tagged w/ Whales
-
The New York Times
December 19, 2010
As Incomes Rise, So Does Animal Trade
By BETTINA WASSENER
HONG KONG — Four suitcases full of ivory, intercepted by customs at Suvarnabhumi International Airport near Bangkok. Rare tortoises, openly for sale at a fair in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. More than 2,000 frozen pangolins — scaly anteaters — seized from a fishing vessel off China.
Oh, and a 2-month-old tiger cub, alive but sedated, found inside a suitcase, also at the Bangkok airport.
If you think all of this sounds like old news — didn’t we see this in the 1970s and ’80s? — think again.
Every one of these incidents, documented by Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network, took place within the past few months. They provide just a glimpse of the massive trade in endangered animals — and their bones, skins and other organs — that is taking place across Asia.
And they illustrate that half a century’s worth of efforts by governments, international organizations and conservationists have failed to stem wildlife trade and the extinction of numerous animals and plants.
Yes, conservation projects have helped preserve individual species, but over all the trade in rare creatures has grown, not shrunk — thanks largely to rising demand from an increasingly affluent Asia.
“I’ve been doing this job for close to 20 years,” said Chris R. Shepherd, who helps oversee Traffic’s Southeast Asia operations, “and I can say it’s never been anywhere near as bad as it is now.”
In the 1970s, when international conservation efforts began to take off, the issue was one of largely niche demand from wealthy consumers in the West. Now, however, the picture has changed radically.
Rapid growth across developing Asia over the past decade or two has caused wealth to increase quickly across much of the region. Credit Suisse, in a recent study, estimated that parts of Asia, including China, India and Indonesia, have seen the average wealth per adult soar between 100 percent and 400 percent since 2000.
Along with many of its neighbors, China is now a giant consumer of items like machinery, cars, washing powder, clothes and — yes — python-skin handbags and tiger penises, bear bile and other ingredients for traditional medicines or meals that once belonged to the aristocracy.
“Over the past 20 years, the nature of the demand has changed, thanks to a rising middle class in Asia,” said Colman O’Criodain, a wildlife trade policy analyst in Switzerland for the environmental group W.W.F. International.
James Compton, senior program director for Asia at Traffic, said from Beijing, “Whether it’s high-end luxury stores or the man on the street corner selling dried sea horses — you can see animals and animal parts being sold quite openly. Wildlife trade is now quite pervasive in Asia.”
The problem, experts say, is often not a lack of top-level political will. Many Asian countries, like those elsewhere, ban the trade of rare plants and animals. Rather, the problem is enforcement on the ground and growing demand from populations that are often simply not fully aware of just how endangered the creatures they are consuming are.
Wildlife species with high commercial value have declined drastically, and many are now rare, endangered or even locally extinct, Traffic wrote in a report about Southeast Asia in late 2008.
Figures are hard to come by, as only select species can be closely monitored. But here are a couple of examples to illustrate the scale of some the population declines:
•Some species of sharks are thought to have declined 90 percent. Considered a status symbol in Chinese culture, the soup made from pricey shark fins is now within the reach of many, many more people than it once was.
• There are now thought to be as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild globally, down from 100,000 a century ago. Despite their acute rarity and international bans on tiger trade, officials throughout most of the tiger range countries, which span Russia and much of Asia, are intercepting the claws, skins or bones of about 100 tigers every year, a report published by Traffic last month found.
On the upside, attitudes are starting to change. Shark’s fin soup, for example, is becoming a decidedly uncool meal to serve in Hong Kong, the main hub for trade in the fins.
And in mainland China, where there was barely any coverage of animal welfare and related topics a decade ago, the media are now engaged, said Jill Robinson, founder of the Animals Asia Foundation, which campaigns for animal welfare and the conservation of endangered animals.
The sale of bear bile — often harvested from animals kept in tiny cages, and used in traditional medicine to cure ailments as varied as headaches and hemorrhoids — is legal in China, and demand is booming. But many doctors are starting to turn away from its use, not least because of a growing realization that bile from bears farmed in such conditions is often diseased, Ms. Robinson said.
Unfortunately, these efforts, commendable though they are, make only a small dent. Unlike in the West, where generations of children have grown up with nature programs, populations in Asia are not yet sensitized to issues like conservation, said Mr. O’Criodain of the W.W.F.
And while some countries have pretty advanced projects for preserving terrestrial species, “most consider the resources of the high seas — including overfished species of fish — as up for grabs,” he added.
Often, said Mr. Compton of Traffic, it is actually the rarity of the animal that makes it attractive to consumers, driving up its price.
For example, in Vietnam, where it is illegal to sell bear bile, a milliliter, or one-fifth of a teaspoon, of fresh, liquid bear bile can fetch as much as $30 on the black market, Animals Asia said.
Such prices mean fines and other penalties are an insufficient deterrent to often impoverished local populations.
“Wildlife crime is becoming more and more organized and sophisticated, and enforcement capacities are not managing to keep up,” said Mr. Shepherd of Traffic.
“The political will is changing; we’re seeing a lot of high-level commitments. But we need to see that translate into action on the ground. Otherwise, it will just be business as usual.”
For some species, even the welcome change in awareness may already simply be too little, too late.The New York Times
December 19, 2010
As Incomes Rise, So Does Animal Trade
By... more
-
-
The decision by a Dutch dolphinarium not to release a previously stranded wild orca, but instead to keep the animal in a concrete tank for the rest of its life has been criticised by conservationists as detrimental to the animal’s health.
