Animal Matters Winter 2014 by World Animal Protection

Animal Matters Issue No: 02 • Winter 2014

Feature: Making our seas safer for marine animals

Stopping wildlife crime • Christmas shopping for animals • The secret cruelty of elephant rides

Page 8 HELP end bear baiting

Cover image: You helped rescue Rene from bear baiting. Read her story on page 8. Image left: A brown bear enjoying the snow at the sanctuary in Romania that your donations help fund. Image: AMP

Contents

Thank you for protecting them A very warm welcome to your winter issue of Animal Matters, the magazine that tells you about the animals you are protecting from cruelty and suffering by supporting World Animal Protection.

03 News round-up 04 Making waves for marine animals 06 Protect animals this Christmas 07 You are protecting working horses 08 Urgent appeal: Bears in Pakistan urgently need you 10 A busy year at Balkasar sanctuary 11 Rebuilding the Philippines for animals 12 Making wildlife crime a priority 14 You are protecting Indonesia’s dogs 15 Elephant rides: the secret suffering 16 New year, new start

Looking to the future Winter is a time for reflection and planning for the year ahead. With that in mind, here are just some of the ways that your donations have helped animals all over the world in 2014. You’ve saved thousands of dogs across Indonesia from the threat of rabies and cruel culling (page 14) and lightened the load of donkeys and horses in Palestine (page 7).

As we look to next year, together we’ll be helping even more animals, including protecting marine wildlife from becoming entangled in ghost fishing gear (page 4-5) and campaigning for an end to cruelty to elephants exploited by the tourism industry (page 15).

World Animal Protection would love to hear what you think of this issue of Animal Matters. Please contact us with your views at:

Stopping bear baiting And of course, we’ve not forgotten the bears. This winter, please join us in our fight to bring an end to the horrific tradition of bear baiting in Pakistan. There are still bears being exploited in this violent blood sport – please turn to page 8 to find out how you could help free them from pain and suffering.

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Christmas is coming With Christmas fast approaching, why not head over to our online shop or take a peek at our Christmas catalogue for some beautiful gifts for your loved ones? Every item you buy from our shop will raise funds for animals in need. Turn to page 6 for some special offers not to be missed. I do hope you enjoy this issue of your supporter magazine and want to thank you once again for all that you do to protect animals. Best wishes for the festive season,

World Animal Protection 222 Grays Inn Road, London, WC1X 8HB

news@worldanimalprotection.org.uk

Telephone

0800 316 9966 Editor: Katriona Meheran Produced by: Brightsource Ltd Animal Matters is published by the UK office of World Animal Protection. World Animal Protection is the operating name of World Society for the Protection of Animals. Company Limited by Guarantee in England and Wales, Registration No. 4029540. Registered Charity 1081849. All images are World Animal Protection unless otherwise stated.

Suzi Morris Director, World Animal Protection UK 2

Animal Matters • Issue 02

Update

News round-up Your response to our appeals

Image: BRC

Image: Kanna Jones / Marine Photobank

Image: ENV

Ending bear baiting in Pakistan Imagine a weakened and terrified bear, as she’s dragged into an arena, tied to a post, and viciously attacked by trained fighting dogs – all for entertainment. Bear baiting is still one of the cruellest blood sports in the world today. See page 8 to find out how you could help end it for good.

Saving animals in our oceans Thank you so much for donating to Operation Sea Change. So far, you’ve raised over £21,000, helping us take the first steps to saving one million marine animals from the dangers of ghost gear by 2018. Turn to page 4 to see what we’ve been up to since the campaign launched.

Fighting the bear bile industry Last issue, we revealed the unimaginable pain and suffering that captive bears in the bear bile industry in Vietnam are forced to endure. You rallied together and donated an incredible £137,700 taking us closer to ending this cruel industry once and for all. Thank you.

