23rd Mar 08 - The Dark Side of Dairy - a VIVA! campaign

Cows produce milk to feed their babies – just like humans. It flows for the best part of a year and then stops. More milk requires more babies. That’s the reality of dairy farming – the visible, obvious side of the industry. But there is another, cruel, much darker side to dairy which few see much and even fewer know about. Drinking milk is cruel - it’s also unnatural. Only humans drink it after weaning – and milk from a different species, at that. It’s no more natural than drinking badger’s milk or cat’s milk. Designed for calves, many humans find milk hard to digest and the result is allergies.

20th Mar 08 - RSPCA Shock Admission - a PAACT campaign

RSPCA Admit to Spaying and Castrating Puppies AT SIX WEEKS OLD! This report by Stan Rawlinson, chairman of The Professional Association of Applied Canine Trainers (PAACT) www.paact.co.uk The RSPCA, the UK's largest animal welfare organisation and the nation’s conscience regarding animal cruelty, has today admitted to a program of castrating and spaying dogs as young as six weeks old. These actions could possibly contravene the Animal Welfare Act of 2007. The RSPCA along with other organisations were to some extent instrumental in the inclusion of the “duty of care” part of that legislation. The bill, possibly the most important legislative move on captive and domestic animals since the Protection of Animals Act of 1911, came into effect on 6th April 2007.

11th Dec 07 - Ban Animals in Circuses - an RSPCA campaign

The RSPCA is opposed to the use of animals in circuses. As part of the Animal Welfare Act, new regulations on the use of animals in circuses will hopefully be considered later this year. The government in England has committed to introduce a ban on the use of certain non-domesticated (wild) species in travelling circuses. There are just 33 wild animals left in circuses in the UK. These are: * 1 elephant, called Anne * 1 black bear, called Ming * 4 zebras * 5 lions * 5 pythons * 7 tigers * 10 camels The RSPCA is calling for a ban on the use of all the animals listed above, but also for the ban to be extended to include other species, such as polar bears, yak and alligators, which are currently used in circuses in other parts of Europe. The RSPCA believes the circus is no place for an animal.

5th Nov 07 - Ban the Bang - a Campaign by Looking-Glass and VeggieGlobal

Our sensible (non-killjoy!) proposals. Ban the Bang! is confident that such proposals would satisfy "outright ban" voters and pro-firework members of the public - as well as firework manufacturers and suppliers. The general proposals of Ban The Bang! are: 1. Ban the private use of fireworks and public displays except for three festival days per year (plus Saturday nearest to each festival day). (I.e. in UK, November 5th, New Year and Diwali) 2. Fireworks that bang and rise more than 2 metres (average garden fence height) would be banned outright for use by the public. Only bang-free ground based fireworks (with a dispersal range of no more than 2 metres) could be sold to / used by the public - and only sold for two weeks prior to festival days (see 1.). 3.

10th Oct 07 - Don't Buy Foie Gras - A Viva! campaign

It’s no wonder foie-gras has been dubbed ‘torture in a tin’. Ducks and geese are being driven from the ponds and into intensive farms in their millions, where they are routinely abused in the name of ‘fine dining’. Every year in France, 30 million ducks are forced into cages so small they can’t even stretch their wings. Trapped and helpless, a metal tube is thrust down their throats and vast quantities of food are forcibly pumped into their stomachs so that their livers swell painfully to up to 10 times their natural size. There is no escape and no respite.

15th Jul 07 - Free Felix - a SPEAK campaign

For the first time, a vivisection establishment has given us the name, photographs and video of the non-human animal they intend to abuse over a period of several years. They have also told us what form that abuse will take. Felix is the name given by vivisector Tipu Aziz to a macaque monkey whom he intends to abuse and torture for the next few years. Tipu Aziz avowedly has no feelings for animals, yet he has chosen a name for the animal that he will torture and kill. The word 'Felix' in Latin translates into English as meaning 'Happy'. We believe this was a deliberate naming of a monkey that will be imprisoned and systematically tortured by Oxford University vivisectors. Felix's only reward for his cooperation in his own torture and subsequent murder is a few peanuts Join SPEAK to help on Felix Solidarity Day - 4th August 2007 For more details visit their website: http://www.speakcampaigns.org/index.php/

25th May 07 - Back Off Badgers - an RSPCA Campaign

The government must listen to the overwhelming public opposition to the proposal to kill thousands of badgers. An astonishing 95 per cent of respondents to the public consultation on badger-culling opposed a cull. The government received a record 47,474 responses to its consultation. The RSPCA believes the government must reject a cull now and concentrate instead on effective ways to combat the spread of TB. These are: post-movement testing of cattle quarantine arrangements for cattle moved from farm-to-farm and the increased use of the more reliable gamma-interferon test. The RSPCA is also calling for financial assistance to farmers to implement effective measures to tackle the disease. Encouragingly, the latest figures show a marked decline in the incidence of the disease this year. The fight to protect badgers is not yet over, so take action today. Please take action today and lobby your MP.