The Free Morgan Group is alarmed by the Harderwijk dolphinarium’s recent conclusion that the young female orca, called Morgan, is not considered as a suitable candidate for release back into the wild after being kept there since being rescued from the Wadden Sea in June.
Cathy Williamson from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, a member of the Free Morgan Group, believes that a detailed release plan submitted by the Group to Dolfinarium Harderwijk should have been implemented and that the health and wellbeing of the orca is now at risk.
“We believe that the decision not to release this animal is wrong ”, says Williamson. “The Free Morgan Group is comprised of a wide range of experts who have not only extensive experience with wild orcas, but also experience with the release of captive cetaceans. Last month, the Group produced a detailed, multi-stage release plan that includes options for a ‘half-way-house’ scenario as well as full-release feasibility phases.
“Orca life expectancy in captivity is much lower than for their wild counterparts. In the wild, female orcas such as Morgan survive an average 50 years and up to 80 or even 90 years and by doing so, contribute to the continuity and survival of their orca community. Wild female orcas, like Morgan, might be expected to raise 1 to 4 offspring during their lifetime. “
The Free Morgan Group acknowledges the concerns of the ‘experts’ who were called upon by the Dolfinarium Harderwijk, and the Netherlands Government to provide their opinions as to the feasibility of the release of Morgan, but fears that they may not have been provided with all the necessary and relevant information, much of which is identified in the Free Morgan Release Plan.
The Free Morgan Release Plan was submitted to the Dolfinarium Harderwijk and made available to the public, with the aim of providing legitimate and accurate information as well as balanced and informed Release Plan options. Additionally, it was hoped that such a document would help the Dolfinarium Harderwijk in its decision-making process. Unfortunately, no mention of the plan is made in the report regarding Morgan, prepared by the Dolfinarium Harderwijk, nor is it referred to by any members of their advisory board. The Free Morgan Group considers this to be an important oversight that could be detrimental to Morgan’s future health and welfare.
The Free Morgan Group continues to call for Morgan to be released from the concrete tank and be given the chance to undergo rehabilitation with the possibility of a return to the wild. A semi-natural site has been identified at Delta Park Neeltje Jans in the Netherlands, that would offer Morgan a much larger enclosure in a sea-water environment.
This site would also provide Morgan with a better chance to recover her health and a return to natural behaviour that would prepare her for a possible return to the wild. Without this opportunity, the Group fears Morgan’s confinement in captivity will be detrimental to her long-term health and survival.
If Morgan was conditioned solely for captivity in an enclosed artificial facility, then the door would be shut forever on any chance of a reunion with her family.The decision by a Dutch dolphinarium not to release a previously stranded wild orca,... more
-
-
The German voiceover in this clip only adds to the drama where a sick young blue whale is eaten alive by sharks. One word by the narrator stands out to us native English speakers..."banquet."
The German voiceover in this clip only adds to the drama where a sick young blue... more
-
-
New Zealand orcas join surfers in search for the perfect wave
When the latest big swell arrived at Sandy Bay in northern New Zealand, it wasn't the waves making headlines, but the sleek black-and-white surfers who rode them.
Orcas, or killer whales, positioned themselves prominently and made it clear they were the real experts -- and that no mere human on a surfboard was going to deny them whatever waves they wanted.
"They knew what they were doing," Michael Cunningham, a Northern Advocate photographer and witness, told the newspaper. "They looked like they'd done it before."
New Zealand's orcas, unlike those in other parts of the world, are known to occasionally embark on surfing forays, but rarely is someone on the beach ready with a camera.
-continued-
LINK- - -
http://www.grindtv.com/surf/blog/22111/new+zealand+orcas+join+surfers+in+search+for+the+perfect+wave/New Zealand orcas join surfers in search for the perfect wave
When the latest big... more
-
-
Ted Danson urges more science before exploration
Published on November 12th, 2010 5:12 pm
By MARGARET BAUMAN (The Seward Phoenix LOG)
Alaska Native groups and environmentalists opposed to offshore drilling in the Arctic found support this week in testimony offered at a federal hearing by actor Ted Danson, while state, union and industry officials asked for the project to proceed.
Danson, who is in Anchorage filming "Everyone Loves Whales" with Drew Barrymore, told the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement that its revised environmental impact statement still needs work.
"It would be a mistake for the train to leave the station ... to lease and then do the science," he said. "If you're going to drill in environmentally sensitive areas, make sure you've got it right. And we haven't gotten it right yet," said Danson, a board member of the ocean advocacy group Oceana.
"Our suggestion is to stop this draft, do the real science, the base science, and it would take maybe four or five years to do that, $20 million per year, would be well worth that effort," he said.
Danson was among 78 people signed up to testify in the standing-room-only crowd Nov. 9 before BOEMRE, formerly the federal Minerals Management Service, in a midtown Anchorage office building.
BOEMRE officials listened for some three hours to a steady stream of people arguing for and against allowing offshore drilling to proceed in the traditional sea mammal hunting grounds of the North Slope's Inupiat Eskimo hunters.
The hearing was the last of four hearings held in Alaska on the supplemental environmental impact statement for oil and gas lease sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea, which would be conducted by Shell Oil. Others were scheduled earlier at Kotzebue, Point Hope, Point Lay, Wainwright and Barrow. Shell contends that there is little chance that a blowout would occur in this relatively shallow area of the outer continental shelf, but that if it did, that the spill could be contained and cleaned up.
