Officially established in 1998, Animals Asia campaigns for improved conditions and rights for various species across Asia. It operates award-winning sanctuaries in Vietnam and China (and is the only organization with a bear sanctuary in the latter).

These sanctuaries are home to hundreds of bears who were rescued from the bile trade.

What is bile farming?

In order to extract bile from their gallbladders, bears are subject to invasive, painful procedures. The bile, thought to have healing properties, is used in traditional Chinese medicine. It also appears in some household products like shampoo and toothpaste.

Demand for bile products comes predominantly from Asia, but such items are also found in Australia, Canada, and the US.

According to Animals Asia, the “cruel” trade is a source of “extreme suffering” for thousands of bears across the world’s largest and most populous continent.

One of the most “humane” bile extraction methods involves creating a permanent open passage in the animals’ gallbladder via their abdomen. The surgery – rarely performed by a veterinarian – often results in infections, many of which become fatal.

The way the animals are housed is similarly disturbing, the charity says. Bears are permanently kept in metal cages; many are so small that bears are left unable to turn around or stand on all fours.

Some bears are caged as cubs, and held captive for up to 30 years.

Rescuing bears from bile farms

Animals Asia has rescued 640 bears from the trade to date. With its bear rescue center in Tam Dao, Vietnam, approaching capacity, the nonprofit has announced a new sanctuary that will take in all of the remaining farmed bears in Vietnam.

The 12-hectare sanctuary, situated in the mountainous surroundings of the Bach Ma National Park, will be unveiled tomorrow (May 27). And when all farmed bears in Vietnam are freed and released into the sanctuary, the country’s bear bile trade will officially be history.

“This is a proud moment for humanity, Animals Asia, Vietnam, and our supporters around the
world”, commented Animals Asia founder and CEO Jill Robinson. “Together, in collaboration with the Vietnam government, we bring about this milestone in protecting wildlife across the country.”

In 2017, Animals Asia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Vietnamese government, committing to the closure of all bear farms in Vietnam.

The MOU outlined an agreement between the two parties, which would see them working together to free the then-1,000 animals who were still in the industry.

Speaking on the new sanctuary, Robinson added: “Today we show that courage, empathy, tenacity, and determination have brought about significant change, as we step up and demonstrate the way forward in helping to save the world’s vulnerable species.”

Celebrity support

A wealth of high-profile names have thrown their support behind Animals Asia and its efforts, including Dame Judi Dench, Alan Cumming, Stephen Fry, James Cromwell, Slash, Kesha, and Peter Egan.

Actors Tara Buck (True Blood), Torrey DeVitto (The Vampire Diaries, Chicago Med), and Marina Squerciati (Chicago P.D) are all in Vietnam to celebrate the unveiling of the sanctuary. They’re joined by television personality Josh Packham (Love Island), photographer Katarina
Benzova, and actor Tang Thanh Ha (Mỹ Nhân Kế).

In a video seen by Plant Based News, Ricky Gervais (who just donated £142,414.47 to Animals Asia), asked the public to “stand by them in this mission” and “raise their paw for the moon bear.”

Dr. Jane Goodall offered her “warm congratulations” to the nonprofit. “Animals Asia is ending bear bile farming in Vietnam,” she said. “To protect these beautiful moon bears, please help Animals Asia build this last bear sanctuary and make sure that in Vietnam, there will be no bear left behind.”

The post Vietnam’s Bile Trade Will Soon Be History As Last 310 Bears Are Rescued appeared first on Plant Based News.

Happy, a 51-year-old Asian elephant, was captured from the wild in the early 1970s. She was shipped to the US, arriving at the Bronx Zoo in 1977.

She is one of two Asian elephants living in captivity at the zoo – they are kept in separate enclosures and can only touch each other through a fence with their trunks. Throughout the ’80s, the elephants were forced to give rides at the zoo, perform tricks, and participate in tug-of-war competitions.

Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) – a nonprofit defending the civil rights of elephants, dolphins, great apes, and whales – is campaigning for Happy’s release. The organization insists that Happy’s captivity mimics that of solitary confinement, and robs the animal of her right to express her natural instincts.

This is especially concerning given the species’ high intelligence and sociability, NhRP says. In the wild, Asian elephants form complex relationships that last a lifetime, often working together to raise their children.

In fact, female Asian elephants are considered “social butterflies” with numerous friendships that stay intact even after long periods of separation.

NhRP also notes that in 2005, Happy became the first elephant to pass a mirror self-recognition test, which researchers say indicates self-awareness.

Elephant rights

NhRP first filed a petition against the Bronx Zoo in 2018. The charity asked the court, on the grounds of habeas corpus, to grant Happy her “common law right to bodily liberty.”

