tagged w/ Illegal Wildlife Trade
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A joint report released today by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) finds that our natural support systems are on the verge of collapsing unless radical changes are made to preserve the world's biodiversity. Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Ahmed Djoghlaf, called the bleak report "a wake-up call for humanity."
The report is the third edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3). Employing scientific assessments and 110 government reports, the report confirms that governments around the world have failed in their 2002 pledge to reduce biodiversity loss by this year. Instead, the five biggest causes behind biodiversity loss—habitat destruction, over-exploitation of resources, pollution, invasive species, and climate change—have either worsened or stayed the same.
"We need a new vision for biological diversity for a healthy planet and a sustainable future for humankind," Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, said.
In addition the report warns that several ecosystems are heading toward tipping points from which they may never recover. Due to a combination of climate change, deforestation, and fires, the Amazon rainforest may change irrevocably; while coral reefs are being pounded by overfishing, warmer waters, and ocean acidification; finally freshwater ecosystems like lakes and rivers are losing biodiversity and abundance due to nutrient runoff.
"Business as usual is no longer an option if we are to avoid irreversible damage to the life-support systems of our planet," Djoghlaf said.
Officials are increasingly comparing the current biodiversity crisis to the global economic meltdown of 2008-2009, stating that while governments moved quickly to tackle the economic crisis they have responded languidly to the many threats to the world's environmental systems. These systems underpin the human economy by providing food, clean water, pollination, pest control, buffers from natural disasters, medicine, and carbon sequestration to name a few of their natural goods, known to researchers as 'ecosystem services'.
"For a fraction of the money summoned up instantly to avoid economic meltdown, we can avoid a much more serious and fundamental breakdown in the Earth’s life support systems," write the report's authors.
Yet, Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the UNEP, says that "many economies remain blind to the huge value of the diversity of animals, plants and other life forms and their role in healthy and functioning ecosystems from forests and freshwaters to soils, oceans and even the atmosphere."
* see comments below for more
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0510-hance_wake_up.htmlA joint report released today by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the... more
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TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - World leaders have failed to deliver commitments made in 2002 through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to reduce the global rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, and have instead overseen alarming biodiversity declines, according to a paper just published in the journal Science.
In the first assessment of progress made towards achieving the 2010 target, scientists from a wide range of institutions examined data from over 30 indicators of biodiversity – such as changes in species’ populations and risk of extinction, habitat extent and community composition – but found no evidence for a significant reduction in the rate of decline.
“Our analysis shows that governments have failed to deliver on the commitments they made in 2002: biodiversity is still being lost as fast as ever, and we have made little headway in reducing the pressures on species, habitats and ecosystems”, said Dr Stuart Butchart, of the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre and BirdLife International, and the paper’s lead author.
“2010 will not be the year that biodiversity loss was halted, but it needs to be the year in which we start taking the issue seriously and substantially increase our efforts to take care of what is left of our planet.”
The indicators included in the study were developed and synthesized through the 2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership – a collaboration of over 40 international organizations and agencies developing global biodiversity indicators and the leading source of information on trends in global biodiversity.
They included indicators developed by TRAFFIC and IUCN to monitor trends in the status of species used for food and medicine. These showed that birds and mammals used for these purposes are generally more threatened than those that are not. This may be due to over-exploitation or for other reasons such as habitat loss, or a combination of factors.
“Regardless of the causes, the diminishing availability of wildlife resources threatens the health and well-being of the people who depend on them directly for food and medicine and on their wild harvest as a source of income,” said Thomasina Oldfield, Research and Analysis Programme Leader for TRAFFIC and a co-author of the Science paper.
There needs to be urgent action to tackle the world’s biodiversity crisis, coupled with sustained investment in coherent monitoring and use of indicators to track and improve the effectiveness of any responses.
The results from the latest study will feed into Global Biodiversity Outlook 3, the flagship publication of the CBD, to be released in Nairobi on May 10th, when government representatives from around the world will meet to discuss the 2010 target and how to address the biodiversity crisis.
“Although nations have put in place some significant policies to slow biodiversity declines, these have been woefully inadequate, and the gap between the pressures on biodiversity and the responses is getting ever wider,” said Butchart
http://www.traffic.org/home/2010/4/30/world-governments-fail-to-deliver-on-2010-biodiversity-targe.htmlTRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - World leaders have failed to deliver commitments made... more
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Report by the Wildlife Conservation SocietyThe United States is the world’s biggest consumer of imported wildlife and wildlife products.
