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Compared to 2020, the import of foie gras dropped by 44% according to the 2021 statistics presented by the Ministry of Finance. When compared to 10 years ago, it has decreased by 94%. This is likely because many consumers in Japan are feeling more and more disturbed by the inhumane process to produce foie gras, plus the issue of bird flu that emerges almost every year. Animal cruelty and diseases are two primary issues when it comes to farm animals, and thus, both companies and stakeholders should avoid the risks to consumers who are turned off by the cruel practice and the pandemics caused by farm animals. Plunging Demand Today,…
In recent years, we have been making films for the general public based on footage of animal farms sent to ARCJ and our investigation activities. This is an attempt to have many people become aware of and think about the issues of animal agriculture. At the “Labor Festa” held on December 25, 2021, the screened “Please give me water, or light” won the Jury Prize. In addition, this work won first place in the participant questionnaire announced at a later date, and it is the first time that the animal-themed work won the award and attracted the attention of the audience at a film event dealing with many hard-line social…
Aman resorts, which operate a resort hotel chain mainly in Southeast Asia, Europe, the United States, and China, released a cage-free policy in 2021, and in response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, its Japanese locations, Aman Tokyo, Aman Kyoto, and Amanemu, made a cage-free commitment to transition to using only cage-free eggs by the end of 2023. Aman in Japan: background for the cage free transition ARCJ began negotiations with Aman Tokyo / Amanemu representatives for cage-free in 2020, during the COVID-19 emergency declaration. Aman Tokyo had already used cage-free eggs for some menus, but initially it seemed difficult, under COVID, to make the decision to switch…
On 2021/11/11, we are able to deliver great news for pigs. NH Foods Group made an announcement as follows. Promote initiatives that take animal welfare into consideration Elimination of gestation crates on all NH farms (pigs)To be eliminated from all domestic NH farms by the end of 2030* Installation of drinking water facilities in lairage pens at all NH meat processing plants (pigs and cattle)To be installed at all domestic bases by the end of 2023* Installation of cameras on all NH farms and meat processing plants to ensure environmental qualityTo be installed at all domestic bases by the end of 2023* * For companies in which the NH Foods…
On 2021/11/1, Hotel Matsumotoro, focusing on both animal welfare and the SDGs, has announced that by 2027 it will switch to 100% cage-free or free-range eggs. As a result of discussions with the certified NPO Animal Rights Center Japan, it came to this decision. The cage free policy is spelled out in Hotel Matsumotoro’s declaration toward achieving SDGs ( http://www.matsumotoro.com/img/sdgs.pdf ): Indicator for 2030 on the transition to a sustainable diet: “Switch to 100% cage-free eggs by 2027” Also added to its priority efforts are: “Active introduction of plant-based protein”“Introduction of ingredients considering animal welfare” Hotel Matsumotoro’s young proprietress Yuki Matsumoto described this cage-free initiative as follows. “Hotel Matsumotoro aims…
On October 6, 2021, a trial of the former Akita Foods representative in the egg corruption case was held and he was found guilty. He frequently lobbied the then ministers, former ministers, and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) staff to change the international standards of animal welfare into industry-friendly policies, and bribed them. Although convicted, the hens who were the victims of the incident have not been saved at all. The main topic of this incident was animal welfare. While the world, including Japanese citizens, began shifting to cage-free rearing of hens, the industry stayed stuck to cage rearing, and MAFF continued to follow suit. After all, neither…
Asahikawa Koen Guest House In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Asahikawa Koen Guest House in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage free and that they would support the cage-free commitment. Asahikawa Koen Guest House is an accommodation facility that aims to be a place for local gatherings, with local production for local consumption as much as possible. Cage-free eggs are used for breakfast, and they apparently explain the goodness of cage-free rearing. The owner says, ”One of the reasons why cage-free eggs do not spread is that even if you know cage-free eggs as a word, you do…
As mentioned in this article, to the slaughterhouse C and slaughterhouse F, which had been abusive to pigs from 2020 to 2021, we had requested the animal welfare department that has jurisdiction over each of the slaughterhouses to provide improvement guidance. We report on the results. Slaughterhouse C Not only this time, but also in 2016, abusive behaviors (heavy use of stun guns, kicking, riding pigs and kicking the face) were exposed at the slaughterhouse C, and at that time, we were requesting the meat hygiene inspection responsible for the slaughterhouse to make improvements. The Meat Inspection Center regards the abusive behavior at this time as a problem, and “if…
Mother pigs, who are used as machines for producing meat pigs, continue to be detained in gestation crates and farrowing crates from the age of 6 month till they are killed. This is the case for 90% of breeding farms in Japan. They are slaughtered after being detained, being robbed of their child 3 or 4 times. How? Meat pigs called growing-finishing pigs are killed within 180 days, so when they are slaughtered, they weigh about 110 kg. On the other hand, a fully grown mother pig weighs more than 200 kg, a size that does not fit in a general slaughter lane. At one slaughterhouse, they are slaughtered as…
On 2021/8/10, we learned that the Cabinet Office had adopted cage-free. Eggs procured in the Cabinet Office cafeteria will only be cage-free or free-range going forward, and cage rearing will not be used. This wonderful achievement was promoted by both the Cabinet Office and the cafeteria operator Nikkoku Trust, and will be highly regarded in Japan as a progressive and ambitious decision. In fact, eggs used from August 10 have already been switched to cage-free! A few years before the launch of plant-based products in Japan became a boom, the Cabinet Office introduced vegan food in the cafeteria and continues to do so. This wave spread not only to the…
Dogs and cats have been subjects of charges with animal cruelty, but other animals continue to be “non-prosecuted” as if they were in a lawless zone.We can say that the attitude of protecting only dogs and cats and not other animals reflect the low maturity of this country. Some may believe that better treatment of dogs and cats will improve situations for other animals, but this theory is unfounded and the gap has instead kept widening. However, the penalties of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals apply to all protected animals, whether they are kept in test facilities, under experiment, confined in livestock farms, or being killed at…
