World Animal Protection Newsletter: Winter 2014-2015 by World Animal Protection US

News

Keeping wild animals in the wild

Winter 2014 -2015 Partnering with NestlĂŠ to transform the lives of animals in farming Making a Sea Change for marine life The show canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go on: Shining a light on animals in tourist attractions

We were known as WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals)

From the Executive Director

We’re making an impact for animals ‒ together Following the introduction of our exciting new name – World Animal Protection – this spring, we’ve built on this momentum to generate tremendous real-world impact for animals. On October 4, World Animal Day, we introduced our vital new campaign (pages 10-11) that’s shining an urgently needed spotlight on the animal abuses taking place in tourist entertainment. Thousands of travelers unknowingly book vacation activities – from riding elephants to swimming with dolphins – that cause extreme suffering to the very animals they love and want to see. But with your help, we’re engaging tourists, tour operators, and governments to reveal the truth behind these activities and end animal cruelty in tourism. We’re also making our oceans safer for animals. Every year, millions of animals are killed or endure terrible injuries from abandoned fishing gear, known as “ghost gear.” With our newly launched Sea Change campaign (pg. 4), we aim to save 1 million animals from the devastating impact of entanglement by 2018. This year has also seen us make an enormous difference for the world’s farm animals. Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company, signed a ground-breaking partnership agreement

with us (page 12) to improve the welfare of the animals in its supply chain – a move that will transform the lives of millions of animals. This marks the first global partnership between an animal welfare organization and a major food business and sends a resounding signal that kinder farming must become a priority for the entire food industry. You can help by choosing to buy animal-friendly products like cage-free eggs, which send businesses a message about how important animal welfare is in your purchasing choices. The lasting progress we’ve made for animals so far, with your help, has been truly transformational. And it’s only the beginning. Working with you, we’ll expand on our achievements for animals in farming, in communities, in the wild, and in disasters. Together, we really are moving the world to protect animals – and creating a world where animal welfare matters. Sincerely,

Silia Smith Interim U.S. Executive Director, World Animal Protection

A young boy holds his puppy after it has been vaccinated on World Rabies Day during the official launch of a rabies control plan in Makueni County, Kenya

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By leaving a gift to World Animal Protection in your will, you build a legacy for animals, continuing your commitment to creating a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty has ended. Leave your mark in the world by protecting animals in need on a global scale.

We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at:

For more information on leaving a legacy gift, visit worldanimalprotection.us.org/legacy-society or call Edel Metcalfe at 646-783-2224.

Phone: 1–800–883–9772 Fax: 212–564–4250

World Animal Protection 450 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor New York, NY 10123

Email: info@worldanimalprotection.us.org worldanimalprotection.us.org World Animal Protection is a U.S.-registered charity (EIN #04–2718182)

2 World Animal Protection News

Contents Stories

3 Letter from the Executive Director

Supporter Spotlight

4 Time for a Sea Change: turning the tide on ghost fishing gear

Give to World Animal Protection

5 Saving Amazon dolphins from slaughter

Editor: Carla Pisarro Contributor: Michaela Miller Designer: Michael Anthony/MichaelAnthonyCreative

6-7 Headlines 8-9 Making a world of difference: Investigations 10-11 Before They Book: showing tourists the truth about animals in entertainment

Unless otherwise stated, all images are the copyright of World Animal Protection.

12-13 Changing the lives of animals in farming

Cover Photo © iStock. by Getty Images

US0059/1214

Join our Legacy society

World Animal Protection News 3

Time for a Sea Change: turning the tide on ghost fishing gear The world’s sea creatures urgently need our help. They face a phantom menace that entangles, injures and kills millions of them every year. That’s why we recently launched Sea Change, our global campaign to protect marine life from suffering. Ghost fishing gear – nets, ropes, pots and traps lost, discarded or abandoned by the fishing industry – in our oceans is one of the biggest global threats to marine animals. Ghost gear kills hundreds of thousands of seals, sea lions and whales every year and more than 700,000 birds. Huge numbers of turtles, fish and other species are also injured and killed. And ghost gear doesn’t just harm animals. The seafood industry loses millions each year as a result of lost revenue and cleanup costs. And so as part of this campaign, we’ve founded the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, an alliance of governments, businesses, fishing organizations, and nonprofits that will collaborate to create safer, cleaner oceans. Through this Initiative, we are coordinating global efforts to bring about a future of ghost-gear-free seas.

