Animal Rights ... Human Wrongs?

Cruelty to Horses in Malta

There are two issues of cruelty to horses that have been going on for so long that it is possible to believe that nothing will ever be done. But we must never accept the suffering of these noble creatures. Both these situations are symptomatic of the lack of care or courage of those who have he power to take action

· Karozzin Horses.

All local Animal Protection NGO’s, the GWU, MP’s, Politicians from all parties, International NGO’s, Veterinarians and even the owners agree. The public and visiting tourists write many letters to the media, but apart from a few positive sounding comments, nothing is ever done. So what is the problem? Is it so complicated or impossible to resolve. The problem is slightly more complicated than it may appear, the demand for shelter and water in Valletta is the most frequently heard solution, but would this really end the horses suffering in the summer months? The first point is that any solution must cover ALL the karozzin horses working in Malta, it is only a very small minority that actually wait near Parliament. It would never be acceptable to only protect those few whilst adopting an ”out of sight, out of mind” approach to the others. But is shelter the greatest need of these horses? The greatest cruelty is surely when they are at “work” in the high temperatures, not when at “rest”. Any regulations to protect these horses should take into account the “working conditions”. Such matters as the severity of the route (e.g. gradient of hills), the time of day, the relative weight of the full cab to the horse and the horse’s condition all need to be taken into account. In some countries there is a trigger point of heat & humidity that is used to determine when the conditions are unsuitable. The horses need a real solution, not a cosmetic one such as a single shelter for the few that wait in Valletta.

· Mnajra Horse Races

It’s difficult to find anything positive to say about this event. In fact if it hadn’t got the ‘cloak’ of tradition it surely wouldn’t exist at all in the 21st century. But we must not allow the traditional aspects to obscure significant animal cruelty inflicted on the horses. The spectacle of horses being forced to race uphill whilst being beaten in temperatures in excess of 35 degrees is a national disgrace. The time has come for the organising committee to involve animal protection NGO’s in the planing of this event. Unless an acceptable way of running these races whilst protecting the welfare of the horses can be agreed, they should be stopped. Perhaps the time has come for the races to be replaced by a horse show where the health, grooming and care of the horses can be judged.
The time is coming when if acceptable solutions to protect the horses cannot be agreed by dialogue, then the new animal welfare legislation will have to be used to determine who is responsible for the cruelty.

Religious Slaughter Methods Condemned

The method of animal slaughter used by Jews and Muslims should be banned immediately, according to an independent advisory group. The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), which advises the UK government on how to avoid cruelty to livestock, says the way Kosher and Halal meat is produced causes severe suffering to animals. Both the Jewish and Muslim religions demand that slaughter is carried out with a single cut to the throat, rather than the more widespread method of firstly stunning with a bolt into the head. Kosher and Halal butchers deny their method of killing animals is cruel and have expressed anger over the recommendation. FAWC said it wants an end to the exemption currently allowed for Kosher and Halal meat from the legal requirement to stun animals first. It says cattle can take up to two minutes to bleed to death - amounting to an abuse of the animals. Compassion in World Farming backed the call, saying: "We believe that the law must be changed to require all animals to be stunned before slaughter. "This will mean an end to religious slaughter in cases where animals are not stunned." Muslims and Jews argue that their long established method of slaughter results in a sudden loss of blood from the head, causing animals to feel virtually nothing. They say they will fight any attempt to prevent a practice required by their religion and central to their way of life. One rabbi who had been practicing the Jewish method of animal slaughter for around 40 years said: "The process takes a fraction of a second. "With a very, very sharp knife all the vessels in the neck are severed and that means there's no blood going to the brain and the animal loses consciousness very rapidly and dies soon after that." The Muslim Council of Britain says stunning is forbidden on religious grounds. A spokesman said: "We oppose it from a legal point, from a religious point, from a health and medical point and from an animal welfare point." The FAWC has previously recommended that the exemption on religious slaughter e removed. But on that occasion, in the 1980s, it was ignored. This type of religious slaughter is also legal in Malta.

Iceland Plans To Restart Whaling

Iceland has revealed its plans to resume whaling, 13 years after its crews last fired their harpoons. It says the whaling will be for research, which is allowed despite the present moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan also catches whales in the name of science, and only Norway kills them for straightforward commercial purposes. Conservationists say they think Iceland's plans amount to a thinly veiled decision to resume commercial whaling. It intends to catch 100 minkes, 100 fin whales, and 50 sei whales over two years, with the hunt starting this year or next. The plans were disclosed by the Fisheries Minister, who said the aim was to collect data on "the impact of whales on the ocean ecosystem". He said Iceland's scientists would investigate cetaceans' diet, their distribution and numbers, and their interaction with other marine species. Whaling is regulated by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which in 1986 adopted a moratorium on all commercial whaling. It remains in force, though under the Commission's rules any member can catch unlimited numbers of any species in the name of research. Japan's scientific whaling programme killed almost 700 whales of several species in the Antarctic and north Pacific in 2002. Norway is not bound by the moratorium, because it objected to it when it was introduced. It caught about 700 north Atlantic minke whales last year. Iceland says it will not resume commercial whaling before 2006, and then only on the basis of sound science and effective management. It left the IWC in 1992 but rejoined in 2002, voting for its own readmission, which was approved by a majority of one. It rejoined on condition that it was allowed to register its objection to the moratorium. A number of IWC members believe it should not be allowed to do so. Iceland says fin, sei and minke whales are abundant enough for it to resume catches. The World Conservation Union says fin and sei whales are endangered, and north Atlantic minkes near-threatened. Most of the great whales are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). But when Iceland joined Cites in 2000, it refused to be bound by bans on trade in products from several species, including the very rare blue whale. Under the Berne Convention on European wildlife, Iceland has also rejected the listing of the Northern right whale, so rare in the eastern Atlantic it is sighted only a few times each decade.

Human Expansion Creates Conflict With Elephants

A young Indian bull elephant captured in a state-sponsored management programme has died a gruesome death. The animal had its tusks removed, and then suffered 18 days of neglect before it died. A television crew commissioned to cover the management programme filmed the elephant’s treatment and death. Conservationists say there are many better ways to prevent conflict between humans and elephants. The elephant was captured under a programme funded by the government of the central state of Chattisgarh, which tries to reduce conflict by seizing displaced wild elephants and taming them as working animals. The cameraman said: "The elephant was first lassoed in the night of 5 February after being made to run a long distance to tire it out. "It was again shot at with tranquiliser darts the following morning. Once it collapsed, they tied a thick rope around its neck and pulled it away flanked by tame elephants." Witnesses say the elephant was repeatedly jabbed with spikes and struck with bamboo canes. His legs were tied with ropes, while others were attached to the lasso around his neck and tightened to ensure his head could not move. Then his tusks were sawn off with a hacksaw. He was left without food and water, and died 18 days later, apparently of stress, starvation and thirst. Across much of the Asian elephant's range, increases in human population are depleting the area of natural habitat the animals rely on. The elephants have strayed out of their heavily disturbed habitat in the neighbouring states of Jharkhand and Orissa, where human encroachments and tree felling are rampant. Unable to find safe havens, they have migrated to the forests of Chattisgarh, which are surrounded by hamlets dependent on subsistence agriculture. The elephants have taken to crop raiding to supplement their diets, leading to intense human-animal conflicts; at least 35 people have been killed in the region in the last six months.