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, more than ONE BILLION individual animals were imported into the country between 2000 and 2004. Many were sold as pets. In the same time period, more than 11 MILLION POUNDS of bushmeat and other animal products crossed into our borders.
Often, this trade in wildlife not only breaks the law, but delivers health risks to the nation’s residents, too.
In New York City, a major hub for the trade, the Wildlife Conservation Society is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to uncover these potential threats. More than 70 percent of zoonoses (diseases that affect both animals and humans) stem from human contact with wildlife. Monkey pox, SARS, and HIV/AIDS (via human infection with simian immunodeficiency virus) have all impacted public health through the consumption or trade of wild animals.
“The movement and mixing of humans, wildlife, and domestic animals as part of the illegal global wildlife trade encourages transmission of disease and emergence of novel pathogens,” said Dr. William Karesh of WCS’s Global Health program. “Our pilot project, still in its early stages, will help identify whether pathogens are entering the U.S. via bushmeat and other illegal wildlife.”
Now, at main entry points for people and goods into NYC and the U.S., inspection officials and health experts have taken hundreds of samples of wildlife and wildlife products. Since the project’s launch in 2008, they have uncovered parts from at least 14 species—great apes, monkeys, rodents, and bats—tucked inside luggage and mail parcels.
http://www.wcs.org/new-and-noteworthy/smuggling-wildlife-and-disease.aspxReport by the Wildlife Conservation SocietyThe United States is the world’s... more
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Few creatures in the wild captivate man as do gorillas. For those lucky enough to have seen them, it would be hard to imagine Africa's Congo without these gentle giants. However we may have no choice. By the mid-2020s, a new UN and Interpol report says gorillas may disappear from the forests of the Congo Basin.
"We had done a report back in 2002 which was already fairly grim in terms of the predictions in terms of the extinction," says Amy Fraenkel, regional director of the U-N Environnmental Program.
"But that is unfortunately very much trumped by the recent findings, which are that between - I'd say less than 10-15 years out from now, we could see extinction in large ranges of the species."
Fraenkel notes the report links the threat to gorillas to militias, and the continued fighting in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"The biggest cause is an increase in illegal logging and harvesting of minerals in the area which in many cases are being used to directly finance militias, as you know it's a very war-torn area."
She adds that "illegal activity" also includes killing gorillas for bushmeat to feed the loggers and militia.
But the gorillas also face perhaps a more dangerous foe than man. A deadly disease that has wiped out entire populations of gorillas.
"If I were to rank them in what is now the most immediate threat, Ebola would be number one," says Allard Blom, with the World Wildlife Fund's Congo Basin Program.
"It's very devastating to both gorillas and humans and gets transmitted between the species. So that is actually at the moment really wiping out a lot of gorillas in their areas where they are most protected. The biggest populations get hit by this virus. Basically, it's almost a 100% mortality rates in gorilla."
The UNEP Interpol report contains several recommendations to counter the threat to gorillas. One key element, says Amy Fraenkel, is to stem the economic benefit of the illegal trade, inside and outside of Africa.
"And that is something we've been working on in many different aspects of environmental crime. In this case, it's training law enforcement officials and park rangers - and deploying and giving them the resources. It's truly a war and they need to be well equipped."
Allard Blom of the WWF agrees with report's recommendation. He adds that it is important to work with logging companies to help stem the illegal bushmeat trade -- and on that front, he says there is some good news.
"There is now over five million hectares of forest that is certified...and I can tell you from personal experience, 10-15 years ago, most logging companies were extremely hostile to conservation organizations. We were seen as the enemy and that has dramatically changed.
The UNEP - Interpol report was presented at a recent meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Gorillas-on-the-Brink-90203897.htmlFew creatures in the wild captivate man as do gorillas. For those lucky enough to have... more
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There are many animals today that are nearing extinction. It is becoming more and more important that we found a way to raise awareness about this problem. A zoo in Philadelphia has found an interesting way to raise awareness about endangered species while appealing to its young crowd. Legos.
The Philadelphia Zoo has opened a lego exhibit that displays many different endangered species. The exhibit is called "Creatures of Habitat: A Gazillion-Piece Animal Adventure," and it opened today. Created by Sean Kenney, the exhibit has 34 animals and took over a year to complete.
The highlight of the exhibit is a 95,000 piece polar bear.
"I love being able to explain serious problems in ways that kids can understand them," says Kenney.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/lego-artisan-creates-endangered-species-for-zoo.phpThere are many animals today that are nearing extinction. It is becoming more and more... more
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A safari theme park in Thailand has been slammed by animal lovers for its macabre way of attracting tourists by featuring orangutan kick boxing matches.
