Animal Welfare Issues from Around the Globe

It’s been a while since my last post, I don’t even know where to start! All of us at HQ have been tied up on so many different projects.

Let’s see, here’s a quick wrap up:

EU Parliament adopts Animal Welfare Action Plan – An impressive step for the EU. What’s it going to take for the US to catch up?

Good news for the protection of elephants!: IFAW Welcomes Maximum Fine for UK Company Selling Ivory. Great to see the head of Metropolitan Police's Wildlife Crime Unit fighting to combat this trade. 

Below is a post announcing Iceland’s decision to begin whale hunting despite global outcry. Unsurprisingly, Iceland quickly jumped into the hunt, killing the first fin whale just a day after the decision was made. The media has been quick to pick up on this situation and the grotesque story continues to unfold as Japan refuses Iceland’s offer to purchase the fresh whale meat. Apparently, (David@Tokyo) Japan DOES NOT have a demand for whale meat.

IFAW is busily preparing for Canada’s seal hunt that is just around the corner. Part of this preparation includes working on a legislative level to ban the import and sale of seal products around the world. On Friday, Germany announced a unanimous vote by the parliament to ban the import of seal products.

One small step has been taken by CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species) to protect tigers against the international trade of tiger parts.

And finally, a fellow blogger of mine is introducing a new, incredibly techy, yet fascinating option in protecting your pet. What do you think? Just curious, how many of our bloggers have actually placed a microchip in their pet?