News Fall / Winter 2014 Making a world of difference: uncovering the facts Asian elephants in entertainment Never too young to make a difference for hens
Learn how to protect our precious ocean life
© Julie Middelkoop
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Contents In every issue 4 From the Executive Director 6 Headlines 8 Making a world of difference: uncovering the facts
Features 5 Time for a sea change / L’heure est au changement 10 Asian elephants in entertainment 11 Protecting dogs and people in the Philippines 12 Never too young to make a difference for hens 13 On n’est jamais trop jeune pour faire la différence dans la vie des poules 14 Supporter spotlight 16 Day in the life of a Tanzanian farmer
Editor: Catherine Coquerel Contributors: Catherine Coquerel, Michaela Miller, Elizabeth Sharpe, Josey Kitson, Vanessa Cassels Designer: Serina Morris Printed by: DT&P CA0011_1014 Cover photo: © World Animal Protection / Rachel Ceretto Unless otherwise stated, all images are the copyright of World Animal Protection. World Animal Protection News is published twice yearly and is printed on 100% recycled paper from post-consumer waste with vegetable-based inks. World Animal Protection is a registered Canadian charitable organization. No. 12791 9076 RR0001 © World Animal Protection 2014
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Contact World Animal Protection We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at: World Animal Protection 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 960 Toronto, ON M4P 2Y3 T: 416 369 0044 TF: 1 800 363 9772 F: 416 369 0147 E: info@worldanimalprotection.ca worldanimalprotection.ca World Animal Protection News 3
From the Executive Director
Where there is change, there is progress. And while some transformation can happen overnight, the most significant and lasting changes take time, persistence, creativity and champions to see it through. We find these champions in our dedicated staff and partners, but most importantly in you, our generous donor.
Your tireless support keeps our purpose and our mission alive and with it, we challenge governments, businesses, organizations and individuals to change their habits and practices for animals everywhere. On page 5 you will find the latest success stories of our campaign to save marine animals, Sea Change. On page 8 and 9 you can see how our investigative affairs team has uncovered animal cruelty all over the world since 2010. On page 10 you can read about our research on the lives of wild elephants in entertainment in Asia and how we can all protect these majestic creatures. On page 12 you will see that we don’t need to “grow up” to make a difference, as a young egg farmer shows us. And in a new section on page 14 we share two stories with you of donors who have gone over and above for animals. You play an important part in making significant changes for animals. I hope you enjoy this issue of World Animal Protection News and thank you for helping us continue to move the world to protect animals. Sincerely,
Josey Kitson Executive Director, World Animal Protection Canada
Our purpose, our name Every day, in every country, millions of animals are suffering. And the more people who know about our charity, the more animals we can reach. That’s why our name evolved. World Animal Protection is who we are and what we do. We are clear, distinct and memorable. Our new name puts us in a much stronger position to help animals. To change their lives for the better. To move the world to protect animals.
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Julie Middlekoop
Time for a sea change – turning the tide on ghost fishing gear
L’heure est au changement, en profondeur, pour la pêche fantôme.
Over the next four years, we will be tackling one of the biggest threats to marine wildlife: ghost fishing gear. Discarded, lost and abandoned nets, ropes, pots and traps kill hundreds of thousands of seals, sea lions and large whales every year and more than 700,000 birds. The devastating short-term and long-term suffering caused by ghost gear is at the centre of our Sea Change campaign. With your help, we’ll be working hard to share research and successes, develop new ideas and solutions, target hotspots and expand projects that are already successfully dealing with the issue.
Au cours des quatre prochaines années, nous allons cibler l’une des plus graves menaces pour la faune marine : les engins de pêche abandonnés. Les filets, les nasses, les cages et les cordages jetés, perdus ou abandonnés tuent chaque année des centaines de milliers de phoques, d’otaries et de grandes baleines, et plus de 700 000 oiseaux. L’immense souffrance, à court et à long terme, que cause la pêche fantôme est au centre de notre campagne Changements en profondeur. Avec votre aide, nous allons tout faire pour partager nos recherches et nos réussites, développer de nouvelles idées, trouver des solutions, cibler les zones sensibles et étendre les projets qui s’attaquent déjà au problème avec succès.
Vital to this is the launch of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), the first world-wide alliance of governments, non-governmental organizations and businesses dedicated to tackling this problem.
