The housing crisis has hit nightingales hard. A planned development near Suffolk coast demonstrates why The Countryside and Wildlife Act 1981 must be amended to protect endangered precious habitats throughout the UK. We call for the government to enact laws that will genuinely hold Developers and Local Planning Authorities to account when they plan to destroy habitats that need protection. In April 2019 The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government stated: "On 8 April, we wrote to developers to remind them of their legal obligation to consider the impact of any project on local wildlife and, where necessary, to take precautionary action to protect their habitats. Developments should enhance natural environments, not destroy them. It is vital that developers take these words on board and play their full role to make sure we can deliver new communities in an environmentally sustainable way. Any development project must consider the impact on local wildlife and take precautionary action to protect habitat…. wildlife habitat must be left in a measurably better state than it was before any development." This statement is probably made with good intentions, but there is still insufficient accountability in law. A recent planning application passed conditionally by the former Waveney District Council (now East Suffolk Council) makes an excellent case study as to how not to achieve the outcomes of the ministry statement above. The case involves a local private school, Saint Felix, Southwold, applying for planning permission to build 69 houses on their playing fields. This is the third development undertaken by the school in the last 20 years! The site involved is within the Suffolk Coasts and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. AONBs apparently receive the greatest level of protection in the National Planning Policy Framework. That is unless the Local Planning authority choose otherwise. The site is in proximity to a number of Special Protection Areas (SPAs). The planning applicants (Saint Felix School) are therefore required to construct a Mitigation Strategy for the avoidance of recreational pressure on these sensitive and important sites. In order to proceed with their planning application Saint Felix School commissioned consultants (Norfolk Wildlife Services) to devise such a strategy. This effectively creates a new circular walk around the development site. It involves cutting back large swathes of gorse and heathland, sanitising woodland and scrub and erecting signage to try to prevent the new residents from using the comprehensive network of public footpaths that abound in the area. What is not made clear in the strategy document is that the new circular footpaths are almost wholly within a designated County Wildlife Site. A major part of the clearance involves sanitising and fencing an area of broadleaf woodland and scrub that for the past few years has been the site of nesting nightingales. There are also a plethora of other flora and fauna, including a diverse variety of other bird species, reptiles including slowworms, adders, grass snakes and lizards, a variety of mammals including deer and stoats and many invertebrates. As well as being set within the Saint Felix School Grounds County Wildlife Site the proposed mitigation strategy closely borders several other County Wildlife Sites. The outcome of Natural England objecting to the scheme in order to protect nationally designated special protection areas and several SSSIs in proximity to the site has been the development of a strategy that destroys habitats that at present are biodiverse, perhaps most notably used by nesting nightingales. Natural England have since stated that they have no concerns regarding increased recreational pressure to the SPAs provided the developing mitigation strategy is implemented. How does this square with the requirement for developers to leave areas providing net gains for biodiversity and in a measurably better state than it was before any development? The current system is toothless and displays an errant disregard for precious habitats that are under increasing threat. Advice and guidance do not work. Legislation is essential if we are to leave any natural environments for future generations. Reydon Action Group for the Environment (RAGE) are campaigning against the St Felix School planning application. More information about RAGE may be found on our Facebook.