Previously, the zoo was closed six years ago on charges of animal cruelty for using the animals in the dangerous sport. Animal rights activists say that some of the orangutans, weighing up to 250 pounds, could cause serious harm to each other in a boxing match.
Safari World, on the outside of Bangkok, has been drawing huge crowds that cheer orangutans forced to wear boxing gloves and trained to trade punches and spin kicks.
As the heavyweights of the jungle duke it out, female orangutans parade around in bikinis displaying the round number.
According to an investigative report, after the 30-minute shows, the orangutans are returned to their dark, dingy charges.
"It's sad that people would find this entertaining," the New York Daily News quoted Debbie Leahy, director of captive animals for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, as saying.
"When you see these animals performing what are completely unnatural tricks...they're not doing it because they want to, they're doing it because they're afraid not to," Leahy said.
The Daily Mail of London obtained video exposing the barbaric matches at Safari World and showing tourists cheering wildly as apes pummel each other.
While organizers insists the orangutans have been trained to pretend as if they've been knocked out, disgusted animal rights activists warned of the abuse the 250-pound animals endure while being trained.
Orangutans previously rescued from other entertainment parks showed signs of abuse upon arriving at an animal refuge in Indonesian Borneo, they said.
"It is heartbreaking that such practices still go on," Grainne McEntee of the wildlife rescue group Borneo Orangutan Survival told the Daily Mail.
The Thai government shut down the Safari World monkey matches in 2004, and seized 48 orangutans that had been illegally smuggled from Indonesia.
It's unclear why the bizarre show is once more allowed to go on. (ANI)
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/5593665-shocking-ape-kickboxing-in-thailandA safari theme park in Thailand has been slammed by animal lovers for its macabre way... more
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Mother Jones - Environment + Health → Tech, Top Stories
-- By Dave Gilson
Killer apps: The real story behind your smart phone's innards.
IT'S A CELL PHONE, a camera, a media player, and a handheld computer all in one. But what makes the iPhone such a great tech toy also makes it a perfect example of the often murky, sometimes downright sketchy origins of our electronics. Here's a glimpse of what's really in an iPhone 3GS—and any number of other gadgets, from laptops to game consoles:
We've loaded this iPhone up with 10 apps you won't find on a real smart phone (visit link:http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/03/scary-truth-about-your-iphone). Click on an app to learn where your phone's electronic components really came from.
--Dave Gilson, is a senior editor at Mother JonesMother Jones - Environment + Health → Tech, Top Stories
-- By Dave Gilson... more
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Mother Jones - http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/03/gorillas-extinct-mid-2020
In March, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) announced that gorillas in the Congo may be extinct by the mid-2020s, a drastic change from its 2002 projection which had 10 percent of the original range surviving in 2030.
The culprits behind the demise of one of the world's brightest primates: poaching, logging, mining, the Ebola virus, and...cell phones.
Adam Hochschild's piece in the March/April issue of Mother Jones http://motherjones.com/toc/2010/03, describes how the Congo's vast natural resources are continuously pillaged to feed foreign interests to the detriment of locals, their environment, and now gorillas.
'Militias have seized large chunks of gorilla land and logged and mined it. They have done so because the illegal trade in timber and in metals such as gold and coltan -- used in cell phones -- generates between $14 million and $50 million a year for them.' --- CNN reports
'This is a tragedy for the great apes and one also for countless other species being impacted by this intensifying and all too often illegal trade. Ultimately it is also a tragedy for the people living in the communities and countries concerned. These natural assets are their assets: ones underpinning lives and livelihoods for millions of people. In short it is environmental crime and theft by the few and the powerful at the expense of the poor and the vulnerable.' --- Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UNEP
http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/03/gorillas-extinct-mid-2020Mother Jones - http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/03/gorillas-extinct-mid-2020... more
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PHOTO: The consumption of a silver-backed gorilla. (National Geographic)
Though most of our species in the more developed countries won’t even care about this, I feel compelled to report this tragedy of environmental disaster wrought by our lesser fortunate brethren in Africa specifically between the countries of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda, all sites of genocides and the abuse of human rights in modern history.
