Animal Archives - Page 4 of 18

Vile Voice Vegan Troll – Staggering Revelations

Creative Writing, Featured, Satire and Humour 4 Responses »

Sep 182015

By Pete Stevens.

Danger! Danger! Breaking News! There has been an unsettling development within AV. Most people think these initials stand for ‘Aberdeen Voice’ but recent reports, received by cable, have indicated that the initials actually stand for a secret organisation known as ‘Alcoholic Vegetarians’!

The aim of this organisation is simple. They will tackle the horrors of the meat industry and their first aim is to systematically end the trade of animals bred for meat.

We are told by a source, beyond repute, who advertises the huge medicinal benefits of marijuana on their personal face-book pages that their first target is to tackle the 8,000,000 sheep bred in Scotland each year.

Rather than focus on any of the major farms in the area, this evil group have decided to concentrate their efforts on a small producer. Their master plan was to gain maximum public sympathy by targeting a local animal rescue charity and discrediting them, thereby endearing themselves to animal lovers everywhere.

How they did this is unclear, but somehow they managed through an operative, a well known alcoholic animal abuser known only by her initials as S.K. (Sheep Killer?) Was to plant true information in the public domain.

Her first cunning plan to discredit them was to inform the public about their secret background. It appears that their so called ‘animal haven’ was simply a front for a small scale sheep rearing facility which raised 20 or so sheep each year raising hundreds of pounds possibly reaching as much as a staggering £1,000.00.

By highlighting the history of the havens owner, a known fraudster with a criminal record she made her second blow by targeting this poor unfortunate, who suffers from a range of disabilities including a brain tumour, emphysema and some other stuff, by attacking her fund raising campaigns to save animals!

Having managed to obtain copies of her public twitter accounts and go fund me adverts she discovered that most of the photos in these appeals displaying ‘animals in need’ were in actual fact other peoples pets, either living happily, or whom had been put to sleep years ago in foreign countries, or even in one instance a real animal somebody actually wanted them to take!

Pictures on their face-book pages also revealed happy healthy animals at their farm, but sadly these proved not to be rescues but simply other innocent animals bred for either slaughter or the public’s pleasure and enjoyment in seeing pictures of cute young baby animals.

S.K. and her many, no doubt drunken vegan cohorts, are seemingly responsible for endangering this ‘safe haven for all farm animals’ by printing facts and therefore responsible for causing public resentment resulting in Death Threats not only against the owner, of this safe haven (now suffering fits as a result) but are also responsible for threats against a group of 6 rescued unknown, unseen Shetland ponies with their babies held, despite all odds, in safekeeping at a secret location somewhere, by somebody who nobody knows!

However, all is not lost and support continues for this brave band, against the evil cohorts of ‘anti carnivores’ and the cry has gone out, (no doubt tongue in cheek) for an AK47 to fight off this evil troll who carries a vendetta against honest farmers simply doing their job producing animals for us to eat so that they can save some other animals which we might or might not want to eat….but deserve not to be eaten because they just don’t!

It seems that the will of this ‘not for profit’ but ‘just the same as a charity’ group has decided to hand back the funds they have raised, (just like they handed back the money they defrauded before being found guilty of benefit fraud and sentenced to 180 hours community service, which they ‘only did to save the farm’) has been broken along with the heart of their AK47 loving father who is left pining after the sudden ‘re-homing’ of some of their rescues back to their original owners and no doubt other local rescues.

We can only wonder what they will do with the many donations of goods and services ranging from cctv cameras used in the lambing shed and incubators for raising chicks which were of course only used for the rescue and care of the animals in their safe haven and which had no practical or commercial use at all for the farm side of their business.

We can only hope that the real victims in this sad situation are not the animals, real or imagined, and that justice will prevail and the truth ‘be out’.

Meanwhile we have been informed that during the past two weeks over 300,000 sheep have been slaughtered……but hey! We all gotta eat…Don’t we?

Photo Credit: Fred Wilkinson. Permission granted to photograph animals by new owners Mike and Pat Rae even though the pics were taken before they bought these animals from Fred Wilkinson. The animals depicted have gone to good, loving, permanent homes and their condition will be monitored by the previous owner whenever the new owners invite him round for a booze up … which may be frequent.

Note: All proceeds from the sale have been donated to Newarc animal sanctuary.

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[Aberdeen Voice accepts and welcomes contributions from all sides/angles pertaining to any issue. Views and opinions expressed in any article are entirely those of the writer/contributor, and inclusion in our publication does not constitute support or endorsement of these by Aberdeen Voice as an organisation or any of its team members.]

‘Trump’ To Speak At City Art Exhibition

Aberdeen City, Opinion No Responses »

Sep 162015

With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.

Local artists Neale Bothwell, Graham Murdoch and Suzanne Kelly will show their latest works in Aberdeen’s Under The Hammer from 19 September.

Kelly will display satirical dolls parodying Donald Trump and some of his entourage.

The four dolls include Donald Trump in golfing mode – which will give a selection of Trump’s catalogue of offensive comments when its hand is shaken.

Another Trump doll in Graduation mode commemorates Trump’s controversial honorary degree from Robert Gordon University.

This degree prompted academic Dr David Kennedy to hand his own degree back to RGU in protest.

There is also a Donald Jr doll in safari mode which talks when its gun is squeezed, explaining how his killing animals helps Africans. The fourth doll is the Menie Estate spokesperson, Sarah Malone, or Mrs Malone-Bates if you prefer. She married Aberdeen Journal’s supremo Damian Bates.

Many speculate that this may have some connection to the positive media coverage Trump receives in Aberdeen papers the Press & Journal and Evening Express, which ignore the majority of anti-trump sentiment.

The handmade dolls come in packaging labelled ‘Donny and Friends’. The boxes are adorned with pictures of pound signs, bags of swag, guns, golf motifs, etc. – as well as newspaper headlines from some of Trump’s debacles.

Suzanne Kelly has kept a close eye on all things Trump related since his earliest association with Menie as a golf course location, and has been involved in many aspects of opposition the controversial development. Of the plight of the residents of Menie, Kelly is particularly passionate.

Kelly says:

“I’ve written a report on the Scottish Government’s handling of the Menie Estate. The legal environmental protection was stripped away on the promise of millions of pounds and thousands of jobs flooding into Aberdeenshire. The reality is considerably different. A giant bund of earth blocks the former view to the sea of Leyton Farm Cottage’s inhabitants – it serves no purpose but to intimidate as far as I can tell.

“Local farmer Michael Forbes and his family had their water supply damaged, were threatened by police over what were civil issues, and had his access to the sea to fish cut off, with the police warning him not to attempt to take his boats and nets to the sea.

“I’ve also helped the BBC’s Panorama team with their segment on Trump, which proved his links to organised crime. The Scottish Government doesn’t care. Neither do Aberdeen Sports Village, and when I last checked, some Aberdeenshire school children were sporting Trump-sponsored shirts.

“I also had a photo credit or two in Anthony Baxter’s documentary A Dangerous Game; my photos showed huge piles of mixed rubbish on the Menie Estate.

“Aberdeen Voice has also featured a fair quantity of my satirical writings on Trump. Writing about him satirically is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel.

“This man is condemned by his own words, which show him to be a nationalist, racist, sexist piece of work. If the serious work I’ve tried to do won’t do the trick, I’ll try and make a few points using some satirical dolls.

