tagged w/ Human Disgrace
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Some people just don’t think President Bush has done a terribly good job on climate change...
But, just because he single-handedly stopped any international action on climate and reneged on his 2000 campaign pledge to regulate CO2 and stopped California from regulating tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions and muzzled climate scientists and forced Congress to drop almost all non-oil-related provisions to cut GHGs from the 2007 energy bill
— that’s no reason to think the FHA (Future Historians of America), having previously named Bush the Worst President in American History will award him one of their rare Worst Leaders of All Time Awards, alongside such notables as Neville Chamberlain and Nero.Climate Progress » Blog Archive »
Some people just don’t think... more
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The 1st ivory auction in a decade sold over seven tons of tusks to Chinese and Japanese bidders Tuesday in Namibia, raising more than a million U.S. dollars for elephant conservation.
The sale took place under a special exemption to the international ban on trade in ivory.
Last year the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) ruled that Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe could make a one-time sale of 108 tons of government ivory stocks.
Some environmentalists have condemned the sales, fearing they will encourage smuggling and poaching of African elephants.
$1.3 Million Netted - Tuesday's auction, held behind closed doors in the capital, was monitored by Willem Wijnstekers, CITES secretary general. In all, 7.2 tons of ivory were sold, fetching a total of $1.3 million at an average price of $164 per kilogram (2.2 pounds).
The 2 Chinese and 2 Japanese buyers were not named.
Namibia had expected to sell over 9 tons of ivory. The remaining tusks will be distributed to communities involved in making traditional jewelry. (Related: "Illegal Ivory Trade Boosted by Angola Craft Markets, Conservationists Say" [October 27, 2006].)
Over 44 tons will be sold in Botswana on Friday. Auctions next month will see 51 tons being offered in South Africa and almost 4 tons being offered in Zimbabwe.
Illegal—With Exceptions - No new sales from the four southern African countries will be allowed for the next 9 years. Ivory trade was banned globally in 1989, but reviving elephant populations allowed African countries to make a one-time sale in 1999 to Japan, the only country that had previously won the right to import ivory.
In July, CITES said China should also be allowed to bid for ivory, as the country had dramatically improved its enforcement of ivory-trade rules. CITES said it will monitor Chinese and Japanese domestic trade controls to ensure traders do not use this opportunity to sell ivory of illegal origin.
(See "Elephants Decimated in Congo Park; China Demand Blamed" [August 29, 2008].)
Open Season on Elephants?
The auctions have prompted widespread protests by animal rights activists. (Related: "Ebay Bans Ivory Sales Amid Conservation Concerns" [October 21, 2008].)
"The elephant ivory trade is responsible for the slaughter of at least 20,000 elephants a year," Christina Pretorius of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said.
"Relaxing the current international ivory trade ban, such as these stockpile sales, will signal to poachers that it is open season on elephants and provide them means to launder their illegal ivory stocks," she said.
But CITES's Wijnstekers disputed this, "There is no proven scientific explanation that ivory sales lead to poaching," he said.
The 1st ivory auction in a decade sold over seven tons of tusks to Chinese and... more
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(Cape Town, South Africa) - An elephant ivory auction totaling over 19,800 lb (9,000 kg) will begin tomorrow in Namibia. This is the first time in nearly 10 years that international trade in elephant ivory has been sanctioned by the UN-backed Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The sales will continue over the next two weeks in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa, with a grand total of 119 tons (108 tonnes) of ivory up for bidding. This accounts for an estimated 10,000+ dead elephants.
Both China and Japan have been approved as trading partners for this ivory and are known to be among the world’s largest illegal ivory markets. The International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) Elephants Program Director, and former director of Kenya Wildlife Service, Michael Wamithi, has responded to the sales, saying, “Allowing this exorbitant amount of ivory to flood the market, considering the level of elephant poaching occurring today, is just plain irresponsible.”
IFAW’s 2007 China ivory trade poll report highlighted the low awareness of the ivory control system and also citizens’ unwillingness to comply with this framework. According to the report, among the 14.5 per cent that were actually admitted consumers of ivory, 75.7 per cent would willingly violate the control system in order to obtain ivory at a cheaper price. Much evidence also exists that Japan’s domestic market is out of control.
