News
The number of news found: 51.
01/31/2009 SCHINTZEL OFF THE MENU AS GERMANS ARE TOLD TO CUT DOWN ON EATING MEAT
Germans are among the highest meat consumers in Europe, obtaining around 39% of their total calorie intake from meat and meat products, compared with 25% in Italy. For a nation that loves its bratwurst and schnitzel, the message is not a welcome one. Germans have been urged to rethink their meat-eating habits if they want to help the planet. Germany's federal environment agency has issued a strong advisory for people to return to prewar norms of eating meat only on special occasions and otherwise to model their diet on that of Mediterranean countries.
01/31/2009 UK HOSPITALS WILL TAKE MEAT OFF MENUS IN BID TO CUT CARBON
Dr David Pencheon, director of the NHS sustainable development unit, said the amount of NHS emissions meant it had to act to make cuts, and the changes would save money, which could be spent on better services for patients. "This is not just about doing things more efficiently, it's about doing things differently, because efficiency is not going to get us to big cuts," said Pencheon. "What will healthcare look like in 2030-2040 in a very low carbon society? It will not look anything like it looks now."
01/30/2009 NEW EU RULE ADDRESSES WELFARE OF CHICKENS
Plans to implement Europe's first comprehensive welfare rules on chickens raised for meat were released January 26 by Jane Kennedy, Minister for Farming and the Environment. The new rules are open to public comments through April 20 and are scheduled to be implemented in June 2010, covering all chicken meat production operations with more than 500 birds. The new rules, however, will not apply to holdings with only breeding stocks of meat chickens, hatcheries, extensive indoor, free-range or organic chickens.
01/30/2009 CALVES ON FARM LEFT "WITHOUT A TEASPOON OF WATER"
Thirteen calves, some dead for up to a week, were piled in the shed of a farmer who has been ordered to pay €20,000 in fines and costs by a court. Kevin Brady, of Ballinloe, Coole, Co Westmeath pleaded guilty to two animal welfare charges and two charges of failing to remove carcasses without undue delay. Judge John Neilan said he was "absolutely appalled" and that Mr. Brady lacked common sense and compassion in dealing with his livestock. Mullingar District Court heard that when Department of Agriculture inspector Jonathan Cooney attended the farm on March 8, 2007, he found at least 13 Friesian and Jersey calves piled up in a shed. The inspector estimated the animals to be between a couple of days and five weeks old. Judging by their condition, he estimated some had been there for up to a week.
01/29/2009 HURT JAPANESE WHALERS EVACUATED
Japan's already troubled Antarctic whaling season has suffered another blow, with confirmation that injured whalers are being evacuated from the fleet. Up to three seamen were hurt as the whaling fleet tried to get its hunt back on track following the death overboard of one man, the loss of a chaser ship to mechanical failure, and flight from Sea Shepherd activists. A spokesman for the New Zealand foreign minister confirmed that Japanese authorities recently made initial inquiries about bringing injured crew to Wellington. "We would have had no problem about providing humanitarian assistance, but we have had no further contact with them," he said. The men are believed to have been aboard a 49-metre fishing vessel, Taiyo Maru No. 38, which is acting as the whaling fleet's escort. It is believed to have bypassed New Zealand and is headed for Fiji.
01/29/2009 STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY RESEARCH SHOWS DOGS ARE GETTING DUMBER
A Swedish research scientist has discovered that the current generation of pedigree dogs, normally social and curious creatures by nature, are disinterested, shy and less responsive to commands than their ancestors. The study found show-quality and "handbag" pooches were the most likely to lack the instincts of previous generations, which were bred for their strength, hunting and working abilities, rather than their looks. Stockholm University ethologist Kenth Svartberg said personality changes could be seen in dogs that are only a few generations removed.
01/28/2009 KILLER WHALES POISONED BY PCB TAINTED FISH
A new study has found that resident killer whales off the western coasts of Canada and the United States are being poisoned by eating salmon laced with toxic PCBs. According to The Globe and Mail, researchers tested the whales' main food supply, chinook salmon, and found pollutants that are jeopardizing the large orcas that eat them. Peter Ross of the federal Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney said previous research has shown that the whales have dangerously high levels of pollutants.
