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Writer paints her cat pink for party - and the cat is later found DEAD from toxic blood poisoning

2/28/2015

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

By Lydia Willgress

A Russian writer has been criticised after her kitten reportedly died of toxic blood poisoning just months after it was painted shocking pink for a party.

The kitten allegedly ingested too much of the colour and died from toxic blood poisoning a few months later, vets said.

According to local media the pink colour had poisoned the young cat after she had made it the main attraction at a pretty in pink party last September in which all of the guests had to wear pink.

But Ms Lenina claimed on Instagram that it was a hairdresser who painted the kitten and said the cat was happy and healthy when she gave it to a new owner shortly after the party.

The 35-year-old said that she had been told by a vet that it was beneficial and added that the paint was harmless to animals.

She said: 'The pink colour was especially chosen for its healing properties and also strengthens the cat's hair.

'A vet told me it was a beneficial addition.'

Ms Lenina, who is also an actress and model, posted a YouTube video on her Twitter page showing off the cat after the event.

Alongside the clip she wrote: 'Friends, look at the pink kitty.'

Among those who criticised her was artist Yuri Kuklachev who described the stunt as pointless and unnecessarily cruel.

There is also an online petition, which gathered several thousand signatures, demanding that local police investigate. Photos. Video.

Dog injured by other animals while protecting dead friend’s body

2/28/2015

Source: Theanimalspost.com

A dog was found covered in cuts and bites all over his body for trying to protect the body of another dog who had got hit by a car.

Santa Fe Animal Control officers said they believed the 2-year-old pup got his wounds while protecting his dead friend’s body from being attacked by other animals such as coyotes.

“We aren’t sure how long he was standing there with his buddy, but we thought it was pretty sad,” said Santa Fe Animal Shelter Director of Growth Evelyn Viechec.

“It was pretty clear he was determined not to leave the side of his friend,” Viechec said.

The dog, now named Patrick, had surgery the next day and is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for adoption next month. Video.

Costa Rica Environmentalists Outraged at Permits Allowing Hammerhead Shark Fins to be Exported

2/28/2015

Source: Thecostaricanews.com

The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – Costa Rica’s INCOPESCA and System for Conservation Areas (SINAC), has given permission for the export of hammerhead fins, a protected shark species.

One of these permits (number 1,118) was given to the company Smalley Development SA to export these fins to Hong Kong, to be distributed throughout Asia, for soup.

Environmental protection agencies Pretoma and Marviva reported that on December 24 the first shipment of 411 kilos of shark fins was sent and now there is another shipment ready with 1,200 kilos of fins, equivalent to 2,000 dead sharks.

Randall Arauz from Pretoma said this is a terrible global image of Costa Rica, a country that fought for hammerhead sharks to be included on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES).

Arauz clarifies that the country could nullify the agreement by presenting scientific studies confirming that this export does not threaten the shark population. However, these studies have not been submitted.

Jorge Jimenez, the general director of Marviva, says both Incopesca as SINAC must provide good and legal arguments to justify the killing of these sharks.

Both marine protection organizations sent letters to the Ministry of Environment and President Luis Guillermo Solis asking them to retract the permits.

Even former Costa Rica president José María Figueres asked President Luis Guillermo Solis to correct this decision through his Twitter account.

Julio Jurado, CEO of SINAC, says these permits were issued based on criteria and rationale presented by INCOPESCA who argued it’s a matter of “public interest”, claiming fishermen in coastal areas will benefit from the extra shark finning contracts.

Marviva is emphatic that this argument does not justify any of these shark killing permits.

The press office said that on Monday SINAC would expand their explanation on passing these permits and the alleged “public interest” that has allowed such exploitation.

Young elephants donated by Laos go on display in Kyoto

2/28/2015

Source: Japantimes.co.jp

KYOTO – Four young elephants donated last year by Laos went on public display at Kyoto City zoo on Saturday ahead of Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong’s visit to Japan from Wednesday.

The three female and one male Asian elephants, ages 3 to 7, were delivered to the zoo in November ahead of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Japan and Laos this year.

“The four have been waiting to see you all while craning their noses,” zookeeper Narito Akihisa told visitors before the appearance of the elephants.

The four elephants appeared in front of visitors while walking closely side by side, drawing a roar.

Kids who were invited from a nearby nursery school appeared impressed, saying, “They’re so cute!” and “They’re so big!”

A part of a new rearing facility for elephants was also opened to the public, allowing visitors to observe the animals through glass screens.

The Laotian prime minister is scheduled to meet with the Emperor and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his four-day visit.

Mexico commits $37 million to world’s smallest porpoise

2/28/2015

Source: Wildlifenews.co.uk

By Kevin Heath

The vaquita is the world’s smallest porpoise and with less than 100 remaining its future may not be certain. Living only in the Upper Sea of Cortez the porpoise is threatened by the gillnets used by fishermen to catch the totoaba fish. With just 25 breeding females in the population any more losses could be devastating for the species.

Mexico has just announced a $37 million action plan to conserve the species and it involves the porpoises being protected by naval drones and high-speed patrol boats.

The plan announced by Environment Department official Rafael Pacchiano will last for 2 years and will see a ban on gillnets being bought in later in March. The ban will be enforced by the use of naval drones and a fleet of patrol boats. Three naval bases will co-ordinate the monitoring and they will have access to satellite data.

The no-fish zone will also be greatly enlarged from the small marine reserve at the tip of the Sea of Cortez to take in most of the Baja California coastline.

Local fishermen will receive compensation for the loss of their gillnets and local fishermen will also be used to help enforce the ban.

The WWF in Mexico have welcomed the plan but is concerned that fishermen don’t just need to be compensated for their gillnets but also need to be trained in the use of different types of fishing techniques to help the fishery become sustainable.

The ban on gillnets come into effect following an international study on how best to conserve the vaquitas. The committee looked at a number of potential plans including captive breeding but determined that the best option was to ensure that the porpoise natural habitat was the best place for the recovery to take place. With so few females left in the population any deaths from stress due to capture and translocation would be too great for the species to bear.

