Animal Aid

Protest Against Reintroduction of Shooting on Ilkley Moor

Bradford Council plans to reintroduce grouse shooting to Ilkley moor a decade after it was banned. The Bingley Moor Partnership, which operates grouse shooting on the neighbouring Bingley and Burley moors, has been granted permission by Bradford Council to run shoots on Ilkley Moor for the next 10 years.

Bradford Council's own Environmental Policy states that they will make every effort to: 'Safeguard natural habitats and species and preserve the nature and character of the district' and 'Prevent environmental pollution arising from its own operations and use its powers to minimise the impact of others within the District.'

These objectives are not compatible with grouse shooting or the burning and draining of moors. Not only is the shooting of live quarry cruel, but there is good evidence to show that many so-called 'pest' species are killed to encourage grouse populations, and that moorland 'management' actually harms the natural landscape and may be environmentally damaging.

There is also concern over safety, as many people currently enjoy the natural beauty of the moor with their families, free from the noise and potential risk of shotguns.

Please contact Bradford Council's Chief Executive, Tony Reeves politely asking the council not to put profit before the welfare of people, animals and the environment. Please also copy your communication to the Leader of the Council, Kris Hopkins to Ilkley Town Hall, and to Ann Cryer MP.

Tony Reeves (Chief Executive)
Bradford Metropolitan District Council
City Hall,
Centenary Square,
Bradford, BD1 1HY
Tel: 01274 432111 (switchboard) 01274 432240 (licensing)

Kris Hopkins (Leader of the Council)
Leaders Office
City Hall
Bradford
BD1 1HY

Ilkley Town Hall
Station Road
Ilkley
LS29 8HB
Tel: 01943 436 212

Ban Electric Shock Collars

Electric shock collars for dogs will now be banned in Wales, thanks to pressure from concerned individuals and groups. With Wales leading the way, it's time these cruel and unsuitable training methods are made illegal in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland too. Shock collars consist of a small battery fitted to the collar, which has two blunt metal probes that make contact with the dog's neck. To teach the dog not to do something, the owner can administer an electric shock - that can be increased in strength - using a remote control. In addition to causing pain, electric shock collars can cause behavioural problems, as the dog may associate anything they happen to see in front of them with the shock. Many dogs can be turned into nervous wrecks as a result. Dogs love to learn so training should always be enjoyable and rewarding, not a frightening or painful experience. Please contact your MP and ask them to ban these unnecessary, cruel and outdated devices and instead promote responsible training methods.

Dogs are for life, not for rent

A dog rental company called FlexPetz has recently opened in London with the intention to expand to other cities across the UK. FlexPetz customers get to rent a dog for certain periods of time without accepting the responsibilities that come with owning an animal. Dogs are sentient creatures who form bonds with their guardians. They need stability and to make an emotional attachment. If they are routinely rented out to more than one person, these basic needs will remain unfulfilled. They may become disturbed and are likely to develop behavioural problems. The company promises to rent out only dogs aged 2-5 years old and to date FlexPetz has not commented on the fate of the dogs once they pass this age. If FlexPetz customers feel the urge to spend time with a dog then they could volunteer at one of the many animal shelters where there are plenty of dogs who, while waiting for a permanent owner, would be glad of the attention. Please contact your MP and ask them to sign EDM 1699, which calls for the renting of dogs to be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Ask Cats Protection not to Promote Horse Racing

Animal Aid was dismayed to learn that Cats Protection is holding a fundraising event at Brighton Racecourse on 6 July. We wrote to the Chief Executive, Peter Hepburn, laying out our argument against the horse racing industry and respectfully requesting that they withdraw the event in favour of another that does not use animals.

A letter, forwarded to Animal Aid from the Events Team, stated that Cats Protection had 'fully explored the ethics behind horse racing prior to committing Cats Protection to this event', and enclosed a range of Q&A literature from the pro-horse racing British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

More than 400 horses are raced to death every year, and thousands of 'unprofitable' Thoroughbreds are killed at their stables, or in UK abattoirs so that their meat can be sold abroad for human consumption. To attempt to help one species at the expense of another is at best ill considered and, at worst, heartless.

