News Archive from 2021
November 2021
November 5th 2021: Fireworks time in the UK yet again. Politicians continue to potter around the issues as though they are frightened something will go bang if they get too close. Animal Concern has once again asked Members and Supporters to take action to try and get MPs and MSPs to show just a spark of common sense. Read all about it here.
November 1st 2021: John Robins expected to hear from the Green Party Ministers after they had read the pro salmon farming letter sent out on their behalf (see entries for 14th October and 13th September). He hasn’t and has written to them again to find out what they have to say about Government policy on salmon farming. You can read his email here.
October 2021
October 27th 2021: Just over a month ago John Robins spotted an advert for ready meals supplier Parsley Box describing a meal as containing “Responsibly caught Atlantic salmon …”. John queried this and, as the salmon was farmed and not wild caught Parsley Box changed the description to “Responsibly sourced …” which is legal but meaningless. Case closed. A few days later John discovered a statement from the Parsley Box CEO claiming “All our fish is sustainably sourced”. Case reopened. Two emails later Parsley Box apologised and admitted their claim that “All our fish is sustainably sourced” was not correct and would be changed. Case closed. We are currently working to stop the use of the very misleading phrase “Responsibly Sourced” with regards to farmed salmon.
October 18th 2021: Tosh talking Tavish has got old Robins ranting again. Tavish was obviously wearing his rose-tinted monocle when he wrote his gushing article about salmon farming in The Herald. Take a large pinch of sale and read Tavish’s tosh here:
Ranting Robins rumbled this rubbish and his letter describes salmon farming in its true colours in the second letter here:
October 14th 2021: A month ago Animal Concern asked the new Green Party Ministers in the Scottish Government to take action on salmon farming (see September). Today Animal Concern received a reply on their behalf. John Robins, who when dinosaurs roamed the earth, was a candidate for what was then The Ecology Party says: “I expect Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie had nothing to do with the reply and may not even have seen it yet. If they did they are in the wrong party and should resign as MSPs. If they didn’t they should resign as Government Ministers and stop being used to greenwash an industry that causes cruelty and pollution on a massive scale.” You can read the reply that prompted that response here.
September 2021
September 14th 2021: Animal Concern is trying to enlist the help of the two Green Party Ministers in the Scottish Government. Read their plea to them here:
September 14th 2021: In his first few days as Campaigns Manager for Animal Concern, Don Staniford filmed horrific scenes of animal suffering at fish farms on the west coast of Scotland. You can read all about it here.
September 13th 2021: Less than 24 hours after the Old Fart told everyone he was bogging off and leaving us in peace, John Robins has his wooden spoon out again, stirring things up on behalf of the political prisoner pandas at Edinburgh Zoo. After 41 years at the job they are still spelling his name wrong in the newspapers. Read more here:
September 12th 2021: Ch ch ch changes. John Robins has announced major changes at Animal Concern. He’s set a retirement date and has introduced the two people chosen to replace him. Read all about it here.
August 2021
August 15th 2021: Wearing his Animal Concern Deer Stalker our John Robins had the lead letter in Scotland on Sunday today. He had a pop at grouse shooting just a few days after the Inglorious Twelfth. You can read his letter on the Scotland on Sunday website here.
August 14th 2021: Animal Concern has been offered a huge donation but sadly it’s a huge scam. Animal Concern has advice on staying safe from animal welfare con artists here:
July 2021
July 21st 2021: A distressing phone call to our sister charity’s advice line left John Robins sad and angry. He has let off some steam with a bit of a rant. Find out what it’s all about here:
July 19th 2021: Animal Concern supporters have been urged to watch a shocking documentary on the fate of racehorses and some new footage showing the suffering of salmon on RSPCA approved farms in Scotland. More info here:
July 4th 2021: John Robins of Animal Concern has been getting rude again. This time he’s had a pop at Tavish Scott, the new CEO of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation. John thinks Tavish talks tosh when it comes to salmon farming. It won’t be the first time John has upset the Chief Executive of the salmon producers representative body. While Tavish was still at college one of his predecessors refused to allow any of their salmon farmers to debate with John at a public meeting on Skye. They were a bit miffed at what John had said about salmon farmers after he obtained the first and, so far, only successful prosecution of a salmon farmer for shooting seals. There will be more to come on this one but for now you can read what John said about Tavish the tosh talker in the Sunday Mail here.
