Farmers preferring to rear livestock for meat

Help stopping the price rise in fodder... Cattle leading to death.....

NEW DELHI: India's almost-indelible perch atop global milk-producing nations is showing the first signs of cracks with farmers increasingly

preferring to rear livestock for meat, lured by lucrative prices and a friendly government policy.

The country’s average milk yield of 917 kg per annum is now ranked a lowly 35th among 44 select countries, though India continues to be the world’s largest milk producer, a position it has clung to for many years. Still, there are clear signs of worry as farmers in north India, the country’s top milk-producing region, are up against squeezed margins after a 90 per cent rise in fodder prices between 2006 and 2009. The sharp increase in fodder prices is driving farmers to send animals to abattoirs.

In contrast, the value of meat exports has doubled in four years to Rs 5,000 crore in 2008-09 , according to industry estimates. India shipped around 20,000 animals in 2008-09. Indeed, the two segments present a picture of contrasting fortunes.

According to state-run Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, the per-kg realisation of meat (meat extracted for processing) rose 57 per cent to Rs 115 in 2008-09 from a year ago. Meat realisation for a buffalo weighing around 500 kg is about 275 kg.

Farmers selling milk, in comparison, have gained little due to the surge in fodder prices, though the wholesale price index for milk has shot up by 14 per cent from a year ago. The change in farmers’ practices is palpable.

A recent report of the advisory committee on animal husbandry and dairying said there were chances of a drop in the annual growth target of milk production to five per cent from the 6-7 per cent projected in the current Five Year Plan (2007-12).

National Dairy Development Board chairperson Amrita Patel said if milk production persistently flagged, imports would become the order of the day. The culprit, says the Indian Dairy Association (IDA), the apex body comprising members from cooperatives, MNCs, corporates & PSUs, among others, is a government policy lopsided towards meat exporters.

Farm animals producing 10 litres of milk a day require at least 675 kg of crude protein a year. But raw cattle feed exports have more than doubled between 2006 and 2009, mounting pressure on fodder prices. Fodder ingredients sufficient to feed 3,300,826 animals, which could have translated into 10 per cent of India’s annual milk production, were also exported.

"The abnormal rise in the cost of feed and maintenance has made it highly uneconomical for farmers to keep a dry buffalo (which ceases to produce milk). So when a buffalo becomes dry, it is sent to a slaughterhouse," said a New Delhi-based dairy sector executive. "This has become the trend in all peri-urban areas."

Buffalo meat exports between April 2008 and January 2009 leapt 45% from a year ago, boosted by government incentives such as Vishesh Krishi Aur Gram Udyog Yojana and duty entitlement passbook scheme, which give refunds and duty exemptions to exporters.

The Centre’s meat export incentives in 2008-09 alone were an estimated Rs 484 crore. Ironically, the BJP’s stringent opposition to animal slaughter forced the Planning Commission in 2002 to backpedal proposals such as withdrawal of the beef export ban and a hike in meat and leather exports.

The incentives have not gone down well with the dairy sector, which allege that the government’s skewed policy is likely to accentuate a severe milk shortage. The IDA says these incentives mean more and more high producer animals are heading to slaughterhouses.

Source: ET

[Animal Rights Petitions] Stop EU subsidies to livestock industry

Sign Here

In the last fifty years, in Europe and elsewhere in the developed countries, there has been an exponential growth in the consumption of animal products (meat, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products). These foods are consumed at each meal in every household; quite unlike 50 years ago, when these were rare food items. Today these items cost extremely little, with respect to production costs, often even less than vegetable products, which inevitably require far less raw materials, energy and labor.

This is because farmers and fishermen receive direct and indirect funding both from the state and the European Union; in effect, what we do not pay for at the cash register we pay for in taxes. It is also paid for by those who choose not to buy animal products.