Vaquitas are victims to the trade in totoaba swim bladders which are considered a delicacy in China. It is also thought to have medicinal properties. Local fishermen target the totoaba because of the profits that can be made from the fish. The profit from a kilogramme of totoaba swim-bladder is equivalent to more than 6 months wages for the average fisherman.

Legal analysis finds tribal peoples persecuted unjustly for ‘wildlife crime’

2/28/2015

Source: Survivalinternational.org

British human rights lawyer Gordon Bennett has issued a damning legal analysis of the negative impacts of wildlife law enforcement on tribal peoples in Botswana, Cameroon and India during a symposium organized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and others on “wildlife crime” on Friday.

Mr Bennett presented a paper which argues that wildlife law enforcement almost always harms tribal communities because the wrong laws are being enforced by the wrong people against the wrong people – with examples from Botswana, Cameroon and India.

The Kalahari Bushmen’s right to hunt for food is a fundamental human right confirmed by Botswana’s High Court. President Khama has illegally banned all hunting in the country – except for wealthy trophy hunters. Bushmen caught hunting are arrested, beaten and tortured.

Bushman spokesperson Jumanda Gakelebone said, “We are still hunter-gatherers. We want to be recognized as hunter-gatherers. If you say don’t hunt, it means don’t eat. If you are going to ban hunting, you have to consult us. You’re going to turn us into poachers. But hunting for us has never been about poaching. We hunt for food.”

In India, efforts to save the tiger have led to the illegal eviction of countless communities . In Cameroon, Baka “Pygmies” have been beaten or tortured by anti-poaching squads and now fear going into their forest, with devastating consequences for their health, livelihoods and indigenous knowledge.

Mr Bennett called on conservationists to implement a radically different approach which listens to tribal peoples’ voices as the “eyes and ears of the land,” and respects their rights.

The symposium in South Africa precedes a major intergovernmental conference on the illegal wildlife trade in Kasane, Botswana, in March 2015. Governments, as well as the consortium of conservation organizations “United for Wildlife” have been criticized for failing to publicly acknowledge that tribal hunters are not poachers .

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, “Tribal people and Survival International are calling on the conference in Botswana and United For Wildlife organizations to issue a statement on tribal subsistence hunting: 'Tribal peoples shouldn’t be criminalized for hunting to feed their families.'”

Pakistan province bans bear baiting, animal fighting

2/28/2015

Source: Theanimalspost.com

The Sindth Wildlife Department has banned bear baiting, animal fights and animal begging in the province.

According to Pakistan’s The Express Tribune, begging with bears is common in the province but bear baiting is ‘a favourite’ in the northern and central areas.

From now on, anyone still practising these cruel acts will face up to two years in prison and/or a fine of Rs100,000.

Wildlife Secretary Naila Wajid Khan told The Express Tribune that they had suggested the law to be adopted in the entire country.

“It is a cruel activity that no sensible person can look at it,” Khan said. “The bear is enlisted in the protected schedule and we’ll confiscate these animals wherever we find them.”

Bear baiting consists of tethered bears fighting with at least three trained dogs for up to three minutes, when a jury decides who wins.

Even though it is banned under the Prevention of cruelty to animals act (1890), lack of law enforcement has let the activity to continue and even grow with some events having over a thousand spectators.

Most bears have their claws and teeth removed without anaesthetic so they can’t kill the dogs, and they are tethered from a ring painfully pierced on their nose.

World Animal Protection explains: “The bears are captured and forced to endure immense pain even before they fight, with their canine teeth broken, muzzles painfully pierced with nose rings and claws often removed. The bears suffer terrible injuries, rarely living past the age of eight. When one bear dies, the cycle starts again, with more young wild bears forced into captivity and torment.”

Thanks to WAP and Pakistan Bioresource Research Centre’s (PBRC) non-stop work, they have managed to decrease the number of bear baiting bears from around 300 in 2000 to only 40 in 2014.

Elephants ahead: technology to alert drivers on herd movement

2/28/2015

Source: Thehindu.com

By Mohit M. Rao

IISc. team comes up with technology to aid wildlife conservation

Imagine this: you drive after sundown through a road that cuts through dense forests. Nocturnal animals are on the prowl, and the fear usually is of one ending up being surrounded by an elephant herd, or accidently knocking down a leopard or a tiger. But what if display boards along the way offer warnings of elephants or tigers using the path ahead. It could reduce accidents and man-animal conflicts.

This scenario makes use of a new sensor technology that is envisaged to aid wildlife conservation. It has been developed by scientists in the Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics (DIAP) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.).

The concept, which was published recently in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Sensors Journal, is relevant due to discussions on extending the ban on vehicular movement in protected areas at night.

G.R. Jayanth, professor at the DIAP, who is the lead author of the paper, said testing had shown that the height was recorded accurately 98.5 per cent of the time. The laboratory prototype costs Rs. 5,000, which would go down significantly when produced in bulk, he said.

The product lies somewhere between a motion sensor and a CCTV camera. While a motion sensor can only detect motion and not the profile of the object causing the disturbance, a CCTV camera’s range is limited to about 20 metres and also requires manual intervention.

With remote areas being the best possible locations for this application, the scientists — Essa Mahapatra of Analog Devices (India) Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru, and P. Sathishkumar from the DIAP — have made a ‘conscious’ attempt to reduce power consumption and linked it to a solar charging system.

The unit consumes around 4.5W per hour while the figure for conventional CCTV cameras is between 20W and 40W. “Our aim is to reduce this to 1W so that it can be off the [electrical\ grid,” said Mr. Jayanth.

Experts question China's panda survey

2/28/2015

Source: Nature.com

By Jane Qiu

Wild panda populations might be rising, but there are concerns over increasingly fragmented habitats.

The number of giant pandas living in the wild has risen by a sixth over the past decade, according to a long-anticipated survey unveiled by China’s State Forestry Administration on 28 February. But experts say it is unclear if the results can be compared to previous national counts. The argument is bound to re-ignite the debate over whether the iconic bear should still be categorised as an endangered species.