In 2015, activist and actor Ross McCall visited the Faroe Islands and wrote about his experience at the Huffington Post. Like any good journalist, he thought it only right to see the whale hunt up close and personal. So he took the test, got his license to hunt, and reported what he saw. He is unapologetic about his disdain for the grind – and he’s brutally honest in his descriptions. One of the most stomach-turning? McCall reports: “I’ve now seen the Grind. I’ve walked through the aftermath. The carnage. The carcasses that have been brutally sliced open at the guts. I’ve seen the fetuses. The numbers scraped into the skin. I’ve seen the locals let their children play on the bodies. Seen the knives left in the whales’ skulls. I’ve watched as they used a buzz saw to remove their heads. Watched their gall bladders being cut out. I think it’s fair to say that I do have a little knowledge of what happens there. I’ve met the men who plunge the MONUSTINGARI’S, (retractable spears), into the backs of the Pilot Whales. I’ve witnessed them do it. It’s chilling. It’s devastating.” Animal welfare groups from around the world presented a report on whaling yesterday that aims to take the argument back to basics: the cruelty of the kill. The report, likely to be seen as one of the most significant contributions to the whaling debate for many years, is a detailed scientific study of how much violence is needed to slaughter the world's largest animals in the open ocean. Its premise is that much of the argument in the annual conferences of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) now tends to be about whale population statistics, and this has obscured the main issue - that the act of killing the great whales, usually by explosive harpoons, isunacceptably cruel. The report,Troubled Waters, comprehensively reviews the animal welfare implications of modern whaling activities. It has been produced by 142 animal welfare organisations from 57 countries, including several from Britain, who have come together in a new coalition,Whalewatch. Its avowed purpose is to bring the issue of cruelty back to the fore at the next IWC meeting in Italy in July, and maintain the international moratorium on commercial whaling. The moratorium has been in force since 1986, but is increasingly being challenged by the three main pro-whaling nations - Japan, Norway and Iceland. Since it was introduced, more than 20,000 whales have been killed by the whaling countries - by Japan and recently Iceland under the guise of "scientific" whaling, and by Norway as a simple commercial hunt. In this coming year they are likely to kill more than 1,400 animals between them, mostly minke whales. But the new report does not concern itself with numbers. It sets out to demonstrate, in extensive technical detail, that the great whales are so big and powerful that the amount of force needed to dispatch even one of them is unacceptably inhumane. Britain's best-known naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, stresses the point in his foreword to the report. "The following pages contain hard scientific dispassionate evidence that there is no humane way to kill a whale at sea," says the broadcaster. "Dr Harry Lillie, who worked as a ship's physician on a whaling trip in the Antarctic half a century ago, wrote this: 'If we can imagine a horse having two or three explosive spears stuck in its stomach and being made to pull a butcher's truck through the streets of London while it pours blood into the gutter, we shall have an idea of the method of killing. The gunners themselves admit that if whales could scream, the industry would stop for nobody would be able to stand it.' The use of harpoons with explosive grenade heads is still the main technique used by whalers today." Sir David suggests that any reader of the report should "decide for yourself whether the hunting of whales in this way should still be tolerated by a civilised society." Peter Davies, director general of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, one of the leading groups in the coalition, said: "The cruelty behind whaling has become obscured in recent years by abstract arguments over population statistics. The fact is that, whether it is one whale or a thousand, whaling is simply wrong on cruelty grounds alone." Tests to determine the moment of death of a whale are inadequate, the report says, and the question remains whether whales may in fact still be alive long after having been judged to be dead. The full extent of their suffering is yet to be scientifically evaluated. (https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/a-simple-reason-to-stop-whaling-its-cruel-63495.html) These are just two articles of thousands dating back to 2004. The killings of whales, dolphins and in some cases even sharks, is getting worse each year. Many of these poor animals are becoming close to extinct let alone endangered and are facing life threating problems left right and centre, all at the hands of humans, from plastic polluting their waters to being hunted by the thousands each year. And even if it wasn't illegal the killings are just cruel, bloody and heartless. I urge govermants around the world to listen up and I urge people to just reserach. You will be astonished as well as disgusted by what you find. Don't let any more animals suffer at the hands of people. Don't let their blood be on our hands.

Dogs sheep cattle horses goats on this list cats are not It about time the law changed Cats are a family member too and should be treated the same This is stereotyping animals cats are not treated the same it about time they are Many people do not know what has happened to their pet because it not law Buzz was run over had to loose a leg but will be ok It was not reported luckily he made it to home Please support this petition

The hare population is in collapse and this is an iconic British animal. No hunting should be allowed during breeding season.

The is no longer the need to use animals for testing. To breed & farm animals for testing is atrocious, unnecessary & unethical.

It is a violation against these creatures. Research shows that these animals are dying very quickly (usually within a week). Animals should not be restricted of their freedom this way. They are living things not fashion accessories!

Over the last week or so Wonky Pets Rescue took in around 15 shar peis who were badly treated. The breeder Yuanpei were registered with the kennel club assured breeder programme and had used the peis as a money making programme for years. Yuanpei handed the peis over to the rescue with many needing eyes removing due to not been treated early enough, various skin conditions and bad health. Today Ivan yuanpeis boy had to be put to sleep due to renal failure, this boy had sired hundreds of puppies which could now be effected by this condition. These breeders need to be held accountable with tougher laws and the kennel club should also be held accountable for having breeders like this registered. People see a breeder registered on the assured breeder programme believing checks are carried out.

The local people take pride in their beaches and love to walk their dogs on them, why should we have to be ruled by what the councils say. I appreciate its important for tourism but its also important to the people who live here, all year round.

He deserves broad recognition for his services to nature.

Instagram is littered with photos of overfed animals or animals that have been bred for “cuteness” despite it being detrimental to their health. The suffering of animals is being exploited to create revenue for cynical animal accounts. Animals are being fed unnatural foods from chocolate to milkshakes and even cannibalistic meats. Hashtags like #ChonkyCat are used to promote the overfeeding and most people are non the wiser that this amounts to serious animal abuse for human gain. It’s up to Instagram to make sure that animals can’t be used in this way.

We call ourselves animal lovers but a small minority do not take responsibility for the “mess” dog leave. They are only doing what comes naturally, it’s their humans job to clean it! Dog mess is smelly, unhygienic, can make animals and humans sick. There will come a point when dogs will not be allowed to enjoy the beautiful area we live. Owners need to be more vigilant. The council need to step up and supply more bins. We also need an area that dogs can be exercised in safety.

I first heard about battery farms when I was about 12. I was shocked at how I humane people could be and I wrote to my MP about it. When that achieved nothing I had to start this petition. I really hope to help the chickens in their horrible conditions. Battery chickens don't get enough space to live. It is shown that they have high levels of stress and as a result they peck at each other and themselves. Cannibalism also occurs due to the stress caused by the lack of space. In response to this their beaks are chopped off with electronically heated blades which causes acute and chronic pain. Most of them never get to go outside and never get to see the sun, they remain in cages or crowded barns their whole lives until they are slaughtered for us to eat.