Animal Rights Center Japan has been working to improve the handling of cattle and pigs at slaughterhouses. 2016年に改善を要望していたD屠殺場は改善したのか？2020: “Welfare” not improving at slaughterhouses[Slaughterhouse in Japan] Tether too short to even lie down, tied overnight without even water夜中、屠殺場で豚に何が起きているのかと畜場へ、動物の扱いの改善要望Petition: End cruel treatment of animals at slaughterhousesNo action position of government: No water to quench animals’ thirst at slaughterhouses “Animal welfare at slaughterhouses” is so universal that the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health), of which Japan is a member, has established an animal welfare standard called “Slaughter of Animals”. It is an idea that has obtained international consensus*, having animal welfare requirements for slaughter set when exporting “beef” or “chicken”.*No animal welfare…
When you trace back where your food came from, you’ll find many footprints. By the time they get on your plate, some ingredients use a lot of water, emit greenhouse gases, afflict animals, and slaughter animals. For the energy to support you for 24 hours, how much resources are you using and causing suffering? To choose food with thought, let’s first follow your footprint. https://www.hopeforanimals.org/animal-footprint-en/ On 2021/6/25, Animal Rights Center Japan released “Food Footprint Calculator” for knowing the impacts of what we eat. By entering your food consumption into this calculator, you can find out: How many animals you eat each year How many hours of animal suffering you cause…
The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are expected to begin in July 2021 after a one-year postponement. As the Tokyo Games will be held during the COVID-19 pandemic, all participants must take additional precautions to protect their health. This goes beyond just disinfecting; it is also important to raise immunity, avoid crowding, and stay away from related risks. Diet, specifically the ingredients in food, play a crucial role in raising immunity among the atheletes. The standards for procuring livestock products for the Tokyo Games were established in 2017. Animal welfare levels are minimal in comparison to world standards. For example, at the London Games, free-range eggs were the minimum standard. At…
In response to an inquiry from the Animal Rights Center Japan, the organic restaurant “Organic Grill Kugenuma-kaigan” in Kanagawa responded that all the eggs they use are already cage free and they promised they will continue to use them. They also would support the cage-free declaration. In addition to the eggs, we found out that the chicken meat they use, imported from Hungary, meets the standards of the Better Chicken Commitment. Also, as for vegetables, they mainly use organic and pesticide-free vegetables. They use different kinds of vegetables based on the seasons. There is also a vegetable plate on the menu that vegan and vegetarian people can enjoy. What is…
On 2021/6/3, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) issued the following report related to the bribery case of the former chair of Akita Foods. Regarding the release of “Report of the Verification Committee on Poultry and Egg Administration” and “Results of Additional Ethical Investigations” The media reported that the conclusion was “chicken egg bribery ‘no policy distortion’ “, but the report shows how much MAFF’s policy was distorted from the start. Questions were also asked by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee, all of which pointed out that the answers were ambiguous and the investigation was inadequate; nevertheless, it repeated that “the policy was not distorted”. Of course,…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, a non-profit organization Asahi in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. This is a social welfare corporation that provides employment support for persons with disabilities. They also sell bread and cakes made from cage-free eggs. The owner says, Cage-free rearing was started 40 years ago by the person who first started the company. I think it’s a pity to keep chickens in cages. Cage-free rearing is more fun than cage rearing and the chickens are cute. ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー In response to an inquiry from Animal…
Since it occurred at a pig farm in Japan in September 2018, classical swine fever has no sign of stopping. So far, the infection in pig farms has spread to 14 prefectures, and a total of 231,895 pigs have been depopulated (as of the end of April 2021). With avian flu, 9,689,703 birds were depopulated in the country from 2020 to 2021, and it was mentioned in these articles (1, 2) that this depopulation was not euthanasia. Depopulation for swine fever is also far from euthanasia. Pigs are killed by “disinfectant injection into the heart”, “electric killing”, or “carbon dioxide gas killing.” Use of disinfectant “Pakoma” On 2021/4/19, Mainichi Newspaper…
What if it happened to you…? With their legs fixed, chickens are hung upside down before having their heads cut a little with a knife. While bleeding they are kept hanging for a few minutes, then they are put into boiling water headfirst. What if it happened to dogs? Cats? Or humans? Do you think the society that accepts such cruelty is healthy? However, people who stock, process, sell and eat chickens accept the cruelty.They go about their daily lives blocking out the cruelty on their doorstep as they believe it happens elsewhere. Since 2018, Animal Rights Center has been pointing out that chickens have their heads cut off while…
In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Shusai-tenmi in Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage free and that they would support the cage-free declaration. The owner said, All eggs used are cage free. Just as humans feel stress, I think birds do, too. With the eggs being safe and secure, I think it would be best if everyone was cage free if possible. Ai matiere, who had previously declared cage free, told us about this place as a restaurant that also uses cage-free eggs. ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Casse-tete in Kisarazu City,…
The multi-partisan parliamentary group aiming for zero killing of dogs and cats has established a project team for amending the Animal Welfare Act. Since its launch on August 25, 2023, the PT has held 21 meetings to hear from stakeholders and deliberate on the direction of amendments. Out of these 21 sessions, however, only one touched on livestock animals, and just one on laboratory animals. Despite 1 billion livestock animals being killed annually, the issue remains far from the priorities of lawmakers. In the sole PT meeting addressing livestock, the discussions showed promise, but it is unlikely to expect significant amendments by 2025 at this rate. 17th PT: Hearings on…
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