Typhoon Haiyan: one year on Last November, Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines leaving one of the worst paths of destruction ever recorded. Thanks to you, throughout 2014 we’ve been able to revisit some of the worst hit areas to give on-going help to the animals and people whose lives were devastated by the disaster. On a family-run farm in the province of Aklan, your support enabled us to build a new, humane pig enclosure and a sturdy underground shelter, designed to keep animals safe from future disasters (you might remember seeing it on the BBC documentary Vets in the Disaster Zone). We’re pleased to report that the family’s pigs are now in great health and running around happily in their new, comfortable home – a stark contrast to the concrete and steel pens that were used before the typhoon. We’re working hard with governments and vets to introduce our designs for robust animal shelters to more countries, so that we can protect animals from disasters for years to come.

Read more Turn to page 11 to read more about how your donations helped the animal victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Animal Matters • Issue 02

Wildlife

Image: Ian Kingsnorth

Making waves for marine animals We are pleased to tell you that our global Sea Change campaign is well under way. Thanks to your donations, together we are taking the first steps to protecting a million marine animals from suffering in the depths of the sea and on our shores.

Ghost fishing gear, the thousands of tonnes of nets, line and traps abandoned in our oceans each year, is one of the biggest killers of marine animals today. With your help, we’ve teamed up with organisations up and down the UK to map out the true scale of animal suffering in our oceans. From beach clean-ups to searching the sea for discarded fishing nets, we’re on a mission to protect animals from entanglement and to convince governments and seafood businesses to reduce the amount of ghost gear that is abandoned. Cleaning up your coastlines Thank you to everyone that has been helping clean up litter from your local beaches as part of the Surfers Against Sewage Autumn Beach Clean Series. Dropped litter and washed up rubbish (including fishing gear) can be fatal to unsuspecting

Who are Surfers Against Sewage?

SAS is a UK environmental charity protecting our oceans and beaches through campaigning and volunteering.

What do they do?

They are fighting to protect our coastlines from litter, pollution and toxic chemicals to name a few. They recently released their Marine Litter Report, calling for a 50% reduction in litter on our beaches by 2020.

Why have we teamed up with them?

World Animal Protection staff protecting marine animals by cleaning up Brighton Beach.

Because together we can make our seas and beaches safer for marine animals. After this years’ autumn beach cleans, there is approximately 150km less dangerous ghost gear on our beaches. Find out more at www.sas.org.uk

Animal Matters • Issue 02

Wildlife animals that can swallow or choke on it. Birds regularly use pieces of old fishing rope and line to build their nests, often resulting in them becoming tangled up in it. Even a small piece of net can mortally injure an animal. So by giving up a day to clean your coastlines of this man-made rubbish, you are protecting countless marine animals from harm. World Animal Protection staff have also been getting involved in beach clean ups – in the summer, our London office spent a day cleaning up the litter on Brighton Beach. We teamed up with the Marine Conservation Society to trawl the coast and collected 730 items of dangerous debris. Saving seals Your donations are helping to fund research carried out by the Cornwall Seal Group (CSG) who are working to understand the scale of the problem of ghost gear for the environment, and for invidual animals. Entanglement is thought to be one of the biggest threats to grey seals off the UK’s south west coast. Dan Jarvis, who volunteers with CSG and rescues stranded and entangled seals, told us some of the shocking stories of entanglement that he’s witnessed: Marlin the seal (pictured to the right), was found trapped and entangled in fishing nets in 2002. He hadn’t eaten for a long time and was very malnourished. He was also blind. It is thought that the distressed seal became trapped because he wasn’t able to see the danger he was swimming into. Luckily for Marlin, dedicated marine animal rescuers were there to free him from the tight netting that had wrapped around him. If not, the helpless seal would have remained trapped and likely starved to death.

Marlin the blind seal is now living free from entanglement at a special seal sanctuary. Image: Ian Kingsnorth

Animals rescued from lobster pots Your donations helped fund a one day diving trip enabling the voluntary group NARC to search the seas for abandoned fishing gear. In just one day, 10 lobster pots, including the one pictured below, were found. Animals that were found inside and set free were:

Diving great depths You’ve also helped fund a one day diving trip for Welsh diving group Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners (NARC), a volunteer group who scour the depths of the seas in search of abandoned fishing gear and other litter. Most of the ghost gear that they pull out of the ocean is non-biodegradable and if not removed, could stay in our oceans for up to 600 years, trapping and entangling thousands of animals.