This is all the more serious as the consequences of the high consumption of meat, food and other animal products are greater on the environment, on human health and on the development of poorer countries. It would be justifiable and positive if individual states and the European Community supported and promoted only the consumption of foods that are healthy and have little environmental impact. Instead they do so with foods whose production has a devastating impact... and this is neither acceptable nor justifiable. It is up to us citizens to put an end to this situation and press for a more farsighted, sensible and sustainable policy in this matter, which will protect the environment and human health rather than harm them as it does now.

What we propose is to reverse this self-destructive trend, resulting in the following steps.

1. Put an end to every kind of subsidy for breeding, fishing, crop cultivations intended for farmed animals feed;

2. Charge for the purchase of farmed animals feed;

3. Ensure that the animal products the final consumer buys show their real price, not distorted by subsidies and other facilities granted to the producers and that also includes the environmental cost for the enormous negative impact of breeding (internalization of costs).

4. Put an end to campaigns for the promotion of animal products consumption financed by public money;

5. To support, with subsidies and information campaigns, the consumption of healthy plant-based food, to be less expensive for the final consumer, an easily obtainable result after the withdrawal of the enourmous costs of subsidies to farming and fishing.

We propose in the meantime a petition in support of Point 1 of this series of proposals.

The petition has the purpose to both bring forward this issue with the European Parliament and to raise the matter in various areas, because not enough attention is ever put to how damaging the practice of farming is and how therefore unacceptable it is to finance it with public funding.

Visit the Animal Blogs:

http://ppl4animals.blogspot.com

http://allanimalpetitions.blogspot.com

--

Posted By PEOPLE FOR ANIMALS to Animal Rights Petitions at 11/12/2008 10:23:00 AM

What Breed is it?

Street dogs roaming in and around the city is a common scene in India. These are abandoned and can be found being beaten and teased away from one place to the other. Every one has a problem with them.
We have a lot of Animal Lovers around but they just want to take care of some good breed of an animal. Specially the dog...

The first and the common question which anyone asks upon being asked for adopting a dog is "What breed is it..?"

And this, then generally happens with the status conscious guys who don't want to adopt an unknown breed or otherwise with some who are generally scared of the diseases being carried by the animal(Even when it's already sterilized!!!).
The second reason may seem to be a bit valid but what about the first case??
This query seems to be inhumane and reflects the social weirdness and the fake face of the individual... I mean...what the hell is animal love to do with the breed...It very well relates the nature of the individual who makes relationships according to his social status, financial standings etc. Willing to pay thousands of bucks for a "breed" dog; they can't adopt a cute looking Indian street stray pup!! Wired..
Those beggars and the poor in the slums are better and actually have love and affection for these poor animals.. They share their food with them, take care of them, provide them shelter...They should actually be appreciated.

Our appeal to those who don't care about the stature of the dog and simply love them is that "Please adopt an Indian Dog".
Adopting them would do good to us :
1.)You would get a loving, caring and obedient friend(Which is hard to find otherwise :) ).
2.)It'll clear up the streets,and the city would look good; with no strays around.
3.)They would not be chased and would not bite people.
4.)Their population would be controlled, and would not be brutally killed.

If one out of four Indians Adopts an Indian Stray Dog, all the street dogs would be gone.

So, ADOPT AN INDIAN DOG

People for Animals

Do Online Petitions Work!!

Does Signing a Petition helps the targetted in any form?

There has always been a confusion that do the petitions we sign actually help the targetted benificiary or not.

A petition, be it online or written can be used in the parliament to pass a bill if it reaches a particular number; so signing petitions is not a waste at all. That is, the more the people sign the petition the more popular it becomes and thus can make a difference to the targetted by compelling the related authorities to take an action.But for this, someone must take a hard copy of the entire petition and approach a local political party or file legally for a BILL.

Petitions are also used as solid evidence in courts and can help in chnaging the judgement or influence it atleast.

Many a petitions have already worked wonders..

So keep signing petitions and forward it to all you know to make it more popular and thus a successful petition!!

There is a simple way to find petitions by yourself.