This, according to the charity, would require the immediate release of the senior animal to an elephant sanctuary “so as to prevent future unlawful deprivations of her liberty and allow her to exercise her autonomy to the greatest degree possible.”

Elephant researcher Joyce Poole says keeping elephants confined “prevents them from engaging in normal, autonomous behavior and can result in the development of arthritis, osteoarthritis, osteomyelitis, boredom and stereotypical behavior.”

“Held in isolation elephants become bored, depressed, aggressive, catatonic and fail to thrive,” Poole added.

The Bronx Zoo responds

The Bronx Zoo, which opened its gates in 1899, has a different perspective. In a statement released on May 18, the zoo accused NhRP of “blatantly exploiting” Happy to “advance their coordinated agenda.”

And, that the nonprofit is “willing to sacrifice Happy’s health and psychological well-being to set precedent.” The zoo cautioned that should the NhRP win the case, there may be a surge of legal actions brought forward on behalf of animals in zoos.

The Bronx Zoo concludes that Happy – like all of its 4,000 animals – is, like her namesake, happy.

The facility is no stranger to controversy. In 2018, the Bronx Zoo ranked #1 on the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants. It was the eighth time the zoo had appeared on the list.

Happy has received coverage of her own, featuring in a New York Post piece about her “sad life alone at the Bronx Zoo.” There, the publication said, “Happy spends most of her time indoors in a large holding facility lined with elephant cages, which are about twice the length of the animals’ bodies.

“The public never sees this.”

The New York Court of Appeals heard arguments for and against Happy’s release last week. The court is expected to announce its decision in the next four to six weeks.

The post Landmark Court Case Could Grant ‘Happy’ The Elephant Human Rights appeared first on Plant Based News.

An undercover investigator for Mercy for Animals, a non-profit animal protection charity, captured the footage at a contract farm for the supermarket chain.

This comes soon after the charity exposed the names of major retailers that are lagging behind in their efforts to address welfare issues associated with chickens raised for meat.

Aldi is among the companies that ranked the lowest for standard practices in the chicken industry.

Animal cruelty on chicken farms

The hidden-camera footage shows tens of thousands of chickens packed into overcrowded sheds, forced to live in waste-soaked litter for weeks. The investigator also documented countless birds, including day-old chicks, suffering from severe open wounds, twisted necks and beaks, and other serious injuries.

Many of these conditions arise from the way chickens are routinely bred to grow unnaturally large over a short space of time. This inflicts a huge amount of physical and mental stress on the birds.

In the hard-hitting video, workers are seen hurling sick and injured live birds into buckets to die. Some were crushed under the weight of corpses piled on top of them.

In light of the footage, Mercy for Animals is calling on Aldi to adopt meaningful animal welfare standards for all its chicken suppliers. The charity is urging Aldi to undertake the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), which requires extra space, litter, and lighting, as well as environmental enrichments. 

As a way for individuals to take action, Mercy for Animals encourages eliminating animal products altogether. It states on its Aldi Uncovered website: “We can end this cruel, unsustainable system. By choosing plant-based foods, we can build a food system that is good for animals, people, and our planet.”

The post New Investigation Uncovers Severe Animal Cruelty In Aldi Supply Chain appeared first on Plant Based News.

Winter stars in a new PETA campaign, which urges the public to “Show a Bear How Much You Care.” It features the reality star, 26, posing naked in front of a Union Jack while holding a large teddy bear. 

The photo was shot by fashion photographer Ruth Rose and features wording urging the Ministry of Defence to replace bearskin with animal-friendly faux fur. 

“It takes the skin of at least one bear to make a single cap for the Queen’s Guard,” Winter said in a statement.

“It makes me so angry that defenceless black bears are still being slaughtered. … [And] nursing mothers also get killed, leaving behind their young cubs. PETA has already developed a faux-fur cap … so there’s no excuse for it not to be used.”

An ethical faux alternative

The red and black uniforms of the Queen’s Guard have remained mostly unchanged since they were first introduced in the 1800s. They continue to feature a tall black hat made from the fur of Canadian black bears. 

The hats cost around £650 each and have cost taxpayers around £1 million in the last seven years. The bears are either shot or caught in painful traps and are often left to suffer in agony for days before dying. 

Despite repeated calls from animal rights groups and the general public, the government has so far refused to replace the fur with an ethical faux alternative. In 2014, they claimed this was because fake fur caps they’d trialed had become “waterlogged.”

PETA recently developed a vegan alternative in collaboration with luxury faux furrier ECOPEL. It proved to be 100 percent waterproof in a Ministry of Defence copyright test. 

A petition in support of PETA’s campaign has garnered more than 86,000 signatures, meaning it’s fast approaching the 100,000 needed to trigger a debate in parliament. Those interested can add their signature here.

