Worldlog week 36 - 2013 - Hoofdinhoud

We’re back from summer recess! The Lower House met last week about the situation in Syria. If there is something we can do for the people of Syria, then it is to provide humanitarian aid. International law states there is no reason to intervene. The Security Council has no resolution, there is no issue of self defence, the responsibility to protect cannot be used under UN resolution and there is zero certainty that military intervention will improve Syrian citizen’s situations.

I agree with Bart Smout’s words: Everything we spend on armaments will go up in flames, what we spend on Syrian refugees can make a difference.

Last Friday, I spoke at the Enfoque Político-Jurídico da Defesa dos Animais conference in Brasilia. I spoke to them, so far away from home, immediately after the Syria debate in the Netherlands thanks to high speed Internet. It was great to hear that approximately 50 people are going to set up a Party for the Animals in Brazil too! During the conference I also had the opportunity to award a certificate to the youngest philosopher I have ever met, four-year old Luiz Antonio. He set millions of people to thinking with his wide words about eating, and not eating animals. Take a look!

Last summer’s heat wave was the perfect reason to pay extra attention to animal transport. Amongst other things, I paid a working visit to a collection centre when animals are brought together from different farms. These animals are put in a truck to be transported to slaughter or for further breeding. Because the animals do not know each other, it can turn into a brawl with serious injuries as a result.

Photo: Jack Tummers

When I was there, 1,200 piglets, only a few weeks old, where being put on international transport to Germany. There they will be fattened and then transported later in life to an abattoir. And so these animals are just transported hither and yon, and it has to stop! Firstly, transport inspection needs vast improvement. Fortunately, our motion that makes the government once again responsible for inspection instead of the sector itself was accepted.

Serious news from the United States. Wildfires in California are threatening Yosemite National Park, a place that contains the world’s oldest and largest living organisms. 54,000 hectares of nature has already been destroyed. Hopefully the Americans will manage to save the gorgeous, highly valuable sequoia trees. Click here to see how incredible these trees are. Last week, Harvard published a study in which links the increase in the number of wildfires and climate change.

On 20 August, it was all over for this year. That day was Earth Overshoot Day, which means that as of 20 August we’re borrowing against the future. As of now, we’re using more raw materials than the earth can produce.

What a breakthrough: India has banned shark finning, where the shark’s fin is cut off and the shark is thrown back into the sea to die a grisly death. India, along with Indonesia, was responsible for twenty percent of global supply. Now we just have to work on the rest! For further information, go to http://www.stopsharkfinning.net.

The future for badgers in Britain is no longer secure. The government decided to cull badgers en masse because they might perhaps transfer the TB virus to cattle - tuberculosis being a dangerous disease for cows. They could vaccinate the badgers against TB, but the government thinks that would take too long. I can’t believe that badgers have to pay the price for the unshakable believe that people can’t live without milk and farmers can’t so without hunters. This is the link to the petition to stop the massive cull!

©iStockphoto.com

I have to show you this: Why do we judge their intelligence on our ability to understand them?

This week on we’re back hard at work in the Lower House! See you next week, Marianne