Danson, who was among the first signed up to testify, had visited just days earlier in Barrow, with North Slope borough Mayor Edward Itta.
"The people he represents have been lifted up economically from oil money into a place where they can live in a much more sustainable way," Danson said. "And at the same time, their spiritual and cultural life depends on whaling, bowhead whale, and they feel that may or may not be in jeopardy from this drilling."
"This is a high risk gamble," said marine scientist Rick Steiner, who followed Danson in giving testimony. Steiner, who has served as an advisor on oil spill disasters worldwide, said the oil industry is not ready to handle a spill in arctic waters. "Oil spill response never ever worked anywhere," he said. "If an oil spill occurred right before freeze up (in the arctic) there would be no chance of clean-up."
Supporters of proceeding with offshore drilling said that if the leases are rescinded it would mean a loss of one of the greatest opportunities in the nation to create jobs, contribute to the reduction of the huge federal deficit, and wean America off of the grip of foreign oil.
"To be able to produce oil estimated at 29 billion barrels, and another possible 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the Chukchi may hold the key to helping us solve a significant part of our country's energy woes," said Vince Beltrami, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, which he said represents some 60,000 working families in Alaska.
"To rescind these leases would be to remove the potential of 35,000 year-round jobs and a payroll of more than $72 billion."
Beltrami said concerns about the safety of the environment are paramount. "Shell should be held to the highest safety accountability standards possible, as everyone knows we can ill afford a Gulf Coast style catastrophe in our Arctic waters," he said. "But this company has an excellent track record. Shell has a robust safety plan and has been safely drilling in Alaska for 50 years."
Kevin Banks, director of the state Division of Oil and Gas, complimented BOEMRE for the work they put into the supplemental environmental impact statement. "We believe that it provides more than sufficient support for the decision to affirm the Feb. 6, 2008 Sale 193 and that it is well past time to proceed to the next phase of exploration."
Banks that what is often lost in the debate about OCS development is "the simple fact that when we fail to develop our own domestic resources, we export our nation's wealth through deeper trade imbalances and the costs to maintain our international energy security. Failure to develop our domestic resources 0065acerbates the impacts on the environment in other parts of the world where values about environmental protection and the laws that minimize the impact of industrial activity are non-existent," he said.
Rebecca Noblin, Alaska director of the Center for Biological Diversity, also testified, speaking of an Arctic in trouble, warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, with Arctic summer sea ice disappearing more rapidly than climate models predicted.
Noblin said Chukchi species, including polar bears and Pacific walrus, are already showing signs of stress due to loss of sea ice habitat, but that the loaming industrial oil drilling also threatens these species.
"No one, no one has the technology to clean up oil in broken ice conditions," Noblin said. "There is no way to mobilize even a fraction of the response required for the Gulf disaster in the remote Arctic. And the truth is that a large oil spill could mean the difference between survival and extinction for struggling Arctic species."
Noblin told BOEMRE that in order to comply with the law the agency must analyze the substantial gaps in scientific information in the current EIS. "And most importantly, you must not allow drilling to go forward unless you have the scientific knowledge to say, truthfully, that drilling in the Arctic is safe," she said.
BOEMRE will continue to accept testimony through Nov. 30.
http://thesewardphoenixlog.com/thumb_srv.php?gallery=news_1011&img=all_11-18_lease_sale_193.jpg&capWid=750&capHt=350¢er=1&sharpen=1
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTmeySEP08HG_2CA1WuVZgzlQjJJeqSGTwyljFM4-qkxBT-_IG44wTed Danson urges more science before exploration
Published on November 12th, 2010... more
-
-
Whales suffering from 'dramatic' sunburn
By Matthew Knight for CNN
November 10, 2010 2:23 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Whales in Gulf of California suffering from sunburn, according to new report
* Paler-skinned blue whale has experienced the most blisters and damage
* Scientists think higher levels of ultraviolet radiation due to ozone depletion could be to blame
London, England (CNN) -- Whales in Mexico's Gulf of California are showing worsening signs of sunburn according to new report published Wednesday.
Photos and skin samples gathered by scientists from the UK's Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Mexico's Interdisciplinary Marine Science Center revealed blisters and changes in skin pigmentation in blue whales, fin whales and sperm whales.
The most badly-affected species was the blue whale -- which has paler skin -- and whales which spend most time on the surface exposing their skin to the sun.
"Whales need to come to the surface to breathe air, to socialize and to feed their young, meaning that they are frequently exposed to the full force of the sun," lead author Laura Martinez-Levasseur said in a statement.
Martinez-Levasseur says the rises in skin damage in the blue whale were "a matter of concern," but it isn't clear yet why they were happening.
....."A likely candidate is rising UVR (ultra-violet radiation) as a result of either ozone depletion or a change in the level of cloud cover
--Laura Martinez-Levasseur, Zoological Society of London, UK
Ultra-violet levels in the Gulf of California generally remain high or very high on the UV index (the international standard measurement of the strength of the ultraviolet radiation) throughout the year.
Edel O'Toole, professor of molecular dermatology at Queen Mary, University of London and co-author said the changes in the whales' skin were "dramatic" and "significant."
"In the cells of the epidermis there were blisters which we could observe under the microscope, as well as the ones you can see on the skin. We also observed sunburn like you would see in humans," O'Toole told CNN.
The damage appears to be getting worse, but there is no evidence yet that whales are developing more skin cancers, O'Toole says.
