tagged w/ Birds
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When I was a kid seagulls were everywhere in the city. You could find them more easily than pigeons. They were all over the place. When you'd be out in the school yard eating your lunch you have to watch out that you wouldn't be attack by one of San Francisco's dragons of the west trying to steal your sandwich out of your hand. Now you have to go to the zoo to have that experience.When I was a kid seagulls were everywhere in the city. You could find them more easily... more
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If you think you know nothing about birds, you are probably wrong. There are some things that everybody knows, and these form the basis for extending your knowledge. First of all, you know that birds have feathers rather than fur for insulation, that most of them fly, and that many of them have characteristic songs or calls by which they communicate with one another.
http://www.tastekulcha.com/birdwatching-australia/If you think you know nothing about birds, you are probably wrong. There are some... more
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Even with the unrelenting snow pack, migrating birds returned to The Valley. An early spring delight is the return of the eastern bluebird.
http://www.tastekulcha.com/bluebirds-birds-happiness/Even with the unrelenting snow pack, migrating birds returned to The Valley. An early... more
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This video is just so adorable, it has to be shared. There’s something so zen-like in the Lovely Owl as he’s being pet that just screams “watch me and love me!”
http://veracitystew.com/2011/11/21/lovely-owl-monday’s-cutie-patooty-video/This video is just so adorable, it has to be shared. There’s something so... more
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“The review of existing literature shows that the EMRs are interfering with the biological systems in more ways than one and there had already been some warning bells sounded in the case on bees and birds, which probably heralds the seriousness of this issue and indicates the vulnerability of other species as well,” the study found. http://naturalsociety.com/cellphone-tower-emr-damaging-birds-insects-humans/“The review of existing literature shows that the EMRs are interfering with the... more
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GM Freeze today described Defra's decision to approve a GM wheat trial at Rothamsted Research as "a big mistake and premature".
The consent [1], issued today, includes provision to prevent the GM wheat crossing with couch grass and to stop wood pigeon feeding on the crop.
The group opposed the application during a public consultation in the summer including [2]:
*The lack of market for GM wheat anywhere on the planet means it is a waste of time and money (some GBP1.28 million).
*Serious doubts about whether the GM wheat will work as stated.
*Lack of any data on potential health effects.
*Presence of an antibiotic resistant marker gene against European Medicines Agency advice.
*Risk of cross-contamination with other wheat crops and some grasses already problematic as arable weeds.
*Unknown impacts on predator and parasites populations, which already provide some control for aphid infestations.
*Unknown impacts on bird species, which feed on aphids as part of their diet.
*The potential for development of aphids desensitised to the alarm chemical after being continually subjected to the GM deterrent over time so that they do not respond to it when it is constantly produced by the wheat plants 24 hours a day 7 days per week.
GM Freeze asked Ministers to hold a public consultation on the use of synthetic animal genes in GM crops, as one of the key genes in the GM wheat "has most similarity to that from cow (Bos taurus)" according to the applicant.
Commenting Pete Riley of GM Freeze said
"It is clear from the authorisation letter that the Government's scientific advisors have concerns about the possibility of the GM wheat crossing with couch grass, a major arable weed, which could cause long-term problems for farmers if this wheat was ever grown on a commercial scale.
"There are also concerns about wild birds carrying the GM seeds off site, but there is no provision to deal with small birds, such a sparrows, or small mammals doing this.
"The key question Ministers need to answer is why they are funding research into GM wheat for which there is no market in the UK, Europe or anywhere else when other areas of proven, less risky agricultural research, such as agroecology, are crying out for additional funds.
The decision to approve an open-air trial of GM wheat is a big mistake and premature given the serious lack of information in the application. [3] We need to know far more about the alarm chemicals involved and the formation of wheat-couch grass crosses before we start genetically modifying a staple crop."
notes
[1] See "Defra approves GM wheat trial" at www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/09/16/gm-wheat-trial/
[2] See GM Freeze briefing See Objecting to an Application to Trial GM Wheat in Hertfordshire at www.gmfreeze.org/site_media/uploads/publications/GM_wheat_final.pdf
[3] See GM Freeze action “Object to trialling GM wheat” in the UK for more details at www.gmfreeze.org/actions/20/
http://www.opednews.com/populum/uploaded/chromosome--300-x-300--31940-20090516-7.jpgGM Freeze today described Defra's decision to approve a GM wheat trial at... more
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Birds do it, bees do it, even perverts in the trees do it. Let’s do it, let’s fuck online.
