Category: News

Humane Society International / Africa

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Humane Society International/Liberia, in collaboration with Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA), recently convened a two-day wildlife law enforcement training for members of the country’s security sector and judiciary.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Bomi County Inspector Jumah E S Goll challenged the participants to enhance their skills to protect wildlife by implementing the law. He also said that the protection of wildlife is the collective effort of every Liberian, including the security sector and the judiciary–and that knowledge concerning wildlife will go a long way to protecting the animals across the country.

Inspector Jumah Goll emphasised that enforcing the law will ensure the preservation of wildlife in their natural habitat and that serious attention should be given to the laws protecting Liberia’s wild animals.

“It is essential for security personnel and the judiciary to participate in the FDA’s mandate to ensure that Liberia`s biodiversity is preserved,” added HSI/Liberia country director, Morris Darbo.

According to Darbo, Liberia presents a unique biodiversity hotspot in the sub-region that needs to be conserved for future generations. He also appealed to the participants to use the training as an opportunity to learn and to join the FDA in combating wildlife crime in the country.

Technical Manager for the Conservation Department of FDA, Blamah S. Goll said that the wildlife law enforcement training should be taken seriously.

“Our forefathers should be lauded for preserving the biodiversity over the years and now this generation should be able to protect and preserve wildlife for the future,” added Manager Goll.

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

A is for Accountable: The McCartney A to Z Manifesto: Spring 2021 Collection is a guiding alphabet of the values and vision of iconic British designer Stella McCartney. A is for accountable—personified by the Adrienne coat, made from repurposed #FurFreeFur, and an original piece by American artist Rashid Johnson titled ‘Accountability’. Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States are proud to work alongside Stella McCartney to strive for a fur free future, and we are delighted to profile the first letter of the A to Z Manifesto that so encapsulates our shared values.

A statement from Stella McCartney:

“A is for Accountable—something Humane Society International, the HSUS and Stella McCartney have very much in common, and that we both strive towards in our day-to-day work. Being accountable in this day and age is so important, and is one of the goals of the McCartney A to Z Manifesto. It is a guiding alphabet of who we are and who we hope to be, and I hope that our commitment to the values and vision contained in it will not only keep my team accountable but also have a positive impact on the fashion industry as a whole. I am so proud to have worked closely with HSI and the HSUS for many years now, and hugely admire and support their ongoing commitment and endless campaign work towards helping to prohibit the sales of fur in the fashion industry, and therefore preventing the death of millions of innocent animals.

“At Stella McCartney, we have never used leather, feathers, fur or exotic skins in our collections and we do not believe that animals should die for the sake of fashion. It is incredible to see that over the past few years countless brands, designers, leading department stores and even states and countries have woken up to the unequivocal cruelty of the fur industry and have subsequently stopped using fur in their collections, in their stores or allowing fur to be manufactured in certain areas.

“Fur has no place in any compassionate society and today its use is unnecessary and inexcusable. Plainly, fur is immoral, cruel and barbaric.

“In addition to the overwhelming ethical reasons for banning the sale of fur, evidence and research proves that fur is completely unsustainable. The fur industry is quick in trying to defend this, by saying fur is natural and therefore sustainable but of course this is false and completely misleading. There are certainly environmental implications where faux fur is concerned, however it is now produced so well that there is no reason to wear real fur. We have been working very hard at Stella McCartney to innovate sustainable solutions like KOBA® Fur Free Fur—the next generation of faux fur and the first commercially available faux fur using only bio-based ingredients, reducing energy use by up to 30 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 63 percent compared to conventional synthetics.

“I urge everyone reading this to spread the word, be accountable and hold brands accountable, not only when it comes to fur, but to protecting Mother Earth. We saw during our global moment of pause that nature can heal, which should give us hope for the future—our actions can make a difference, and the time to act is now. It has never been more important.”

Take Action: Act now to ban fur sales around the globe, starting with a #FurFreeBritain, at hsi.org/furfreebritain.

Humane Society International / Europe

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The European Union’s precedent-setting ban on cosmetic animal testing and trade has been undermined from within by two recent decisions to require cosmetic ingredients to undergo new animal testing.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Board of Appeals recently upheld a decision by ECHA staff to require German chemical company Symrise to carry out several tests on vertebrate animals to fulfill ‘tick-box’ registration requirements under the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation.

The chemicals in question, homosalate and 2-ethylhexyl salicylate, are used exclusively as cosmetic ingredients in sunscreens. As such, the animal testing requirements of the REACH Regulation directly conflict with the animal testing ban under the Cosmetics Regulation.