Now they have established that exposure to strong sun is damaging to whales' skin, scientists will now look at the knock-on effects and monitor if the whales are able to respond to increasing radiation, and enhance their natural sun protection mechanisms.
The research, which was conducted between 2007 and 2009, appears online in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.Whales suffering from 'dramatic' sunburn
By Matthew Knight for CNN... more
-
-
It's not only pale tourists who face the wrath of the sun, new research shows that whales and other sea mammals are also at risk of being burnt to a crisp as the ozone layer becomes thinner. The findings come from a study of 156 blue, fin and sperm whales swimming in the Gulf of California.By taking photographs and skin samples, the US and Mexico-based team which included British researchers, found the whales had blisters that were caused by sun damage.Researchers have long known that whales suffer blisters on their backs. However the reason why they have lesions has been a mystery - until now.After analysing the blisters and sores on high resolution photographs and studying whale skin samples in the laboratory, researchers now believe they are caused by acute sunburn.Dr Laura Martinez-Levasseur, from the Zoological Society of London and Queen Mary University of London, who led the study said: 'Whales need to come to the surface to breathe air, to socialise and to feed their young, meaning that they are frequently exposed to the full force of the sun.'Like in humans, darker skinned whales have more cells that produce of a dark brown pigment called melanin. Therefore blue whales, who have fairer skin than most whales, suffered more than the darker fin whales.Scientists predict that whales will experience more severe sun damage if ultraviolet radiation continues to increase.This study showed no signs of skin cancer in the whales, but the team are going on to find out how the whales respond to sun damage at a genetic level in the future.
It's not only pale tourists who face the wrath of the sun, new research shows... more
-
-
This is from Elora's bog - a brave 16 year old blogging from Taiji about the dolphin slaughters:
I want to start this blog preaching to the choir a little. I might have already said most of this, but I don’t care, it’s on my mind and I want to put it out. They talk about “Culture” and “Tradition”… and yes, actually 400 years ago they did hunt whales, but it is different. Steven Nakada from Japan, showed us how to properly enter a place that was used to pray for the lives of the whales. Back 400 years ago, when the town was starving and there was no farm land, they would come and pray for the life of the Whale ( and the people who were sacrificing their life to bring it to the village). Steven N. told us about how they could loose up to ten men every time they tried to row in a Whale, because it is a large animal. The families would cry, but pray for their fathers, sons, husbands or friends that sacrificed to feed them. The promatory we are always talking about, is a old whale look out spot. The stairs would be used to watch for signs of a pod, there were thousands more back then, and then they as a village would pray at the small temple that is just behind the stairs. This is the way it was and should still be (if whaling must exist). Dolphins are Whales. The practice of driving them into the killing Cove with motor boats and metal poles started in 1972 ish. IT is not culture… it turned into a business. Do they really think they can use the excuse of “Culture” when they are capturing constantly and SELLING half the pods. If this was really the way that they need to feed the Japanese people still, they wouldn’t have sold over a hundred dolphins this season alone.
What really pisses me off, is the fact they think they own the animals! They do not have the right to pull them from their home, and sell them for profit and show. It’s slavery! Not only is this rape of our Oceans a holocaust, but a slave trade as well. “Dolphins are non human persons”-Thomas White, and need to be treated as such.
No one believes this bull about culture, except the un-educated people who do not know or chose not to care. That is who we need to reach out to… because the rest of the world views these excuses and the people who use them as uneducated pathetic liars. The hunters are molesters, and the government pays them to be… only the human species would.
Today we spread out all over town, the cove, and Le trail. There was no where they could go were there was not a camera. No place to hide, it was wonderful. We all updated each other on what was happening by phone and were able to set up an actual operation.
I have to get up at 3am tomorrow morning again, because they left over 100 dolphins in the Cove tonight, that we expect will be slaughtered. They captured 36 dolphins for the trade today, and took one baby to the whale museum.
Read more updates from the blog: http://eloramalama.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/culture-capture-and-sell-slaughter-and-poison/This is from Elora's bog - a brave 16 year old blogging from Taiji about the... more
-
-
Celebrate Compassion
The 5th annual World Go Vegan Week is taking place this year from October 24th through 31st. This week is a celebration of compassion and a time to take action for animals, the environment and everyone's well-being. A plant-based diet not only improves your health, it significantly reduces your carbon footprint and preserves resources for future generations. So please join me in creating a healthy future and go vegan for World Go Vegan Week.
- Emily Deschanel
.
IDA would like to encourage people to use World Go Vegan Week to educate their community about the vegan lifestyle as a compassionate, sustainable, and healthy way of eating and living. Promoting veganism through outreach events and the media, we know that our annual World Go Vegan Week is helping make the word "vegan" a household word, universally recognized as meaning love and compassion for all living beings.
Take the Vegan Pledge [http://ida.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Vegan_Pledge] and pledge to go vegan for the week of World Go Vegan Week, October 24 - 31. Join other compassionate and inspired people that are changing their diet, changing their life and changing the world! Then, hold an event to celebrate you commitment to World Go Vegan Week.
Here are some ways you can celebrate World Go Vegan Week:
Be sure to register your event with us so we can send you flyers, posters and other materials to make you event a success. Contact Hope Bohanec: hope@idausa.org (415)448-0058.
