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Who sanctioned the rape of a sanctuary?
On-the-spot report from Kumudini Hettiarachchi in Uda Walawe, Pix by M.A.Pushpa Kumara
Absolute stillness, the stillness of the jungle, accentuated only by the call of birds from the lotus-studded wewa. Suddenly a humming and whining begin, shattering the stillness. A bulldozer is at work………up and down, leaving a large swathe of land cleared of everything.
What is left is only a trail of destruction – giant trees such as weera and myla on their sides, the scrub jungle no more and the tall grasses cleared. Some of the trees and shrubs have been set ablaze, with patches of areas still smouldering.
This is the fate, since Monday, of part of the Dahaiyagala sanctuary and animal corridor, covering about 2,685 ha, on the northern border of the Uda Walawe National Park, in clear violation of the large green boards of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC). See pic of board.
For, this is where the elephants including four majestic tuskers (one being ‘Walawe Raja’) the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur roam. ‘Walawe Raja’, the tallest of the tuskers in the area graces the posters of the DWLC and has also been portrayed in a BBC documentary titled, ‘The Last Tusker’.
“People have been brazenly clearing the sanctuary in violation of the law,” lamented a wildlife official, pointing out that the culprits want to put up a barrier, blocking the animal corridor on the boundary of the Uda Walawe National Park.
The Dahaiyagala corridor links the National Park with Bogahapattiya described by conservationists as the “last remaining savannah (talawa) and intermediate zone forest to remain intact in the southern part of Sri Lanka”.
For, this is where the elephants including four majestic tuskers (one being ‘Walawe Raja’) the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur roam. ‘Walawe Raja’, the tallest of the tuskers in the area graces the posters of the DWLC and has also been portrayed in a BBC documentary titled, ‘The Last Tusker’. “People have been brazenly clearing the sanctuary in violation of the law,” lamented a wildlife official, pointing out that the culprits want to put up a barrier, blocking the animal corridor on the boundary of the Uda Walawe National Park.
The Dahaiyagala corridor links the National Park with Bogahapattiya described by conservationists as the “last remaining savannah (talawa) and intermediate zone forest to remain intact in the southern part of Sri Lanka”.
The blocking of the Dahaiyagala opening into the National Park (see map) will prevent the elephants, the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur whose home range is Bogahapattiya, from accessing the National Park. Dahaiyagala also has many wewas including Pokunutenne which has water throughout the year, which the animals use. The smaller ones which are seasonal dry up during the drought
The other tanks which do not run dry are Uda Walawe and Mau-ara which are within the National Park itself.
The stories doing the rounds in Uda Walawe are that a few politicians in the area, along with some officials, have unlawfully taken the lead in efforts to shut the animal access point through Dahaiyagala into the National Park.
for the rest of this story, please follow link: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080928/Plus/sundaytimesplus_0... On-the-spot report from Kumudini Hettiarachchi in Uda Walawe, Pix by M.A.Pushpa Kumara ... more -
Ravers descend on Ikea, shoppers slightly shocked
Shoppers and flatpack enthusiasts alike were left a bit lost for words when 300 hardcore-ravers cracked out the glowsticks and horns in the textiles section of Milton Keynes Ikea.
The event, which was unsurprisingly, organised on Facebook, was confirmed by Buckinghamshire Police and, with a store spokesperson saying "We can confirm it happened and about 50 people turned up but we don't want to comment any further."
It was all in remembrance of The Sanctuary, a nightclub that used to stand where the Ikea has since been built. The club has a legendary reputation amongst dance music lovers, it hosted some of the UK's biggest ever raves, from multi-arena drum and bass gigs to all out live band performances.
You can watch the 'Sanctuary Reunion' here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXn16VIyY5g Shoppers and flatpack enthusiasts alike were left a bit lost for words when 300 hardcore-ravers cracked out the glowsticks and horns i... more -
Please help Jenny the Elephant now! | Animal Law Coalition
Please act to stop the Dallas zoo from sending Jenny, the elephant, to a small amusement park in Mexico. There will be NO U.S. Animal Welfare or Anti-Cruelty Laws covering Jenny in Mexico. Several SANCTUARIES will take Jenny! Please X-POST!
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/wildlife/article/548
PLEASE read Jenny's story:
On Tuesday, the Dallas Morning News ran a story entitled "Dallas Zoo's lone elephant to be moved to wildlife refuge in Mexico" about the zoo's controversial decision to dump Jenny, a 31-year-old African elephant, at a safari amusement park in Mexico . Since the death of Jenny's elephant companion, Keke (39), in May, Concerned Citizens for Jenny has urged the zoo to send Jenny to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
The Mexican park offers an unnatural, confining exhibit of only 4.9 acres --a small fraction of the 2,700-acre Elephant Sanctuary, where Jenny would share a spacious, 300-acre natural habitat with three other African elephants.
