Author Archives: thephraser

UPDATE – Live export: thousands of miles by sea to slaughter

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A ewe and her lamb in the north of Spain

A ewe and her lamb in the north of Spain

My thanks to Lyn Douglas in Australia for telling me about the new regulations announced today around the live export of sheep.

The key points are listed below.

  • There will be no ban on the live sheep trade from Australia in the Middle Eastern summer.
  • The number of sheep transported per vessel in the summer months will be reduced by 28 per cent.
  • Independent observers will travel on all ships carrying cattle or sheep.
  • Any company that breaks the rules could face a fine of A$2.1 million.
  • The directors of any such company could face a jail term of up to ten years.

RSPCA Australia remains concerned.

Here is the link to the UK Reuters report.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2018

Live export: thousands of miles by sea to slaughter

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A ewe and her lamb in the north of Spain

A ewe and her lamb in the north of Spain

Recent footage in the media shows the cruel conditions faced by sheep sent over the sea to slaughter. Hot, trapped, dying of thirst and panic, they struggle for life as the ships take them to their death.

This trade across oceans, particularly to and from Australia, has gone on for decades unnoticed by most of us, but the recent publication of footage of the conditions on board the live export ships puts disturbing evidence in front of our noses. We can’t look away any longer.

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In St Ives as Emma storms the beaches of Cornwall

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The cold breath of Storm Emma reaches Cornwall

The cold breath of Storm Emma reaches Cornwall

Should we go? Shouldn’t we go? Mad to go! Mad not to go! Outside the window the snow drifts … ominous and unsettled.

“If we can get out of here the middle looks quiet.”

“No storm here yet,” they assure us in St Ives.

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Life on a military troopship – article from The Graphic 1879

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From The Graphic - weekly newspaper 1879

From The Graphic – weekly newspaper 1879

 

This is copied from The Graphic – the bath routine looks interesting.

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Book Review: Forgotten Kingdom – Nine Years in Yunnan, 1939-1948 by Peter Goullart

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Forgotten Kingdom - Nine Years in Yunnan, 1939-48 by Peter Goullart

Forgotten Kingdom – Nine Years in Yunnan, 1939-48 by Peter Goullart

This is a travel book that unfurls like a lotus flower. It has happiness at its heart but is grown out of hardship in the steep-sided valleys of south-western China.

The decade is the 1940s and the location is the province of Yunnan, geographically cut apart from the rest of China and still webbed with tribes, traditions and traders.

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Book Review: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

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Thoroughly read copy of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Thoroughly read copy of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

I know of slavery, of its shame and horror, and neither makes it my preferred topic when it comes to books. But this was a gift … so I began.

It was worth it.

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China and WWF-UK host reception of hope for Africa’s elephants

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Invitation to the reception held by the Chinese Embassy in London and the WWF-UK to mark the closure of China's domestic ivory market

Invitation to the reception held by the Chinese Embassy in London and the WWF-UK to mark the closure of China’s domestic ivory market

China has closed its domestic ivory market. The evening begins with speeches, each given to mark the giant step taken by China to protect the elephants of Africa.

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