Cette action est centrée autour du lancement de l’Initiative mondiale contre la pêche fantôme (ou Global Ghost Gear Initiative), la première alliance de sociétés et d’organisations gouvernementales et non gouvernementales vouée à combattre ce fléau.
In September, our oceans campaigners helped animals in a very practical way by joining new local partners, the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, in a mission to remove a huge volume of nets washed up on the beaches by a recent hurricane.
En septembre, nos défenseurs des océans se sont joints à notre partenaire local, le Hawaii Wildlife Fund, dans une mission de nettoyage des nombreux filets rejetés sur les plages après le récent passage d’un ouragan.
We are creating powerful relationships and putting your support towards the change our oceans need now.
Nous créons de puissantes alliances pour que votre appui contribue au profond changement dont nos océans ont besoin maintenant.
Visit our website to learn more: http://bit.ly/seachange-ca
Visitez notre site web pour en savoir plus : http://bit.ly/seachange-ca-fr World Animal Protection News 5
Headlines History of Disaster Management comes to life Our online interactive timeline shows 50 years of protecting animals in disasters. This map demonstrates our disaster relief missions worldwide. Now, it’s your turn to navigate this map and see how your support has touched every corner of the planet. Through pictures and videos, we can share with you what happens when disaster strikes and how our Disaster Management Team responds. In an instant, you can travel back in time and across the world to see how, with your help, we are shaping the future of animals and communities in disaster-prone areas. Photo: World Animal Protection / Gembong Nusantara
Animal protection joins the class in Kenyan schools Kenyan youth will soon be learning about animal protection and welfare at school from trained teachers thanks to an exciting new initiative made possible by you. For the past two years your support has helped our education team work with Kenyatta University to make animal welfare a compulsory component of teaching degrees. Around 30,000 Bachelor of Education students are expected to study the new curriculum over the next five years. Raphael Omondi, our Education Programs Manager in Africa said: “This is a fantastic development that will ensure that a huge number of teachers will be proficient in teaching animal welfare.”
Libearty saves Andi the bear This two-year old bear almost got his paw caught in the honey jar for the last time! He was frequently stealing food from a hotel and houses in Kronstadt, Romania when our local partner Milioane de Prieteni – Millions of Friends – (AMP) stepped in. In such human-wildlife conflict situations in Romania, the bear is usually shot. Your support meant that AMP could make an appeal to the Ministry of the Environment and the forest administration to move Andi to their sanctuary. While Andi has made off with his last sack of potatoes, he’s now safe from harm. Photo: World Animal Protection / Petrut Calinescu
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Read more about these and other efforts at
worldanimalprotection.ca Thanks to you…lifesavers work for whales in the Pacific Your support is giving whales entangled in fishing gear in the South Pacific a better chance of survival than ever before. Thanks to you we funded an August training course for 10 people in Tonga who encounter tangled whales during their work. During two days of teaching and practical exercises organized by the International Whaling Commission, they learned how to safely disentangle whales trapped in fishing gear. Your support of our Sea Change campaign helped to fund similar workshops in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, which brings us closer to our goal of saving one million marine animals from entanglement by 2018. Photo: Bob Talbot / Marine Photobank
We’re bilingual! Our new brand and name shows who we really are. We want that to mean something for everyone in Canada. In September, we launched a fully bilingual website and we’re working to provide English and French speakers alike with the tools to move the world to protect animals, too.
Nous sommes bilingues! Notre nouvelle identité exprime qui nous sommes vraiment. Nous voulons être accessibles à tous les Canadiens. Aussi, en septembre dernier, nous avons lancé un site entièrement bilingue, et nous veillons à vous présenter dans les deux langues des conférenciers et des outils pour protéger des animaux.
fr.worldanimalprotection.ca
Discover World Animal Protection on social media
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to see all the fabulous content we can’t include here. Get breaking news stories, watch videos about our campaigns, and see more photos of animals you helped. You can share our stories with your friends and family, and join in conversations with our community. You can also learn about opportunities to get involved in other ways to protect animals. facebook.com/WorldAnimalProtectionCanada twitter.com/@MoveTheWorldCA youtube.com/animalprotectionca World Animal Protection News 7
Making a world of a difference: uncovering the facts Your support is critical in moving the world to protect animals and helps us in so many different ways. Since 2010, your donations have funded our Investigative Affairs Team who perform research and uncover the concrete evidence of animal cruelty we need to mount our campaigns. Here’s a little more about them and just a few of the world-changing successes their work has made possible.