24 dogfish egg pouches

NARC have found all sorts in the water off the coast of Pembrokeshire, including shopping trolleys, bikes and car batteries – not to mention the vast amounts of ghost gear – nets, line and lobster pots.

1 spiny starfish

13 spider crabs 6 velvet swimming crabs 4 lobsters 1 brown crab

Setting trapped animals free Lobster pots are used by commercial fishermen and have bait inside them to attract fish. Tragically, when lobster pots are lost or discarded, the bait continues to attract animals, trapping them and leading to slow, torturous deaths. “Fishermen lose their gear but it keeps fishing and no-one does anything about it,” said Dave Kennard, founder of NARC. During the diving trip that your donations helped fund, the team pulled out 10 lobster pots from the water, many of them containing trapped animals that were released back out to sea. These are just the first steps that we are taking together to protect marine animals for generations to come. We’ll update readers again as the campaign progresses and let you know what else you can do to stop the suffering in our oceans. If you haven’t already, please make a donation today to help us make a Sea Change at worldanimalprotection.org.uk/sea Animal Matters • Issue 02

Image: Blaise Bullimore

Promotion Header

Protect animals this Christmas With Christmas just around the corner, if you’re feeling less than organised with your shopping, don’t worry, we can help.

Really Wild Gifts

Take the stress out of the mad rush by heading over to the World Animal Protection shop for everything you need – cards, wrapping paper, decorations, food and gifts. As well as doing your Christmas shopping from the comfort of your own home, you’ll be protecting animals at the same time. Raising vital funds Last year, you helped us raise more than £15,000 for animals through our shop. This year, our shop is bigger and better than ever, with even more animal-themed gifts for your friends and family.

Image:AMP

Really Wild gifts Why not show friends and family how much you care with a Really Wild Gift? Make a donation on behalf of a loved one of the amount you choose – and all of it will go towards helping protect animals around the world. Half price postage on UK orders Order before 15 December to get half price postage – now only £2.47.

Half price postage NOW £2.47*

Get set for the New Year Be sure you’re organised in advance with our 2015 diaries and calendars, and keep track of appointments with our handy weekly planner. Don’t miss the chance to get 20% off our adorable bear writing padblock and 2015 weekly planner. Only available while stocks last so hurry!

Pad block WAS £6.50 NOW £5.20*

So why not head over to our shop today? Either online at worldanimalprotectionshop.org.uk or call 0844 324 8556 to order a catalogue and remember, every item you buy will generate funds to help protect animals around the world from cruelty and suffering. * Offers are valid until midnight 15 December. Last date to order in time for Christmas is 16 December.

Weekly Planner WAS £5.99 NOW £4.79*

Communities

You are protecting working horses Overworked and injured, working donkeys and horses in Palestine can suffer unimaginably. Many owners are unable to look after them properly, either because they can’t afford to, or because they simply don’t know how. Earlier this year, we asked you to help us reach even more working donkeys and horses in need. Thanks to your generosity, along with our partner the Palestine Wildlife Society (PWLS), we’re now protecting working animals across another seven communities; treating injuries at our mobile clinic and teaching owners how to better care for their animals. Ein Jame, near the village of Battir, is one of the new communities where your donations are making a difference. Here, thanks to you, two more horses have a brighter future ahead… Signs of mistreatment A young boy brought his horse along for treatment after having heard about our mobile clinic offering free vet care for sick and injured working animals. The horse, called Abu-Anter, was one of two that the boy’s father had bought from another family a few days earlier. The vet at the PWLS mobile clinic, Dr Yousef, was shocked when he saw the horse in such a bad condition.

Abu-Anter was underweight and malnourished, and one of his back legs was severely swollen. There were also marks on his body, suggesting that he had been badly treated. Double suffering Because of the worrying condition that Abu-Anter was in, Dr Yousef asked the young boy to bring the other horse to the clinic for inspection. As feared, the second horse, called Abied (Arabic for ‘white’) was in a similar condition. He was also undernourished and had marks on his body, likely from being hit by his previous owner. Both horses were exhausted and had clearly been overworked, without much food. It was thought that their previous owners sold them because they had become too weak to work. Much-needed care Thanks to you, Dr Yousef was able to give the desperate horses anti-parasite treatment and multivitamin shots to build up their strength. He also gave pain relief for Abu-Anter’s swollen leg, and advised his young owner how to help the horse walk on it again. Keeping a close watch Dr Yousef gave strict instructions that the horses needed to be well rested and well fed. The boy’s father had bought them with the intention of riding them, not working them, so they will be able to rest and make a full recovery – something that Dr Yousef will be keeping a close watch over. If it wasn’t for your donations, the young boy wouldn’t have been able to take his horses for help. But because of your generosity, their lives have been changed for the better, and they now face a future free from pain and suffering.

