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155- Crufts love animals: See how they treat wheelchair users...
97 Plays11 days ago
This was the week that two PETA protestors received the beating of all beatings whilst protesting the selective breeding that is synonymous with Crifts Dog Show; one was repeatedly punched by security services; the other was thrown out of his wheelchair. Just the positive PR that dog breeding needed, right?!
As well as this story, Elena, Mark & Ant look at eight other news articles from the vegan & animal rights space from the last week or so.
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Enough of the Falafel is a community of people who love keeping on top of the latest news in the world of veganism & animal rights. With the Vegan Week podcast, we aim to keep listeners (& ourselves) informed & up-to-date with the latest developments that affect vegans & non-human animals; giving insight, whilst staying balanced; remaining true to our vegan ethics, whilst constantly seeking to grow & develop.
Each week we look through news stories from the past 7 days in the world of veganism & animal rights.
If you spot any news stories that might catch our fancy, or have an idea for a discussion topic, get in touch via enoughofthefalafel@gmail.com.
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This week's stories:
https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/crufts-2025/
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/profepa-shuts-down-dolphin-show-hotel-barcelo-riviera-maya/
https://www.theanimalreader.com/2025/03/09/us-butterfly-population-dropped-at-an-alarming-rate/
https://politicalemails.org/messages/1742171
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2d4j15redwo
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2025/03/12/2003833290
https://inews.co.uk/news/world/spain-bullfighting-film-director-debate-3572577
https://theecologist.org/2025/mar/11/animal-rights-activist
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-reset-could-force-uk-lower-standards-animal-rights-3573162
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Thanks everyone for listening; give us a rating and drop us a message to say "hi"; it'll make our day!
Elena, Mark & Ant
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Transcript
Introduction and Veganism Stereotypes
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to your one-stop shop for this week's vegan and animal rights news. I'm Anthony, joining me for this episode are Elena and Mark, but that is enough of the falafel, it is time for Vegan Week!
00:00:16
Speaker
So I think vegans go looking for trouble even when they're not looking for trouble. That's not what butter's used for! Brrr! Take your flat grown meat elsewhere. We're not doing that in the state of Florida.
00:00:28
Speaker
What about your protein and what about your iron levels? Should I call the media and say, hi, sorry. they They're arguing like, oh, poor woe is me. Hang on a minute. You always pick.
00:00:43
Speaker
of social injustice has connection with another. That's just what people think vegans eat anyway. As long as you donna get the wee brunions with the horns you'll be alright. Does veganism give him superpowers?
00:00:58
Speaker
No, I cannot fly around the city. I don't have laser vision.
Global Perspectives and Ethical Animal Treatment
00:01:02
Speaker
Hello everyone, this is Elena. Welcome or welcome again to this episode of Vegan Week and thank you for being here with us.
00:01:10
Speaker
Hi everyone, you're listening to Mark here all the way from New Zealand. ah For any new listeners here, this is Vegan News where we will be discussing the week's vegan related and animal rights news.
00:01:23
Speaker
That's enough of the falafel, let's hear what's been going on in the news this week.
00:01:30
Speaker
For more details on the upcoming news stories including links to our original source material, check out our show notes for this episode available on your podcast player.
00:01:44
Speaker
oh Okay, let's kick things off. And despite our international array of contributors this week, our first story is coming from the United Kingdom. And oh goodness, how shameful to be British reporting on this one.
00:01:58
Speaker
A lot of listeners may have seen this. It's been shared quite widely. and This was a video from Crufts, which is dubbed as the world's largest pedigree dog show hosted in England. was last weekend,
00:02:12
Speaker
and two PETA supporters were peacefully protesting, just holding up banners. I mean, we should say peacefully. I think they were making their voices heard possibly as well. But if you see the video of it, one of the protesters is a wheelchair user. They were tipped out of their wheelchair by security staff. The other was repeatedly punched before being dragged off. It sounds hyperbolic, but if you watch the video, is absolutely genuinely horrible.
00:02:40
Speaker
what happens. Really, really awful stuff. They've been interviewed since. They've been reaffirming their stance and saying why they were why they were drawing attention to the some of the horrible things that going on at k Crufts. But Elena, you've you've had a look at this story. Really horrible stuff going on there.
00:02:57
Speaker
like to To the humans, let alone to the dogs. Yeah, terrible. i mean As you said, like not only for the dogs, just also for the humans that they were just protesting. The thing is,
00:03:08
Speaker
let's say it's straight. What do we expect from this kind of event? You know, like they are treating dogs like, like things because in the end they are like breathing them are just putting them value on them as long as they reach the self-made beauty d standards.
00:03:24
Speaker
and Yeah, terrible. So of course they are not going to respect any person or anyone who's against that terrible event. what What I like about the, the,
00:03:35
Speaker
This news is that the the man at the wheelchair, he took something really negative from his life, which is having a disability, and he made it into something possible positive as it used to relate to those animals. He himself, he he also said like,
00:03:52
Speaker
I cannot stand this kind of event that they are like in engaging with breeding animals with disabilities, like, you know, those books and all corgis that they end up having a lot of health issues because of this beauty standard. So terrible new, but I appreciate from that.
00:04:12
Speaker
from that man hits his kindness that he took something bad from his life and turned it into into something positive. So I like to take that positive thing, but all the rest of all the about day, it was awful. I mean, yeah just that. I mean, we certainly wouldn't wish anybody to be you know physically abused in the way that these two protesters were, the fact that it was so heavy-handed, you could almost argue, might win.
00:04:37
Speaker
People who were sort of sat on the fence and a bit neutral about it, they might be thinking, my goodness, that's horrific. horrific They might almost be more sympathetic to them the cause. But like like you say, I think that that one guy, that um let's see what his name is, Robert Groves, um I saw him featured on Peter's social media and he's he's raised a huge amount of money huge amount of money for the charity like incredible amounts yeah like 150 000 pounds for the for that i think it was incredible yeah yeah great like by one person but yeah really important to draw attention um i mean in a way this barbaric treatment of the humans is probably going to be drawing more attention to the horrible stuff that is done not necessarily by crufts but by people who would support crufts in that that selective breeding and the impact it has on dogs so it's
00:05:27
Speaker
hopefully drawing more attention to that. We can hope. We can hope. Thank you for that one, Elena. Let's let's move on to our next story.