Please write to Cats Protection politely asking them to drop this event, and to organise a fundraiser that does not involve the use of animals.

Peter Hepburn
Chief Executive
Cats Protection
Chelwood Gate
Haywards Heath
Sussex
RH17 7TT

Ask ITV not to feature animals on the next Britain's Got Talent

The recent series of Britain's Got Talent featured, amongst others, an act called Animalgique - a magic act featuring wild animals, such as, owls, snakes and a parrot. At one point, a woman came out of a box holding the snake above her head (stretched out) and then proceeded to dance around with him like he was a banner or scarf. The creators of this act own 51 animals, including a Honeydew Bear and were encouraged to come back with 'bigger animals'! This encourages the wrong kind of attitude to animals. It turns them into freak entertainment, encourages impulse purchases of exotic species such as reptiles and birds, and such entertainment shows are part of the reason why so many animals end up dumped in hard-pressed sanctuaries or by the side of the road where they are likely to meet a wretched end. Please contact ITV and ask them not to feature animals on any of their future talent shows.

Please write polite letters to:

ITV
Duty Office
Gas Street
Birmingham
B1 2JT

Tel: 0844 88 14150
Fax: 0844 88 14198

Ask Your MP to Support EDM 1279

By 2013, EU legislation will make it illegal to sell any cosmetics that contain ingredients or combinations of ingredients that have been tested on animals for cosmetic purposes.

Worryingly though, the British government has no checks in place to ensure that manufacturers are adhering to this legislation, and some bigger companies are even lobbying the government to get the timetabled deadlines shifted.

Mike Hancock MP has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM 1279) urging the government to ensure that the ban on animal testing follows its timetable. He is also asking for total transparency in product information with regards to animal testing, so that consumers can make informed purchasing decisions.

Please politely ask your MP to support EDM 1279 to help ensure that a total ban on animal testing of cosmetics is implemented in line with popular opinion.

Demand the return of Barney

A goose in Whitehaven Harbour - has gone missing. After a dog-attack, Barney was cared for, released and monitored by a local sanctuary but now, the Harbour Commission - whose chairman runs a pest control firm - has moved Barney to a 'safe but secret' location. Since then, many other birds have disappeared, and the Harbour Commission refuses to tell the wildlife centre (Knoxwood) where Barney is.

Please contact them and demand that they tell Knoxwood what has happened to Barney.

Send polite letters to:
Pears House
1 Duke Street
Whitehaven
Cumbria
CA28 7HW

Tel: 01946 692435
Fax: 01946 691135

Keep Giant Pandas Out of Edinburgh Zoo

As part of its centenary anniversary in 2009, Edinburgh Zoo is planning to rent a pair of giant pandas from China for exhibition and captive breeding over the next 10 years.

Giant pandas are extremely popular with the public and, according to The Scotsman, Edinburgh Zoo estimates its visitor figures could increase from 750,000 to over one million each year.

However, animals in zoos lead miserable lives and exhibit repetitive behavioural patterns resulting from the stress of their unnatural confinement, and from being gawped at by zoo visitors. Giant pandas can also become overweight in captivity and unable to mate naturally.

In captivity, only around 28 per cent of pandas breed, whereas in the wild around 100 per cent appear to be involved in breeding. There have been no successful reintroductions to the wild of captive-bred pandas. The best way to help these animals is by conserving their natural habitat.

Parliamentary ministers in England and Scotland have expressed concern at the plans by Edinburgh Zoo. Scottish Green MSP Robin Harper has tabled a Motion in the Scottish Parliament and MP Mike Hancock has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) in Westminister, urging the 'Scottish and UK Governments not to become involved in using live animals as currency in the course of diplomatic exchange.'

If you live in England, Wales or Scotland, please write to your MP and ask her or him to sign Early Day Motion 1588 - Pandas from China - tabled by Mike Hancock MP.

