
Italy ranks 17th in the EU for percentage of caged farm animals; End the Cage Age Coalition urges Ministers Speranza and Bellanova to phase out cages.
ROME—The Italian coalition, End the Cage Age, published today a ranking of European countries, which shows the percentage of farm animals still kept in cages. Of the over 300 million animals who each year are caged in the EU, over 45 million

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South Korea considering new law to modernize safety testing and human health research and to promote alternatives to animal testing
SEOUL—Proposed new legislation that would require Korean regulatory and research funding ministries to promote the development and implementation of non-animal alternatives in safety and biomedical sciences will be examined at a National Assembly expert forum on June 30. Assembly member In-soon Nam

Tokyo urged to resurrect ivory trade assessment
WASHINGTON/TOKYO— Elephant advocates worldwide are urging the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, under Governor Yuriko Koike’s leadership, to complete Tokyo’s elephant ivory trade assessment, which is examining the trade in ivory in Tokyo prefecture, and propose measures to address it. As Tokyo embraces the

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Animal protection groups support grant to fast-track non-animal approaches for COVID-19 vaccine research
WASHINGTON—Humane Society International and the Humane Society of United States have supported a fast-track research grant for non-animal approaches to investigate mechanisms, medicines and vaccines for the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing

BREAKING: Dutch Parliament votes for closure of Dutch mink farms to prevent further COVID-19 infections
AMSTERDAM—Dutch MPs voted overwhelmingly today in favour of shutting down the estimated 128 remaining mink fur farms in the Netherlands, following outbreaks of COVID-19 on 17 fur farms since 26 April. Two farm workers are also believed to have contracted the virus

New statistics reveal need for legal reform to tackle Korea’s lack of progress in reducing animal testing
SEOUL—Humane Society International/Korea is calling on legislators to back a series of tough new legal measures to address the lack of progress by Korea’s relevant regulatory and research funding ministries toward reduction and replacement of animal testing. Statistics on laboratory animal use

Scotland bans seal killing in major victory to end fish farm shootings
LONDON—Scotland has banned the shooting of seals by the fisheries industry in a move welcomed by Humane Society International/UK as critically important for seal welfare in British waters. Large numbers of seals are shot in Scotland every year in the name of

Campaigners renew calls to halt China’s Yulin dog meat festival after rescue of puppies from a meat market days before festival begins
BEIJING—Chinese animal activists in Yulin have urged local authorities to embrace the national government’s recent declaration that dogs are companions not food, by halting the city’s dog meat festival due to take place from June 21. The activists rescued ten “friendly and

Trade deal marks new era in intergovernmental cooperation between the EU and Vietnam on animal welfare and wildlife protection
BRUSSELS/HANOI—Today’s ratification of the free trade agreement with the European Union by the Vietnamese National Assembly heralds a new era of intergovernmental cooperation on animal welfare and wildlife protection between the two. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union
Working toward a Humane World
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