“Hopefully people who see them will find them amusing, but also take away some of the serious points. The Scottish government gave up important principles for what proved to be the pie-in-the-sky that opponents knew it to be at the Menie Estate. But now, some Americans are actually considering electing this man as president.”

The work will be displayed for approximately 3 or 4 weeks.

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Northfield Animal Haven – Further Revelations

Aberdeenshire, Opinion 12 Responses »

Sep 142015

Further questions arise over Northfield Animal Haven’s owner Kelly Cable. Aberdeen Voice can reveal Cable’s past includes a guilty plea for several years of claiming benefits illegally.

A charity that seeks donations must be wholly above board. Northfield Animal Haven is certainly pushing the envelope as they:

Advertise widely that they ‘save all farm animals’ – in truth the owners are also involved in breeding farm animals for sale as meat, claiming ‘everyone knows’ that is how they operate, and claiming that since they don’t slaughter the animals they sell personally, it doesn’t count;
Run a GoFundMe campaign to save 6 Shetland ponies in imminent danger – but claim the owner will only allow Northfield to take the animals – which could have been rescued by now;
Use the image of ‘Gooseberry’ on this GoFundMe appeal – a white Shetland colt that was dealt with by another animal shelter and needs no assistance;
Have similarly used photos of other animals they were not involved with – in at least one instance claiming they were involved directly

Suzanne Kelly reports.

Misappropriated picture of cow NAH claimed they were attempting to save.

Aberdeen Voice can reveal that Kelly Cable entered a guilty plea for obtaining benefits she was not entitled to. This involved falsifying employment data, falsifying income and not disclosing where she lived. The value of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit ran to approximately £3,600.

The fraud spanned 2006 to 2009; misleading information was supplied on at least half a dozen occasions. (As an aside, the next time anyone complains they don’t get enough benefits, or that refugees are getting help, remember that benefit fraud is stealing from the taxpayer and from those in serious need).

Kelly and her then partner borrowed £10,000 for a house purchase, and both signed to repay their share of the loan.

As per Aberdeen Voice’s earlier article, Kelly refused to pay her half, claiming it was not her signature on the loan agreement. A handwriting expert declared that Kelly had signed. The money remains unpaid; the grandparents she borrowed some of the money from have since passed away.

Kelly was also bankrupt; she disputes the date of a document Aberdeen Voice has on this bankruptcy; we await her clarification.

Kelly was irate in one of her communications to the Voice, asking how she could get a mortgage if she had been bankrupt. How indeed someone can get a mortgage who has been bankrupt, who has been found guilty of benefit fraud, and who has a brain tumour is a fair question.

Perhaps the 180 hours of community service Cable did atoned for this fraud. However, when the misleading appeals for funds, the misleading use of animals belonging to others, the unpaid past loan, the bankruptcy are added to this, a picture emerges of someone who may not entirely have been rehabilitated.

While Aberdeen Voice is investigating this operation, Kelly Cable has claimed to receive death threats, claimed to have a brain tumour (presumably the one she had some years back, which she mentions in a handwritten note), and claims to be running a perfectly honest, above-board animal rescue.

Aberdeen Voice initially questioned where these six Shetland ponies are, who owns them, and why the charity is using photographs of animals they have no contact with in its advertising. We would now like to ask whether or not there are actually six Shetland ponies out there in danger of being sold for meat, whose owner will not let anyone but Northfield do the rescue.

Aberdeen Voice would like to ask the Haven if it understands why some people feel they have been misled.

Aberdeen Voice will turn its information over to the relevant authorities, citing particular concerns about finances and misleading advertising. Future developments will be reported.

As a parting thought, here is a Tweet from Northfield, claiming they have proved they are real.

The photo is actually from a 2011 Northern Ireland rescue, and is not related to Northfield saving ‘ponies and their babies’.

Saving ewes and their babies doesn’t make the grade however, whatever the Northfield sign and other appeals say. As to proof the organisation is real, this falls just a bit flat.

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Animal Rescue’s Appeals Are For Other People’s Animals

Aberdeen City, Breaking, Featured 2 Responses »

Sep 132015

Embattled Northfield Animal Haven is using photographs to fundraise. There is nothing wrong with that – except that the photos of animals purportedly in dire straits were taken from other organisations without permission – and most animals shown were already saved. Aberdeen Voice reveals another deception. By Suzanne Kelly.

It’s a case of the old ‘Spot the Difference’ game: only there is no difference in the photos.

Pictured right is the GoFundMe page for Northfield Animal Haven that currently has many people worried for the future of six Shetland ponies. Generous people chipped in what they could.

What hard-hearted person could resist this fluffy white pony?

Now meet Gooseberry – pictured April 14 at at Lluest Horse and Pony Trust in Wales.

Gooseberry was a colt; perhaps he’s had a sex change and a few foals before needing a Northfield rescue.

Under the misappropriated photo of Gooseberry, Cable has written:

“Have spoke [sic] with the lady today who has the Shetland Ponies safe for us until they come here. Weather permitting it should be this week, cant wait to meet them and give them a new home when they are ready. Thank you to all who has [sic] donated towards getting them here. Hopefully once they are here, people will see that there is no scam going on.”

As far as a ‘scam’ goes, it will be interesting to see which Shetlands, if any, turn up rescued at Northfield.

As for Gooseberry? According to Lluest Horse and Pony Trust website, as recently as July 14:

“Gooseberry has now been successfully re-homed with his best friend Santa.”

Aberdeen Voice confirmed with Lluest Horse and Pony trust the photo was their rescue, it is safely homed, and no permission had been sought to use their image to fundraise for Northfield. It is clear that the photo Northfield used is that of a colt rescued by others, and as such is misleading.

There is nothing on the Northfield GoFundMe page to suggest that this photo is used for illustration purposes only.

Any animal lover would look at this GoFundMe appeal and have no idea that this pony illustrated is not one of the animals allegedly to be.

Any animal lover who saw the initial Northfield appeal post might have been confused or misled on a few other points as well. Kelly Cable refers to the rescues happening on a working farm. A working farm could be any kind of venture – arable crops, herbs, flowers. No one would automatically know that this meant some animals were raised to be sold to fund rescuing others – a moral dilemma if ever there were one.

Lambs to the Slaughter:

Perhaps Northfield should start by rescuing their own sheep, as they do indicate they rescue ‘all farm animals’.

While selling its own animals at Aberdeenshire’s Thainstone market, Northfield wanted to save the ponies which it claimed were:

“under threat of being shot and used over winter as dog food.”

When their non-rescues end up as meat, this dire warning rings a bit hollow.

Aberdeen Voice published the revelation about the sale of animals at market. Following the article, Cable issued a number of entries on the GoFundMe page which admit the marketing of some animals. These posts by Cable represent that millions of sheep are slaughtered. None of what she says satisfactorily explains why Northfield shows pictures of sheep on its sign and other fundraising sites if they don’t normally save sheep.

Their answer when questioned on this point was that ‘people like to see pictures of all the animals’.

Photo Finish:

Aberdeen Voice spoke to another animal owner whose pony was depicted as needing a rescue. The owner had no idea this photo had been copied and used for fundraising.

The owner confirms that the photo was taken from the internet and reused by Cable without any permission or prior contact. The owner is happy to advise Aberdeen Voice readers the animal in question is in fine health, and is pregnant in fact. The animal’s owner is contemplating a variety of actions, and is less than happy to find her photo misappropriated by Cable.

Cow Rescue is Bull:

While Cable may be happy to sell some cows for meat, she’s into rescuing other cattle.