At a press conference in Beijing, deputy forestry minister Chen Fengxue said thousands of people combing 4.36 million hectares of forests in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces from 2011-2014 had found evidence of 1,864 pandas living in the wild. The last survey, conducted in 1998-2002, reported 1,596 pandas. The rise, said Chen, is a result of conservation policies which encourage forest protection and restoration. The survey shows that about two-thirds of pandas reside in the country’s 67 nature reserves — including 27 new reserves in the past decade. Overall, the area in which wild pandas live has increased by 11.8% to 2.58 million hectares.

But the new study — China's fourth national panda survey since the 1970s — searched an area around 72% larger than the previous count, making it hard to compare the two figures. “We really need to know how panda populations have changed in the same area that was sampled last time,” says David Garshelis, a conservation biologist at Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in Grand Rapids and co-chair of the Bear Specialist Group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Garshelis also wants to know the survey's margin of error which — as in the 1998-2002 study — was not given. Chinese officials were not immediately available for comment.

The survey has important implications for pandas’ conservation status, says Garshelis, who spoke to Nature before the results had been announced, but on the understanding that the survey would report a number around 1,800. If the IUCN does agree the panda population is increasing, there would be a five-year waiting period to assess the stability of the situation before the bear's conservation status was downgraded to “vulnerable”, he says. IUCN only categorises a species as “endangered” if its total mature population numbers less than 2,500 and that population is declining (or if the largest single population cluster numbers below 250).

Not black and white

Critics have often questioned the integrity of China’s panda surveys, arguing that they are highly influenced by the political motives of government officials and conservation groups alike.“It’s a fine balancing act, so officials can claim the credit for rising panda populations but the number is not too high to diminish conservation funds,” says a Beijing-based researcher who works closely with the forestry ministry and asked not to be named.

There are also concerns about the methods used to estimate panda numbers. The survey combined two techniques, since the bears' reclusive nature and mountainous habitat make direct counting impossible. The first method, genotyping DNA extracted from mucus in faecal samples, can give higher numbers than the more traditional approach: studying the length of intact bamboo fragments left in excrement, in order to identify individuals by the size of their bites.

In areas where panda populations are relatively dense, the bite-size method can “grossly underestimate” the number of animals, says Wei Fuwen, deputy director at Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)‘ Institute of Zoology in Beijing and chair of the scientific committee of the fourth panda survey. A DNA-based study in 2006 showed, for example, that there were 66 different bears in the Wanglang nature reserve in Sichuan province, more than double the 27 found in the reserve by bamboo inspection in the 1998-2002 survey . In more sparsely-populated habitats, the two counting methods are likely to give more-similar results, Wei says.

The new survey relied mainly on inspection of bamboo in faeces; only 1,308 droppings were subjected to DNA analyses, representing 336 individuals. Wei says the DNA method, when used, did give a higher count, but neither he nor the forestry ministry would reveal the difference.

Fragmented habitats

One thing that even the fiercest critics agree on is that the panda population is far from safe, even if it is actually increasing. “While earlier threats of poaching and deforestation have largely become a thing of the past, panda habitats are increasingly fragmented by roads, railways, dams and mines,” says Ouyang Zhiyun, deputy director of CAS’ Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences in Beijing.

The survey shows that, while their total habitable area has increased in the past decade, pandas now dwell in 30 isolated populations separated by insurmountable physical barriers — up from 15 in the last count. Twenty-two of these populations each have less than 30 individuals, and are at high risk of extinction.

“This could have devastating consequences,” says Fan Zhiyong, director of the conservation group WWF’s China species programme. “There is an urgent need to stop further habitat fragmentation and to construct ecological corridors to connect isolated panda populations.”

Fujairah’s white knights for injured stray animals

2/28/2015

Source: Thenational.ae

By Ruba Haza

FUJAIRAH // Six animal enthusiasts have launched a Facebook group devoted to the rescue and care of abused and neglected strays.

The group, Fujairah Animal Rescue, was formed after a severely injured donkey that needed immediate veterinary help was found.

“The idea started when we found a little donkey suffering from a deep cut between his neck and right leg, and it needed to see a vet immediately,” said Maria Novik, one of the page leaders.

“I called some friends and managed to gather about Dh2,500 to cover his transport fees to a vet clinic in Dubai.

“When we arrived the clinic requested Dh5,000 for surgery fees. After sharing the situation on social media, we had an anonymous offer to clear all his medical bills and, even more important, adopt him in a wonderful and suitable place.”

Ms Novik, 28, from Belarus, said that there was only one veterinarian in Fujairah, who owns a private clinic and deals only with domestic pets.

“There is a huge number of stray animals in Fujairah and the area is in deep need for a comprehensive veterinary clinic that would offer all kinds of treatments in order to alleviate animal suffering,” she said.

About 200 volunteers have joined Fujairah Animal Rescue since it formed in November last year,

They aim to help, feed and shelter abused stray animals and control breeding, with the support of the Middle East Animal Foundation and public donations.

“Every volunteer in our group has a role to play,” Ms Novik said. “We have benefactors, feeders, trappers, caregivers and people who just inform us about desperate animal in need of rescue.”

Kirsteen Carruthers, 44, another group leader, has been living in Fujairah for four years.

“We are in the process of setting up a fully authorised trap, neuter and release programme in Fujairah, as well as providing feeding and water stations throughout Fujairah City and setting up an educational programme to raise awareness about animal rights, health and welfare in preparation for Expo 2020,” she said.

Mrs Carruthers, from England, has rescued two stray dogs, two cats and seven chickens in the past two years. They are all living under her care at her villa.

Many residents have welcomed the idea of helping and controlling stray animals, especially dogs, in the region.

Although most of the dogs are harmless, some attacks still occur.

Ryanne Montaril a Filipina in Fujairah, said she had escaped several dog attacks during her stay in the Sakamkam area.

“I like animals but I think some of them don’t share the same feeling towards me,” Ms Montaril said.

“Most of the dogs that live here are friendly but others tried to attack me several times while I was passing in the street.

“I believe that dogs can be quite aggressive if they were abused and this can easily happen here.

“Therefore I totally support any kind of help to rescue these poor creatures.”

Khaled Mulaih, an Emirati, said that five dogs had recently attacked his car while he was driving near Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Fujairah City, scaring his children and wife.