We’re already having an impact in the U.S., in locations from New England to Hawaii. This August, World Animal Protection joined the Hawaii Wildlife Fund to remove ghost gear that had been swept ashore following Tropical Storm Iselle – the strongest tropical cyclone to hit Hawaii’s Big Island in recorded history. Iselle washed up a mountain of debris that rooted itself into rocks, trees and coastal vegetation. Altogether, our team removed around 100 pounds of derelict nets and 129 pounds of miscellaneous plastic, with another 200 pounds of nets hauled away later by heavier machinery. Elizabeth Hogan, our U.S. Oceans and Wildlife Campaigns Manager, said, “Seeing the number of nets brought to shore by Tropical Storm Iselle really highlighted the vast scale of the problem. The nets we collected did not originate from Hawaiian fisheries, but from waters as far away as Asia, demonstrating that the problem of ghost gear must be tackled at both global and local levels.” Our second U.S. gear removal expedition took us off the coast of New Hampshire. Working with Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, New Hampshire Sea Grant, and local fishermen, we located and removed lost fishing traps left on the sea floor using sonar equipment loaned by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. We ultimately retrieved some 24 lost lobster traps and over 400 pounds of inactive fishing rope and line. 127 animals, including lobsters (several carrying eggs), crabs, and fish, were found inside the traps and released into local waters. “This was a true collaborative effort that yielded win-win results for all involved,” said Elizabeth Hogan. “The owners of the located traps got their gear back; trapped lobsters, crabs, and other marine life were safely released back into the ocean; and lost gear that risked entangling animals and damaging boats was removed from the marine ecosystem.” Our Sea Change campaign is sponsored, in part, by The Lawrence Foundation, Goldman Sachs Gives, and supporters like you. Keep up to date with Sea Change – and how you can help – by visiting worldanimalprotection.us.org/seachange.

World Animal Protection’s Elizabeth Hogan joins partner group Hawaii Wildlife Fund on a beach clean-up on Kona Island, Hawaii.

Saving Amazon dolphins from slaughter Your generous support is helping to save Amazon pink river dolphins (Botos) from being cruelly slaughtered and used as bait to catch Piracatinga, a type of catfish. In the Brazilian Amazon, thousands of Botos are illegally hunted every year, mostly for bait to catch the Piracatinga. During a hunt, dolphins are corralled into nets and harpooned by fishermen in boats. And often while still alive, the dolphins are tied by their tail flukes to submerged trees and left until the fishermen return to eventually kill and butcher the Botos for bait. Keeping the wounded dolphins underwater in this way makes it hard for fishermen to be caught in possession of Boto bait, which is illegal, by authorities. “The pain and stress these beautiful animals endure is unimaginable,” says Roberto Vieto, our Latin America campaigns officer. “The Botos may struggle to free themselves for days before finally dying. And although their capture is illegal, enforcement of this law has been poor. This means the fishermen carrying out such cruelty and the intermediaries who buy the fish have rarely been caught.” But with your help, we have persuaded the Brazilian government to introduce a five-year moratorium on Piracatinga commercial fishing. So far, more than 140,000 people have signed our petition supporting the dolphins; you can sign now by visiting worldanimaprotection.us.org/savedolphins.

Task force protection During the five-year moratorium in Brazil, the government will work with the fishing industry to develop different ways of catching Piracatinga. It has also committed to creating a governmental task force to protect the dolphins. And since Colombia is one of the biggest consumers of Piracatinga, we’ll be campaigning there to stop the selling and buying of fish caught using Boto bait. “With the help of supporters, we are asking Colombian authorities to stop the commercialization of piracatinga imported from Brazil,” says Roberto. “We’ll be working hard over the next few months to persuade the Colombian government to do this and also to look at ways that enforcement of laws protecting the dolphins can be improved in Brazil. We are also educating Colombian consumers that buy capaz, another popular type of fish, as they don’t know that they’re actually consuming piracatinga caught with Boto bait and smuggled into the country”. Roberto explains that education projects are also being developed with enthusiastic local animal protection organizations. “We want to improve children’s understanding of the dolphins and resurrect traditional values, [as] Botos were once respected as an iconic animal of the Amazon deserving of protection and care.”