Shifts in Consumer Consciousness
00:05:36
Speaker
And this one comes to us from the US of A. You might have heard of Cargill's, a big, big meat producer. Well, they are they're featured in this news story but it's it's one of the farms that that supplies them foster farms they have shut down their turkey hatchery facilities and that is because or they're saying is because of a drop in demand which is like the best possible reason i mean obviously we you know we we like any reason that uh you know any kind of
00:06:11
Speaker
animal agriculture facility is shut down but if it's because no one's buying it anymore that's surely got to be the best reason this comes to us from animaloutlook.org this is actually an email that they sent round that we've managed to get hold of um but yeah they've they've closed it um and that This email says um the facility closure represents a seismic shift in consumer consciousness.
00:06:37
Speaker
ah Your support and dedication to to choosing compassionate alternatives are creating waves of change throughout this industry. Mark, you've had a look at this one. it's I don't know about you, they this one just made me so happy. I was just like, this is this is all the positive reasons.
00:06:52
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's it's ah it's reminiscent of the closure of Smithfields a couple of months back in in the UK. I like their, I must appreciate their honesty in saying that there's a lack of business and and we're closing down, that there isn't any attempt to sort of dress it up or to propagandize it or to diminish the reasons or lie about it. They're straight up saying that there's less and less demand, which is excellent, which which proves that we're getting through to people. I find it shameful that the state doesn't step in and police this themselves, that it's left to voluntary animal rights activists to go in there and risk traumatising themselves in order to get the evidence they need to
00:07:35
Speaker
help ah shut these places down. So where the state should be, in instead of state sending in spies to spy on animal rights activists as they are prone to do, they should be sending in spies to spy on and animal abuse industries, which they never ever do despite the overwhelming evidence of evidence of their illegality and cruelty.
00:07:55
Speaker
So well done to the very brave activists who go in and bear witness and get evidence in places like this. I know it's something that but I couldn't do. i don't think I could do that or work in an animal sanctuary. i would I find it too emotionally over overwhelming. I'm quite prepared put in the risk going out sabbing around demos and stuff like this. But when it comes to going into these places and pretending to be one of the workers or looking after the animals that have been traumatized by these places, it takes a hell of a lot of courage really and steely-eyed compassion, you know, like it isn't for the faint heart. So hats off to the people who went in and got the evidence and it's great to see places like like this shutting down.
00:08:39
Speaker
It brings a smile to my face, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And on the subject of sort of places that an animal lover could or couldn't put themselves, that does take us on to our next story from Mexico, which features a resort where dolphins had been trained and they were they were doing shows and things like that. And i I often think places like that, that the people who end up working there are very often misguided animal lovers.
00:09:07
Speaker
You know, they they they love animals. um And they think, oh, this is great. I want to work with animals, but they don't quite see how they are part of something that is systemically really, really bad.
00:09:18
Speaker
Now, again, this is a story that listeners might have come across on social media. I think at at the end of January, off the top of my head, there was a a video that went viral of a ah ah dolphin doing a a trick in one of these shows, and they landed hard on the concrete side of the pool that they were in. And and they it was very upsetting because they it looked like they'd just died instantly. It seems like they they hadn't died and and they were, if not sort of completely resuscitated or whatever, that you know they are still being cared for.
00:09:51
Speaker
But this same resort looks to have been shut down either immediately or very, very soon. Elena, you brought us this news.
00:10:01
Speaker
Can you give us some more information on it or what your what your take is on it? I'm struggling to find now whether it's shut now or it's about to shut. like Actually, this week it has been closed because, well, as you said, like there was the all over the social media, the video where the dolphin, he was called Mincho.
00:10:17
Speaker
He just fell off. just straight into the concrete doing one of those jumps for the public to entertain tourists. And unfortunately he was being taken care of but the veterinarian, they say that he has a really bad p pronostic so he might not recover from this.
00:10:34
Speaker
So thankfully this raised a lot of awareness about that hotel that he was doing these kind of whisper spectacles and the thing is the authorities, they found out that the resort, they didn't have the license or the permits to do this these kind of shows.
00:10:51
Speaker
So they could close the So now the hotel cannot have no any kind of a spectacle with dolphins, but also not having the tourists to go and touch the the dolphins in the swimming pool. So nothing to deal with dolphins in that respect, which is good.
00:11:09
Speaker
But on the other hand, I would not like to anybody to think that it's because they don't have a license that this kind of a spectacles, it's cruel with the animals.
00:11:21
Speaker
Since 2019, four dolphins have died in that resort due to the treatment of the animals. So we can see that this is not something that is enjoyable for them.
00:11:34
Speaker
So, yeah, really sad story. Yeah, I was a little confused in that it towards the bottom of the article, it's it says since late 2022, the general wildlife law in Mexico has prohibited animals.
00:11:50
Speaker
the use of marine mammals for entertainment purposes, unless it's for scientific research or educational reasons. Now, I mean, unless you're saying that a show like that is educational, which I would have thought if you're getting a dolphin to do tricks, well that's not educational, is it?
00:12:06
Speaker
that's That's clearly for entertainment. so So surely any kind of use like this would be would be illegal. I mean, I guess that's what's been found, isn't it? You know, they shouldn't have been doing it. But it it sounds like it should be ah a blanket ban across the country. But like I guess it's hard to enforce.
00:12:23
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's this kind of laws that they are like, put it out and then they are like being implemented extremely slowly. But thankfully, or sadly, with with this kind of ah social media viral videos, some of them they are getting close but the aim for many for many organizations is to not have any spectacle with animals.
00:12:47
Speaker
As we can see they they always end up in um in a bad situation. i mean Every now and then any dolphin will suffer because it's not there that their elementary to live in a swimming pool, you know.
00:12:58
Speaker
They live in the sea. So hopefully tourists can go to Mexico, and enjoy the country without having to, to see any, any dolphin being hurt. Yeah.
00:13:09
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. and as As much as I really dislike it when you're in any kind of tourist place or, or at a concert or a football match or whatever, and people are filming on their phones the whole time. I just want to say like, just watch it. Just, just be there.
00:13:23
Speaker
Actually, it does mean that, you know, if if there are things going on that shouldn't be going on, there's, there's going to be footage of it. And I think, I've got a little theory. I'm sure it's not a unique theory. I'm sure other people hold it too. But the sort of big increase in veganism from say, let's sort of say 2010 onwards. I'm slightly biased because that's when I went vegan. But like I think a big part of that is is down to how prevalent social media is in our lives because it's so easy to share stuff, good and bad.
00:13:51
Speaker
And for the sake of animals, you know we want to share the bad stuff, don't we? um So yeah, good good news. We will take that. If you want to go if you want to go to and to Mexico and see some animals, there's also the the option to go and just hire the kind of tourists and you try to go to the sea and see the animals from the boat.
