Category: Random

Fee Writes

Cameras In Slaughterhouses – Well Done France!

I heard today that France has passed a bill that there are to be cameras in all their slaughterhouses.

Which got me remembering all the other things that France has done. So I have made a list (as I do).

They have introduced incentives to embed sustainability into French urban planning.
They are encouraging alternatives to conventional means of transportation such as self-service bike rental stations and car-sharing. They are also encouraging the use and maintenance of hybrid and electric vehicles as well as the necessary infrastructure to power them.
France became the 1st country to totally ban Neonicotinoids – the bee-killing component in pesticides. This measure goes above and beyond the E.U. ban put in place in 2013. The German company Bayer is not happy and, in fact, has a lawsuit pending against the E.U. Learn more It’s almost like France has put up its middle finger to Bayer.
France is the first country to ban plastic cups and plates and utensils. French law will require all disposable tableware to be made from 50% biologically-sourced materials. read more. And on the subject of plastic, they have also banned the common plastic bag (that’s the smaller and thinner type used in supermarkets). They will still have plastic bags, but they must be reusable ones which should cut down the numbers.
You know those little plastic bags you put the veggies/fruit in? They’ve been phased out as of the start of this year (2017).
The law also currently plans to have domestically compostable bags which should replace plastic fruit and vegetable bags too. Did you know: An average plastic bag takes one second to make, is used for roughly 20 minutes and takes up to 400 years to degrade naturally.
Food – The have become the world’s first country to ban supermarket waste and compel large retailers to donate unsold food. Let’s face it – there are heaps of places that will take donated food, not just the homeless shelters – what about schools, orphanages, old folk homes.
All the new buildings in commercial zones must now comply and have green roofs – that is to say, the rooftops must be partially covered in plants or solar panels by law.
And now – the cameras in slaughterhouses. Although France’s history of animal welfare is lacking compared to other countries, at least this is a real start. It did come about by the release of hidden video footage as well as a fair amount of protesting. Read more
To top this off a coalition of 26 French animal protection associations have combined to make sure that animal welfare is on the political agenda for the next presidential and legislative elections.

Our animals and our planet need us to get behind countries that are actually doing something. Yes, we need the “something” to be way more than what’s being done, and way faster, but, being the realist I am, I’m grateful for small wins.

Speaking about the environment. The EU, those pesky bureaucrats in Brussels who care for the environment, are putting all countries under pressure to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. Wish the same could be said for here Down Under!!!

Fee Writes

Animals | Environment | Random

The Wins Of 2016

Looking back on 2016 … it wasn’t too bad a year and we did have some wins.

There were some wonderful moments for the animals such as a group of little ducklings were saved by awesome firemen after they fell down a grate. Mumma duck was sooooo thrilled to have her babies back. And, firemen rescued swans from freezing on ice, not just once, but three times.

However, I want to look back on some of the “wins” that didn’t necessarily make the “headlines” but will make life a little easier on those animals who are constantly abused – that is: animals used for human purposes. So here’s my top 12:

Let’s begin with a statistic I think shows why many people are turning to a plant based way of eating.

94% of Americans believe it’s important that animals used for food aren’t abused. The way the industry is with factory farming, this is a good sign that people are starting to become aware.
In New Zealand battery cages are to be phased out by 2022, a great “win”. Unfortunately the egg industry managed to still have the cages by convincing the government to legalize the colony cage… still a cage, will be able to put more birds in – the campaign continues.
Around the world many groceries, restaurants and even fast food outlets no longer support caged eggs. In New Zealand, McDonalds announced its switch to only free range eggs in all outlets in 2017. Many others committed to a particular date.
In Australia the Woolworths supermarket chain went cage free and in N.Z. a campaign was launched for Countdown to do the same. Countdown is a subsidery of the above mentioned Woolworths.
In North America the “Right to Farm” is a law that was brought in to deny nuisance lawsuits against farmers who use accepted and standard farming practices. Well, the U.S. Humane Society along with other organisations set out to expose this law for what it really is : allowing farmers to use reprehensible measures like extreme confinement, mutilation with painkillers etc. They were able to stop this Right to Farm measures from being introduced into some State legislatures. Still a lot of work to be done.
The Blackfish Bill was passed banning SeaWorld and other corporations from imprisoning Orcas for profit. SeaWorld also announced that it would no longer have the Orca breeding program. I believe that the movie “Blackfish” has had a huge role in getting both these “wins”.
France became the 1st country to totally ban Neonicotinoids – the bee-killing component in pesticides. This measure goes above and beyond the E.U. ban put in place in 2013. The German company Bayer is not happy and, in fact, has a lawsuit pending against the E.U. Learn more It’s almost like France has put up its middle finger to Bayer.
And on the subject of bees, Canada is also trying to put in place a ban however, again Bayer has their lobbying hat on tight and the pressure is on. You can help by signing the petition: Save The Bees
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ended their elephant performances and took the elephants off the road in response to growing public concern over how the animals are treated.
The number of Tigers, Pandas and Manatees all increased quite substantially which, if this keeps going, these animals will be able to come off the endangered list.
On another note – the environment … 40,000 New Zealanders, who opposed the secret giveaway of community water resources, celebrated when The Ashburton District Council backed out of negotiations with NZ Pure Blue – a deal that would have allowed the corporation to extract billions of litres of waters from the aquifers beneath the town. The message was loud and clear – the last thing the community needs is a bottled-water company sucking the town dry for profit, especially in a drought-prone region. Mind you, this applies everywhere – as is being witnessed currently in the U.S.A. with the town of Flint as well as the Dakota Pipe Line.
This was a story that absolutely delighted me.
The Australian mining company, OceanaGold, had a contract to build a massive gold mine in Cabanas, a country in El Salvador. Now this would have used the last remaining water source, so the country of Cabanas refused to issue permits. OceanaGold filed a lawsuit against El Salavdor. However, because of worldwide people power, the lawsuit was dismissed. But wait, there’s a bit of icing on this cake – OceanaGold had to pay El Salvador compensation and cover their court costs.