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Headlines

We urge Cayman Islands Government to prioritize turtle welfare We’ve long advocated for the Cayman Turtle Farm, the last facility in the world that farms endangered green sea turtles for meat, to transition into a rehabilitation facility that protects the lives of the turtles in its care. And a leading sea turtle conservationist has now joined our cause. This fall, the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics published an article co-authored by Neil D’Cruze, our Head of Wildlife Research and Policy, and Marydele Donnelly, Director of International Policy at the Sea Turtle Conservancy. The article details the extensive welfare and conservation problems associated with sea turtle farming, adding further weight to our calls for the Farm to change.

Your support is giving whales entangled in fishing gear in the South Pacific a better chance of survival than ever before. Through our Sea Change campaign, we funded a training course this summer in Tonga for people who encounter such whales during their work, including representatives from whale watching companies, from Vanuatu’s fisheries agency, and government officials.

As we urge the Cayman Islands to act, our CEO, Mike Baker, states: “After more than a year of patient engagement and talks behind closed doors, it is now time for the Cayman Islands Government to act. The causes of animal suffering at the Farm, such as the severe overcrowding of turtles, cannot be ignored any longer.” To read this article, visit worldanimalprotection.us.org/greenturtle

Students learned how to safely disentangle whales and were given specialist equipment to help them continue this lifesaving work. Your support has also helped us fund similar workshops in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, with plans for at least two more courses in entanglement hotspots by the end of 2014.

Lifesaving workshops for Pacific whales

It’s conservatively estimated that more than 300,000 whales and dolphins die entangled in fishing gear each year. Large whales can drag such gear along with them, suffering for months or even years before they finally die.

An animal protection first, thanks to you Do you ever wonder how well your country protects animals? Our new online tool can help you find out. The Animal Protection Index (API), launched this November by World Animal Protection, shows for the first time how national policy protects animals in 50 countries. These countries were chosen based on statistics, issued by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, focusing on those countries with the largest number of animals farmed for food production.

Happy travels and new start for Spanish bears Thank you so much for giving Laica and Mel, two European brown bear sisters, a safe journey to their new home: a bear sanctuary in Veresegyház, Hungary. Before their move this September, the bears had lived for their whole lives in a wildlife rescue center in Lleida, Spain.

The API’s rankings show where countries stand on protecting the welfare of pets, farm animals, animals in captivity, working animals, animals used in scientific research, and wildlife.

Your generosity funded comfortable transportation to take the bears from Spain to Hungary. It also paid for vets and our wildlife advisor Victor Watkins to ensure the bears’ secure arrival. “Although Laica and Mel had been well cared for at the rescue center in Spain, the government of Catalonia, which runs the center, wanted to give them more freedom and a more appropriate environment. They knew the Hungarian sanctuary could do just that,” explains Victor.

To view the API, visit api.worldanimalprotection.org

Explore 50 years of protecting animals in disasters Since our first disaster response in 1964, we have directly treated over 3.5 million animals in some 350 disasters. To celebrate our 50th anniversary of protecting animals in disasters, we’ve launched an interactive online archive, where you can browse photos, videos and statistics from our rich history. Visit the archive and see how you’ve helped make a difference at disasterresponse.worldanimalprotection.org.

The Hungarian sanctuary was built with the help of World Animal Protection supporters in 1998 and is now home to 34 rescued bears.

Mel and Laica in the quarantine area of their new home in Hungary. 6 World Animal Protection News

World Animal Protection News 7

Making a world of difference: Investigations

3: Lapland

Your donations help our investigative affairs team to uncover the concrete evidence of animal cruelty we need to mount our campaigns. Here’s a little more about this team and just a few of the world-changing successes they’ve achieved.

Our investigative affairs team’s first mission in 2010 revealed the cruel treatment of thousands of reindeer for their meat. The team’s video evidence of terrified animals herded by snowmobiles and cruelly slaughtered showed clear violations of domestic animal welfare laws. More than 65,000 supporters were outraged and sent letters of protest to the Nordic Council of Ministers. These investigations persuaded the Swedish government to take measures to protect reindeer from such appalling treatment.

1: Brazil

8 World Animal

Protection News

Amazon pink river dolphins (Botos) are receiving better protection from the Brazilian government, after our research showed that these beautiful animals are killed for bait to catch Piracatinga catfish. This evidence led to a five-year moratorium on Piracatinga commercial fishing in Brazil, established this July.