Take these for instance. According to Northfield Animal Haven’s twitter page, they only had 17 hours (for some reason).

Northfield Animal Haven also wrote:

“They dumped them in a shed I’ve been feeding them since Friday”

“Thank you if I can raise about a £1000 at least that will get them here food for a few weeks and vet care”

The truth was just a bit different back in 2011 when Lycospca (based in Lycoming County, USA) wrote about the same animals:

“Thank goodness someone saw these poor animals and called us to check up on them. The owner had grain in the barn and they were ordered to get a round bale. Dr. Hocker took fecal samples to determine if the cows also need wormed.

“With our intervention, the cows should soon put weight back on. Officer Woltz will be filing charges.”

However, according to Northfield Animal Haven, these cows are dead. The now closed campaign was continued after the reported death of the animals, and the funds raised put towards the horses.

“RIP to the cows dumped in a shed, I couldn’t save them I tried to get more time and raise enough f… http://www.gofundme.com/6fkuss?pc=tw_u ” – NfieldAnimalHaven – Dec 8, 2014

“We will continue to share this campaign for anyone to donate to any donations will goto the horses… http://www.gofundme.com/6fkuss?pc=tw_u “ – NfieldAnimalHaven – Dec 9, 2014

Aberdeen Voice will be interested to know whether the Scottish SPCA were contacted about these cows.

Coupled with misleading and contradictory statements as to the fundraising activities and 100% dependence on the public (which if they are selling animals to help save others is not quite accurate), these photographs could easily mislead potential donors – some of which were ‘disappointed’ when they learned their money was going to people who send some animals to slaughter. When questioned in detail about whether or not the sold animals are killed she replied:

“I don’t send them [sheep] for slaughter the people who buy them after me probably do but I don’t personally so what I stated was fact….”

There are other instances of this photo ‘borrowing’. In this instance the appeal is to save 6 ponies and their babies.

A pony with a weeping eye and green halter is shown. In association with the picture, and that of Gooseberry, Northfield Animal Haven wrote:

“Please help to save 6 horses from being killed by donating to our plea”

“make it a Good #Friday raise enough to get the transport booked to get these babies http://www.gofundme.com/zcsef47k 2392 followers £5 each would do”

Again, the photo is from the internet; in this case from a December 2011 rescue in Ireland.

What’s the problem?

There are many genuine animals needing urgent rescue. There are finite funds available in these financially challenging times for people to donate to good causes. When a person donates to one charity, that means another charity is going to go without.

Appeals must reflect facts. When someone is soliciting for funds, the kind-hearted people who make donations are trusting that they are going to help genuine animals, that they are being told the truth, and they are literally being given the full picture. It is essential that we find out what animals have been rescued by Northfield, and how much they have collected in goods and funds.

If a single person has been misled, that is a person too much.

Kelly vs Kelly:

Kelly Cable has indicated on Facebook and elsewhere that she is receiving threatening phone calls which she reported to the police, and that her lawyers are advising her not to answer questions on Aberdeen Voice. She has also represented that she has a brain tumour.

She has written:

“Right this stops now, I am sick to the back teeth of this, we have been a rescue now for three years and have never had such hassle since march when Suzanne Kelly first came at us for selling our lambs not rescue animals since then it has been continual from her. I am not registering as a charity but I have done something else which will put all of our supporters at ease, which as soon as it is through it will be posted.

“I don’t know about anyone else but this really is getting beyond a joke now, all the good that we have done is ignored and to goto [sic] to a previous partner from 15 years ago where you will get one side of a story is scraping the barrel.

“I should not have to discuss my personal life or what happened to me in this relationship ie being threatened to be locked away from my family is just one thing so from now on whatever is written in the voice people can believe it or not. I will continue to go down the legal route with regards to the voice.”

The reference to the ‘previous relationship’ refers to the revelations that she promised to repay her ex-partner’s parents and his grand parents a loan the couple were made. Her share was £5,000. She made representations at the time that it was not her signature on the loan agreement. A forensic handwriting expert was called in who concluded that Kelly Cable had in fact signed for the loan.

Aberdeen Voice is not interested in the details of the personal relationship, but a picture is emerging which throws doubt on the trustworthiness and honesty of the woman behind Northfield Animal Sanctuary.

This is a woman who signed for a loan from a partner’s parents and pensioner grandparents and tried to deny she had signed for it, and was shown to be untruthful in that assertion. People have the right to know whether or not those operating a fundraising organisation are trustworthy. An article addressing the issue of how trustworthy Kelly Cable is – or otherwise – is forthcoming.

A dossier of all information collected by Aberdeen Voice to date will be passed to the police. This will include information from a number of people who came forward with anecdotes alleging financial improprieties after the first article was published.

Elsewhere a Northfield administrator is asserting that I, Suzanne Kelly, am an alcoholic and a liar; they refuse to retract these allegations which appear on Twitter and on Northfield’s Facebook page, where Fiona Manclark, acting as a Northfield Animal Haven Facebook page administrator, repeats these allegations – which of course are denied categorically.

Northfield has the right of reply to this article. Aberdeen Voice has the following questions for Kelly Cable:

* Where are the six Shetland ponies your current GoFundMe appeal is for?

* Do the six Shetlands even exist – can we have some actual proof and actual photos?

* Who is/was their owner – is it someone you know?

* How do we contact the owner of the Shetlands?

* Do you accept that the photographs you used in the examples above do not represent the animals you purport to rescue?

* How many times have you shown photos not of the animals you sought funds to rescue, but of other animals?

* In one case said you ‘managed to get a pic today’ of some cattle to be rescued by you. The picture matches a photograph taken from the internet. How did you manage to get this photograph and were or were you not involved in the rescue?

* Do you accept that people could have been misled as to what animals they were being asked to donate money towards rescuing?

Aberdeen Voice will continue to watch developments on this story and report.

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Animal Shelter Operator Is A Smooth Operator

Aberdeenshire, Opinion 25 Responses »

Sep 042015

Kelly Cable of Northfield Animal Haven (Northfield Farm. Glasslaw. New Pitsligo. Aberdeenshire. AB43 6PX) juggles a host of moral dilemmas:

Raises funds to save ‘all farm animals’
Claims to be wholly dependent on public support.
Sells animals destined for slaughter.
Refused to let other animal shelters rescue ponies free of charge – but she is seeking £5,000 from the public to rescue.
A former bankrupt, once denied signing for a £5,000 loan: foiled by forensic handwriting expert.

By Suzanne Kelly.

Kelly Cable of Northfield Animal Shelter, Aberdeenshire, seeks funds cap in hand “to provide a rescue/re-homing centre for any unwanted, neglected, abused or retired equine, farm and small animals.”
This laudable aim appears on at least one internet site seeking donations.

A sign for the organisation depicts a wide range of animals including sheep.

What the sign and many fundraising websites didn’t make clear was that Cable also wears a very different hat: she makes money from other farm animals – selling them at auction where they are likely to end up on plates, not in rescue pens.

Websites which initially sought donations for Northfield to save farm animals now have long explanations from the Cables as to their other business. Long, rambling posts by Cable attempt to justify why they save some animals and sell off others at market. Much of this newly-added prose is down to a recent article in Aberdeen Voice.

The article clarified Kelly Cable’s method of doing business: funds from the animals sold at market are used to support the animals they choose to save.

Despite images of sheep clearly shown on Northfield’s various rescue appeals, the Cables are now adamant they don’t save sheep. Those who look at the pictures and read the initial posts were hardly likely to know that.

