NEWS OF THE WEEK:

PETA Says ‘Deport Donald Trump Jr.,’ Horse Slaughter Ban Renewed, April 6 – April 13, 2018

By Leslie Goldberg

DEPORT DONALD TRUMP JR.!

Wildlife killer Donald Trump Jr. may be seeing his face on billboards in El Paso and possibly other border towns. The signs call for his deportation. “All nations have their undesirables. Kindness welcomed,” reads the deportation billboard mock-up. The billboard project is the brainchild of, yes, PETA. PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said that if troops are being sent to the border to scare immigrants away then “we should look closer to home; the president has two sons who are flying to another country and committing violence.” (Newsweek, April 6, 2018)

VEG NEWS FROM UC-BERKELEY

The always-at-the-forefront University of California at Berkeley is now offering a course on creating a sustainable vegan future. The Sustainable Foods Lab program will cover animal product alternatives, the relationship between diet and environment, health and animal welfare. The course aims to cover both the theoretical and the practical and will include material on starting a vegan business. (Plant Based News, April 9, 2018)

HORSE SLAUGHTER BAN RENEWED…FOR NOW

The recent spending bill which funds the government until September does not include money for horse slaughter facilities inspectors, which means horse slaughter houses remain closed at least until September. Even with that minimal protection American horses still face slaughter in Mexico. According to the Humane Society of the United States, an estimated 100,000 horses are sent to Mexico for slaughter every year. Florida congressman Vern Buchanan has been pushing his Safeguard American Food Exports measure for years. The bill bans the export of horses for slaughter. The measure has never even gotten a hearing in the House. (Dallas Morning News, March 28, 2018)

SEVEN-HOUR SIT-IN AT AN AUTRALIAN PIG FARM

Some 60 protesters entered a Beerburrum, Australia pig facility while another protest was taking place outside. The activists remained there for 7 hours before police were able to persuade them to leave. Thirty-four were charged with trespassing. James Aspey, an organizer for the protest said, “The activists are trying to rescue innocent prisoners who will soon become murder victims. The farmers doing the torturing and killing are the ones who should be arrested.” Aspey will be speaking at DxE’s Animal Liberation Conference in May. Australian Pork Limited claimed that instead of rescuing pigs, the activists were endangering them: “Anyone entering a pig farm without completing the relevant biosecurity protocols puts the health of the animals at risk.” The demonstrators insisted they took appropriate precautions as they engaged in civil disobedience. (April 8, 2018, Plant Based News)

ARKANSAS ‘TURKEY DROP’ DROPPED

Apparently yielding to pressure from animal rights activists, the Yellville Chamber of Commerce will no longer sponsor the Northern Arkansas community annual Turkey Trot Festival which has featured the barbaric and bizarre practice of dropping turkeys from an airplane. The town had been subjected to an avalanche of bad publicity and protests regarding the “turkey drop.” So far, no other group has stepped up to take over the event. Keep your fingers crossed! (Sacramento Bee, April 6, 2018)

MARYLAND READY TO BAN THE SALE OF PUPPIES FROM PUPPY MILLS

The Maryland state legislature voted overwhelmingly to ban pet stores from selling puppies from puppy mills. The bill is now awaiting the governor’s signature. According to Plant Based News, lawmakers in New York, Rhode Island, Illinois and Pennsylvania are considering similar legislation. More than 250 localities in the U.S. have already enacted laws preventing this practice. Last year, California became the first state to ban the sale of puppies from puppy mills. (HSUS, April 9, 2018)

ANIMAL TESTING TAKES ANOTHER HIT

Virginia now joins California, New Jersey and New York in passing legislation designed to minimize animal testing. HB 1087 requires researchers to seek alternatives to using animals for testing cosmetics, household products, industrial chemicals and other substances. BTW, California, now, is taking that measure even further and trying to ban the sales of cosmetics tested on animals with its proposed California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act.  (HSUS, April 10, 2018)

TWO THOUSAND SHEEP DIE DURING TRANSPORT FROM AUSTRALIA

Undercover video has surfaced showing the horrific conditions sheep endure during trans-oceanic voyages, shocking the Australian public. Out of 65,000 sheep transported on a single trip from Perth to the Middle East last year, 2,400 recently died of heat exposure. The Australian government said it would stop another shipment of 65,000 sheep from Perth until the company takes steps to improve animal welfare – improvements like reducing the stocking density by 15 percent. In 2011 the government stopped all live trade to Indonesia for six months after a TV documentary aired showing extreme animal cruelty. (BBC, April, 6, 2018)

GOOD NEWS FOR ELEPHANTS

Taiwan announced it will ban the commercial sale of ivory starting in 2020. At the same time the U.K. declared it will amp up its strictures against selling ivory, proposing what Prime Minister Teresa May called “one of the toughest bans on ivory sales in the world.” This year China banned the sale of ivory and Hong Kong says they will stop the practice by 2021. The import and export of ivory is already banned in the United States. (HSUS, April 5, 2018)