Severe
weather brings shooting restriction
s in
Scotland
BASC press release 3rd January
The shooting of certain bird species is to be suspended in
Scotland
for the first time in 13 years because of the prolonged spell of snow and ice.
From 9.00am on Tuesday 5th of January it will become illegal to shoot ducks;
including reared mallard; geese, woodcock, snipe and golden plover. The
suspension could last for up to two weeks, but should be reviewed after seven
days if there is an improvement in conditions. The last such suspension was in
January 1997 and covered the whole of
Great Britain
. The last suspension in
Scotland
alone was in 1993.
“The legal suspension of the shooting of wildfowl
and wading birds is applied in order to offer extra protection when
an extended period of severe weather is likely to disrupt the birds’
feeding and roosting patterns.
Hunters in
Scotland
have been under advice to exercise
extra restraint in shooting these birds since Boxing Day.”
When a protection order is signed, it becomes an offence to kill or take anyof
the following species, whether on the coast or inland: Ducks: mallard, teal,
wigeon, pintail, tufted duck, pochard, shoveler,
gadwall, goldeneye. Geese: greylag, pink-footed,
Canada
. Waders: golden plover, woodcock, snipe. Others: moorhen and coot. Game birds
are not affected, but reared duck are included.
RSPB
urges farmers to help birds survive icy blast
- press release
The savage
wintry weather is pushing
Britain
’s wildlife to the brink of a crisis, says the RSPB. To help wildlife struggle
through potentially the greatest single wildlife killer of the new millennium,
the Society is publishing a four-point plan to help the most vulnerable
species."With the icy weather predicted to last at least another week, this
winter could be the single greatest wildlife killer of the new millennium"
The RSPB
is organizing emergency feeding of several threatened birds at locations across
the
UK
. Species being helped with this direct action include: bitterns and cirl
buntings – all threatened species vulnerable to the impacts of extreme cold.
The Society along with other organisations, including the BTO, Natural England
and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, is urging the public not to disturb
flocks of wetland birds, including ducks, geese, swans and wading birds.
Disturbance causes these birds to expend energy they cannot replace pushing them
to the brink.
Britain
’s gardens are an
increasingly important refuge for several species of threatened species,
especially during icy conditions. Several red list birds use gardens regularly
in winter, including house sparrow, starling and song thrush. The icy weather
will bring further red-list birds to gardens, including redpolls, yellowhammers
and tree sparrows. To help these birds the RSPB is urging as many people as
possible to feed garden birds.
The
Society is urging
Britain
’s farmers to spare a thought for threatened birds, such as corn buntings and
yellowhammers, on their land
by putting out supplementary food, especially in the form of grain tailings or
residue’s from last year’s crops.
Greatest
impact Dr Mark Avery is the RSPB’s Conservation Director. He said: “The
extremely hard winter spanning 1962 and 1963 was arguably the single event that
had the greatest impact on
Britain
’s wildlife within living memory. With the icy weather predicted to last at
least another week, this winter could be the single greatest wildlife killer of
the new millennium.
“Thanks
to conservation efforts a number of birds, such as the bittern have increased
over the last two decades coinciding with a run of mild winters. However, now
that the barometer has swung rapidly in the other direction, some species face a
crisis, forcing us to take immediate action.
“We have
begun emergency feeding initiatives for threatened birds, and for example RSPB
volunteers are putting out sprats on at core sites for the bittern, which is
finding it difficult to fish at ice-locked wetland areas.”
Clogged The RSPB’s
switchboard is becoming clogged with people reporting sightings of unusual birds
turning up in gardens. Callers have reported sightings of woodcock, snipe and
grey wagtails – all birds that normally would not be seen in gardens.
For
further information on feeding garden birds please visit the RSPB’s website www.rspb.org.uk
Article
Points to Human and Animal Welfare Costs of Long- Distance Farm Animal Transport
Press
release (Oct. 26, 2009) - A chapter in the upcoming book Handbook of Disease
Outbreaks: Prevention, Detection and Control implicates the long-distance
transport of farm animals in the spread of human and animal diseases.The
chapter, “Disease and transport: a costly ticket around the world,” was
co-authored by Michael Greger, M.D., Humane
Society International’s director of public health and animal agriculture,
along with Sofia Parente, Michael Appleby and Jennifer Lanier of The World
Society for the Protection of Animals. It examines
the animal and human health implications of transporting animals over long
distances and explores measures to limit long-distance transport of animals for
slaughter.
The
paper concludes that replacement of long-distance, live farm animal transport
with a carcass-only trade is “not only necessary but urgent.”
Facts
Media
Contact: Kristen Eastman, 301-721-6440, keastman@humanesociety.org
See also http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/force_fed_animals/
Campaign for a Universal Declaration on
Animal Welfare (UDAW)
Help inspire world leaders to make animals matter!
One reason animals are so vulnerable to cruelty is because
there is no universal agreement between nations that animals can suffer and feel
pain. Please add your voice now. Visit http://www.animalsmatter.org/
Site managed by the World Society For the Protection of Animals - WSPA
Press release [August 2009] from Janssen Animal Health
on obtaining Flubenvet wormer
for birds
See Professor Marion Stamp Dawkins, Professor of Animal Behaviour of
Oxford University, research into commercial duck welfare
Full article on the Poultry Site.