Use google's CSE for petitions, search by keywords like 'Animal Cruelty In China'

http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=000818287483724297494:l03djeg20wm

Also, you may find some concerned and fast running petitions at

http://allanimalpetitions.blogspot.com

People for Animals

Animal Abuse and the Olympics

We recently finished up with our petition on the animal abuse in China and the one specially related to the Olympic Cleaning up...
Thanks for the supporters..

For the ones who wish to read more on this act.. Here's an excerpt...

...Chinese restaurants carry at least 20 different dog dishes, with “fried long dog tails” being the latest craze among upscale Beijing yuppies. The market is so substantial that—similar to Burger King in America—there’s an outfit in China called Dog Meat King whose specialty is self-explanatory.

Researchers have published gruesome photographs of dead dogs being hung from hooks in meat lockers, while others showed butchers slitting dogs’ throats to drain the blood. Usually, Chinese diners prefer to eat puppies between the ages of 6-12 months because they are most tender. Over 300,000 dogs are slaughtered nationwide, many of them processed into a garish type of stew.

Some restaurants submerge live dogs in boiling water and pull their skin from the carcass in one swift motion. Other chefs will gut a dog from throat to stomach; then hold the “prize” aloft by the tail in front of their clients before cooking it. Many of those slaughtered are actually family pets (with collars still intact) that are stolen by poachers and transported in trucks without food or water.

After being pulled from their cages, videotaped footage shows them being brutalized with knives and clubs, or having their heads smashed on the ground to stun them. Ted Kerasole of Salon magazine describes the helpless dogs being gutted, strung aloft by wires, then skinned alive—a torturous process that takes up to seven minutes.

In China, dog meat is considered a delicacy that purportedly increases one’s sexual prowess and “warms their blood.” Another two million dogs and cats are murdered each year to supplement the international fur trade. Yes, felines are also eaten in China, as well as monkey brains and bird eyes......

View Full Article

Comment Here or mail me at pfa.jaipur@gmail.com

People for Animals

Animal In Zoo...Animal Comic

Can't Understand why the animals are still put up in the zoos..When we have all the means to see them and learn about them..
Saw this comic strip in a mail; all credits and appreciation to the creator..

Thankyou for the support!!

Thank you all whoever signed the Petition and even those who took the time to read it atleast. The petition has been forwarded to the Chinese Embassy and would soon see some effect on the cruelty to animals not only in china but world over.

Thank you again and hope to see your support on other petitions as well.
For more concerned petitions visit : http://allanimalpetitions.blogspot.com

Pardon!!

Sorry for not being able to follow through and update the blog.. I'll definitely try and keep on doing that.
I hope to get brief notes on the "extinct" or "getting extinct " species around.

Endangered Species : Sharks : Whale Shark

>> ENDANGERED : Whale Shark(Rhincodon typus)

• The largest living fish species.
• Found in tropical and warm oceans and lives in the open sea.
• Believed to have originated about 60 million years ago.
• Despite its enormous size, does not pose any significant danger to humans.
• Targeted by artisinal and commercial fisheries in several areas where they seasonally aggregate.
• Targeted by harpoon fisheries because their meat and fins fetch a high price on the international market.

See more on Whale Shark on ARKive.
Google Image Search On Whale Shark.

People for Animals

Endangered Species : Bears : Sun Bear

>> ENDANGERED : Sun Bear(Helarctos malayanus)

• The smallest of all the bear species.
• Sun bears can be found in south-east Asia. The range of the sun bear population isn’t known, particularly on its eastern edge.
• Inhabits both primary and logged dense lowland tropical forests.
• Sun bears suffer from trapping. The cubs are often sold into the pet trade and adults killed for their body parts.
• Sun bear meat is a sometimes served in restaurants. Bear paw is seen as a delicacy in some regions.

For more info on the species see ARKive.
Google Image Search on Sun Bear.

People for Animals

Endangered Species : Sharks : Ganges Sharks

• >> Critically Endangered.
  
• A little-known species, lives in freshwater, inshore marine and estuarine systems.
• The Ganges shark is largely restricted to the rivers of Eastern and North-Eastern India.
• Appearance of a typical requiem shark. Stocky. Broadly rounded snout, with small eyes.
• The shark appears to pose a threat to humans , but this has not been proven. Though some consider the Ganges shark to be "extremely dangerous", it has so far been impossible to separate its attacks from those of Bull Sharks.

