11 September, 2011

Where did your puppy come from?


sunday pup
Debra Tranter and Oscar, who inspired her campaign to put an end to puppy farming. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied
 
IF youre not sure, theres a good chance it started life in a puppy factory where profit comes before welfare.
For six years, Oscar has lived as a stud dog. His entire universe has been a tiny, filthy cage. No walks in the park, no sunlight, he’s never even seen the sky. All he knows is being locked inside a giant shed with hundreds of other dogs on a remote property in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges. His life is an endless cycle of breeding and pain. Prized for his miniature size, Oscar’s pups, which he’s never seen, are marketed as ‘teacups’ and sold for a premium. Until one night a woman appears, opens his cage, gives him his first cuddle and takes him away.
Pet-shop puppies are the very definition of cute. But what if you knew the vast majority of them started life in a puppy factory, where conditions are so horrendous, it beggars belief?
Puppy factories and backyard breeders are commercial breeding facilities. They can house up to 1000 dogs, producing masses of puppies sold for around $1000 each over the internet, through classified ads and in pet shops.
For almost two decades, Debra Tranter has dedicated her life to exposing the mistreatment taking place in secluded sheds across the country. She sacrificed her $90K job, suffered burglaries and assaults, and even has an ‘If Mum gets arrested or goes to jail’ plan for her kids, now in their 20s. But early last year, Tranter and her campaign fell apart when Oscar, a dog she’d rescued, was returned to his puppy farmer.
“When we found Oscar, he was in a really bad way,” says Tranter. “His fur was so thick; it was like a concrete block attached to his body. His genitals were actually matted to his leg. He had an ear infection, which I could smell straightaway, and his ear canals were full of black sludge, fur and ear mites.”
Tranter rescued Oscar and took him directly to the vet. The vet said the dog’s teeth were so infected, he couldn’t eat, which explained his 2.2kg weight. Malnourished, Oscar’s skin was as delicate as tissue paper and the matted fur caused tearing when he moved. He had to be given a general anaesthetic so he could be shaved, which exposed a number of wounds and abscesses and left him a meagre 1.6kg. While under anaesthetic, Oscar was de-sexed in anticipation that he’d go on to a ‘forever home’ with a new owner.
That night, Tranter took Oscar to her home in Ferntree Gully, 40 minutes east of Melbourne, intending to find a foster carer for him the following day. Shortly after midnight, 10 police officers raided her house.
“The whole place lit up. They shone spotlights through the windows and officers banged on my door. When they said they had a search warrant, I knew they’d come for Oscar. I said, ‘Please don’t take him, he’s had surgery today.’ But they took him from my arms and put me in a divvy van. I was in
the lock-up for two hours and could hear Oscar crying somewhere in the station.”
Tranter was charged with theft and Oscar was returned to the puppy factory.
“After the raid, I was a mess,” she says. “It was probably the lowest point in my life. All these years, I’d been fighting for these dogs, and I felt I’d completely failed. I’d rescued Oscar from that shed and given him hope. Now he was back there. It was the worst thing that could have happened. I drove to the country, sat under a tree and cried.”
Oscar earned Tranter her first criminal conviction in 18 years spent rescuing dogs and documenting puppy factories, a journey that began with a phone call when she was  volunteering at an animal welfare agency.
“A voice said, ‘There’s a puppy factory with 1000 dogs near Ballarat. Look for a clearing in a pine plantation.’ Then they hung up,” she recalls. “Everyone kept saying, ‘Only chickens and pigs are factory-farmed, we don’t do that to dogs. It’s a hoax, forget it.’” But the voice haunted Tranter.
Armed with old fire brigade maps, she and a friend began scouring the region. Unsure of what they’d uncover, after three months, deep in a remote forest, they found it.
Tranter describes it as a cross between a pig farm and a concentration camp. An “industrial landscape” with rows of wire pens and hundreds of dogs pacing incessantly in never-ending figure eights. There were triangular metal kennels across the length of the compound, surrounded by a low fence. Left speechless by the scale of it, they waited for nightfall before going in to document their discovery.
“As soon as we entered the property, there was an eruption of sound, the dogs went nuts. At first it was excited barking, but after a while they calmed down and started howling,” Tranter recalls. “The smell was terrible. It was full of parvovirus [a contagious disease that causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea].” On later visits, she found many dogs also suffered from “a kind of flesh eating disease.