* Plan an event or activity to get people interested in veganism, such as a public lecture, cooking demonstration, feed-in with vegan food samples, leafleting, tabling, library exhibit, or street theater performance. If you serve vegan food at your event, you can get refunded for the cost through the VegFund
* Host a vegan potluck dinner or restaurant outing to show your family and friends that they don't have to sacrifice taste to save animals' lives. Sharing delicious vegan food with others is a fun and easy way to make a difference in the lives of animals and the people you care about.
* Ask your local natural foods store to offer vegan samples for the week. Ask your favorite local food store to offer vegan samples or specials for the last week of October. Let them know that we can send information, posters and materials to help them celebrate World Go Vegan Week.
* Ask veg-friendly restaurants to offer discounts or specials on their vegan food. Encourage restaurants to have vegan specials for the week or to offer a discount for bringing in a veg-curious customer.
* Show a powerful, short vegan video at your next potluck or social gathering. Here's one of our favorites: Vegan video by NonViolenceUnited.org.
* Host a vegan pie-baking contest. You can do this in your own home in a public place. Offer prizes like gift certificates to veggie restaurants or IDA T-shirts. Don't you want to be a judge? Yum!
* Host a Vegan Halloween Party. Have a costume party and have prizes for the best animal costume, most compassionate, and the most vegan creative! Have vegan Halloween candy and treats on hand and go trick-or-treating, offering folks at the door vegan candy and brochures.
* Students: join or start a vegan club in your school and plan an event with your friends that will educate people about the benefits of a vegan diet to human health, animals, and the environment. Write a paper on veganism, hand out vegan literature at a college campus or help get vegan meals into your school's cafeteria. Visit Choice to learn how.
* Have a well-known vegan author or athlete come speak in your community. Host an event where a famous vegan offers an inspiring presentation. Have vegan treats for folks to try. IDA can help you contact the person.
* Send a friend or family member who lives far away a gift certificate to a restaurant in their own town. Visit Happy Cow for reviews of vegetarian restaurants around the country.
* Write a letter to the editor about the benefits of a vegan diet or the cruelties of factory farming, or ask your local newspaper to write a story on the subject.
* If you are religious, or participate in spiritual services or gatherings, look for opportunities to incorporate the vegan message into the discussions. If you participate in study groups, suggest discussion fo the vegan message.
* Visit a farmed animal sanctuary and take a friend who still eats meat. There are a number of farmed animal sanctuaries where you can visit rescued cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep and rabbits live naturally in peace and harmony without fear of abuse or slaughter. Check out Animal Acres, Animal Place, Farm Sanctuary, Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary, or IDA's Project Hope.
* Encourage a Compassionate Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks, talk to your community food banks about providing vegan options such as Tofurkys. Consider buying a few Tofurkys, preparing them, and bringing them to your food bank or other similar community dinner. Be sure to check out Gentle Thanksgiving which offers a lot of information and guidance on this special observance.
* Share the ideals of veganism with your community of friends and colleagues by adding this quote to your email signature:"Veganism gives us all the opportunity to say what we 'stand for' iin life -- the ideal of healthy, humane living. Add decades of health to your life, with a clear conscience as a bonus." - Donald Watson
* If you are a part of an animal protection organization, become a presenter of World Go Vegan Week. There are no costs to you for joining us as a co-presenter. All you need is to post the World Go Vegan Week banner on your web site, which links to the World Go Vegan Week web page. Contact Hope Bohanec, for more information: hope@idausa.org or call (415) 448-0058.Celebrate Compassion
The 5th annual World Go Vegan Week is taking place this year... more
-
-
The Japanese consulate in Los Angeles is expected to be one location for worldwide protests Thursday over the annual slaughter of dolphins in Japan.
The event, dubbed International Save Japan Dolphins Day, will focus on dolphin killings and unsafe levels of mercury found in dolphin meat, an indicator of an unhealthful environment for the marine mammals.
Japanese residents who live near the killings -- and who consume dolphin and whale meat -- also test for high levels of mercury.
“This is a human-rights issue as much as an animal-welfare issue,” organizers said in a statement.
The yearly killings were brought to widespread public attention by the award-winning documentary “The Cove” by Ric O'Barry, the former dolphin-trainer for the 1960s "Flipper" TV show.
A 2009 Times article, a follow-up to the film, described how in the small village of Taiji, 2,300 dolphins are steered into a hidden cove. There, the choicest specimens are selected for sale to dolphin parks for $150,000 each. The rest are speared by fishermen in a frenzy of blood and thrashing fins.
Officials of the isolated town on Japan's southeastern coast had long blocked outsiders from observing the kills.
Japanese officials defended the hunts as part of Taiji's fishing culture. Some pointed out Americans do not typically watch the slaughter of pigs and cows in the United States.The Japanese consulate in Los Angeles is expected to be one location for worldwide... more
-
-
Killer whale dies unexpectedly at SeaWorld Orlando
By the CNN Wire Staff
October 5, 2010 3:37 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* 25-year-old Kalina died Monday after a sudden illness; cause is yet to be determined
* She is the third adult whale to die at one of SeaWorld's parks in four months
(CNN) -- A 25-year-old killer whale unexpectedly died at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, the park said in a statement Tuesday.
The whale, named Kalina, died Monday evening after a sudden illness, according to the statement.
The cause of death will be determined by a necropsy, the park said, adding that the results could take up to six weeks.
The park said Kalina "showed no signs of illness as recently as Friday" and had a normal appetite Sunday.
"She began exhibiting signs of discomfort Monday afternoon and died suddenly in the evening," the statement said.