17th Mar 07 - National Day of Action for Pigs - a VIVA! Campaign

Join Viva! on the day before Mother’s Day, when hundreds of animal lovers will distribute specially prepared flyers outside Marks & Spencer stores up and down the country. Viva! is calling on the chain to make Mother’s Day a little more bearable for many of their sows, incarcerated in metal cages for weeks on end – despite more humane options being available. The farrowing crate is a metal-barred cage in which a pregnant sow is locked a week before she gives birth and up to four weeks afterwards – the cage is only inches bigger than her body. M&S have already made some concessions to animal welfare by ensuring that the meat they sell as ‘fresh pork’ comes from pigs that were farrowed outside.

19th Jan 07 - End Primate Experiments in Europe - an Animal Aid Campaign

After 20 years, the EU law that governs animal testing across Europe and the UK is being revised. European Directive 86/609 EEC, which applies to animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes, is the legal template on which all EU member states base their national laws. In the UK, the relevant law is the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Sadly, this Directive is not an independent enquiry into the efficacy of animal experiments, nor does it offer a total ban - something to which Animal Aid is committed unequivocally. But it does present the chance to improve standards for millions of animals, and, crucially, provides the possibility of a ban on the use of primates.

1st Sep 06 - National (dis) Trust - A League Against Cruel Sports Campaign

The League is urging supporters to oppose the National Trust decision to allow staff of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds on to Holnicote Estate to hunt sick or injured deer. We believe that the hunts are inherently cruel in their actions, and that their own words confirm this: “I don’t see how chasing the deer and riding alongside it and cracking a whip is any more inhumane than any other form of moving a deer around” – Mr Tom Yandle (Chairman of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds), August 2006 Douglas Batchelor, the Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports and other NT Members, have proposed a resolution in opposition to this decision which reads; "that exempt hunting of deer should not be permitted on land controlled by, managed by and/or owned by the Trust, where it has the power to refuse to allow such activities." Ballot papers have recently been mailed out to National Trust members and it is vital that we now step up the campaign to ensure that this cruelty is not allowed to take place. Takeaction: If you are a National Trust member, make sure you vote to show your support for the resolution proposed by Douglas Batchelor, the Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports and other NT Members, in the postal ballot before Friday 27th October or at the AGM on November 4th.

12th Aug 06 - Go Cruelty Free - a BUAV campaign.

Millions of animals across the world still endure painful experiments to test cosmetics, toiletries and household products and their ingredients. You can help to end this suffering by supporting the BUAV's campaigns and only choosing cruelty-free products that are approved under the Humane Cosmetics Standard and the Humane Household Products Standard. Cruelty-Free Shopping Want to know which cosmetics, toiletries and household products are truly 'cruelty-free'? Then check out the Little Book of Cruelty-Free, the BUAV's hugely popular consumer guide. In some cities in the UK, you can find out where sells these products by checking out our 'Bunny Maps' - just click on the button to the left to see if you live in one of them.

6th Aug 06 - The Dolphin Campaign (A Wildlife Trusts Campaign)

Stop the slaughter of dolphins and porpoises! Dolphins and porpoises are dying in unacceptable numbers due to the pelagic trawl fishery for bass in the English Channel. The dolphins are accidentally trapped and killed in nets dragged at high speed through the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay during the winter season from November - March. The bass trawl fishery has killed an estimated 39,000* common dolphins in the last 15 years (* approx numbers as probably only 1 in 10 of the animals killed wash ashore). Hundreds more dolphins will die this winter. The Wildlife Trusts monitor the number of carcasses washed up on the South West coast each year.

31st Jul 06 - Save the Kangaroo

The largest massacre of land animals on the planet takes place in Australia each year. Millions of adult kangaroos are shot for their meat and skins. Millions of orphaned baby joeys, "worthless" to the industry, are shot, stamped on, clubbed over the head or abandoned to die. Help us stop the bloodshed. "Every person can make a massive difference to global conservation. Simply never purchase wildlife - including kangaroo - products! (Steve Irwin, Australian wildlife expert and TV presenter) For more information see www.savethekangaroo.com This is a VIVA! campaign

22nd Jul 06 - Boycott the bloodbath!

The League Against Cruel Sports has launched a campaign against bullfighting. After more than 80 years of opposition to traditional British bloodsports, we believe the time is right to address another so-called 'sport' which depends on money generated from British tourists The League opposes all forms of bullfighting, including the misnamed 'bloodless bullfighting'. All bullfighting is barbaric and inherently cruel in both design and practice. It cannot be justified. We seek a complete end to bullfighting anywhere in the world. For more information on the campaign and to find out how you can help, please contact the League Against Cruel Sports (UK).