If you live in Scotland, please also write to your MSP and ask him or her to sign Motion S3M-1906 - Better Policies for Giant Panda Conservation, Breeding and Welfare - tabled by Robin Harper MSP.

Click on the link to find out who your MP or MSP is.

Help Canadian Bears

PETA has asked for your help. Please urge Gordon Brown and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to stop using bear pelts to make headpieces for the five guard's regiments and to have the hats fashioned from luxurious faux fur instead.

Bears are cruelly killed for their hides; they are either shot during hunts or ensnared, possibly for days, in painful traps. During hunts, as many as one bear in seven is not killed immediately after being shot, and some escape wounded, possibly dying later from blood loss or starvation. In some Canadian provinces, there are no restrictions on the shooting of mothers who have nursing cubs, leading to the slaughter of entire families during hunts.

For nearly two centuries, the MoD has waged a war on black bears while doing nothing to further the search for synthetic materials. In fact, when it was presented with high-tech synthetic materials by PETA – sourced from leading faux-fur manufacturers around the world and made to the MoD's own specifications, the MoD do no more than drag their feet and come up with lame excuses for not using the synthetic alternatives.

Please write to Gordon Brown:
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

Please ask Channel 4 to Cancel Programme

Derren Brown's Trick or Treat, due to be aired on Friday 9 May at 10pm on Channel 4, will reportedly ask a contestant to resist killing a kitten. According to the programme's website, the kitten will be incarcerated in a box, wired to the mains electricity.

The Commissioning Editor has stated that the stunt is a trick and the kitten is not killed. However, it is in extremely bad taste and may generate copycat behaviour as the vulnerability of kittens often leads to their abuse.

Please politely ask Channel 4 to pull this episode of the programme, and to not use and demean animals in this way in future.

Complain to Channel 4

Or, you can call 020 7396 4444.

View the programme's website

Tell Greenwich Council to stop killing wildlife

Greenwich council are using Rentokil to kill pigeons, rats and mice at the Tudor Barn tearooms and gardens in Eltham. Wildlife ‘intrusions’ can be dealt with humanely and effectively and usually involve people cleaning up after themselves. Some Greenwich councillors accept that culling pigeons does not work and yet the birds are being trapped and ‘dispatched’ anyway.

Please contact the council and politely urge them to find humane solutions.

Persuade GMB to drop donkey from campaign roadshow

On Saturday 3rd May GMB (Britain's general trade union) is launching a campaign with the use of a live donkey against Co-op senior managers who plan to end recognition of the trade union. The lobby and photocall on Saturday in Croydon will involve a live donkey wearing a dunce's cap with the Co-op logo on it. This will be the first leg in a national 'donkey roadshow' across the UK. Please politely contact GMB and ask them not to use a live donkey as part of their campaign.

Write to:

GMB
National Office
22/24 Worple Road
London
SW19 4DD

Tel: 0208 947 3131

Help stop animal circuses

Please write to Lambeth Council and urge them to ban circuses with animals from their land. Zippos (which has horses, dogs and birds) has been using Brockwell Park in Lambeth, London for a number of years now. More than 200 local authorities have already banned circuses with animals from their land. It is about time Lambeth caught up with the times and followed suit.The arguments against training and touring with animals are compelling. The welfare of animals kept by circuses is always compromised. The constant travelling (for the animals at Zippos this is ten months every year), being housed in temporary accommodation, often kept alone, or tethered and forced to undergo 'training', is an unnatural existence. Animals are deprived of their ability to move, feed and socialise naturally. They are unable to express their normal behaviour. Martin Burton, aka Zippo, has even admitted that the budgies featured in the show do not fly; the most integral part of a bird's existence. Even when trainers are kind, this life is inappropriate for any animal. These animals do not choose to be in the circus, but the council can choose to ban acts like this from their land in future. Polls have shown that most people favour a complete ban on the use of all animals in circuses.

Please politely contact Lambeth Council and ask them to join over 200 local authorities and ban circuses using animals from their land.