“More than a week ago I was driving along Mohammad bin Matar Street and five dogs suddenly attacked my car,” said Mr Mulaih, 34. “I had to slow down in order not to hurt them, and my wife and kids started screaming.

“Thank God the road was clear of cars and we managed to go through without causing any damage or accidents.

“Having a specialised unit to take care and shelter these dogs is considered a community demand, and the Government should start thinking of solutions to protect animals and residents.”

Livestock beheadings baffle Sacramento officials

2/27/2015

Source: Sacbee.com

By Ellen Garrison, Sam Stanton

The mystery began several months ago with the discovery of a 120-pound cow’s head at Sacramento’s Reichmuth Park in the South Land Park area. Around the same time, another decapitated cow’s head was found 3 1/2 miles away at Garcia Bend Park in the Pocket.

Then, in December, officials found the chickens.

“Multiple beheaded chickens were found in the city cemetery with these bowls of what was described as bloody oatmeal,” said Gina Knepp, manager of Sacramento’s Front Street animal shelter and its animal care operations. “We don’t know what that was about.”

Since then, the city has been hit with a series of disturbing animal mutilation cases that have left officials perplexed about their meaning and the identity of the perpetrators.

Since early January, officials have discovered six separate cases of animal mutilations, the latest coming Wednesday when the bodies of six decapitated goats were found in northern Sacramento off a bike path near Sully Street and Claire Avenue, where Norwood Avenue ends. Before that, a series of discoveries at Reichmuth Park have included a decapitated goat found in a cardboard box, a group of about a dozen headless chickens in paper bags and a dead tortoise.

“In one case there was a baby lamb at Reichmuth where they gently placed the head on top of the body in this brown paper bag,” Knepp said.

Both the north Sacramento area and the park offer secluded spots for someone to move without notice.

The north Sacramento location is near Robla Creek and a levee overlooking horse pastures, yards with roosters in them and the remains of an abandoned homeless encampment. Reichmuth Park is in a much more populated part of town off of 43rd Avenue, but features a heavily wooded section and a brackish slough shielded from the park and roadway by eucalyptus and oak trees and a wall of blackberry bushes.

Officials aren’t certain whether the animals were killed before they were beheaded, but Knepp said the cuts appear to have been made with some sort of saw and do not appear to be precise.

“They’re not clean cuts,” she said. “They’re not very good butchers, and they don’t have the right tools.”

The beheadings come as two high-profile cases involving animal cruelty are playing out in Sacramento – one involving a puppy burned to death in a crate, the other the drowning of a 12-year-old border collie named Zelda who was dumped into the American River with a bowling ball tied to her collar. Suspects have been arrested in both those cases.

The livestock mutilations, however, have left investigators wondering whom they are dealing with.

“It’s never cats and dogs,” Knepp said. “It’s farm animals and weird things like tortoises, and lately it seems like there’s been an increase in it, kind of averaging every other week, which is strange.”

Initially, little attention was paid to the discoveries as the carcasses were discovered by various park or cemetery workers and not flagged immediately to animal care services for investigation.

Now, the agency is trying to determine whether the incidents are connected, and whether they are some sick crime or the result of a ritual being performed for reasons officials do not understand.

“I’m thinking there’s some kind of practice that we’re not aware of,” Knepp said. “It could be felony animal cruelty if you’re intentionally maiming and killing animals. If you’re slaughtering them for religious purposes, that is somewhat protected, but it’s illegal dumping and improper disposal.

“We are very culturally diverse in Sacramento, and people do slaughter animals for human consumption in their yards, but they typically eat the meat.”

The fact that the animals’ bodies are being dumped makes no sense if they were killed for meat, she noted. “Why would you throw away a perfectly good goat?”

Compounding the mystery is the absence of any reports of missing or stolen livestock, which has left investigators wondering where the animals are coming from and whether the dumping of the carcasses is a disturbing prank by youngsters.

Goats are relatively easy to obtain in the Sacramento region, where rural ranchers offer them up through online ads at prices ranging from $100 a head to free.

Cameron Bang, an Elk Grove farmer, placed an ad to sell 30 goats for $10 to $15 each on Craigslist on Sunday and sold all of them that day to four or five different people, he said. Bang added that he believed the buyers lived in Elk Grove and south Sacramento and that none of them were youths.

Goat or lamb beheadings are not especially rare, and videos of gruesome rituals in which animals are beheaded – the perpetrators often drinking the animals’ blood – are easily found online, as are reports of teens killing goats and other livestock.

In January, investigators in Louisiana reported the beheading of a 3-month-old pygmy goat and the disappearance of another baby goat, according to a report in the New Orleans Advocate.

Livestock mutilations have captured headlines in the United States for decades, especially in the 1970s, when a wave of cattle mutilations was reported across the West and Midwest.

The problem became so pronounced that ranchers, local authorities and U.S. senators pressed the FBI to launch an investigation into the issue, which involved more than 1,500 cattle being mutilated and drained of blood in 22 states, according to a 1976 Oui magazine report included in FBI online files on the issue.

The matter was the subject of correspondence by officials as highly placed as then-Attorney General Griffin Bell, who assured one senator that he was deeply concerned.

“I must say that the materials sent to me indicate the existence of one of the strangest phenomenons in my memory,” Bell wrote in a 1979 letter included in the FBI files.

The cause of the widespread livestock killings never was determined, although theories have abounded through the years that they were the result of satanic rituals or alien attacks. Such ideas persist today, and simple Google searches can produce suggested search terms like “why do aliens mutilate cows?”

The mutilated animals dumped in the Sacramento region so far have all been found within the city limits. Knepp said that so far she has “no idea” who is killing them.

“I’m not getting any tips, either,” she said.

Anyone with information can call Knepp at (916) 808-8333.

Washington's first Wildlife Service 'Bear Dog' is retiring

2/27/2015

Source: Komonews.com

By Molly Shen

INDEX, Wash. -- A group of Snohomish County school kids had a special lesson about living around wildlife on Friday. It was part education, part retirement party.

One of the teachers was the state's first Karelian Bear Dog, Mishka, who is about to retire.