To its credit, Symrise contested ECHA’s demands for multiple new animal tests – which together would subject several thousand animals and their offspring to suffering and death – arguing that such tests cannot be required for substances used exclusively as ingredients in cosmetic products. Further, one of the core tenets of REACH is to promote alternatives to animal testing for assessing chemical hazards.

On August 18, the ECHA Board of Appeals ruled against Symrise, citing that REACH does not contain an automatic exemption from new testing, even if a substance is used exclusively as an ingredient in cosmetics. This decision is the latest in a series of positions taken by ECHA which act at variance to the animal replacement mandate under REACH, and now also the celebrated ban on animal testing for cosmetics. The ruling also contradicts numerous calls by the European Parliament to ensure the EU ban is not weakened, including a motion passed on July 10th this year, stating specifically that animal testing bans set by the Cosmetics Regulation “must not be compromised by testing conducted under other legislation such as REACH”.

Once the global leader in the move away from animal testing – with the European Parliament in 2018 calling for an international ban on cosmetics testing and trade by 2023 – the actions of certain ECHA and Member State bureaucrats are increasingly eroding the EU’s reputation and leadership status in this area. By contrast, U.S. chemical authorities in the Environmental Protection Agency are being duly applauded for their efforts to replace vertebrate animal testing for chemicals, and EPA’s policy commitment to eliminating both requirements and funding for mammalian animal testing by 2035.

Humane Society International, a leading advocate for cruelty-free cosmetics laws and animal-free safety assessment worldwide, is calling for transformational change within ECHA that reflects its mandated focus on the promotion of alternatives, including actively minimising and progressively replacing animal testing with new human-relevant, non-animal scientific approaches. Without active leadership from ECHA, the EU’s ban – and the increased development of alternative testing methods seen as a result – will be seriously undermined.

HSI will continue to work will EU policymakers and relevant stakeholders to reverse the decisions by ECHA and its Board of Appeals, and to ensure the integrity of the EU’s hard-won ban on cosmetic animal testing remains strong.

A Humane World: Kitty Block's Blog

Humane Society International / Europe

Good news in our work means animals thrive and we therefore celebrate it. That’s how it was for me this morning when I woke up to the report that there will be no whaling in Iceland this summer. Something my colleagues at Humane Society International and I have fought since Iceland resumed whaling in 2003.

That’s right. For the first time in 16 years, no whales—not endangered fin whales, not minkes, no whales at all—will die at the point of a whaler’s harpoon in Icelandic waters. That just makes my day.

Hvalur hf., the single Icelandic company that hunts great whales, decided not to carry out any whaling. In 2018, another firm, IP Útgerð, that takes minke whales, also halted whaling.

We’ll have to stay vigilant, however, because public policy in Iceland has not been of much help to us, despite the presence of elected officials who deplore the whaling industry and know what a smirch it is on Iceland’s reputation.

In February, Fisheries minister Kristján Þór Júlíusson authorized a continuation of fin and minke whale hunts until 2023, and Iceland’s Marine Research Institute has set a maximum yearly catch quota between 2018 and 2025 of 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales.

Iceland decided to resume whaling in 2003 in opposition to the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) 1986 commercial whaling ban. In 2018, Icelandic whalers harpooned 145 fin whales and six minke whales.

In our book, even one whale killed for high-end sushi is one too many, and the respite gives us some time and space to rev up our public outreach and our work not merely to limit whaling’s political and commercial influence in Iceland, but to drive it into the history books where it truly belongs.

Humane Society International

Dow AgroSciences will release the beagles who were being used in a pesticide test to the Michigan Humane Society where they will be cared for and readied for adoption into loving homes. This is the exact outcome we have been working toward for many months now, since our undercover investigator found these beagles being used for the test, and we are grateful to Dow AgroSciences (Corteva Agriscience) for making the right decision for the dogs.

I am also incredibly proud and grateful for you, our followers, without whom this victory would not have been possible. Hundreds of thousands of you contacted Corteva, first to demand an end to the testing, and then to ask that the company work with the Humane Society of the United States to find a suitable shelter for the dogs.

I want to applaud our amazing staff at the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International who worked tirelessly to get these beagles out. Their expertise and devotion, as well as the strong partnerships we have built with the animal sheltering community nationwide, have made all of the difference for these dogs.

The last two weeks have been intense, beginning with our Animal Research Issues and Investigations teams releasing the undercover investigation at the Charles River Laboratories in Michigan, where dogs were being tested for various products, including one of Corteva’s pesticides. While most of the dogs our investigator encountered were killed at the end of the studies they were part of, we discovered that 36 beagles in the Corteva study were undergoing unnecessary testing for a pesticide intended for Brazil, and we had a chance to get them out.