00:14:11
Speaker
There's a high chance that you don't see any dolphins, but there there's a 100% chance that when you see a dolphin, it's a free one. So I think i think it was the risk. Yeah, yeah. very Very little risk of them hitting some concrete as well yeah um in the in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
00:14:27
Speaker
I mean... so social media and filming and and transparency kind of brings us on to our next story as well. This comes from the BBC see and it is a story so saying that several staff at a slaughterhouse have been fired after footage posted online showed sheep being allegedly manhandled. I mean, they they were clearly manhandled. um let's Let's not beat about the bush.
00:14:51
Speaker
um This comes from Ali in Warwickshire, not too far from me. It was actually raised In the House of Commons on Thursday, the MP for Nuneaton, Jodie Gosling, said people were horrified by a video posted on YouTube by an animal rights activist showing hours of abusive behaviour at the facility.
00:15:10
Speaker
in her constituency. As is often the case, the bosses of the location said, oh, we're shocked, we're disgusted, oh, we we can't believe this. we've We've immediately ended these people's contracts and we' we'll get on to discuss this in a moment.
00:15:26
Speaker
But I suppose the bottom line here is that you know it's it's sending a cultural message that this kind of thing is not okay. But Mark, what's your what's your feeling in terms of the the reaction from the company and um and and that sort of thing. it's ah It's all a bit sort of pandering to things without necessarily changing anything.
00:15:47
Speaker
It's very much picking on, the the in a sense, the least culpable people responsible in this. First of all, anyone that's paying these people to to engage in this sort of behavior by buying their product is culpable and responsible for for what happens.
00:16:03
Speaker
in order for their product to get to their plate right so everyone involved in this is responsible the tns bosses use the system to hide behind ah probably underpaid ah ill-treated on the floor workers.
00:16:17
Speaker
It's the bosses that set the pace and time of the of the killing floor and all that. So it's their fault and it should be them in the dock as well as the people who are manhandling and being cruel to the animals. ah I'm not um not giving them a free pass either, but it's disgusting the way the bosses use their position to literally hide behind someone else and point the finger at them.
00:16:40
Speaker
And it seems to be acceptable, really. you know that I'm not sure if the MP here is is is doing anything about that specifically, but it happens every single time, doesn't it?
00:16:51
Speaker
I must say, and i and I don't say this often as an Irish anarchist, I don't usually praise the British justice system, okay? But in this case, um and I compare it to similar ah situations down in in a New Zealand where footage taken...
Legal Challenges and Animal Rights Activism
00:17:09
Speaker
surreptitiously of the man hand the illegal man manhandling of animals down here was was that presented to to a judge about a year back. It was ah obtained by an animal rights activist who who who had hidden cameras in trees and bushes around the abattoir in the South Island and gathered loads of evidence of them throwing animals onto the trucks and off again, all of this, it was all not allowed to go ahead because it was gathered illegally. So even though the evidence showed illegal things happening, that was completely discounted because the evidence itself wasn't gathered in any formal
00:17:44
Speaker
but by any formal organization who was just a guy going out in zone, trespassing and getting the the evidence illegal ah illegally. And that was enough to throw it out of court, basically.
00:17:55
Speaker
Over in the United States with the animal ag laws in some states, if you were to do this, I would imagine that you would end up in the dock for financially sa sabotaging a a meat industry, which is what the animal ag law covers.
00:18:09
Speaker
ah So I'm not sure if they' if theyre if if if this evidence has been used in court or not, but it is refreshing for the British ah system generally to accept evidence that is gathered by animal rights activists and to look at it on its own merits rather than how it sort of came to be. That surely has to be the way to go, doesn't it? But if if you if a member of your family was brutally attacked, but but it it it was filmed illegally,
00:18:36
Speaker
Like, that you of of course, of course you would want that footage to be used. No one would would say, well, no, fair enough. It was illegally filmed. So I guess no one can be brought to justice. is It's a ridiculous argument.
00:18:48
Speaker
It's a real corruption. What what needs to happen... to redress this a little bit is that there there should be CCTV on the killing floor of abattoirs everywhere to pick up for any illegal activity.
00:19:02
Speaker
the way they do the The way they stick cameras on the masts of fishing vessels to see if they're doing any illegal catching and stuff like this. There should be well-monitored CCTV system for everyone to see, to see what what what the reality of an abattoir is like and to look for any illegal activity.
00:19:19
Speaker
again instead of the state ah setting in spies to spy on animal rights activists this is where they should should be directing their their attention and and to be fair that this has been highlighted by by the mp jody gosling she's said you know i asked the leader of the house this is when she's speaking in parliament why why is it that activists had to highlight these issues what why did it take that you know and and indeed the company have said oh we need to put more ccdv in in situ. I mean, the thing is, what the general public considers to be suffering and abuse um is perhaps different to what the animal themselves would do. it And I guess what CCTV doesn't cover is the fact that, you know, even if it looks like an animal is being killed humanely, what you don't see is how old that animal could have lived.
00:20:08
Speaker
for example, or, it you know, are you going to have CCTV where an animal is being artificially inseminated or or things like that, you know? So it doesn't it doesn't cover all the ills, does it? But it's is a step in the right direction.
00:20:21
Speaker
it ah i I should say, I didn't name the activist. For those of you who are Joey Carbstrong fans, you'd be interested to know it was Joey Carbstrong who videoed that. I know some He does have a few fans out there, doesn't he?
00:20:33
Speaker
Let's move on to a story from the Animal Reader, a very lovely website. If you have not visited it before, we do love getting stuff from them. um Unfortunately, this is not a positive story. They reported five or six days ago, as we record, that US s butterfly population is dropping at an alarming rate.
00:20:53
Speaker
right The rate specifically is 22% since the turn of the millennium um in 2000. That is according to a new study. um The study cites insecticides, climate change and habitat loss as the reason. And in fact, when you kind of drill down, that 22% is across the board, but it does mean that certain sort of really at-risk species have dropped even further so some of them have dropped by more than 40% which obviously raises concerns about their long term survival. um It's a well published bit of research it was in the science journal which is ah is a biggie It reviewed nearly 77,000 surveys tracking 12.6 million butterflies. So it's this is I think we can take these results as being um you know very reliable.
00:21:47
Speaker
The worst declines apparently were in the southwest of the USA. So Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. They've dropped by more than 50% in the last 20 years. Warmer and drier regions appear to be more affected.
00:22:03
Speaker
Despite the alarming decline, scientists say there is hope restoring habitats can help butterfly populations recover as well as reducing pesticide use. And interestingly, I like this bit, Elena, they said even small efforts like planting native flowers in home gardens can make a difference. So we can all do our bit, I suppose.