Chances are, if you’re on the internet (which as of this printing is still the only way that I know you could be reading this, though if you know of any others, please let us know), then you’re probably reading this with one hand in your pants, leisurely pleasuring yourself. That’s just a science fact. Because as you know, every new invention since the dawn of man has come about due to a need to advance the field of physical gratification.
Fire? Invented so cave perverts could violently flog their pre-historic, barbed procreation utensils to crude vagina wall paintings at night.
The wheel? Walking from one clubbed female’s dwelling to the next had worn out its novelty. The pre-men of yesterage also needed some way to easily signal potential mates of their remaining virility at the ripe old middle age of 14.
Sliced bread? The Manwich.
So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that the internets too were created solely for the transmittal and reception of pornographic images, thoughts and ideas. As with bread, people have simply adapted sex technologies to be used in other walks of life. Now, a study done by a New Brunswick researcher is attempting to shed some light on the internet’s original purpose for existence: cybersex.
Krystelle Shaughnessy, (clearly a made up name, even by Canadian standards of ridiculous namery) a psychology student at the University of New Brunswick decided to research the role of cybersex in the current internet landscape while, not surprisingly, cybering her sex. Engaged in a long-distance relationship, and being a modern woman of the 21st century Krystelle did what anyone would in her position, try to justify her deviant nature with a college research paper.
Her hypothesis was that, “where her grandmother would have put pen to paper to maintain such an affair, and her mother would have picked up the phone, her natural medium was online.”
And she’s right. As I’ve explained, pen, paper and the telephone were all invented for sexual purposes. Just try not to imagine after this painstakingly detailed recounting, your beloved Nana’s penmanship gradually deteriorate as she furiously scribbled her dirtiest thoughts into a steamy letter of passion and naughtyness, then handing it to the postman with a blush, knowing just what it was that he was holding in his hands to be delivered to Peepaw so that he might feverishly pleasure himself to the naughty words of his beloved, before wondering what this harlot who could spew such filth might be doing with the rest of her time not filled with scribbling her most deviant thoughts. Basically, what I’m saying is that your grandparents were distrustful sickos who traded sex drenched letters while they were apart, and carry with them, even today, secrets that they will be buried with…
Now where was I?
Oh, that’s right, the office chair hand dance.
“A key piece in the research that I’m conducting right now is, who do you have cybersex with? One thing that is across the board — whether I’m talking to researchers, students, anybody — is this notion that cybersex is two strangers hiding from their offline partners engaging in sex online, and I don’t think that’s reality,” she said.
Here, the fine researcher and I differ in opinion. But I suppose our only difference is what percentage of which is what…
Let me clarify.
Cybersex, as it has existed since the invention of the internet, has been largely two men pretending to be lesbians having sexy chat times, sans pants. That has remained the one constant in the ever evolving intertubes. The definition of “stranger” then becomes a sticking point. Obviously there is some getting to know this person pretending to be someone else. So when do we go from fake lesbian intercourse with a stranger to fake lesbian intercourse with an acquaintance or even fake lesbian intercourse with a friend? Fewer instances of cybersex are initiated between people who have known each other before chatting online than vicey versey is what I’m saying. More people have come together with the intention to come together than because distance necessitates it.
“I think my key thing going into this was to try to normalize a behaviour I think is fairly normal,” she said.
And while noble, and understandable, there is no normal on the internet. In a place where the words “two girls” and “one cup” now mean something that we could never have previously imagined, the wild west of human sexual deviances doesn’t want to be normalized and doesn’t need to be justified. We are a creature who evolved thumbs solely so that we could encircle our tingly bits with them. It’s our teachings over the years that that impulse is bad that makes it necessary to write a paper proving what you’re instinctively drawn to do is okay.
So what I’m saying is: human beings, get over yourselves.
Birds do it, bees do it, all the sickos and the sleaze do it. Let’s do it, let’s turn on our webcams and take off our pants!