01/28/2009 FARMERS NOT TO BE BLAMED FOR BETA-AGONIST
The banned beta-agonist substance found in pigs have found its way not through unscrupulous farmers looking to increase their livestock's lean meat but through a permissible hormone. Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said five of the 15 pig farmers found to have been using beta-agonist last year unknowingly administered their livestock with an allowed drug, which contained the substance. The drug is called ractopamine, a growth hormone for animals. "We are considering banning it since it has beta-agonist. It was at the request of the Federation of Livestock Farmers of Malaysia, especially the farmers whose pigs have been quarantined after testing positive for beta-agonist," he said. NST Online reports that there are 597 pig farms in the country.
01/27/2009 EBOLA VIRUS DETECTED IN HOG FARM WORKER IN PHILIPPINES
The Philippine government Friday confirmed a case of human infection with the Ebola-Reston virus, a milder form of the Ebola virus associated with high-fatality outbreaks in Africa, but called the risk to human health "negligible." Health Secretary Francisco Duque told a press conference the infected person was among 50 people tested after being exposed to pigs sickened by the virus north of Manila. Two commercial farms have been quarantined since the Ebola-Reston virus, which was found in monkeys in the Philippines between 1989 and 1996, was detected in pigs there last month for the first time in the world.
01/27/2009 PALIN: DON'T SAVE THE WHALES
Last week, the state of Alaska announced it plans to mount a legal challenge to the listing of the Cook Inlet beluga whale under the Endangered Species Act. This marks the second time in a year that Palin's administration has squared off with the federal government over an ESA listing. Over the summer, her administration sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne after his agency conferred threatened status on the polar bear. Palin begs to differ. Her administration argues that that the belugas are faring just fine under the protections in place, and the population is even beginning to show signs of recovering. For this reason, the state of Alaska contends that additional regulation is unnecessary.
01/26/2009 FIREFIGHTERS SAVE COWS FROM SLURRY PIT
Fire fighters who were called out to rescue cattle trapped in a slurry pit have blamed the incident on ramblers. Crews from Romsey and Eastleigh in Hampshire responded to the 999 call from a farm at Ridge near Ower, where they found the cattle had already sunk up to their necks. Mr Green added: "It was an extremely messy, but successful, rescue which allowed us to make use of the different techniques and equipment that HFRS has developed. Both cows are now safely back in their field and doing fine. But this incident does highlight the need for walkers to remember to always shut gates behind themselves." Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has one of the most progressive animal rescue teams in the country. The team of four are all from rural backgrounds with extensive knowledge of animals and farming practices.
01/26/2009 FINNISH FUR PRODUCERS FEAR THAT FUR FARMING MAY NO LONGER BE PROFITABLE
Decreased demand and falling prices are causing consternation among fur farmers in Finland. At the first fur auction of the season, held in Vantaa in late December, only 31 per cent of the 126,000 blue fox pelts were sold. The blue fox is one of Finland’s most important domesticated fur bearing animals. Expectations are no better for the next big auction, scheduled for March; Russian and Chinese buyers were conspicuously cautious in December. The financial crisis is also being felt in the garment industry, which uses furs as raw material. "Many farmers are already having liquidity problems," says Pirkko Rantanen-Kervinen, managing director of the Finnish Fur Sales Co. Ltd.
01/25/2009 CHILD MATADOR BULLFIGHT SUSPENDED
Child protection and anti-bullfighting campaigners managed Thursday to suspend a battle between a Franco-Mexican child bullfighter and six young bulls due this weekend in southeast Mexico. The city hall in Merida announced the suspension of the bullfight by Michelito, an 11-year-old bullfighting star, against six calves aged from one to two years, or "becerros." The state human rights commission was studying the case following complaints from animal rights groups and child protection officials as well as an appeal for the fight to go on from the bullfighter's father, said Manuel Ibarra, a city hall official. Several bullfights by Michelito were banned in France last summer after protests from anti-bullfighting associations.
01/25/2009 PORTIA DE ROSSI AND ELLEN DEGENERES GO VEGAN
Newlyweds Portia De Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres have become vegans - because they both love animals so much. Former Arrested Development star De Rossi reveals she and her wife went meat and dairy-free late last year - and De Generes' healthy diet choice is already paying off for her. The actress explains, "We just made that shift in our lives. The benefit of it is weight loss. For her more than me. Her body responded to it very well. It is amazing. We are just both very happy. It feels like such a compassionate choice. We are such animal lovers, why stop short of cows and chickens? It didn't make any sense." And De Rossi admits she and her wife have been working towards becoming vegans since their very first date. She adds, "When Ellen and I first got together I was wearing fur and Ellen was wearing very expensive Italian calfskin leather. She was giving me a hard time about wearing the fur and I said, 'Why is a fox any more important than a cow?' We took that idea and went all the way with it. We are doing what we can."
