Luxembourg FOR foxes Press Release (In German)

http://www.wildtierschutz-deutschland.de/2015/04/11000-unterstutzer-fur-das-ende-der.html

Fashion for Animals

 

So, it's been a while since I posted.....Apologies! Petition 478 and Luxembourg for Foxes have kept me super busy over the last few weeks! Unfortunately Petition 478 did not receive enough signatures to be heard in the Chamber of Deputies.....However, I am still on my 'Mission' to inform people about the benefits of plant based diets, so rest assured...I'LL BE BACK!!!!! 

Luxembourg for Foxes is still ongoing. The hunters already have more than 4,500 signatures so will get time to speak in Parliament. We are just waiting for a date to be confirmed. In the meantime, you can still sign the Petition to 'Keep the Ban' and I also am selling Car stickers to spread the word!

But back to my original post,"Fashion For Animals." The lovely guys at Blogger.lu (specifically Carmen and Anouk) have organised a 'Closet Sale' on Saturday 2nd May from 2pm at Hitch.

The idea is that you can browse through the closets of various Bloggers, many of them Fashionistas, and purchase some of their clothes/accessories!

Like many Vegans, I have a lot of clothes/shoes etc. which I purchased before I transitioned to a 'complete' vegan lifestyle. So there are leather shoes, wool jumpers etc. just sitting around in my closet never to be worn again - well not by me anyway.

I thought that the Blogger.lu Closet sale would be a Great opportunity for me to have a long needed 'Clear Out' and raise some money for my favourite friends; the animals! 

As some of the items were quite expensive, my husband wasn't terribly keen on me giving them away for free, so to speak.....So we came to an agreement that 1/2 the money (and between you and me, probably more...) I will donate to PETA.

So, if you are in the market for a Leather jacket or a pair of AMAZING Harajuku Lovers boots (picture below) you can support me and still give something back to the Animals! How is that for Karma on a Saturday afternoon!?

The Sale starts at 2pm on 2nd May at 'Hitch'....I will also be selling some ' VEGAN' items too.

So why not come along and bring your friends! You are sure to find some better 'Bargins'; than in the High Street:)

A Letter from Mr Fox

Dear Hunters and Supporters thereof,

It appears that a recent government ban to stop hunting me, has caused quite the commotion in the press and with both pro-hunting and anti- hunting groups alike.

I have watched the arguments  play out from a far, but, as I now understand a Petition has been launched against the governmental hunting ban , I feel it is an opportune moment to formalise my own view point.

As The Secretary of State for Sustainability Ministry, Camille Gira, pointed out, there has been a 57% decline in Luxembourg's' fox population over the last 15 years. To be precise, our numbers have decreased from 5,802  to 2,504. 

As Hunters, you have stated that fox populations will increase exponentially when the ban is imposed. I therefore wanted to bring to your attention the findings of the Independent Mammal Society in the U.K from 2001- 2002. As you may recall, during this period there was a Foot and Mouth outbreak in the U.K and fox hunting was banned. The Mammal Society ( an Independent Scientific Society with no corporate policy on hunting) concluded that the fox population decreased during this period despite the hunting ban.

At the time, Stephen Harris - Mammal Society Chairman was quoted to say, " (This) is the first scientific study on the impact of hunting on fox numbers, and it shows clearly that hunting plays no role in regulating fox numbers."

Indeed, as us Foxes are territorial creatures, hunting us is often counterproductive and pointless. If a fellow fox is killed, another fox  will occupy the vacant territory within 3-4 days.

 

This brings me, quite conveniently, to another 'concern' hunters have mentioned, the potential spread of disease when the ban is introduced. Once again, to quote Minister Gira, "Rabies was eradicated from the Grand Duchy more  than 10 years ago." 

Echinococcus Multilocularis  or Fox Tapeworm, as it is more commonly referred to, is also extremely rare. According to Fuchsratgeber.ch; "Scarcely 10 new cases are recorded in Europe each year per million persons." Another study conducted by Professor Dr Peter Kern of Ulm University Hospital stated that between 2001 - 2005 between 6-17 people were reported with Fox Tapeworm in Germany.  Culling is a very ineffective and counterproductive way of managing this disease. As mentioned previously, foxes are territorial and  groups will move when an area  is hunted,  facilitating the spread of any disease.