“When you look in the cages, it’s as though they’re screaming at you, not just with their bark, but with their eyes,” she says. “But it’s the ones who don’t bark – they’re the ones you know have been there for years. They don’t even move. Their spirits are broken.”
Tranter says the worst thing she’s seen is maternal cannibalism. “It’s when a mother gives birth to puppies and, as soon as they’re born, she starts eating them. She’ll chew off their limbs. The first time I saw it, I didn’t understand what was happening and I stood there and filmed it. When I saw it at home,
I was so ashamed and disgusted with myself that I destroyed the tape. I said to my friend, ‘Don’t ever tell anyone we filmed that and did nothing.’ But now, I know it’s so common, the industry has a term for it. On the documents that are leaked to me, I always read, ‘Mother killed puppies.’”
Serious health issues related to prolific births is another problem arising out of puppy farming, says Tranter. “I’ve seen dogs dragging ulcerated and weeping mammary tumours on the ground. A prolapsed uterus is when the mother, nearing the end of her breeding life, has had so many litters, the uterus comes out of her body.
“Unspeakable cruelty goes on in these sheds, and once you’ve seen it, you can’t un-see it.”
Tranter has since investigated around 70 puppy factories and backyard breeders in Victoria and NSW.
While mandatory legislation requires all dogs to have shelter and regular access to food, water, exercise and veterinary care, the problem is enforcement, which rests with local councils and state governments.
“Many puppy factories are in rural areas. Often, the council ranger and the puppy farmer are mates; they drink at the same pub, their kids go to the same school. Not one puppy factory I’ve been to operate in accordance with the legislation, but there’s no one out there enforcing it,” Tranter says, also acknowledging that her own activities are illegal. “The illegality of what I do pales into insignificance compared to what these dogs are going through. I believe the public has a right to know and the dogs need people to know. If someone calls me a criminal for jumping a fence with a camera, so be it.”
But after Oscar was taken away, Tranter questioned her resolve. “Sitting under that tree, I believed I’d failed. Then I thought, I wish there was some law I could use to get him back. If only I had Oscar’s Law. And that’s how I had the idea for the campaign.”
Tranter had been running Prisoners for Profit, an anti-puppy factory campaign that “bombarded people with horrific images”, which she now believes were too confronting.
“With Oscar’s Law, I feel I need to reach ordinary people with dogs, not necessarily dog people. I want it to be positive and empowering,” she says.
“Oscar’s Law aims to abolish puppy factory-farming and the selling of dogs in pet shops, but it’s not about showing negative images all the time and making it seem hopeless,” she explains. Tranter believes success will come from enabling consumers to make informed choices, so people know that
if they buy from a pet shop, their money will keep dogs in those sheds.
Oscar’s Law has received overwhelming support from the animal rescue community, as well as Kindness Trust (who fund its offices) and public figures including Derryn Hinch. The website has had half-a-million visits, but social media is where you see how the campaign is gaining traction, with endorsements from Sia, Jon Stevens, and The Scarlets.
A rally, held six weeks after the campaign launched, attracted 5000 protesters to the steps of Melbourne’s Parliament House. Tranter hoped for 50. “It was amazing. It made me realise people really care. It won’t be me that gets Oscar’s Law over the line, it will be everyone.”
And what of Oscar, the dog who inspired a movement? In July, Tranter visited the puppy factory again, this time in disguise.
“We responded to an ad in the Trading Post that said there were adult dogs for sale,” says Tranter. “I asked if we could look inside the sheds and the man said, ‘If you can stand the noise and smell, I’ll let you have a peek.’ I made a beeline for Oscar’s cage. He was at the very back, shaking and terrified.
“The man said, ‘That one was taken by some people and de-sexed; he’s no good. You can have him for $400.’ To think he sat in that rotten cage for 18 months and they thought he was no good.
“Now we have him back, it’s unbelievable,” Tranter says. “It’s a sign that you can never give up. This little dog doesn’t just belong to me, he belongs to everyone. He’s already inspired so many people. It’s wonderful that we have Oscar. Now we need Oscar’s Law.”