On a social media page for the Haven, Cable claimed ‘everyone’ knows about the working farm side of the business. As to using photographs of animals destined for slaughter, not sanctuary, Cable offers this explanation:

“The only reason we post pics of the sheep/cows etc. is because we’ve been asked to. Some of the people who donate and live far away love seeing pictures of all the animals.”

The assertion that people who donate to save animals also want to see photos of the cow destined to become steak and the lamb that’s for the chop is an odd one.

Kelly recently posted on social media:

“all of our supporters are aware of what we do with our sheep”

When questioned in detail about whether or not the sold animals are killed she replied:

“I don’t send them [sheep] for slaughter the people who buy them after me probably do but I don’t personally so what I stated was fact….”

The interest in Cable’s working farm and rescue operations were sparked by her online Go Fund Me page asking for £5,000 to rescue Shetland ponies. Two other area animal shelters came forward ready to rescue the animals without raising the £5,000 for the purpose. These were turned away by Cable, who wrote of a ‘vendetta’ and said the ponies’ owner only wanted Cable to get the animals.

The owner of the Shetlands is unknown at present. The ‘vendetta’ referred to seems to be nothing more than a voluntary regulatory body, REACH, being formed to provide a code of ethics for animal rescue. The Cable school of thought falls far short of this ideology, which says breeding animals is wrong for anyone in the rescue business, as is selling animals, especially for slaughter.

One donor who discovered that the Cables also raise lambs and other animals to sell at local auction market (Thainstone’s) commented:

“Disappointed an ‘animal haven’ sends animals to slaughter. Did you read their reply re. refusing help from Hillside? Sounds odd to me.”

Unhappy donors who learned of the sales, concerned animal welfare organisations, and people who have had past dealings with Cable came forward with serious concerns on her business model and details of a decidedly sketchy financial past.

The Haven is a voluntary organisation, and as such there is little visibility of the organisation’s structure or finance. Transparency, honesty, and clarity are what many potential donors expect of those they support. Potential Northfield donors might be interested to know that Cable was made bankrupt in 2009. Not all of her creditors were paid.

However, when it comes to transparency and honesty, one particular episode in Kelly Cable’s colourful career stands out. She and a former partner were lent £10,000 with which to buy a home together. This money came from her partner’s parents and his pensioner grandparents. The couple each signed a loan agreement for the money in August of 2000. The couple split up after buying the Aberdeenshire home.

When asked to repay her £5,000 share of this loan, Kelly Cable astonishingly tried to claim she had never received the money – claiming the signature on the handwritten loan and repayment agreement were not hers.

A forensic handwriting expert put paid to that claim by examining the document and samples of Cable’s writing. The expert concluded the writing was by the same person, or as the report put it, there were:

“overwhelming similarities indicating they [the loan document and Kelly Cable’s writing] are of common authorship”

It is understood that fundraising regulatory authorities are interested in Northfield’s fundraising activities.

Northfield have announced on social media that they are seeking legal advice concerning Aberdeen Voice’s article by Suzanne Kelly, which can be found here https://aberdeenvoice.com/2015/08/controversial-animal-organisation-declines-pony-rescue-offers/

It is strongly recommended that anyone who wants to donate money to an animal rescue or any other charity should research it thoroughly beforehand, and not rely solely on pictures and testimonials written by the operators.

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Denmark Orders Seizure Sea Shepherd Boat – In Shetland

Environment, News 4 Responses »

Sep 042015

With thanks to Michelle Mossfield, Media Director, Sea Shepherd Global.

Authorities in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, have seized a small boat of the Sea Shepherd ship, Sam Simon. The seizure was enacted at the request of Denmark, in response to a Letter of Request issued by the Chief Of Police of the Faroe Islands on August 22.

The warrant for the seizure was presented to the Captain and Ship Manager of the Sam Simon, which was in the Shetland Islands to refuel.

In the warrant, authorities claim that there are “reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed under the law of Denmark.”

It is understood that the confiscation relates to the small boat’s involvement in the defense of 61 pilot whales at a grindadráp at the killing beach of Sandavágur in the Faroe Islands on August 12.

The small boat is now in police custody in the Shetland Islands. Sea Shepherd is seeking further legal advice on the matter.

CEO of Sea Shepherd Global, Captain Alex Cornelissen, stated,

“On the one hand, the government of Denmark refuses to abide by EU laws that protect cetaceans. On the other, Denmark is abusing its EU position and resources to try to silence Sea Shepherd’s opposition to the grindadráp. Denmark’s ongoing support of the slaughter of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands is a national shame.”

The seizure of the small boat comes in the wake of a legal challenge against the Faroe Islands Pilot Whaling Act (grind law/grindalógin).

Faroese legal consultant, former police officer and adviser in issues regarding safety, security, defense and emergency preparedness, Henrik Weihe Joensen, has filed charges against the Faroe Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, challenging the legality of the grind law.

In a statement made on August 20, Joensen says that the grind law is “invalid” because Faroese Parliament does not have the legislative authority to implement new laws in relation to police activity “which concerns action against persons and objects.”

Joensen believes that, if the Pilot Whaling Act is declared invalid, it may have a great impact on the cases already brought against Sea Shepherd and may also have implications for the political relationship between the Faroe Islands and Denmark.

The Pilot Whaling Act has been used as the basis for the arrests of 14 Sea Shepherd volunteers in the Faroe Islands this year, five of who have already been deported.

Today, the verdict in the case against another five Sea Shepherd volunteers who have been charged with violating the grind law will be handed down in a Danish court in the Faroe Islands.

The volunteers; Rudy de Kieviet of the Netherlands, Lawrie Thomson of the United Kingdom, Tobias Boehm of Germany, Alice Bodin of Italy, and Frances Holtman of the United States, are charged with disrupting the same slaughter at Sandavágur on August 12.

The slaughter of cetaceans is outlawed throughout the European Union, including Denmark, in accordance with Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention).

However, in the Faroe Islands, the slaughter of pilot whales and other small cetaceans continues with the assistance of the Danish police and navy, and with the blessing of the Danish government.

This year alone 490 pilot whales have been slaughtered in the Faroe Islands with Denmark’s backing.

“Sea Shepherd has both the legal right and the moral obligation to protect the pilot whales that pass through the Faroe Islands, and that is exactly what we will continue to do,” said Captain Cornelissen.

Sea Shepherd has been leading opposition to the grindadráp since the early 1980s, and is currently in the Faroe Islands for the organization’s sixth Pilot Whale Defense Campaign, Operation Sleppid Grindini.

Sea Shepherd Global:

Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.

Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations. For more information, visit: http://www.seashepherdglobal.org/

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Usan Fined £7000 Over Netting Regulations Breach

Environment, Featured, News 7 Responses »

Sep 042015

With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.

The Pullar family, operators of USAN and it’s subsidiary the Scottish Wild Salmon Company, recently entered guilty pleas on nine charges of salmon conservation legislation breaches and USAN now has a criminal record.

Salmon and other fish are confronted in Montrose with a vast system of huge ‘leader’ nets that direct fish straight into the bag nets until eventually they are hauled onto a boat, and as they panic and suffer, are clubbed to death.

It is a hard thing to witness. But there are other casualties in those nets that suffer and die.