00:22:22
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, not only like planting like local, In our gardens and all that, they they always, the the first thing they say is like the the best hope for those butterflies is restoring their own habitats. And I think we all know a way to give more land for nature, stop using so much landfill to raise food for ourselves and giving it back to nature. i think I think we know the kind of lifestyle that has. I mean, i think it started with V. and so So, yeah, I think there's it's it's an it's an awful new, like the the same happened with the bees. We all know that
00:22:59
Speaker
they are leg shrinking and it's all because of us. In the case of the butterflies, it's like 1.3% per year on average. So we we we have to do something because this is not stopping. This is not something that has happened this year because of some changes. It's something that we have to do, otherwise it's going to get worse.
00:23:16
Speaker
But thankfully, we all know what to do. I mean, it would be great that we plant some health plants in our gardens. But... I think we we can't all stop using so much land to grow our our own foods.
00:23:29
Speaker
I think we all know what to do. and there is a There is a thing that's been taking off in Ireland the last sort of four or five years called no mow may. I don't know if you've heard of that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:23:40
Speaker
everyone Everyone's encouraged to not mow their lawns. for the month of May. Apparently May is when the bees, it's directed at bees. It's when they're at their most pollinating or whatever that they're at.
00:23:54
Speaker
And May was sort of identified as the month when they need to be left alone to do their thing. So they need garden and lots of grass and sort of Flowers and all the rest of it. So the last time was back in Ireland, which about three years ago, was in May time. And I arrived back and I'm a gardener by trade.
00:24:10
Speaker
So the ah f first thing I noticed was that was that everyone's lawns were completely unkempt and overgrown. And i was like, why is everyone so lazy? Why is no one more in their lawns? And then someone explained to me about about no more May.
00:24:21
Speaker
And it seems to be having, it's it's it's cut on in, popularity I think partly because it's very obvious if you're taking part in it or not be a due due to the length of your loan outside. So there's there's a an implied sort of social embarrassment. There's a finger pointing at you if if if if yours is the only loan in the street that's manicured, like you can play snooker on it, you know?
00:24:44
Speaker
um So yeah, there there's lots of small steps that you can take and some of them can catch on like no more may. No, it's it's it's great. You do see in in and the summer, in what well where I am anyway, in in the West Midlands in England, there are councils that will deliberately not cut their verges, but they've needed to put up signs explaining why they're not cutting it, because otherwise they will get people very crossy saying, oh we pay our council tax and you're not even cutting the verges, blah, blah, blah.
00:25:17
Speaker
So, yeah, there's a bit of an education piece to go on there. But, yeah, as as this survey says, it's, you know, it can make a difference for those tiny little beings that we so easily overlook, but um make a big difference.
00:25:30
Speaker
And who doesn't love a butterfly? Let's be honest.
Legislative Changes and Controversies in Animal Practices
00:25:34
Speaker
No. Thank you for that one, Elena. Okay, our last quick story now then. This comes to us from Taipei Times. I've got a feeling we've had a story from them before in the past. Maybe there's someone within their ranks who's got a bit of an animal rights friendly agenda. They reported, this was um just a couple of days ago, that eight groups have called on the government to take action on 10 animal welfare issues, including banning wild boar snares and the most horrific sounding one for me anyway, pigeon racing at sea.
00:26:11
Speaker
The taaii one Taiwan Animal Protection Monitor Network Secretary General says these 10 issues largely do not require new legislation or amendments.
00:26:22
Speaker
they can be addressed through administrative orders alone. The article reports that government actions have been extremely limited despite years of advocacy from animal rights groups for better animal welfare policies and their enforcement. So like I say that some of the issues mentioned were banning wild boar snares.
00:26:42
Speaker
There was a bit of controversy saying that, oh actually that this might affect the hunting rights of Indigenous people. They've They've been hunting this way for years. and and And also, actually, if we didn't have these snares, then there would be excessive crop damage caused by wild animals. So people always find a way of trying to argue these things. But in general, Mark, I think it's fair to say it's is great that these things are being pushed and they're being reported on. But I mean, progress is always slow, isn't it? Yeah, these air traps, I'm looking at the photograph of some of the traps now. They're awful things. And to be trapped in one of them for hours and hours, knowing that the next person you're going to see is going to break your neck or shoot you or something, it must be an awful, awful death.
00:27:26
Speaker
and So it's really good to see these things being phased out. I believe something similar happened in Scotland fairly recently that we reported on where they were outlawing is with glue traps or something like this i'm not exactly sure what thing so again it's good to see the circle of compassion ever flowing outward i suppose i was caught in a trap sort of similar to one of these once uh years back when i was i was very involved in the anti-globalization movement and me and a bunch of comrades used to travel from london around to the various hotspots when there was a big demonstration going on anti-IMF or anti-G8 or World Bank or something. And we were over in Genoa in 2001, I think.
00:28:03
Speaker
And it was it was a massive demonstration that was attacked by the by the police at the time. It turned into a just a running battle for for like about two days. But the place that we were staying in, it it had been surrounded. It was basically like a basketball court surrounded by a chicken wire type fence with one way in and out.
00:28:22
Speaker
that we had taken over and sort of secured ourselves inside to stay in tents for the duration. But local fascists had surrounded the outside of the area with traps, right? With sort of spring traps that if you stood on, a metal bar will come flying into your shins, okay?
00:28:39
Speaker
So this happened to me as we were leaving the camp on a given day, we were going going out the only way in and out, and they had they'd surrounded that with sort of these spring traps that would come up and smash your shin.
00:28:51
Speaker
and my two shins were were caught in this. It was like so of like a crowbar just being snapped across europe both both shins at the same time. The pain is unbelievable. I don't know how it didn't break the ah bones, but I had massive scars across both of them for about six months afterwards.
00:29:10
Speaker
I found out later about this, about the fascists with the traps and all that. I thought it was an accident that at the time, but then it happened to loads of people. And then someone discovered this thing. It's a type of trap and someone was explaining it's used to stun raccoon type animals or something like this. I didn't quite follow it, but the pain is unbelievable. So it's good to see these things being phased out.
00:29:30
Speaker
Yeah, and also they they they claim like these traps are native or traditional thing to use, but they were brought from Japan 10 years ago to the island. So first of all, that's not an excuse, even though they were extremely traditional from a millennia ago, that's not an excuse to keep using it, sorry. Maybe a people, they they claim that everything that is indigenous has to be respected, but not everything, sorry. Whatever is cruel, it doesn't need to be respected. But in this case, it's not even traditional. So that was just an excuse. And sorry, Mark, that you have to go through that so personally. Never again.