People for Animals

Help me save the turtles

Hi ,

I've just written to Ratan Tata asking him to not to go ahead with building a port in Dhamra, Orissa, dangerously close to one of the world's largest sea turtle nesting grounds for the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. I think its a good idea for Mr. Tata to move the port to another location rather than endanger the turtles.

By living up to the Tatas' environmental legacy, Ratan won't just save the highly-endangered Olive Ridley Turtles, he will also end up making Tata a better company.

The only problem is that I can't bring about that change alone. I need help from lots of people, especially you.

Please do what I've done. Write directly to Ratan by clicking here

Thanks a million,
;krishanrawat@gmail.com

People for Animals

Better Dog Nutrition Tips

If you would like to gradually improve your canine companion’s diet but are not quite ready to cook a doggie stew every few days, here are a few easy changes to make.

• Water: One of the easiest things to change is your dog’s water supply. Author Pat Lazarus strongly recommends buying a water filter to attach to your faucet.

• Veggies and Fruits: These should equal one-third of the daily diet. Use raw or cooked veggies: beans, split peas, lentils, carrots, zucchini, and broccoli are good. Add raw, cut-up fruit occasionally. Organic, unsprayed produce is best.

• Garlic: Garlic is used widely for animals with various conditions. It can help build the immune system and is a good flea and worm repellent, but it may cause anemia if given for long periods of time. Adding a crushed clove of garlic to your dog’s food every day is appropriate.

• Dairy: Raw eggs and cottage cheese. Other possible additions are yogurt and cheddar-type cheese. All provide protein and iron.

• Grains: Cooked grains should equal one-third of a dog’s diet. A few appropriate choices are barley, brown rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, cornmeal and, even, crumbled whole wheat bread. These provide carbohydrates.

• Vitamins: Lazarus would add more of vitamins C and E to a general multiple supplement. In fact, many dog specialists recommend additional vitamin C. Vitamin B is also vital for a healthy immune system and can be found in brewer’s yeast, another possible daily additive. However, adding arbitrary supplements of vitamins or minerals is generally not recommended without consulting your veterinarian.

• Oil: Many veterinarians and breeders recommend a tablespoon or two a day of vegetable or canola oil, especially for a dry coat or skin. However, oil may add calories.

People for Animals via care2.com

5 Reasons to be a vegetarian !! Go VEGAN

1) The RELIGIOUS reason
Every religion from Hinduism and Buddhism to Islam and Christianity teaches compassion to all living beings. Animals were created for the same reason as humans, to live. Not to be killed and eaten. It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of a compassionate God if we in turn will not practise elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures.

2) The KARMIC reason
All of our actions including our choice of food have karmic consequences. According to the law of karma, if we cause pain and suffering to other living beings, we must endure pain and suffering in return, both individually and collectively. We reap what we sow, in this life and the next, for nature has her own justice. By involving oneself in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death by eating other creatures, one will in the future, experience their suffering in equal measure.

3) The SPIRITUAL reason
Food is the source of the body's chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love, then one cannot eat meat, fish, fowl or eggs. The methods used in large modern farms to raise and kill animals causes them immense pain and terror. They are given hormones and antibiotics which biochemists have confirmed end up in and influence the body of those who consume meat. In a very real way, we are ingesting the powerful chemical components of fear, and rage. Absorbing these contributes to a violent mentality perpetuating the cycle of cruelty and confusion. If children are raised as vegetarians, every day they are exposed to noninjury as a principle of peace and compassion. Every day they are growing up, they are remembering and being reminded to not kill. When you won't kill another creature to feed yourself, you will be much less likely to injure anybody at all.