Kalina is the third adult whale to die at one of SeaWorld's three locations in four months. In September, 12-year-old male killer whale Sumar died suddenly at the San Diego park, and 20-year-old Taima died while giving birth to a stillborn calf at the Orlando park in June.
The average life expectancy for male killer whales in the wild is about 30 years, while females generally live about 50 years. The average life span in captivity is significantly less.
Photo: KalinaKiller whale dies unexpectedly at SeaWorld Orlando
By the CNN Wire Staff
October 5,... more
-
-
Added On September 22, 2010
A dead whale that has washed ashore near San Francisco has residents and scientists perplexed.
Affiliate KTVU reportsAdded On September 22, 2010
A dead whale that has washed ashore near San Francisco... more
-
-
Added On September 19, 2010
The debate over whaling and what is and isn't needed in the name of science.
CNN's Anna Coren reports.Added On September 19, 2010
The debate over whaling and what is and isn't... more
-
-
One of the allegations in Killer In The Pool that SeaWorld pushed back hard on, was the assertion that Tilikum was abused by other killer whales at SeaWorld Orlando, and that aggression between killer whales in SeaWorld’s pools sometimes leads to serious injuries. Responding to the allegation, VP Of Communications Fred Jacobs said: “Injuries as part of the expression of social dominance are rare and almost never serious.”
Jacobs doesn’t say that serious injuries NEVER occur. Which is smart, because there is a pretty well known 1987 incident at SeaWorld Orlando in which a whale named Kotar bit a whale he did not get along with, named Kanduke, in the penis. The bloody result closed SeaWorld shows down for a period, and Kotar was eventually shipped off to SeaWorld San Antonio. He died there in 1995, when a pool gate he was playing with closed on his head and fractured his skull.
One of the allegations in Killer In The Pool that SeaWorld pushed back hard on, was the assertion that Tilikum was abused by other killer whales at SeaWorld Orlando, and that aggression between killer whales in SeaWorld’s pools sometimes leads to serious injuries. Responding to the allegation, VP Of Communications Fred Jacobs said: “Injuries as part of the expression of social dominance are rare and almost never serious.”
Jacobs doesn’t say that serious injuries NEVER occur. Which is smart, because there is a pretty well known 1987 incident at SeaWorld Orlando in which a whale named Kotar bit a whale he did not get along with, named Kanduke, in the penis. The bloody result closed SeaWorld shows down for a period, and Kotar was eventually shipped off to SeaWorld San Antonio. He died there in 1995, when a pool gate he was playing with closed on his head and fractured his skull.
At the same time, Jacobs carefully worded response could easily give the impression that this is not a very serious phenomenon. And it would probably shock many in the public to see what some of the injuries actually look like. The second most notorious incident between two SeaWorld killer whales occurred in 1989, between two orcas called Kandu and Corky. Here is one description of what happened:
Kandu was a good performer, but she was also a moody orca. Waterworks were done with her but she showed aggressions to her trainers more than once. In 1984 she got pregnant with her first offspring. Unfortunately she gave birth to a dead calf on January 31, 1986.
Almost one year after, SeaWorld got 2 new orcas; Kandu immediately got along with the male Orky II and soon became pregnant with her second calf. On September 23, 1988, she gave birth to a female named Orkid. Kandu was a good and protective mother, so she wasn’t enthused when Corky, one of the other females showed interest in the new calf.
On August 21, 1989, Kandu was swimming laps in the back pool, while Orkid and Corky performed during a show. Kandu suddenly rushed into the show pool and rammed into Corky with her mouth being open. Corky was fine after the attack, but Kandu broke her jaw and started bleeding soon after. She immediately swam back to the back pool, where she died from severe blood loss. Orkid was by her side.
This incident is tragic because it led to the death of a killer whale. But someone recently sent me a photo of what the scene looked like after Kandu returned to the back pool, and it is pretty shocking. It tells a story about what can happen in the pools that is totally at odds with the impression that SeaWorld often conveys: that there is some social jostling, but it is “almost never serious.” This looks pretty serious:
See images and read more about orcas attacking each other in captivity: http://timzimmermann.com/2010/09/14/do-orcas-at-marine-parks-injure-one-another/One of the allegations in Killer In The Pool that SeaWorld pushed back hard on, was... more
-
-
WHALE meat is on the menu at about a sixth of Japan's state-run primary and junior high schools, a survey released today showed.
Of 29,600 public primary and junior high schools nationwide providing lunches for students, 5355 schools served whale meat at least once during the fiscal year to March 2010, the survey by Kyodo news revealed.
In Japan, cooked whale meat was a regular item on school lunch menus in the 1960s and 1970s as the annual supply of the meat reached a peak of 220,000 tonnes. It subsequently fell out of favour, with the supply dwindling to around 1000 tonnes in the 1990s as an international ban on commercial whaling was introduced.
But whale meat has recently made a reappearance on the school lunch table as the country gradually increased its catch of the ocean giants, Kyodo said.
The Institute of Cetacean Research, which carries out whaling in the name of research, sells whale meat to local municipalities for school lunch use at one-third of the market price, it said.
Japan hunts whales under a loophole to an international moratorium that allows the killing of the sea mammals for scientific research but it does not hide the fact that the meat is later sold in shops and restaurants.WHALE meat is on the menu at about a sixth of Japan's state-run primary and... more
-
-
eden49
-
added this
-
1 year ago
- |
-
September 2nd, 2010
11:16 AM ET
Exploding stranded whales often only 'humane' option
A healthy humpback whale jumping in the Pacific Ocean.