Karelian bear dogs and their wildlife department handlers teach people how to live safely in bear country. At this event, the job normally done by one dog took five, as the group honored Mishka.

"When you see that dog, you're looking at history," Officer Bruce Richards told the crowd.

Mishka was not only our state's first KBD, he was the first to work with a wildlife enforcement officer.

"These dogs are the first ones in the United States," Officers Richards said. "There have been some by biologists, but for game wardens using these dogs, these are the first ones to save wildlife. And for that, I'm incredibly proud."

The program is a point of pride for Richards because he's credited with saving it. Richards, who is also retiring, has been on the job 41 years. The last eight were with Mishka. Richards became the handler when biologist Rocky Spencer died on the job.

Instead of ending the program, Richards and Mishka proved it should expand. There are six dogs on the job right now with plans to add as many as four more.

Officer Nick Jorg is the handler for KBD Colter.

"I can't imagine not having these KBDs anymore on so many aspects. From resolving human wildlife conflicts between bears or cougars, whether it's helping save a big horn sheep and herding them away from a highway, or hazing a moose out of a city or finding evidence for poaching cases, these dogs have made several big game poaching cases and even a couple of fish cases," Jorg said.

The dogs are perhaps best known for hard releases. That's when they bark, chase and haze problem bears, teaching them to stay in the wild. Mishka isn't up for the rigorous run through the woods anymore.

It's Officer Richards the department's rank and file will miss most.

"If you're working and you needed someone to help you do something and you placed a call, Bruce is going to be there," said Wildlife Biologist Rich Beausoleil. "Thats what I love about him."

Beausoleil also credited Richards from uniting people who work in wildlife management with wildlife enforcement.

"We all wear the patch," he said, pointing to the Department of Fish and Wildlife crest.

After four decades of protecting people and wildlife, that teamwork is a proud legacy. Next month, the Wildlife Department will honor Mishka with a lifetime honorary commission. There will be honors for Officer Richards, too. Video.

Ministry Defends Killing of Namutoni Lion

2/27/2015

Source: Namibian.com.na

STAFF members of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism decided to kill a lioness in the Namutoni camp of the Etosha National Park a week ago, because a veterinarian was not at hand and they were trying to avoid a possible attack on tourists, the ministry claims.

The lioness entered the Namutoni camp through a small hole that warthogs had dug under the fence around the camp, after someone employed in the camp had removed meat from a giraffe that the lioness had killed next to the fence the previous day, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Simeon Negumbo, said in a press statement issued yesterday.

The killing of the lioness in Namibia's flagship wildlife conservation area reportedly left tourists at Namutoni shocked and horrified.

According to Negumbo, a fresh and intact giraffe carcass was found next to the camp fence at Namutoni on Thursday last week. It was discovered later that someone - reportedly a staff member employed at Namutoni - had removed some of the meat from the carcass, and an investigation was launched by the ministry and the police.

Lion tracks were observed in the camp the next day, and a lioness was then found along the camp fence.

“In [the] absence of a veterinarian in the area, our staff members had to act quickly to avoid possible attacks on people, particularly tourists, and shot the lioness,” Negumbo stated.

He said the ministry and the police are continuing with an investigation into the incident.

Gambling on Extinction: Exposing the global trade that threatens elephants and rhinos

2/27/2015

Source: CTVnews.ca

This week, we turn the lens on the war between poachers and wildlife in Africa. A war which the most-endangered species are losing, as demand for illegal wildlife products like ivory and rhino horn drive a thriving, multi-billion dollar underground industry.

Below is a first-person account from the team behind this report:

Nearly three years ago I was leafing through the pages of a magazine when an article struck me. It was about elephants being killed by poachers in Chad, a country in Central Africa.

Not one or two elephants hunted by locals for meat – but about dozens at a time, brutally slaughtered by well-organized gangs with automatic rifles. They first shoot the babies so that their mothers, delirious with grief, give up their protection.

Then they shoot them as well. Often the elephants are still alive when the poachers hack off their tusks, leaving the bleeding and dying animals behind.

I was shocked and appalled. I wanted to know more, so I made some enquiries and spoke to animal conservationists. I discovered that these weren’t isolated cases but that poaching was escalating throughout Africa.

And I learned that these highly organized criminal gangs not only attack elephants but other endangered species like rhinos and tigers as well. I couldn’t believe that this was happening right here, right now.

I feel that this is just not acceptable. We as human beings can’t let a bunch of unscrupulous criminals destroy the beauty of our earth because of their unbridled greed.

Governments need to take action instead of treating wildlife crime as a minor offense. But most importantly people need to know what’s going on, especially those living in Asia.

Ivory, rhino horn, and tiger skin are popular status symbols among affluent Asians. Rhino horn has now surpassed the value of gold; it’s crushed into a powder and snorted like cocaine.

There is a dangerous myth among consumers that tusks and horns simply fall out, like human teeth. They are not aware of the brutality involved in the harvesting of elephant tusks and rhino horn. Consumers are also being duped into believing that rhino horn and tiger wine are potent and hold medicinal qualities.

As a documentary filmmaker I always try to make films that I feel are relevant and important. But this subject is especially close to my heart. If this slaughter continues there won’t be any more tigers, rhinos or elephants left in the wild.

All these beautiful creatures will be gone in a few years from now.

Can you imagine a world without these majestic animals? What an incredibly sad and empty place this would be.

I knew we could make a difference if we manage to show the terrible slaughter that is going on right now, once we uncover who is pulling the strings in this brutal war on nature.

Help us make visible to everyone what is going on before it’s too late. Let’s not just stand at the sidelines and do nothing while ruthless criminals and thoughtless greedy people who just want a new trinket, a rug or some faux aphrodisiacs are ruining our planet.

- Jakob Kneser, Director

When Jakob came to me and said that rhinos are being brought to the brink of extinction because their horns are ground up and used as party drugs, I couldn’t believe it. Then I saw the horrific pictures of slaughtered rhinos. Not just a few, but dozens. Hundreds. That’s when I decided that we must do a film about this.

The killing must stop right now because if it doesn’t, then the threat that rhinos, elephants and tigers become extinct in our own lifetimes is real. And then we have lost some of the most beautiful creatures that have ever lived.