Dr Yousef checks severely underweight Abied the horse before giving him multivitamins to boost his health.

Thanks to you, we are now helping donkeys and horses across 19 communities in the West Bank.

Animal Matters • Issue 02

Image: PWLS

Urgent appeal

Stop

bear baiting

Image: BRC

Bears in Pakistan urgently need you There are some cases of animal cruelty that are just so appalling that it is hard to imagine how they can be considered a tradition. Bear baiting is one of them. For years, you have been protecting bears from the brutal blood sport bear baiting in Pakistan, where a weakened bear is tied to a post and forced to fight against dogs trained to attack. With your support and alongside our partner the Bioresource Research Centre (BRC), we have already rescued 70 bears and are constantly fighting to bring an end to this cruel spectacle forever. Bears still suffering Your support has helped save bears from this life of violence and brought them to live free from harm in the Balkasar sanctuary, run by BRC, funded by your donations. But there are still around 40 bears trapped in this cruel sport that urgently need to be rescued. Benny is the name that we’ve given to the bear in the picture above, on the right. In reality, he has no name and won’t have one until we save him. Benny desperately needs your help. 8

Weak and terrified He is frail and hungry, fed on a diet that is not enough to keep him healthy. He can barely stand, and is nowhere near strong enough to defend himself from trained fighting dogs. But that doesn’t stop his owner from dragging him into the baiting arena again and again… A paying crowd will watch on and cheer. The dogs, also victims of this cruel exploitation, will launch their attack on Benny, biting and mauling the exhausted bear as he tries to defend himself. This is the sad reality for bears like Benny. But you can help him – like you helped Rene. Rescuing Rene For years, Rene was used for bear baiting. That’s her in the picture above, on the left. Taken from the wild when she was a cub, Rene was sold and groomed for a life in the fighting arena. Her teeth and claws were removed to make a more equal ‘match’ between her and the trained fighting dogs. Forced to fight again and again, it is a wonder how she found the strength to go on. Through careful but urgent talks with BRC, her owner agreed to surrender her to the care of the Balkasar sanctuary as part of our alternative cruelty-free livelihoods scheme. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Rene was given the medical care she desperately needed to treat the gaping wounds on her muzzle and was given her new name, Rene, meaning ‘reborn’. Animal Matters • Issue 02

How your gift could help

£17 £25

could help feed a rescued bear like Rene for one week at our sanctuary in Pakistan.

could help support alternative livelihoods for ,owners meaning they’ll never have to keep a bear again.

£52

could help give expert vet care to a weak and wounded bear upon arrival at our sanctuary.

Hope for all bears Rene is devoted sanctuary manager Sahib Raheem’s favourite bear. She is so sociable and friendly that she helps newly rescued bears get used to the other bears and life at the sanctuary. The picture below is her now – you’d never think that she has experienced such cruelty. It is heart-warming and encouraging to see that a bear that has been so mistreated can go on to be so good-natured, healthy and happy. It gives us hope for all the others still out there. With your help we could bring Benny to the sanctuary to meet Rene and all the other surrendered bears now safe from harm. Stopping the violent cycle BRC are working tirelessly with bear owners to convince them to hand over their bears and adopt another way of earning money. The owners are extremely poor, nomadic travellers and often have no other way of earning a living to support their families. They are paid by powerful bear baiting landlords who run the violent events. BRC convince the bear owners to take on an alternative cruelty-free livelihood – usually running a small general store – meaning they will never have to own a bear again. The end is in sight Together we’ve been fighting against bear baiting for so long – thank you so much for helping us get this far. The estimated number of bears trapped in the cycle of bear baiting has dropped dramatically, from 300 in the 1990s to just 40 in 2014. But we can’t rest yet. Not while there are still bears suffering cruel torment every day. Please give a gift today that could help us bring the remaining traumatised bears safely to the sanctuary.