4) The HEALTH reason
Medical studies prove that a vegetarian diet is easier to digest, provides a wider range of nutrients and imposes fewer burdens and impurities on the body. Meat eating women have a 3.6 times higher risk of breast cancer while meat eating men have a 3.8 times higher risk of prostrate cancer. Vegetarians are less susceptible to all the major diseases that afflict contemporary humanity, and live longer, healthier, more productive lives. They have fewer physical complaints, less frequent visits to the doctor, fewer dental problems and smaller medical bills. Their immune system is stronger, their bodies are purer, more refined and their skin more beautiful.

5) The ECOLOGICAL reason
Planet earth is suffering. In large measure, the escalating loss of species, destruction of rain forests , loss of topsoil and the increase in water and air pollution have all been traced to the single fact of meat in the human diet. Meat is the single greatest reason for deforestation worldwide with 55sq ft of tropical rain forest consumed to produce every quarter-pounder hamburger. A major contributor to global warming is methane produced by animals multiplied for meat. With over 6 billion people grazing the earth today, the future of life on earth rests on our choice of food. No single decision that we can make as individuals or as a race can have such a dramatic effect on the improvement of our planetary ecology as the decision to cut out meat. Many seeking to save the planet for future generations have made this decision for this reason and this reason alone. The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. Whatever happens to the earth will happen to the sons of the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood that unites one family.

People for Animals

How can YOU save the Tiger!!

• Support environmental educational centers, wildlife sanctuaries and zoos in their mission to preserve and protect our treasured wildlife.
  
  
• llegal trade in tiger parts needs to be stopped. Avoid tiger bone handicrafts, medicines and other tiger products to save the tiger.
  
  
• The more aware you are of the status of tiger, the more effective you will be in helping to save it. You can stay informed through magazines, internet, current journals and the media.
  
  
• Take action and create awareness. Organize an event that educates the public about tigers.
  
  
• Start petitions by telling people about the tiger and how they are an endangered species. Ask them if they are willing to sign a piece of paper giving their name and country as well. Remember the more people sign, the more impact a petition makes.
  
  
• Join a letter-writing campaign in order create awareness about the tiger's plight.
  
  
• Collect or send your own donations to Tiger conservation organisations.
  
  
• Start your own Tiger Club. Read books, share facts, hold an art competition, watch documentaries or organise a chat with wildlife experts.

**Note: This content originally appears at NDTV.com NEWS network

People for Animals

Tiger population rising in Ranthambore, India

After a largescale fall in the tiger population in India, there is good news coming out of Rajasthan's Ranthambore National Park. A 15 day tiger census is being carried out there and there's a baby boom in the park with at least 14 new cubs. The tiger census is considered crucial as three years back, the tigers were wiped out from Sariska. Poaching had also taken its toll in Ranthambore where poachers had reportedly killed a dozen tigers. But in the past two years, after stringent security measures, things are looking up. And this year's census could well reflect an upward swing in the tiger population at the park.....

For Full Report:
NDTV NEWS

People for Animals

Threats To Turtles

Fishing:

Marine turtles are frequently trapped in trawler nets or caught on longline hooks. The turtles can't escape and consequently drown. Bycatch (unwanted catch) is a problem for many marine species, not just turtles. Fishing nets can now be fitted with Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) which may help to alleviate the problem.

Migration: Turtles make huge migrations between feeding and breeding sites. Loggerhead turtles, for example, have been tracked on voyages right across the Pacific creating considerable difficulty for conservationists and those conducting research into turtle populations. There is a need for a global approach to protect all migratory species that cross international marine boundaries.

Hunting: In the past, turtle featured regularly on the menus of sailors and explorers as live animals could be kept on board ships as a source of fresh meat. Although no longer part of a sea-faring diet, turtles are still hunted. The shells are used for ornaments or ground up to make traditional medicines and the meat and eggs are eaten in coastal communities and smuggled across the world as delicacies. This illegal trade continues despite being banned by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

Predators: Although a turtle may lay hundreds of eggs at a time, the hatchlings must make a hazardous journey to reach the sea. They are preyed upon by numerous natural predators including crabs, birds, dogs, foxes, fish and marine mammals. A naturally low survival rate is diminished still further if turtle eggs are taken by humans.