1 Lapland The team’s first mission in 2010 exposed the cruel treatment of thousands of reindeer for their meat. Their video evidence of terrified animals herded and slaughtered showed clear violations of domestic animal welfare laws. It spurred 65,000 signatures in protest and persuaded the Swedish government to take measures to protect reindeer from this cruel treatment in the future.
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2 Bangladesh Dogs are better protected from cruel culls in Bangladesh since November 2011 when we launched our mass rabies vaccination campaign with the government’s support. The Investigative Affairs Team compiled research that showed the local and national government that culls are not the answer to preventing rabies.
World Animal Protection / Mahmud
3 Cayman Islands A concerned supporter led our team to uncover the shocking suffering of thousands of sea turtles kept in overcrowded, filthy and unnatural conditions at the Cayman Turtle Farm in 2011. We continue to engage with the local government to turn this farm into a well-run rehabilitation and rescue centre to protect the turtle population.
4 Brazil Botos dolphins have received better protection from the Brazilian government after our research showed that these beautiful animals are killed for bait to catch Piracatinga fish. While this capture is illegal, enforcement of the law protecting them was poor. We continue to campaign to give the Botos better protection.
5 Indonesia Our 2013 investigations into the untold story behind the world’s most expensive coffee shocked several retailers. Our investigators found wild civets being caught and kept in cruel caged conditions. Several retailers removed the product entirely and global certification bodies have stopped their certified farms from carrying out “caged” production of Kopi Luwak or civet coffee.
Nicky Loh Getty Images for World Animal Protection
6 Pakistan Your tireless support helped our investigative team reduce the number of bear baiting events from1,000 when we started 16 years ago to only a handful today. They found alternative livelihood campaigns are likely to have the most impact. Our focus remains on the success of this program as we work to stamp out bear baiting once and for all.
BRC
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Take a load off their backs Every year, thousands of tourists unknowingly book vacation activities that cause extreme suffering to the very animals they dream of seeing. From elephant rides to swim-with-dolphin programs, the use of wild animals for entertainment has become part of too many holiday experiences.
Through our research, we have identified the most popular and cruel forms of wild animal entertainment. One growing example is riding on the backs of elephants. Nearly 30% of the world’s Asian elephants have been taken from their natural habitats and with spirits broken, surrender to a lifetime of captivity. We want other animal lovers, like you, to learn the truth before they book their excursions. With your help, we will engage tourists across the world to educate them on the reality of animal entertainment. There is hope. Research shows that 82% of Canadians think wild animals belong in the wild and an even higher percentage think tour operators should avoid causing suffering. We want compassionate tourists to know the truth. You can spread the word about Before They Book, our global campaign by sharing the video and empowering your friends and family to make animal friendly travel plans.
http://bit.ly/beforetheybook-ca-news Shannon Plummer
Ladies wear the pants. Elephants live in complex matriarch-led family groups.
Don’t be fooled by their size! Elephants did not evolve to carry weight on their backs. In fact, ants can handle heavier loads proportional to their size and body mass.
Elephants remember everything. Years later, they can recall where reliable water sources can be found in droughts.
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Beth Sharpe
Communications Director
From the field – protecting dogs and people in the Philippines from rabies
Recently, our Communications Director, Beth Sharpe, had the opportunity to visit one of our vaccination sites in Cainta, a bustling part of Metro Manila in the Philippines. Here, she shares some short highlights from her visit: When I first pulled up to the community centre things were already in full swing. We have been working with our partners, Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), to offer vaccination programs like this throughout the region and by now it’s a well-oiled machine. It was early in the morning but community health workers, in green, were already organizing the hundreds of people and barking dogs into orderly rows to see the vets. I took the chance to chat with some of the people who were there protecting the animals they love.
Donna and her Zorro Twenty-five-year old Donna is a cook in a local restaurant and totally devoted to Zorro. She told me: “I love Zorro. He lives in my room even though it makes my mom mad. I’m here to protect him, to make sure he is healthy; he is like a first son to me.”