01/24/2009 RI MAN SPARED JAIL TERM FOR ABANDONING 280 RATS
A man who abandoned 280 white rats found dead and dying in crowded carriers was ordered to pay $1,000 restitution and perform 50 hours of community service. Toby Duffany pleaded no contest Wednesday to a single count of animal abandonment. Authorities say the 22-year-old Duffany left the rats crammed into aquariums and cages by the side of a road in Foster last month. By the time they were discovered on Dec. 30, the animals had been there several days, 72 were dead and the survivors had resorted to cannibalism. The living rats were euthanized by the state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
01/24/2009 CANADIAN DELEGATION ASKS EU TO DROP PROPOSED SEAL PRODUCT BAN
Canadian officials, including those from Newfoundland and Nunavut, are in Brussels this week to ask the European Union not to pass proposed legislation that would ban the import of seal products. The Canadian visit to Europe, organized by the federal Fisheries and Oceans Department, is Canada's latest attempt to sway European politicians on the proposed seal ban, which is before an EU committee. Under the proposal, seal products from countries that "practise hunting methods that involve unnecessary pain," also referred to as "cruel hunting," would not be allowed into the 27-nation bloc. Animal rights activists in Europe have characterized Canada's seal hunt as "cruel."
01/23/2009 EUROPEAN CALL FOR ACTION TO ELIMINATE WHALING
The Fisheries Committee is arguing for the elimination of lethal whaling for scientific purposes and the maintenance of the global moratorium on commercial whaling. In a report adopted on Wednesday, MEPs call for the EU to work towards obtaining a "universal agreement" on whaling. Almost one in four cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) species are currently regarded as under threat, with nine species listed as either endangered or critically endangered, and the status of others remains unclear. According to the report drawn up by Elspeth Attwooll (ALDE, UK), although some whale populations have recovered somewhat since the introduction of the moratorium in 1986, others have not and their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions remains unknown.
01/23/2009 5,000 YEAR OLD TRIBE STILL ON VEGAN DIET
There are about 1,000 descendants of the Aryan tribes and they live scattered around Gilgit, Hunza, Kargil and Leh. Being nature worshippers, they celebrate the Bononah (nature) festival and are strict vegans, which means they are not only strictly vegetarian but also don't consume milk or milk products.
01/22/2009 NATHAN RUNKLE NEARLY KILLED IN ATTACK
Nathan Runkle, founder of Mercy for Animals, was brutally attacked Friday night/Saturday morning at a nightclub in Dayton, Ohio. He suffered numerous fractures to his face and was nearly killed. It appears to have been an outright hate-crime, anti-gay motivated attack. After surgery he is expected to do fine, but his attacker has still not come forward or been identified.
01/22/2009 IS THERE A VEGAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
The new President Barack Obama has appointed animal advocate Cass Sunstein to head the relatively obscure, yet powerful Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The regulatory czar, as the position is generally called, is responsible for every regulatory agency in the country, such as the EPA, and will oversee all administration rules. Sunstein is best known for his balanced views between government regulations and cost-benefit analysis and for his theory of behavioral economics and he is widely considered to be a great choice for the office. Sunstein, a vegetarian, co-authored the book Animal Right: Current Debates and New Directions, and has advocated for much stricter regulations of almost every industry that uses animals, including entertainment, clothing, science and agriculture. The Center For Consumer Freedom claims that he will even attempt to outlaw meat-eating and hunting. Sunstein advocates banning hunting unless it is for food and says that animal suffering needs to be a priority of humans.
01/21/2009 HUNTINGDON LIFE SCIENCES TO MOVE BACK TO UK
Huntingdon Life Sciences, the medical research company subjected to a campaign of intimidation by animal rights activists, is planning to relocate back to Britain, eight years after it was forced abroad. The move comes after police success in targeting and jailing those responsible for a ten-year campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), its 1,700 staff and its customers. In 2001, HLS had to relocate its headquarters from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, to Delaware, America, when its bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland [RBS], severed its links with the research company after its staff were threatened with violence. None of the other major banks wanted to take on company as a customer.
