I voted remain. And the main reason for that was because I
believed that (and still do) animals fare slightly better under the scrutiny of
the masses, the general public, of a large European community.
Around 80 percent
of UK animal welfare laws originate from the EU. None of which are in any way
perfect, or even, really, acceptable – not to vegans or to anyone who really
truly loves animals. But it’s better than NOT having any of those EU welfare laws
in place.
So, I was horrified when I read what the latest EU dinner
menu was on the 28th June:
:: Quail and green
bean salad with a crispy dried fruit pastry triangle;
:: Poached veal tenderloin with seasonal baby
vegetables;
:: Strawberries.
Quail and veal?
Quail has recently
been outed for being Factory Farming’s Most Recent and
Smallest Victims. Some countries, including the UK, have Codes of
Practice that advise cage heights to be 20cm. But these are not legal
requirements and no country has particular laws for the welfare of quail.
20cm. 20 CM!
These birds are ‘beak trimmed’ - Beak trimming is
particularly cruel as underneath the outer casing runs a system of blood
vessels and nerve endings. These enable birds to use their beaks in much the
same way we use our fingers - to pick up food, to touch and sense, feel and
explore. In effect trimming beaks is similar to a human having their fingertips
amputated.
Please
read the link to the article that outlines what these tiny little birds suffer:
And of course veal.
The ‘by product’ of the dairy industry – the industry
where mothers and babies are abused in the most horrific of ways for our greed
for milk and cheese etc.
In the UK there are, interestingly, stricter rules than
in general in the EU for veal production – which actually has meant that the UK
barely bothers with veal production at all. So calves are simply killed and
thrown out. For veal to be veal, in the eyes of the discerning baby torturers
and killers, the meat of the calves must be pale and tender. It is baby meat
after all.
Standards of
welfare in the EU is worse than in the UK – and can vary considerably. Although
animals experience social contact and greater freedom of movement than in the
crates that they were once legally kept in, they are still kept on slatted
flooring with no comfortable resting area. EU law also allows the calves to be
fed on a liquid milk diet and the roughage provided may not be of an
appropriate type or sufficient quantity to allow normal development of the
digestive system. This feeding regime helps to ensure the production of the ‘desired’
pale flesh, since the law allows haemoglobin levels (iron) in calves blood to
fall below those that safeguard against anaemia.
So, basically,
babies that are deliberately made ill and weak before they are killed.
And it is veal
and quail that is served at these functions.
We have a lot of
work cut out for us – ‘us’ being those who actually, really, truly love
animals. All animals.