- Tristan Chytroschek, Producer

So when my friend Tristan Chytroschek suggested we partner on his anti-poaching film I jumped at the chance. I am still completely shocked by the poaching statistics that show that elephants, rhinos and tigers could be gone in the wild in my lifetime.

We cannot let this happen and I firmly believe that if we can rally everyone from the grassroots up to the rich and powerful we can put an end to this ruthless illegal wildlife trafficking. They are not trinkets, remedies or rugs! I truly believe if we can stop the demand we can stop the trafficking. We can all make a difference by making aware and considered consumer choices, so add your voice and spread the message.

- Anne Pick, Producer

Wildlife Safari welcomes two elephants from Six Flags (video)

2/27/2015

Source: Nrtoday.com

By Kate Stringer

WINSTON — When elephants meet for the first time, a range of responses can follow: aggression, affection, apathy.

But when Wildlife Safari’s elephant Tava saw two new elephants led from their shipping crates into the Winston park’s barn Monday evening, she let out a trumpet.

That’s because Tava, unlike Wildlife Safari’s other two elephants, George and Moja, recognized the new arrivals. Tava used to live at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California, where she worked with elephants Liz and Valerie for more than 10 years.

The story of the three elephants’ separation and reunion began when Tava was sent to Wildlife Safari two years ago after Six Flags decided to slowly phase-out its elephant program.

This year, Six Flags reached out to Wildlife Safari to see if it could send its last elephants, Liz and Valerie, to Winston, too.

Wildlife Safari had exhausted its budget obtaining Moja in October. So Six Flags gave Wildlife Safari the new elephants for free and paid for the shipping costs.

An elephant can sell for $275,000, Wildlife Safari Executive Director Dan Van Slyke said. “For (Six Flags), it was about the reunion,” he said. “You don’t see that a lot in big corporations.”

Nick Way, the elephant supervisor at Six Flags, agreed.

“For us, it was financially not the best decision (to gift the elephants), but it was best for the animals,” Way said. “We could have split them up to sell them, but we wanted to keep them together.”

Way made the seven-hour journey from Vallejo with Liz and Valerie, and he will be staying to help them get used to their new home.

“(The elephants) trust me to come into this new environment,” Way said. “Me being close will help the elephants to trust (Wildlife Safari).”

Now, Wildlife Safari has five elephants, the largest herd it has had for at least 20 years. The public can currently see the elephants in their corrals, but close encounters won’t begin until the elephants are fully adjusted, Elephant Supervisor Katie Alayan said. That adjustment could take a few months.

In celebration of this “jumbo-sized reunion,” as the trainers call it, Wildlife Safari is donating $5,000 to the International Elephant Foundation, which will go toward anti-poaching efforts.

“Ninety-six African elephants are killed every day due to poaching,” Alayan said. “If things don’t change right now, we could see them become extinct in our lifetime. That’s unacceptable.”

Alayan hopes that when people encounter elephants in person, a connection, and perhaps a desire to help conservation efforts, will be formed.

She said she sees people tear-up when they get to touch an elephant for the first time. Van Slyke also remembers the speaking ability of a child with autism improving after visiting the elephants.

“Something about that large creature made a significant change,” Van Slyke said. “I think we’re just scratching the surface when it comes to therapeutic abilities of animals.”

Wildlife Safari consistently donates 10 percent of the money raised from human-animal encounters to conservation efforts. Alayan estimates Wildlife Safari has given more than $15,000 to those efforts.

Part of the reason people form attachments with elephants is because they see similarities between themselves and the animals, Alayan said.

“We tend to over-anthropomorphize elephants,” she said.

For example, there’s a misconception that elephants cry to express sadness, but a connection between their tears and an emotion isn’t proven. Another misconception is thinking that Asian elephants smile when happy, when it’s really just the natural shape of their mouths, Alayan said.

These perceived connections aren’t entirely unfounded, though.

“They have emotions, but they’re expressed differently,” Alayan said.

Elephants make a low rumbling noise, almost like purring, when happy. Being quiet and eating together, like many families, is a sign of contentment, Alayan said.

Behaviors are similar to humans, as well. For example, elephant herds have a dominant matriarch. Older females like Liz assume a motherly role with Tava and Valerie. When Tava saw Liz for the first time in two years, Van Slyke said her excitement was more pronounced than it was to seeing Valerie.

“It was a real sensational moment,” he said. “Tava just trumpets, ‘Mom’s here!’”

The new elephants are currently separated from the original three by a large fence, but staff have observed positive over-the-fence interactions between the groups. This means they may soon be able to interact without barriers.

“George thinks he’s found his long-lost love,” Van Slyke said, as George and Liz have been observed canoodling along the fence line.

The Safari’s herd, though, is older, and there are no current plans for breeding.

“We know this is an exciting part of Winston and Douglas County, and we’re excited for (the community) to experience these two new personalities,” Alayan said. Video.

China suspends ivory carving imports, but move won’t stop poaching

2/27/2015

Source: Washingtonpost.com

By Simon Denyer

BEIJING – China has announced a one-year suspension on imports of carved ivory products from Africa, but conservationists said the largely symbolic move would do nothing in itself to stem the illegal ivory trade here that is fueling rampant poaching in Africa.

Beijing’s decision came just before a visit to the country next week by Britain’s Prince William, who has become a leading figure in the global campaign to protect elephants. It seemed timed to head off the potential embarrassment of criticism from such a high-profile visitor, and also came days after conservation groups sent a letter to the Chinese government appealing for a total ban on domestic trade in ivory.

Late Thursday, China’s State Forestry Administration (SFA) announced that it would suspend the import of African ivory carvings obtained since the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) went into effect in 1975. Although the announcement gave no dates, African elephants were listed under CITES in 1976.

Chinese media quoted the “relevant SFA official” as saying the temporary suspension was designed to give authorities time to evaluate its effectiveness, and possibly take further, more effective measures in future.

But experts said that the move would apply only to limited quantities of ivory and failed to address what conservationists were asking for — a ban on the legal Chinese domestic trade in ivory that provides the cover for a huge illicit trade.