FAO Councillor Steve Read
Lambeth Town Hall
Brixton Hill
London
SW2 1RW

Tel: 020 7926 1709

Stop Animal Racing

The Garden Festivals Company is organising a number of festivals this summer, which include ferret, sheep and pig racing. The animals will be raced for 'fun' while people scream 'encouragement' from the sides.

These animals are sensitive and intelligent creatures and subjecting them to such a stressful situation is appalling. Such a demeaning, uncivilised and crass form of entertainment should not be tolerated.

Contact the organisers to complain about the use of animals at the festivals in Southport, South Wirral, Leeds, Preston and Conwy.

The Garden Festivals Company
Unit 12 Bartons Close
Southport
PR9 8NF

Tel: 01704 212 734

Complain to the BBC about another avoidable Grand National death

McKelvey, the horse who had been a star feature on BBC1 television's the One Show, was killed at the Grand National on Saturday 5 April. He had unseated his rider at the 20th fence, cleared the 21st, but then appeared to get into difficulties and was said to have damaged his back after attempting to clear the rails.

The National course is deliberately dangerous, with a set field of up to 40 animals taking part - an exceptionally large number. These factors ensure that fatalities occur on the course most years. Thirty-eight horses have died at the Aintree meeting since 1997 - eleven of them in the big race itself.

By featuring McKelvey, the One Show reinforced the misguided idea that the Grand National is a wonderful and grand spectacle. No amount of lamenting after the incident will bring back McKelvey. His death on Saturday was avoidable - he should not have been made to run the Grand National.

Please contact the show politely to tell them your views. The programme which aired last night made reference to the large number of comments they had received stating that the horse should not have been entered into the Grand National.

Stop the badger cull

A decision on whether badgers will be killed on a massive scale is expected shortly. Some farmers blame badgers for passing tuberculosis (TB) to dairy cows and have lobbied long and hard for the wild animals to be killed. However, neither public nor scientific opinion is on their side. A recent DEFRA consultation on this issue revealed that 95% of the 47,000 people responding opposed the cull. And independent research published in October showed that culling badgers actually increases the prevalence of TB, and that cattle are as likely to infect badgers as the other way round.

Labour MP Alan Meale has put forward an Early Day Motion (EDM) asking Defra not to authorise a badger cull, but instead, listen to the views of 95% of the respondents to the consultation who oppose any such cull. An EDM is a parliamentary petition that although is not enforceable, is an important signal to the government of backbench feeling. If an EDM secures enough MP signatures there is a higher possibility that it will be discussed within parliament. So please urge your MP to sign EDM 1288.

Help keep rainforest birds in the wild

The Brazilian Institute of the Environment (IBAMA) is attempting to legalise the trade of Brazilian native wild birds, such as the tucan, macaw and many other bird species from the rainforest. IBAMA has initiated a public consultation to find out which birds Brazilians would like to keep in their homes as pets. This information is intended to change the designation of these birds to domestic, allowing pet shops and anyone else involved in the pet trade to prosper at the expense of these birds' freedom. Please contact the Brazilian Minister of the Environment and President, asking them to discontinue the public consultation and keep native birds in the wild where they belong.

Stop the suffering of goldfish

During the Iranian New Year, which runs from 1st - 31st March, shopkeepers in Kensington High Street, London mark the occasion by selling goldfish on the street in front of their stores. Hundreds of fish are packed into small tanks, with barely enough room for them to move. Any passer-by can purchase a fish for just 50 pence. This will inevitably result in impulse buys and, consequently, neglected fish suffering in small, stagnant bowls - or worse, unwanted fish being flushed down toilets or abandoned in a river to die. The local shops are given a temporary two week licence to sell the fish during the festival. Please email the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Licensing Department and ask them not to grant the local shops a licence to sell fish during this festival.

Cats Killed in Beijing

British newspapers have reported that cats are being rounded up on the streets of Beijing and killed in a 'clear up' exercise ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games. Please contact the Mayor of Beijing and complain about this callous treatment of animals.