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For all your rickety, windowless, primered comedy needs, visit:
vanfullofcandy.comBirds do it, bees do it, even perverts in the trees do it. Let’s do it,... more
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WLOX...
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Injured pelicans, other birds, rescued in Waveland
Posted: Sep 05, 2011 5:04 PM PDT
Updated: Sep 05, 2011 5:24 PM PDT
By Steve Phillips
WAVELAND, MS (WLOX) -
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A wildlife rescue team is working to save young pelicans and other birds injured by the tropical storm. Strong winds and pounding waves from the storm system washed ashore several birds that were either injured or exhausted.
With a net in hand, wildlife rescue volunteer Randy Hines captures a young pelican on the beach in Waveland Monday. The bird shows signs of storm trauma: Bruised feet and swollen joints.
"They're bruised from all the paddling they've had to do when getting blown off their islands," Hines said.
Tropical Storm Lee's wind and waves pushed baby pelicans off their nesting grounds.
"The Chandelier Island chain in Louisiana have a lot of rookeries, pelican rookeries out there. And we had the same problem happen in Gustav in 2008, where a lot of them were washed in from those rookeries off of the islands," said Allison Sharpe with the Wildlife Care & Rescue Center.
Healthy pelicans fly off as Hines approaches with the net. The remaining bird, an injured juvenile, was frightened, but unable to fly away.
Anyone who stumbles across an injured pelican should not attempt such a rescue.
"First of all, people have to understand these are federally protected birds and they're not supposed to touch them. We've been receiving calls since late yesterday afternoon about a lot of the birds down here on the beaches with injuries to their wings."
And it's not just pelicans. The group picked up an injured seagull at the Pass Christian Harbor. They also found an exhausted northern gannet is also a storm rescue bird.
"They dive into the water, just like our pelicans, to catch their meal."
The goal is the same for all rescued bird: Nurse them back to health, and return them to where they belong.
"Try to get them re-hydrated, get some food into them, get them where they're old enough to start flying by themselves and to obviously release them."
Again, if you find an injured pelican or other sea bird, you should call the professionals rather than attempt a rescue yourself. You can reach the Wildlife Care and Rescue Center at (228) 669-2737.
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Injured pelicans, other birds, rescued in Waveland
Posted: Sep... more
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We just got some important evidence that this protest is working and that we’re breaking through to the mainstream media and the White House.
This morning, President Obama’s press secretary, Jake Carney, was questioned by reporters on Air Force One about our protest happening outside the White House. We’ve been trying to break through to the White House press corps for the last few days. Now, we know that we’ve struck a nerve.
Here’s the transcript from Air Force One:
Q: Also, anything on these protests outside the White House on this pipeline? Has the President decided against TransCanada’s permit for the pipeline? It’s the tar sands pipeline. There have been a lot of arrests outside the White House about it.
MR. CARNEY: I don’t have anything new on that. I believe the State Department has — that’s under the purview of the State Department presently, but I don’t have anything new on that.
Q: Is the President aware of the protests?
MR. CARNEY: I haven’t talked to him about it.
Now, here’s the thing: while it’s great to see the press corps pushing the Administration to recognize our demonstration, the fact that Carney hasn’t yet briefed the President on the protest and the pipeline is a worrying sign about how out of touch this administration is on this issue.
“Just in the last two days everyone from the president’s chief climate scientist to an 84-year-old grandmother was arrested on his front doorstep,” said environmental author Bill McKibben, who is spearheading the White House protest. “This is the largest civil disobedience action in the environmental movement in a generation, and if they really aren’t even discussing it with the president, that signals a deep disrespect for their supporters, especially young people who have demonstrated that the environment is a top priority.”
We’re going to be pushing Carney and the Administration to make sure President Obama is hearing directly from people across the country who are here in DC risking arrest, and the many hundreds of thousands more that support this cause.
more at the link
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That means either one of two things. He really hasn't told him because they already know what they are going to do and could really care less about this. Or this was just a deflection because he couldn't reveal anything more. Either way though, at least he didn't ask, what protest? He knew what was implied and that means they do know. Everyday more and more people are finding out about this and the toxic legacy it is bringing to our planet. And more and more people are standing up to say NO to this toxic carbon timebomb.