Breeding age: A key factor for turtle survival is the number of adults of breeding age. Some females don't produce young until they are several decades old and they may only breed every other year, or even less frequently. If juveniles don't survive long enough to mate, turtle populations will never recover.

Habitat loss: Adult female turtles return to the beaches where they hatched to lay their eggs. Sadly, they often travel huge distances only to find human development on or near their nesting sites. Turtles are confused by artificial beachfront lighting which causes hatchlings to crawl inland instead of heading for the sea. Once stranded on land, they are usually eaten by predators. PollutionThe health of the ocean environment is important for all marine species.

Pollution: from human activity often ends up in the sea. Because turtles may live for up to 100 years, pollutants such as PCBs build up in their bodies and a chemical cocktail is passed on to their eggs. Litter also causes chaos. Plastic bags are a particular problem as turtles mistake them for jellyfish and swallow them. The bags get caught in the digestive tract and cause the turtles to starve.

People for Animals

Asian Elephants

Asian elephants used to range from Iraq to China's Yellow River. Now they are found from India to Vietnam with a very small population in south west China. The WWF estimates there are between 25,600 and 32,750 individual Asian elephants left in the wild. The biggest population is in India. Sri Lanka was once recognised for its large elephant population, but numbers are falling. The most recently identified subspecies, the Borneo 'pygmy elephant' has been estimated to number 1,500 or fewer. Habitat loss is the greatest threat to Asian elephants and their seasonal migrations are now almost impossible because of human settlement along their traditional routes.Besides the wild population there are many thousands of domesticated elephants. They are used in the logging industry as a highly effective way to shift timber through forests, without the need for more road-building. Conservationists have raised concerns that some methods used to tame displaced wild elephants for use as working animals are outdated and cruel.In 1989 the Thai government banned logging following a series of landslips caused by deforestation. Although this was clearly a good idea, some 3,000 logging elephants, became unemployed overnight. The remaining forests were too small to support them and many elephants too reliant on their handlers (mahouts) to be released into the wild.In such cases, the tourist industry is the best hope. Elephants are used for trekking expeditions and other forms of tourist amusement (some even play music and paint). The best organisations treat the animals well, but there are many instances where elephants are neglected and end up begging with their mahouts on the streets of busy cities.

Source: BBC

People for Animals

Getting Extinct : On the edge : Orang-utans

Orang-utans

Orang-utans are the only great apes to live outside Africa. There are thought to be fewer than 30,000 orang-utans left in the wild. The majority are spread over the three or four subspecies in Borneo. A tiny proportion live in Sumatra. The Bornean orang-utan is listed as endangered by the IUCN.The Sumatran orang-utan is the more threatened of the two species, listed as critical rather than endangered by the IUCN. This means it is 'facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future.'These solitary apes require a huge amount of space to survive. The national parks that should be safe havens are reportedly being logged illegally.The forests where they live are also threatened by growing demand for palm oil, the world's best selling vegetable oil. Clearing land to grow palm plantations is lucrative. Palm oil is in numerous everyday items – one in ten items in a supermarket, including foods and cosmetics, may contain it.80% of orang-utan habitat has already been designated for timber concessions or is vulnerable to illegal logging or habitat conversion.In November 2002, researchers from Nature Conservancy discovered a new population of orang-utans in East Kalimantan, Borneo. The group numbers between 1,000 and 2,500 and the discovery has raised hopes that the species can be saved.

Source: BBC

People for Animals

The Rare Lemur

A Crowned Verreauxi Sifakas, a baby lemur born at the Paris Vincennes Zoo. Crowned Verreauxi Sifakas are lemurs originating from the North West of Madagascar, the only place where they can be found in the wild. They're partly leaf eaters, with noticeably high digestibility of insoluble fibre and relative slow transit times compared to other lemurs. Less than 20 animals of this rare sub-species are hold in captivity among European Zoos, all from Paris Zoo original colony or its breeding issues.

Source: Times Of India

Posted By: Nikhil Jain

People for Animals