Join the rally for Oscar’s Law next Sunday, September 18, at Sydney’s Belmore Park, from midday. Visit www.oscarslaw.org.

Puppy Farming VS. Responsible Breeding
There’s a difference between responsible breeders and puppy factories
Legislation such as the Domestic Animals Act 1994 (Vic) rules that any person who runs a dog breeding business for profit must register with the local council. Enterprises must operate in accord with the state government’s Code of Practice, which outlines minimum standards of care.
 The RSPCA considers puppy farming to be a significant national welfare issue. In its view, a ‘puppy factory’ is defined as an intensive breeding facility operated under inadequate conditions that fail to meet the dogs’ behavioural, social and/or physiological needs. The organisation advocates regulation of the breeding, supply and sale of dogs to help set minimum standards and stamp out the mass-production of puppies for profit.
WANT TO BUY A PUPPY?
Choose one from a shelter or an adoption agency, or visit the breeder’s premises before you commit. For more information, see the Smart Puppy Buyer’s Guide on the RSPCA website (www.rspca.org.au).

06 February, 2011

CATTLE RESCUE PROJECT INDIA


“Cow slaughter is repugnant to the culture of this country. The provision of drinking warer to the people and putting an end to the killing of animals for food are two prime needs for the country to regain its pristine glory, VIOLENCE IN ANY FORM IS EVIL AND TO KILL INNOCENT ANIMALS IS NOTHING OTHER THAN BLATANT SAVAGERY. “
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

India’s “HOLY COW”
Originally, in India, milk was not the most important product from the cattle. Cows and bulls were used in fields and their dung and urine were used to make compost, medicine and other health products. Only the little extra milk left from the cow after feeding her calf was used by the family who owned the cow.
At present the cows/cattle are reduced to production units for milk and meat. Cow slaughter is more and more accepted and practiced in spite of it being illegal in India.
According to the Animal Laws in India, cows cannot be slaughtered.  The practice of slaughter is extremely cruel and a disaster for the community and its agriculture-based economy.
Our aim is to restore the partnership between humans and cows
Our long-term objective is to put an end to all slaughter of cattle and to improve the conditions of local farmers through sustainable agriculture/organic farming and the use of all cow by- products.(not milk)

The Andhra Pradesh prohibition of cow slaughter and Animal Preservation Act 1977
(11 of1977) An act to provide for the prohibition of slaughter of cows,, calves of cows and calves of she buffaloes and for preservation .........
....no person shall slaughter or cause to be slaughtered, or offer or cause to be offered for slaughter, or otherwise intentionally kill, or offer, or cause to be offered for killing any cow or calf, whether male or female, or a she-buffalo.

 

Our history in cattle rescue:

Since 2002, Karuna Society has rescued over 500 cattle from illegal transport to slaughterhouses.
Since 2003, more than 200 rescued working bulls have been given for adoption to the local farmers under strict legal conditions.
We stopped the illegal cattle market at Gorantla, where there was no responsible authority. The market had turned into a centre for all illegal cattle trade and cruelty. We had to pay for these actions by an attack on our lives.

The High Court has given permanent custody of 305 cattle rescued by Karuna Society. The remaining cases are under trial.

Cattle Markets

In our rural area there are three cattle markets where all laws regarding loading and treatment are flouted/neglected. Overloading of trucks with cattle for slaughter happens within the premises of cattle markets. The loading is extremely cruel. No action is taken by the police.
Action taken by our organization at the cattle markets is answered by threats to our lives.
There is a vicious circle of reproduction/breeding and slaughter in which the farmers and the animals are losers; the slaughterhouses and the “powers that be” are the winners.
The consequences of the above are the loss of indigenous cattle wealth, which are drought and disease resistant, very useful for agricultural work and the production of valuable uncontaminated manure for compost and many byproducts. Slaughter can be completely avoided.
It is our experience that the rescue of cattle from the markets does nothing to change the system. It is only struggling uphill with heavy setbacks as there is no political will to change the cruel practice. The following week the same market continues, and although individual animal lives are saved by the rescue, we have no funds to maintain these animals. Their upkeep is difficult in our area with annual drought. In summer we have to keep our cattle inside and feed them grass and feed mix till the rains