And that is because this is getting out through social media, the Internet and primarily because of the bravery and conviction of those who sit and stand in front of the White House. All of them. Some who I am sure thought long and hard of the residual effects this could have on their lives. And I thank them, because they also managed to do something I have wanted to see for a long time. They managed to bring the entire environmental movement together. I have always thought that we have not been as successful in getting this message out as we could be because we were too fragmented. Each organization with their own goals competing against each other rather then joining together for a common cause.
This now is the cause. Standing up at last for health, clean air and water, sustainability, climate balance, climate justice and the beginning of a time when our children will be able to look at us and say thank you for caring about the world they inherit from us.
This is what it is all about and President Obama, you know it too and you know what you need to do.
Keystone XL- NO!We just got some important evidence that this protest is working and that we’re... more
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L.A. considers putting zoo operations in private hands
Officials say the change would save nearly $20 million over five years and prevent possible closure. Critics question the savings and say the move could mean less transparency in animal welfare.
Los Angeles Zoo
Photo: Zoo patrons view a pair of Masai giraffes at the Los Angeles Zoo. Two potential private operators have expressed interest in running the zoo. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times
July 28, 2011
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Someone else may soon be tending to the misty artificial rain forest at the Los Angeles Zoo where Bruno, a 300-pound orangutan with a wispy orange beard and a hulking frame, makes his home.
The city opened the zoo and botanical gardens in 1966, but officials are now considering a proposal to turn over management to a private operator. That means the gardeners, plumbers and other city employees who help run the zoo could be transferred to other departments and replaced with private workers.
Like any issue involving labor — or animals — the fight over the fate of the zoo has caused a considerable stir.
City officials say the change would save nearly $20 million over the next five years and rescue the zoo from possible budget reductions or even closure. But opponents of the plan question the savings and warn that privatization could mean steeper ticket prices for the zoo's 1.5 million annual visitors and less transparency when it comes to animal welfare.
The zoo plan is only the latest example of a shift in how budget-strapped officials think about "core services" and City Hall's basic obligations to taxpayers. They are also considering proposals to privatize the Los Angeles Convention Center, an animal shelter in the San Fernando Valley and several arts facilities.
Such public-private partnerships are common in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History are two county facilities operated by nonprofit organizations.
"It's not a revolutionary idea," said Miguel Santana, L.A.'s chief administrative officer, who came to City Hall from the county in 2009. "This model has worked across the country as a way of ensuring services are maintained in an era of declining revenues."
According to a draft proposal for the zoo plan, which the City Council's Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee will consider Thursday, Bruno and the rest of the animals would remain the property of the city, along with the zoo's Griffith Park grounds.
All current staff would remain employees of the city, but those who do not hold zoo-specific jobs might be transferred to other city departments. Future hires would be employees of the new operator.
Two potential operators have already stepped forward.
One is the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., or GLAZA, a nonprofit headquartered on the zoo's campus that raises money for the institution, manages its memberships and operates its concessions. In 2010-11, it raised about $13 million for the zoo, according to GLAZA President Connie Morgan
The other party is Parques Reunidos, a Madrid-based theme park operator that runs 70 amusement parks, water parks and zoos worldwide.
Dave Towne, a former consultant for the L.A. Zoo, said that if a private company takes over, the face of the zoo may change. "Any private, for-profit operation is going to Disney-fy it," he said. "That's just what they do."
Towne, former director of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, oversaw the transition of that zoo's management to a nonprofit 10 years ago. He said private operators run the majority of the nation's major zoos and are often more successful at marketing and fundraising than cities, in part because they are less encumbered by bureaucracy.
Animal activists fear that could result in a lack of transparency. Catherine Doyle, of In Defense of Animals, said that if the zoo is privatized, "it will become even more secretive and insular."
She and others have long accused the zoo's management of not being forthcoming about animal care, and have asked that the operator be required to answer to a city-appointed animal welfare commission.
Adriana Hawkins, a zoo gardener for six years, says everyone will suffer if longtime employees are reassigned. The zoo will lose expertise, she said, and the employees will lose jobs they love.
