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Here is a picture from a Keralan newspaper "Kerala Kamudi", showing Ramesh Mehta of Kenya persenting the Mahaveer Award to Amma. Just an example of how good planning can get your message across to millions in different parts of the world. Amma on Jains: Lord Mahaveer was a true Guru as Jains strictly follow the principals of Ahimsa as taught by him.
Swine Flu and the horrors of Pig Farming Pigs are curious and insightful animals. They are thought to have intelligence beyond that of an average three year old human child. They are smarter than dogs and every bit as friendly, loyal and affectionate. In their natural surroundings they are social, playful, protective animals who bond with each other, make beds, relax in the sun and cool off in the mud. Pigs dream and recognise their names.
Game Shooting - shame on humans! More then 40 million pheasants and partridges are mass produced every year in the UK for the shooting season. Shooting parties and corporate groups blast thousands of game birds from the sky. Around 18 million are retrieved for food. The rest die of starvation, predation and injuries. Snares are thin wire nooses which trap wild animals, causing horrific suffering and a lingering death. Write to your MP saying that snares should be made illegal. The League Against Cruel Sports is spearheading the campaign to abolish snares. Contact www.league.org.uk
Drugs Tested on Animals are Causing Great Suffering to Humans The European Commission has estimated that across the EU adverse reactions to drugs costs 197, 000 human lives every year. In the UK a million Britons are hospitalised by prescription medicines every year, costing the NHS over £2 billion. The reason for this state of affairs is that drugs continue to be tested on animals. Animals have different metabolism than humans. Experiments on animals to find cures for human diseases cause untold suffering to animals and are bad science. Arthritis drug Vioxx killed tens of thousands of people after being ‘proved safe’ in mice, rats, rabbits, dogs and monkeys. 92% of new drugs fail in human trials following success in animal tests. There are alternative methods of producing drugs. Please visit: www.safermedicines.org and see how you can support them
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri - Promoting Ahimsa on the international stage Dr. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which won the 2007 Nobel Peace prize for work on climate change (shared with Al Gore) has blamed meat consumption as being a major factor in damage done to our planet. It was Maneka Gandhi, animal rights campaigner, politician and recipient of our Mahaveer Award, who drew the attention of Dr. Pachauri to the close connection between global warming and livestock production. One of the statistics quoted by Dr. Pachauri is: A farmer can feed up to 30 people throughout the year on one hectare with vegetables, fruits, cereals and vegetable fats. If the same area is used for the production of eggs, milk or meat the number of persons fed varies from five to ten.
Billions of Cattle raised for meat are Destroying our Planet About 70% of land that was once covered in forests has been cleared for grazing and growing animal fodder. Overgrazing leaves the land barren. Australia is a classic example of how the land is turning into desert because of the 289 million cattle and sheep that are raised for export. Livestock production is the cause of 65% of nitrous oxide emissions and 64% of ammonia that causes acid rain. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation report, ‘Livestock’s long shadow’ says: "By 2010 cattle are projected to be grazing on some 24 million hectors of neotropical land that was forest in 2000". In 2008 Brazil lost 12,000 sq. km (3 million acres) of the Amazon rain forest mainly to cattle ranchers and soy producers. The Soy is produced to feed the cattle. What has possessed the human race that it is creating the conditions to destroy the lives of future generations?
And Now for some Good News...
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They
have rescued human and non-human companions and even saved themselves from
slaughterhouses. They have twice as many taste buds as humans. Like people they
have personalities and feel fear, pleasure and pain. They can live up to 15
years and yet are slaughtered at four to five years. In Mexico, where swine flu
originated, 15,000 pigs were squeezed into 18 warehouses. In the UK almost
500,000 sows are used for breeding. They spend almost two-thirds of their lives
pregnant. They produce four to seven litters before they become exhausted and
are slaughtered after three to five years. A week before they give birth they
are caged in individual crates where they have no room to turn round They remain
there for up to four weeks until their piglets are taken away. It is this
pitiless intensive rearing of pigs that is the cause of swine flu. Pigs in
Europe are castrated without anaesthetics and tooth clipping is standard
practice. Nature hits back so that we humans realise that meat comes from untold
cruelty. However, we have short memories and a concoction of yet another drug (Tamiflu)
is ready for us to take and save us! The producers of the drug must be laughing
all the way to the piggybank!
