-term toxicity tests on fish; and 33 genetic toxicity tests on mice."
PETA U.K. is calling out the government officials responsible for enforcing REACH by placing this ad in an influential European politics magazine, The Parliament, and asking Europeans to write to the European Commission.
In related news, PETA and its international affiliates have written to the European Chemicals Agency, which oversees REACH, demanding a moratorium on reproductive toxicity testing until a newly approved refinement―that can spare hundreds of thousands of animals―is in place.
In the meantime, you can help animals on both sides of the pond by buying only cruelty-free products. Visit the PETA Living page for lists of companies that do and don’t test on animals.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
The European Union has done it again. First it banned the sale of products from slaughtered seals, and now the European Parliament is requiring that all clothing containing any fur or leather whatsoever be clearly marked with labels stating, "Non-textile parts of animal origin."
Member of the European Parliament Eva-Britt Svensson of Sweden said the new regulations would benefit animals, consumers, and allergy sufferers. "We're always saying that consumer power is important, but if we're serious about this, we have to live up to it and give consumers a chance to use their power," she said. "Consumers must have the information to be able to ethically opt out of fur products and the cruel conditions in which they are often produced."
You can use your consumer power by refusing to wear real animal fur or leather. Perhaps next the European Union can label fur-wearers too? Cruel, heartless, narcissistic—so many adjectives come to mind …
Written by Michelle Sherrow
As Canada's annual seal slaughter garners worldwide disgust, the government is frantically grasping at straws in its effort to prop up this cruel, dying industry. Despite the fact that Canada spent millions of taxpayer dollars this year to promote the massacre, very few sealers took part. Of the 400,000 seals allowed to be killed, 37,609 animals have been killed this year.
In response, the government announced that the slaughter would be extended indefinitely. But extending the timeframe for sealing won't change the fact that seal pelts are banned by the U.S. and the European Union and that many other countries won't import them. Pelt prices continue to plummet, and Canada continues to lose money every year.
If you are a Canadian resident, you can e-mail Prime Minister Stephen Harper and ask him to use your tax money to invest in alternatives for sealers instead of supporting an expensive, unnecessary industry that is a scar on the face of Canada.
In an effort to further delay the phase out of the commercial seal slaughter, Canada has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to hold a hearing about the ban on seal products by E.U. member countries. As usual, Canada is expected to argue that its annual massacre of baby seals (who are tortured by being hooked in the eye or mouth and dragged them across the ice, where they are then bludgeoned and skinned, sometimes while still alive), is "humane." And as usual, Canada will want to keep the hearings behind closed doors.
Canadian-born singer Sarah McLachlan, who sported PETA’s seal tee on Canada Day last year, penned a private letter to Canada's minister of international trade, Peter Van Loan, urging him to make the hearings open to the public and make the materials submitted to the WTO publicly available when filed.
It could take several months for the WTO panel to issue a ruling, but there is no doubt the E.U. will hold firm to its right not to buy the skins of tortured seals. You can exercise your rights by sharing a pro-seal message with your friends on Facebook or posting it to your MySpace page.
We think it's safe to say that Canada isn't going to meet its quota of 400,000 seals in this year's seal slaughter. The portion of the annual commercial harp-seal massacre that takes place near Prince Edward Island started Sunday, and just one lone boat went out.
Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans blames recent storms for the lack of participation, but a more likely explanation is the plummeting price of seal pelts brought on by bans on seal products by the U.S. and the European Union. And consumers around the world refuse to buy seal products because of the barbaric way that seals are hooked in the eye or mouth, dragged across ice, shot or bludgeoned with clubs, and skinned—sometimes alive.
So with global demand for seal products sinking and most Canadians opposed to the hunt, why did the quota increase from last year? With the federal election in May, politicians are apparently vying for seal killers' votes by appearing to support the industry. But when trying to win an election, aren't you supposed to kiss babies, not club them?
Cast your vote to end the seal slaughter permanently by visiting CanadasShame.com.
When are Canadian sealers going to catch a break? Never, it seems, as long as they continue to hook baby seals in the eye or mouth, drag them across the ice, and bludgeon them to death.
Taiwan's forestry bureau is considering banning seal products, just as the U.S. and the European Union have done. Forestry officials say that the country's consumers have stopped buying seal products in the wake of a news conference last year that showed how seals are killed. Are you listening, Canada? People aren't cool with baby-seal beatings. Taiwanese officials say that Canada is concerned about the impact that the potential ban might have on the rest of Asia.
Yep, they should worry, all right. Chinese citizens said in January that they don't want the seal meat that Canada is trying to sell them either. Come on, Canada. Everyone else on the planet can't be wrong.
In a case of literal overkill, Sweden is turning more than 6,700 hunters loose on just 20 wolves. In case you don't have a calculator handy, that breaks down to about 335 armed-and-dangerous folks per animal—in a country with only about 200 wolves. And Sweden claims that this is being done to increase the country's wolf population. Wow, if that's how they handle reproductive problems, I'd hate to visit a Swedish fertility clinic!
The European Union (EU) is calling Sweden out on its bull … er, wolf droppings, warning the country that the hunt violates EU directives. EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik has proposed formal proceedings against Sweden for breaching EU regulations. But the action will be too late for the wolves—at least 16 have already died, and during a previous wolf slaughter, hunters went over their quota.
Wolves mate for life and live in close-knit family units that work together to care for their young and hunt. They rarely have internal disputes with other pack members—something we humans could learn from. Hunting can devastate entire communities of these intelligent, social animals.
Not mentioning anyone by name (*cough* Sarah Palin *cough*), but some in the U.S. also have wolf blood on their hands. You can do something about it here.
Written by Jeff Mackey
In an apparent effort to recoup profits lost as a result of the dwindling demand for seal products, Canada will begin selling seal meat to China. Why China? Well, the sealing industry can't seem to find anybody else to buy the stuff.
Amid an international public outcry against the seal slaughter—in which baby seals are hooked in the eye or cheek, bludgeoned, drowned, and sometimes skinned alive—the European Union recently banned the import of all seal products from Canada, and the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for an end to the massacre (sales of seal products are already banned in the U.S.). As a result, the price of a seal pelt has dropped from $100 just a few years ago to only $15 last year.
You can help keep the pressure on by e-mailing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and telling him to stop the seal slaughter immediately. You can also post a pro-seal message on Facebook or Twitter.
It's official: The European Union doesn't want to import the pelts—or any other parts—of slaughtered baby seals. Compassion has won out, and the EU's historic ban on the sale of seal-derived products will remain in place, despite the seal slaughterers' last-ditch attempt to stop it.
With basically an entire continent and countless kind people around the world boycotting products that come from bashed baby seals, we hope that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will finally realize that the seal slaughter is both inhumane and unprofitable. Let's encourage him to finally put an end to Canada's shameful seal slaughter!
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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