寄付Donate
Animals deserve water, even in their final days. A 2023 survey conducted by the Animal Rights Center Japan revealed animals in Japan are denied drinking water at 38% of cattle, and 72% of pig slaughterhouses. Pigs and cattle in Japan are transported for hours, often up to a day, before arriving at a slaughterhouse. There, they might endure an entire day before their slaughter takes place, and during all that time might not receive drinking water, even in Japan’s intense hot summers. According to a survey conducted from May to July 2023 by the nonprofit Animal Rights Center Japan, 37.82% of cattle, and 71.64% of pig slaughterhouses in Japan lack…
Akidai, which operates supermarkets and other stores mainly in Tokyo, has begun handling animal- and environment-friendly cage-free eggs after discussions with the Animal Rights Center. Famous for its president appearing in the media every day, Akidai’s appeal lies in its quality products, reasonable pricing, and friendly customer service, and the like. Akidai sources products with the theme of ‘Quality and Price Without Compromise, Products We Want to Eat Ourselves. On the same day as the discussion with the Animal Rights Center Japan, Akidai promptly contacted the egg supplier to check the availability of cage-free eggs and began considering procurement., and they immediately commenced sales in-store. Below is a comment from…
The Ageuma festival held at Tado Shrine in Mie prefecture has been blasted over mistreatment of animals. On July 27th, Juridical Foundation Animal Environment & Welfare Association Eva and we, the Animal Rights Center, visited Mie Governor, Katsuyuki Ichimi, some prefectural staff, and a former ministry of health minister, Norihisa Tamura, to address this issue. The governor explained that the prefecture is aware and has demanded that improvements be made so the festival will be better suited for the current time. The governor well understands the Ageume festival is no longer acceptable per today’s standards. Mr. Tamura also pushed some changes and gave numerous successful examples in his own hometown.…
The cafe GOOD HABIT in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture, known for its scones and tea, has committed to cage-free. A cage-free commitment means either switching the cage eggs to cage-free eggs (such as barn-laid or free-range), or for company that are already using only cage-free eggs, it is a promise to consumers that they will continue to avoid using cage eggs. When the Animal Rights Center Japan contacted GOOD HABIT, we were surprised by the owner, Mrs. Yashima’s, great understanding of the cage-free movement. This was because Ms. Yashima had attended the Ethical Concierge Course hosted by the Ethical Association several times, including lectures by the Animal Rights Center Japan,…
An employee was prosecuted on July 13th after a video of him kicking a dairy cow went viral in social media on June 10th 2023. The Animal Rights Center pressed two charges per the Animal Protection Law; one is against this employee based on the Article 44 Clause 2 and the other is based on the Article 48 Clause 2 against Ohdahara Farm. Though the charge against the farm has been dropped, the Animal Rights Center considers the persecution was fair. This is because many abuse cases against livestock were almost always dismissed no matter how horrendous the cases had been. For instance, 35 pigs were starved to death in…
In June 2023, a video of an assault on a dairy cow at the Ohdahara farm in Shimane Prefecture was spread on social media, and investigated by the prefectural police. While media reports only a rough description of the assaults, the video clearly shows that the cows were subjected to repeated and severe beatings. In the 2 minute 40 second video, which consists of both Video 1 and Video 2, one employee (referred to as Employee A) commits the following violence: Some people claim that it is impossible for farmers to assault cows because it affects the quality of the milk, and that farmers treat their cows with love and…
In 2013, the Animal Rights Center signed a petition calling for the abolition of gestation stalls at five major Japanese meat companies: Nippon Ham, Prima Meat Packers, Itoham Foods, Starzen, and Marudai Food, and submitted the signatures collected that year. Ten years have elapsed since then, and all five companies have clarified their stance on the abolition of gestation stalls. Prima Meat Packers was the first company to make its position clear, stating in 2020 that it would not construct any new piggeries using gestation stalls in the future. Then, in November 2021, Nippon Ham announced that it would transition all gestation stalls on its domestic farms to herd rearing by…
Cafe Fuwa-Fuwa, a pancake specialty cafe in Omachi City, Nagano Prefecture, has made a cage-free commitment after informing us that all eggs used in the cafe are cage-free eggs in response to an inquiry from the Animal Rights Center Japan. A cage-free commitment is a promise to consumers to switch their eggs to cage-free eggs (barn-laid or free-range), or, for companies already using cage-free eggs, the promise to continue not using caged-eggs. The owner of Café Fuwa-fuwa became interested in organic and livestock production processes because of his own atopic disease. As he researched, he was shocked by the slaughtering methods of livestock animals and began to question the harsh…
On June 1, 2023, during a questioning of a witness at a meeting of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee, Councilor Noriko Ishigaki asked, “Is there an animal welfare problem with marbled beef?” In response to this question, Mr. Shinmura, who was invited as an expert on animal welfare, answered that there is no animal welfare issue, saying that the cattle should be raised properly and that it is a genetic factor. This is incorrect. There are a number of animal welfare issues associated with the farming practices conducted to produce marbled meat. How is marbled meat produced? It depends on limiting the intake of vitamin A, which is an…
Yubara Onsen Hakkei, located in Okayama Prefecture, has committed to cage-free. This ryokan has been serving only locally produced “Asahi no Kagayaki” cage-free eggs from Yubara, Maniwa City, and they also told us that they will be using cage -free eggs to make mayonnaise in their own kitchen from now on. Hakkei also offers vegan dishes with prior notice, as they want all customers to enjoy their cuisine. The proprietress of Hakkei, Ms. Kamishio, also has a deep love for animals and is active in the rescue of shelter dogs and cats. She is also deeply concerned about the poor conditions in which livestock animals are kept. She is concerned…