00:30:07
Speaker
and ah yeah let listeners won't know but I've you know we've got the video up on our our call at the moment and Elena's eyeballs were nearly popping out of her eye sockets to that account from from Mark there um but yeah I mean I don't want to dwell on it too long because it's you know spent a long time thinking about horrible things happening to animals here but I'm I'm always amazed at the at the new ways that that humans can exploit animals and um pigeon racing at sea was one that I had not heard of before reading this story. I've never heard of that. It sounds bizarre, right?
00:30:38
Speaker
It was bizarre. And also like so clearly barbaric is that the very bottom of this article, if you follow the link in our show notes, you'll you'll read it. A spokesperson said that pigeon racing on the high seas has a survival rate of just one to 2%.
00:30:55
Speaker
So these are just literally just disposable lives that, you you know, they're, presumably they're tag the pigeons, they send them off on on this race in the hope that they might manage to do it, but actually 98% of them are not not making it alive. what What a clearly barbaric practice that just needs to be consigned to the history books.
00:31:16
Speaker
But well done for for all these organisations, like say, eight different organisations making these calls on the government in Taipei ah this week, and good for them for raising these issues.
00:31:29
Speaker
Right, we're going to be back shortly with our picks for the week. Mark and Elena are both reporting on protests. One is at a film about bullfighting and the other is at KFC.
00:31:48
Speaker
Okay, Elena, we're going to start with your one. I'm not going to try and pronounce the film in Spanish, but I've got an English translation here, which is Afternoons of Solitude. it It is a documentary about a star bullfighter, and it's unfortunately is won lots of awards um at film festivals, and now it's being shown out across Spain, despite the fact that over three quarters of the population don't like bullfo you bullfighting, apparently. te Tell us some more about this one, Elena.
00:32:17
Speaker
yeah The film Tardes de Soledad, in which the director Albert Serra has followed Andrés Rocarrey, who is the torero, has won the Concha de Hora at San Sebastián Film Festival, which is one of the main film festivals in Spain. they They have a lot of...
00:32:32
Speaker
Hollywood stars and all that are there. But that film has also raised many criticism as it romanticizes the torture of animals. Marta Esteban, for example, one of of the foundations to help animals at Animal Race Group, said that whatever the artistic merits of the film, it was designed to glamorize the torture of animals for entertainment.
00:32:53
Speaker
Bullfighting is every day less supported by Spaniards, with some surveys saying that almost 80% of the Spanish people are against it. However, they direct tofu the director who has taken prize for a bullfighting association claims that the documentary just shows the closest truth and doesn't pretend to make the viewers feel in any way or another.
00:33:16
Speaker
Well, I have to say that the director has taken the prize from a bullfighting association because the the government used to give prizes to bullfighting.
00:33:28
Speaker
but not anymore because it's considered not something that it was supported for the majority of the people in Spain, which is which is a good news, have to say. Yeah. I was going to say, I'm um really struggling to understand, like, if there is so much disapproval of bullfighting,
00:33:47
Speaker
like why it would be something that is is shown in this way. oh Obviously, culturally, you want you understand this far better than I do. Like, is it that people say they don't like bullfighting, but actually they're still kind of sympathetic to it or kind of understand it's part of the culture? or Or is it that actually this is a really sort of alternative film? Because I could imagine a film about fox hunting in in Great Britain actually being shown in in a way that's not necessarily promoting it or sympathising with it. It's kind of almost looking at it as, oh, this is an old fashioned thing. Look at these odd people who are doing it. Like, what what's the case here?
00:34:30
Speaker
In your opinion. yeah I have to say that I have not watched the film, but I've seen some clips from it and also have read some some reviews. And it's supposed, well, actually, the the first thing to say is that the the director, Albert Serra, he's kind of like pretending to show everything on his films, like in a really raw form.
00:34:51
Speaker
So all the clips from the bullfighting, because remember, this is a documentary, this is not fiction. Everything that is shown there is true, it's real. So it's supposed to be like really close screenshots or images from from the bullfighting. And there's a ton, as some people say, there's a ton of blood, ton of violence, which is what what is happening actually in the Ruedo.
00:35:13
Speaker
So it has arised some criticism, even from the from some bullfighting, support us because it's supposed to show everything in an extremely cruel way.
00:35:24
Speaker
But some people say it's romanticized because it's also showing some clips from the Torero, from Andres Roca, before and after they the bullfighting. So it's supposed to show kind of in an extremely masculine, tough guy way.
00:35:40
Speaker
So it depends on how you view it. But the problem for example in Spain that it it's extremely not supported that killing of the bull in the ruedo, but for example like having like events and spectacles with bulls, for example in in rural areas, example where I'm from, it's extremely common that they they just have them on the streets and people just mistreat the animal.
00:36:05
Speaker
it's That is extremely well supported. but For example, in 2018, the government made a survey, so this is not biased at all, it was just a neutral survey, and just 8% of the population in Spain just went to any kind of this event. So we can say that in the future, these things will be, think, from the past, which is, I think, a good thing to say.
00:36:32
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Mark, I mentioned like a parallel with fox hunting. like You've obviously got direct ah experience of of action against those who were um legally fox hunting at the time. could could Can you imagine a a film being made about somebody carrying out fox hunting? I mean, it's I guess it's a bit different now in that it is...
00:36:57
Speaker
it's It's not legal, is it? But perhaps back in the days when it was legal. Could you imagine that being done in a way that would actually further the animal rights cause? Or is it just by making it? Is it is it basically soliciting it and normalising it?
00:37:12
Speaker
The only movie that that I recall seeing, and I cannot remember the name of it, it's an old black and white movie from the the late nineteen fifty s from the UK and it's ah it's a murder mystery set in the countryside in the UK and it revolves around a group of saboteurs.
00:37:28
Speaker
So it must have been actually, it must have been the late 60s then because they they didn't look they didn't look like the current day sort of saboteurs, they're in tweed caps with ties on and stuff this, but it was a group of saboteurs versus a group of fox hunters and there was someone killed and the and the fox hunters were blaming the saboteurs for killing this person. and It's a big sort of murder mystery.
00:37:49
Speaker
and it it was sort of portraying both saboteurs and the fox hunters in quite a neutral objective light. It wasn't really coming come coming down on one side or the other. it was using both positions as props for this murder mystery.
00:38:02
Speaker
And it was it was it was it was black and white. It's it's it's said that old. And it was referred to me by an old friend of mine from the Huntsnap days, and I do recall seeing it, and it was quite a fair, objective, sort of bird's-eye view look at ah at at the issue of fox hunting and sabotage, and then it was it was sort of a drama about this murder that that had nothing to do with animal rights or anything. So it is possible to do that, but I haven't seen any other portrayal of fox hunting in a movie, really. I've seen them on on documentaries.
