Today’s Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants will be presented in German, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Everywhere in the world, we can observe and be touched by acts of kindness. People from all walks of life, faiths, and cultures extend themselves beyond the call of duty to help others unconditionally. Through their noble deeds, humanity as a whole is elevated.

To commend virtuous actions and encourage more people to be inspired by their examples, Supreme Master Ching Hai has lovingly created a series of awards, including the Shining World Leadership Award, Shining World Compassion Award, Shining World Hero and Heroine Awards, Shining World Honesty Award, Shining World Protection Award, Shining World Intelligence Award, and Shining World Inventor Award, to recognize some of the most exemplary, generous, caring, and courageous people who walk amongst us.

Actually, it should be a natural thing to treat animals with dignity and with love, that animals do have rights and that they are treated accordingly.

Born in Dresden, Germany, Her Highness Princess Maja von Hohenzollern is well-respected internationally for her passion and dedication to bettering the lives of both humans and our animal co-inhabitants. Besides being a TV host, entrepreneur, designer, author and humanitarian, Her Highness is also an animal-rights and environmental advocate.

She currently lives in Spain, has adopted 11 dogs and three cats from the streets and saved the lives of hundreds of other animals. In 2009, Princess Maja received the European Animal Welfare Award. Out of respect and love for animals, Her Highness observes a meat-free diet and is committed to spreading the word regarding the destructiveness of animal agriculture.

In Germany alone 590-million animals are slaughtered every year, just to end up as a schnitzel on somebody’s plate, 590-million animals just in Germany. In the USA it is a staggering nine billion, nine-billion animals, which are raised every year alone just to be killed in order to end up as some burger or chicken McNugget. That’s more than the entire world population.

Many people have apparently no idea that factory farming has a direct impact on the destruction of the environment. Seventy percent of the Amazon rainforest is cut down for cattle grazing. Fifty percent of water pollution in Europe is caused by factory farming. The world’s biggest CO2 producers are cattle in factory farming. Despite the massive amounts of meat produced in such a barbaric way, we have millions of people in the world who are starving and suffering and are dying of hunger.

We are facing right now the biggest hunger catastrophe in 60 years in Somalia and Kenya. Around 12-million people are affected, many of them will die, among them also many children.

The direct link between animal welfare, environmental destruction and world hunger is perhaps best put into context through the following figures: To produce one kilogram of beef, you need 20,000 liters of water, 16 kilograms of grain and need to fell 50 square meters of rainforest. These figures are really incredible. It generates more greenhouse gases than driving a car for 155 miles.

Just for one kilogram of beef. The same area of land needed to produce 50 kilograms of beef could produce 6,000 kilograms of carrots, 4,000 kilograms of apples or 1,000 kilograms of cherries. If we would distribute these resources directly to humans, we could feed millions of people and save them from certain death from hunger. It is very important to me to clarify for you the link between animal welfare, environmental destruction and world hunger and to bring this message to all the people.

As an ambassador for the ETN (European Animal and Nature Protection Association), one of the largest non-profit animal-welfare groups in Europe, Her Highness is calling for the European Union to ban the killing of stray animals and enact other animal protection measures.

During all the years of my animal-welfare work, I asked myself again and again what are the reasons that stray animals are treated so badly, especially in Southern and Eastern Europe? Whether it’s in Spain, in Italy, in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, everywhere there is a similar dreadful situation for animals.

The situation of stray animals in Romania is very close to my heart. In the last five years, an unbelievable 10-million stray dogs in Romania have been brutally and cruelly murdered. 10 million is roughly equivalent to the number of inhabitants in Romania. This is unimaginable, it must be stopped. We have to raise our voices for these animals, because animals have no other voice and they have no rights. There simply can be no mass killings of animals in Europe. If we stick together and raise our voices, we can achieve a lot.

And we have seen already some progress. And I’m particularly pleased that one of these animal-killing stations in Romania, which is called Stupini, against which I’ve actually campaigned vigorously for three years, will finally be closed down on September 30th (2011), and that we’ll take 600 dogs out of there and that it [the killing station] will be destroyed so that nobody can ever again torture an animal there. In any case, I will be there to get the last animals out. So, if we raise our voices we can be successful.

For her outstanding work in substantially improving the lives of animals in Europe, Her Highness Princess Maja von Hohenzollern is the honored recipient of the Shining World Heroine Award from Supreme Master Ching Hai. With all love and gratitude, Supreme Master Ching Hai also contributed €10,000 to support in spirit and further Her Highness’s noble work.

During an award ceremony held in Hamburg, Germany in the presence of journalists and invited guests, the Princess was presented with a beautifully-made crystal Award plaque, a check for the donated amount, a Heroine jacket, a selection of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s DVDs and books including the German edition of the #1 international best-seller “The Noble Wilds,” an organic tea set and a painted cup.

One of our German Association members read the translation of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s loving letter to Her Highness, written in English, which accompanied the Award. The following is an excerpt from the letter.