Adoption of Indian working bulls to Local Farmers:

We are concentrating on the Indian Zebu cattle under our care and we are planning to give young healthy bulls, castrated, to the local farmer for adoption under legal conditions and payment of a refundable security.
When the animal being returned after hopefully many years of service, the farmer will receive back his initial amount. The cows will stay at Karuna as we do not want to give cows with offspring for milking to the local people as they will resort to old malpractices.
In the course of time, there will be more and more Karuna bulls in the villages, less and less bulls can be sent to slaughter as they have to be returned to Karuna.
We will starve the local cattle market of animals instead of fighting the butchers. At the same time we will have influence on the local farmers and we can get them more involved in organic farming, proper composting, biogas production etc. and hopefully waste management. (see Kindness farm)
For all our animals we will provide medical care.

To initiate the change!

“KARUNA‘S  KINDNESS FARM”

Patron; Philip Wollen


“TO GROW KINDNESS”


The “HOLY COW” and “HOLY SHIT”

India is famous for the concept of the “Holy Cow”, “Karuna’s Holy Cow” is not a religious concept. For us the holy cow is that local, original animal, working alongside the farmer, producing food for people; rice, peanuts, pulses, and much more. This cow will not be milked, she feeds her calves. She will not go for slaughter. The bulls are working in the field and pull the bullock cart. All will live out their life with respect.



This picture is more and more disrupted by demand for more milk, animal husbandry programs, buffalo production for milk, meat and leather, under influence from abroad. Slaughter brings in money. Old farm practices are forgotten, Composting turns into garbage heaps. Original seeds are not anymore available. Pig genes are used for vegetable hybrid seeds. The destruction is endless.


This composting system will not provide any bacterial activity in the soil to free all the necessary nutrition for the crops. It will only cause chemical pollution

At present the dairy farms sell their waste to big agricultural lands and vermi compost producers. The same happens with the chicken waste. It is ploughed in the soil and that is the soil on which our vegan/vegetarian food is grown. The subtle energy of suffering, abuse and neglect will be absorbed by the plants in your food.

Hormones, antibiotics and chemicals will do the rest to destroy your health and without knowing we are part of a system we want to change.

Normally, certified organic produce is not necessarily cruelty/slaughter free, because nobody thinks about the source of the compost and urine used for natural fertilizer and pesticide. Manure and urine taken from local farmers or dairy farms is certainly not cruelty free nor slaughter free and most probably contaminated with hormones, antibiotics and adulterated feed residue.
Our organic produce is not just organic but it has the additional value of animal welfare and slaughter free products.
The  importance of the Indian “Holy Cow” becomes crystal clear in this context and also shows the meaning of ‘sathwic’ food, which provides physical, mental and spiritual  welbeing.

“HOLY SHIT”
To produce healthy food, good for people, animals and earth alike we need not only the existence of the holy cow but we also need their “Holy Shit!!” unpolluted by stress, cruelty and fear of death.

We ask for special attention, protection, support and appreciation of these animals,  their owners and the byproducts from the dung and urine for Ayurvedic medicine.
Our lives, mentally, physically and even morally, depend on the quality of the food which is produced with their support.
We would like to know if there are still farmers (not NGO's) who produce food with the holy animal and the holy shit. If they exist, we need to support them and value them separate from bio-industry.
Organic faming with compost and other byproducts from animals whose integrity is not destroyed; that is the need of the hour for our survival.

 

Organic farming and the love for Indian cattle

Thanks to a generous donation of Phillip Wollen we have been able to buy agricultural land next to the existing Cattle Rescue Project.
At present there is no electricity but we have fenced the area. We have harvested our first peanuts and dahl.
We hope to find the finances to have a solar and/or biogas electric connection for the first bore well and fencing, a platform and shed for harvesting. Then we will start irrigating 3 to 5 acres for growing green fodder for animal feed. The rest of the land will be used for dry crops along with plantation of fruit trees.
In the near future, the new Kindness Wildlife Sanctuary will also find its place here on app. 10 acres.