Jenny Green of the Hunt Saboteurs Association shared her observations:

“Coastal salmon netting season ended at midnight on the 31st of August. All equipment had to be out of the water by then. The Scottish government is banning coastal salmon netting after this season, because salmon numbers are at their worst for 40 years. This is an excellent result for us in terms of our Seal Defence Campaign because if there are no nets in the water, Usan can’t claim to need to shoot seals to protect the salmon in those nets.

“The recent court case saw Usan plead guilty to breaking netting regulations in previous seasons and they were charged with 9 offences, and fined £7000.

“Usan had their leader nets in the water after the 6pm Friday night weekend close time (known as keep-ins) – the rule is in place for salmon conservation purposes.

“Usan, now guilty of 9 counts of breaching salmon conservation legislation will not be netting again for many years. Indeed, when they do apply to start up netting again, it’s going to be very difficult because in order to get netting permission they’ll have to prove salmon sustainability…. And you can’t count wild fish.

“So it looks like they are not going to be salmon netters for a very long time. However, during the protracted court case, which lasted all summer, Usan continued to miss weekend close times. In court it was said by the judge that Usan will not be prosecuted by the Crown for 2015 illegal keep-ins. Apparently, as netting is stopping after this season, it’s said to be an obsolete point.

“I find this ridiculous. To me it’s like saying it’s ok to burgle a shop because it’s going out of business anyway. Seal Guardian Campaign operatives submitted 34 videos of illegal keep-ins over the last 5 months to Blair Wilkie, wildlife crime officer for the Angus region. She could choose to prosecute, but apparently she has chosen not to.

“The wild salmon are not the only casualties of netting operations. My pictures show some of the birds drowned in these leader nets, including an adult puffin and a guillemot. I took the pictures with an underwater/submarine ROV. These protected sea birds drowned in a net that was sunk at Scurdieness, adjacent to the protected sea bird haven of the Montrose basin.

“How such a death trap was allowed to be sunk in a site of special scientific interest, adjacent to an internally important and protected sea bird haven for decades is a question the council and SNH both say isn’t in their remit. This net drowned hundreds of protected sea birds. Both were asked why Usan were allowed to put a net here unchallenged, and both said it was down to the other organisation.”

Some 34 instances Usan nets fishing out of hours, constituting wildlife crime, were brought to the attention of wildlife officer Blair Wilkie – no action seems to have been taken to bring cases whatsoever. She could push to prosecute these crimes, but isn’t doing so. Aberdeen Voice asked for an explanation, and was directed to Police Scotland media relations.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said,

“Police Scotland can confirm that information has been received in relation to concerns regarding salmon netting in the Montrose area and enquiries into the matter are ongoing. Police Scotland is committed to the investigation of wildlife crime and reports of criminality are taken very seriously. Wildlife crime is any act that is made illegal in Scotland under legislation with regard to certain birds, animals, aquatic life and plants including their habitats, both on land and in water.

“Such crimes cause significant harm to the species targeted by the criminals, as well as the communities who rely on wildlife for employment and tourism.

“All reports of wildlife crime will be investigated by Police Scotland and appropriate action will be taken. Extensive investigations into these matters can often be challenging and complex, requiring a multi-agency approach, with input and assistance from specialists within partner agencies, including the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

“Our aim is to reduce wildlife crime and we ask the public to report any concerns or suspicious activity to Police Scotland on 101. In an emergency contact 999.”

More information on wildlife crime can be found on the Police Scotland website at http://www.scotland.police.uk/whats-happening/campaigns/2015/wildlife-crime”

John Robins of Animal Concern commented:

“Usan should be prosecuted for their repeated blatant breaches of wildlife conservation law. They profited from the fish they caught illegally and if they are not prosecuted it is proof that crime pays. It is all the more sinister when you realise that Usan Director, George Pullar, is a Government Advisor on wildlife conservation law. Has this helped him evade prosecution?

“Wildlife crime can be difficult to detect and prosecute so it is all the more galling to see such well documented crimes go unpunished. Hunt Saboteur operatives put themselves at great risk to collect this evidence. They deserve their day in court.”

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Tree For Every Citizen: ‘There’s No Financial Control’

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion 1 Response »

Aug 252015

Suzanne Kelly has been one of the main campaigners who tried to stop the Tullos Hill Deer Cull and who tried to stop the city wasting money planting trees on Tullos Hill. When hundreds of Aberdeen taxpayers signed a petition, the city’s Petitions Committee heard Kelly speak – and among other things agreed to release the entire Tree for Every Citizen scheme’s costs. Seventeen weeks went by – and what was finally released leaves much to be desired. Suzanne Kelly explains.

Still in the dark regarding deer numbers, road accident figures and financial details.

After weeks of chasing, reminding, and waiting, Aberdeen City finally released what was meant to be the complete financial costs of the ‘Tree for Every Citizen’ scheme. One fact is incontrovertible: This was never going to be a ‘cost neutral’ project.

For a scheme which officer Peter Leonard promised again and again was ‘cost neutral,’ waiting from the end of April through the end of August was excessive.

All of the costs are meant to be kept in electronic form.

A previous Freedom of Information disclosure from December 2011 came comparatively quickly in the form of an excel spreadsheet.

The city has had a government soil report for years advising that establishing trees on the hill – once an industrial and domestic waste tip – is unlikely. The soil is almost non-existent, and because of the rocky structure of the hill and the waste, trees that do grow (not that there is much sign of growth) are likely to simply topple over – according to the Forestry Commission.

It was immediately apparent that not all was right. A previous and well documented £43,800 payment to the central government was missing. This was for the previous TFEC phase failure on Tullos. Getting the then Chief Executive Valerie Watts to admit to this costly failure was problematic (see previous Aberdeen Voice articles).

The £43,800 seems not to be recorded in the August release of costs anywhere.

That was not the only cost missing from the information supplied.

In June 2010, according to the previous FOI disclosure, some £30,000 was paid too Bryan Massie and identified as ‘Granite City Forest Phase 1’ / weed control. The two entries relevant to this cost supplied before have now disappeared.

The expenditure of public funds is meant to be controlled and responsibly managed. When convener of the Housing & Environment Committee responsible for this scheme and the deer cull, Aileen Malone, famously demanded the public stump up £225,000 for fencing or the deer would be killed, charities told people not to give in to this ‘blackmail’ or a dangerous precedent would be set. The cost for fencing on the hill seems – with the information received – to be around £40,000.

The scheme that was to be cost-neutral may have cost taxpayers some £600,000 pound so far – with no forest on Tullos. And no deer.

The excel workbook contains a page for income. The Scottish Government seems to have been rather generous. Or should that be the Scottish taxpayer.

The ‘other expenditure’ worksheet the City released contains two invoices for which little description but the word ‘other’ has been supplied. In many instances no suppliers are named.

The big financial winner of the scheme is arguably consultant Chris Piper of C J Piper, taking away approximately £100,000 for being the architect of the deer slaughter and the tree planting. The planting cost some £200,000. It is unclear whether this lucrative contract was put out to tender or not: no cost for any tender exercises whatsoever appear on the financial information supplied. If there was no tender exercise, then the city should explain how it skirted procurement protocol.

Killing the deer cost the taxpayer some £14,000 pounds for 2012 and 2013. No information was supplied for 2014. It is believed that the herd had gone several decades without the need for hunters to control their numbers. (It should also be remembered that the remains of some 4 poached animals were found last January on Tullos).

A complaint as to the poor quality of the information released was made, and as told the city officer responsible to go back and think again. It was also suggested that an upcoming council debate on future deer management set for October should be deferred until the public are given the full picture of this scheme, have had a chance to react, and a chance to contact their councillors.

