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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,…
From last July until January, Animal Rights Center Japan ran a #ShrimpsMatter campaign to raise awareness about shrimp eyestalk ablation. Partly to measure the effects of this campaign, we commissioned a survey at the end of July, and again with identical questions in January this year. After briefly describing the actual practice of breeder shrimps getting one of their eyes removed in aquaculture, including videos and photos on this campaign site, we asked 12 questions: 1. Before seeing this survey, did you know that shrimps can feel suffering? 2. Had you thought that you want to know about the breeding methods and breeding environments of shrimps that you eat? 3. Did…
Wacoal, a leading manufacturer of innerwear, will be fur & fur-wool free. Wacoal had already abolished the use of fur, but just one sweater using raccoon wool was being sold, which we asked to be abolished. Wacoal began consideration immediately, including traceability, and as a result promised that from the next season onwards, it will not use wild animal hair (including fur) and will not use non-traceable materials. ARCJ appreciates Wacoal’s sincere attitude toward the issues and its quick decisions. It is not clear from other manufacturers where fur wool comes from. Citizens should not allow such materials. The lack of traceability means that the sacrifices of the animals behind…
In 2021, we, Animal Rights Center Japan, together with the animal protection group Cookhouse in Okinawa, identified the location of the cockfighting ground in Chiba Prefecture. There were approximately 60 gamecocks in wooden cages, and some of them had their entire heads injured, with no eyes, had stitch marks on their heads, and had beaks cut in abnormal ways. Dead bodies were left abandoned, and we also found some bones laying around in the cages. There was a place where 10-20 people could sit, and in the back room there was a circular ring, around which chairs with cushions were lined up, making it a cockfighting ground that could be…
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…
An artist Ujiie-san, who is also a foster parent of chickens we rescued, donated a Buddhist art piece to the Animal Rights Center. Ideas of animal rights or animal welfare are often promoted by buddhist religious groups in some countries, like Taiwan or China. Although that’s not necessarily always the case here in Japan, a few temples share the passion of animal activism. Irrespective of religion, Japanese culture has originally appreciated ideas of mercy, compassion, dislike of killing, and respect for all beings. Many believe animal rights movements came from the Western society. However, the philosopher Peter Singer, who has theorized modern animal rights in academia, states that animal rights…
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…
Until now, ARCJ has been raising awareness about aquatic animals, especially crustaceans, about “ethical” killing and cooking methods, and has made inquiries to shops that are too terrible. These live fish dishes were not seen at one time due to the corona disaster, but the state of emergency has lifted, and sales of live crustaceans and fishes are resuming to gather crowds at large supermarkets and tourist spots for example. The crabs in the photos were being sold at a souvenir shop at a roadside station in a rural area. They are palm-sized crabs who live in the warm waters of Japan and are sold under the names of gazami…
Previously in Japan, JAS Certification for organic livestock was the only animal welfare certification with standards that could satisfy the Five Freedoms. This changed, however, in October 2021 when Yamanashi Prefecture announced new “Yamanashi Animal Welfare Certification Standards”. The Yamanashi Animal Welfare Certification Standard is separated into two tiers: Effort Certification, which evaluates the initiative’s effort, and Achievement Certification, which evaluates the actual result. As with JGAP and other certifications, the criteria for Effort Certification consist of items that are fairly basic in raising animals and are included in the “Guidelines for Animal Feeding Management Corresponding to the Concept of Animal Welfare” established by Japan Livestock Technology Association. For instance,…
The Japan Ethical Initiative (JEI), a general incorporated association in which Animal Rights Center participates, has released the “JEI Ethical Standards”, which encompass ethical issues. The Ethical Standards are comprised of the following 8 major categories: Natural environment is protected Human rights are respected Consumers are respected Animal welfare and rights are protected Product and service information is disclosed Consideration is given to, and contributions are made to, the local community in which the organization operates Appropriate management is being carried out Collaborating proactively with suppliers and stakeholders Of these categories, [4. Animal welfare and rights are protected] includes the following criteria: 4.1 Using livestock and aquatic products that have…
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…
New report reveals 8 reasons why it’s cruel and unsustainable Compassion in World Farming and Animal Rights Center Japan have written to the Japanese government urging them to stop octopus factory farming as a new report, released today (8 October 2021), on World Octopus Day, reveals that it is cruel and damaging to the planet. Compassion’s report – ‘Octopus Factory Farming – A Recipe for Disaster’ – reveals how the octopus would suffer greatly in farms due to its solitary and inquisitive nature and exposes the lack of any approved humane slaughter method. In addition, there is currently no legislation to protect their welfare in farms and their carnivorous diet…
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…
At the end of July, we commissioned a public survey in advance of the #ShrimpsMatter campaign. After briefly describing the actual practice of breeder shrimps getting one of their eyes removed in aquaculture, including videos and photos on this campaign site, we asked 12 questions with the following 4 choices: Yes Rather yes Rather no No Before seeing this survey, did you know that shrimps can feel suffering? Had you thought that you want to know about the breeding methods and breeding environments of shrimps that you eat? Did you know that in shrimp farming, eyes are getting cut off? Do you feel you want to avoid shrimps from farms…
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…
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