Email

Local animal campaigners are being denied access to Beijing's Animal Health Institute where stray cats have been taken. Email its Head, Mr Li, and ask him to allow animal campaigners and members of the public access to the site.

Stop Export of Nepalese Macaques for Experimentation

A coalition of groups - known as Stop Monkey Business - are campaigning against the export of Rhesus Macaques from Nepal to the United States, where they will be used in biomedical research (especially in the development of vaccines for diseases such as HIV/AIDS). The Nepalese macaques are in demand as they are genetically similar to the Indian macaques traditionally used in this type of research. India banned the export of all macaques in 1978, resulting in the increased interest in Nepal's monkeys. In 2003, the Nepalese government enacted a policy allowing the use of captive-bred animals for scientific research.

In Nepal, there is a groundswell of support for the campaign to ban the export of these animals as the monkeys are revered as sacred in both Hinduism and Buddhism. As export licences for the monkeys are still pending, it would seem possible that the government are deliberating about whether to issue the permits.

This is not a call for a boycott of Nepal, but instead to support the Nepalese activists who are putting pressure on their own government.

Please send a polite message of protest to the Embassy of Nepal
12A Kensington Palace Gardens
London
W8 4QU

Stop the barbaric killing of Spanish hunting dogs

With the end of the Spanish hunting season fast approaching, the fate of the country’s hunting dogs – or galgos – remain in the balance. Viewed by many hunters as disposable assets, as many as 8,000 dogs may be abandoned, beaten to death, burnt or hanged once the season is over.

Please contact the Prime Minister of Spain and urge him to take action to protect these vulnerable animals.

Sen Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Presidente del Gobierno
Complejo de la Moncloa - 28071 Madrid
Spain
Fax: +91 390 02 17
Email: jlrzapatero@presidencia.gob.es

The Spanish Environment Minister, Cristina Narbona, is inclined to create a new National Animal Protection Law to avoid the atrocities against galgos.

Please email her to emphasise the support she will receive from animal campaigners worldwide.

See the Galgo News website for more information

Toys R Us Promotes Cruelty

Two toys stocked by Toys R Us encourage children as young as 6 to harpoon sharks and ‘fight to the finish’ with crabs. The games - Mega Bloks Pyrates Shark Attack and Lego Aqua Raiders Crab Crusher - encourage children to harm animals for fun.

Please contact Toys R Us and ask them to remove these offensive and potentially damaging games from their shelves.

Please write to:
Toys R Us
FREEPOST NAT 3362
Gateshead
NE10 8BR

Fax: 0191 416 8551

Contact Toys R Us

Ask Ebay to Ban Fox Hunting DVDs

Ebay – the online shop and auction site – has been stocking DVDs that promote and celebrate hunting with hounds, coursing and lamping. Although most of the sellers list their item as ‘educational’ and state that the DVDs do not promote illegal activity, some of the descriptions boast ‘this dvd is a hunters must have dvd’ and this DVD ‘WILL HELP YOU GET MORE KILLS’.

Selling DVDs that depict real-life animal cruelty and illegal activity should not be classed as educational and should not be sold via ebay. Worryingly, most are listed under the heading of Nature/Wildlife; a category many genuine nature lovers would browse.

Please search Ebay with the phrase ‘fox hunting’ and then report the specific items to Ebay, stating that you are worried those items break their rules on ‘Encouraging Illegal Activity’.

Heineken Promotes Lobster Cruelty

Heineken released an advert which mocks the idea that boiling lobsters alive is cruel.

A ‘squeamish’ Englishman is persuaded to think negatively about the lobster before the animal is dropped into a pot of scalding water. Although the advert is a ridiculous scenario, it nonetheless makes light of an issue which has garnered considerable publicity of late – not least because studies have shown that these animals experience pain.

Please politely contact Heineken letting them know that making fun out of animal abuse is no laughing matter. Showing animal cruelty as a cheap gag in adverts only serves to desensitise people to the reality of suffering.

