A professional outdoorsman in Utah is facing felony criminal charges for allegedly helping Donald Trump Jr. shoot a bear illegally during a guided hunting expedition. Wade Lemon of Wade Lemon Hunting hosted Trump for the outing in May 2018. According to the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Lemon illegally baited the bear for Trump with “a pile of grain, oil, and pastries.” Trump is not listed as a defendant in the case, and is believed to not have known that the integrity of his hunt was compromised. Of the hunter, Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings actually said he was “a victim and now a possible witness in a fraudulent scheme.” The Salt Lake Tribune reportsthat Trump was in Utah for the hunt to support Hunter Nation, an organization that promotes hunting and gun rights; the organization later formed a PAC that spent nearly $100,000 in anti-Democrat advertisements during Donald Trump’s 2020 election. If found guilty, Lemon—whose hunting outfit has been investigated at least eight times for criminal conduct—could face five years in prison. He told the Tribune that he was surprised by the allegations. “As far as I knew everything was above board,” he said.
It is with great relief that as of July 27th, 2022, I have ceased my employment and cut all ties with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (USA).
Since 1977, when I founded Sea Shepherd nearly a half century ago, I have dedicated my entire life to the aggressive and determined preservation and protection of biodiversity of marine life and our ocean.
Over the last few years, I have been slowly marginalized from the organization that I created in the USA. I was removed from the Board of Directors, my advice ignored, my close associates terminated and directors that supported me were removed. I was reduced to being a paid figurehead, denied the freedom to organize campaigns and the freedom to express the strong opinions that I have held for decades, opinions and campaigns that have shaped what Sea Shepherd has become and continues to be outside the borders of the United States.
As I said in the documentary movie Watson, my role is to rock the boat, to make waves, to provoke people to think about the damage we are collectively inflicting upon diversity and interdependence of life in the ocean.
The current Board seeks to turn our vessels away from confronting illegal poachers that prey on endangered species and instead seeks to turn our fleet into non-controversial research vessels. Research has always been a part of Sea Shepherd efforts, but it has not and should not be our priority. What we have provided is a unique function: a fearless leadership to intervene against poachers on the high seas, to document and to stop illegal acts that would otherwise go unnoticed and unchallenged. Sea Shepherd has always, and must always go where others fear to go, to say the things that must be said and to tackle the obstacles fearlessly and with great resolve.
The new direction that the present Board of Sea Shepherd USA has decided upon is not a path that I can in good conscience support nor participate in. I have not changed my objectives or resolve, and I refuse to change and adopt an approach that diminishes the incredible movement that we have created over the last four and a half decades, a movement that continues to grow outside the borders of the United States.
I remain a director of Sea Shepherd Global, and I remain a supporter of Global ships, officers, and crew. Together with all other national Sea Shepherd entities, with the exception of the USA, I will continue to support our campaigns around the world utilizing our unique philosophy of aggressive non-violence and cooperation with governments and NGOs.
We are Sea Shepherd. We are direct action motivated by imagination, persistence, and courage.
My future lies with the people from around the world who have made and continue to make Sea Shepherd the most influential, passionate, and effective marine conservation movement on this planet.
Captain Paul Watson
Founder – Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Canada (1977)
Founder – Sea Shepherd Conservation Society USA (1981)
Meet Potato, the adorable earless rescue cat and social media sensation
This is Potato, the rescue cat who had to have his ears removed due to persistent tumours (Picture: Media Drum World)
Such hunts form a traditional part of the Faroe Islands’ history but are widely condemned by wildlife organisations.
The Sea Shepherd organisation, which filmed the latest massacre, said in a statement: ‘This dolphin hunt, and indeed the killing of all pilot whales and dolphins in the Faroe Islands, is simply disgraceful and will rightly cause further national and international outrage.
‘Once again, some of the animals show cut marks from boat propellors where boats ran into, or over them.’
Despite widespread horror at last year’s slaughter – some suggested the UK cut trading ties with the Faroe Islands in retaliation – hunts have still continued.
Islanders are said to be divided on the practice, known as grindadráp hunts.
Fishing remains a key industry for locals and the whales and dolphins killed during grindadráp are meant to be dispersed across the community rather than exported.
Many have urged campaigners to respect their culture and have vowed to continue the hunts.
Due to the remote nature of the islands in the North Atlantic Ocean – northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway – many traditions have remained uninfluenced by modern society.
But the hunts, of dolphins and pilot whales, has been condemned by animal rights groups and branded ‘barbaric’.
He said: ‘The justification that we get on an ongoing basis is that this is for food, despite the fact that the Faroe Islands is one of the richest countries in the European economic zone.