Rescued Cattle at Karuna’s Kindness farm

As we have become more aware of animal rights we need to specify the rights of our rescue cattle. We feel that from the time of domestication there has been an equally beneficial bond of generosity and friendship between humans and cows for the sake of survival, food production, medicine and mutual well being. This relationship has slowly deteriorated to misuse of power and their abuse/exploitation for profit.

The rights of cattle at Karuna’s “Kindness Farm”
  •         Protection
  •         Sufficient food
  •        Free movement
  •       Grazing
  •        Sunlight
  •        The cow will feed her own calf sufficiently
  •        Extra feed in case of milking
  •       Medical care
  •       Natural death.

Buffaloes at Karuna:

At Karuna, beside the local cattle, we have also rescued buffaloes. Buffaloes are not used in this area for agriculture but only for milk and meat. At present we have more than 50 young male buffaloes, born here. The males are not used for work so they have to stay with us for life.  Local farmers use their male buffaloes for animal sacrifice or simply slaughter them in the field or send them to the market.

We have decided not to continue with the milk from buffaloes as we have to look after the male calves for life and the animals are not useful for this area. We have castrated all male buffaloes in the herd.

Nevertheless, we will still accept rescued buffaloes in our project. At least we can save their lives.
  

In our organic garden

Leafy Vegetables:
  • Lettuce
  • Indian Palak
  • Andyvie
  • Chicory
  • Spinach
  • Rukula
  • Basil 
  • Spinach   
                                                            



Roots:
  • Onion
  • Beetroot
  • Garlic
  • Peanut
  • Carrots



 

Pumpkin family:

  • Squash
  • Indian pumpkin
  • Indian zukini
  • Bottle gourd
  • Cucumber 
  • Zukini


       
             Herbs:
  • Basil
  • Dill
  • Parsley
  • Chicory
  • Coriander leaves





Other family:

  • Tomatoes
  • Mangoes
  • Moong

Tea leaves:
  • Tulsi
  • Mint
  • Lemon grass etc.

03 January, 2011

The Indus Entrepreneur Summit - Delhi

Philip Wollen’s influential speech spell-binds


i

Quantcast



Philip Wollen
The TiE Summit was different on 22 December 2010, not in terms of the entrepreneurial success stories, but in terms of a speech from a philanthropist that pierced our conscience to the core. Hardly do I remember a speech of this kind in my entire lifetime. For me, it was an eye-opener at the Shri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. The speech did not eulogize any business idea, nor any money making trick. Instead, it was on environment, peace and vegetarianism. Maneka Gandhi introduced Philip Wollen to the hordes of entrepreneurs who had rejoined the hall after lunch. Initially everyone thought if it was Maneka Gandhi, it would be something impractical argument in favour of animals. But she began her address benignly showering ceaseless accolades on Wollen. Still everyone felt that she was doing a marcom job for someone who is less popular in India.
Philip Wollen, an Indian-origin Australian philanthropist and environment activist, climbed the stage and cast his spell on the business fraternity in minutes. The way he spoke on the atrocities being committed on the animals around the world for food was mind-blowing! There are millions of animals butchered mercilessly in horrendous ways, he said. Through his presentation, he flipped the audience through the slides manifesting merciless ways which people in different countries have adopted to make animals breathless for food.
He emphasized that “there might be different languages around the world to communicate, but the communication of pain is identical in every language. The painful screams do not need translation but a magnanimous heart.” What threw the audience into a spin was his prediction about the end of the world. He expressed his vehemence against the meat industry which is consuming nature with tonnes of toxic wastage released every year into the ocean. According to him, the meat industry is the biggest threat to the global ecosystem and is set to eat the future of posterity.
Wollen urged the men in power—entrepreneurs—to resort to vegetarian practices and at least make a policy not to serve meat in their organisations. He hailed India as the only country where number of vegetarians are far higher than in the world. But he sees the tradition diminishing and thus warns.
Everyone in the auditorium gave Philip a standing ovation, which was the testimony that his words didn’t bang against the walls but had gone to the hearts also.
I can only conclude the blog post in the words of Maneka Gandhi who once wrote of Philip “Philip Wollen is not a human being. He is from another planet. They simply do not make humans like him any more.”