Worldlog Tjedan 3 – 2014

Svima sretna, zdravljem ispunjena i životinjama naklonjena, 2014. godina!

Prošlog sam tjedna bila u Portugalu i na Madeiri u posjeti našoj sestrinskoj stranci PAN. Bilo je to vrlo poučno okupljanje, a prikazivao se i naš film „Zec u maratonu“ i to u Lisabonu i na Madeiri! Sudjelovala je i španjolska stranka za životinje PACMA.

I ove smo godine pozivali na zabranu amaterskog paljenja vatrometa. Što se nas tiče, vatromet bi trebali isključivo profesionalci organizirati i paliti. Vatromet koji pali običan građanin u svojoj ulici uzrokuje bol, strah i stres kod životinja, te negativno utječa na čovjeka i njegov okoliš. Mislimo da je to dovoljan razlog za promjene u tradiciji vatrometa. Iako imamo podršku, još uvijek nemamo većinu u Zastupničkom domu za ovaj prijedlog. No, ove ćemo se godine dodatno potruditi kako bismo svi mogli uživati u prekrasnom vatrometu, bez veće štete za ljude, životinje i okoliš.

U Nizozemskoj stotinjak ljudi nastrada oko Nove godine, pri čemu velik broj čine djeca. Otprilike polovica žrtava čine prolaznici, ljudi koji sami uopće ne pale vatromet. U isto vrijeme prošle godine, 810 ljudi zatražilo je hitnu medicinsku pomoć u bolnicama zbog ozljeda uzrokovanih vatrometom, većinom ozljede očiju. Ovo mora i može biti drugačije!

Kraj 2013. godine nije bio bez uspjeha. Izuzetno smo zadovoljni odlukom vlade da će se dio novaca koji se trebao uštedjeti na Nizozemskoj upravi za sigurnost hrane (NVWA), vratiti. Konačno će biti više novaca za nadzor i održavanje po pitanju dobrobiti životinja, zdravlja životinja i sigurnosti hrane. Državni je tajnik izjavio da će osigurati i dodatnih 100 strukturalnih radnih mjesta i 60 privremenih kako bi se mogao vršiti dodatni nadzor u životinjskom sektoru.

Krajnje je vrijeme da se i na kraj stane praksi da mesar, doslovno sam, može odobriti svoje meso, pri čemu se NVWA drži podalje. Neophodna je i velika promjena sistema po kojemu se naša hrana proizvodi. Trenutna prehrambena industrija nastoji proizvesti što više na što jeftiniji način. Ovaj je sistem doveo do oportunizma, okrutnosti prema životinjama i nesigurne hrane. Dobrobit životinja i kvaliteta hrane, jamstvom većine, ponovno mora postati naša primarna briga!

Osim toga, usvojeno je još nekoliko prijedloga zahvaljujući kojima su postroženi zakoni vezani za provođenje testiranja na životinjama. Primjerice, za korištenje majmuna u testiranju donešeni su stroži zakoni pri čemu odluke komisija koje odobre takva testiranja postaju javna, tako da se na takve odluke može žaliti.

Mi se i dalje borimo da što prije zabranimo sva testiranja na životinjama. Zahvaljujući našem trudu, ova je temu stalno prisutna u političkom svijetu, dok u međuvremenu dolaze i druge stranke koje pokušavaju vratiti testiranje na životinjama!

Pročitaj članak In the Belly of the Beast u Rolling Stoneu o vrlo hrabrim životinjskim aktivistima koje mesna industrija trenutno tuži, jer su snimali okrutnosti koje se odvijaju u govedarskoj industriji.

Ova žena zaslužuje medalju umjesto zatvora!

Ovog je tjedna izašao mesni atlas koji sadrži sve informacije o problemima koje donosi brzorastuća potražnja za mesom. Nešto o čemu valja razmisliti!

Pogledaj ovdje naljepšu sliku 2013.

Do idućeg tjedna, Marianne

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and animal-friendly 2014!

Last week, I visited our sister party PAN in Portugal and on Madeira. It was a very educational and delightful meeting, during which our film The Pacer in the Marathon was shown in Lisbon and on Madeira! The Spanish party for the animals, PACMA, was there as well.

This year, we called on a ban on consumer fireworks again. In our view, fireworks may only be set off in professionally organised firework shows. For many people, the pain, fear and stress in animals, and the nuisance and damage to people and the environment are sufficient reasons to change the fireworks tradition. Unfortunately, despite the growing support for a ban on consumer fireworks, there is still no Parliamentary majority for our proposal. Nonetheless, we will work vigorously on this issue again in the year to come, so that everyone can enjoy beautiful fireworks without the major damage to people, animals or the environment.

In the Netherlands, hundreds of people suffer serious injuries around New Year’s Eve, including many children. Approximately half of the victims are bystanders, who do not even set off any fireworks themselves. In the last New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day period, 810 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries, including injuries to eyes. This should and can change!

Several satisfactory successes were still achieved at the end of 2013. For example, we are very happy with the decision of Government to partially reverse cutbacks on the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). Finally, more money will be made available for supervision and enforcement, particularly in the areas of animal welfare, animal health and food safety. In addition, the State Secretary promised 100 structural additional jobs and 60 temporary jobs to allow for more inspections in the animal sector.

However, the situation where butchers literally inspect the very meat they sell, with the NVWA remaining at bay, should also end. It is essential that our food production system will change: the present food industry focuses on producing as much as possible in the cheapest way possible. This has led to opportunism, poor handling of animals and unsafe food. Animal welfare and the quality of food, safeguarded by Government, must come first again!

In addition, several amendments to the Testing on Animals Act were carried, so that stricter rules now apply to animal testing. For example, the use of monkeys in animal testing will be subjected to stricter rules and decisions of the committee that issues permissions for animal testing will become public, so that the decisions can be appealed.

We remain committed to ending all animal testing as soon as possible. Thanks to our commitment, the issue has become part and parcel of the political agenda and also other parties now come up with proposals to reduce the use of animals for testing!

Read the article In the Belly of the Beast in the Rolling Stone on the incredibly brave animal rights activists who are being sued by the meat industry for recording atrocities in the cattle industry.

This woman deserves a medal instead of a prison sentence!

This week, the meat atlas was issued, which shows how many problems the rapidly rising meat consumption entails. Food for thought!

See the most beautiful photos of 2013 here.

See you next week,

Marianne