Under CITES regulations, almost all global trade in ivory products is banned, although limited trade in certain items, including finished jewelry from Namibia and carvings from Zimbabwe, is allowed.

Nevertheless Iris Ho, wildlife program manager for Humane Society International in Washington, one of the letter’s co-signatories, called the announcement “an encouraging signal that the Chinese government is ratcheting down the import of African elephant ivory into the country,” adding that regardless of its actual impact, she was “encouraged by the symbolism it carries and the reverberating effect on the Chinese public, including ivory traders and dealers.”

“We are hopeful that more meaningful actions are being considered by the leadership and relevant government agencies,” she said. “We also encourage China and other countries to permanently ban domestic ivory trade and destroy all confiscated ivory stockpiles.”

Grace Ge Gabriel, Asia regional director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Yarmouth Port, Mass., also called the move encouraging but “far from sufficient.”

“China’s domestic ivory trade is a much bigger and pressing problem for elephant conservation. This domestic ivory market confuses consumers, removes stigma about ivory consumption, provides cover for criminals to smuggle ivory, hinders law enforcement and stimulates poaching of elephants,” she said.

China officially sanctions 36 ivory-carving workshops. They are supposed to use mainly ivory purchased in 2008, when limited sales from existing global stockpiles were allowed. All ivory sold commercially in China is supposed to carry a license certifying that it originated from those stockpiles or predated the global ban.

In practice, the regulations are widely flouted, and huge quantities of poached ivory flow into China every year. It is carved into ornaments, jewelry and chopsticks and sold commercially, where it still has prestige as a gift.

Conservationists say the only way to end the illegal trade is to ban the legal trade, educate people about the real cost of ivory and reduce its prestige value. Ho called the current registration scheme “a flagrant loophole for illicit ivory to be laundered into the legal market.” China argues that ivory carving is part of its ancient cultural heritage and says it is making strenuous efforts to end ivory smuggling. Last year, in a symbolic move, China destroyed six tons of tusks and carved ivory ornaments seized from smugglers, while Hong Kong began destroying its 28-ton stockpile.

In just three years — from 2010 to 2012 — about 100,000 elephants were poached for their tusks, according to a recent study: a mass slaughter propelled by rising Chinese demand for ivory. It is a $10 billion industry that draws in global crime syndicates and African rebel groups, and threatens to wipe out elephants from parts of the continent within a decade.

“Ivory trade brings China a huge reputational risk,” Gabriel said. “Instead of dabbling at these temporary administrative steps, China should improve its legislation to ban the trade and consumption of elephant ivory and rhino horn once and for all. By implementing a bold and meaningful wildlife trade ban, China will get the gratitude of the world for solving an urgent conservation crisis.”

While former NBA basketball player Yao Ming is among those trying to change Chinese attitudes toward ivory, conservationists face an uphill battle without high-level government support. A National Geographic survey of 600 middle- and upper-income Chinese people in 2013 found that 84 percent planned to buy ivory goods and 87 percent associated it with a feeling of “prestige.”

Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that making ivory “illegal to purchase under any circumstances” or “the strong recommendation of a government leader” would be the most effective ways to stop the ivory trading.

DNA breakthrough sends badger baiters to jail

2/27/2015

Source: Wildlifenews.co.uk

By Kevin Heath

Three badger baiters from Rotherham have been sent to prison for 12 weeks after DNA forensic evidence was used for the first time. The RSPCA used the skills of the Scottish Government Science and Advice Service for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) to place the men at the scene of the crime.

Antonio Miguel Alonso-Brown. aged 24, of Shelley Drive, Herringthorpe, Nathan Swift, 20, of Hague Avenue, Rawmarsh and his brother Liam, aged 24, of the same address, all in Rotherham, were caught by police near a badger sett off St John’s Road, Unstone, Derbyshire as they tried to flee.

Behind them they had left a badger with a smashed in skull that had been buried in a shallow grave. In the vehicle that the badger baiters were using the police found shovels, tracking collars and 6 dogs.

Police and investigators from the RSPCA’s special operations unit took hair and blood samples from the shovel and one of the defendants blood-splattered shirts. It was sent to the Wildlife DNA Forensics Unit at SASA for investigation. The samples tied the badger baiters directly to the dead animal.

It is the first time that DNA has been used in a badger baiting case. The defendants pleaded guilty at Chesterfield Magistrates Court and were sentenced to 12 weeks prison.

Mosha the three-legged elephant gets a new prosthetic leg after stepping on a landmine

2/27/2015

Source: Independent.co.uk

By Rose Troup Buchanan

A three-legged Asian elephant, injured after she stepped on a landmine, has been given a new leg.

Mosha, a nine-year-old female, was brought to the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital in Thailand when she was just seven-months old after stepping on a deadly landmine in 2007.

She became the first elephant in the world to receive a prosthetic limb after veterinarians feared she would not recover when she shunned food and the company of other elephants when she first arrived.

A chance meeting with Dr Therdchai Jivacate, who runs a clinic for human amputees, led him to create unique leg for her.

"When she cannot walk, she is going to die," he told the Daily Telegraph in 2009.

Mosha’s new limb was a great success, but her rapid growth - the average Asian elephant weighs 11,000 pounds - following its fitting meant that her careers had to quickly adapt the leg.

Now, she is being fitted with a new leg after outgrowing her old one.

The limb, made from plastic, sawdust and metal, has been specially engineered to cope with Mosha’s weight and allow her to move as freely as other elephants.

Her pioneering treatment at the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital, which treats elephants suffering from broken bones, infections and knife wounds, opened the way for further elephant prosthetics.

Since it opened in 1993 the hospital has treated 15 elephant landmine victims, with elephant Motala becoming the second prosthetic patient in 2009.

It is not just elephants who are affected by the deadly proliferation of landmines in Cambodia and along the Thai border.

Over 64,000 landmine casualties have been recorded in Cambodia since 1979.

According to the HALO foundation, a global organisation that works to remove these ordnances, the country still has the highest ratio of amputees – an estimated 25,000 – per capita in the world. Video.

Busch Gardens welcomes baby cheetahs

2/27/2015

Source: MyFOXOrlando.com

TAMPA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Busch Gardens® Tampa has welcomed two new adorable additions - three-month-old cheetah cubs.

