News
The number of news found: 24.
01/31/2014 STUDY FINDS CLIMATE CHANGE IS ANOTHER DANGER FOR PENGUINS
Life has never been easy for just-hatched Magellanic penguins, but climate change is making it worse, according to a decades-long study of the largest breeding colony of the birds. The chicks are already vulnerable to predation and starvation. Now, the study at Punta Tombo, Argentina, found that intense storms and warmer temperatures are increasingly taking a toll. "Rainfall is killing a lot of penguins, and so is heat," said P. Dee Boersma, a University of Washington scientist and lead author of the study. "And those are two new causes." Climate scientists say more extreme weather, including wetter storms and more prolonged periods of heat and cold, is one impact of a climate that is changing because of emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While monitoring the penguin colony, Dr. Boersma and her colleagues also documented regional temperature changes and increases in the number of days with heavy rains.
01/30/2014 MEAT PRODUCTION IS MAJOR CAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Greenhouse gas emissions from meat production are significant and need to be reduced, according to a recent report published in the January 2014 issue of Nature Climate Change, a scientific journal and featured in the February issue of Food Nutrition & Science. The report looked at the detrimental effects of meat production on climate change from non-CO2 greenhouse gases emissions, which contribute to about a third of total emissions. Methane (CH4) is the most abundant of these non-CO2 gases. Worldwide, livestock accounts for about 14.5 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, with cattle contributing the most. Ruminants like cattle, sheep, goats and buffalo that eat plants and digest them in a multi-chambered stomach contribute 11.6 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Cattle specifically contribute 9.4 percent.
01/29/2014 COW FARTS CAUSE EXPLOSION ON GERMAN DAIRY FARM
The flatulence of 90 cows blew the lid off of a dairy farm in Germany this week. High levels of methane – the gas that is emitted through the cows' farts and burps – caused the eruption, which included "flashes of flames," according to local police, damage to the roof, and injuries to one cow. Animal agriculture is the number one contributor of methane emissions in the United States, according to the EPA. Scientists have traced global warming back to the high amounts of methane that come from factory farmed animals. That methane has proven to be 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in our atmosphere, say the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. A powerful and effective step to contribute less to global warming is to adopt a vegan diet.
01/29/2014 CALF ESCAPES MEAT-PACKING PLANT JUST TO BE SHOT BY OFFICER
A yearling calf that escaped from a Butte meat-packing plant had a brief taste of freedom before being shot as it made a break for the Interstate. The Montana Standard reports passersby spotted the escaped calf at about 1 p.m. Monday. Undersheriff George Skuletich says the calf "ran all over the place for a while," was spotted outside of the hospital emergency room and charged at an officer. Authorities tried unsuccessfully to lasso the animal and ended up shooting it when it ran toward the Interstate. Skuletich says the carcass would likely be returned to Ranchland Packing Co., where it was to be slaughtered.
01/28/2014 LOSING BIG CARNIVORES MAY BE AS BIG A THREAT AS CLIMATE CHANGE
An epochal study published this month in the journal Science paints a truly frightening picture of a world without large carnivores, and a couple of Californian predators play a leading role. The study, "Status and Ecological Effects of the World's Largest Carnivores," examined more than 100 recent surveys of the roles that the world's largest predators play in shaping the ecosystems that they live in. They found that removing predators from an ecosystem can cause that ecosystem to unravel, with effects ranging from increase in pest animals to rivers changing course. The paper is a compelling confirmation of something wildlife biologists have long suspected, and the implications for California, where predators large and small have been systematically removed for more than 150 years, are troubling.
01/27/2014 ITALY RAISES CONCERNS WITH JAPAN OVER DOLPHIN HUNT
Italy has formally raised concerns over a controversial dolphin hunt in Japan's Bay of Taiji, urging officials to "reconsider" the event. Italian Ambassador in Tokyo Domenico Giorgi sent his message, "in the spirit of deep friendship" that he said unites the two countries, asking the Japanese minister of agriculture and fisheries to think about ending the hunt. Other nations including the United States have also raised concerns about the Taiji event, part of an annual hunt season that runs from September through March.
01/24/2014 PAMELA ANDERSON TO NETANYAHU: BAN FUR SALES IN ISRAEL
Actress and animal rights activist Pamela Anderson is asking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to endorse a bill banning the sale of clothes made of animal fur. Fresh off a honeymoon in Israel, Anderson sent a letter to Netanyahu urging him to support the legislation. If passed, it would make Israel the first country in the world to impose a national fur clothing ban. More than 40 lawmakers have endorsed the bill, promoted by the Israel-based International Anti-Fur Coalition. Netanyahu previously has expressed views sympathetic with the animal rights movement, after reading Hebrew University historian Yuval Noah Harari's book "A Brief History of Humankind." The prime minister came to realize that animals had consciousness, he confided to a startled Knesset. He was also horrified by the mass extinctions caused by man, adding that he and Sara rarely eat meat. In her letter, Anderson said the way animals "suffer and die for fur violates Jewish principles." She added that by passing the bill, "Israel would set an example of compassion for the rest of the world to follow."
