Also in English : Occupy for Animals: Under the new EU Animal - TopicsExpress

Also in English : Occupy for Animals: Under the new EU Animal Health Law, stray domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, might be considered wild animals... This is unacceptable as it could open the doors to a massive eradication of them. This is rather a long post, but a VERY IMPORTANT ONE - please take a moment to read it all and to take action for Europes homeless animals. Up to now, the Commission made a substantial difference between wild animals and kept animals. Unfortunately, this could now change with the introduction of the new EU Animal Health Law which is currently being discussed in its final stage. For the last three years, the European Commission has been drafting an Animal Health Law, which is supposed to replace and encompass most of the present EU legislation on animal health, striving for simplification and greater consistency under common principles and general rules, and under the initial draft of the EU Animal Health Law, stray domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, should have been considered wild animals. It seemed as if, due to the voting of the MEPs in April 2014, this had been avoided and they would no longer fall under the scope of ‘wild animals’ but would be defined under a new category of ‘non-owned animals of domesticated species’. It is crucial not to let abandoned and non-owned animals fall under the category of wild animals in order to avoid a massive eradication of them. Dogs and cats must always be considered as domestic animals, even if they are no longer under direct human control. Unfortunately, in December 2014, FOUR PAWS European Policy Office in Brussels, reported that the proposal is presently being discussed in the last stage of the legislative process conducted through the Trialogue (which includes the European Council, the Commission and the Parliament), and that in the present draft of the EU Animal Health Law, an opposing trend has become apparent which might now even determine the decrease of protection: the proposal tabled by the European Commission wants to consider stray domestic animals again as wild animals, despite the fact that a majority of MEPs voted against this definition in April 2014. According to FOUR PAWS, this is happening without publicity, in the attempt to get this unacceptable definition passed without attracting criticism as it would deliberately ignore the constant requests of EU citizens to increase the level of protection granted to all animals, not to decrease it. SHOOTING HOMELESS ANIMALS - SOON A REALITY IN EUROPE? Allowing hunters to shoot homeless animals has already been proposed in the past in various EU-countries and this could become reality with the declassification of homeless animals as wild animals. In some European countries such as Romania, and other eastern and southern European countries where public abuse of animals is significant -- the Making the Link Study found that in Bistrita, Romania, 86.3 % of the study-group-children, aged 14-16 years, had seen animal abuse in public many times and admitted to have been emotionally affected by it -- homeless animals are already being regarded as verminous which seem to justify their abuse, and the last thing these poor animals need, would be to be declassified as wild animals so that hunters could justify shooting at them... in the woodlands, the villages and even in cities, in plain view of citizens, including children. This is the stuff that horror movies are made of! It is a well attested fact that cruelty to animals harms society as a whole as it signals and normalizes insensitivity - in particular in children, who can become literally numb to the suffering of other fellow creatures - and it is also known to influence certain people to commit violence to other sentient beings, including humans. Read more, at: strayanimalsarenotwildanimals.weebly/ WILD HUMANS - THE NEXT STEP IN THE EU RE-CLASSIFICATION? Over millennia, dogs and cats have evolved to not only be mans best friend but to be regarded as integral part of the human family that is caring for them. Suddenly, thousands of years later since the domestication process started, we are being forcibly re-conditioned mentally and emotionally to accept that the abandoned, homeless dogs and cats are “wild” animals when their families are no longer around or immediately available. It is known that the urban dogs and cats were introduced in cities by people and continue to see and interact with city dwellers all the time. The sources of these animals are the abandoned companion animals or progeny of these abandoned animals. Also, it is known that human society dealt, in different forms, with the abandonment issue for ages: abandonment of animals (dogs and cats), abandonment of children, and abandonment of elderly or disabled citizens. Compared to other mammals who never abandon their fellows or habitat unless forced by stringent environmental or behavioral