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Dear
Friends
It is rare that we can actually
pass on some good news, so when we can it is
particularly gratifying. On the 1st of this month,
the Danes followed the lead of the USA and Italy
when their law banning the trade in dog and
cat fur came into effect. Dealers in this
vile commodity can now expect up to 4 months
imprisonment.
Whilst we applaud the Danes for passing
this legislation, we have to ask why the rest of
Europe is dragging its collective feet. The EU
Commissioner for Health, Consumer Safety and
Animal Welfare, Mr David Byrne, has made it clear
that he considers it the responsibility of Member
States to legislate on this issue and that the EU
has no authority. Fortunately his term of office
ends in 2004 but please don't think that his last
months should be free from protests. His e-mail
address is David.Byrne@cec.eu.int
And what of Great Britain? With an "Alice
in Wonderland" logic, the British Govt is claiming
that there is no evidence that this trade exists
in Britain. Only when animal welfare groups can
prove that it is flourishing will they be
prepared to legislate against it! By this
reasoning one could argue that since cannibalism
is non-existant in Britain, our laws forbidding
this practise can be revoked since they are not
needed! Prime Minister Tony Blair has no direct
e-mail address, although you can leave a message
on his web site at http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page821.asp
The Minister for Trade and Industry (the Ministry
directly responsible for allowing this trade
to continue whilst they "deliberate" )
is Patricia Hewitt, e-mail address hewittph@parliament.uk
Please let these politicians know what you
think of their reluctance to protect the dogs and
cats, not only of Asia, but also of
Europe. Visit our web site at http://itstheirdestiny.2kat.net and
click on "More Abusers" on the menu for more
information on some European
countries' treatment of companion
animals.
Regarding the continued consumption of dog
meat in the Philippines in blatant violation of
their Animal Welfare Act of 1998, we
have seen an interesting memo from the
Filipino Govt reminding local authorities that
this Act must be enforced, although we remain
sceptical over how seriously this will be taken by
this country's corrupt political administration.
This memo can be viewed in full on our web site,
again under the "More Abusers" button. Our thanks
go to Marlet of the Filipino pinoyanimallovers@yahoogroups.com list
for sending us this.
Our continued thanks to all of you for your
support and for caring enough to try to make a
difference.
From all the team at
ITD
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