01/23/2014 JAPAN TO SEEK US UNDERSTANDING FOR DOLPHIN HUNTING
Japan plans to seek the understanding of the United States about traditional dolphin hunting in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga gave the government's response on Monday to a Twitter message from US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy. Kennedy wrote in English and Japanese on Saturday that the US government opposes drive hunt dolphin killing and is deeply concerned about its inhumanness. Suga told reporters that dolphins and other sea mammals are important marine resources and that the government thinks they should be used in a sustainable way, based on scientific evidence. He said dolphin hunting is one of Japan's traditional ways of fishing, and he understands that it is conducted appropriately. Dolphin hunting in Taiji was critically portrayed in "The Cove," a US documentary that won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2010.
01/22/2014 MORE THAN 200 DOLPHINS AWAIT SLAUGHTER IN TAIJI
Thanks to the considerable efforts of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and their team of "Cove Guardians," the world is watching as more than 200 dolphins await their fate in the killing cove of Taiji, Japan. This site, made famous by the 2009 Academy Award-winning film "The Cove," is where fisherman earlier last week cornered the bottlenose dolphins - a horrific practice that's a precursor to an eventual mass slaughter. "They tighten up the nets to bring each sub-group together then the skiffs push them toward the tarps. Under the tarps in the shallows is where the trainers work with the killers to select the 'prettiest' dolphins which will sell and make the best pay day for the hunters," the group said. "But the process is brutal and stressful. Some of them die from injuries incurred during the manhandling or simply the stress."
01/21/2014 THE CUTE BLIND DOG XANDER HELPS VICTIMS OF CHILD ABUSE
Xander is almost two years old and he's a service dog from Oregon. He's also blind and unbelievably adorable. Last January, Xander was admitted to a local animal shelter. He was was adopted a few days later by Rodney Beedy and his wife and officially certified as a service dog. Xander provides comfort to those victims of child and spousal abuse. "A lot of times he'll hear a child crying at an event and he's bolted several times, at least 500 feet over to this child to comfort them," Rodney said. Rodney stresses that Xander may be disabled, but he’s just like any dog - if not even more self-reliant. He joked that a lot of other dog owners are peeved at just how well-behaved Xander is. "He's been in a crowd of kids, 20-30 kids at a time, and it doesn’t affect him at all," Rodney said. "He just goes right in, with the flow, every day." Rodney said that Xander is shockingly capable and follows him around without a leash, just following the sound of footsteps.
01/20/2014 ALYSSA MILANO HELPS TO RESCUE ABUSED KOREAN PUP BREAD FRO DOG-MEAT SLAUGHTER
Alyssa Milano is being hailed as a hero after she played an important role in saving an abused dog in South Korea. In April 2013, CARE, a South Korean animal rescue group, found a neglected dog attached to a pole with sores all over her body, RadarOnline reported. The Jindo-mix dog was being bred for dog-meat slaughter. Workers from CARE reached out to the Fuzzy Pet Foundation, a rescue organization based in California. They asked for help in finding the pup, who they named Bomi, a home, but struggled with the funding, according to People. That's when Milano, who has 10 rescue horses and four rescue dogs of her own, stepped in and agreed to cover the costs of Bomi's flight, the outlet reported. It took a while, but Bomi flew to Los Angeles on Nov. 12, according to the Fuzzy Pet Foundation's Facebook page. The pooch has been successfully placed in a foster home. "I am thrilled to have brought Bomi to safety," Milano told RadarOnline, "and look forward to the day she finally gets adopted to a forever home."
01/18/2014 ICELANDIC BREWERY USES WHALE MEAT IN CONTROVERSIAL BEER
To the horror of conservationists world-wide, an Icelandic brewery has announced that it is concocting a special beer, flavored with real whale meat, to celebrate an upcoming mid-winter festival in honor of the Norse god Thor. Iceland is one of only seven nations in the world to still practice whaling. This new novelty beer, which has a 5.2% alcohol content, contains whale oil which is collected when the meat is boiled down. The byproducts of this process will most-likely be sold locally as animal feed. While the brewery continues to defend its new seasonal beer as a short-lived and purely cultural item, conservationists refuse to accept this reasoning and say that the new brew damages a recent declining trend in whaling.