00:38:33
Speaker
and Not sure why that is, because up until the that up until the ban, really, up until... the 1990s, it wasn't that much of a controversial thing. The sabbaturas were the ones that were grabbing the headlines and not the fox hunters for extreme behavior and stuff. So it's not a complete sort of about change these days with with the ban and stuff. so um But I'm interested, Elena, is bullfighting in Spain, is that a...
00:38:58
Speaker
because I've been to Spain a few times, I don't know much about the culture, but I do know that there's the Catalans, there's the Basques, there are different regions like Ireland or England have different cultures that sort of oppose each other a bit.
00:39:13
Speaker
is Is bullfighting endemic to one of these particular cultures as opposed to any other ones, or is it a generally accepted thing you you know you know across the various regions and histories of of Spain? I think it's widely appreciated, I have to say, sadly. For example, in the Basque country, or for example, in Galicia, or even the Canary Island, it's not that traditional, it's not that common. But for example, well, in the Basque country, I have to say, they have the San Fermines.
00:39:44
Speaker
But unfortunately, it's widespread. But the thing is that people, they don't make the connection with all the spectacles that involves bulls. There's like the bullfighting that we all know with the torero, with a like the one shown at the film, where they end up killing the animals straight away in front of everyone after torturing him for how many hours.
00:40:06
Speaker
The problem is that there's another type of entertainment, of course, on quotes, with bulls that is like made in the cities and rural areas. Like they just put the bull in the streets and people that just shout to him and try to hit him or run in front of him. It's another kind of torture and it's not as opposed by people. So I think bullfighting, as we are disknown all over the world, I think it has stay its days counted, fortunately, but I think the other type of spectacles with bulls, they have more way to go. But I think in the future, they also will be kind of for the minority, because I don't think people keep enjoying this kind of
00:40:54
Speaker
spectacles because you you hear the animals suffering so it's not something pleasant too to to see. and Unfortunately have seen some but yeah not enjoying them.
00:41:05
Speaker
Yeah yeah well I mean to to finish off with a couple of crumbs of comfort for for listeners here at the very bottom of this article that comes to us from from the i paper or inews.co.uk it mentions a petition with nearly three quarters of a million signatures um that's being presented to parliament in spain which does mean that mps will have to vote on the proposal um it's to overturn ah law that's 12 years old which had originally made bullfighting part of Spanish heritage and gave it legal protection from bans, this this petition is being presented. So that's going to be voted on. So it might not be sort of a protected pastime, I suppose. So that's something that we can be hopeful for.
00:41:49
Speaker
Also, just some statistics, again, like you were saying, Elena, government statistics. So we can take them as read is not something that's necessarily going to be biased, or maybe that's a naive thing for us to say. um But um in 2007, there were just over three and a half bullfights.
00:42:04
Speaker
um But by 2022, this fell to one and a half thousand. So over 50% of ah those bullfights have have stopped or the f frequency is is significantly dropping. So crumbs of comfort there. And like you say, Elena, it's becoming more and more of a minor minority thing. And well done for everyone who's opposing and helping that happen.
00:42:27
Speaker
Let's move on to Mark's pick of the week. This comes to us from theecologist.org, which is a website I've not come across before, but it looked quite interesting. And it is the news that animal rights activists have been protesting at KFCs up and down the UK.
00:42:45
Speaker
And it's about their use of the so-called frankenchickens, these birds that grow incredibly quickly, become completely debilitated and are slaughtered within about 40 days of having been born.
00:42:59
Speaker
But it sounds like a well-joined up protest here by the the Humane League, Mark. Yeah, it's um funny that somewhere in this article, a spokeswoman for KFC has described their annual welfare policy as trailblazing.
00:43:15
Speaker
I always saw that. was like, what the What the hell? Right. So I reckon the only way that KFC could be trailblazing in animal welfare is is is if they actually set blaze to all their restaurants and just burn them all down to the ground. That's the best and only step that they should take, right?
00:43:31
Speaker
But and it is interesting. i remember doing an animal rights information stall in Galway in the west of Ireland, a beautiful city in the west of Ireland that I lived in for many years. And someone came up to us and said that the reason that ah KFC have stopped referring themselves to themselves as Kentucky Fried Chicken is because they're raising these mutant birds that that that are no longer actually chickens.
00:43:57
Speaker
So KFC only refer to themselves in their advertising jingles and so on as KFC, not as Kentucky Fried Chicken, because it isn't chicken. It's Kentucky's mutant something new, right? and I didn't believe that person at the time because it just sounded too outlandish and a bit like of one of these urban myths that you hear about.
00:44:16
Speaker
And this is pre-internet days, so I couldn't go onto my phone and check this up, right? So I just put it to one side of my head and said, if I ever discovered that that person was was telling the truth, ah I'll leave my hat.
00:44:29
Speaker
I think she was referring to this thing here, this mutant, this franken chicken. Yeah, it's it's unbelievable that that that that that they're allowed to get away with this. I mean, they they they burn off and cut off the edges of these animals, their beaks and claws. and absolutely traumatized them. um And they they're killed at a certain I think it's after 26 weeks because their legs aren't strong enough to support their bodies anymore. No, 26 days, 26 days, Mark is it' six days right yeah yeah it's like it's like a month that they live. it's it's literally that yeah yeah it's unbelievable in fact most of the animals that we as humans eat if you're a meat eater are babies when they're sent to the slaughterhouse ah pigs typically at six months a pig in the wild would live to about 20 years on average so all these animals that are butchered are babies as they're going into the slaughterhouse it's it's it's it's a disgusting fact that most people don't
00:45:25
Speaker
don't don't realize, I think. So yeah, it's really good to see the focus going on KFC. As I say, it's unbelievable that they're able to get away with it. And then there's a quote in the article somewhere that this year and next year isn't going to be the right time for us to address this problem.
00:45:38
Speaker
So think when is the right time to address this problem? So when when when you're dealing with someone as rapacious as KFC, animal welfare is out the window. It's just it's window dressing, it's propaganda, it doesn't exist in like on the ground in in a real life so it's really good to see these guys and having the finger pointed at them and hopefully people will realize that they aren't and taking part in the cycle of nature by eating these poor beasts they're actually it's upholding is a corruption and a manipulation and degradation of nature so uh yeah it's really good that they're drawing attention to this isn't
00:46:13
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And as I think in the article it said that the protesters from the Humane League have basically said that that they're they're going back for more later this year. This isn't just going to be a one-off protest. So great to see that the pressure mounting.