DEFRA Circus Report Ignores the Plight of Animals

A new Defra Circus Working Group report (20 November 2007), on whether circuses should be allowed to keep and use wild animals, has judged that there is insufficient scientific evidence for a ban.

The Group was set up in response to the then Defra Minister Ben Bradshaw's announcement in 2006 that he was minded to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The Working Group received submissions from both pro-circus and animal welfare representatives, but did not conduct any of its own investigations, nor did its members visit any circuses that use non-domestic animals. It insisted on taking into account only scientific evidence, and stated that a lack of evidence – whether in favour or against the use of animals – meant that it could not recommend a ban. It is true that there is little in the way of formal, peer reviewed scientific data on this subject. There is, however, a great deal of observational and undercover evidence of animals in circuses being subjected to extreme physical and mental torments. Forcing animals (whether domesticated or wild) to perform tricks, to travel all over the country, to remain chained and incarcerated – having removed them from their natural environments and their family and social groups – is self-evidently cruel and exploitative.

In response to the findings of the Working Group, Secretary of State for the Environment, Hilary Benn commented: ‘We will consider the report's findings carefully. I fully acknowledge that there is a strong body of opinion, both in Parliament and amongst the wider public, in favour of a ban. The Government will now want to hear reactions to the report and consider its position.’

More and more people actively boycott animal circuses and an increasing number of politicians also call for a ban. The irrational and inhumane response from Defra's Working Group must be challenged.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Please write a polite message to your MP, asking that he or she contacts Hilary Benn calling for a total ban on all performing animals in circuses.

Labour Supports Bloodsports

Although Labour pushed through a ban on hunting with dogs, the government is trying to appease bloodsports fanatics by promoting 'gamebird' shooting.

At the 2007 Labour Party conference, Ministers - including the Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe; Rural Affairs Minister, Jonathan Shaw; and Home Office Minister, Vernon Coaker - gave their support to the shooting industry at a reception organised by the British Association for Shooting & Conservation (BASC).

Every year, around 40 million pheasants and partridges are factory-farmed to be shot for so called 'sport'.

Take Action:

Please write to your MP of whichever party to register your disgust with Labour’s promotion of shooting, and ask your MP to contact Hilary Benn (Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) to demand an end to the mass production of birds to be shot for sport.

Tell Firebox to Drop Dead Animals from their Catalogue

Gift company, Firebox, has added products to its catalogue that promotes cruelty to animals. It is selling ‘Scorpion Vodka’ which contains ‘a specially bred Chinese scorpion …said to increase libido and lower blood pressure’, and ‘Insectilix Lollies’ – flavoured lollies that contains worms, scorpions or ants.

The joking way in which the insects are referred to in the catalogue is indicative of the way that these animals are considered to be lesser than other creatures and, therefore, expendable. There can be little doubt that the insects would have been farmed in horrible conditions, only to be killed and made into a sick novelty item.

Please write to Firebox and tell them that you will not order any gifts from their catalogue until they remove these products.

By post:
Firebox.com Ltd
Firebox House
Ardwell Road
London
SW2 4RT

Email

Insects have right to life

A new children's fortnightly magazine called 'Real-life bugs and insects', is offering a different dead insect set in a resin cube, free with every issue. The insects are farmed and killed especially for this series. There is evidence that insects can experience pain and suffering, but even if there isn't, we should at least give them the benefit of the doubt. Insects deserve as much respect and right to life as any other species in the animal kingdom and should be free from unnecessary cruelty. Farming and killing insects so that they can be set in a display box and given away free on a magazine, is certainly an unnecessary way to treat animals described by the magazine as 'amazing, exceptional and spectacular'.

Please contact Real-life bugs and insects and politely ask them to stop killing insects.