The last group who need to hunt me and my kinfolk are Farmers with livestock concerns. I cannot dispute that we foxes do take lambs. However estimates of annual lamb loss in the United Kingdom due to predators are around 5% per annum. Whilst 95% of lamb losses are due to farm husbandry practises.

Indeed establishing whether a fox was responsible for killing a lamb is extremely difficult as foxes are often blamed for killing a lamb when we have merely found  it dead or dying already.

Foxes belong to the dog family (canidae) and like dogs we use similar facial expressions and body postures. We are not vermin or 'Killers', we are gentile creatures who help control rabbit and rat populations. On average we save British crop farmers £7 Million per year.

So, before you sign the petition to 'Stop' the Fox Hunting ban, please consider  these points and spare some empathy for our species. We are all sentient beings who want to be happy. Foxes are not a commodity used for Meat or Fur, killing us is merely conducted in the name of  ,so called, 'sport.'

Please keep the ban and support Foxes in Luxembourg!

Yours sincerely,

Fantastic Mr Fox

N.B - I appreciate that many of these Statistics come from the United Kingdom. However they have statistics available due to the current fox hunting ban.

Petition 478 and the benefits of a Plant Based Diet

Many of you will have seen recent articles and information on Public Petition 478 in Luxembourg!

Indeed, I have been extremely active in promoting the petition both off and online.

When I started the Petition 478 Facebook page, I was abundantly aware that it would attract what we refer to as 'Trolls.' Individuals who only have negative comments to make and, from those comments I have read, seem to be ill informed of what the Petition is requesting and why!

So here is a "shortish" summary regarding Petition 478 and why many of us believe it is important.

Petition 478 is asking the Chambre des Deputes to PROMOTE Vegetarian and Vegan diets. We are not suggesting that there is a mandate OBLIGATING people to eat Vegetarian/Vegan, indeed we are lucky enough to  live in a Democracy where people are free to choose what they do and don't eat.

However Plant based diets have proven to have multiple benefits for our health, the environment, animal rights and world hunger. Important issues for society today and topics that those in power should draw attention to, particularly as it can save governments and tax payers millions of Euros per year - but I will get to that in a minute!

If you are a meat eater, Petition 478 will not effect your daily choices in anyway. It's goal is to inform and educate, not create a nation of Vegans (although I personally would LOVE that.)

As I mentioned, there are many benefits of a plant based diet, here are just a few:-

1) According to the Harvard School of Public Health, a diet rich in vegetables can:-

• Lower Blood Pressure
• Reduce Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke
• Prevent certain types of Cancer
• Lower the risk of Digestive problems
• Prevent and even reverse Type II Diabetes
• Reduce Blood sugar levels 
• Aid weight loss - Vegetarians (in general) tend to consumer fewer calories.

You can learn more about the health benefits by reading, "The China Study" or Watching, "Forks over knives." 

2) I think most of us are in agreement that our planet is ill and that Global Warming is a Major threat to it's future existence. However, did you know that the animal agricultural industry contributes 50% more greenhouse gases than planes,trains, cars, lorries and ships combined?

In fact, an article in the Scientific American revealed that the amount of beef the average American eats per annum, creates as much Greenhouse gas as driving a car 1,800 miles. That's just one average American, so multiply that figure by 320 million! You can do the maths.

The Smithsonian institute reported that every minute the equivalent of 7 football fields is bulldozed to create more room for farm animals and the grain that feeds them. More often than not, that land is in areas of preservation e.g Amazon rain forest where species are endangered or under threat. The Amazon and other forests are the 'Lungs' of our planet, we are dependent on them for our future existence - Why would we Sabotage them? It makes absolutely no sense!?

3) According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) more than 1 billion people on Earth are living in poverty. Increased Poverty leads to an increase in Malnutrition. At the World Food Summit, Dr Kay Killingsworth explained that the problem was NOT insufficient food production but INEQUITABLE distribution.