I want to help bears like Benny Post your completed form to: Freepost RLUC-CTKT-LLTR, World Animal Protection, 2a Halifax Road, Melksham, SN12 6YY Telephone 0845 0777 500 (9am-5pm, Monday – Friday) Visit worldanimalprotection.org.uk/rescuebenny Here is my gift of: £17 £25 £52 other £ Please debit my: Mastercard Visa CAF Charity Card

Card no: Expires:

Signature: Date: OR I enclose a cheque / CAF cheque / postal order, made payable to World Animal Protection World Animal Protection sends acknowledgement letters for donations over £5. If you do not want an acknowledgement for your donation please tick here Your donation will help World Animal Protection to protect animals from cruelty and suffering, including those featured in this appeal.

Increase the value of your gift by 25% at no extra cost to you If you are UK taxpayer please tick the box to ensure that every £1 you give is worth an extra 25p at no extra charge to you. I am a UK tax payer and want World Animal Protection to treat all qualifying donations over the last four years, today and in the future, as Gift Aid donations. I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/ or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities or Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for each tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. I understand that World Animal Protection will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I give. I am not a UK taxpayer

Date: .

Please print your details clearly below Name: Address: Postcode: Supporter number: We’d love to keep you updated on how you are protecting animals. If you are happy for us to contact you in the ways below, please fill in your details. Telephone: Mobile: Email: World Animal Protection is the operating name of World Society for the Protection of Animals. Company Limited by Guarantee in England and Wales, Registration No. 4029540. Registered Charity 1081849. 14097WMA033

Animal Matters • Issue 02

Wildlife

A busy year at Balkasar sanctuary Thanks to you, we’ve already come a long way in our fight to end bear baiting in Pakistan. This year alone, your amazing kindness has helped rescue another seven bears and bring them to the Balkasar sanctuary to live the rest of their days in peace. For years, these bears’ lives were filled with fear and terror, forced to fight in the bear baiting ring, tethered to posts and attacked by trained fighting dogs – all in the name of entertainment. New beginnings But we are happy to say that this horror is now a thing of the past for the recent additions to the sanctuary: Lily, Taara, Tero and Alba. These bears are now safe and well, saved from this terrible blood ‘sport’ thanks to your overwhelming generosity.

Playful and curious “Lilly (whose name means ‘beauty’) makes us laugh. She loves to play and chase other bears around and tries to get as many as possible involved in her antics. She is fearless and eagerly climbs the sanctuary’s trees and structures.” “Taara (whose name means ‘shining star’) is so playful and has made friends very quickly. It may sound quite strange, but we often see her playing what we think are games of hide and seek with the other bears!” Firm friends “We think Alba (whose name means ‘dawn’) is around six years old. He loves to eat chicken and bread, and is very friendly, especially when he tries to communicate with us. He likes to play with the youngest bear in the new group, Tero (whose name means ‘strong’) – a relaxed and sleepy four year old.” says Sahib. Thank you It is incredible that these bears are now so playful and happy, considering the years of trauma they’ve been forced to endure.

Each bear was rescued by our partner in Pakistan, the Bioresource Research Centre (BRC) and brought to the World Animal Protection-funded Balkasar sanctuary for immediate treatment. We asked sanctuary manager Sahib Raheem for an update on their progress and he was happy to share their stories:

We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving them the lives they deserve, and for helping us as we push to save the remaining bears from a cruelty that we’ll soon be able to call a thing of the past.

Friendly bear Alba is settling in well to his new home at the Balkasar sanctuary.

Tero, the smallest bear in the new group, is in quarantine until he’s well enough to be released into the main sanctuary.

Image: BRC

Animal Matters • Issue 02

Rebuilding the Philippines for animals When a natural disaster strikes, as Typhoon Haiyan did in November last year, it can completely devastate the lives of animals. Here’s how your generosity has been protecting them throughout the year. Winter: urgent help and mobile clinics Thanks to your help, our disaster team was on the ground in the Philippines within days. We assessed some of the poorest and worst hit areas in the Visayas region to protect the injured, distressed and helpless pets and farm animals in need. We gave emergency food and water to hungry animals, treated their wounds and vaccinated them against illness.