There are multiple factors negatively affecting the population of African gorillas living in the Congo Basin. Of course, humans are one of them. Due to the violent militants and rebels ethnically cleansing their areas, it has forced thousands of refugees towards the wild, mainly the Congo Basin. Refugee camps are in wild demand of any food especially the meat of an ape. Insurgents and militias further harm gorillas by aggressively encroaching into the wild to extract precious – and illegal – minerals along with much needed lumber cutting down trees and ruining habitats for gorillas.
To top it all off, the epidemic of Ebola, a deadly virus for both humans and apes, especially apes, which became known to the public due to the strange infections of monkeys in the U.S being is accelerating the rate of mortality for these gorillas. This virus that originates from the Ebola River near Congo spreads through things such as spit, or soil rarely through human contact. Consequently, gorillas with their habits and movement patterns fell victim to an Ebola epidemic in the late 1900’s worsening their immune system and killing thousands of these gorillas.
Think environment activists have time? Think again. Within the next decade, the gorillas in the Greater Congo Basin will completely disappear as activities such as mining and poaching continue to rapidly increase as demands for the end-products also increase. Ninety percent of both infected gorillas and the natural habitats will decrease in the same timeframe of roughly ten to fifteen years according to the United Nations Environment Program, a surprise for those who had thought gorillas in the Congo Basin would lose the same amount of their habitat by the year 2030.
A nightmare for environment activists, the lack of gorillas in the region of Central Africa will have significant impacts on the levels of their community, ecosystem and ultimately the biosphere leading to other environmental casualties as well.
Unlike the cases of whales, tigers, and others being terribly cut down by humans in the animal kingdom, the decreasing population of gorillas in Central Africa (already around the number of seven hundred gorillas, a gloomy statistic when compared to the previous population in the 20th century) is even harder to prevent. You can’t exactly hunt down militants in politically unstable areas in Africa, and you can’t exactly hand out vaccination to a line of gorillas to prevent their deaths in the Ebola outbreaks.
The rangers at these wildlife sites are nearly helpless as well due to the lack of outside support for Interpol’s Environmental Crime Program and such other programs. More than 180 rangers have already been killed by those who illegally garner resources at the expense of the species of gorillas.
There simply is no room for optimism only reality.
http://inewp.com/?p=1862PHOTO: The consumption of a silver-backed gorilla. (National Geographic)
Though... more
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Nearly 100 endangered rhinos were poached in South Africa alone last year, and wildlife officials have to wage a constant battle with corrupt government officials and Vietnamese-paid crime syndicates who target the last rhinos of Africa just for an entirely mythical Chinese medicine (Traditional Asian Medicines or Chinese Medicine)
A surge in rhinoceros poaching to service Asian markets for traditional medicine is underway in Africa. South Africa, previously a refuge for rhinos, has experienced a sudden increase in rhino poaching.
Pretoria, South Africa - Independent Online (IOL) said a spokesman for the Kruger National Park, William Mabasa, described a shocking scene of a rhino with its horns cut off, walking down a road in the park. The rhino eventually died, a victim of a 15-year-high in cases of poaching believed to be linked to organised crime.
"That was really the first case that I know of where we found a rhino that the horn was removed from and it was struggling on the road" said Mabasa.
Mabasa thought poachers had used tranquillisers to be able to cut off the horns without making noise. This is the first report of a rhino surviving after poachers’ cut off its horns.
They eventually had to destroy it because the wound was rather too big.
Two other rhinos in a small reserve near the executive capital, Pretoria, also perished after poachers overdosed them with tranquillisers. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/289542Nearly 100 endangered rhinos were poached in South Africa alone last year, and... more
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Last week the secretary of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Willem Wijnstekers, announced that security forces in Zimbabwe had poached approximately 200 rhinos in a two year period. He did say how many elephants were poached by security forces.
The revelation means that Zimbabwe will have to explain the poaching to CITES or lose their ability to trade ivory.
The minister of Environment and Natural Resources Management, Francis Nehma, says that the nation needs vehicles and helicopters to control the troubled nation's widespread poaching problem. Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai (in a power-sharing agreement with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe) said that security forces involved in poaching must be brought before the law and punished.
Rhinos have almost vanished from Zimbabwe due to a poaching epidemic.
The Critically Endangered black rhino continues to be threatened by poachers across Africa. Approximately 4,000 survive in the wild.
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0214-hance_zimpoach.htmlLast week the secretary of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered... more
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- FULL LENGTH FILM -
Despite an international ban, the trade in endangered animals to the Middle East is flourishing. This exclusive report tracks the dealers, buyers and government officials who protect them.