Right away, our HSI staff reached out to Brazil and worked to get a waiver for the test. Once Corteva had ended testing, we convinced the company, with your support, to release the beagles to a reputable shelter where they would have the best chance of finding forever homes. The Michigan Humane Society, one of our 350 amazing shelter partners nationwide, stepped up to the plate and agreed to take the dogs under their wing. MHS has the expertise and a proven track record so we know the dogs will be in good hands.

Our investigation succeeded in shining a light on the cruelty of animal testing and in raising awareness, but there are still thousands of dogs suffering in laboratories here in the United States and around the world. Our work to help them continues, but today, I am excited about this important victory, and for these dogs who have never known anything but life behind the bars of metal cages – they were born at a facility that breeds dogs for research after which they were taken to the lab. They deserve the best futures they can possibly get, and we are thrilled for the role we have played in saving their lives and making this outcome happen for them.

Humane Society International

  • HSI

SINGAPORE—Singaporean company The Privé Group announced its new sustainability and animal welfare initiative, committing to a 100 percent cage-free egg supply chain. Privé Group—which operates brands such as Privé, EMPRESS, Bayswater Kitchen, Privé Grill, The Green Door and Roadhouse —will work with Humane Society International, a leading global animal protection organization, and Privé suppliers to complete the transition to cage-free eggs by 2025. This new policy applies to shell and processed eggs, as well as products that contain eggs. HSI applauds The Privé Group for its leadership in the region on this important initiative as they join the global cage-free egg movement.

“Animal welfare is a growing global issue and we are thrilled to do our part toward making things better. It is something we care about, and we believe our customers appreciate that too,” said Yuan Oeij, chairman of The Privé Group. “We would also love to support the initiatives undertaken by HSI, and switching to a higher-welfare cage-free egg supply chain allows us to take one small step towards a better world.”

Take action: Sign the “no cages” pledge.

“We are thrilled to work with The Privé Group to help improve the lives of animals in food production in Asia,” said Dawn Neo, corporate outreach manager for HSI Farm Animals in Asia. “By adopting cage-free policies, companies around the world are signaling a shift in the food industry towards higher welfare products. We commend The Privé Group on its commitment to improve animal welfare in its supply chain, and look forward to continuing to work with them and other companies in the region to create a more humane supply chain.”

In Asia and around the world, the vast majority of egg-laying hens are confined in wire battery cages, where each hen has less space than a letter-sized sheet of paper to spend her entire life. Battery cages are inherently cruel—hens are unable to move freely or express important natural behaviours like nesting, perching and dustbathing. Cage-free systems generally offer hens higher levels of animal welfare than caged systems.

The Privé Group joins other companies that have made similar global cage-free egg commitments that apply to Singapore and the rest of Asia, including The Lo & Behold Group, Grand Hyatt Singapore and Andaz Singapore, AccorHotels, Sodexo, Compass Group and Unilever, among others. Take action and donate to help hens and other animals worldwide.

Media contact: Hwee Theng, asiaevents@hsi.org

70 percent of cosmetic companies in Brazil are now established in states where these tests are forbidden

Humane Society International

  • The state of Minas Gerais the latest in Brazil to join the global #BeCrueltyFree campaign movement. Viorel Simaj/istock

BRASILIA—Humane Society International applauds the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Minas Gerais (ALMG) for overturning Governor Fernando Pimentel’s veto on bill 2844/2015 banning cosmetics animal testing, making the state of Minas Gerais the latest in Brazil to join the global #BeCrueltyFree campaign movement.

Assembly Member Durval Ângelo, leader of the government bloc in the ALMG, defended a report in favour of overturning the veto, quoting his “objection of conscience” and his personal commitment to human and animal rights to oppose the Governor’s decision.

Join us! Sign the pledge to Be Cruelty-Free.

The other states that have banned these tests are São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Amazonas, Pará and Rio de Janeiro. Authored by Assembly Member Noraldino Júnior, the bill received the support of HIS, the Movimento Mineiro pelos Direitos Animais (MMDA) and the National Forum for the Protection and Defense of Animals (FNPDA) throughout its course in the Assembly.

Helder Constantino, Be Cruelty-Free campaigner for HSI, said: “We are thankful to all assembly members who collectively confirmed bill 2844/2015. The Governor relied on outdated information to veto this progressive bill. HSI and the MMDA worked for weeks to present Assembly Members with reliable information about the benefits of this legislation for the animals, science and consumers. Our campaign, combined with intense public pressure and the tireless efforts of Assembly Member Noraldino Júnior and his cabinet, have convinced the Assembly. It’s a great day for the animals!”