More than 1/3rd of all grain production in the world is being fed to livestock and this figure is increasing due to the growth of factory farming. That grain, and the livestock it is being fed to, require billions of litres of water per day.

If we reduced our consumption of meat, it is conceivable that there would be enough food and water to feed the ENTIRE world's population NOT only the developed countries!

4) The last reason I want to give for Promoting plant based diets, and the most controversial one,  is closest to my heart and the reason I am a Vegan today - Compassion for all living beings!

As Paul McCartney famously said,

"If Slaughterhouses had glass walls, we would all be vegetarian." 

 You can watch the film linked to that quote here, but I warn you, it's not for the faint hearted.

2 Billion animals are tortured and killed each week so that consumers may eat their flesh. These animals feel pain and fear, just as we do, and most are kept in the cruelest and most unsanitary of conditions.

It would be hypocritical of me to save, "I love animals," and then eat one. So I, personally, choose to have the same compassion to farmed animals as I would my dog, cat or any other companion animal.

For more information on this topic, I would suggest to visit PETA or Mercy for Animals. If you are really brave, try watching 'Earthlings' and then sitting down to a steak dinner......


I hope that this blog has provided you with some' Food for Thought' (pun intended) and that you have a better understanding of Petition 478.

Please take the time to read the Petition and , if you are so inclined, sign the online form.

Your single action will make a world of difference and I'll leave you with one very famous Vegan's thoughts on that point!

Alix

Event on 7th March 2015 outside LUSH

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Petition for Vegetarian and Vegan Options in Luxembourg!

Before I went 'Vegan,' I never had a huge problem when eating out at restaurants with my family. Sure there were some places we just couldn't go to because there were NO VEGETARIAN options on the menu, but in general I could usually find something (smothered in cheese.)

Then I became a Vegan and the list got way shorter, like less than 5 places shorter (This was 5 years ago.) Every time my family would invite my husband and I out for a meal I felt really guilty.....because I knew it was going to be difficult for me to find something to eat and would also limit their choices massively. It wasn't a pretty picture, so I started 'declining' their invitations, just so I didn't put them in an awkward position.

Then 'ONE DAY' I suddenly said to myself.....,

"What the hell! Why should I be deprived of spending time with my family because I choose not to harm animals!????"

So the 'Worm turned' and I started to be a right, royal pain in the arse when eating out!

Now don't get me wrong, there are some places in Luxembourg that are happy to cater for us Herbivores and carnivores alike - Indies is one - Bless you Indies! But if you want to try one of the 10 Michelin star restaurants and you are Vegan.....Forget it!

So when I learnt about petition 478 to offer vegetarian and vegan options in ALL Luxembourg restaurants, I was Ecstatic!

Camille Muller is the brains behind the petition and you can read all about it on the Vegan Society Website.

It's really quite simple, we are asking for restaurants in Luxembourg to offer at least One (JUST ONE) option for us non-meat eating folk! It's not a massive request and, as I see it, in no way a 'hassle' for restaurant owners who already have vegetables, beans, legumes and grains somewhere on the menus!!

More importantly scientific study after scientific study has manifested the benefits of eating a plant based diet as it:-

1. Significantly reduces your likelihood to contract 'some' cancers, heart disease, Diabetes etc
2. Benefits the planet
3. Is the most compassionate diet, saving millions of animals each year.
4. Could help to end world hunger!

If these were not reasons enough.....It is also YUMMY and can help you lose and maintain a healthy weight! 
N.B - You might want to skip the Vegan donuts below!

 So, How can you help!?

The Petition requires 4,500 signatures to be heard by the Chamber of Deputes. So far we have around 10% of that figure and the petition closes on 27th March 2015.

Please, please, please take a couple of minutes to sign the petition (you can do it anonymously if you wish.) You will then receive an email from the Chamber of Deputes asking you to confirm your signature, PLEASE ACCEPT this!

Spread the word to your friends, family, co-workers etc. asking them to sign the petition! Share on your FB Status or Twitter feed!

There is SO much you can do, just from the comfort of your own home, so please take a minute to help out.....Your body, the planet and the animals will Thank you!

Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.  - Albert Einstein