factors, humans seem to go along very well with abandonment whenever they lost interest in someone or something. Recently, a new paradigm emerged in the context of the European Union, perhaps for disguising some hidden agendas and/or to create a new social context. According to this new paradigm, proposed by the EU in the present draft of the new EU Animal Health Law - without any scientific or factual justification - a gross, abusive attempt to re-classify the abandoned, homeless dogs and cats found on the cities’ premises as wild animals is awaiting to be legalized. This, if accepted by the society, as a whole will give a free ticket to the EU authorities to get rid of, and to ”clean” the cities of any living being that falls into the “wild” category. According to this new approach, being abandoned and homeless becomes a crime for which the victims are stigmatized as “wild” and therefore, soon, as “dangerous”. This stigmatization can then be used to justify the mass killing of these animals as a “humane” solution to the newly classified problem. This new “ideology” is a new Pandora’s Box which, if accepted by the citizens of Europe, will change humans’ mentality and views of life on Earth until no one will be safe and could become an easy victim of this new type of societal order. In this way, humans will be mentally and emotionally deprogrammed, ripped off of the most important trait that defines us: empathy. If this new paradigm will be accepted and implemented then, technically speaking, the next potential target could become any abandoned being: homeless humans (children, elderly, disabled individuals etc.) who, for certain rationale, would be soon considered wild humans. “The sleep of reason produces monsters” (Francisco Goya) very soon could become a tangible, immediate situation. Already history has repeatedly demonstrated to us how easy it is to provoke a disaster while trying to walk such a slippery slope in using disguised discrimination as a “humane” approach to a problem. Humanity witnessed the devastating, long–term consequences of thoughtlessly accepting any form of discrimination disguised as a harmless, valid re-classification or as a value system re-arrangement. Simply put, it is worth remembering that the Nazi culture promoted bit by bit a venomous social order which was sneaked in the Germans’ life over several years: nothing happened overnight and was very well documented by the survivors of this terrible era. The result was the total abandonment and exclusion of helpless, incapacitated individuals resulting in their eradication, the mass killing of people based on their ethnicity. Later, even social and political systems were changed, and in communist countries, the abandoned children (orphans) were treated like human trash. The same phenomenon of abandonment of children and other social categories (homeless, elderly or handicapped individuals) followed by abuse or death was, and continue to be a problem in European countries without any discrimination between West and East. Considering the lessons learned from these historical events, should we not be cautious in accepting and believing in seemingly harmless re-classifications as proposed by the European Union? PLEASE SPEAK FOR EUROPES HOMELESS ANIMALS! It is extremely important that European citizens, and compassionate people from all over the world, speak up against this ‘two-class system’ for dogs and cats, depending if they have a family or not. This classification is not only ridiculous, but it could lead to confusion in legal terms - to serious misunderstandings and legal uncertainty in all Member States - and be downright dangerous not only for homeless dogs and cats, but also for owned animal companions that might have got lost, or have escaped. All in all, such an illogical distinction is scientifically wrong as it ignores the fundamental biological distinction between wild and domestic animals, and poses a serious threat to homeless animals as it would stigmatize them as second class animals. It would decrease their level of protection, ignoring the will of the European citizens who are calling for a BETTER protection of ALL animals. In fact, this outrageous re-classification would mean a major step back for the European animal welfare as it offends the notion they are independent sentient beings and is a clear violation of the spirit of Article 13 TFEU and Written Declaration on Dog Population Management 0026/2011. Profoundly insulting to the conscience of any decent human! Please dont let this happen! Please speak up against this discrimination by taking the following 3 actions: 1) SIGN OUR REGISTERED PETITION TO THE EU! By signing our petition at the link below, the following message will instantly be sent to all decision making officials: Dear President of the European Commission, Dear President of the European Council, Dear President of the European Parliament, Dear Rapporteurs and Shadow Rapporteurs, Dear President of the Intergroup on Animal Welfare, Dear