tagged w/ wildlife-trade
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Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project: http://www.mgvp.org/
Dr. Lucy's Blog - Susa Group
Ururabo's baby seemed to recover completely after his two-day episode of runny nose and soft cough. We'd been checking him daily, along with all of the mothers and infants. Magda had seen him the day before, and he'd looked normal compared to the infants of both Ruvumu and Rwandarushya, who were now coughing along with their mothers. Dufatayne had recovered and her baby had yet to show any symptoms. When I arrived to check on the group, the mothers and infants were again the priority.
We hadn't yet opened our medical bags for the Susa outbreak, but we'd come close twice. Though Poppy had improved, one of her 4-year-old twins, Byishimo, had become progressively sicker. He'd been struggling with a cough and lethargy for over a week and then stopped eating. When he began lagging behind the group, our level of concern shot up.
My initial impression of the group on this morning, Day 20, was that many gorillas had improved. Maybe we'd turned the corner on the outbreak. Then I cautioned myself, remembering the number of infants in the group and the time it takes for this disease to cycle through everyone.
Sure enough, Rwandarushya appeared with her baby. First she coughed and then her infant coughed. His eyes looked bright enough, but he seemed very quiet. Ruvumu had regained her appetite and looked much improved, but her infant had a thick nasal discharge and frequent cough. He's a bigger, older baby, however.
Then we found Ururabo, coughing with nearly every breath, sitting head down and not eating. The baby lay limply in her arms, eyes closed, mouth open, wheezing. They were clearly the sickest of the 39 gorillas today. This little one had come down with the disease six days earlier — plenty of time to develop pneumonia, sometimes called the silent killer.
*PLEASE visit my pages for more information on how you can help these gentle giants...
http://my.care2.com/julesrs007
http://julesrs007saveanimals.blogspot.com/
*ALSO:
http://blogs.discovery.com/quest/2008/07/ururabos-baby-i.html
http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/mountaingorilla (AWF Wildlife Mountain Gorilla)
http://www.gorillafund.org/ (Saving Gorillas - The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International)
Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project: http://www.mgvp.org/
Dr. Lucy's Blog - Susa... more
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Just imagine many bears waiting to be slaughtered for their gall bladder, feet and meat, crowded into small and filthy cages being fed pigs food on a daily basis. In the West, activists protest against similar treatment of battery hens. Here we are talking about a protected species, and one of the world's most magnificent animals. Nothing is being done by authorities to stop the trade in Korea.
The cruellest thing for this animal - remember this is the animal meant to be the mother of the Korean nation - is that they cannot live in the wild. Bears hibernate in their natural environment and the need to do this is indelibly implanted into their DNA. But bears caged at farms cannot hibernate during Korea's bitterly cold winters. This drives them insane, and activists have seen bears self-harming themselves against hard objects in despair.
There are no regulations providing for any specific method of slaughter, and there is a widespread belief that the bears are killed inhumanely. All of these conditions are against CITES agreement.
These bears are killed for oriental medicine, especially for their gall bladder but also for their meat and feet. Customers regularly visit the farms to select their own bear for slaughter.
MoonBears.org - A global coalition campaigning to save Korea's Moon Bears.
A bear gall bladder sells for up to $20,000 in Korea. Mr. Kim argues that deregulation will allow farmers to compete with imported bladders from China. China, Russia and North Korea have huge bear farming industries.
There are legal processes set out for the establishment of bear farms and the sale of bear products. However these are clearly being ignored and not enforced. Advertisements for internet sales for bears and bear breeding are easily found in Korean internet shopping malls, For example www.petmart.org; www.sajapet.com ; www.doumy114.com ; www.chunggaechun.co.kr .
Visits to 10 bear farms by in 2004 Green Korea confirmed hygiene standards and the condition of bears were both extremely poor. Most bears were in small dog cages - around 1 meter by 2 meters in size. There are frequently up to 10 bears in larger cages.
All bears were showing signs of abnormal behaviour. Some farms were located in the gardens of residential houses or temporary buildings. The "farmers" indicated that there were no inspections by authorities.
According to reports on oriental medicine there is over speculation about a bear's gall bladder being extra effective to cure human liver problems, it can also be replaced by around 54 alternative herbal formulas. For more information you should download the Detailed background on Asian bile trade and uses for bear bile, prepared by ACRES document.
Please Visit my other pages for more info on the bears & other animal & enviromental issues
http://my.care2.com/julesrs007
http://julesrs007saveanimals.blogspot.com/
Just imagine many bears waiting to be slaughtered for their gall bladder, feet and... more
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Following his chest-waxing to highlight deforestation, Harrison Ford has recorded another public service announcement --this time to address the nasty trade of animal trafficking.
The Indiana Jones star has joined forces with the U.S. State Department and the organization WildAid to draw attention to the campaign — and to encourage people not to buy endangered animal products when visiting overseas. “No thanks, just send me a postcard,” he quips. From the site,
“More than 30 U.S.embassies in all regions of the world will showcase the PSAs in a global launch beginning June 5, World Environment Day. The ads will also be broadcast globally on television and cable stations.”
In all, Ford recorded three 30-second spots. You can have a look at all of them by visiting the WildAid site here:
http://www.wildaid.org/index.asp?CID=7&PID=507
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/05/21/harrison-ford-official-chest-waxing-psa-now-in-high-def/
Following his chest-waxing to highlight deforestation, Harrison Ford has recorded... more
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