GALGOS ETHICS EUROPE PETITION

"Humanity is not a state to suffer, it is a dignity to conquer." Vercors

The plight of Galgos does not make us forget other animals. It is the contrary. We have just sent a citizen's petition on the European Union web site for the attention of the European Parliament Petition Commission

THE RIGHT OF ALL EUROPEAN CITIZENS TO HAVE THE EUROPEAN LAW FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION APPLIED, RESPECTED AND ENFORCED AT THE EUROPEAN LEVEL AND IN ALL MEMBER STATES.

PETITION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT launched on the website of the European Union for the attention of the Petition Commission of the European Parliament. April 13th,2010, at 9 h. 30.

In the same time, this petition was launched on LAPETITION.BE

This petition is asking for the respect of the rights of European Citizens sensitive to the plight of animals :

• - in the short term : the creation of A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE FATE OF ANIMALS IN EUROPE and subsequent traumatisms of european citizens, and the implementation of the european law of animal welfare ;

• - in the medium term : the creation of A EUROPEAN OBSERVATORY FOR ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PROTECTION ;

• - in the long term : the creation of AUTONOMOUS STRUCTURES SPECIFIC TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PROTECTION AT BOTH EUROPEAN AND MEMBER STATE LEVELS.

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3 STEPS FOR THIS PETITION

It was signed by about 60 organizations. It now has to be validated by the Petition Commission. If it is, then it will be submitted to Euro Deputees.

2. Petition launched on http://6683.lapetition.be Do not forge to sign it and largely diffuse it.

The list of organizations having signed it will be sent at the beginning of each month and added to the original list and sent to the Petition Commission.

We hope that numerous citizens will sign this petition if they feel traumatized or chocked by the kind of tortures many animals live.

3. In a third time, this petition will be sent to all Mempers of Euro Parliament with a letter asking for the creation of a written declaration.

You can also take an active part in this petition by sending it to your Euro Deputee. You will find MEP's addresses by country on :

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public/geoSearch.do?language=FR

The following pages present a summary and the integral text as deposited on the web site of the European Union to the attention of the Euro Parliament Petition Commission.

1. PETITION SUMMARY

We can not by our silence be complicit in violence against helpless beings, ignore the non implementation of laws protecting them and at the same time pretend to serenely embody a mature sense of Humanity.

European citizens concerned about animals ask that the European animal welfare law be enacted and / or applied. They are shocked, disgusted and traumatized by the impunity enjoyed by torturers. They see their actions too often ignored in court. They believe that the protection of citizens and children begins by teaching them respect for Life.

• This petition asks that the rights of European citizens sensitive to the plight of animals be respected with :

  

• ● in the short term : the creation of A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE FATE OF ANIMALS IN EUROPE AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN LAW OF ANIMAL WELFARE ;

• ● in the medium term : the creation of A EUROPEAN OBSERVATORY FOR ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PROTECTION ;

• ● in the long term : the creation of AUTONOMOUS STRUCTURES SPECIFIC TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PROTECTION AT BOTH EUROPEAN AND MEMBER STATE LEVELS.

On behalf of the alliance formed by federations and associations having signed the GALGOS ETHICS EUROPE CHARTER and PETITION, involving dozens of European organizations bringing together people of various nationalities, we call for the implementation of the right of EU citizens to see the European Laws updated, strengthened and strongly enforced.

2. INTRODUCTION


NEW REGULATIONS FOR ANIMALS TO RESPECT CITIZENS

By Gérard CHAROLLOIS, President of ECOLOGIE RADICALE

"What comparative anatomy and physiology previously revealed is now amply proved by genetics : the profound Unity of Life. Biologically, man is part of the evolution of species and obeys the laws that govern the animal kingdom.

Therefore, it becomes obvious that an Animal is not a thing, nor a machine nor a commodity but a sentient being with a nervous system experiencing the pleasure/displeasure principle.

This evidently involves in the ethical order the imperative to respect sentient beings, not on behalf of the sensitivity of humans who could be upset by the spectacle of cruelty to an animal, but for the animal as a being.

However, if the laws in Europe and the State Members' constitutions recognize the sensitivity of animals and as a consequence draw up protection, lobbies have too many exceptions that result in a denial of the basically virtuous principle.