If the information on cost had come out in a timely fashion, that might have been different. One might wonder whether the delayed, incomplete information could have been a stalling tactic to give campaigners and residents little time to input their thoughts into the October discussion.

The council officer, Steven Shaw, Environmental Manager, who supplied the excel workbook wrote:

“Before I send it to you I have asked officers to have a check through to ensure that there is nothing missing and information included that perhaps shouldn’t be.”

As to the request to delay the October discussion on deer management Shaw wrote:

“With regards to the deer management report, it is not for you to decide when the report will be presented to committee. The service continues to work towards October’s committee for presentation of the report.”

The decision to defer or not should be a matter for the councillors to decide, not Shaw, particularly in light of the circumstances of the TFEC finances.

Shaw is also keen to establish how many deer cause accidents. He also provided a spreadsheet describing when deer bodies were found or when they were involved in accidents. The factors causing deer to move would have included the loss of habitat on Tullos – huge swathes of gorse (essential for a variety of wildlife) were removed for the trees. Greenbelt was lost across the city for a variety of other building projects as well, forcing wildlife to leave areas no longer habitable.

The number of incidents of deer being found dead, removed from roads, or involved in accidents is 47. Most of the descriptions supplied do not indicate what the cause of death was. The incidents are at a variety of locations and span 2014 and 2015 to date. Without information on whether the deer were involved in motor vehicle accidents, poached like the 5 deer killed last year by poachers in the Gramps, this data is very broad and inconclusive.

But it does show deer should be protected. If Shaw/ the pro-hunting league are trying to sell the idea of killing all the city’s deer on the basis that they are found dead, the public may not exactly embrace that logic – especially when espoused by the very people who destroyed their habitat in the first place, using the logic that when the forest becomes established, the deer would have a place to live.

The public have had quite enough of this kind of thinking, and comments on social media reflect that conclusion. The city seems to be sticking to the guidelines put out by the SNH which allow only a handful of deer on land that used to support much larger populations; these guidelines are merely that, and are considered to be very controversial by landowners, animal welfare groups and even some gamekeepers.

We await the number of accidents caused by weather conditions, alcohol and bicycles from Police Scotland. We are confident it will dwarf the deer figure. We point to the need to preserve what little biodiversity remains in the south of the city, and we have long campaigned for signs to warn motorists of deer crossing areas, as is done in other localities where there are deer.

When correct and complete information is made available, it will be released. For the 2011 FOI response and this August submission from Steve Shaw, visit http://suzannekelly.yolasite.com/

Animal Organisation Declines Pony Rescue Offers

Aberdeenshire, Opinion 6 Responses »

Aug 242015

Animal Lovers who chance upon Northfield Animal Haven’s ‘Go Fund Me’ campaign to save two Shetland mares and four foals might want to dig deeper before digging into their pockets. The Shetland ponies could have already been rescued by Blaikiewell’s or Hillside Animal Sanctuary.

Northfield turned those offers down and is seeking £5,000 from the public. Is there more to Northfield than meets the eye? What does this Aberdeenshire family organisation do to raise funds? Members of the public, animal welfare organisations and local charities all contacted Aberdeen Voice. Here are some of Suzanne Kelly’s findings and experiences – with more to come shortly.

From a description on campaign site Go Fund Me, the average person would think Northfield is just another animal rescue charity, and no one else can help the ponies they are seeking £5,000 in donations to help:

“We urgently need your help to save 6 Shetland ponies, there are [sic] mums and their foals.”

“They are under threat of being shot and used over winter as dog food(1). We can make a difference. We can save them and get them here in the care of our rescue so we can rehabilitate them and rehome them but without your help we dont have the necessary resources to make this happen.”

“Please help by donating as much or as little as you can.

“The costs involved are for Transport, Vet Treatment, Farrier and Feed. Our work with the horses will obviously not cost a penny. Time is against us and we dont have alot of it, this needs to happen within the next few days(2)…………………….

“Registered not for profit organisation based in Scotland UK. SCVO 4365.

“Non funded Sanctuary/Rescue for all equine, farm and small animals(3). Run on a working farm in scotland(4). We are totally reliant on the publics [sic] help with donations(5). We have no reserves of monies unlike the bigger rescues. We pay no wages all donations go to the animals in our care. Without your continued support we cannot do what we do. Please give if you can. Thank You.”

and

“We got a phone call last night about this situation, we are working with the people involved to try and stop this from happening, if we had unlimited funds we would take them today. Other charities have been asked and all have refused to help(6) so it leaves it up to us and you the public to help. These Shetlands are young, there are foals of 11 months and two months old, they deserve to live and not be put in a freezer to feed to his dogs. please please help”

In their statement above, I have added numbers to various sentences that people have brought to my attention. There are serious concerns about how the public is being led to think about Northfield.

Facebook screenshot (click to enlarge) announcing the sorting out of sheep to be taken to the mart.

(1) It is admirable that Northfield do not want the animals used as dog food of course. But the same people who run this animal rescue are also people who raise animals for slaughter.

People who have read the Go Fund Me page and subsequently learned of the nature of the other side of the family’s business have been surprised, some appalled.

They raise animals for meat.

This has upset some of the donors greatly.

Many people are unable to understand the ethics involved: what kind of double standard allows a person to determine that Animal A is to be destined for the dinner plate (possibly sold for animal food) but that Animal B is to be cherished/saved/rehomed/pampered?

To this Northfield wrote among other things:

“With regards to my running a farm side on my property, yes I raise sheep and yes I sell the boys and surplus ewes at the local mart, these are sold as store lambs and if you are aware store lambs have to bought and raised on further, they may be kept as breeding ewes or most likely they will go for meat, but I personally do NOT send them to slaughter as you have stated many times.

“This may amount to 20 a year which you may get £50 for each so that will give you an income of around a £1000…”

The fact that Northfield aren’t personally killing the sheep but sell them to others to kill does not exactly sit well with everyone who donates to animal charities.

An October 2013 Facebook screenshot shows Northfield referring to selling pigs sheep and poultry to help pay for the rescues. Another Facebook dialogue claims ‘the farm income is always used for the rescues’.

This makes the claim at Point (5) “We are totally reliant on the public’s help with donations” somewhat misleading, as the sale of lambs (only depicted in the advertising because people like to see them, and not part of the ‘all’ farm animals Northfield rescues) seems at odds with the organisation’s own statements.

(3) (4) Anyone who is now confused as to what creatures Northfield deems worthy of rescue will be further confused should they stumble across other Northfield comments or websites mentioning the venture:

“Rescue, Rehome, Rehabilitate Retirement village for all farm, equinesmall animals.”

Indeed one Go Fund Me campaign claimed there were zero funds; it showed a photo of a lamb and chicken. Someone who had read that Northfield rescued ‘all’ farm animals might have seen this photo and concluded these animals were meant to be rescued, not barbequed.

A ‘working’ farm could be an agricultural farm. Despite a claim appearing on Facebook that all their donors know about the meat production business, it is clear that is not the case.

So do they rescue sheep with the right hand, and sell them for meat with the left hand? Well, no – the pictures you see of farm animals, and the claim to rescue all farm, equinesmall [sic] animals is explained thus on a recent Facebook thread:

“The rescues which include horses pigs and rabbits are what we fundraise for…. The only reason we post pics of the sheep/cows etc. is because we’ve been asked to. Some of the people who donate and live far away love seeing pictures of all the animals.”