The Busch Gardens animal care team is providing 24-hour-care as the cubs continue to get stronger and explore their new home.

The cubs were born on Nov. 22, 2014 and weigh approximately 12 pounds. Their names, which were given by the Busch Gardens animal care team, are Tendai, meaning "thankful," and Thabo, meaning "joy."

Get a first look at the cheetah cubs by visiting the Busch Gardens YouTube channel.

Once the cubs are old enough, they will start their own coalition as part of Cheetah Run, the innovative cheetah habitat that opened alongside Busch Gardens' triple-launch coaster, Cheetah Hunt, in 2011. Until then, guests can see the cubs at various times throughout the day in the Edge of Africa area of the park, or by taking an Animal Care Center Behind The Scenes tour through Sunday, March 1.

Cheetahs are included on both the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of vulnerable species as well as on the US Endangered Species Act list of threatened species. Upon reaching maturity, the cubs may also become an important part of Busch Gardens' cheetah breeding program that will help boost the cheetah population.

These births are part of Busch Gardens' participation in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) Species Survival Plan® (SSP). The mission of the SSP is to cooperatively manage specific, and typically threatened or endangered, species populations within AZA-accredited facilities. Busch Gardens' participation helps create genetically diverse, self-sustaining populations to guarantee the long-term future of these animals.

Busch Gardens is owned by SeaWorld Parks& Entertainment, one of the world's foremost zoological organizations and a worldwide leader in animal welfare, training, husbandry and veterinary care. The company cares for one of the largest animal collections in North America and has helped lead advances in the care of species in zoological facilities and in the conservation of wild populations.

Waging war on poaching – the war on drugs revisited?

2/27/2015

Source: Transconflict.com

By Sean Mowbray

In the face of the failed militarisation of the response to drug trafficking, is it appropriate to apply a similar tactic to tackling the poaching problem?

Wildlife trafficking has risen on the political agenda, of that there is no doubt. Previously marginalised and the concern of few inside government circles it has risen up the agenda on the back of links to organised crime syndicates and terrorist organisations. This article will seek to question whether in the face of the failed militarisation of the response to drug trafficking whether it is appropriate to apply a similar tactic to tackling the poaching problem.

The story of poaching in 2014 was largely confined to the plains of Africa where ‘charismatic mega-fauna’ roam. South Africa in particular has seen seven consecutive years of rampant poaching that has the brought its rhino population ever closer to the brink. Newspapers and media channels frequently covered the plight of the rhino and elephant populations. Making use of high-tech equipment and weaponry poachers have easily been able to exploit a combination of poor enforcement, a lack of political will, widespread corruption and the sheer vastness of the African plains. Although serious in itself to focus solely upon the mega-fauna is to undersell the seriousness and scale of wildlife trafficking. It is an illegal trade estimated to gross around $20billion per year for. This encapsulates much more than ivory and rhino horn.

Ivory trafficking is immensely profitable but in terms of quantity it is minimal. For instance the pangolin is considered to be the most widely trafficked species in terms of bulk. Its value may not be as high as ivory but is funding organised criminal groups in much the same way.

The international response the wildlife trafficking problem has been somewhat predictable. The prevalent recourse towards prohibition when dealing with such morally charged issues is one that is deeply rooted in history. In an echo of the fifty year war on drugs there has been a highly militarised approach that has sought to combine new technology, such as drones, to patrol and eliminate poachers. In African countries calls for ‘shoot on sight’ policies have been trialled in an attempt to protect elephant populations and military units have been deployed to enforce these measures. Western intelligence services have also been given the remit of snaring high profile traffickers using the same methods learned tackling drug trafficking. In opting for the militarised option states have risked kindling a ‘war on poaching’. To do so would ignite the same inexorable firestorm that has already been seen through the approach to drug trafficking. For years this has hindered frequent attempts to reform the chosen approach as it is a system which is fundamentally rooted in maintaining the illegality of drugs.

For many years the US drove its foreign narcotics policy with a reckless abandon that sought to punish and squeeze traffickers and cartels with brute force. In Afghanistan, Bolivia, Columbia, and most recently Mexico the militarised approach resulted in many human catastrophes and left the final outcome largely unaltered. Drugs are still widely available and some studies suggest that purity has increased over the years, while the actual street price has decreased. The response is based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of organised criminal elements. By retaining a structural flexibility that allows adaption to outside pressure, such organisations develop loose connections designed to maintain a fluid response to law enforcement pressure. The seizure of a shipment or the arrest of an associate can often be of minimal effect to the wider operation. It is a tendency in government circles and the media to see the stereotypical patriarchal Mafia style organisation as driving illegal trafficking. Instead organisations develop loose functions to protect themselves from law enforcement. The latter understanding has driven the anti-drug trafficking policy makers and it is now being applied to wildlife trafficking.

By understanding the actual nature and dynamism of organised crime structures the appropriateness of militarisation as a method for tackling wildlife poaching and trafficking becomes much less attractive. By eliminating single poachers, whether by imprisonment or death, there will be an abundance of disenfranchised individuals willing to take their place. This is a scenario which has been repeated throughout the course of the war on drugs. By fixing the response to wildlife trafficking in a similar manner the international community is locking itself into another perpetual conflict which will punish those who seek to engage in illegal activities rather than attempting to assuage the extenuating circumstances that drive people to this extreme action.

It is of great significance that wildlife trafficking is now being viewed ever more seriously on the world stage. Increased exposure has allowed renewed funds to be given to cash starved institutions devoted to tackling the problem. However, in becoming attuned over the years to responding to organised crime and trafficking with the firm iron fist of prohibition and military power the international is on the brink of beginning another perpetual conflict. In order to reverse the trend that is occurring the root causes of poaching must be analysed further; inequality, disenfranchisement, weak legislative and judicial structures and a lack of opportunities all have a significant part to play. It is essential to learn from the war on drugs so that the same mistakes are not repeated. For many of the species there will not be a fifty year learning curve available to do so. By maintaining a militarised response to wildlife trafficking the international community may be writing a new chapter in the history of failed global prohibition regimes.