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Episode 21: Fish, the Forgotten “Food” Animal with Mary Finelli of Fish Feel
Just as United Poultry Concerns was the first farmed animal advocacy organization to focus on chickens, Fish Feel was the first organization to focus on fishes. In Episode 21 we have a special interview with Mary Finelli, founder and president of Fish Feel. Hope and Mary discuss how fishes are caught and killed in the ocean by the trillions every year and how the fishing industry is also notorious for human slavery.
Mary talks about aquaculture and the cruelties to the fish in this industry as well as the ecological damage caused by fish farms. She shares her insights into the killing and eating of other marine life such as lobsters, crabs, oysters, and clams and also educates us on the fish oil supplement industry, the caviar industry, and the exciting new trend in advocacy of fish rescue. Listen in for a breadth of knowledge about our underwater relatives and share this episode with those who need to hear it.
More From UPC
I Stopped Saying “Meat” and Here’s Why
“Cockfighting roosters can be rehabilitated” by Karen Davis
United Poultry Concerns
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Machipongo, VA 23405 USA
info@upc-online.org
Prison animal farms are ineffective and unethical
JS
By Jessica Scott-ReidContributor
Sun., Feb. 21, 2021timer2 min. read
Supporters of prison animal farms – namely agriculture industry stakeholders
poised to profit – claim that for incarcerated individuals, farming, milking
and slaughtering animals is beneficial. Supporters believe prison animal
farms provide valuable work skills and aid in the rehabilitation of inmates.
According to some academics and advocates however, those benefits are
unproven, and these operations cause far more harm than good.
Prison farms operated by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) were
outlawed in 2010 by the Conservative government, which found they did not
effectively rehabilitate inmates. The farms were reinstated by the Liberals
in 2019, with plans for two institutions to see thousands of goats farmed
on-site. They’re likely starting this spring, reportedly to produce milk for
the Chinese market.
Profit is the priority of these operations, not the rehabilitation of
inmates, and certainly not the welfare of animals.
“Industrial-scale animal farming creates brutal conditions for animals and
workers alike,” says Animal Justice executive director Camille Labchuk (with
whom I co-host a podcast). “There’s no rehabilitative aspect to a factory
goat farm. All it teaches incarcerated persons is that animals should be
exploited and commodified. This is hardly consistent with inspiring more
care and compassion for others.”
In a recent article
<https://theconversation.com/the-correctional-service-of-canadas-goat-plans–
wont-help-inmates-153183> condemning the future prison farming operation,
professors Amy Fitzgerald and Amanda Wilson agree: “There is no empirical
evidence that working in a major livestock operation has any rehabilitative
impact,” they write, adding “internal documents indicate CSC will be using
nearly $10 million of its capital budget for the program.”
Of particular concern for Shawna Gray, a social worker and member of the
Ceg-a-Kin Nakota Nation, is that 30 per cent of Canada’s incarcerated
population are Indigenous.
“Indigenous people have sacred relationships with this land and the
animals,” Gray says. “The introduction of exploitative farming practices
into Indigenous communities was one component of a colonial system designed
to assimilate Indigenous peoples and destroy their cultural practices.”
Making incarcerated Indigenous individuals engage in this form of work can
reinforce and perpetuate long-standing systems of oppression and violence,
says Gray. “If we teach and model oppression and violence, we will encourage
oppression and violence.”
Ultimately, prison animal farms exist exclusively to generate profit for
those seeking to benefit from cheap labour and animal exploitation. They
were outlawed for a reason, and that reason persists today: prison animal
farms are ineffective, unethical, and do not belong in Canada.
Jessica Scott-Reid is a writer, animal advocate and co-host of the
<https://animaljustice.ca/feed/podcast/> Paw & Order podcast.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/02/21/prison-animal-farms–
are-ineffective-and-unethical.html?fbclid=IwAR20AU3bjTQBl38sdGJhicuU2_g08FEV
gFH5m9r9V4ix62WDd-WsSc5xt8k
<https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/02/21/prison-animal-farms
-are-ineffective-and-unethical.html?fbclid=IwAR20AU3bjTQBl38sdGJhicuU2_g08FE
VgFH5m9r9V4ix62WDd-WsSc5xt8k>
<https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/02/21/prison-animal-farms
-are-ineffective-and-unethical.html?fbclid=IwAR20AU3bjTQBl38sdGJhicuU2_g08FE
VgFH5m9r9V4ix62WDd-WsSc5xt8k> Opinion | Prison animal farms are ineffective
and unethical
Animal farms staffed by inmates exist exclusively to generate profit for
those seeking to benefit from cheap labour and animal exploitation. They
were…
http://www.thestar.com <http://www.thestar.com
Animal rights activists lambaste Costco supplier over its rotisserie chickens
20 hours ago
The poultry supplier is accused of having ‘large piles of dead, rotting animals’
By Daniella GenoveseFOXBusinesshttps://static.foxnews.com/static/orion/html/video/iframe/vod.html?v=20210209231724#uid=fnc-embed-1
Fox Business Flash top headlines for February 9
Fox Business Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.
