Roadmap – to phase out ‘animal testing’ – is launched
We are pleased to announce we have published our ‘Roadmap to phase out animal testing’.
Posted 03 Dec 2024
Posted on the 4th September 2009
The shooting season has just started (1 September), but very few people in Britain will appreciate that, in addition to the 45 million partridges and pheasants mass-produced to be shot every year, almost one million ducks(1) – just like those fed by families in parks – are also killed by ‘sport’ shooters.
Animal Aid has gathered unique undercover footage from Ceredigion, Wales showing mallard ducks being reared in appalling conditions for the shoot industry. Far removed from their natural wetland habitat and confined in huge sheds, ducks are intensively bred and raised in filthy conditions, only to be moved to flight ponds for the start of the shooting season.
Our film shows the various stages of their development: from tiny chicks, penned in enclosures, to the thousands of birds who are almost fully-grown, living in a huge shed which appears not to have been cleaned out since the birds were transferred there. In the darkness, our camera picked out the faeces-covered floor and the lack of comfort or bedding, as well as the deafening noise that so many birds, packed together, produce.
In another shed, young, inquisitive ducks wandered past a dead mallard, whilst a companion – who was much smaller than the rest of the flock – lay on the ground, breathing heavily and too weak to stand or move over to the automated feeding and watering stations.
In another room at the farm, our undercover cameraman discovered 15 crates piled high, awaiting collection. They were crammed full of cheeping baby chicks. There was no food or water for them. Our visit took place at 3.30 a.m. and so it is likely that they had been left in this state for some hours. Animal Aid contacted Ceredigion Animal Health Department on 11 August 2009. In a follow-up phone conversation, a senior council official was not prepared to say whether an investigation has taken place or if any action has been taken against the owners of the farm.
Says Animal Aid Director, Andrew Tyler:
‘Compassionate people will be shocked to discover that mallard ducks are purpose-bred to be killed by people willing to pay £500 a day for the pleasure of extinguishing life. Most of us have fond childhood memories of being taken to the park to watch the ducks swimming, feeding, preening and caring for their young. In turn, we treat our children to this joyful tradition. Our film shows that, behind closed doors, these same birds are factory-farmed in grim and filthy sheds, only to be gunned down by those who think that shooting animals for fun makes them good sportsmen.’
We are pleased to announce we have published our ‘Roadmap to phase out animal testing’.
Posted 03 Dec 2024
From the nativity scene to Santa’s reindeer, animals have always been a part of Christmas. Sadly, so too has their suffering with around two million turkeys being slaughtered in December alone. Thankfully, it’s never been...
Posted 01 Dec 2024