Adriana Araújo from the MMDA said: “We thank the assembly members who supported a prohibition on these cruel cosmetic tests on animals, putting the State of Minas Gerais at the vanguard of respect for animals, together with the other states that have prohibited these immoral tests.”

Globally, cosmetic tests on animals have been banned in 37 countries, including the whole of the European Union, Israel, India, Norway, Switzerland, Taiwan, New Zealand and Guatemala. Similar legislation is being debated in the United States, Canada, Australia, Chile, South Africa and elsewhere. Take action and donate to help animals worldwide.

Contact: Antoniana Ottoni, aottoni@hsi.org, (61) 98140 3636

Humane Society International

In early December last year, Biodiversity Enforcement Officers in South Africa received a tip that a ground pangolin was being offered for sale on the market for illegal wildlife trade. These scaly mammals—harmless to humans but critical to ecosystems—are threatened by poachers and traders around the world. As they are a protected species in South Africa, the officers planned and executed a sting operation in Ivory Park, a suburb of Johannesburg, to apprehend the suspects.

HSI Africa Wildlife Program Manager Nicci Wright received a call that the pangolin had been retrieved and two men arrested and charged with violating both national and provincial laws that prohibit possession of these animals. Later that night, the pangolin was transported to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital (JWVH), where Nicci is an expert wildlife rehabilitator. Here, Nicci and the JWVH team took “Ivory” the pangolin, named after the area where he was confiscated, into their care.

Pangolins seized from traffickers have usually been kept in captivity with no water or food for weeks, and often die of dehydration. Thankfully, the initial examination of Ivory revealed no severe injuries or trauma, but he smelled strongly of bleach. It is thought that the suspected poachers had soaked him in a bucket of the substance in an attempt to disguise his natural smell to avoid detection from sniffer dogs. JWVH veterinarian, Dr Lourens anesthetized Ivory for further assessment and treatment and collected DNA samples to possibly identify where he had come from and to gather any other evidence for prosecution.

That evening, Ivory was taken to a safe location which featured ant and termite mounds—staple foods of pangolins, who are specialist feeders. Ivory immediately started to feed on both, and enjoyed three- to four-hour foraging sessions every night after that. Once the team was satisfied that Ivory had stabilized and was able to forage normally, they arranged for his release in a carefully selected conservancy area. They attached a tracking device to a scale on his back to monitor his behavior and movement and released him safely back into the wild. He has since established a territory and is doing well. Watch him take his first steps of freedom.

On 19 January 2018, Ivory’s poachers appeared in court for sentencing. The prime suspect was sentenced to seven years in prison without the option of a fine and will be deported, at his own costs, on completion of his sentence, an unprecedented jail term for a pangolin crime in South Africa. The other was found not guilty of the poaching offence, but was deported immediately. This has set a new benchmark for cases involving pangolin poaching and is welcome news.

HSI Africa will continue to work to protect pangolins like Ivory and give them another chance at life in the wild. See an update.

Humane Society International

Humane Society International UK has worked closely with Wildlife and Countryside Link and the UK Centre for Animal Law to lead the drafting of a manifesto for animals, now supported by over 40 of the UK’s biggest and most respected animal charities.

In the report we urge government to ensure animal welfare protections are strengthened, not weakened or lost, as the UK leaves the European Union. We also outline many specific recommendations for action to improve animal welfare, including a ban on fur and foie gras imports, action to stop the cruel puppy trade, and an end to the export of live animals for slaughter.

Importantly, the manifesto also calls on the government to priortise animal protection in all future trade agreements as it negotiates deals with countries worldwide.

The UK government has stated it wants to be seen as a world leader on animal welfare, this report includes a list of actions that will help realise those goals and ensure better welfare for animals both here in the UK and around the world.

HSI UK’s Executive Director, Claire Bass, is Chair of Wildlife and Countryside Link’s Animal Welfare Strategy Group, and said: ‘Legal protections from the EU have helped raise animal welfare standards but as the Secretary of State has said, there is still substantial room for improvement. Animal welfare matters to voters, and it matters to British businesses; the government can satisfy both by taking the tangible steps in our report. Animal protection NGOs are united in urging government to capitalise on Brexit as a once in a generation opportunity to protect and improve the lives of billions of animals.’

Charities supporting the manifesto include the RSCPA, Born Free, International Fund for Animal Welfare, PETA, Dogs Trust and Compassion in World Farming.

The full report is available here.

Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill

HSI UK has responded to the government’s consultation on the draft Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill.

