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The severity of harm to chickens from cockfighting taking place in Okinawa was reported previously, but this has not been resolved yet. Cockhouse that protects the chickens submits a petition to create a regulation in Okinawa Prefecture that bans cockfighting, and reexamination will take place in July. Even without examination, cockfighting is cruel, causes many illegal activities, and also causes uncertainty in confidence in Okinawa Prefectural police and Okinawa Prefectural government who can not control these crimes altogether. ARCJ has launched a signature campaign with Cockhouse. This will not be a formal petition because the signatures are on the Internet, but we believe that delivering voices from around the country…
The word “vegan” seems to appear more and more recently even in Japan, but what does “vegan” really mean? Many people seem to misunderstand, so it would be good to understand its real meaning as this word becomes more commonly used. Indeed, if you check on Google Trends, the search interests in both “ヴィーガン” and “ビーガン” seem to be increasing exponentially *1. The word “vegan” was originally invented in England. In Japanese, many people write “ビーガン”, but “ヴィーガン” is technically more correct, if you want to be exact. (In Google search, too, “ヴィーガン” has twice as many results as “ビーガン”, so it might be good to try for consistency.)…
Why “cultured meat” and “alternative meat” — animal sacrifice The graph below shows the estimated number of animals sacrificed around the world for meat, eggs, and dairy from 1961 to 2017. Source: FAOSTAT* Laying Eggs hen and Meat chicken use the left-most 1000Head axis, while Meat pig, Meat cattle, and Milk whole fresh cow use the inner axis. Here are the numbers of animals sacrificed in 2017. They amount to over 10 times the world population. Egg-laying hens 7.838 billion birds Broiler chickens 66.567 billion birds Pigs 1.486 billion heads Beef cattle 344.149 million heads Dairy cows …
Is your milk coming from healthy cows? When you imagine dairy cows, you might think of free-range cows. However 70% of farms in Japan keep their cows tied with a short rope called “tie stalls.” See the images below: The cows are tied with ropes in the pictures above. A tool called stanchions is used in the pictures below. Both farms are located in Japan. The majority of farmers use these methods while there are other methods called free-stalls or free-barns where cows can move around. In Japan, only 3% of farmers are estimated to allow cows to graze in a field as of 2012. The picture below shows the…
On June 13, 2019, the certified nonprofit organization Animal Rights Center Japan (Tokyo) launched the [Rethink-Milk.com] campaign, aiming to solve the issue of dairy cows getting their milk taken while being constricted by short chains or ropes for extended periods, unallowed to even walk. In this campaign, we will shed light to the existing situations of dairy cows in Japan, and the suffering and impacts on dairy cows brought about by tethering, and also raise public awareness by publishing questionnaire results from dairy manufacturers, and promote conversion to non-tethering rearing methods (free-range, free barn, free stall). Supermarkets are stocked with milk from animals suffering from tethering, and are not yet…
On June 12, 2019, the revised Animal Protection Law was established. ARCJ has partnered with JAVA and PEACE, and for over 2.5 years we’ve been working on a law to protect all animals. Based on the draft plan we created, discussions have continued. The effectiveness of the law, which was lacking in the animal welfare management law so far, and the deficiencies in its operation have greatly improved.The removal of the transitional measures of the 8-week-old regulation of dogs and cats that are being discussed by the public will not actually benefit the animals significantly. This had been treated as symbolic, but in fact the fine revisions that have been…
For all the animals, farmed and fished, who continue to be ignored in society. 251 people marched, for all the animals who are restrained from movement, in barren filthy cages, desperately breathing, desperately drinking, desparately eating, being forced to live, forcibly exploited, without any rewards for them, and then killed in horrific ways. June 1, 2019, Shibuya, Omotesando, Harajuku Thank you to our 251 comrades. We will never give up until there’s no more sacrifice of animals. From now on, let’s continue to raise our voices together for them. Please gain more information and utilize in your activism. https://arcj.org
Japanese eggs that got banned in Taiwan In 2018, due to oversupply of eggs, the price fell and the adult chicken renewal and empty shack extension project was launched, and millions of egg-laying chickens were slaughtered (details here). Egg prices are so low that they have fallen to the lowest level in the last 10 years, and production is said to be excessive *1. Wondering what happens to the extra eggs, the following article was published in the April issue of the Japan Chicken Industry News *2 with the title “Japanese eggs exceed Taiwan’s pesticide residue standard tolerance”. Chicken eggs exported from Japan in February were suspended from import because…
World’s 2nd largest meat producer Tyson Foods announced that it will debut their own plant-based protein alternatives this summer. Tyson Foods had previously invested in the plant-based meat company Beyond Meat, but in April this year Tyson sold its stake, intending to produce its own alternative products. According to research, the US meat-substitute retail market could reach $2.5 billion by 2023. (*1) Many other companies are engaged in this space, especially in Europe and North America. Canada’s largest meat product manufacturer Maple Leaf Foods bought the well-known plant-based brands Lightlife and Field Roast in 2017, and in October 2018 established a new plant-based food branch Greanleaf Foods (*2). In April this…
Nanakusano sato is a company that produces natural mayonnaise called “Matsuyda no Mayonnaise.” We found out the eggs this company uses are all cage-free. The company intends to keep this policy in the future. We confirmed this is the first Japanese company with such a policy. They said the reason they only use cage-free eggs is “it’s just simply natural.” This is from their website: What is natural? Don’t touch much. Don’t add much. Keep the conventional way. It takes effort, but it is natural to take time. Don’t overdo. Let nature take care of things. Nature will take care of crops, birds, and fermentation. While there are companies who…