Denita and Gema Denita told me that she lives by herself, but is never lonely because of her dogs, Gema, Jackie, White and Brownie. Holding Gema closely in her arms she told me that she was planning on bringing each dog individually to the clinic throughout the morning. “Bless you all for coming,” she said with a gentle smile. I could hardly believe it but by early afternoon the crowd had disappeared and everything was done. Watching our vets and local partners help hundreds of animals in just a matter of hours was truly inspiring. I’ve never seen so directly the power of what our donors can do. Your support makes everything possible. Thank you. All photos: World Animal Protection / Nacho Hernandez
To see more about our work to protect dogs visit
worldanimalprotection.ca
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Never too young to make a difference for hens A fellow supporter told us about a young animal lover who was running a cage-free egg business with her parents help and we knew we had to learn more about this remarkable entrepreneur. Paige France, or Paiger as we’ve come to know her, has contributed to our Choose Cage-Free blog and continues to inspire us to move the world to protect animals. Here, we gather her story and some of her insights on what we can do to make a difference for hens.
Paige France
When my parents moved their business up to a 200 acre hobby farm in Grey Bruce County, I was able to get my first animals. In exchange for letting him use some of our land, a local farmer named John gave me a rooster and a hen. Once a day, I would go out with a basket to collect her egg. I asked my dad if I could have some more chickens because they were amazing and fascinating animals. I bid on 17 beautiful Rhode Island Reds at a local livestock auction and won! At this point, I was getting between 16 -18 eggs a day. To me, good animal welfare means that the animal is well-fed, healthy and happy to be alive. It means that the animal has access to proper nutrition, humane handling and loving care. The animals must have appropriate shelter from the cold and feel safe from predators. Animals should be treated like humans want to be treated. The mistreatment of any animal can show in its product. For instance, if I let my chicken’s food and fresh water run out, their egg production decreases and the egg shells are not as smooth, dark brown and pretty. The comment I most hear is just how good my eggs taste and that makes me happy.
To read more about Paige’s adventures on the farm and other heroes for hens, visit choosecagefree.org 12 World Animal Protection News
All photos: Rebecca France, Paige’s mom
I have had up to 100 hens but currently I have 45 laying hens J’ai déjà eu jusqu’à 100 poule pondeuses, mais j’en ai 45 en ce moment I have hand-washed and sold 57,063 fresh brown eggs! J’ai lavé et vendu 57,063 œufs bruns frais!
I started my egg business in 2010 when I was 8 years old
My hens love listening to rock and roll on the radio
J’ai commencé mon entreprise de production d’œufs en 2010 à l’âge de 8 ans
Mes poules pondeuses adorent écouter la musique rock n’ roll à la radio
On n’est jamais trop jeune pour faire la différence dans la vie des poules Un sympathisant nous a parlé d’une jeune amoureuse des animaux qui s’était lancée dans la production d’œufs en liberté, avec l’aide de ses parents. Nous savions qu’il fallait rencontrer cette jeune femme d’affaires. Paige France, ou Paiger, comme on l’appelle, a contribué à notre blogue Choisissez bien vos œufs et continue de nous inspirer, et d’inspirer le monde entier à protéger les animaux. Voici son histoire et quelques trucs qui, selon elle, font une différence pour les poules.
Quand mes parents ont décidé d’exploiter une petite ferme de 200 acres, dans le comté de Grey Bruce, j’ai pu avoir mes premiers animaux. On avait permis à John, un agriculteur du coin, de travailler une partie de notre terre, et en échange, il m’a offert un coq et une poule. Une fois par jour, j’allais ramasser les œufs avec un panier. Un jour, j’ai demandé à mon père si je pouvais avoir d’autres poules : je les trouve incroyablement fascinantes. A la vente aux enchères de bétail locale, j’ai misé sur 17 belles Rhode Island Reds et je les ai remportées! À cette époque, je récoltais de 16 à 18 œufs par jour. Pour moi, le bien-être des animaux c’est que l’animal soit bien nourri, en santé et content d’être en vie. Ça veut dire qu’il a accès à une bonne alimentation, qu’il est traité avec respect et qu’il est bien soigné. Les animaux ont besoin d’un bon abri contre le froid et de se sentir protégés des prédateurs. Il faut traiter les animaux comme on aime nous-mêmes se faire traiter. Les mauvais traitements à un animal se reflètent dans ce qu’il produit. Par exemple, si je laisse mes poules manquer d’eau et de nourriture, leur production d’œufs diminue et la coquille n’est plus aussi lisse, aussi foncée ou aussi belle. Ce qu’on me dit le plus souvent c’est que mes œufs sont vraiment bons, et ça me fait plaisir!