“You are truly the heroes of this story. You are helping animals and people recover after the worst disaster they have ever experienced.” Scott Cantin, Disaster Management team.

Our vets set up mobile clinics wherever they could, and alongside students from local vet schools, treated hundreds of dogs, pigs, goats and cattle. Spring: building shelters and vets on bikes Your generosity enabled us to provide ongoing support in the months following the disaster. The team was horrified when they saw the destruction at the Inamarga family farm in the province of Aklan. Nearly all the animals had been killed by the typhoon. The family was devastated but with your support we set about rebuilding their farm complete with a disaster-proof animal shelter. Many remote areas had been hit by the typhoon but couldn’t be reached by road. Your donations helped buy bikes and portable medical kits for the local vets and students – vital for saving animal lives in harder to reach areas. Summer: evacuation drills and building resilience As time progressed and people slowly started rebuilding their lives, we set about training people in resilience in the event of another major disaster. We ran evacuation drills and showed farmers how to secure their animal structures so they are not destroyed or blown apart by high winds. These farmers now have a plan to protect their animals and a much better chance of surviving future disasters. Autumn: healthy animals and secure livelihoods In autumn we visited the new pig enclosure and disaster-proof animal shelter at the Inamarga farm. They are extremely grateful to supporters like you for helping them rebuild their livelihood and protect their animals, “When you arrived to help us it was like a miracle,” said Nenita Inamarga. The robust shelters were built with roofs that do not blow off and the floors are angled to prevent flooding. This will protect the animals should another disaster strike. Thank you so much for helping the animal victims of this disaster – and the people who depend on them. In total, your generosity helped over 17,400 animals in the aftermath of the typhoon and will protect countless more into the future. Animal Matters • Issue 02

Wildlife Did you know? Freshly-cut rhino horn is more valuable than gold on the black market.

Image: Kay Lockett

Making wildlife crime a priority As one of our valued supporters, you know as well as we do that wildlife crime causes untold pain and suffering to the animals caught up in it. But not everybody does. It’s time to speak up and tell them. You might remember reading about our London-based Victims of Wildlife Crime report that we published earlier this year. Thanks to your support, we’ve now produced a national report on wildlife crime across the UK, to raise awareness and to influence the government to do more about it. Animals are the victims Animal victims of wildlife crime can suffer unimaginably. They are often trapped, shot or poisoned – all of which can cause severe suffering and long drawn out, painful deaths. Some may be hunted with dogs or baited and chased, causing fear and exhaustion. Others may be cruelly farmed or held captive for the rest of their lives. Broken bones, crushed internal organs, dehydration, starvation and chronic high stress levels are all common among animals exploited by wildlife criminals. Government action This cruelty is not acceptable, and it’s time that more was done. In a recent poll carried out for us by YouGov, nearly half the people questioned felt that the UK Government should be doing more to tackle wildlife crime. We know that as World Animal Protection supporters you do all you can. You campaign with us, and your generous donations help fund our work to protect animals. 12

Please help us take our fight to the next level. Ask your MP to sign our Early Day Motion urging the UK Government to come up with a plan to tackle wildlife crime in the UK at worldanimalprotection.org.uk/MP We want the UK Government to: • Commit to long-term funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit, so that its future protecting vulnerable animals is secure • Make it easier to record, monitor and analyse wildlife crime in the UK, so that the police can conduct proper analysis to provide a true picture of wildlife crime • Empower police to develop and implement local wildlife crime strategies • Build knowledge and expertise of wildlife crime within the justice sector, so that tougher sentences and prosecution can be given to criminals • Improve the range of deterrent actions that the police and justice sector can use against wildlife criminals We need you We want our supporters to be an army of eyes and ears. To be on the lookout for crimes against wildlife and to report those that harm animals. To convince the UK Government to make this issue a priority. And to send our message loud and clear: we will no longer tolerate the actions of wildlife criminals.