We welcome this Bill and consider it an important piece of new legislation to ensure that animal welfare protections are not lost as the UK prepares to leave the European Union.

The Bill will place a duty on policy makers to take animal welfare into account in their decision making, and in our response we encourage the creation of a new Animal Protection Commission to help support and police that duty. The Bill would also increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty offences from 6 months to 5 years imprisonment, we of course welcome this and hope it will act as a much needed deterrent to would-be animal-abusers.

You can read our full response here.

Humane Society International

by Riana Topan

October 4 is #WorldAnimalDay: a day to acknowledge, honour and celebrate all kinds of animals. As you read this, animal lovers, protectors and defenders around the world are coming together to march, protest, fundraise, speak and educate others about animal welfare.

Though we still have much work to do, I am heartened by the fact that the movement to protect animals from harm continues to grow steadily. I am grateful to the millions of individuals who work to protect the animals we keep as pets, animals used in research and entertainment, and wild animals who are targeted for wildlife trafficking. And above all else, I am particularly inspired that the world is increasingly turning its attention to the animals raised on farms.

That farm animals have shifted from the periphery of public consciousness to the centre of global discussions on animal welfare is incredibly important. The vast majority of the cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys raised for food are often gravely mistreated. They usually live unnaturally short lives in crowded, cramped conditions, unable to express their natural behaviours and regularly denied every kind of freedom—freedom from hunger and thirst, from discomfort, from pain and injury and disease, and from fear and distress.

Decades ago, most people gave little thought to animals raised on farms. Now, the industrial agricultural operations that reproduce, raise and slaughter animals to produce food are under intense scrutiny for their systemic abuse of farm animals. Undercover investigations and footage have shed light on the miserable conditions in which most farm animals are forced to live, and the pain and suffering they endure before they are slaughtered.

The consequence of this enlightenment is tangible. Intensive confinement systems like battery cages (small wire enclosures used to house egg-laying hens) and gestation crates (used in industrial pork production to confine pregnant sows) are finally being phased out in Canada because consumers are demanding that farm animals be afforded better living conditions and more humane treatment at every stage of their lives. Societally, we have developed a greater appreciation for the consequences of our food choices, and we have recognized that we have the ability to challenge business practices we disagree with.

This heightened awareness is thanks, in part, to the major organizations working on improving protections for farm animals—including Humane Society International/Canada. Though HSI/Canada works to protect all animals, farm animals are a core part of our campaigns because they are usually the most poorly treated in the largest numbers. The growing support for the movement to protect farm animals is both an outcome of and a driving force behind our work, culminating in an ‘upward spiral’ that has resulted in major wins for farm animals.

Every single day, retailers, restaurants and other companies from all corners of the world are adopting new policies to enhance farm animal welfare in their supply chains. Just last week, the Campbell Soup food company introduced a new animal welfare policy for broiler chickens (chickens raised for meat), and Kraft Heinz committed to sourcing 100 percent cage-free eggs in all of Latin America by 2025. Several large-scale financial institutions are now requiring that specific farm animal welfare standards be met as a prerequisite for their lending, investing and other financial practices. And big-name brands Nestlé and Unilever recently published articles touting the many benefits of plant-based foods, citing animal welfare, environmental sustainability, health and nutrition, and cost savings as key reasons to eat more meatless meals.

Countless individuals are also bringing their behaviours more in line with their values by practicing the Three R’s of eating, which HSI advocates: “reducing” consumption of animal products and “replacing” them with plant-based alternatives, as well as “refining” their diets by choosing products from companies that have demonstrated a meaningful commitment to higher-welfare practices. Motivated by an affection for animals and the growing body of evidence that says plant-based foods are healthier and significantly better for the environment, many are now choosing to leave animal products off their plates entirely.

Though usually slower to change, legislation is also finally catching up. In August, England bolstered its farm animal welfare standards by mandating that all slaughterhouses be equipped with closed circuit television. And the state of California is currently contemplating a ballot initiative that would prohibit the sale of eggs, pork and veal from animals locked in inhumane cages and crates. Regulations to protect farm animals are finally starting to reflect the pervasive belief that every kind of animal deserves to be treated with respect and care.

As we celebrate World Animal Day, I invite you to join the growing movement to support farm animal welfare. Whether you participate in an event, volunteer your time, pledge to reduce your meat consumption or donate to an animal welfare organization, know that you have the power to make a difference for animals. Every single act of compassion has an impact, and together we can ensure that farm animals are given the protection they deserve.

Riana Topan is Campaign Manager for Humane Society International/Canada.

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