01/17/2014 U.S. SENTENCES RHINO HORN TRAFFICKER TO 14 MONTH PRISON TERM
On January 10, 2014, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson of the Eastern District of New York sentenced Irish national Michael Slattery Jr. to 14 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act in relation to rhino horn trafficking. He was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and forfeit $50,000 in illegally acquired proceeds. Slattery was arrested in 2013 as part of Operation Crash, a nationwide multi-agency crackdown on rhino horn trafficking. He came to United States in 2010 for the purpose of acquiring rhino horns for the illegal market.
01/16/2014 GROUND BREAKING COURT DECISION MAKES PALM OIL COMPANY PAY $30 MILLION AND ORANGUTANS SMILE
This news is for the orangutans! Recently, a ground-breaking precedent was set in an Indonesian court when a judge fined a palm oil company $30 million for destroying protected peat forest - a place orangutans call home. In the Meulaboh district court, it was ruled that the palm oil company PT Kallista Alam was guilty of violating environmental law by illegally burning and clearing forest within Tripa peat swamp, a protected forest in northwestern Sumatra. Out of the $30 million that the judge fined Kallista Alam, $9.4 million is for compensation and the other $20.6 million is for the restoration of the damaged areas. Along with this fine, Indonesia will now fully enforce a nationwide moratorium on new plantations in rain forests and peatlands, which was just extended another two years back in June 2013. The overall goal of the moratorium is to reduce deforestation and also to establish a complete map of the forested areas, which can then be used for future planning.
01/15/2014 WEST AFRICAN LION FACES EXTINCTION
To many, the mighty lion is the face of African wildlife and one of the most recognized predators across the world. But despite sitting on top of the food chain, the lion is a vulnerable species and a new report concludes that the African lion is facing extinction across the entire West African region. The new study reveals that the West African lion is down to a population estimated at 250, and these individuals are restricted to four isolated populations.The paper, published in the journal PLOS One, was led by Panthera's survey coordinator Dr Philipp Henschel and co-authored by an international team including Oxford University's Professor David Macdonald and Dr Lauren Coad. It is the result of a six-year survey, covering 11 countries where lions were presumed to exist over the last 20 years.
01/14/2014 78-YEAR-OLD VEGAN MALE BODYBUILDER WILL MAKE YOU RECONSIDER YOUR DIET
78-year-old vegan male bodybuilder Jim Morris, PETA's most senior pin-up, posed as iconic statue "The Thinker" for PETA while aged 77, which forms part of his brand-new campaign "Think Before You Eat." Probably the greatest advert ever for ditching meat and animal products in favour of a vegan lifestyle goes on to encourage viewers to "muscle your way to better health" – and a reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and strokes – by going vegan. Jim says that his health greatly improved after he retired from competitive bodybuilding in 1985 – which is all down to his decision to become vegetarian and, later, vegan. After changing his dietary habits, he feels better than ever. He encourages others to adopt the vegan lifestyle, so they can feel as good as he does.
01/13/2014 INTENSIVE MEAT PRODUCTION DEVOURING LAND AND RAW MATERIALS
The current industrialized meat and dairy production system is "untenable" and needs a radical rethink to reduce its impact on the environment, according to a new report. Published by Friends of the Earth Europe and the Heinrich Boell Foundation, the report says that since the current system depends on scarce land and water resources, meat and dairy production is having an increasingly devastating impact on society and the environment. The Meat Atlas aims to catalyse the debate over the need for better, safer and more sustainable food and farming. It also advocates clear individual and political solutions and calls for a loosening of corporate control over food.
01/11/2014 CHINESE GANG INJECTED POLLUTED POND WATER INTO LAMB MEAT
Seven members of a Chinese gang have been arrested for allegedly injecting dirty pond water into lamb meat to swell its weight and boost profits. The suspects slaughtered up to 100 sheep per day at an illegal warehouse and allegedly pumped up to 6kg of bacteria-ridden water into the dead animals, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. The meat was then sold at markets, food stalls and restaurants in major cities such as Guangzhou and Foshan.