Reporting wildlife crime If you see wildlife crime taking place please report it to the police or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Animal Matters • Issue 02

Wildlife crime on our doorsteps These are just some of the shocking examples from our report that show the extent of wildlife crime across the UK. You can read the full report at worldanimalprotection.org.uk/report

A rescue fox being rehabilitated at an animal centre in London. Image: Kay Lockett

1: Lanarkshire (2012)

After a buzzard died from eating poisoned bait, members of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit and Strathclyde Police discovered a banned pesticide on a farm. The person responsible said it was to control rats and mice. They were fined £365.

4: Blackpool (2014) Thieves broke into Blackpool Zoo and stole one baby and two female cotton-top tamarin monkeys (a critically endangered species), and two male emperor tamarin monkeys. Four monkeys were found and returned but sadly the baby was not.

2: Wales (2013)

A housing developer was fined £600 after demolishing a school building that was used as roosts for common and soprano pipistrelle bats, which are protected by law.

3: Northern Ireland (2014) Horrific video footage was found showing cats and a badger being brutally attacked and killed by dogs for entertainment. The people responsible received a two-year suspended sentence and six months in prison.

5: Yorkshire (2012)

Two badgers were violently killed after being dug out of their sett by criminals. Dogs played tug-of-war with one badger before it was shot in the head, while a pregnant badger was torn to pieces and bled to death. Four of the defendants were jailed, and two received custodial sentences.

6: Suffolk (2011)

Two men broke into Ipswich Museum and wrenched the horn off a stuffed rhino. This is just one in a series of rhino horn thefts across Europe, thought to be driven by a demand for powdered rhino horn in the traditional medicine market.

7: Devon (2013)

Police investigated a case of deer poaching when they found 11 stags’ heads with their antlers shorn off dumped in a lay-by, close to Exmoor National Park. Deer antlers can fetch hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

8: Heathrow (2014)

Two women arrived at Heathrow with 13 San Salvador rock iguanas stuffed into their suitcases. Luckily 12 survived but one died in transit. Both women were jailed for 12 months and the iguanas were returned to the Bahamas. Animal Matters • Issue 02

Communities

You are protecting Indonesia’s dogs Your support is helping protect dogs from rabies and cruel culls carried out in its name in Indonesia. When rabies broke out in Bali in 2008, authorities quickly reacted by poisoning thousands of dogs. At World Animal Protection, we knew that we had to convince them that this cruel approach does not work – and that vaccinating dogs on a mass scale is the only way to stop the spread of the killer disease. Nicola Perez, our Communications Manager for Asia recently spent a week in Indonesia, alongside our partner the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) that has been carrying out mass vaccinations. She wanted to share some stories about the dogs that you are helping to protect… A surprise litter “On the island of Bali I met up with one of the FAO’s vaccination teams, on a mission to capture and vaccinate dogs quickly and painlessly. Once vaccinated, the team fit the dogs with bright yellow collars (that have replaced the red collars used at the start of the project) to show they are protected. It is clear that one of the dogs we find has recently had puppies, so we follow her to discover her litter of six, and gently vaccinate them all. We pass so many dogs that vary in appearance; some look very thin and have mange and fleas, feeding on scraps in the street. 14

Others are healthy, with bright eyes and shiny coats, and we find many of them on the beach playing with local children. Valuable vaccinations Here we meet Ketut and his three beautiful dogs Tweety, Maxy and Duel. Ketut tells us he walks his dogs everyday despite the heat and makes sure they are protected against rabies; ‘They are an important part of my life. I have all three dogs regularly vaccinated – it costs around 450,000 rupiah (around £23) which is a lot of money, but worth it to keep them safe.’ A friendly companion Later, we meet a family that run a small food stall near the beach. Sharing their evening meal is a dog named Pepsi, that we are very happy to see is wearing a yellow collar. The stallholder tells us, ‘Every morning he comes to the stall and stays with us all day. At night he sleeps on the beach, but we look after him and give him food. He is good company and I am happy to see he has been vaccinated against rabies.’ Unspoken gratitude Finally we visit Flores, an hour and a half flight from Bali. No one speaks any English in the village we visit, and even with a translator it is hard for us to understand each other, but words aren’t necessary. Seeing people with their dogs, children playing with them and older people enjoying their companionship, it is clear that the work that you are helping us to support here – to protect dogs and the people who look after them – is so worthwhile. Thank you.” Animal Matters • Issue 02