It was shocking to hear the response by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) to a question about animal welfare at the Tokyo Olympics asked by Councilor Katsuya Ogawa from Hokkaido at the House of Councilors Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Shocking response 1. Perhaps MAFF doesn’t know much about the group rearing of pigs? The OIE Pig Welfare Policy was established in May 2018, and it recommends that the sows be bred in groups, indicating that pregnancy stall breeding does not satisfy animal welfare (OIE Animal Welfare Code: Animal Welfare and Pig Production System. Article 7.13.1). In promoting group rearing, MAFF has expressed concerns as follows:…
We learned that the 2nd largest apparel company in the country, “Shimamura Group” had stopped selling fur (real fur) and has been fur-free since 2018, thanks to a response we received from Shimamura Company Ltd. Shimamura Group has 1430 stores in Japan just counting the Fashion Center Shimamura, holds about 700 other stores for brands such as Avail and children’s clothing Birthday, and is also advancing to Taiwan and Shanghai. With the Shimamura Group having gone fur-free, the 2nd largest company has become fur-free following the top Japanese apparel company Fast Retailing, representing 45% of the industry with the two companies combined. Until now, when the ethical life creator Azumi…
Did you know that the majority of dairy farms in Japan tie the cows pretty much permanently with tethers or chains such that they can’t move sideways or back and forth? As many as 73% of dairy farms in Japan use such tie-stalls as the primary rearing method. Dairy cows in tie-stalls in Japan (ARCJ) They can’t even move away from floors covered in feces.（ARCJ) If you were forced to live on feces, tied down like this every day, how would you feel? Japan has no regulations regarding tethering of dairy cows, unlike in Europe. Regulations and Status in Europe In Denmark, 85% of cows used to be tethered in…
n November 2018, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Wealth (MHLW) released an investigation report on the matter of slaughterhouses cramming chickens in cages and abandoning them for long hours. 72 hours of Abandonment The investigation by the MHLW was mentioned during the deliberation for the Ministry of Forestry, Agriculture, and Fisheries (MAFF) in the Diet on 21st November 2018. According to the report, the MHLW investigated 28 slaughterhouses out of 32 (as of 2016) in the country, excluding three houses in Okayama and one in Fukuoka. Investigations conducted by the MHLW typically focus on sanitary issues. Therefore, the results don’t present the facts that chickens cannot raise their heads…
It may wind up having opposite effects? On March 13th 2019, Mr. Akihiro Hatsushika, a diet member from Tokyo asked questions about animal welfare with regards to the procurement of livestock for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to Minister Yoshitaka Sakurada, who is in charge of this issue, at the House of Representatives Committee on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In response to the general-policy speech given by the ministry that stated “In the Olympic village, we’ll use domestic ingredients in order to promote Japan …,” Mr. Hatsushika pointed out that many athletes already showed their concern about animal welfare issues in Japan, so it may indeed have opposite…
In February 2019, hog cholera crossed the border of Gifu prefecture and reached Aichi, Nagano, Shiga, and Osaka prefectures. There are many livestock producers in the area of Tahara-city of Aichi prefeture. Many pigs have been killed since cholera was first observed in Gifu prefecture in 2018. The number of pigs killed has risen to 40,000 in total as of February 2019. It is horrifying to imagine there will be more pigs killed considering the concentration of such business in Tahara city in Aichi. The reports by media and comments by concerned parties only focus on economical damage. However, the biggest loss and victims are indeed pigs. It is not…
They put two male roosters (shamo) in a small enclosure where they cannot escape, make them fight, enjoy it, and bet money. The chickens bleed from their heads and bodies, and even bones get exposed, and then the winner and loser are determined. They mercilessly discard the chickens who lost and became useless. Female chickens who cannot be used for cockfighting, and male chickens used as underdogs by getting their claws and beaks cut off then become battered are also discarded. It is said that they cut off the lower beak to make a rooster defenseless and make him fight with a healthy rooster and bet on how many minutes the fight…
Apparel company “Sanyo Shokai” with multiple brands such as EPOCA, Paul Stuart, APOLIS, etc. prohibits the use of real fur from the Fall / Winter collection in 2019. They announced it in “On the future growth strategy for the third quarter of 2018” at October 2018. In order to respect the dignity of animals, the use of real fur is prohibited from the use of autumn and winter items of 2019 • All brands · All products ban the use of furs such as mink, fox, rabbit, raccoon, kangaroo etc (including miscellaneous goods and partial use) A lot of famous apparel companies such as Gucci, Chanel, coaches, etc. have declared the…
“I must say that animal welfare is not pursued at slaughterhouses” It was Mr. Keiji Horikoshi, a monk, and a member of the House of Representatives, who raised the issue of animal welfare in slaughterhouses, which had not been included in the original discussions of this group. The Environmental Committee had been long held off during the extraordinary diet session. On Dec 5th 2017, the committee finally took place where Mr. Horikoshi from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chose animal welfare issues as his first question. “… especially, there is a belief where Buddha exists in every single thing, including mountains, grass, trees, and rivers in relation to importance of lives, which is called “Sansensoumokushikkaijoubutsu.” This…
Marriott International is going cage-free by 2025! Please find their official statement from the link below. http://serve360.marriott.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Marriott_International_Cage-Free_Egg_Statement.pdf If you do not know the problem of caged eggs, you can find articles about caged eggs from this link. http://www.arcj.org/en/animals/factoryfarming/category/contents_type=77 A costumer asked them if this policy is also applied to hotels in Japan. They said yes! They also told her that they can serve you vegan meal at their hotels if you are vegan. *Animal Rights Center is still waiting for the response from Marriott International Japan. Marriott International is the biggest hotel chain company in the world. There are also many hotels in Japan owned or managed by Marriott. We believe that…
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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