World Animal Protection News 9

The show can’t go on: the world’s cruelest wild animal attractions We’re exposing the worst types of suffering endured by wild animals in the tourism industry with our new campaign to keep wild animals in the wild and our new report “The show can’t go on,” which details five of the worst animal abuses taking place in the name of tourist entertainment today: 1 – Riding elephants Snatched from their mothers at just a few months old or bred in captivity, elephants are isolated, starved and beaten with pointed bull hooks to make them perform. Around 16,000 Asian elephants are suffering in captivity worldwide.

A zoo in Thailand allows visitors to feed and pet tiger cubs.

4 – Swimming with dolphins Captive dolphins live in chlorinated pools that are tiny fractions of the vast oceans where they’d swim over 40 miles a day if free. An estimated 1,600 bottlenose dolphins are kept in captivity worldwide to perform in shows.

2 – Posing with tigers To make them safe to handle, cubs are removed from their mothers at an early age and beaten for misbehavior. At animal parks where people can stroll with tigers, conditions are harsh behind the scenes. Tigers are kept on leashes or in small, barren cages when they’re out of sight and punished to be trained and controlled.

Before they book: showing tourists the truth about animals in entertainment From elephant rides to walking with lions, taking selfies with tigers to swimming with dolphins, wild animal attractions are part of too many vacations. But tourists are largely unaware of the cruelty that goes on behind the scenes. This World Animal Day, October 4, we launched a vital new campaign aimed at people searching online for such travel experiences, to reveal the truth about animal suffering before tourists book their trips.

Our global survey shows a startling result: nearly 50% of people who pay for a wild animal experience do so because they love animals. A huge majority (86%) of U.S. respondents say that tour operators should avoid activities that cause animal

10 World Animal Protection News

Our CEO, Mike Baker, says, “Right now, thousands of tourists are searching for wild animal attractions, simply unaware of the abuse behind the scenes. What they don’t realize is that ‘once in a lifetime’ for them means a lifetime of misery for wild animals.” Adds our Interim U.S. Executive Director, Silia Smith, “If tourists knew of the abuses that take place behind the scenes of animal attractions, they would never go. By educating tourists before they book their trips, we can make animal cruelty in the tourism industry a thing of the past.” Learn more about how you can help at beforetheybook.worldanimalprotection.org.

3 – Walking with lions Cubs spend their days in a relentless cycle of paid-for handling and photo opportunities, which can cause them such stress that some lose their hair. Once grown to an unwieldy size, they’re either drugged or abused until they’re compliant enough to walk with tourists.

To read “The show can’t go on”, our new report spotlighting the worst wild animal abuses in tourist entertainment, visit worldanimalprotection.us.org/theshowreport

At long last...peace for Romanian bears Earlier this year, we celebrated the official opening of the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Romania, which provides a home to bears rescued from illegal captivity and cruelty. We began building this sanctuary in 2005 with our Romanian partner AMP (Millions of Friends) after they alerted us to the plight of bears kept by private owners and poor-quality zoos in Romania. Now fully complete and home to 81 rescued bears, Libearty has for eight years provided a home to bears caught from the wild and kept in illegal captivity, often subjected to terrible cruelty. These include bears like Graeme, a Romanian bear who was kept in a confined cage for decades before he was surrendered to live freely in our sanctuary.

The brutal truth is that breaking wild animals’ spirits to the point that they’ll allow interaction with people involves cruelty at every turn: snatching them from their parents in the wild or breeding them in captivity, transporting them, keeping them in harsh conditions, and beating them to break their wills.

suffering, and 45% said that they would choose not to travel with a tour operator if they knew that it promotes the use of wild animals in entertainment.

5 – Dancing macaques Baby macaques are wrenched from the arms of their mothers – often injured or killed in the process – every year around the world, including 3,000 in Indonesia alone. They live their lives on short leashes, tied to posts or cramped into tiny mesh wire cages. During shows, they’re forced to repeat degrading behaviors set to blaring music day after day. Many young macaques don’t survive the process.