A Costco-owned slaughterhouse is being accused of engaging in “cruel” animal practices including cramming chickens into “filthy sheds” and breeding them to grow to an unnatural weight.
An undercover investigation allegedly revealed how Lincoln Premium Poultry’s practices directly contrast “Costco’s claim that animal welfare is a critical component” of its chicken supply chain, according to Animal rights group Mercy for Animals “Revealing the hidden price of Costco chicken” investigation.
Representatives for Lincoln Premium Poultry did not immediately return FOX Business’ request for comment.
In 2019, farmers began raising chickens for the Nebraska slaughterhouse which supplies the wholesale club with many of the tens of millions of rotisserie chickens it sells each year, Mercy said.
Dios Ruiz, a service deli worker for Costco Wholesale Corp., places cooked rotisserie chickens in containers at a store in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. Costco Wholesale Corp., a wholesale membership warehouse company, is (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)https://www.credible.com/partners-widgets/credit-card/rich-cta/?variation=interactive&theme=fox&credclid=abd3fbe6-22c0-4d39-90ec-3a324f3fc376&pageUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxbusiness.com%2Flifestyle%2Fcostco-rotisserie-chicken-animal-rights
One year later, the animal’s rights group said it discovered “large piles of dead, rotting animals” on the facility’s grounds outside the barns which housed live chickens.
“Costco members deserve to know the truth about where their chickens come from and how Costco is failing to live up to the animal welfare standards members expect and the company claims to support,” the group said.
Additionally, an undercover investigator captured animals being forced to live for weeks in their own waste while being raised to “grow so large so fast that they often cannot support their weight.” The animals allegedly struggle to walk and “many die from organ failure,” the group said.
COSTCO DROPS COCONUT MILK BRAND FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF FORCED MONKEY LABOR, PETA SAYS
Aside from the terrible living conditions, the investigator allegedly witnessed “countless birds with open wounds, ammonia burns, broken bones, and twisted necks and beaks,” the group said.
Costco told FOX Business that “independent audits are regularly performed to ensure all parties are consistently in compliance” and that Costco and Lincoln will “use the results of our audits as well as other sources of information, including this video” to further improve its animal welfare processes.
“Costco is committed to maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare, humane processes and ethical conduct throughout the supply chain,” the company said in a statement. “Lincoln Premium Poultry (LPP) shares our commitment, as do the independent growers selected for the program who have been carefully chosen based on our mutual business philosophies.”
Mercy for Animals says Costco has the “power to implement meaningful animal welfare requirements for these farms” and is urging the company to take action.
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According to Mercy for Animals, over 200 companies have already adopted Better Chicken Commitment standards which “ban the worst cruelty from their operations” and so far, “Costco has failed to do the same.”
Animal rights activists calling for halt of bird flu poultry culling
Posted : 2021-02-08 13:34Updated : 2021-02-09 09:04
 |
| Animal rights activists stage a protest at Gwanghwamun, Seoul, in this Jan. 25 photo, calling for a halt to the culling of poultry as a method to prevent the spread of avian influenza, saying there are other options. Yonhap |
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2021/02/119_303745.html
By Bahk Eun-ji
While the government has been bolstering measures to prevent the spread of avian influenza, animal welfare organizations and veterinarians are criticizing the measures ― culling poultry regardless of whether or not they have been infected.
They say culling is nothing more than animal slaughter, and vaccines for the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu should be introduced as a preventive measure.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the number of chickens and ducks culled here, since last Nov. 26 when the first H5N8 case broke out, topped 25.3 million as of Feb. 3. There were 75 cases of infections nationwide.
In Gyeonggi Province alone, more than 6.8 million chicken and ducks in 83 poultry and egg farms were culled during the same period. Of these, 4.24 million at 65 farms, or 61 percent, were culled as a preventive measure although they were not infected with the virus.