Members of the European Parliament, Dear EU Officials, Dear Ministers, In the draft EU Animal Health Law, stray domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, are defined as wild animals. This terminology is not only ridiculous as it ignores the fundamental biological and legal distinction between wild and domestic animals, but it is totally unacceptable as it could lead to confusion in legal terms - to serious misunderstandings and legal uncertainty in all Member States - and be downright dangerous not only for homeless dogs and cats, but also for owned animal companions that might have got lost or have escaped, as it could offer legal grounds for allowing hunters to shoot at them as it has already been proposed in the past in various countries member of the European Union. Over millennia, dogs and cats have evolved to not only be mans best friend but to be regarded as integral part of the human family that is caring for them. And now, suddenly, thousands of years later since the domestication process started, we are being forcibly re-conditioned mentally and emotionally by the EU to accept that the abandoned, homeless dogs and cats are wild animals when their families are no longer around or immediately available. This gross, abusive attempt to re-classify the abandoned, homeless dogs and cats found on the cities’ premises as wild animals constitutes a serious threat to homeless animals as they would be de-classified as second class animals and according to this new approach, being abandoned and homeless becomes a crime for which the victims are stigmatized as “wild” and therefore, soon, as “dangerous”. This stigmatization can then be used to justify the mass killing of these animals as a “humane” solution to the newly classified problem, and it would open the doors to their massive eradication. Homeless dogs and cats are - by definition - companion animals and this doesnt change even when they have been abandoned or are the offspring of those who have been abandoned, and dogs and cats must always be considered as domestic animals, even if they are no longer under direct human control. De-classifying them into wild animals would decrease their level of protection and would deliberately ignore the constant requests of EU citizens to increase the level of protection granted to all animals, not to decrease it. This outrageous re-classification would indeed mean a major step back for the European animal welfare as it offends the notion they are independent sentient beings and is a clear violation of the spirit of Article 13 TFEU and Written Declaration on Dog Population Management 0026/2011. Profoundly insulting to the conscience of any decent human! The signatories of this petition do not accept the proposed ‘two-class system’ for dogs and cats, depending if they have a family or not, and we demand that you reject this unacceptable, ludicrous idea contained in the draft of the EU Animal Health Law immediately. Yours respectfully, [Signers name] ►►► Please SIGN this very important petition, at: https://change.org/p/jean-claude-juncker-reject-…/share… 2) SEND A DIGITAL CARD, OR A POSTCARD in your own language to your National Minister of Agriculture: Given that the proposal is presently being discussed in the last stage of the legislative process conducted through the Trialogue - which includes the Council of Ministers (also informally known as the EU Council - this is where national ministers from each EU country meet to adopt laws and coordinate policies), the Commission and the Parliament - it is extremely important that European citizens send a personal message, letter or postcard to their own Minister of Agriculture as these form the Council of Ministers. Four Paws has prepared digital postcards and printable postcards that people can download to send to their Ministers (and their MEPs, if they like). ►►► Download your postcard to be send to your national Minister of Agriculture, at: strayanimalsarenotwildanimals.weebly/take-action… 3) LEAVE A COMMENT on our website Your voice can be heard - directly on our website. Please leave a comment in the comment section at the bottom of our page, explaining why you think that this proposal is unacceptable. We will download all your comments and send them to the decision makers before the next EU-meeting on the EU Animal Health Law. THANK YOU! On behalf of all homeless animals in Europe, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for signing our petition and for participating in Four Paws postcard-action. Your Ministers, Politicians, as well as our dear EU-Officials, sometimes tend to forget that they are nothing but servants of the people. And that WE are THE PEOPLE! Thank you for reminding them. Thank you for disagreeing with them... Thank you for speaking up for what is right! Our petition has been submitted for official registration to the European Parliaments Committee on Petitions, meaning that your voices really DO count! Thank you for caring! strayanimalsarenotwildanimals.weebly/