Dr Jo Swabe

Also reports today in the Dutch news of seizures of wildlife products & whole taxidermied animals in the Netherlands as part of Operation Thunder. nos.nl/l/2594110

Tiger teeth, dried seahorses and shark fins are being sold illegally on Facebook, BBC finds Endangered species are being sold online with UK-based firms illegally supplying seahorses, a BBC investigation finds.

Tiger teeth, dried seahorses & shark fins being sold illegally on Facebook. www.bbc.com/news/article...

December infringements package: key decisions Overview by policy area\nIn its regular package of infringement decisions, the European Commission takes legal action against Member States that fail to comply with their obligations under EU law. The...

It's the time of the month for @ec.europa.eu's infringement package.

Amongst other violations of EU law, the Commission calls on Italy to monitor and prevent bycatch of cetaceans, sea turtles and seabirds in fishing activities.
ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

EUobserver Influential. Investigative. Independent. EUobserver is a online non-profit news outlet reporting on the European Union.

If it says 'vegetarian sausage' on the package, it probably is one, writes @jasmijndeboo.bsky.social. No-one is confused.

Apparently no agreement between the EP & Council has yet been reached at trilogue, so this absurd discussion will drag on into January.

euobserver.com//ared80f475?...

Once more unto the REACH - Europe’s winding road away from animal testing | Euractiv Europe’s approach to animal testing must be designed with enough flexibility to ensure scientific progress can be adopted swiftly, say animal welfare experts

@humaneworldeurope.bsky.social on #lethaldose testing. With the upcoming revision of REACH and the EC Roadmap, this moment represents a pivotal opportunity for humane, and science-driven reform. Thank you to @euractiv.com for helping bring visibility.
www.euractiv.com/news/once-mo...

Once more unto the REACH - Europe’s winding road away from animal testing
www.euractiv.com/news/once-mo...

Paul McCartney joins uproar over EU ‘veggie burger’ ban The proposed EU law would prohibit food producers from using labels such as “veggie burger” or “vegan sausage” for plant-based and lab-grown dishes.

Paul McCartney joins uproar over EU ‘veggie burger’ ban www.politico.eu/article/paul...

Animals, Disease and Human Society | Human-animal Relations and the Ri This book explores the history and nature of our dependency on other animals and the implications of this for human and animal health. Writing from an

Can’t believe that it was 28 years ago today that I publicly defended my Ph.D. thesis ‘The Burden of Beasts’ at the University of Amsterdam.

It was later published under a duller title. Still relevant, albeit a bit outdated, & still available as an e-book.

www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/1...

William McNeill wrote about it in 1976 in his seminal work ‘Plagues & Peoples’.

His work inspired my own doctoral work (a long time ago!) on the relationship between animals, disease & society, which also highlighted this link. 🤓

Historically there was a pattern in Europe. First ecological disasters like eruptions or floods occurred, followed by crop failures & then animal plagues leading to hardship, famine & lower resistance making populations vulnerable to bacterial diseases like the bubonic plague.

Excellent advice, which will certainly go down like a lead balloon with the protectionist animal agriculture industry.

Poland and New York Fashion Week ban fur, capping off a year of wins for animals against the fur trade As we were compiling the 2025 wins against the fur industry, two major announcements came out just this week. Poland banned fur farming, and New York Fashion Week went fur-free. These two announcement...

Poland and New York Fashion Week ban fur, capping off a year of wins for animals against the fur trade www.humaneworld.org/en/blog/pola...

🐤At this week’s @eu2025dk.bsky.social farm #AnimalWelfare event, Minister Jensen urged phasing out fast-growing broilers EU-wide.

💰Commissioner Várhelyi said a legislation update is due in late 2026 – but his focus was on the competitiveness of EU farming.

🎞️Watch it here → tinyurl.com/5asra2t4

🇵🇱 Poland, the world’s second-largest fur-farming producer becomes the 18th European Union country to end the cruel practice! The decision will save millions of animals from cruelty and suffering!
Read more: www.humaneworld.org/en/news/pola...

Poland’s president signs fur farming ban into law World’s second largest fur farming nation becomes 18th European Union country to end the cruel practice

Poland, the world’s second largest fur farming nation, becomes 18th EU Member State to end the cruel practice www.humaneworld.org/en/news/pola...

Current #EU legislation does not guarantee that animals kept on farms can express natural behaviours. The consultation on farm animal walfare is our chance to demand modern, science-based standards that respect animals’ needs.
Let’s push for meaningful change 👉🏻 www.humaneworld.org/europe/en/ca...

Confining octopuses to underwater factory farms would have disastrous consequences for marine ecosystems, animal welfare, & food security.

Our event “Time for the EU to Stop Octopus Farming” with @eurogroupforanimals.org will explore how to ban octopus farming.

Tune in today at 15:00 👇🔗

Now at @ciwf.eu event at @europarl.europa.eu on hideous & important issue of octopus farming, which is being hosted by @emma-fourreau.bsky.social & @anjahazekamp.bsky.social.

It is indeed a historic moment.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has today signed off on legislation that will end the suffering of millions of animals on fur farms.

This is huge because Poland is currently biggest fur producer in Europe!

OMG. Just got the news that the Polish President has signed off on the legislation to ban fur farming!!

More later....

Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting - Nature Ecology & Evolution A survey of 10,000 members of the public across European Union countries in which there are large carnivores finds strong support for carnivore recovery but simultaneous, and somewhat paradoxical, opp...

An insightful article from @clawsandlaws.bsky.social et al.
Europeans support large carnivore recovery while opposing both further population growth and hunting.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Slide on why a good auditing system must not be vague with Temple Grandin on screen. Danish Presidency conference on animal welfare.

Listening to online keynote address by Temple Grandin. She makes a pertinent point about how vague language should not be used in welfare guidelines.

This is a serious problem for the existing EU animal welfare legislation & its implementation. Terms used often far too open to interpretation.

🙏🏻

The EU must “raise the bar” for existing & future animal welfare rules, said MEP @emmawiesner.bsky.social, whilst calling for a response to the 1.4m citizens demanding to #EndtheCageAge & reward for the farmers already paving the way for a cage-free future. Falling short of that would be a failure.

Couldn’t agree with you more. We do indeed need to move away from animal production & transition to more plant-based diets.

So glad that @emmawiesner.bsky.social pushed back COPA-COPEGA’s claim that 90% of industry would be destroyed if pigs’ tails must be kept intact.

Sweden indeed proves that it is possible to eliminate tail-docking in pig industry.

Have your say: Why your voice matters for farmed animals in the EU Now's our chance to help animals raised for food

EU citizens: you still have 12 days to have your say on the modernisation of the EU’s animal welfare legislation.

Here @humaneworldeurope.bsky.social explains why participation in the @ec.europa.eu’s consultation is so important. www.humaneworld.org/europe/en/ca...

Cover of conference programme

Conference room

Spending day at conference on the “Welfare of Farm Animals in the EU of 2050 - A Pathway to the Future” organised by the Danish Presidency of the EU.

Weirdest moment in debate was AfD MEP Droese claiming he'd recently visited a fur farm in Leipzig area.

Fact: last active fur farm in Germany shut down in early 2019 after animal welfare legislation was passed a couple of years earlier to deliberately render the industry economically unviable.

At 15:00 CET, MEPs will debate fur farming and the placing of farmed fur products on the market.

The list of speakers is now also available. Some fill me with joy, others less so...

Follow live: www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/en/h...