01/21/2009 OFFICERS RAID PUPPY MILL
Officers rescued 155 dogs and several other animals found living under ghastly conditions in a puppy mill operation so horrific that it shocked even veteran animal control officers, officials said. A citizen's tip led officials to the residence, in the 43000 block of May Creek Rd in Gold Bar.After obtaining a search warrant, deputies and officers raided the property, where they found many of the dogs stuffed inside small crates and pens overflowing with urine and feces, investigators said. Several dead puppies also were found in a freezer, and two dead dogs were found elsewhere on the premises. Eighty-seven of the dogs were living in a converted attic. Adult dogs and puppies were found living in crates and small pens filled with large accumulations of feces and heavily soiled shavings, said Vicki Lubrin of Snohomish County Animal Control Services.
01/20/2009 TRADITIONAL ELEPHANTS A NO-GO AT PARADE
For the first time in 30 years, elephants will not be part of the annual military parade in New Delhi, an Indian official says. An Indian Defense Ministry spokesman identified only as D. Mohanty said this year's ban on elephants was prompted by security concerns raised during last year's event in the Indian capital, the BBC reported. During last year's parade, two elephants nearly stampeded while approaching the president's platform, Mohanty said. But the Defense Ministry official said the decision to remove the pachyderms from the parade also is a response to animal rights concerns.
01/20/2009 CHINA CONFIRMS TODDLER INFECTED WITH BIRD FLU
A woman in eastern China has died and a 2-year-old girl is critically ill in the north after becoming infected with bird flu, the Chinese Health Ministry said on Sunday. After not reporting a single human infection in almost a year, China has now confirmed three cases of the H5N1 virus in less than two weeks.
01/19/2009 SAINSBURY'S BANS EGGS FROM CAGED HENS
Sainsbury's, the third-largest supermarket chain in England, says it will stop selling eggs from hens kept in tight quarters called battery cages. The grocer plans to only sell eggs from uncaged hens in what is considered a major victory for animal rights groups, which oppose cages, The Times of London reported Saturday.
01/18/2009 CROWS FLEE TEHRAN'S POLLUTED AIR
Tehran's notoriously bad air pollution has long been a health hazard for its 12 million people, but now the toxic mix of fumes has sent a different set of residents fleeing – the city's black crows. Environmentalists say the hitherto pollution-resistant population of crows have fled in large numbers in recent days after air quality reached crisis levels. Unregulated urban development has also destroyed the birds' habitats. The crow exodus occurred less than three weeks after high levels of carbon monoxide and other gases in the air drove off other species of bird, including nightingales and pigeons.
01/17/2009 WHALING SHIP FACES DELAYS IN INDONESIA
Indonesia has become involved in the dispute over Antarctic whaling as authorities delay the repair of a Japanese ship to decide whether it should be allowed into dry dock. The whalers are having to make do without one of three catcher ships, Yushin Maru No. 2, reducing the fleet's killing power for much of the polar season.
01/17/2009 MOVEMENT AIMS TO GIVE NATURE LEGAL STANDING
A growing number of environmentalists and legal scholars are arguing that non-humans such as trees, rivers and animals should have legal standing to defend their rights in court, and that humans should be able to bring lawsuits on their behalf. "If I've got a right to life, you have a duty not to kill me," said Cormac Cullinan, a South African environmental lawyer and the author of "Wild Law".
01/16/2009 CONTAMINATION FEARS OVER TWO-HEADED AUSTRALIAN FISH
Toxic chemical contamination was the likely cause of fatal fish mutations in northern Australia in which thousands of bass larvae spawned with two heads, an expert said Wednesday. Matt Landos, an aquatic animal specialist and member of the Australian College of Veterinarian Scientists, said the mutant larvae at a Noosa River fish farm survived just 48 hours and were dying en masse. Tests had excluded the presence of a virus or bacteria, leading Landos to suspect that pesticides from a neighboring macadamia nut farm were to blame. Chickens, horses and sheep at the hatchery were also experiencing birth defects and foetal deaths at abnormally high rates, he said.