Thus, for all member countries of the Union, positive laws assert that the animal is a sentient being to be saved from cruelty and violence, except with respect to livestock concentrations, so-called slaughter rituals, experimentation, hunting, past times and bullfighting or entertainment involving cruelty and death of animals.

The dog and the horse, man's best friends, are in theory protected by law, but the fox, so close to the dog, can be hunted and killed mercilessly and "local identities" are a web of lies perpetuating endless abuse on tortured animals.

Lobbies are avoiding any ethical debate, they prefer to use invective against people who fight conformity and narrow interests and thus expand the field of consciousness and the circle of empathy.

These lobbies do against animals what others in the past did to keep all sorts of racism and exclusion away from law and protection.

It is time to think of a new status for animals in the light of scientific facts and achievements of contemporary ethics.

Animals should no longer be classed as objects but be elevated to the rank of sentient beings without arbitrary distinction between pets, livestock or wildlife. "
Gerard CHAROLLOIS
President CONVENTION VIE NATURE – ECOLOGIE RADICALE

3. CITIZENS' EUROPE REMAINS TENTATIVE

The MEP Alain Lamassoure, in a report dated June 27, 2008, said that A Citizens' Europe is "stuttering" compared to progress made particularly in terms of economic integration. He said the delay in A Citizens' Europe stems from three problems:

"In France, the Prime Minister said, a year ago, in the Cabinet that 20% of laws passed in 2007 had not been applied. One law in five was not followed up because the government and the administration did not see fit to develop the legislation. In Europe, we follow very closely in the European Commission and European Parliament the rate of enactment into national law of directives adopted in Brussels and Strasbourg. When one looks closely, one realizes that the quality of enactment is mediocre : for every twenty European laws, the implementation delay exceeds two years. All European countries are in breach in this area. On average, 49 sanctions are underway in each country. I have proposed that the Parliament sets up a special committee to monitor the implementation of European law in member states. This commission will have to go and investigate in the 27 countries, to see how the same law, the same EU directive is implemented. "

Alain Lamassoure

http://www.vie-publique.fr/actualite/alaune/europe-61-propositions-pour-europe-du-citoyen.html

http://www.vie-publique.fr/actualite/alaune/europe-61-propositions-pour-europe-du-citoyen.html

EUROPEAN CITIZENS SENSITIVE TO THE PLIGHT OF ANIMALS

We urge the European Parliament to create a EUROPEAN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY into :

A. the real situation of animals in Europe in all areas of human activity ;

B. the damage suffered by European citizens facing animal torture ;

C. compliance by member states with the European Law of Animal Welfare ;

7. GALGOS, SYMBOL OF ANIMAL ABUSE IN EUROPE

The weight of tradition and the habit of torture

Galgos have become for many Europeans the symbol of animal torture with complete impunity and of serious breaches by a country of animal protection laws.

According to most spanish galgo protection associations, between 50,000 and 60,000 galgos live and die without any control, are killed and tortured horrifically each year. The system of Spanish Autonomous Communities perpetuates impunity.

Moreover, the number of executed galgos is increasing from year to year as the nature of the torture they suffer is worsening.

Thousands of Europeans visit galgo protection blogs where they express their disgust at and incomprehension of this situation which reaches a higher level of cruelty every year at the end of the hunting season (? demander à LN le mois précis) These people suffer real psychological trauma.

To get a precise idea of daily life in Spain for Galgos, visit Galgos Ethics Europe's founder and treasurer Marie-Hélène VERDIER's blog :

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-29494496.html

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-29494496.html

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-31674414.html

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-31674414.html
http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-32537395.html

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-32537395.html
http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-32178709.html

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-32178709.html
http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-31464186.html

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-31464186.html
http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-29232057.html

http://agir-pour-les-galgos.over-blog.com/article-29232057.html

Associations and the media speak of TRAFFICKING and a MAFIA.

The Spanish NGOS proclaim loudly that the system of autonomous communities promotes silence and complicity. A recent article described the underground world of hunting in Spain and its involvment at high political and economic levels :

VERIFIER L URL http://www.expansion.com/2009/04/21/empresas/1240350215.html

Regularly, petitions are launched to request the status of domestic animals for spanish greyhounds (galgos and podencos).