The government has been culling all poultry within a three-kilometer radius of infected farms since 2018.
However, animal welfare organizations and veterinary associations are questioning whether the government’s policy is the only viable solution.
Members of 45 organizations, including the Korea Association for Animal Protection (KAAP), held a press conference in Gwanghwamun in Seoul last month, saying more than 100 million poultry have been buried underground since the very first outbreak of avian influenza here in 2003.
“Based on scientific and elaborate analysis, culling should be carried out mainly on the farms infected with the virus. As a fundamental measure to solve the problem, a vaccine for H5N8 should be introduced, just like vaccines turned out to be the fundamental solution to end the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lee Won-bok, head of the KAAP.
“Although the country can minimize culling by using vaccines, the government sticks to culling and it seems to only be because of administrative convenience.”
Lee Sung-sik, head of the Gyeonggi Veterinary Medical Association, also said even though there is a simple test kit that can detect the virus within three hours, the government adheres to culling the animals without convincing reasons.
“It seems the authorities are hesitant out of fear of losing the country’s status as a bird flu clean zone if they use vaccines for avian influenza, but now we have to begin vaccination as the virus breaks out every year,” he said.
According to him, losing its status as a “bird flu clean zone” could result in restrictions on the export of domestic poultry and related products, and increase the possibility of allowing imports of poultry products from China, which have been banned as the country is not designated as a clean zone.
In August 2008, Korea declared itself a bird flu clean zone in accordance with guidelines set by the World Health Organization.
He also noted the biggest reason for the government’s hesitation to implement a vaccination program is fear of a virus mutation that could be deadly to humans.
 |
| Culled chickens are buried near a poultry farm in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 21, after an outbreak of avian influenza was confirmed there. Yonhap |
Virus variants can develop when vaccines are used; the H5N8 strain of avian influenza does not pose a great threat to human health, but there is a chance for a variant to develop that is lethal to humans, he explained.
“The virus is powerful enough to infect a million birds with just 1 gram,” an official of the agriculture ministry said, adding no one can predict what mutations could occur or how these mutations might affect humans.
“Despite the large number of culled birds, it should be understood as a measure to prevent greater damage,” he added.
Some other experts argued that the government’s position is understandable given that some types of avian influenza can infect both animals and humans, but claimed the government still needs to consider other options.
“We should not blindly block the introduction of a vaccine, but examine the possibility of a variant in a scientific and rational manner,” said Song Chang-sun, a professor of veterinary medicine at Konkuk University.
If only…
Almost perfect…
Animal rights groups are urging the Government to follow the UK’s example and put an end to badger culling.
09.39 28 JAN 2021
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Ireland has killed more than 110,000 badgers since 1989 in a bid to prevent cattle getting infected with tuberculosis.
The Irish Wildlife Trust has warned that the culls see healthy badgers, including pregnant or nursing females, snared and then shot. It has said levels are TB in cows are still too high and the programme should “now be considered a failure.”
Meanwhile, the UK Government yesterday confirmed that no more mass badger culls will take place after 2022.
It will instead seek to eradicate bovine TB by vaccinating badgers and restricting the movement of cattle.
Animal Rights Groups Call For End To Badger Culling In Ireland00:00:00 / 00:07:20
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) animal health chairman Pat Farrell said the number of cattle slaughtered over TB fears has dropped from 44,000 a year to 16,000 a year since the badger culls were introduced.
He said farmers see their trade suspended for a minimum of 120 days when they record an outbreak – with no ability to earn an income until the suspension is lifted.
“The department investigates where there is an outbreak of TB at farm level,2 he said.
“If it is found the badgers have infected the cattle, they apply for a licence and there are strict protocols put in place and there are trained personnel within the department
“It is not a willy nilly situation with badgers culled all over the country. It is only where there is an outbreak of TB that this happens.”
Also on the show, John Carmody, John Carmody, founder of the Animal Rights Action Network said it is time for a more humane response to the issue.
He welcomed the UK decision and urged the Irish Government to honour its commitments under the programme for Government and follow suit.
“The reality is that if we placed more focus on humanely vaccinating these animals, we may not have the problems we face today,” he said.
“What irks me so much is that when we appear to have problems with wildlife, for whatever reason, the only answer we seem to come up with every goddamn time is to kill these poor animals.
“The reality is that if we all sit down together and work together on this particular situation we could come about and work towards ending this cull – which I do hope happens.”