In January 2005, a crate containing six baby chimpanzees and four monkeys was rescued from a flight from Cairo. The animals had been denied food and water for days and one soon died. Scouring flight records, animal investigators linked the shipment to a notorious wildlife smuggler. It's believed this smuggler traffics an average of 40 chimpanzees a year, bribing airport officials. Despite a wealth of evidence against her, she has never been prosecuted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7gsvvzlab8&NR=1
There is NO EXCUSE for this horror. As a compassionate and smart consumer, know where you 'stuff' comes from!
Please do not add to the environmental devastation and ethical atrocities taking place.
Climate change (global warming) already threatens these magnificent beings with extinction. Deforestation, mining and "exploration" in the DRC (& surrounding African nations) is driven by CONSUMERISM.
Please visit my blogger page http://julesrs007saveanimals.blogspot.com/ for links and other information on how to help this magnificent & endangered being, the Mountain Gorilla.- FULL LENGTH FILM -
Despite an international ban, the trade in endangered animals... more
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Florida has long battled an invasive population of Burmese pythons in the Everglades. But a new species of invasive snake--the African rock python has recently been found on the loose as well.
At least five rock pythons, one that measured 14 ft long, have just been captured in Miami-Dade county. Now, experts' fears are mounting that the Burmese and African rock pythons will begin breeding--and give rise to a new, dangerous 'super snake.'
The African rock pythons were initially thought to be a few escaped pets that could be contained--but the recent spate of discoveries shows that they may indeed be a brand new breeding population in the Everglades. Which is bad news.
The LA Times reports:
state environmental officials worry that the rock python could breed with the Burmese python, which already has an established foothold in the Everglades. That could lead to a new "super snake," said George Horne, the water district's deputy executive director. In Africa, the rock python eats creatures as large as goats and crocodiles.
There have been cases of the snakes killing children.
According to local wildlife experts, the rock python is "bigger and meaner than the Burmese python." Which is precisely why fears are stirring that a hybrid python may be on the rise in the Everglades.
Thousands of Burmese pythons already thrive in the area, with no natural predators to keep them in check--now imagine if they were bigger, stronger, and nastier in disposition. It would indeed present a very real threat not only to Florida's ecosystem, but potentially to families with children in the area.
Burmese pythons have already been known to occasionally attack children--and scientists consider the rock python even more dangerous. LeRoy Rodgers, a water district scientist, is concerned about both of them: "These are animals that are hot predators, and now there are two species to worry about." And now, counting the possibility of a 'super snake', maybe there will be one more.
Visit linked page for photos, video ...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/01/new-super-snake-python-hybrid-florida.php
STOP THE DESTRUCTIVE THREAT OF INVASIVE SPECIES!
PLEASE SAY 'NO!' TO THE WILDLIFE TRADE.
PLEASE END THE EXOTIC (& USUSALLY ILLEGAL) PET TRADE.
Poor gentle manatees. As if human beings (& their boats), pollution, warming oceans, climate change & habitat loss was not enough.Florida has long battled an invasive population of Burmese pythons in the Everglades.... more
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Malaysian wildlife authorities said they have rescued 130 pangolins and arrested two men attempting to smuggle the protected species, destined to be sold to restaurants and medicine shops.
Officials from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks said the two men were detained at a cemetery in central Pahang state, national news agency Bernama said late Saturday.
"The cemetery is believed to be the transit point before the animals are taken to (southern state) Johor and illegally exported to China, Japan and Hong Kong," state department head Khairiah Mohamad Shariff told Bernama.
He added the 130 pangolins seized were worth 40,000 ringgit (11,500 dollars).
Malaysian marine police on Thursday rescued 62 pangolins.
Pangolins are indigenous to the jungles of Indonesia, parts of Malaysia and areas of southern Thailand. The animal's meat is considered a delicacy in China, but it is classified as a protected species under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.Malaysian wildlife authorities said they have rescued 130 pangolins and arrested two... more
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Tina, Jewel and Queenie are three wild-caught Asian elephants who have endured a lifetime of ill-treatment at the hands of the circus industry.
These elephants spent 2008 being trucked around the country with Circus Vazquez.
Shockingly, current "owners" of these elephants, the notorious Davenport circus family, have been allowed to continue to exhibit them despite the egregious violations of federal law committed by the Davenports.
The severe weight loss that led to Tina and Jewel being ordered off the road in 2007 has never been diagnosed, and the elephants are again losing an alarming amount of weight – 1800 pounds between them.