"So how did the ducks rank a shower (more hygienic and economical) against
actual bathing in a pond? Pretty highly, it turned out. Their health was good
and they spend even more time with showers than with the ponds when given the
choice. We found no evidence of them being deprived of anything if they just had
showers. On the contrary, showers were, from their point of view and ours, a
very good substitute."
Duvets:
a nightmare for geese - see
the WSPA website
A
shocking documentary series has revealed that many duvets are stuffed with down
plucked from live geese, a practice that causes acute suffering. WSPA is
extremely disturbed by this fresh evidence about the global down industry. The first programme, shown on Swedish television channel TV4 on 1
February, revealed that millions of birds are plucked alive
every year in
Europe
alone. The
figure is even higher in China, the world’s largest producer of down and other feathers. China
exports to a number of European countries where the down is used in duvets,
pillows and jackets.Regardless
of the origin of the feathers, the consequences for the geese are clear: they
are tormented and badly stressed during the plucking process. WSPA is strongly
opposed to the plucking of live birds
The footage – which is extremely distressing – can be viewed on the TV4
website
 |
BIRD
WELFARE STRATEGY - CONSULTATION DOCUMENT is at www.birdwelfarestrategy.org.uk
(click for link)
The welfare discussion document, Avian Strategy For Hobbyist
Livestock and Pet Birds, has been eight months in the making.
It was put together by the National Committee for Bird Strategy, a
group of eight specialist societies: the British Waterfowl
Association, Hawk Board, National Council for Aviculture, National
Pigeon Association of Great Britain, Parrot Society
UK
, Pet Care Trust, PCGB and World Pheasant Association.
In
its final form it will become England's Health and Welfare Strategy for
Birds - the basis for
official best-practice guidelines to be followed by fanciers.
|
The
draft strategy has four main aims:
. To
bring all hobbyist birdkeepers together and develop a national
strategy program under one umbrella;
. To
maintain participation in birdkeeping;
. To
raise birdkeeping skills, training and standards; and
. To
improve the quality and breeding of birds under hobbyist control.
The
document also reviews issues such as medicine needs, bird welfare
standards, health surveillance arrangements and companion bird
research.
“Avian
health and welfare is vital, not just because we owe birds a duty
of care as responsible owners and keepers, but because it is
fundamental to the long-term future of our ability to keep and
breed many species of birds.
For the Strategy to succeed, everyone involved with all aspects of
birdkeeping needs to engage with the issues identified in this
document and work together in a pragmatic and constructive way to
achieve the aims. Without this, the Strategy will fail and a real
opportunity will be lost
.
This represents a landmark, but it's only the starting point All
birdkeeping organisations should try to work together to achieve
this vision for the future.”
The
committee is now seeking comment on the document from birdkeepers.
Committee member Colin O'Hara said: “We want birdkeepers to tell
us if they think we've missed something out or whether we've been
too ambitious in what we think can be achieved. We want them to
comment in general about the aspirations in the document”.
The committee will assess all the comments before making
amendments. They aim to submit the strategy next April to the
supervising authority the England Implementation Group (EIG).
Clip of duck flock http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2008/marching-indian-ducks-p1.php
Pressure from Four Paws halts fattened
goose production in Hungary
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/15819/hungerit-stops-goose-liver-enterprise
HUNGARY
- Hungerit, one of the country's biggest poultry companies, has halted
production of fattened goose products under pressure from Austrian animal rights
organisation, Four Paws
"During the 2 weeks of force-feeding the animals become
ill. The death rate in this period is 20 times higher than conventional
duck meat production factories (source: EC commission). They die of heart
attacks, internal bleeding or asphyxia. Also they suffer from injuries, getting
cut on their beaks, wings and faces. Most of them see the world through pus
covered, infected eyes, caused by the ammonia (NH3) gases that are emitted by
the liquid manure under their cages. At the end of this life span the halls are
dead silent. The animals can't move and can hardly breathe – because of their
pathologically enlarged liver . They desperately try to get some oxygen by
shallow breathing through their open beaks. Each movement or pressure can cause
death now." http://www.fourpaws.org.uk/website/output.php?id=1175&idcontent=1542&language=1
Chief Veterinary Officers from across the world are
backing the move towards a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare which is
supported by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and is being
recognised by a growing number of government authorities and international
organisations.
Members of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) gave overwhelming
backing to the initiative at their annual meeting in Paris on Friday 25 May. The
WSPA-supported initiative for a Universal
Declaration for Animal Welfare working with HSI, RSPCA, CIWF, IFAW and the ASPCA
to be adopted by the UN is currently gaining momentum around the world:
• A global petition is close to achieving 500,000 signatures from members of
the public all over the world
• Government authorities in Kenya, India, the Philippines, Costa Rica and the
Czech Republic are officially backing the Declaration
To find out more about the Universal Declaration for Animal Welfare visit
the Animals Matter website http://www.animalsmatter.org/
