China aims to phase out sale of live poultry at food markets

BEIJING, China — China on Friday vowed to gradually phase out the slaughter and sale of live poultry at food markets, in a move welcomed by animal rights activists amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement came as China stepped up inspections of wholesale food markets and outlawed the sale and consumption of wildlife, after a recent COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing was traced to a major agricultural wholesale market.

The virus is believed to have emerged at a market that sold live animals in the central city of Wuhan late last year.

"China will restrict the trading and slaughter of live poultry, encourage the mass slaughter of live poultry in places with certain conditions, and gradually close live poultry markets," said Chen Xu, an official at the State Administration of Market Regulation, at a press briefing.

Live poultry kept in cages is a common sight in agricultural wholesale food markets and "wet markets" -- smaller-scale fresh food markets -- across China.

The poultry is traditionally butchered on the spot by stallholders, or buyers can opt to slaughter the live animal at home.

Some Chinese people traditionally believe that this allows for maximum freshness. Live seafood, amphibians and other creatures are also commonly sold at wet markets.   

Scientists believe the pathogen originated in bats before jumping to humans through a yet-unknown animal intermediary.

Chen urged local governments across China to "strengthen supervision of food safety at agricultural wholesale markets" and "investigate hidden safety risks", taking the Beijing Xinfadi market virus hotspot as an example.

"It is understood that more than 70 percent of meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables enter the market through wholesale agricultural markets," he said.

There are more than 4,100 wholesale markets nationwide, a commerce ministry official told the briefing.

The announcement was welcomed by animal rights groups.

"We are happy to see that live-poultry markets are on their way out in China," said Jason Baker, senior vice president of PETA Asia.

"PETA hopes the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration continues to stretch their wings and ban all live-animal markets nationwide."

Agence France-Presse

Versace and Furla join designer labels ditching fur

MILAN (Reuters)—Italian fashion house Versace and handbag and accessories maker Furla said they would stop using real fur in their creations, joining a growing list of luxury labels turning their backs on the fur industry.

Fashion houses around the world are bowing to pressure and using alternatives to real fur amid pressure from animal rights groups and changing tastes of younger customers, who are increasingly aware of the environmental issues linked with the clothes they buy.

Donatella Versace, the artistic director and vice-president of Versace, said that she did not want to kill animals to make fashion and that it “it doesn’t feel right”, speaking in an interview with The Economist’s 1843 magazine on Wednesday.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) Senior Vice President Dan Mathews said in an emailed statement that it was “a major turning point in the campaign for compassionate fashion”, adding that he looked forward to seeing a “leather-free Versace next”.

The animal rights group recently campaigned at the Pyeongchang Winter games for an end to the fur trade.

Furla on Thursday committed to replacing all fur with faux-fur for both menswear and womenswear starting from its Cruise 2019 collection.

Italian fashion group Gucci, part of Paris-based luxury conglomerate Kering, said in October it would stop using fur in its designs from its spring and summer 2018 collection joining Armani, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and multi-brand online luxury retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter.

British designer Stella McCartney has long followed a so-called “vegetarian” philosophy, shunning not only fur, but also leather and feathers.

source: interaksyon.com

Playboy model dons lettuce leaves in new Easter-themed PETA ad

Just in time for Easter, Playboy and cover model Sheridyn Fisher is showing her love for rabbits—and "rabbit food"—by wearing only strategically placed lettuce leaves in a new ad for Makati-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia.

In the new ad, which encourages everyone to show compassion for bunnies and other animals by embracing vegetarian meals, the lettuce bikini–clad Fisher gives herself lettuce leaf "bunny ears" and grins above the words "Be a Bunny's Honey. Go Vegetarian."


"Easter is the perfect time to help bunnies—and pigs, chickens, cows, and other animals—simply by choosing not to eat them," says Fisher. "Vegetarian meals are healthy, humane, and helpful to the environment, so they're something everybunny can enjoy."

PETA says not only are vegetarians fitter and trimmer, on average, than meat-eaters are, they also have a lower risk of heart attacks, cancer, strokes, and obesity.

“Vegetarians also save cows, pigs, and other animals from immense suffering on factory farms, in abattoirs, and on the decks of fishing boats,” it adds. “And vegetarian diets are good for the environment, too: Researchers at the University of Chicago concluded that switching from a standard meat-based diet to one free of animal products is more effective in the fight against climate change than changing from an ordinary car to a hybrid.”

Known for making a splash on the covers and pages of magazines such as Playboy, FHM, Cleo, Girlfriend, and Cosmopolitan, Fisher is also the owner, designer, and face of her own internationally known line of swimsuits, Sheridyn Swim.

Fisher joins a long list of celebrities—including Pink, Geneva Cruz, Lea Michele, Isabel Roces, Yasmien Kurdi, Pamela Anderson, and Sir Paul McCartney—who have teamed up with PETA and its affiliates to help animals.

source: gmanetwork.com