Pour en savoir plus sur les aventures de Paige, à la ferme, et sur d’autres pionniers de la liberté, visitez choosecagefree.org/fr
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Supporter spotlight Michael Quinn has been a supporter of World Animal Protection for nearly a decade.
Legacy Supporter, Michael Quinn
Last year, Michael attended the Estate Planning Seminar we held in Toronto, and, afterwards, notified us that he has left a bequest in his will for World Animal Protection. We sat and spoke with Michael to learn more about what leaving a legacy gift to World Animal Protection means to him. These are his words. “As I began to plan for retirement, I simultaneously began to develop concrete plans and reflected upon ideas with regard to estate planning, plans which could parlay the efforts I have been involved with throughout my life. I feel that even the smallest
Photo: Michael Quinn
of changes contribute to a new perspective with regard to the rights of animals and humanity’s treatment of them. I believe we are where we are today in regard to our protection of animals because of the work and contribution of others, often anonymous, in the past, who have recognized the stature and dignity that animals deserve. Our legacy – as is the case also with our volunteerism, lifestyle, and consumer habits throughout our lives - is our vote for the type of world we want to leave. Our legacy is a powerful tool to make the world a more compassionate and just reality, for animals and for people.”
If you would like to speak further with us about Leaving your Legacy to World Animal Protection please contact Vanessa Cassels, Stewardship Development Manager, at 416 369 0044 x119 or vanessacassels@worldanimalprotection.ca
Our Executive Director, Josey Kitson, presents Leonore Loft with the first World Animal Protector Award. The new award was established this year to recognize long-standing Canadian supporters who have been actively engaged with the organization for more than 15 years and show a deep commitment to creating a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty has ended. Leonore belongs to an elite group of 2014 award recipients – congratulations and thank you for moving the world to protect animals. C’est avec grande fierté que Josey Kitson, notre directrice générale, décerne à Leonore Loft le premier prix du Protecteur mondial des animaux. Cette distinction, créée cette année, vise à reconnaitre l’appui indéfectible des sympathisants canadiens engagés activement dans l’organisation depuis plus de 15 ans et profondément attachés à créer un monde où le bien-être des animaux compte, afin que la cruauté envers les animaux soit chose du passé. Leonore fait partie de ce groupe d’élite qui s’est mérité le prix en 2014. Félicitations Leonore et merci d’inspirer le monde à protéger les animaux!
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iStock. by Getty Images
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Day in the life of Vitus Pango In our last issue, we shared how your support helped show Tanzanian farmers how to humanely keep hungry elephants from devastating their crops with chilli-and-beehive fences. Here, meet Vitus Pango, a farmer living on the border of Mikumi National Park. 5:30 am My wife Grace, my daughter Maria and I awaken to noisy birds in Maharaka, where we have lived all our lives. We farm maize, tomatoes and vegetables and live mostly off the land. 7:30 am Today, we’ll be very busy. It’s time to work on the chilli fence around my farm. We started doing this four months ago with the help of World Animal Protection. 8:30 am We meet our friends and fellow farmers in the village. We share the same concerns of elephants eating our crops. 12:30 pm The messy job of mixing the chilli recipe is done. Before the project, we were losing our maize and tomato crops to the elephants
every few days and I was running out of food and money to feed my family. 5:00 pm We pick up Maria and hear that several children weren’t at school because their parents had to keep them home to work on the farm and defend the crops from wild animals. I’m so glad we don’t have to fear elephant raids anymore.
Farming family Vitus, Grace and Maria Pango
Looking forward Vitus Pango knows his crops are safer from elephants than they have ever been before thanks to the chilli fence project.
Wild side Elephants from Mikumi National Park often stray outside of the park boundaries looking for food. World Animal Protection / Andrew Morgan
6:00 pm After my wife prepares dinner, we play and talk with Maria and our house is filled with a warm glow. 8:00 pm We doze off to the sounds of owls, bats and crickets that surround our village. Thankfully it will be a worry-free night for me and Grace. We know the chilli fences will keep our crops safe.
Greasy recipe Vitus ties the oil soaked sisal string to this fence posts. World Animal Protection / Andrew Morgan
Thank you for everything you are doing to make this project possible. We’re working hard with our local partners to make sure that the chilli fences will soon be used by all of the farmers surrounding Mikumi National Park to keep elephants and people safe from harm.