Explosives were reportedly used in Perth, Australia, to euthanize a terminally ill baby humpback whale that had been stranded for two weeks on the country's western coast.
The whale, about 30 feet long, was given a "lethal explosion" to the brain, according to local news reports.
"It's ugly but it's also a fast and one of the few ways to euthanize a whale that's stranded and in distress for too long," said Ken Balcomb, the executive director and research biologist for the Center for Whale Research since 1985. The Center, located on the Pacific Northwest's San Juan Island, is nonpolitical.
Balcomb, who has euthanized several whales, said there are essentially two ways to end the mammal's life if there is no hope of healing it and freeing it. One can either exact a controlled explosion or cut the throat.
"If a whale has been in that spot for two weeks, you have to assume that its brain is not functioning, that it's in a twilight zone, and isn't really aware of what's happening," Balcomb said.
The longer a whale is out of water the more pressure builds on the mammal's organs, he said. "These are sad things, but they happen and the public should know that there's nothing else sometimes that can be done."
Post by: CNN's Ashley FantzSeptember 2nd, 2010
11:16 AM ET
Exploding stranded whales often only... more
-
-
Hello Good People of Current!
I'm working on this awesome project~ and I was thinking about how my time with speaking with you, reading your comments and reactions to the good news and bad inspired the creation of this project. And I got to thinking...OMG! I have to tell them!
It's called People and the Planet, and it is all about how people are
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peopleandtheplanet/people-and-the-planet
Here is the even longer piece in Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leah-lamb/sex-pandas-kittens-and-sw_b_695770.html
I have a dream of creating stories that reconnect people to the planet, and reclaim the way we tell stories about the environment. What? You say. Reclaim? Yes. Reclaim. Let me tell you why.
After nearly two years of consuming and producing environmental video and blog content for Current's Green Channel, I nearly crawled away in a deep depression about the state of the world. I suffered from too-much-eco-news-itis. So I sublet my house, and retreated to a cabin perched on a cliff on the Lost Coast to complete my novel (and escape the world as we know it). I unplugged from the Internet (as best I could), and plugged into the planet. I spent the last three months walking in the woods, walking by the ocean, and consuming information from a different source: the natural world. I've never been happier.
What happened is that I started to see a huge disconnect between my experience in the environment, and the news I consume about the environment. And then I started thinking about the key reasons about why I went into producing media: to motivate, mobilize and inspire people to be stewards for our planet.
Houston. We have a problem. Because I don't know about you, but that majority of news I read about the environment these days sucks......Hello Good People of Current!
I'm working on this awesome project~ and I was... more
-
-
leahl
-
added this
-
1 year ago
- |
-
Written by Hardy Jones from BlueVoice.org
I was headed for Nuuk, Greenland, to attend the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). As the doors closed on my IcelandAir flight from JFK, my iPhone told me the International Whaling Commission (IWC), with U.S. assent, had voted to allow Greenland to kill 27 humpback whales for aboriginal subsistence.
An hour out of Keflavik, I realized the humpbacks that have now become targets of the hunt were swimming a mere vertical mile below me. I had come to know this stock of whales in the Caribbean at Samana Bay and out on the Silver Banks. They were extraordinarily friendly toward me as I filmed them underwater. We looked at each other eye-to-eye, each knowing the other was aware of the other. The idea of their being harpooned is appalling to me.
The quota granted by the IWC specified the hunt could not begin until mid-October. But Greenland has announced the hunt will begin immediately, in flagrant violation of the permit. After landing in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, I would find other violations.
Along most of their migratory route off the eastern seaboard of the United States, the humpbacks are protected. In response to protection, they've become increasingly friendly and curious toward the whale watchers who now are part of a multimillion dollar business for charter boat owners, hotels, restaurants and transport companies. They approach boats and eyeball passengers with astonishing trust. That trust will now be rewarded by a harpoon.
Aboriginal hunts of marine mammals are a highly complex ethical issue. It is true that the Inuit and their cousins have traditionally thrived on what they call natural food -- caribou, seal, beluga, whales, and other marine mammals. They do not have much money with which to draw food from the cash economy, and they do not fare well on the kind of food eaten by Europeans and Americans.
But it turns out that Greenland's hunt for whales is as much about profits as it is about aboriginal rights.
I discovered in Nuuk that Greenlanders are not observing the terms of the IWC quota that permits the hunt be conducted solely for aboriginal subsistence purposes.
I checked out markets and restaurants and immediately and easily found whale meat for sale in commercial channels. To document my finds, I used my iPhone to snap stills and record video. In the supermarket I found packaged whale meat. In a Thai restaurant I found whale sushi and whale and Rangoon Whiskey soup. In a greasy spoon burger/pizza joint I found whale steak.
The Inuit of Greenland complain that they do not have enough whale to sustain themselves. They may be having a hard time getting whale meat because the big money guys are sucking it all up for the more lucrative commercial trade.
My final discovery came on the last day of the ICC. A young Inuit from eastern Greenland told me pleadingly that his village needed to take whales outside the IWC quota. "We steal them," he told me.
"What species of whale are you taking?" I asked.
"Any kind that the elders tell us," came his reply.