01/16/2009 SHOPPERS INCREASINGLY LOOKING AT WELFARE STATUS OF FOOD
British shoppers are becoming increasingly concerned about animal welfare when buying food, according to the food and grocery think-tank IGD. One fifth of shoppers (20%) now say that knowing about the standards of animal welfare has become one of their key drivers of product choice, which is up from 13% in 2008, according to the survey Shopper Trends 2009. When asked about concerns they have relating to food production, almost half (46%) of respondents mentioned animal living conditions compared with 38% in 2008.
01/15/2009 UN DECLARES 2009 "YEAR OF THE GORILLA"
The United Nations Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals has declared this year (2009) as the "Year of the Gorilla." The declaration is in a bid to help save our endangered "primate cousins," the gorillas, from extinction. The Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals observed that the population of the four remaining gorilla species in Africa is being threatened by rampant poaching, deforestation and the dreaded Ebola virus which is taking a deadly toll on the lives of primates and even humans. According to the UN Declaration, three of the four sub-species of gorilla considered critically endangered are the Cross River gorilla, (about 300 individuals), the Mountain gorilla, (about 700 individuals), and the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (about 80.000 individuals). The fourth specie, the Western Lowland gorilla, about 150,000 in number, is also critically endangered in some of its home countries, the declaration stated.
01/14/2009 DEAD, DISEASED PIGS SOLD FOR FOOD
Six people have been detained in southern China's Guangdong Province for allegedly running a network that processed and sold meat from dead and diseased pigs. Some of the stinking meat seized by law enforcement officials at the scene had been soaked in an unidentified chemical with a strong smell similar to the pesticide DDT, New Express Daily reported. The shop is believed to have been open for more than six months. Most of the pigs had apparently died of foot and mouth, blue ear or ractopamine poisoning.
01/13/2009 NY EATERY FREES ANCIENT LOBSTER
A lobster believed to be some 140 years old is to be freed from the confines of a tank at a New York restaurant. George the giant lobster, weighing 9kg (20lb), will be returned to the ocean, from where he was caught two weeks ago. The crustacean was bought for $100 (£66) by the City Crab and Seafood and quickly adopted as its mascot, posing for pictures with restaurant patrons. But animal rights group PETA sought the lobster's release, and will now put him back into the waters off Maine. He will enter the ocean in the waters around Kennebunkport, where lobster trapping is banned. The approximate age of a lobster can be deduced from its weight.
01/13/2009 US SENATE TO CONSIDER EXPANDING WILDERNESS PROTECTION
Congress is considering whether to set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness in an early showdown that threatens to derail pledges by Senate leaders to work cooperatively as a new administration takes office. The largest expansion of wilderness protection in 25 years has bipartisan support and would include California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, Oregon's Mount Hood, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.
01/12/2009 POACHING AND WILDLIFE TRADE PROVOKES OUTRAGE IN CAMEROON
Meeting on December 17-18, 2008, in Abong-Mbang, some 300 km from the Cameroon capital Yaounde, members of the East Regional Committee for the Fight Against Poaching, including CAMEROON wildlife officials, NGOS like the WWFand GTZ, traders in wildlife, the forces of law and order etc, all expressed concern that such iconic species like chimpanzees, gorillas, sitatungas and elephants were being killed by the day by poachers. The statistics are staggering. In 2008, 60 elephant tusks and 11 elephant tails were confiscated from poachers in the Boumba et Ngoko Division of Cameroon's East Region alone. Axiomatically, at least 30 elephants were killed, going by the 60 tusks. A parrot poacher was arrested with 350 parrot heads, while 12 panther heads and a Sitatunga skin were confiscated from poachers in the Region.Cross-border arms trafficking and the proliferation of arms have been largely blamed for the rise in poaching and wildlife trafficking in the Region.
01/12/2009 PANDA BITES ZOO TRESPASSER
A panda with a record of aggressive behavior attacked a man who jumped into its enclosure at a Beijing zoo to pick up a toy. The nine-year-old panda, Gugu, bit the man on his legs but was driven away by a zoo worker brandishing a broom, the Beijing Youth Daily said. The man, who jumped into the enclosure to retrieve a toy dropped by a child, was taken to hospital and given a rabies shot, but his injuries were light, the report said. This was not the first time Gugu has bitten somebody. Twice before he has attacked people who climbed in to his cage, one of whom was drunk and the other who was simply curious, the newspaper added. Scientists believe fewer than 2,000 giant pandas live in the wild in China.
