Reindeer 
are rounded up, transported and slaughtered for their meat in Sweden and Finland

Dec 6, 2010

Recent WSPA video footage clearly shows the suffering inflicted on massive herds of reindeer as they are rounded up, transported and slaughtered for their meat in Sweden and Finland.

Visuals from the investigators’ report show in distressing detail the extreme suffering experienced by reindeer at every stage of the largely commercial process. 

You can write a letter to urge the Nordic Council of Ministers, an inter-parliamentary forum for cooperation in the Nordic countries, to uphold existing animal welfare laws in both countries and the Växjö Declaration of 2008.

This Declaration states the Council’s support for the belief that animals are sentient beings with their own intrinsic value and that they should be respected as such.

“These visuals may appear particularly disturbing at this festive time of the year, but it is a stark portrayal of what the reindeer suffer,” said Roger Petterson, Country Director for WSPA Sweden. “Reindeer husbandry is an exclusive right for the Sami population in Sweden, but the entry of commercial players has dramatically altered the way these gentle animals are treated today, and not for the better.”

Unacceptable cruelty
Despite legislation to the contrary, the footage obtained by WSPA shows how the reindeer are forced through a process that prohibits their natural behaviour in several ways. The reindeer, used to roaming free in the wilderness with no prior contact with human beings, panic visibly and attempt to flee as they are herded in massive groups of well over a hundred reindeer, by groups of men, some on snowmobiles.

The animals’ distress continues to increase as they are forced into corrals, have their ears mutilated and left to bleed, and in more than one instance visible on film, get mishandled as they desperately resist being loaded onto trucks for transport to slaughterhouses.

“Densely packed into loading trucks, the reindeers’ iconic antlers become potentially lethal as they get entangled, trap the reindeer’s head against the side of the truck or accidentally gore each other to death even before they arrive at the slaughterhouse,” said Petterson.

“We’ve captured visuals of two slaughter methods, a knife to the neck and a bolt gun to the forehead of animals that are kicking and struggling frantically to get away. Irrespective of which method they use, it is clear that operators are in violation of existing legislation in Sweden and Finland that states explicitly that no undue distress, pain or suffering shall be caused to animals at slaughterhouses. This cannot be allowed to continue.”

Whether you choose to watch the horrific cruelty or not, you can take action to help end the suffering. Write to the Nordic Council of Ministers and call on them to uphold the Växjö Declaration and both Sweden and Finlands’ Animal Welfare Acts.

Source

Cruelty at Christmas

please SIGN!

World Society for the Protection of Animals released undercover video that shows panicked reindeer needlessly tormented as they are herded and transported to slaughterhouses in Sweden and Finland in time for Christmas dinner.

WSPA released graphic video that showed the mistreatment gentle reindeer endure as they are rounded up by commercial slaughterhouses.

The organization condemns the abuse and says it goes directly against a 2008 Nordic Declaration, the 1998 Animal Welfare Act in Sweden and the 1996 Animal Welfare Act in Finland.

WSPA asks for your support in signing a letter to the Nordic Council of Ministers demanding they enforce the current laws.

“The film that we are showing is particularly shocking now that Christmas is upon us, but it clearly shows the cruel reality that reindeer are exposed to,” Roger Pettersson, secretary general of WSPA Sweden, said in a statement.

Traditionally reindeer have been raised in small herds in Sweden and Finland for their meat and hides. There was great care to minimize distress to the animals. 

But the process has dramatically changed over the past couple of decades as the reindeer industry expanded and became more commercial.

WSPA said, “Visuals from our investigation detail the reindeer’s extreme suffering at every stage of the commercial process.”

“It is clear that transport and slaughterhouse operators are in violation of existing legislation in Sweden and Finland, which explicitly state that no undue distress, pain or suffering be caused to animals.”

The gentle reindeer are dragged and shoved onto trucks.  They are herded so tightly that their antlers jab into nearby animals or get caught in the sides of the trucks causing undue pain.  And once at the slaughterhouses the reindeer are killed one by one with knives.

In 2008 the Nordic Council of Ministers adopted a declaration that ensures all reindeer be treated with respect and not subjected to unnecessary pain or suffering.

WSPA is calling for existing animal welfare laws in Sweden and Finland to be enforced, and ask for your help by adding your name to their letter to the Nordic Council of Ministers.  Click Here to Sign.

Please be compassionate!
Always and especially on Christmas!

You can find many delicious vegan and vegetarian Christmas recipes on the net. 
Here are already a few:

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-vegetarian-christmas-recipes.html

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/vegetarian/vegetarian-christmas/

http://www.veganfamily.co.uk/yule.html