Bears at our Romanian bear sanctuary, a haven for rescued bears. World Animal Protection News 11

Changing the lives of animals in farming

We join The Sustainability Consortium to collaborate for change This year, we joined The Sustainability Consortium (TSC), an international organization comprised of corporations (like Coca-Cola and Walmart), nonprofits and universities focused on developing science-based tools and methodologies for increasing the sustainability of consumer goods. TSC includes animal welfare in its work, and as TSC’s first member organization dedicated solely to animal protection, this means that we’ll help prominent businesses bring added focus on animal welfare into their practices. TSC members from many industries, such as food and beverages, toys, home and personal care, and textiles, collaborate to reduce the environmental and social footprint of consumer products. Through our membership, we’ll work with leading businesses, along with other influential nonprofits and government agencies. While other TSC members address environmental and animal issues, we are the only TSC member expressly speaking for animals and their welfare. We’re excited to share our perspective and to help guide companies’ efforts to achieve transformational change.

Sheila Bonini, CEO of The Sustainability Consortium, said, “TSC is committed to being stakeholder informed and science based in our mission to drive sustainable consumer products. World Animal Protection helps us achieve these goals on the issue of animal welfare. TSC members across many sectors, including food and agriculture, address animal welfare, and World Animal Protection’s expertise helps guide our work on this issue.” Kara Mergl, World Animal Protection’s U.S. Manager for Corporate Engagement, recently hosted the first business panel discussion for TSC members. Joined by participants from Ahold, Elanco and Compassion in World Farming, Kara moderated a discussion on why animal welfare should be important to businesses, while the panel’s corporate participants shared practical examples of how to achieve higher standards for animals. To learn more, visit sustainabilityconsortium.org.

Choose Cage-Free: Why does protecting hens matter to you? We asked, you told us! We recently asked our online supporters why protecting hens matters to them. Here are just a few of your responses . . .

Our partner Nestlé commits to higher animal welfare standards This year, we achieved critical change for millions of farm animals when we signed a global partnership with Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company. This means that the hundreds of thousands of farms that supply Nestlé with its dairy, meat, poultry and eggs will have to comply with higher animal welfare standards. This agreement, the first between a global animal welfare organization and a major food company, sends a clear signal to all in the food industry that humane farming isn’t just possible – it’s crucial. Through our partnership, we’re working with Nestlé to grow its expertise on animal protection as a vital part of its Responsible 12 World Animal Protection News

Sourcing Strategy. We’ve also provided the company with guidance to ensure that its new standards, policies and procedures improve the welfare of the animals involved in its global food production. Nestlé publicly announced its far-reaching commitment to higher animal welfare with an announcement in The New York Times this August, showing the world that large-scale change is achievable. Thank you for helping us accomplish this landmark success. Together, we’ll continue to grow the global movement for kinder farming.

Jayne: They’re lovely little characters, and all animals should be looked after! Janet: ALL animals deserve to live with good treatment and freedom of movement, no matter their purpose. Chickens have been shown to be quite bright and social, and there is no good reason for them being caged their entire lives. ALL eggs should be produced cage-free and priced reasonably for consumers, as they once were. Diane: I’ve been lucky to have a flock of hens and a rooster for years. I’ve seen how happy they are to have freedom to roam and lay healthy eggs for us. They demonstrate concern for one another but also have a pecking order, just like people have. They are doing us, the consumer, a favor and should be treated humanely.

Chris: Because they need to eat better and be able to stretch their wings and legs. Add your voice! Visit choosecagefree.org and join our social media communities to share why choosing cage-free is important to you. World Animal Protection News 13

Supporter Spotlight Paul Keenum, Anderson Orlando and Valentino, a family of World Animal Protection supporters, tell us why protecting animals is important to them.

We support World Animal Protection because we believe in the importance of saving animals in countries that have natural disasters. The loss of animals impacts the local economy. So proactively protecting these animals during disasters will minimize the impact to local businesses and speed up the recovery of the civil and local economy after the disaster.

Give to World Animal Protection The work described in this issue of News is made possible only by your generous support. Please consider making a gift to help stop animal suffering around the world. I’d like to make a contribution today.

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We have Valentino, our beloved Pomeranian, who is not only a pet but an important member of our family. We believe the responsibility that goes into caring for Valentino on a daily basis is as important as the responsibility of providing the appropriate protection and care for animals in regions of the world that are threatened by ANY circumstances, natural or otherwise.

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450 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor New York, NY 10123 World Animal Protection US @MoveTheWorldUS We are World Animal Protection. We end the needless suffering of animals. We influence decision makers to put animals on the global agenda. We help the world see how important animals are to all of us. We inspire people to change animalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives for the better. We move the world to protect animals.