01/11/2009 CANADA "TWEAKS" SEAL HUNT RULES TO AVERT EU TRADE BAN
Without fanfare, the Canadian government has posted new regulations for its annual seal hunt that will require sealers to ensure the animals are dead before skinning them. The amendments to the Marine Mammal Regulations, which include strengthened federal enforcement, come just over a month after newly appointed Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said Canada is "going straight ahead for the 2009 hunt. We're proceeding as usual."
01/11/2009 MAN KILLED BY FALLING RACK OF CHICKENS
A Polish man (23) has been killed after a rack of frozen chickens fell on him. The tragic incident took place on January 6 at the Cappoquin Poultry chicken processing plant in Ireland. It is believed a rack of frozen poultry collapsed on the man at the same time as he was loading pallets in one of the factory's cold storage rooms, causing severe head injuries. Staff at the generations-old Cappoquin Poultry factory were described as "shocked" following the death, thought to have been the first of its nature there. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is investigating the cause of the accident.
01/10/2009 BRISTOL MAN BEAT DOG AND FED IT LAGER
A Bristol dog guardian who beat his bull mastiff and fed it lager has been given community service. Andrew Wilson, aged 30 of Ringwood Crescent, Southmead, pleaded guilty to beating and giving a dog alcohol when he appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Monday. He was sentenced to 150 hours of community service and banned from keeping warm blooded animals for one year, after an RSPCA prosecution. Wilson has become the first person to be successfully charged under a section of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which covers the administration of poisons or injurious drugs to a protected animal. RSPCA inspector Alan Barnes was called out to rescue Bronx, a five year old Bull Mastiff cross who had been given two thirds of a can of Stella Artois, and been hit over the head. He was taken straight to the RSPCA Bristol Dogs and Cats Home and seen by vet Mandy Stone. Wilson was arrested by police after the incident on June 5.
01/10/2009 SICK ARTISTS EAT COW EMBRYO
Sick artists are to remove a 22-week-old embryo from a living cow and eat it as part of a bizarre exhibition. The artists - at the Wechselstrom gallery in Vienna - plan to carry out the stunt today and serve up the unborn calf with organic wine from local vintners. Organizer Christoph Theiler claimed the calf's mother would not be hurt saying: "The meat is very soft. The embryos are about as big as a cat. It will only take around five minutes. The adult cow will not notice anything."
01/09/2009 SCOTLAND CASS FOR BAN ON MONKEY TESTING
A Scottish MEP has called for a proposed ban on primate testing to be extended to include monkeys used in Scottish laboratories. Labour MEP David Martin said Scotland runs proportionately more tests on primates than any country in the EU. He said testing on monkeys was immoral when other options could be developed. But scientists funded by the Medical Research Council said primates were only used when there was no alternative.
01/09/2009 BUSH DESIGNATES OCEAN CONSERVATION AREAS IN FINAL WEEKS AS PRESIDENT
George Bush will designate nearly 200,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean as conservation areas on Tuesday, recasting his record on the environment just two weeks before leaving the White House. A formal announcement will establish Bush as the leader who has protected more of the oceans than anyone else in the world, environmentalists said. The three regions in the Pacific Ocean encompass some 195,280 square miles of remote and relatively uninhabited island chains. They include pristine coral reefs, vanishing marine species and the deepest place on Earth. Their preservation brought rare praise from environmentalists who have spent much of the last eight years fighting Bush on climate change, air pollution, and wildlife management.
01/08/2009 FISH FARM PLAN "COULD HIT SEALS"
Seals could become extinct off the Isle of Bute's west coast within a year if a fish farm is established off Inchmarnock. That is the claim made this week by animal welfare charity Animal Concern, reports The Buteman. The charity has become the latest organisation to protest against the proposed development ahead of a public local inquiry in February. The charity's objection states that the fish farm, if granted permission, will "undoubtedly cause serious disturbance to and displacement of" a seal colony, as it says the site of the farm is within around five hundred metres of a known seal haul-out site. John Robins, the charity's campaigns consultant, says in his submission to the inquiry that seals will be "drawn to the farm like bees to a honey pot" - and that between 30 and 60 seals were shot in three days at a salmon farm near Lismore sited within a similar distance of another known haul-out site, leading to the installation of permanent acoustic "seal scaring" devices.