“Rangers on the front lines in elephant range states continue to lose their lives protecting elephants from poaching,” continued Wamithi. “Developing countries continue to bear the brunt of burgeoning Asian markets. By permitting legal trade in ivory, we are only encouraging the laundering of stocks by poachers, thereby increasing illegal hunting activities. The situation is very clear: more ivory in the marketplace equals many more dead elephants – and rangers.”
(Cape Town, South Africa) - An elephant ivory auction totaling over 19,800 lb (9,000... more
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Please take action!
Please Tell NIH To Stop Testing Nicotine On Animals!
Every year in the U.S., hundreds of animals are harmed and killed in experiments to test the effects of nicotine and tobacco. Since 2002 alone, the NIH has spent at least $16.5 million to conduct nicotine experiments on pregnant and newborn animals. This appalling figure does not reflect the total cost of all nicotine research on animals, which numbers far higher (into the millions), but only that which focuses on nicotine's effect on fetal and newborn development.
Please contact these individuals at NIH. Ask that the agency end the decades-long policy of funding nicotine experiments on animals and instead redirect funds towards prevention, education and smoking cessation programs. Please keep all correspondence polite
Please sign the pre-filled letter (or feel free to write your own) to ask the NIH to stop these tests.
http://ga0.org/campaign/NIH_NicotinePlease take action!
Please Tell NIH To Stop Testing Nicotine On Animals!
Every... more
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VIDEO: http://www.nwcn.com/video/index.html?nvid=297382
FOREST GROVE, Ore. - The Forest Grove man and woman under investigation for an incident in which they tried to euthanize their dog with a hammer, were arrested on animal abuse charges Monday night.
Officers from the Forest Grove Police Department arrested 75-year-old Hyrum Long and 49-year-old Susan Johnson around 8:15 p.m., Monday. Long was charged with aggravated animal abuse in the first degree, a felony, and Johnson charged with animal neglect in the first degree, a misdemeanor. Both were released from jail Tuesday morning with no bail
Johnson is now set to appear in court at 8:30 a.m. on November 7th for her arraignment and authorities said Long would likely have his first court appearance on Monday, November 10th, at 8:30 a.m.
Police spokesperson Aaron Ashbaugh said a necropsy report from the Oregon Humane Society indicated the labrador mix named Molly had suffered from a chronic skin disease, body sores from lying down for prolonged periods of time, and that she had suffered from long term lack of nutrition and chronic starvation. Ashbaugh said there were also also indications the 13-year-old dog had not eaten for at least four to five days.
Earlier in the day Long said he made a terrible mistake when he tried to euthanize his daughter's dog by hitting it over the head with a hammer last weekend. Long and his daughter Susan were charged after they hit the dog on the head with a hammer and then buried her up to her neck in their back yard.
Long told KGW Monday that they thought the dog had cancer. Family members previously told KGW they didn't have the money to pay to euthanize their dog. But on Monday Long told KGW Johnson had been afraid to take the dog to a veterinarian because she was worried that she would be accused of animal abuse. Long said they were trying to put it out of its misery. He said when they buried the dog, they thought she was dead.
But a neighbor later heard the dog yelping and called 9-1-1. Forest Grove Police responded Friday afternoon to a report of a dog buried alive at a house on Laurel Street. The father and daughter were not at the home when police arrived, because they had gone out to dinner.
Captain Aaron Ashbaugh said the officers entered the back yard and found a dog buried up to its neck with an obvious head injury. According to Captain Ashbaugh, the owners later told police that they buried the dog in a hole "in an apparent attempt to limit the amount of blood on their property."
Police said the two put a pillow under the buried dog’s head and put a large log on top of it. A neighbor apparently removed that log before police arrived. Officers dug the still-alive dog out of the ground and, with the help of Washington County Animal Control, Molly was taken to the Humane Society.
Spokesperson Barbara Baugnon said Molly was in extreme pain and in terrible condition when it arrived. "She couldn't lift her head but her eyes were following people around the room, obviously she was suffering," said Baugnon. "It's one of the worst cases i've ever heard of." Baugnon said they decided the only humane thing to do was to euthanize the dog. She could not comment on whether or not the dog had been sick before coming in.