It is shocking that the Dallas Zoo is moving Jenny to a distant facility in a foreign country where she will not be protected by U.S. animal welfare and anti-cruelty laws, especially when there is a nearby U.S. facility with hundreds of acres that is prepared to take her.
After being torn from her mother's side in Africa at the age of two, she was forced into seven years of brutal training. Jenny has been at the Dallas Zoo for 22 years, where she has had a traumatic and troubled stay. Between 1996 and 2001, the Dallas Zoo medicated her with the tranquilizer Acepromazine because of aggression and self-mutilating behaviors. Federal regulators characterized Jenny's long-term treatment with this psychotropic drug as "highly unconventional."
While African elephants in the wild are known to reproduce into their 50s and live into their 60s, in zoos they commonly die decades short of their natural time. In short, the Dallas Zoo's decision is a matter of life and death for Jenny.
The sanctuaries who will accept Jenny have thousands of acres versus 4.9 acres at the Safari Amusement Park. The 4.9 acres is likely subdivided so Jenny may actually have far less space than that. However, the Elephant Sanctuary in TN ( http://www.elephants.com/) is a state of the art, 2,700 acre elephant refuge. It is the largest natural habitat refuge in the world and has a four star charity rating from Charity Navigator. The PAWS Sanctuary ( http://www.pawsweb.org/) in California has hundreds of acres and is also a state of the art, internationally recognized facility. Both U.S. sanctuaries are excellent and Jenny should be able to retire to one of these. Please act to stop the Dallas zoo from sending Jenny, the elephant, to a small amusement park in Mexico. There will be NO U.S. Animal ... more -
Immigrants Find Solace After Storm of Arrests - NYTimes.com
"Then came the morning of May 12, when both satisfaction and retirement ended for the 75-year-old priest (Father Ouderkirk). Federal immigration agents raided the Agriprocessors factory, arresting nearly 400 workers, most of them men, for being in the United States illegally. Within minutes of the raid, with surveillance helicopters buzzing above the leafy streets, the wives and children of Mexican and Guatemalan families began trickling into St. Bridget’s Church, the safest place they knew."
"At a practical level, Father Ouderkirk has hired four temporary staff members to help track the court cases and distribute food and financial aid to the affected families. Along with other religious leaders around Iowa, he had been preparing for a march in defense of immigrants’ rights. St. Bridget’s parish, which has only about 350 members, is spending $500,000 in the relief effort, he said."
In light of many stories that highlight awful religious leaders, I'd like to post this article to simply remind the Current Community the potential an organized church has in furthering social action and change. Churches have organized numbers and motivation (God) on their side, and while many leaders are exploiting that, there are places that not only do good things, but become movements (Dr. MLK Jr's Ebenezer Baptist). "Then came the morning of May 12, when both satisfaction and retirement ended for the 75-year-old priest (Father Ouderkirk). Fede... more -
San Francisco's sanctuary city status changed by Newsom
San Francisco declared itself a Sanctuary City in 1989. This means it doesn't hand over undocumented immigrants to the federal authorities.
Recently the city policy has come under fire when it was revealed that city officials escorted two juveniles with drug charges back to their native Honduras using tax payers' dollars.
Officials on each side of the issue bring up good points about first time offenders vs clear exploitation of San Francisco's sanctuary status.
Mayor Newsom now says that he will direct all felony cases to the Feds.
Could this have anything to do with Newsom's possible run for Govenor? San Francisco declared itself a Sanctuary City in 1989. This means it doesn't hand over undocumented immigrants to the federal a... more -
SF shift course on juvenile illegal immigrants: No sanctuary for criminals
I think is a great idea to make the definition of a sanctuary city clear! This article has great information about the tax payer cost for illegal criminals. I think is a great idea to make the definition of a sanctuary city clear! This article has great information about the tax payer cost ... more
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Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary / New Mexico
Have you ever wanted to have an up close encounter with a wolf? Leyton Cougar takes you inside his sanctuary for captive bread wolves in north western New Mexico to show you the plight of the modern day wolves and invites you to visit and participate in their effort to care for these beautiful wild animals.
With no help from the government, they raise all their financial support though donations from caring people like you. Check out their web page and find out more about this project:
http://www.wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org Have you ever wanted to have an up close encounter with a wolf? Leyton Cougar takes you inside his sanctuary for captive bread wolves... more -
Whale Sanctuary Threatened By Gas Station
The Italian government has given approval for a liquefied natural gas terminal to be installed on a huge ship anchored 12 miles off the coast of Livorno, in Tuscany, in the middle of a whale and dolphin sanctuary. The Italian government has given approval for a liquefied natural gas terminal to be installed on a huge ship anchored 12 miles off th... more
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