Animal rights groups call for end to badger culling in Ireland
Michael Staines
09.39 28 JAN 2021
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Animal rights groups are urging the Government to follow the UK’s example and put an end to badger culling.
Ireland has killed more than 110,000 badgers since 1989 in a bid to prevent cattle getting infected with tuberculosis.
The Irish Wildlife Trust has warned that the culls see healthy badgers, including pregnant or nursing females, snared and then shot. It has said levels are TB in cows are still too high and the programme should “now be considered a failure.”
Meanwhile, the UK Government yesterday confirmed that no more mass badger culls will take place after 2022.
It will instead seek to eradicate bovine TB by vaccinating badgers and restricting the movement of cattle.
Animal Rights Groups Call For End To Badger Culling In Ireland00:00:00 / 00:07:20
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) animal health chairman Pat Farrell said the number of cattle slaughtered over TB fears has dropped from 44,000 a year to 16,000 a year since the badger culls were introduced.
He said farmers see their trade suspended for a minimum of 120 days when they record an outbreak – with no ability to earn an income until the suspension is lifted.
“The department investigates where there is an outbreak of TB at farm level,2 he said.
“If it is found the badgers have infected the cattle, they apply for a licence and there are strict protocols put in place and there are trained personnel within the department
“It is not a willy nilly situation with badgers culled all over the country. It is only where there is an outbreak of TB that this happens.”
Also on the show, John Carmody, John Carmody, founder of the Animal Rights Action Network said it is time for a more humane response to the issue.
He welcomed the UK decision and urged the Irish Government to honour its commitments under the programme for Government and follow suit.
“The reality is that if we placed more focus on humanely vaccinating these animals, we may not have the problems we face today,” he said.
“What irks me so much is that when we appear to have problems with wildlife, for whatever reason, the only answer we seem to come up with every goddamn time is to kill these poor animals.
“The reality is that if we all sit down together and work together on this particular situation we could come about and work towards ending this cull – which I do hope happens.”
Carl Sagan, the animal rights visionary
He was talking about global warming and humane treatment of animals before they became fashionableNEXT BLOG ❯
By Shubhobroto Ghosh
Published: Friday 22 January 2021
Carl Sagan speaking at Cornell University in 1987. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Carl Sagan is famous across the globe as the citizen scientist who brought forth the mysteries of the universe to millions of people across the world. But his contribution to protecting the planetary environment and enhancing respect for non-human species is not as widely known.
The creator of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage was talking about global warming and humane treatment of animals before they became fashionable.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and scientist was an animal rights visionary in every sense of the word. In a lecture at Cornell University in 1994, he spoke of the social structure of chimpanzees that he described as being one that he “would like to see more of in humans.”
Speaking of our relationship with other animals, Carl Sagan said:
“Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and ‘animals’ is essential if we are to bend them to our will, make them work for us, wear them, eat them — without any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. It is unseemly of us, who often behave so unfeelingly toward other animals, to contend that only humans can suffer. The behavior of other animals renders such pretensions specious. They are just too much like us.”
Thus, we see animals exploited in the wildlife trade, elephant rides in Amer fort in Jaipur in India, crocodile shows in Thailand and tigers being chained perpetually so that tourists can click pictures with them in proximity in Thailand. World Animal Protection is actively attempting to bring all these atrocities to an end and will continue to do so in the future.
The importance of good writing to aid the humane treatment of animals cannot be emphasized enough, especially after the tragic year of 2020. World Animal Protection takes exceptional note of some publications in this regard in India, alongside Sagan’s Cosmos: Possible Worlds.
The Gopi Diaries: Coming Home, a book about the relationship between a dog and humans, was a unique endeavour in Indian literature by Infosys Foundation chairperson, Mr Sudha Murty. This book and the exemplary coverage given to the crisis horses find themselves facing in Kolkata’s Maidan by senior journalists Biplab Sarkar and Anindya Jana in the regional daily Aajkaal give us hope that all is not lost in a world driven apart by death and destruction.
The most outstanding legacy of Carl Sagan as an astronomer and a scientist is his famous speech titled Reflections on a Mote of Dust, which he delivered many times in his public presentations, is the most befitting tribute to him as an environmentalist. This speech is reproduced here in full:
“We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.
The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturing, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe are challenged by this point of pale light.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity — in all this vastness — there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It’s been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
It is our duty, to imbibe the essence of this message and to be kind to each other, as well as to all forms of life on this planet.
Why you’re vegan…