Will Davenport, their 'trainer' is a chronic violator of federal animal welfare law. The USDA received so many calls that it set up a special team to handle them. The pressure we are generating is surely helping to bring attention to the plight of these elephants. We are confident that only a little more pressure is necessary to achieve our goal: confiscation of the elephants and transfer to a sanctuary.
After their scheduled engagements with the Shrine Circus in Idaho were cancelled (thanks to letters from IDA and our loyal members), the elephants returned to their home base in Leggett, Texas. There they reportedly remain while undergoing tuberculosis testing and veterinary evaluation.
Yet, every day that the USDA leaves these elephants in the hands of a trainer that the agency itself has documented to be UNTRAINED and INCOMPETENT, is another day that the lives of these magnificent animals are endangered.
All three elephants have suffered from severe weight loss, Tina and Jewel for the second time in as many years. A just-released USDA inspection report from June indicates that Jewel lost 740 pounds and Queenie (aka "Boo") lost 520 pounds, while Tina has lost 640 pounds in less than a year.
Please follow the links for more information -
https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1307Tina, Jewel and Queenie are three wild-caught Asian elephants who have endured a... more
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IFAW - 70 elephants could be executed if we don't move them immediately.
WE MUST ACT NOW to save a large herd of elephants - adults and babies - that face the firing line in the southeast African country of Malawi.
http://https://www.ifaw.org/ifaw_asia_pacific/donate_now/malawi_elephant.php?msource=DR090504002#x
YouTube VIDEO link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNSQBZIlpyIIFAW - 70 elephants could be executed if we don't move them immediately.
WE... more
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Pierce Brosnan on Capitol Hill Asking for Your Support
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Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's pre-release breeding dacility in Madagascar.
Thieves have stolen four of the world's rarest tortoises from Durrell Wildlife Conservation. Critically endangered Ploughshare tortoises stolen from breeding facility
June 2009.
Trust's pre-release enclosures inside Baly Bay National Park, Madagascar. The theft took place during the night on the 6th May and comes as a major blow to the conservation of the Ploughshare tortoise, a species that is on the edge of extinction and classified as Critically Endangered.
Conservationists believe the four tortoises are destined for private collections in Europe, USA or Asia unless they are found quickly.
Overseas collectors - Baly Bay is an extremely poor region and traffickers pay local people to find the animals. However, the real problem lies with the buyers and the collectors who encourage the illegal trade in endangered animals with no thought for the conservation of the species. Durrell hopes law enforcement agencies in Madagascar and abroad will do more to clamp down on this global trade.
While attempts have been made by the Madagascan government to try to halt the smuggling, the recent political unrest in the country has enabled international dealers to increase their efforts to profit from Madagascar's natural heritage. A tough stance is needed both within Madagascar and in the countries where illegal animals are sold before another species is sent to extinction by the greed of the illegal trade of biodiversity.Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's pre-release breeding dacility in... more
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Recently, eleven smuggled orang-utans were seized by Thai officials in the southern province of Phuket. DNA tests are being conducted in a bid to help the apes be returned to their place of origin.
It was a chaotic scene as wildlife officials and veterinarians helped each other separate the orangutans from the cages for medical check-ups and blood tests for DNA identification.
The primates are seven times stronger than humans and more than five people were required to overpower just one orang-utan. Chloroform was needed for the bigger apes to reduce their pain and stress.
The DNA identification process will take at least one month to identify the orang-utans’ origins. It will help determine whether the apes are native to Indonesia’s Sumatra island or to Borneo, an island shared by Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.
"Orang-utans are a protected animal in Indonesia and Malaysia. So it is illegal to import such an animal into Thailand,"said Pornchai Patumrattanathan, Chief of Khao Prathap Chang Wildlife Breeding Research Station.
In all, 12 orang-utans underwent DNA testing, the 11 dumped on Phuket by the smugglers in fear of being caught and 1 confiscated at a resort in southern Chumphon province.
"Once we have the orang-utans’ blood, we’ll extract their DNA. We’ll then multiply the DNA to decode the genetics. Then, we will find out whether or not they are of Borneo or Sumatra breed, so we can return them to their home of origin," Asso Prof Theerapol Sirinarumitr, a Forensic Veterinary Expert from Kasetsart University.
The confiscated orang-utans are between 4 to 8 years old. Normally, their life span is around 40 years in the wild and 50 years in captivity.
All the 12 orang-utans are currently at Khao Prathap Chang Wildlife Breeding Research Station in Thailand’s central province of Ratchaburi, until the case is concluded.Recently, eleven smuggled orang-utans were seized by Thai officials in the southern... more
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