People like to see pictures of sheep? Presumably these are the same kinds of people who like to see the lobster they are about to have boiled.

(2) (6) The Shetland ponies in question had offers from Blaikiewell’s and from Hillside Animal Sanctuary.

One recent donor on the Go Fund Me page who is a vegetarian told Aberdeen Voice:-

“Disappointed an ‘animal haven’ sends animals to slaughter. Did you read their reply re. refusing help from Hillside? Sounds odd to me.”

Both of these organisations offered to take the ponies – but Northfield has rejected the offers – begging the question how accurate was their claim ‘other charities have been asked and all have refused to help.”

The rationale Northfield used for not letting someone else save the ponies was played out on Facebook:

“Northfield Animal Haven Yes they [Hillside, Blaikiewell] did offer help but as I have already explained hillside were part of a vendetta against us earlier in the year so why would they be willing to help now also they are desperate for funds for the animals they already have so this would just add to their situation.
[? it is unknown what ‘vendetta’ is meant – but this could be the formation of ‘REACH’ an organisation seeking to standardise animal charity ethics – which excludes producing animals for slaughter to ‘save’ other animals]

“… Hillside did state things about us before their owner Wendy Valentine, was the person stating things, this is mostly to do with their own opinions and beliefs.
[This may refer to criticism of selling animals for meat at Thainstone]

“Yes I agree with you that we should pull together and I have numerous times before passed the names of other sanctuaries onto people who have contacted me but I couldn’t help at the time, so have told them to contact others, and with the support we have received at the moment these Shetlands are safe and the cost of transport is covered. Which I have said…And lastly, on this particular occasion, Kelly has been asked (and trusted) to take these ponies, and was specifically asked if she could promise that they would only go to her.”

“As you can imagine, this is going to put even more financial strain on her, and she really does appreciate the offer of help (and would love to be able to say yes), but a promise is a promise.

“Hope this has helped you understand the situation more.”

This seems to boil down to Northfield don’t want the Shetlands winding up as food (unlike their farm animals). The unnamed Shetland pony owner only wants Kelly Cable to have the animals – so presumably if Northfield don’t raise the money, it’s too bad for the ponies. The other sanctuaries that have different ideas about raising animals for slaughter while operating to save animals have been discounted from saving the Shetlands.

# # # #

Having waded through screenshots, listened to concerns from people finding Northfield imagery and statements contradictory and misleading, I asked for some clarification. The responses I got back were long-winded, histrionics. Claims were put against me inferring that I said the animals were mistreated, inferring someone was passing around lies and slanderous remarks, etc.

My questions were:

“Do you have a farm side to your business that sells animals at auction for meat? Did any other animal shelters agree to take these animals? Are you part of accredited national group Reach? you are not a registered charity it should be noted. Lastly I am a journalist that has had libellous personal attacks from you/your supporters for asking these questions”

For those who want to read the lengthy response, they will find it on Go Fund Me.

I cannot come to terms with someone who will wash their hands of killing – or rather selling so someone else kills an animal so they can raise money to sell other animals – particulary when the images used of the animals killed have accompanied drives for rescue funds
A great deal of emphasis is being put on my question about this organisation being a registered charity – this is mentioned in many criticism of me. I am merely making the statement it is not a registered charity. There is far more visibility in the finances and aims of a charity than there is of a voluntary organisation – for which finding financial information is very difficult
REACH was set up to standardise ethics and practices for animal rescue groups; as one of its ethical positions is that rescue groups should not have other animals bred for slaughter to support saving other animals – this seems to me like basic ethics.

All in all, if you wish to support this organisation and its appeal to raise £5,000 to save 5 Shetland ponies, then by all means do. However, do so aware that other animals are slaughtered to fund these rescue efforts, that two other organisations had already stepped up to take the animals without the need to demand £5,000 but were turned away, that images of sheep and a statement that ‘all’ farm animals are rescued are not quite true.

As ever, Northfield have a right to reply (NB – they have barred me from Twitter yet told followers I ‘refuse’ to answer their tweets; they have also barred me from their Facebook page).

Confused? A website, UKsponsorship.com has this to say:

“The principal aim of Northfield Animal Haven is to provide a rescue/re-homing centre for any unwanted, neglected, abused or retired equine, farm and small animals.

“Our aim is to offer each animal a loving home where they will never again have to suffer abuse, neglect, abandonment or starvation. Please support us”. http://www.uksponsorship.com/a1875.htm

Just not the kinds of farm animals someone might want to eat.

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Old Susannah No. 179: All Apologies

Opinion, Satire and Humour 2 Responses »

Jul 242015

Voice’s Old Susannah takes a look over the past week’s events in the ‘Deen and beyond. By Suzanne Kelly.

Tally ho! Or not as the case may be. The SNP decided not to vote with the Conservatives on the proposed fox hunting amendment. This would have allowed people to resume the sporting life of chasing foxes to exhaustion to be ripped apart live by dogs. Some say this was set up as a test to see who would align with who on votes, and the Conservatives were outfoxed. Either way, it’s a sad day for good old-fashioned healthy tradition.

Elsewhere Denmark fights to uphold the Faroe Islands tradition of butchering far more whales and dolphins than can possibly be safely eaten (by those who’d want to eat them in the first place; I prefer puffin and swan).

Some find Denmark’s position a bit at odds with their EU obligation to protect marine mammals. But first things first, how’s a Faroese boy to become a man without a good hearty bloodbath on the shores?

Sadly, a collection of protestors showed up in London the other week to protest against Denmark, which seems to think arresting Sea Shepherd personnel and impounding their vessels indefinitely also fits in well with EU law. I joined them as I was there; it’s almost as if they all believed that culture was less important than animal welfare and EU laws. Funny lot.

I also visited one or two London BrewDog spots to try the local beer cocktails which vary from bar to bar. The finest cocktail remains the Aberdeen flagship bar’s Jackhammer Margarita. Perfect for these nearly warm Scottish summer nights.

Old Susannah escaped from the vibrancy and dynamism of Aberdeen for a bit and went to London and the south. At times I needed to use this cream called sunblock; apparently there are parts of the world where you might get too much sun on you. Who’d have guessed. I dropped in on Rock n Roll Rescue in Camden; the proprietor is my old friend Knox from The Vibrators.

If you have any old clothes, music or memorabilia, Knox would be delighted to hear from you. Contact him here: (The original Vibrators line up plays in London on the 31st July; am hoping for a tour).

Alas! Another culture/heritage icon is in a spot of bother. After postponement upon postponement, it looks as if the Pullar clan are in hot water over their convenient failure to remove leader nets from our waters, thus catching more wild salmon than they should have. They claimed that supposed bad weather made them break the laws 9 times in their favour, for health and safety reasons.

Oddly, there don’t seem to have been any days when it was too rough to go to sea to put the leader nets out; it’s only been too rough to take the nets back in.

While they claim the heritable, traditional right to net wild salmon, it’s funny though- they don’t use traditional nets. Where a small scale traditional operation once caught small numbers of salmon, the modern, non-traditional system of catching the poor creatures uses vast complicated systems the Pullar ancestors never dreamed of. Innovation is good, as long as it doesn’t make you give up your traditions.

what’s wrong with a little good-natured racist banter Trump might wonder?

“It’s our right/tradition/culture/heritage” seems to be the cry of the fox-hunters, Pullars and butchering Faroese.

When I was travelling, Donald Trump’s presidential nomination got off to a bang-up start.