The post Love Island’s Faye Winter Campaigns To Ban Fur From Queen’s Guard Caps appeared first on Plant Based News.

In 2017, following expensive animal abuse-focused court cases and amid falling attendance, the circus shut down its big top for good. But now it’s back. And it seems to have learned its lesson, because its new traveling show is totally animal-free.

According to Ringling Bros, the new show will launch next year in September, before embarking on a 50-city tour in North America.

The circus ran for nearly 150 years before it shut down in 2017. But, with a new and improved approach, the updated version hopes to match that legacy.

“We are innovating all aspects of the live show and modernizing the franchise,” said Kenneth Feld, the CEO of Feld Entertainment, the company that owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. “[We want] to create an engaging property that is built for today’s families and will last another 150 years.”

According to Feld Entertainment, the new circus will focus purely on human acts, and its entertainers will “push the limits of human potential and create jaw-dropping moments.” It is currently searching for new talent, with rehearsals beginning at the end of June 2022.

An animal-free circus industry

Feld Entertainment’s decision to focus on human acts over animals isn’t just an ethical one, it’s also a smart business move. Including wild animals in its acts again would limit the states it could visit with its new traveling show, as several (including California, Illinois, and New Jersey) have outright bans or restrictions on circus animal acts.

Entire countries have also banned the use of wild animals in the circus. Most recently, the French parliament voted in favor of legislation that would protect wild animals from becoming circus acts.

The French ecology minister said of the move: “To act in support of animal well-being is the mark of a conscious society and of its responsibility towards a fragile natural world. It is a sign of mature civilization.” 

The post The Infamous Ringling Bros. Circus Is Back Again – This Time, Without Animals appeared first on Plant Based News.

It’s not the first time Varshney has hit the headlines for her climbing expeditions. Last year, she summited Nepal’s Ama Dablam, which stands at just over 6,800 meters. 

Widely regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful mountains, Ama Dablam is a tough climb. Not only did Varshney complete the trek, she also did it all while experiencing menstrual cramps. 

“For me, it made me cross my limits,” she told the Indian Express after the climb. “Like, I feel I would not have known how strong I am if this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I feel, a woman can be as strong as she wants and as fragile too,” she added. “And we have to embrace both.”

Vegan climbers 

Varshney is also a passionate animal lover and a strong advocate for veganism.

While she is said to be the first vegan Indian woman to summit Everest, Varshney is not the first vegan climber to reach the top.

Kuntal Joisher reached Everest’s summit in 2016, and in the same year, experienced Australian vegan climber Dr. Maria Strydom also reached the top. Tragically, she died of altitude sickness during the descent.

Joisher summited Everest again in 2018, and is now on a mission “to normalize vegan mountaineering.”

Describing the experience in 2016 for Red Bull last year, he wrote: “It was so overwhelming, I couldn’t hold back the tears. With a minute’s credit left on my satellite phone, I called home, then I sat down to soak in the view from the top. I’ll never forget those 20 minutes. The only feeling that compares is the birth of my daughter.”

He added: “It was a huge achievement for me as a mountaineer, but it also shone a positive light on veganism.”

The post Prakriti Varshney Hailed As First Vegan Indian Woman To Summit Everest appeared first on Plant Based News.

The “Hell of a Steak” commercial – which comes from non-profit organization Vegan Friendly UK – aired during the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel on Saturday night. It’s set to appear on UK screens this week, and it will likely be shown in the US in the coming months. 

The ad features a group of diners pondering what to order at a restaurant named “Meat Out,” with one of them enquiring about a dish called “Hell of a Steak.”

The waiter then tells him: “I’m glad you asked… You won’t believe what we go through just to bring it to your plate.” 

He then goes into detail about the environmental costs of raising just one cow, explaining that it takes a piece of land about the size of three football pitches, 800,000 gallons of water, and 18,000 pounds of feed.

Throughout his explanation, the diners are covered in water and hay, before a single cow enters the restaurant and approaches their table.

The waiter finishes by saying: “Can you believe it? So many resources… And don’t get me started on the greenhouse gases.”

The diner then tells the waiter: “I don’t want to know the price,” to which the waiter ominously responds: “I’m sure you don’t. It’s a heavy price to pay.”

Animal farming and the environment

Noga Bronsky, CEO of Vegan Friendly UK, told Plant Based News that the advert is a “comical and high-level production” that “focuses on the harmful impacts of the meat industry on the environment and its connections to climate change.”

Animal agriculture – particularly cattle farming – is catastrophic for the environment in a number of ways.

Farmed cows produce around a third of the world’s methane emissions when they burp and fart, which is one of the main greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. They are also a leading cause of deforestation and land and water use. 