Humpbacks have been missing from Greenlandic waters for sixty years -- hunted out by whalers. Their population has now recovered to the extent that explorer whales have made their way back to ancient feeding grounds. This should be cause for joyous celebration -- not a dreadful slaughter.Written by Hardy Jones from BlueVoice.org
I was headed for Nuuk, Greenland, to... more
-
-
From the Center for Whale Research:
The Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) population underwent a genetic bottleneck sometime between one and two-and-a-half whale generations ago that has resulted in a very small and fragile effective population size – only about 25 whales currently parent any offspring, while the remaining 60 or so whales are either too old or too young to contribute to population growth. That fact alone makes every baby whale precious, or at least it should be precious, to everyone on this planet that cares about the survival of these charismatic icons of the Pacific Northwest. Being born is one thing, surviving in the modern world is another. My goal is to encourage our human society to make it possible for the effective population size of SRKW’s to grow during the current generation, and for the foreseeable future. Too often, for too long, and too recently we have seen it decline. In order to see increase we must give priority to allowing the whales sufficient food = salmon to survive, year-round, and that amounts to a lot of fish.
At the risk of designating a baby whale an ID number or a name when there is a good chance that it will not survive, and thereby perhaps offending some and wasting numbers, I am going to exercise my prerogative and name a few:
In J pod, there was a new calf born in November 2009 to a sixteen-year old new mother designated J28. I earlier designated the new female calf J46 and called her “Star” for the starring role I hoped she would play in inspiring the public interested in conserving the fish resources needed for the entire SRKW population (and for humans).
Also born into J pod in January 2010 was another new calf, this time a young male whose very young mother is twelve-year old J35. I designated this new male calf J47, and now call it “Looker” because it frequently (and delightfully) raises its head high above the water as if looking around when swimming alongside its mother.
In K pod, there was a new calf first seen in February 2010 with an experienced mother K12, who is also a grandmother. Virtually every time we see and photograph this new rambunctious baby whale it is racing alongside its mother, so I have called it “Speedy” and have designated it K43 - the newest member of slow-growing K pod.
In L pod, a new calf appeared in the summer of 2010, itself an unusual event because most new SRKW’s are born in winter months. The births typically occur in mid-winter seventeen months after the party times of historically abundant summer salmon migrations to these inland marine waters. Conception of this new calf, designated L115, must have occurred around January or February 2009 when all three pods made an unprecedented mid-winter appearance off Victoria (see Encounter 3, 2009 CWR webpage). The mother is L47, who has lost her previous four consecutive babies (L99,L102,L107,L111) since giving birth to her two successful daughters (L83 and L91), in 1990 and 1995. Without yet knowing the sex of L115 the newest calf of L47, I am going to call it “Hope”, for obvious reasons. “Toast” was submitted, but it is not very optimistic for a whale name when we hope it survives.
Another new calf in L pod, L114 born to L 77, first appeared in February 2010, but it did not survive to summer. No name, but only a number for its tombstone in our records. (see Matriline guide on our website).
L113 was born in the autumn of 2009 to fourteen-year old first time mother L94, and she is healthy and doing well as of this writing in late summer 2010. This year has been a relatively good year for salmon in the local waters, so we are wishing all is well for her. I am going to call her “Molly” after a very good friend whose ashes were spread as L113 and her extended family swam nearby in Haro Strait this summer.
Two other recent L pod calves are worthy of mention: L112 born to L86, probably in January 2009 and first documented in the afore-mentioned Encounter 3 of 2009 when she was less than a month old; I am going to call her “Victoria” for the beautiful city waterfront where she was first seen. [Hold your nose until the sewage issue is resolved! Maybe we should call her “Stinker”?]
And, last but not least, we have L110, a very rambunctious young male born to a young mother, L83 first daughter of L47. We first saw him in August 2007, still showing evidence of fetal folds from recent birth; but, by October he had clear evidence of a mark that will no doubt remain with him for the rest of his life: a large flap of his upper right lip had been torn askew and was protruding awkwardly from the starboard side of his face, perhaps from an encounter with the steel leader of a fishing line. He also now has evidence of a bulbous tooth abscess just in front of the flap. I am going to call him “Flapper”, in anticipation that a bit of Aussie humor will be good for him. He probably does not mind his easily remembered name, though others might.
My apologies to those who may be offended by the names and numbers I have given these whales. I’ve given the subject a fair amount of thought over three decades, and have refrained from giving them meaningless, stupid, or unpronounceable names. You may call them anything you wish, but I have been keeping the official records of these whales from the beginning of their study, and these names and numbers are what we will write in our books. The paternity paper is in preparation and due out soon; and it is likely to be at least as interesting reading, if not downright scandalous. Here’s a little teaser: the whales apparently live up to the motto: “Old Guys Rule” and you can guess what that is about.
We will discuss the reasons for the SRKW population bottleneck in another writing. Meanwhile, do whatever you can to promote healthy wild salmon populations, particularly Chinook salmon, in the Pacific Northwest if you would like these babies and the SRKW population to survive.From the Center for Whale Research:
The Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW)... more
-
-
Come visit Monterey, CA this week to become involved in ocean conservation ideas and watch ocean-themed stories alongside Dr. Sylvia Earle (National Geographic Explorer in Residence) and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
http://www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org/aboutblue.html
"BLUE Ocean Film Festival is a global film festival and conservation summit for underwater filmmakers and marine researchers. A simultaneous community festival will share the best of the film competition with the public and will include presentations from the filmmakers and scientists who created them. Following the festival, a selection of winning films will tour the world, providing those who may not otherwise have access to these great films a chance to learn more about our oceans. "
http://www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org/home.htmlCome visit Monterey, CA this week to become involved in ocean conservation ideas and... more
-