So I’ll end this post on that absolutely corker win… showing that the little guy can take on the giant.

You’ll be able to find lots of other stories on the internet, but these ones were either close to my heart, or a little different to the usual.

All my heartfelt thanks for supporting me with my journey this year. May your 2017 be blessed for you and your family and may we have many more “wins” so we can ease the suffering of the many animals who endure so much for us.

Fee Writes

Animals | Random

The Story About A Sheep

Once upon a time there was a sheep who was all alone.

Well, the story goes like this. While I was in the country (yes, I’m back in the city now), I would take a morning perambulation to survey the countryside around me and take in the beautiful refreshing air.

In the paddock that ran alongside the road, the sheep meandered, munching on grass, heads down as sheep do, until I walked past. Then it was heads jerked up, ears attuned and when I got too close it was off with a race to put a bit more distance between us.

But, at the top of the road where there were no sheep, there, on his/her lonesome was a single sheep just sitting, doing nothing, almost like he (we’ll call it he – saves on me having to type the letter “s”), was waiting for something – or maybe someone?

The first couple of mornings he bleated when he saw me and actually wandered over to the fence. However, I couldn’t get to him as there was a double fence line with quite a gap between, so I have no idea if I could have pat him as I would have liked to have done.

He was there every morning for a couple of weeks. Then just as quickly as he’d appeared – he was gone.

Now, I’m going to make up the story that he had been feeling a little depressed and had wanted some “time out”. Then, on feeling back to his old self again (maybe my visits helped), he’d gone back to join his mates in the flock. That is a far better image than him having been singled out to fatten up for the Christmas table.

Oh, and just so you know that I really was in the country …. I photo bombed the sheep and the chooks where I was staying.

At time of writing I had, in fact, left the country and was already ensconced in the first of the house-sits for 2017 … but I did have Christmas here.

Ciao
Fee

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Fee Writes

Environment | Random

Is It A Human’s Right To Have Water?

Do you believe that every human being has a right to have water … for free?

Back in 2013, Peter Brabeck the Chairman of the Board of Nestlé upset the world when he began pushing for the privatization and control of water across the world. He created such a furore that he back-tracked his initial statement and gave his reasons.

Before I go into what those reasons were, let me say that Nestlé wanted to take control to the extent that in 2000 at the World Water Forum they successfully lobbied to

stop water being declared the universal right of every person.

Since then they have been pushing for control.

Already water is being pumped out by the millions of gallons, put into plastic bottles which are then sold to a gullible public to the point that it has become almost a status symbol of the wealthy.

Will it end up that just the wealthy will be able to afford clean water?

Peter Brabeck’s argument is that if the water is owned, then it is the responsibility of the owner to make sure that it is clean. He believes that as water remains “free” it is

“wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed … it is abused and polluted making it undrinkable in its natural state. And, if we’re not careful, the water will become so polluted that the citizens will not be able to use it in any way at all.”

You have to admit that he has a point – take the town of Flint in the USA as a classic example of water being polluted so badly it can’t be used.

Geez, even N.Z. is well on the way to having a drinking water problem as over 70% of all waterways are so badly polluted they are deemed to be toxic. Also, according to NZ ecologist Russell Death,

“We have the highest level of many of these waterborne gastrointestinal diseases in the OECD.”

that’s just insane for a country that tells the world we are clean and green.

However, I certainly am NOT in favour of privatizing water… not one little bit. In fact, I’d like to see companies who bottle water for the supermarket shelves to either stop doing it or replace the plastic with recyclable glass!!!!

Because there’s the other problem with “private water”…

Plastic is the bane of the modern world and it is time we face up to the fact that we just have to STOP using it.

All of this has been prompted by a petition to:

Tell Nestlé that humans have a right to water.
Stop locking up our resources!

You can sign the petition here: Tell Nestlé

I’d be very interested to read what you think about this so please feel free to scroll down and use the comments section below.

Fee Writes

Random

Experiencing Country Life!

I honestly didn’t think I’d be experiencing country life again.

It would have to be at least 18 years since I’ve lived in the country. Like, really in the country!

So why am I here?

I left the last house-sit not quite two weeks ago. Yes, I apologise to those who are following me (all two of you), who are actually interested in where I am.

My new “digs” are now about 1/2 hour drive from the city heading North. When I say 1/2 an hour – that’s when the traffic is normal. Peak time can be around 45 – 55 minutes. But that’s o.k. gives me time to plot and scheme about stuff!

I’m here until late December when I’ll be back in the city looking after Lily again.

Now, the household is made up of my beautiful friends Caitlin and Rob and their adorable cat, Ruby. The vibes here are super loving and I couldn’t be with better people.

With you in mind, I took my camera when I went for my walk …. yes, I’m walking and checking out the neighbourhood just for you ……

Meet the neighbours:

These two gorgeous Clydesdales belong to the neighbour

Just some of the girls who live here with us

There's always a Pukeko close by — There’s always a Pukeko close by

Even the proverbial barn

The neighbour is creating a beautiful fence of roses in front of the avocado trees.

And best of all ... Ruby — And best of all … Ruby

Ahhh, country life.

Category: Random

Cameras In Slaughterhouses – Well Done France!