The advert follows in the footsteps of another highlighting the animal cruelty inherent in meat consumption, which was also released by Vegan Friendly earlier this year. It encouraged viewers to “make the connection” between the food they eat and the animals who suffered and died for it. 

The post WATCH: Vegan Commercial Aired During Eurovision To Be Shown Around The World appeared first on Plant Based News.

Local meat

Vegan activist Joey Carbstrong recently called out the same slaughterhouse in an op-ed for Plant Based News.

He described an investigation into the facility, stating that cows were “terrified” and the owner was swearing and threatening them. He added that the footage proves that meat bought from “local farms” is no more ethical than any other meat on the supermarket shelf.

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A post shared by Joey Carbstrong (@joey_carbstrong)

“You may often hear people say, ‘I only buy meat from my local butcher, and the animals are from local farms,’” writes Carbstrong. 

“Well, the animals who were killed at C.J. Byford & Son were from the surrounding local farms. And, the business supplied only to local butchers, not supermarkets. This place was about as local and family-run as you can get.”

Cruelty at slaughterhouses

This is far from the first investigation to uncover abuse at slaughterhouses. But these facilities don’t just hurt animals, they harm people too.

Last year, Jack Hancock-Fairs, who is a vegan advocate and the son of a slaughterhouse worker, announced a documentary called The Dying Trade. The film shines a light on human and animal suffering in slaughterhouses.

He said at the time: “The suffering experienced within slaughterhouses is huge in scale and clearly neglected.”

“I really hope this film can open people’s eyes to the animal cruelty and poor worker treatment that exists within the walls of slaughterhouses all over the world. By raising awareness about these issues, we can help lay the groundwork for future progress.”

The post Petition To Shut Down ‘Family-Run’ Slaughterhouse Exceeds 80,000 Signatures appeared first on Plant Based News.

Ryder, who once owned a vegan juice bar in Coggeshall, has TikTok to thank for his rise to fame. Ryder began posting musical covers on the social media platform in March 2020, during the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown.

His covers won the approval of a string of high-profile names including Elton John and Alicia Keys. And by the end of 2020, he was the most-followed UK artist on TikTok. (At the time of writing, Ryder has near to 13 million followers.)

During the pandemic is also when he penned his hit song Space Man, which he performed at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 – the 66th edition of the competition, which took place on May 14.

There, Ryder topped the jury vote, reeling in 283 points, and secured another 183 points from the public.

‘Unity, peace, love’

The 32-year-old musician named the experience an “incredible, incredible, rewarding journey.”

Speaking to presenters Scott Mills and Rylan Clark after the scores were released, Ryder said: “We signed up to come and sing. We enjoy music, and I know that every single artist involved this year absolutely smashed it.

“Everyone was a credit to themselves and a credit to what Eurovision is all about: unity, peace, love, togetherness, inclusivity and expression. Thank you for having us.”

The post Vegan Singer Snags 2nd Place At Eurovision, Earning Best UK Result In 24 Years appeared first on Plant Based News.

According to the NGO Eurogroup for Animals, around five liters of blood is taken from pregnant horses every week in Iceland. When they give birth, their foals are often sent to the slaughterhouse.

The blood farming process is inherently exploitative. But on top of this, animal rights activists recently discovered horses being abused on the farms. They obtained footage of the animals being hit before their blood was taken.

They also discovered bite marks inside the horse enclosures, which they say is an indication of anxiety and distress.

#DYK? Huge amounts of blood are taken from pregnant mares to produce a hormone called #eCG.

This is used to increase fertility in farm animals.

We call on the to stop this cruel practice and ban the production/import/use of eCG.https://t.co/44MawgLzdl

— Eurogroup For Animals (@Act4AnimalsEU) May 16, 2022

Growing opposition to blood farms

Animal rights activists aren’t the only ones against blood farms. 

The European parliament wants them to be banned too. In fact, a 2021 Motion for a Resolution called “on the Commission and the Member States to halt the import and production” of Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin. It called for the use of “animal-friendly alternatives” instead.

Applying more pressure on Iceland and the European Commission, Eurogroup for Animals recently partnered with 16 animal protection organizations to file a complaint against blood farming to the European Free Trade Association’s Surveillance Authority.

The complaint argues that Iceland is not applying its laws on the protection of animals used in science to blood farms. Despite claims to the contrary, Iceland does not see the extraction of the hormone as an animal experiment.

Many Icelandic people are also against blood farming.

Rósa Líf Darradóttir, who lives in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, and owns horses, told the Guardian: I would like people to know that Iceland is actually stabbing semi-wild pregnant mares. [They’re] taking their blood in extreme volumes and frequency, just to make pigs have more pigs.”

The post Iceland Faces Calls To Ban Blood Farms That Exploit Pregnant Horses appeared first on Plant Based News.