"I don't want to go down to the harbor; I don't want to spend my life on the freeway," Hawkins said. "I have a passion for the zoo."
Santana and others have said that privatizing the zoo will allow it to flourish. A report he commissioned said that under private management, the zoo would be able to reap up to $3.8 million more each year in revenue, thanks to new opportunities for corporate sponsorship, fundraising and special events.
But City Councilman Richard Alarcon said that's all the more reason to keep control of the zoo. "If a private corporation can make it profitable, why can't we?" he said.
It costs $26 million a year to run the zoo and pay the salaries, benefits and pensions of more than 200 employees. The city contributes about $14.6 million; the rest of the budget comes from ticket sales and donations.
Officials say if the city does not privatize management, that figure could grow as high as $19.4 million by 2015. But even if it does complete a deal, the city will still contribute about $13.8 million to the zoo in 2015, according to the proposal.
The savings may be small in the short term, but Santana insists that it adds up. Next year, he and other officials will have to find a way to close a $200-million budget deficit.
.L.A. considers putting zoo operations in private hands
Officials say the change... more
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Ten thousand years ago, the mass, the weight, all of the humans on the earth, plus all our pets, plus all the livestock we keep to feed ourselves, was 0.1% of 1% - one tenth of one percent - of the mass, the weight, of all the mammals on the earth. The rest of the mammals - elephants and tigers and rhinos and whales and kangaroos etc - made up 99.9% of the mass of all the mammals on the earth.
By 200 years ago, humans, our pets and our livestock had increased from 0.1% to 10-12% of the mass of the mammals of the earth.
Now, we, our pets and our livestock make up 96% - 98% of the mass of the mammals of the earth. The poor old elephants and tigers and rhinos and whales and kangaroos and all the rest of the mammals have gone from 99.9% to just 2 - 4%.Ten thousand years ago, the mass, the weight, all of the humans on the earth, plus all... more
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Lizards can be every bit as clever as mammals and birds. They could learn how to solve novel problems, challenging the widely-held view that reptiles have limited brain power.
link:http://in.news.yahoo.com/problem-solving-lizards-clever-mammals-102555404.html;_ylt=Ane.VnTFgnDGpxVuSOp4DS27scB_;_ylu=X3oDMTNzcTdyNTN1BHBrZwNjOTk3ZmEwYy0zZjc5LTMwODQtYTA1Yy04OTMzNDA3NjAxNzkEcG9zAzEEc2VjA1NlY3Rpb25MaXN0IEZQIFNjaWVuY2VUZWNobm9sb2d5BHZlcgM1YjQzMDViMC1hZTg0LTExZTAtYmIzZi1kZjljN2ExZTk5YTY-;_ylg=X3oDMTFlbGJ1cmZrBGludGwDaW4EbGFuZwNlbi1pbgRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3Lizards can be every bit as clever as mammals and birds. They could learn how to solve... more
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Los Angeles Times...
San Francisco considers banning the sale of all pets
The proposal started with dogs and cats, expanded to birds and hamsters, and now includes any animal that walks, flies, swims, crawls or slithers — unless you plan to eat it.
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By Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times
June 26, 2011, 6:29 p.m.
Reporting from San Francisco—
The first vision was simple and straightforward: To curtail puppy mills and kitten factories, the sale of cats and dogs should be banned in San Francisco, where the loving guardians of animal companions come to regular blows — politically — with the loving parents of children.
The ban was put on hold last year after animal advocates broadened it to include anything with fur or feathers. Now it's back, with a new name and a new strategy: More is more. The Humane Pet Acquisition Proposal is on its way to the Board of Supervisors, and it hopes to protect everything from Great Danes to goldfish.
Yes, goldfish. And guppies, gobies, gouramies, glowlight tetras, German blue rams. No fish, no fowl, no reptiles, no amphibians, no cats, no dogs, no gerbils, no rats. If it flies, crawls, runs, swims or slithers, you would not be able to buy it in the city named for the patron saint of animals.
Representatives of the $45-billion to $50-billion-a-year pet industry call the San Francisco proposal "by far the most radical ban we've seen" nationwide and argue that it would force small operators to close. Animal activists say it will save small but important lives, along with taxpayer money, and end needless suffering.