Your Royal Highness! It is with much admiration and gratitude that we present to You the “Shining World Heroine Award.” This Award is presented in recognition of the pure-hearted beauty of soul and undaunted courage You show by taking a public stance in defense of the fundamental rights of humanity’s very precious animal co-inhabitants.

Dear Princess Maja, You must be such a powerhouse of energy and passion, because You also find time to adopt so many animals Yourself and personally ensure their well-being, even though You are busy with other matters as well. That You phone the caregivers of a newly adopted stray or injured animal up to 50 times to enquire if all is well shows the depth of Your compassion and loving- kindness.

Since we reap what we sow, the doors of Heaven are surely open wide for You and we pray that a sparkling gold stream of blessings showers down upon You, and fills Your lovely heart and mind with the most exquisite peacefulness and bliss.

For Your courage in speaking up for the urgent needs of animals, for the selfless sacrifice of Your time and energy in offering injured and stray animals comfort, medical treatment and a loving home, and for the noble work You do in advocating legal protection for animals, we hereby applaud and celebrate the kindhearted deeds of Her Royal Highness Princess Maja von Hohenzollern – heroic defender and protector of the meek. With Great Honor, Love and Blessings, Supreme Master Ching Hai

After so many lovely words, it is really hard to find even lovelier ones. Nevertheless I would like to express my deep gratitude for this Award. I am truly very happy. Above all, I am glad that my commitment, my efforts for animals have found international approval, as far as America, as far as Asia, and moreover by such a person. My heartfelt gratitude and also my deepest respect to Supreme Master Ching Hai. I am really glad that together we can make such a difference on this road. And I think spreading the message is something that is very close to both our hearts.

Princess Maja later sent an email to our Association regarding how Supreme Master Ching Hai’s donation will be used. In mid-September 2011, Her Highness will be accompanying a team of veterinarians from Spain to Chiang Mai, Thailand to support a large-scale spay and neuter initiative that is being organized for the city’s stray dogs. The team will also train local veterinarians in the latest surgery techniques as well as provide medical care to the canines. The Princess stated in the email that this is an urgent project as 1,000 strays a day are being sent from Thailand into Âu Lạc (Vietnam) for their meat.

Our Association replied to the Princess’s email as follows: Your Royal Highness Princess Maja von Hohenzollern, Thank You so very much for Your feedback letter of 7 September 2011. In support of Your wholehearted, touching and outstanding endeavours, Supreme Master Ching Hai would like to make a humble contribution of US$30,000 to Your organization, to help halting the dogs’ transport!!!

Upon reading Your letter about the poor dogs that are being transported to Vietnam, Supreme Master Ching Hai said, “I am crying how horrible! My heart hurts.” She wanted us to send this message urgently to You, “Thank You Princess for Your extreme kindness to these poor creatures. May heaven love and protect You forever.” ♥♥ CH. Yours Gratefully, The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association

Supreme Master Ching Hai responded to Princess Maja’s message as follows: Your Royal Highness, such an honor to know your Princess. You are a true royal inside out. May all blessing be forever in your life. With all my love and respect. ♥♥ Ching Hai

Her Highness has a special message for Supreme Master Ching Hai.

The work you do is really incredible, it is so precious, and you have been doing this for so many years already. Actually, I regard you as a soulmate. It is nice to know, that you, even though so far away… but perhaps we are not so far away from each other…take note of my work and honor it in such a wonderful way. And that we both are part of a network, in which we raise our voices together, our voices for animals, our voice for a life of dignity, for respect, for life, for the interaction of people with each other.

Unfortunately this is nowadays very, very important, and I think, it is also a long road ahead, but I know one can change something, one can reach people, but in order to do so one has to be an example and live accordingly just like you are doing. I feel also very close to you because we have many things in common. You are a creative person, you like to paint, I like to paint too. I have 11 dogs at home, I think, you know this too.

The pictures in your book reminded me very much of my home. You design jewelry, I design jewelry too. And also in my work I always send messages. It was a great pleasure for me to design a dolphin-princess for children as part of my jewelry collection which also goes to Japan, to include motifs of dogs and cats, tigers, just to send a message of respectful and loving treatment of these animals in Asia, where in some places dogs and cats are still being eaten, hoping to make a difference.

In this respect I look forward to our meeting each other someday. I am sure that will happen. No matter where, let me know. I adore you. You are an amazing person. Many, many thanks. Thank you so much.

Your Royal Highness Princess Maja von Hohenzollern, we offer our deepest respect and thanks to you for your steadfast commitment to safeguarding and bettering the lives of our beautiful animal co-inhabitants. We pray that you have continued, great success in all your future, noble endeavors.

Be Veg, Go Green 2 Save the Planet!

For more information on Her Highness Princess Maja von Hohenzollern, please visit: www.Prinzessin-von-Hohenzollern.de
Information about the European Animal and Nature Protection Association is available at www.ETN-EV.de

Intelligent viewers, thank you for your blessed company today on our program. May the light of Providence forever protect all beings on Earth.