01/10/2014 CHINESE HEALTH NUTS "BIGGEST THREAT" TO INDIA'S BENGAL TIGERS
Traditional medicine in China has Indian poachers slaughtering Bengal Tigers in greater numbers and shipping their body parts up north for cold hard cash. Although the tiger population in India is actually on the rise, there is an alarming increase in poaching of the country's big cats. Interpol says the trade in illegal wildlife products is worth some $12 billion a year. India is home to the world's largest tiger population, making it a major source market for the illegal wild animal trade. India has roughly 1,706 tigers, according to the last official estimate taken in 2011. Work on the next tiger census started in December. Research spans 500,000 square kilometers of subtropical forest where 90% of India's tigers live. Over 2,000 experts work with forest officials to count the tiger population. Worldwide, the WWF estimates there to be around 2,500 Bengal tigers. Tiger parts are sold at Chinese medicine shops in China, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Chinatowns in North America and Europe. Chinese demand for tiger body parts for traditional medicinal purposes has increased poaching in India by more than 15% in 2013.
01/09/2014 JAPANESE WHALE POACHERS KILLED WHALES INSIDE WHALE SANCTUARY
The Sea Shepherd Fleet has located all five vessels of the Japanese whale poaching fleet, including the Japanese factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Sea Shepherd has obtained compelling footage and images of three dead protected Minke Whales on the deck of the Nisshin Maru, taken at the time the factory ship was first located. A fourth whale, believed to be a Minke, was being butchered on the bloodstained deck. The Japanese whale poaching fleet operates in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in contravention of the 1986 global moratorium on commercial whaling under the guise of scientific research. In June 2013, the government of New Zealand joined the Australian government's challenge to the legality of Japan's whale hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary at the International Court of Justice. A judgement on the case is yet to be delivered.
01/08/2014 VINCE VAUGHN TRIED VEGANISM, STILL AVOIDS DAIRY
Actor and comedian Vince Vaughn wanted to take control of his health so he quit smoking, followed a vegan diet and started running. He told Metro, "I quit smoking, my wife had a baby and I had an injury, so I put some weight on. But then I got to a place where I was just ready to be disciplined. I was vegan for a little while and took up running. I try to avoid dairy but I still have the occasional piece of pizza." Back in 2012, Vaughn was even trying to get his friends in on the plant based goodness and workout routine. Vaughn follows in a long line of celebrities who have adopted a plant based diet to bolster their health. Most famously Bill Clinton, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robin Quivers were all motivated by the benefits of ditching animal products.
01/07/2014 CONTROVERSIAL IDAHO HUNTING CONTEST ENDS WITH NO WOLVES KILLED
A controversial hunting contest in Idaho targeting wolves and coyotes has ended with nearly two dozen coyotes killed but no wolves shot, though rancor over the event remains undiminished. The coyote and wolf derby was promoted by ranchers and hunting enthusiasts as a form of family recreation aimed at reducing the number of predators threatening livestock and big-game animals like elk prized by hunters. It was condemned by conservationists as cruel and unsportsmanlike. The weekend hunt on national forest land ringing the Idaho mountain town of Salmon drew 250 contestants seeking cash and trophies in categories ranging from bagging the largest wolf to shooting the most female coyotes. Children as young as 10 were invited to compete in a youth division.
01/03/2014 INDIA'S RICHEST MAN BANS SALE OF MEAT IN HIS GROCERY STORES
It was recently announced that Mukesh Ambani - India's richest person - will shut down his meat-selling business in India, just six years after it began sales in 2007. So far, Ambani, who is a vegetarian, has shut down the meat sales at around 100 of his grocery stores across the country. What prompted this move? Well, to begin with, many people in India abstain from meat. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in 2012, India consumed around two kilograms of meat per capita versus around 44 kilograms per capita in the United States. Though a "dedicated and segregated supply chain was maintained" for the meat-selling area of Ambani's stores, "it was felt that certain sections of customers were still hesitant to shop at our other stores," said a spokesman for the company. According to blog post on the Wall Street Journal, PETA India is a huge supporter of Ambani’s move, despite his earlier decision to sell meat in the first place.
01/02/2014 FALSELY-LABELLED HORESEMEAT SEIZED IN BELGIUM
Belgium health authorities on Dec 26 reported the seizure of 16.8 tons of horsemeat, part of it linked to a fresh food scandal in France involving meat not supposed to wind up on people's plates. France informed Belgium of the delivery to a Belgian firm of 17.5 tons of falsely-labelled meat from horses that were used by scientists to help produce anti-rabies and other serums. Police made a score of arrests earlier this month in southern France following a tip-off that 200 horses, including 60 owned by pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, had ended up in abattoirs after their veterinary certificates had been falsified. Belgian food safety agency AFSCA said in a statement that the meat had been integrated into "a larger consignment of 82 tons of horsemeat." Of the 82 tons, which included both regular horsemeat and horsemeat carrying false papers, 63.6 tons were "distributed across all of Europe," in particular in France and the Netherlands, AFSCA said.
The number of news found: 24.