00:46:28
Speaker
I mean, ah have to say that it it seems like the... Obviously, we'd be finding reasons to protest against these practices one way or another, um but that it's being done under the guise of, oh, you're going against this BCC, this better chicken commitment um that KFC said they would be part of and and they're not.
00:46:47
Speaker
I am very sceptical of this better chicken commitment in that Gregg's and Burger King are part of it. And you're not telling me that companies like Gregg's and Burger King, that they they make their millions and millions of pounds worth of profit each year by having completely free range chickens that just, you know, waltz through the fields, living their their best life.
00:47:14
Speaker
um And then, you know, at the very end of it have, you know, have a a humane ah electric shock and then end their life. Like it's still predicated on exploitation and they they will die far younger than they are.
00:47:26
Speaker
and And actually, like the stats say here of the 1.1% billion chickens that are killed in the UK alone each year. 90% of them are these fast-growing chickens. So I'm not sure that being part of this better chicken commitment is actually even outlawing that because surely like the the margins that a company like Burger King or Greg's needs to continue, like that they just want things as cheap as possible. So surely they must be using them as well.
00:48:01
Speaker
It's it's ah It's a load of humane washing, really, isn't it? um ah Elena, is there is there KFC in in in Spain? Is that a stupid question? Yeah, unfortunately, they are. They are here, yeah.
00:48:13
Speaker
But, I mean, this kind this kind of news is like the epitome of... how they in this industry doesn't value animals as living beings they are just like raw material because as you said like they are like living like for 28 26 days this is like and just because they cannot live like 27 days because their legs are broken it's it's terrible what they are doing to these animals it's like what we saw there at the at the festival in the uk but just taking to the next next next level of cruelty towards animals like
00:48:46
Speaker
it's It's awful. And the thing is, these companies, if they switch to the normal breed chickens, I think they they just live for less than two months anyway. So they they they would require like double the chickens, unfortunately.
00:49:01
Speaker
So it will cost them like how much more? Like it will make give them more cost, but in the end, they will still be extremely cruel. I mean, what what chickens have gone for? I think they are like,
00:49:14
Speaker
chickens and fish they are unfortunately not seen as living beings what they go through is extremely terrible i mean what happens to any animal animal in the animal industry is awful but chickens especially it's it's they're like treated like worse than rocks this and this this kind of view is like the epitome of them if you put together 1.1 billion one b chickens per year just to feed some people because not the entire UK is just eating at KFC every single day. You know, if you put them all together, all that suffering to to do what?
00:49:51
Speaker
like to get some fried stuff, you you can get some chips. Just the oily taste, it doesn't, I mean, it's so cruel, it's so unnecessary that that this is the kind of new, I cannot take any positive from this, and unfortunately. yeah Most of the planet's birds, in terms of numbers, are factory farm chickens. the The vast majority of the birds on this planet in terms of numbers, are locked inside these places.
00:50:18
Speaker
Wow. It's unbelievable. ah KFC over here are colloquially known as Kids Fattening Centre. What an abominable organisation. Thank you for that one, Mark, and well done all the activists who have got out there on behalf of, well, on behalf of those chickens, but um representing the Humane League UK as well, like fantastic to, they'll have raised some awareness and educated some people as part of that, as well as sending a message to to KFC and other such providers.
00:50:48
Speaker
and Now, Mark and Elena have picked out a news story there to give their opinion on, but we love hearing from everyone out there listening on your opinions on different news stories, or maybe there's stories that we haven't featured this week that you would have liked to have heard about. So get in touch with death is great get in touch with us if that is the case. Here is how you can do so.
00:51:11
Speaker
To get in touch with us, just send us an email at enoughofthefalafel at gmail.com. We see ourselves as a collective. Our listenership stretches all around the world and everyone's opinions, questions, feedback and ideas are what helps shape the show.
00:51:30
Speaker
Go on, send us a message today. enough of the falafel at gmail dot com Okay, time for just one last story. It does come from the UK. We know a big chunk of our listenership are from the UK. Hello out there.
00:51:45
Speaker
And this is relating to a Brexit reset that could force the UK to lower standards on animal rights. That is how it has been dubbed again by iNews, our second story from them this week. So this is the news that the UK Prime Minister, Sakhir Starmer,
00:52:04
Speaker
has made securing a veterinary deal with the EU the top priority on trade as he looks to reset relations with Brussels following Brexit. Now this would reduce costs checks and red tape in cross-border trade however experts and charities are now warning the UK could be forced to water down animal welfare protections that are quote at a higher standard than the EU's as any deal would require Britain to basically be doing things in the same way that the EU does.
00:52:40
Speaker
So for example um Britain has recently banned live exports but that is allowed under EU legislation. There is also due to be according to the Labour manifesto a ban on foie gras but again that is not outlawed in the EU. So the the fears are that that there could be a U-turn on these things.
00:53:03
Speaker
So there have been suggestions that this this could be reversed because it would contradict the law in the EU. Now the IPaper, who we've got this from, they understand that ministers have been lobbied privately by the farming industry to ensure animal warfare welfare is is carved out of negotiations, so kind of left out of them on the veterinary deal, otherwise known as SPS sanitary and phytosanitary, whatever that means.
00:53:32
Speaker
When asked, however, the government did not commit to ensuring that either policy survives the negotiation with Brussels. which is happening and in the first post-Brexit UK EU summit on the 19th of May.
00:53:46
Speaker
So couple of quick quotes and then we will hear what Mark and Elaine have got say on this. So Head of Public Affairs at the RSPCA, David Bowles, he said he did not expect any deal with the EU to impact existing legislation and therefore it should not mean a reversal of the live animal export ban.
00:54:05
Speaker
A government spokeswoman said, we have been clear that a veterinary or SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. In terms of any agreement would be subject to negotiations. UK and EU already have similarly high standards and we're determined to work to tackle barriers to trade.
00:54:25
Speaker
I'm slightly worried by that last one that someone from the government saying, oh, we've got similarly high standards. Well, I mean, and my mind, similarly low standards. um But that there is a very big difference to saying foie gras is allowed and foie gras is not.
00:54:41
Speaker
And similarly, live export is allowed or it's not. So there is a difference. what What do we reckon? Do we we have a hunch as to how this could go or any insight? Yeah, I think it's it's it's a it's hilarious the way the way every nation's farmers and animal agricultural industry insists that they have the best welfare standards. It's the exact same down here in New Zealand and in Australia.
00:55:05
Speaker
Both say they have the best. The ones in Ireland say so someone has to be wrong here. In fact, only one person can be right in all this. and and In fact, the they're all wrong.