"Why fish? Why not fish?" said Philip Gerrie, a member of the city's Commission of Animal Control and Welfare and a coauthor of the proposal. "From Descartes on up, in the Western mindset, fish and other nonhuman animals don't have feelings, they don't have emotions, we can do whatever we want to them. If we considered them living beings, we would deal with them differently.… Our culture sanctions this, treating them as commodities and expendable."
The commission voted earlier this month to send a proposal to the Board of Supervisors recommending a ban on the sale of all pets in the city to shore up the adoption of unwanted creatures from shelters and rescue organizations. Commissioners are now looking for a supervisor or two to sponsor such an ordinance.
Snake food was almost exempt from the proposal. After all, pythons have to eat, and they like their lunch alive. But at a heated meeting, Commissioner Pam Hemphill questioned how it could be humane to sell live animals to be fed to other live animals.
"If a snake is caught with a rodent in a box, the rodent can scratch its eye and cause an infection," said Hemphill, who noted that reptiles on display at the California Academy of Sciences eat dead, frozen prey. "The snake can't escape, and the rodent might be stuck for one or two days in the box with the snake because the snake's not hungry right then.
"So it doesn't seem very humane to me," she continued. "And if the frozen [food] works, then I think the killing of the animals to be food is probably more humane."
It is legal in San Francisco to sell live animals for eventual human consumption, and the proposed ban would not stop markets from selling live fish, poultry, turtles or seafood for that purpose.
Rebecca Katz, director of San Francisco Animal Care and Control, said her agency supports a ban on pet sales — particularly one that includes the so-called smalls, such as hamsters, which are euthanized at her city shelter at a higher percentage than any other domesticated animal. Although she did not advocate for the inclusion of fish, she is not against it.
"We're the agency that receives the old, filthy fish bowl with the goldfish at risk and have to determine whether we can make them healthy and adopt them out or flush them down the toilet," Katz said. "These are the lucky ones. Most people just flush them themselves."
Jennifer Scarlett, a veterinarian and co-president of the San Francisco SPCA, notes that only a handful of stores in San Francisco sell animals of any kind and that the effect of a ban would be largely symbolic. But she said that symbolism, and the conversation that it raises, is critical in improving the lives of millions of helpless creatures.
"For us as an organization, we've identified the larger problem of online purchasing of dogs, and we hope this is an avenue to get to that," she said. Still, when it comes to birds and fish, "there's a lot of cruelty around where they are sourced from. We see the cruelty."
But Jonathan Ito finds the proposal to be far more than symbolic. To the owner of Animal Connection — who has sold fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, rats, mice and hamsters for a generation — the ban is a threat to his livelihood.
"It would put us out of business and our employees out of work," said Ito, who believes there is "no cause and effect" to the proposal.
Pet stores, he said, do not cause overcrowding at the shelters. They do not promote impulse buys of small, cute creatures that will later be tossed aside by bored children. And they work hard to educate prospective pet owners.
"The animal-rights activists are trying to drive a wedge any way they can in order to get a foothold on changing the ownership of animals," Ito said. "They don't believe they should be bred. They don't believe people are responsible to care for them.… They are about eliminating animals as pets."
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PHOTO: Jonathan Ito is the owner of Animal Connection in the Sunset District. The city's Commission of Animal Control and Welfare voted earlier this month to send a proposal to the Board of Supervisors recommending a ban on the sale of all pets in the city to shore up the adoption of unwanted creatures from shelters and rescue organizations. (David Butow, For The Times / June 22, 2011)Los Angeles Times...
San Francisco considers banning the sale of all pets
The... more
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Los Angeles Times...
California farmers paid to protect tricolored blackbirds
June 17, 2011 | 5:27 pm
Paying three farmers to delay harvesting their fields through the nesting season resulted in the protection of an estimated 50,000 tricolored blackbirds in Riverside County and Central California, where the species’ population has plummeted in recent years.
Audubon California negotiated the agreements, two of which were funded by the California Department of Fish and Game. However, Audubon California used revenue from its online “5 dollars/5 birds” fundraising campaign to protect the Riverside County colony.