Contact:

Real life bugs and insects
Follingsby Avenue
Follingsby Park
Gateshead
NE10 8HQ

Telephone customer service on: 0845 338 0362
Email: enquiries@reallifebugs.co.uk
visit real-life bugs website

Stop the Sale of Sea Monkeys

A number of stores are selling Sea Monkey aquaria. Sea Monkeys are brine shrimps about 15 mm long. Their eggs can survive for long periods in 'suspended animation' until the food that is sold with them provides the right conditions for them to hatch. The Sea Monkey Aquarium is a 15cm plastic tank, which does not resemble anything close to their natural habitat. This container is far too small, especially considering that the animals contained within them will start to reproduce (Sea Monkeys can reproduce asexually). These animals are literally being imprisoned in a cell for the entertainment of those who buy them (usually children). Interest in them will surely wear off and result in their neglect and slow death. The RSPCA has also voiced its concern about these products and states they 'are not appropriate as educational toys' and that 'they send out the message that living creatures can be a throw-away gimmick... children should always be encouraged to treat animals with respect and ideally enjoy observing animals in their natural environment, without disturbing them'. Animal Aid agrees entirely, which is why we need your help to persuade these stores to stop selling the Sea Monkey Aquarium and any other such products.

Please write letters to:

Emma Hayden
Hawkin's Bazaar
The Old Aerodrome
Worlingham
Beccles
Suffolk
NR34 7SP

Trevor Bish-Jones
Chief Executive
Woolworths Group plc
Woolworth House
242-246 Marylebone Road
London
NW1 6JL

Toys R Us
FREEPOST NAT 3362
Gateshead
NE10 8BR

Fax: 0191 416 8551

Email emma@hawkin.com

Email sales@hawkin.com

Email Toys R Us

Email Curious Minds

Demand an end to Appleby Horse Fair

Following the horrific drowning of a horse this year, Animal Aid is demanding an end the annual horse fair at Appleby. Each year, horses are ridden into the River Eden in a macho display of horsemanship. This year saw the first day of the fair end in an easily-avoidable tragedy when a terrified horse drowned after being forced into the deep part of the river and having his head ducked beneath the water.

Concerns for the event have been so great that the RSPCA increased the amount of officers at this year's fair to twelve. Two of their equine experts were present at this year's fair but this incident has shown that the officers are unable to prevent a fatality if horses are already in the river.

Please contact Eden District Council and demand that they ban the horse fair from 2008 onwards. Tradition is no excuse for animal cruelty.

The Chief Executive
Eden District Council
Town Hall,
Penrith,
Cumbria
CA11 7QF
Email Chief Executive

Tesco's selling live animals

Turtles, tortoises and frogs are being sold live through Tesco's stores in China. Experts agree that killing such animals humanely is not easy and many customers buy the animals alive to kill at home. The welfare implications of farming these animals is particularly worrying given that there are no animal welfare laws in China.

While it is cultural to eat turtles and frogs in China, it is also cultural to eat dogs and cats. Tesco recognises that it is unacceptable to sell live mammals but it does not afford the same protection to non-mammals.

Contact Tesco: Tesco Corporate Responsibility Department, Tesco House, PO Box 44, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9SL or email customer.service@tesco.co.uk

Tesco telephone numbers: Telephone: Corporate Responsibility Department - 01992 646 790 Customer Services Department - 0845 600 4411

For further information about this campaign, visit www.careforthewild.com or contact Care for the Wild at: info@careforthewild.com

You can also sign a petition against the trade here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/518761759?ltl=1171838829

Stop the Oxford University Animal Research Centre!

The battle to stop the building of the Oxford animal labs continues. There is still a chance the university can be convinced to to channel its funds into a modern, non-animal laboratory, using state-of-the-art human-based technologies, rather than wasting money on old-fashioned, unreliable and unethical animal experiments that are not helping human health!

Campaigns group SPEAK organises peaceful protests every Thursday outside the site of the proposed labs on South Parks Rd, Oxford, from 1pm to 5pm. Also monthly protests on the 4th Saturday of each month.

Please support as many of these events as possible and help show the University that this new animal laboratory is not wanted.

For details of times and locations, please visit the SPEAK website at www.speakcampaigns.org.uk