Wildlife

Elephant rides: the secret suffering 2015 will bring a new priority for World Animal Protection: to expose the secret suffering of Asia’s elephant tourism industry. Some cases of animal cruelty and suffering are so obvious that it’s impossible not to notice. But others can go unseen or overlooked, especially if the suffering animal seems healthy on the surface... Elephants used in the tourism industry are one example of this. In many parts of Asia, elephants are trapped in captivity and used to make money from holidaymakers just like us. Elephant rides are offered to tourists as an adventurous holiday experience – but many people are unaware of the intense suffering faced by the animals behind the scenes. Beaten into submission The shocking truth is this: these animals are taken from their mothers as babies and beaten into submission for our entertainment. Wild elephants don’t naturally let humans ride on top of them – they have to be tamed through a horrendously cruel ‘breaking in’ process. Often sleep deprived and weakened, severe pain is inflicted upon elephants in order to tame them. Not only does this cause intense physical pain in the short term, it also causes severe psychological damage to the elephant in the long term. A dangerous threat We are seriously concerned about these captive elephants. Not only are they suffering miserable lives, forced to carry curious tourists day after day, but the industry is also having an impact on wild elephant conservation, driving illegal capture and trade from the wild.

Spreading the word Our new campaign will expose this secret suffering and educate tourists about animal cruelty in the hope that we can reduce the demand for elephant rides. After all, many tourists are animal lovers who aren’t aware of the dark side of this popular holiday activity. Urging tour operators Thanks to you, we’ve already taken some steps. Our online video campaign targets the thousands of tourists searching for elephant rides online, unaware of the abuse behind the scenes. Upon searching, our informative video appears in the results, revealing the suffering and letting people know the truth before they book. And our World Animal Protection team in the Netherlands is running a campaign called ‘Step off the Elephant’ that has so far led 21 Dutch tour operators to stop offering elephant rides and shows. But there is so much still to do to make the exploitation of elephants in the tourist industry a cruelty of the past. We will be back in touch soon to ask for your help to stop this cruelty and keep wild elephants in the wild, where they belong.

There are currently 25,000 captive elephants in Asia.

An estimated 4-5,000 of these are used to entertain tourists.

What can I do in the meantime? • Avoid elephant camps where rides and shows are offered • Never ride an elephant • Only view elephants in the wild or at a responsible sanctuary • Visit our website to learn how to make sure your holidays are animal friendly worldanimalprotection.org.uk /travel

Animal Matters • Issue 02

New year, new start With the year drawing to an end, we’re all starting to make plans for 2015. Whether your goals are to get fit, get organised, plan a special event – or all of the above – what better way is there to achieve them than by doing a good deed for animals? Wedding favours

Are you planning a wedding for 2015? Congratulations! Why not give your guests our beautiful bear pin-badges as wedding favours? It’s the perfect way for them to remember your special day – and know that they’ve done a good deed for animals at the same time.

Our Romanian Bear Trek is back

Challenge yourself to an adventure of a lifetime in September 2015 by joining us on the World Animal Protection Romanian Bear Trek. During this seven day trek you’ll get to climb the peaks of the stunning Carpathian Mountains before visiting the Zarnesti bear sanctuary, home to the bears that your donations have helped rescue.

Save pennies with a home collection box

If one of your new year’s resolutions is to get organised with your money, then now is the perfect time to start. You could protect animals all over the world without leaving your home by saving your loose change in a World Animal Protection home collection box.

Lace up your running shoes for animals

For many of us, a new year also comes with a new fitness regime. You could get in shape and raise money for animals at the same time by joining Team World Animal Protection for the famous London Marathon, or, if you’re a beginner, the 10k music-filled Run to the Beat.

To find out more... ...about these great ways to fundraise for animals, please get in touch with Jane who is happy to help. Call 0800 316 9772 Email fundraising@worldanimalprotection.org.uk Visit worldanimalprotection.org.uk/fundraise