00:55:16
Speaker
and The ah live export of of animals was banned here by the Labour government's four or five years ago, now we have a coalition of right-wing and even more right-wing parties in power, and they're desperate to roll back the tape, and they're getting their ear bent from the farming industry to do this as quickly as they can.
00:55:35
Speaker
and So I'm not sure if it's gonna happen because there is ah there is a lot of objection to it. There was some really harrowing footage taken from one of these really long sea voyages that animals that these animals go on, and it was ah it was a calf who had his or her sort of, she had fallen down and had caught herself in in the sort of guard rails of the pen that they were in on the ship. and it was left there for the two or three a week crossing or something. It was awful footage. And it was stuff like that that helped get it banned.
00:56:05
Speaker
Now they they want that ban reversed. I would imagine, even though it's the Labour government, and the Labour movement has proven as right-wing when it comes to animals, as as the Conservatives, essentially. So if it's good for business, it'll it'll probably sail through, and they will be exporting live animals again before we know it, because it's where the money is, and that's where the law will go then, I think, unfortunately.
00:56:30
Speaker
Yeah, I agree with Mark, in the end, this kind of politics, they just, want to have everyone happy and the only way to keep everyone happy is to bring money and to make great jobs, unfortunately. And if this is the kind of way to do that, they will go through, unfortunately.
00:56:48
Speaker
I have to say the positive thing about Spain is that they do not claim to have the highest standards on animal welfare. They don't even try because actually Spain I think is one of the biggest animal exports in the world.
00:57:01
Speaker
Unfortunately, it's extremely bad. People, they might not realize like, oh, it will be the same that being in a farm. No, it's not the same, for example. in 2021 they have a vessel with almost 900 cows it was lost in the in the ports for two months with all the animals being there under the sun with no with no water no food remember more most of them they already died so ah livestock export is not it's not like having an animal in a farm or bringing them to the slaughterhouse which is bad enough <unk>s it's extremely worse because the conditions that they are transported
00:57:36
Speaker
in in not special carriers, they are just transported as materials, you remember? So the way to... to the the the suffering they are going through before they are killed, it's extremely bad.
00:57:48
Speaker
And let's forget about foie gras, we don't want to mention how that's made, we all know that is basically forcing a goose to eat until it dies from an illness and then you eat them, I mean, it's it's crazy. So...
00:58:03
Speaker
Hopefully the UK doesn't support that, but um unfortunately it might happen, I have to say. ah Just an interesting pub quiz fact here. and When the Normans invaded Ireland after they conquered Britain,
00:58:19
Speaker
Their very first battle with the Irish and the Norse Irish was in a place called Bannon Bog, I think. And they they they used hundreds of cattle that they had stolen from the Irish around them.
00:58:30
Speaker
they They landed on this peninsula, about 100 Normans. They robbed loads and loads of cattle from the farms around them and then used them as a shield wall. to win their first and a very decisive battle against the Irish.
00:58:44
Speaker
It was 100 of them against about 1000 Irish and the massacre of the Irish by and running bulls at them to to disorientate them and then move in for the kill. And it's been 800 years of trouble ever since.
00:58:57
Speaker
and Another good reason not to put lots of animals on boats. Yeah. I mean, for for me, that this story drives home. And and and the last one, ah to be fair, with with regards to KFC, this um sort of thin veil of of hope the that people might have that of a a benign state or or nice rules or laws or whatever,
00:59:22
Speaker
that will make sure everything is okay for everyone. In my opinion, it's just a myth. That's not to say that there aren't good laws out there, but of course, just by the law of averages, some of it will be will be half decent, I suppose.
00:59:36
Speaker
But you can't rely on it. you know and And with regards to this you know better chicken commitment in the last story, there's no such thing. it's It's nonsense. you know you the only way you can ensure that that chickens are being looked after is by not buying them, not buying anything that's to do with their exploitation.
00:59:55
Speaker
and And the same here. like if We can't rely even on the right laws being passed. Because and I know it might not come through. I'm kind of catastrophizing a little bit here. But actually, the fact that it's even been discussed as something that could be U-turned, like really quite recently as well. These are two very recent changes. Well, I mean, the foie gras one hasn't even come in yet. It's just being talked about.
01:00:20
Speaker
But the fact that it could be reversed. just to make it easier for some people to trade it just shows we can't rely on that you know we have to take you're very fit yeah we have to take action into our own hands and that is just by deciding what we support what we don't and actually if enough of us do that then then the laws will will actually reflect that because there's no you know there's no danger of Well, I mean, if we take the bullfighting example, there's no danger that the UK is all of a sudden going to say, okay, well, you can do bullfighting now because they do that in parts of Europe.
01:00:57
Speaker
That's not going to happen because no one in and the UK currently does that. we We have our own historic horrific practices and cultures and traditions. But you you know generally speaking the laws and things reflect people's um opinions and behaviors and and things like that so it's it's down to us we can't rely on on lawmakers so uh rise up take action do the right thing stop relying on the patriarchy to do it for you um anyway that's my opinion we hope you have enjoyed our show today if you have
01:01:31
Speaker
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Speaker
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01:02:03
Speaker
That will also help the show pop up when people search for vegan or animal rights content online. Thanks for your help.
01:02:14
Speaker
Thank you everyone for listening. Our next episode will be a vegan talk where Anthony, Julie, Dominic and Paul will be reviewing the film Food for Thought. That's enough of the falafel for this episode. Thanks to Anthony and Elena for your contributions.
01:02:29
Speaker
Thanks again, everyone, for listening. I've been Mark, and you've been listening to Vegan Week from the Enough of the Falafel Collective.
01:02:42
Speaker
This has been an Enough of the Falafel production. We're just a normal bunch of everyday vegans putting our voices out there. The show is hosted by Zencaster. We use music and special effects by zapsflat.com.
01:02:56
Speaker
And sometimes, if you're lucky, at the end of an episode, you'll hear a poem by Mr Dominic Berry. Thanks all for listening and see you next time.
01:03:09
Speaker
Amen.
01:03:22
Speaker
This episode may have come to an end, but did you know we've got a whole archive containing all our shows dating back to September 2023? That is right, Dominic. There's over 100 episodes on there featuring our brilliant range of different guests, people's stories of going vegan, philosophical debates, moral quandaries, and of course...
01:03:44
Speaker
around a dozen news items from around the world each week. So check back on your podcast player to hear previous episodes. And remember to get an alert for each new episode, simply click like or follow and also subscribe to the show.
01:03:58
Speaker
Thanks for your ongoing support wherever you listen to us from.