June 2021
June 27th 2021: It’s groundhog day again in Scotland! It’s the groundhog day again in Scotland! Some bright sparks at the Scottish Government are going to have yet another costly consultation on fireworks. As my dear old grandfather used to say; “They need to stop talking and do something about it. Someone should put a rocket up their arse and tell them to get a move on.” While not threatening any derrieres with pyrotechnic implants our John Robins is taking the same stance as old Fred. You can read what he thinks about it in the letter pages of Scotland on Sunday here.
March 15th 2000: That date is right! This is a bit of old news about what currently dominates the news. Over twenty-one years ago John Robins was writing about pandemics caused by diseases crossing from animals to humans. Any chance of the numbers for the lottery next week John? You can read his article here.
June 8th 2021: The Ferret has published a piece on the alleged illegal shooting of a seal at a salmon farm in Scotland. There’s a quote from Animal Concern in the article which you can read on The Ferret website here.
June 1st 2021: The RSPCA has finally responded to the emails sent to them by John Robins (wearing his Animal Concern bunnet) on March 25th and 13th May. John’s not a happy bunny yet again. You can read the RSPCA letter and the response from John here.
May 2021
May 13th 2021: The RSPCA didn’t bother replying to the email Animal Concern sent them on 25th March regarding concerns about welfare conditions on salmon farms given the lucrative RSPCA Assured quality standard. In February the RSPCA revised their welfare standards for salmon farms. The new standards left our John Robins a bit more confused than usual as it appears the RSPCA are telling farmers they can break laws protecting seals. John thinks he must be wrong on this one but if the RSPCA fail to reply yet again we can only assume that something very fishy is going on. You can read John’s email here.
March 2021
March 25th 2021: With more and more evidence on cruelty and suffering inflicted on farmed salmon Animal Concern has once again asked the RPSCA to stop endorsing salmon farmed in Scotland. You can read Animal Concern’s plea to the RSPCA here.
February 2021
February 26th 2021: Animal Concern just managed to beat the deadline and lodge a response to the Scottish Government consultation on live transport of animals. They made quite clear their total opposition to plans by the Scottish Government to allow live exports of animals to continue despite Westminster Government plans to ban them. You can read our submission here.
February 24th 2021: Animal Concern has lobbied the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee of the Scottish Parliament asking them to support an amendment forward by Green MSP John Finnie who wants forthcoming new legislation to curb dog attacks on animals on farms to include rather than exclude hunting hounds. Animal Concern copied their message of support to Mr Finnie to all the MSPs on the Committee. You can read that message here.
February 7th 2021: Animal Concern has made a submission to the UK Government consultation on live transport of live animals. This includes a proposal to ban the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter. You can make a submission until February 25th. Read the Animal Concern submission and find the link to the consultation here.
February 5th 2021: Following their appeal to East Lothian Council to spare the Spott Road Pigeons (see below) Animal Concern has received a fairly positive response. It looks as though Animal Concern have been at least partially successful but the Council are still going to use netting and not metal grids. Not a good idea. You can read the Council statement here.
February 3rd 2021: A supporter asked Animal Concern to try and help her persuade East Lothian Council to spare the lives of any young pigeons when a railway bridge in Dunbar is “pigeon proofed”. Having dealt with similar situations many times over the years Animal Concern gave the Council the benefits of their knowledge on the subject. It will be interest to see how the Council responds. Find out more here.
February 1st 2021: As a result of a campaign which Animal Concern was heavily involved in, the American Government has forced the Scottish Government to stop giving salmon farmers licences to shoot seals. However the US ruling does not compel the Scottish Government to enforce the new legislation. Read more about it here.
January 2021
January 28th 2021: On 22nd December Animal Concern asked Fergus Ewing why he had not warned the public of the health risks of eating escaped farmed salmon and why he was still referring to factory farmed salmon as “sustainable”. A term even the industry knows it cannot use. Animal Concern received a very worrying reply making excuses for not warning the public and for using a longer than four letter “s” word when referring to salmon from filthy floating factory farms. You can read his reply here.