The most recently launched (Barbara LELIEVRE (Le Bulletin des Lévriers, France) collected 20,142 signatures from Europeans horrified by this suffering repeated year after year : http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/il-faut-sauver-les-galgos

Like the others, this petition will not have any effect, except in the hearts of Europeans shocked and traumatized by such atrocities.

The Internet, a forum for the expression of moral and psychological harm suffered by people sensitive to the plight of living beings is also an aggravating factor inciting violence by the proliferation of sites and videos that glorify animal cruelty.

The most degrading activity of Humanity is available to children :

http://www. videos 2 zoophilie .com http://www. zoofilia videos 2. com

One just has to type in the search bar "bestiality videos" to see how ethics and respect are violated and how abuse of animals is degrading for Humanity.

The French Prime Minister has just received a report on the Internet's role in inciting racial hatred. This report calls for stronger laws to punish offenders on the Internet and to increase the accountability of hosts.

We ask for a survey on the role played by the Internet in the increase of violence against animals, the adaptation of european animal protection laws to cover the Internet and to increase accountability of hosts.

Even within the European Texts on animal welfare, the positive and educational role of the internet should be strengthened through information campaigns focusing on the need for ethics and compliance.

Just as police squads hunt down sites, blogs and forums that promote pedophilia, internet places where animals are tortured and raped must be hunted down and eradicated for the sake of the European citizens.

9. PROTECTION OF CITIZENS AND CHILDREN, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MORAL DAMAGE

Given the prevailing impunity, children and adolescents are becoming more and more often the perpetrators of this violence.

An FBI report showed that the most dangerous criminals practised as children on defenseless animals:

http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2001/aug01leb.pdf http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2001/aug01leb.pdf

FRANCE, CHILDREN AND BULLFIGHTING

This danger for children makes the situation even more unacceptable.

Even worse, sometimes adults themselves encourage them to become the perpetrators of such violence with the complicity of the authorities.

In bull fighting schools, children are trained to torture and kill calves and young bulls with knives.

http://www. tv7provence .com/magazine/.../la-torture-ca-sapprend-2 http://www. tv7provence .com/magazine/.../la-torture-ca-sapprend-2

(report on the initiative of the FLAC)

"The message delivered by bullfighting, beyond supporting speeches by followers, is that of an authorization to act on their sadistic impulses. It goes against the civilizing process, such as for example the analysis in Freud's "Civilization and Its Discontentment."

Jean Paul Richier, Doctor of Psychiatry, author of the motion to ban children under 16 years from bullfights.

Presentation of the motion against the admission into arenas of those under 16 years of age, rejected at the Animals and Society conference organized in 2008 by Mr. Michel Barnier, Minister for Agriculture.

Reproduction of the motion, courtesy of Dr. RICHIER
http://unanimus.over-blog.com/article-29643822.html

PERMISSIVENESS OF ANIMAL ABUSE AND CHILD PROTECTION

The permissiveness of animal abuse and the non-respect of animal protection laws are aggravating factors in violence among children and adolescents.

We recall here that France had in 2008 refused to ban the entry of those under 16 to bullfights while Spain has finally taken the plunge. And this concerns also children from all over Europe.

Spanish Catalonia has since 1999 forbidden access to bullfights to those under 14 years of age.

MOTION FROM A COLLECTIVE OF PSYCHIATRISTS, PSYCHOLOGISTS AND PSYCHOTHERAPISTS calling for a ban on bullfighting for children under 16 years

http://www.flac-anticorrida.org/RICHIER.pdf http://www.flac-anticorrida.org/RICHIER.pdf

ANIMAL AND SOCIETY conference organized by M. Michel Barnier in 2008.

Proposed actions by Robert Clavijo, President of COLBAC, NGO member of FLAC.

Violation of laws in France.

http://www.colbac.fr/abolition_corrida_html/abolition_corrida_actualites.html

Children under 16 from all european countries continue to attend the bloody "show" of bullfighting despite the fact that numerous reports of violent trauma have been collected and presented in Dr. Jean Paul Richier 's motion.

http://www.cva21.org/proces-Geneve-23-06-08/accusation-CRAC-France.pdf