Baugnon said places like Dove Lewis Animal Hospital will euthanize animals free of charge and so will some veterinarians, depending upon the situation
VIDEO: http://www.nwcn.com/video/index.html?nvid=297382
FOREST GROVE, Ore. - The... more
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The program began under her predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski, and continues with her support. Private citizens are permitted to shoot wolves from the air or conduct land-and-shoot hunting of wolves in five rural areas of the state. More than 700 wolves have been killed since the program began almost five years ago, state officials say.
Last year, Palin's office announced the state would offer cash to kill wolves. Incentives included offering volunteer pilots and aerial gunner teams $150 for turning in the forelegs of freshly killed wolves.
The state said the legs could help biologists determine a wolf's age, while the money helped hunters and aerial teams pay for gas and expenses. A Superior Court judge later blocked the payments after conservation groups argued the money amounted to an illegal bounty.
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, which has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, is a nonprofit 501(c)4 corporation that can operate outside the strict limits governing political action committees. It can raise money in unlimited amounts from individual donors and can run ads that refer to political candidates as long as they don't specifically advocate their election or defeat.
The ad has received widespread notice on the Internet and has been an effective fundraising tool for Defenders of Wildlife. The group says it raised $600,000 in the six hours after it was released in mid-September and says it now has raised $1 million.
The group is aiming the ad at suburban women and moderate independent voters.
The ad follows closely on the heels of a McCain commercial that depicted Obama researchers and investigators combing through Palin's background as a pack of wolves.
Hunter or hunted, it all depends on the ad.
On the Net:
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: http://www.defendersactionfund.org/
The program began under her predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski, and continues with her... more
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GEORGETOWN, Texas -- An animal shelter inundated with black cats and dogs was planning to run a promotion to help get them adopted instead of putting them down.
The “Black is Beautiful” campaign, which was scheduled to run June 14 through June 20, got heavy criticism for coinciding with a Texas holiday that celebrates the final freeing of enslaved blacks, and was subsequently pulled.
“Last week, a vet tech told me that we needed to start considering euthanasia,” Animal Services Director Cheryl Schneider told Pet Pulse. “We had too many black cats and dogs, some of which had been here for a long period of time.”
Like most shelters, the Williamson County Regional Shelter finds it more difficult to locate homes for black dogs and cats. Schneider had heard of other area shelters reducing the adoption rates on these animals, so she decided to run a promotion not knowing about the holiday.
“I said ‘give me a week and let me see if I discount their fee and can get them adopted out,’ ” Schneider said.
As previously reported by Pet Pulse, the “Black Dog Syndrome” is a common affliction for shelters. In addition to superstitions about black cats being bad luck, these animals are given a bad rap by the media and negative advertising that portrays them as evil and aggressive.
According to Kimberley Intino, director of Animal Sheltering Issues for the Humane Society of the U.S., yet another contributing factor is that black animals blend into the background at shelters.
Williamson County Regional received criticism for their program due to when it was scheduled.
“It was bad timing that it coincided with Juneteenth,” Schneider said. “It’s not our intention to ever offend any person, so we pulled the promotion advertising.”
Juneteenth -- also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day -- originated in Texas and is now a state holiday observed on June 19 in 26 states. It honors the day that Texas slaves were freed from slavery -- 2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
After sending out a press release to promote the Black is Beautiful campaign, Schneider was informed by a local newspaper that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had filed a complaint saying the adoption promotion was inconsiderate.
Although the shelter is no longer running the Black is Beautiful campaign, they have left the discounted adoption rates in place indefinitely. Despite the lack of marketing, the news story itself generated a lot of attention.
“The color is just one part of the animal,” Intino said. “When people focus on the color of the animal, we may be inflating a problem that’s not really a problem.
“It’s just another characteristic that should be considered as one part of that individual animal.”
For more information about the Black Dog Syndrome, read “Large, Black Dogs Go Unwanted” at zootoo.com/petnews/largeblackdogsgounwanted.
To adopt an animal from the Williamson County Regional Shelter, visit wilcopets.org.
Tell us what you think about “ ‘Black is Beautiful’ Pet Adoption Promo Shut Down” below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204.
http://www.zootoo.com/petnews/blackisbeautifulpetadoptionpro
GEORGETOWN, Texas -- An animal shelter inundated with black cats and dogs was planning... more
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