In that case, a dairy farmer near Hemet was compensated to delay cutting tall grass on a 30-acre field holding 4,000 tricolored blackbirds, which is roughly 70% of the birds left in Southern California.
“When you crunch the numbers, the amount we paid worked out to roughly $1 per bird,” said Audubon California spokesman Garrison Frost.
Tricolored blackbirds once numbered in the millions. Today, the population, which has one of the smallest ranges of any bird in North America, has declined to about 400,000.
“With the continuing loss of native marshes and grasslands, the species has become dependent on agricultural lands, and most of the large colonies nest in grain fields,” Frost said. “Because tricolored blackbirds nest in just a few large colonies, a farmer harvesting a field unknowingly might wipe out a huge portion of the entire species’ young in just a few minutes."
"More than 95% of the world’s tricolored blackbirds live in California,” he added, “so we have a special responsibility to protect them.”Los Angeles Times...
California farmers paid to protect tricolored blackbirds... more
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Los Angeles Times...
Greenspace
Environmental news from California and beyond
Newhall Ranch developers must not harm California condors, feds say.
June 7, 2011 | 6:12 pm
CALIFORNIA CONDOR NEWHALL
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday said it would not tolerate the harm or killing of an endangered California condor during construction of a proposed Newhall Ranch community of 60,000 residents along the Santa Clara River.
In a long-awaited, 178-page opinion, the agency also said, however, that it would allow the developer to capture and relocate one condor over the next 25 years, if necessary, according to agency wildlife biologist Rick Farris.
“We anticipate that there might some occasion over the 25 years in which a California condor may become attracted to some human activity such as construction of a house,” Farris said. “If it can’t be hazed off the property without hurting it, then they will have to capture it.”
“Additional condors that become habituated to such activities, however, would not be covered by the exemption."
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has questioned whether the Army Corps of Engineers, which is set to permit the development's construction 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, has adequately considered its impacts on an array of rare and endangered plants and animals.
The corps is expected soon to issue a Clean Water Act permit authorizing the developer, Newhall Land, to use 20 million cubic yards of excavated soil to fill in wetlands in areas to be developed over the next 20 to 30 years on the 12,000-acre ranch.
Of particular concern to the EPA are plans to fill in much of Potrero Canyon, which includes roosting and foraging grounds for condors.
Adam Keats, spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, said, “I’m pretty happy to hear that the agency will is not going to let them harm one of these magnificent birds.”Los Angeles Times...
Greenspace
Environmental news from California and beyond... more
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Nature is always beautiful. Birds are so beautiful that they can be called as a part of natural scene.
http://i.imgur.com/rKAwB.jpgNature is always beautiful. Birds are so beautiful that they can be called as a part... more
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"Dawn was written well before 9/11. People speak a lot today about the banality of evil, but not all evil is banal. Some of it is carefully structured and well-thought-out. That's where the real danger lies." - Alan Dean Foster"Dawn was written well before 9/11. People speak a lot today about the banality... more
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Brian Goggin, an artist of infinite sculptural jest, has left his mark on the West Coast with his whimsical and vibrant layering of found objects and chaos-provoking sculptures. Goggin is a multi disciplinary artist who has created an interaction with the landscape that surpasses the physical limitations of traditional framed painting and free standing sculpture. Through a versatile use of materials, an intuitively driven research process, and creative visioning, I work to create artwork that poetically morphs expected notions of how we perceive and interact with our everyday environment. The work explores contemporary discoveries in the field of consciousness, and adds to a developing artistic mythology http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/section-blog/42962-brian-gogginBrian Goggin, an artist of infinite sculptural jest, has left his mark on the West... more
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worrg
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2 years ago
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Established basically as the private zoo by late Prime Minister Juddha Sumsher J.B. Rana in 1932, The Central Zoo is the only zoo in Nepal. The Government of Nepal finally opened the zoo to the public in 1956. The Zoo remained under the management of various Departments of the Government for various years. It was only when the zoo was managed meeting the standards when it was handed over to The National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) in December 1995. The Trust has developed plans and policies to maintain the zoo and improve the living conditions of animals.Established basically as the private zoo by late Prime Minister Juddha Sumsher J.B.... more
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bhutri
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2 years ago
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