For animals, the process of transportation is one of the most physically and mentally taxing, involving pain, suffering, and fear. The Animal Rights Center previously conducted a survey of the courier industry’s consideration for animals in its Corporate Ethical Reporting survey, and the most egregious were Japan Post Co. Sagawa Kyubin and Seino Transport do not, in principle, transport live animals, while Kuroneko Yamato has a dedicated animal transport service and either makes special considerations or allows insects and fish (although Kuroneko Yamato has its own problems). On the other hand, Japan Post, even on its website, states publicly that it can transport live animals: birds, reptiles, fish, and insects,…
Repaco Ltd., which operates 14 stores in Fukushima Prefecture and other areas in Tohoku has committed to cage-free, showing consideration for the animal welfare of their egg-laying hens. Repaco Co., Ltd. started producing its own cage-free eggs in 2021. The eggs from hens raised on homemade fruit yeast feed are sold under the name “Fruit Eggs”. The following four photos are actual photos of Repaco’s barn-raised poultry The person in charge of Fruits & Eggs has already known that He says “A pastry chef who values quality ingredients personally developed eggs that met their own standards. ‘Fruit Eggs’ are used in all of Repaco’s pastries. We thought about what makes…
A response has been received from the town of Kujukuri regarding the 3,000 sardines being kept in overcrowded conditions at the entrance to the Sea Station Kujukuri Sardine Museum operated by the town of Kujukuri, Chiba Prefecture. As for the request to discontinue the sardine exhibit, the response is as follows: “The sardine tank was installed as one of the purposes of attracting visitors to our facility, and we think it is well received.In addition, as of April 1, 2023, with the approval of the Town Council, we have already contracted with a private company to maintain the water tank for one year until March 31, 2024, and we believe…
The Itoman Harley, held annually on the fourth day of the fifth lunar month (June 21) in Itoman City, Okinawa, is reported to be resumed this year after being suspended for four years due to a pandemic. The Harley itself is a very peaceful event in which a large number of people row boats and compete, and is also held in Naha and other cities. However, the one held in Itoman is interspersed with an inhumane pastime in which 50 ducks are tossed into the sea and chased around and captured. The Animal Rights Center has been calling for the event to be stopped since 2015, but it was held…
April 26th in 2023, a large farm housing 150,000 chicken hens died in a barn fire in Omitama, Ibaraki prefecture. No single chicken survived. They were stuck in their cages, waiting to die in fire. Just imagine their fear and agony. When you take a look at the media coverage, they report as though it was a relief since no humans died. No one reported what actually happened although the police and the fire stations were investigating this case so we inquired about this about 8 years ago. One fire station answered that they didn’t have any record since fires in farm houses were usually regarded as trivial. The newspaper…
Companies that have contributed to the spread of animal welfare The Animal Welfare Award (AWA) is an annual* award to express our gratitude to companies that have made animal welfare efforts with animals in mind in Japan, a country that lags behind the rest of the world in animal welfare for livestock and aquatic animals. We evaluated initiatives that we believe had the greatest possible impact from the perspective of the Animal Rights Center Japan, which is involved in activities to protect farm animals in Japan. *April 2022 – March 2023
Umi no Eki Kujukuri, located near the sea in the town of Kujukuri, Chiba Prefecture, has a facility called the Sardine Museum Iwashi Siryoukan. As soon as you enter Umi-no-Eki’s kiosk, you will see an fish tank on the left, and the entrance to the museum is next to it. This tank was filled with sardines, which are kept in an incredibly overcrowded environment. ARCJ have received a report, conducted an investigation, and have currently submitted questions and requests to the facility. The sardine tank appears to have a width of about 3-4 meters, isn’t very deep, and seems to be around 2 meters in height. According to the museum’s…
Goldfish and killifish are sold at the flower and tree sales corner of Mutsuzawa Roadside Station in Mutsuzawa Town, Chiba Prefecture. The fish are sold in plastic bags. In particular, a type of goldfish called “Ranchu” was kept alone in a plastic bag with not enough water to cover its entire body. This method of sale would of course not allow for feeding or changing the water. The amount of feces indicates that the goldfish will be trapped in this environment for more than just a day or so. Of course, there are no water plants to hide in, and the goldfish stayed at the edge of the bag and…
The Animal Rights Center Japan (ARC) has been working with the Ibaraki Prefectural Government to address bird damage to lotus root crops in the Kasumigaura area of Ibaraki Prefecture,We have been working on this issue for 14 years, including submitting written requests. Why can’t this problem be solved? The issue of agriculture and food damage tends to be discussed in the direction of how to utilize the exterminated animals (for food and leather) in a non-wasteful manner, rather than focusing on reducing the extermination itself. The problem of animals that cannot be utilized in business tends to be neglected. What can be done to address this issue effectively? On March…
International conferences, which had been blocked due to the Corona disaster, are now being held with the same level of glamour as in the past. International events that host dignitaries from various countries, promote exchanges among participants, and encourage media traffic are undoubtedly a great opportunity for animal welfare to make progress. Due to the corona outbreak that began in 2019, the Tokyo Olympics, which were scheduled to be held in 2020, were held the following year without spectators, which did not allow animal welfare to make the leap forward as envisioned before the corona. For the first time since then, the G7 summit is expected to be the first…
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…
寄付