01/08/2009 HK CONFIRMS DEAD BEIJING WOMAN HAD H5N1 BIRD FLU
A 19-year-old woman has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Beijing, the Beijing Municipal Bureau and Hong Kong's government said on Tuesday. "The woman fell ill on Dec. 24, was hospitalised on Dec. 27 and died on Monday (at) 7.20 am," the bureau said in a faxed statement. Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection said the woman had had contact with poultry before the onset of symptoms. China's official Xinhua News Agency earlier reported the woman had bought nine ducks at a market in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing.
01/07/2009 MICROCHIPS TO THE RHINOS' RESCUE
All rhinoceros horns in South Africa are to be microchipped in an attempt to curb the "dramatic" increase in the poaching and illegal trade of rhino horns in the country.
01/07/2009 RELIGION ASIDE, MONKEY MEAT NEEDS PERMIT
A federal judge in Brooklyn has rejected a Liberian woman's religious reasons for smuggling endangered monkey meat into the country. U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie ruled that Mamie Manneh's faith didn't preclude her from applying for permits to import exotic food or explain why she misled officials. Manneh was charged with smuggling the meat three years ago after customs agents seized a shipment of primate parts as it passed through Kennedy Airport on the way to her home in Staten Island. Manneh's lawyers claimed a First Amendment right, arguing that some Liberian Christians eat monkey meat for spiritual reasons. She faces up to five years in prison and deportation if convicted.
01/06/2009 MALAYSIA AIMS TO DOUBLE ITS WILD TIGER POPULATION
Malaysia has launched an ambitious plan to double its wild tiger population within 12 years by protecting jungle corridors where poachers prey on the endangered big cats. The National Tiger Action Plan aims to have 1,000 Malayan tigers roaming in the wild by 2020, said Sara Sukor, a spokeswoman for Malaysia's chapter of the World Wildlife Fund, one of several conservation groups that helped the government create the plan. Authorities estimate Malaysia's wild tiger population has fallen from 3,000 to 500 in the last half-century, largely due to illegal hunting and the human encroachment and destruction of the tigers' natural jungle habitat. Tiger meat is exported, served at exotic restaurants and used in traditional Chinese medicine - all illegal acts under Malaysian law.
01/06/2009 ORANGUTANS LEARN TO TRADE FAVOURS
Orangutans can help each other get food by trading tokens, scientists have discovered - but only if the help goes in both directions. Researchers from the University of St Andrews found orangutans could learn the value of tokens and trade them, helping each other win bananas. An article in Biology Letters, claims it is the first evidence of "calculated reciprocity" in non-human primates. Gorillas and chimpanzees were much less willing to co-operate, they report.
01/05/2009 CORAL GROWTH SLOWS SHARPLY ON GREAT BARRIER REEF
Coral growth since 1990 in Australia's Great Barrier Reef has fallen to its lowest rate for 400 years, in a troubling sign for the world's oceans. This could threaten a variety of marine ecosystems that rely on the reef and signal similar problems for other similar organisms worldwide, Glen De'ath and colleagues at the Australian Institute of Marine Science said. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral expanse, and like similar reefs worldwide is threatened by climate change and pollution.
01/04/2009 OPRAH WINFREY NAMED PETA'S 2008 PERSON OF THE YEAR
Oprah Winfrey is an internationally recognized media mogul, the host of the popular Oprah Winfrey Show, and a philanthropist. Oprah uses her fame and listening audience to help the less fortunate, including animals. She has used her show to uncover horrific cases of cruelty to animals in puppy mills and on factory farms, and Oprah even used the show to highlight the cruelty-free vegan diet that she tried! Because of her continued work for animals, PETA named Oprah Winfrey the 2008 Person of the Year.
01/01/2009 DONNA KARAN DROPS FUR FROM HER DESIGNS
Thanks to the hard work of PETA's staff, members, and volunteers and after nearly a year of pressuring designer Donna Karan to drop fur from her designs - by protesting outside her boutiques, crashing her runway show, and exposing her cruel use of fur online - Donna Karan has announced that all her Fall 2009 lines will be fur-free and that she has "no plans" to use fur in the future.
The number of news found: 51.