He’s going to keep all those drug-dealing, raping Mexicans out of the US. He’ll even build a wall between the two countries. Some cynics think he wants to keep them in Mexico where they work making his luxurious clothing line. Businesses are dropping links with the hirsuit typhoon with alacrity. But not Aberdeen Sports Village.

Trump Golf International Links Scotland’s logo is proudly displayed on their page. I’d love to know how much money Trump gives them, and I’d love to know how much money we taxpayers give the Sports Village as well. Doubtless my request to them to end their sponsorship will be dealt with swiftly. In other words, a petition might be launched shortly. Watch this space.

So, what’s wrong with a little good-natured racist banter Trump might wonder? Unfortunately, the trouble with a little racist teasing is that people here are doing it to families travelling on trains. Men beat up women who speak with English accents and visiting sports stars get beaten up by yobs. So if Aberdeen Sports Village don’t see the problem with aligning with racists, they would seem to be in good company with some of our fine citizens.

Of course, this kind of light-hearted racism is no obstacle to keeping an honorary degree from Robert Gordon University, especially as it was handed over in person to the Donald by Sir Ian Wood.

It would be nice to think the Village will re-think its position. A sincere apology from Trump would also be nice, but there is as much chance of that as Sarah Malone inviting me for a round of golf .

Apologies, as long as carefully worded and checked with legal departments are wonderful things. They can help you keep your job. They can make for good press releases. The only thing they can’t do is undo what is done. And with that, herewith some definitions.

Apology: (English Noun) An expression of sorry or regret

Pity Sir Stephen House, head of our ever-changing Police Scotland force. He had the sad job of issuing an apology on the force’s failure to investigate a reported car crash. This had fatal consequences for a woman who lay injured for three days next to her dead partner. But Sir is sorry:

“Firstly I want to apologise to the families of John Yuill and Lamara Bell and to the people of Scotland for this individual failure in our service. Everyone in Police Scotland feels this most profoundly.

“Our duty is to keep people safe and we’ve not done that effectively on this occasion, with tragic consequences, and I want to apologise to everyone for that.

I completely understand the level of concern being raised about the circumstances surrounding the handling of the incident of the crash near the M9 slip road at Bannockburn and, in particular, Police Scotland’s response to information received. That we failed both families involved is without doubt.”

So, it’s an individual failure, but everyone in PS feels badly about it. That’s nice to know. Just for the record though, the duty of PS is to uphold the law, do so equally and fairly. Not everyone is happy with Sir’s fanatical devotion to stop and search targets, his unilateral arming of police on patrols, or how data protection is getting just a bit lost in the sauce as spying on people routinely is on the up.

Must be hard to have to read out a statement. If only there were something Police Scotland and its head could have done to make sure its resources were robust and officers were employed where needed. If there had only been some warning signs that the new all-encompassing force and its local call centre closures were problematic, I’m sure the kindly, understanding man who issued that statement would have done something with his powers.

I’m sure the apology that Sir Stephen issued to the press is good enough

Of course it slightly weakens his apology that he says the new system and his leadership are not at fault; enjoy a lovely video clip of Sir Stephen here. He’s got a job to do, he provides leadership.

Just because the call centre system is failing, centralisation’s value is questionable or the leadership has failed it’s no cause for his resignation. He’s sorry – but not that sorry.

Denial: (Eng Noun) Negation of any culpability, responsibility or involvement.

Two young people are dead; one could have been saved. Two children are orphaned who didn’t have to be. Things happen.

It’s not the fault of Police Scotland, or its head Sir Stephen. They were told that a car had come off the motorway which they didn’t bother to follow it up –or even record. Three days later, a second call came in, and when they did bother themselves to stop spying on people and searching juveniles long enough to investigate, they found a dead man next to his dehydrated, dying partner.

I’m sure the apology that Sir Stephen issued to the press is good enough for all the people concerned and that should be the end of the matter. As he also explained, while they’re all very, very sorry, it wasn’t really his fault:

He said:

“We’re in the middle of massive change in our call-handling. It’s been going on virtually since day one of Police Scotland and it’s still going on and it has some way to go.

“I remain confident and convinced the reform we’re pushing through is the right way to go and provides a more efficient and more professional service. The tragedy is that I’m saying this against the background of two people who have died and that’s been our error which we’ve acknowledged.

“We do work within a budget. Our budget has reduced for the past two years and we’re working to an ambitious savings target for this year.”

Ah, if not for the changes in the call handling and for the need to work within a budget. He’d love to help; but it was outwith his abilities to make the force he’s in charge of do its job.

I digress, but I wonder what the Tayside branch of Police Scotland were doing over those three days. It would be wrong to wonder how many children were stopped and searched as easy targets while that car spent three days off the road. An experienced police officer who will soon resign puts the huge increase in stop and search at Sir Stephen’s doorstep. This officer said:

“This guy [Sir Stephen] is a complete control freak. In the 20 years I have been doing the job I have never wanted to do another job until Police Scotland came into force… I am being honest, in all my time on the force I had never heard the words ‘stop and search’ in Scotland before Mr House arrived.

“Up here we had policing by consent, this stop and search was an English phenomenon that he brought up from London. Mr House has brought a few of his cronies from down the road up to Scotland and they are ordering cops that they want ten searches every day. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that all these searches are coming up negative because the officers are just searching anyone they see to get the figures up.”

We continue to allow police to do this to children, despite the psychological expertise advising against it, and despite the presumption of innocence. In fact, the vast majority of people stopped (and a huge percentage are non white you’ll be surprised to hear) have broken no laws at all. Herald Scotland reported:

“Frontline officers have contacted The Herald to complain about new practices within divisions and among officers who feel compelled to “massage the figures”. In some instances, officers have been forced to search innocent people as they leave pharmacies and off-licences to meet targets, according to those who have aired concerns…. In the first six months of Police Scotland, officers conducted a record 310,784 stop-searches and recorded a 20% increase in motoring offences….”

I guess stopping innocent people to get those target figures up to Sir Stephen’s desired levels beats actually following up on calls. (Emergency callers are reporting unacceptable delays as well).

It would be wrong to wonder how many man hours were given over to snooping on our private emails and phonecalls while that woman’s kidneys started to fail. Sir Stephen is going to provide ‘a more efficient and professional service’.

Hard to see how he can improve on his stellar record – but we will be watching him. Am half tempted to write to Sir Stephen to offer commiserations over his budget woes. Must be awful. And he’s got to get by on a salary that’s under £208,000 per year. If only he’d had some previous indication that the new call centre wasn’t working out.

I’m sure that the imposed searches, the routine arming of police, the target setting is all greatly enjoyed by the whole force, despite the fact they’ve taken 53,000 days off with stress.

By the way, Aberdeen will lose its regional call centre in September. Old Susannah had to call emergency services for an ambulance some months ago; even with regional knowledge and detailed instructions of where the injured person was, the ambulance nearly drove right past. I’m sure someone sitting in a call centre in Glasgow will know all about Aberdeen’s back streets, pathways and parks.

So – we can expect more of the same then. Get ready to accept more armed cops, more unnecessary stop and searches, more red tape, increased centralisation – and less legal and human rights. At least we’re all going to be safe. Result!

We’ve had the apology over this latest fatality, which wasn’t really anyone’s fault anyway, because they have to work within a budget. What more do we want? Let’s see what they need to apologise for next, as they continue to eradicate ‘policing by consent’ from our vocabulary. Tally ho!

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