The singer’s plane has taken 170 flights so far in 2022 with an average flight time of 80 minutes, leading to a total flight time of more than 380 hours. With average use of jet fuel estimated as 128 gallons per journey, her total CO2 emissions clocked in at 8,293 tons, according to the data.
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MOUNT JOY, Pa. —
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration on Wednesday announced a new grant program for poultry farms hit by the avian flu.
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The avian flu directly impacted 17 poultry farms in Lancaster and Berks counties, causing a loss of more than 4 million birds. As the farms work to recover, the governor said he wants to help.
The commonwealth’s new HPAI Recovery Reimbursement Grant Program provides $25 million to farmers in the control zone.
Farmers whose flocks tested positive for avian flu or those who couldn’t conduct business as usual because of their location can apply for the funds.
“Secretary Redding’s team at the Department of Agriculture and my team at Treasury are already working together to ensure that the process is as smooth as possible, so when applications are reviewed and approved by Agriculture and sent to my office for payment, we’re going to cut those checks right away and get the funds into the field,” Treasurer Stacy Garrity said.
Pennsylvania has a $7 billion poultry industry with more than 26,000 jobs relying on it. The state ranks fourth overall in egg production and leads the US in organic egg and poultry sales.
Avian flu update
As of July 27, all avian flu control areas have been lifted.
The General Quarantine Order is still in place, enabling the state to place additional restrictions on infected farms to control the spread of the disease. The prohibition on exhibiting poultry at fairs is also still in place.
A record-breaking bird flu outbreak has hit the Swedish west coast, leaving hundreds of wild birds dead. Local authorities are just starting to take action despite the problem existing all summer.
A northern gannet. (Wolfgang Vogt/Pixabay via Courthouse News)
GOTHENBURG, Sweden (CN) — Tourists wandering along Sweden’s west coast this summer may come across more than a fresh ocean breeze and the delicious smell of cooked fish on shore.
Swedes and visitors alike have stumbled upon many dead birds in recent months and see others behaving in unnatural ways. A record-breaking outbreak of bird flu on the west coast is a major threat to wild bird populations.
“It is justified to talk about a disaster,” Anders Wirdheim, chairman of the city of Halmstad’s ornithological association, told local broadcaster SVT, after hundreds of dead northern gannets had been discovered in a short amount of time. Most of them were infected.
“If [the outbreak] continues, and it seems like it will, then the situation is serious,” Wirdheim said, adding “if 7,000 birds disappear in a colony, it is fair to call it a catastrophe. That is the scenario we see right now, with a risk of this becoming a recurring event.”
According to researchers, the current outbreak is an entirely new scenario in Sweden. While the bird flu can occur all year round, it usually slows during summer months and peaks in the winter season in Sweden.
It is the second year in a row that the virus is spreading rapidly in the summer.
“What we are seeing now, with the continued spread of infection and high morbidity and mortality among wild birds in the middle of summer, is a completely new scenario. There are therefore many indications that the coming season will also be problematic, with an increased risk of outbreaks also in domestic birds,” Karl Ståhl, state epizootiologist at the Swedish National Veterinary Institute, told SVT.
Birds infected with the flu virus display unnatural behavior before they die. Observers have witnessed terminally ill swans circling around themselves and geese flying irrationally up and down.
The bird flu reaches the brain and causes severe inflammation. When it hits the central nervous system, it causes the bird to lose control of its body.
Sweden’s Public Health Agency says the current type of bird flu is not dangerous for humans, as there is a very low chance the virus will jump into people.
Other than northern gannets, guillemots and razorbills are among birds registered dead with the virus.
In the southern archipelago of Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, local hunter Tommy Berntsson shoots sick birds to “end their suffering.”
He has tried to figure out where to throw the infected dead birds out, but local authorities have not provided him a clear answer when he calls them.
“I’ve just been thrown around, no one wants to take responsibility,” Berntsson said and added, “I don’t think the authorities take the issue seriously.”
An anonymous island resident told SVT that the lack of guidance on how to handle the dead birds forced her to find her own solution, as it is not allowed to throw the birds out as normal waste. She said that she collected and drove the dead birds out to dump them on islands and islets.
According to Wirdheim, a critical part of fighting the outbreak is removing dead birds from the shores. It is important that people use gloves when handling the birds and put them in plastic bags for destruction, he said.
The city of Gothenburg admits to a lack of clarity regarding procedures for how disposal of the birds should be handled. Authorities are currently discussing how to manage the dead birds, but said they will start collecting the dead birds in the archipelago.
“We will prioritize it with the resources we have available,” said Morgan Davidsson, the municipality’s sector chief.
The Swedish Agency for Agriculture is scheduled to present its recommendation to handle the situation to Swedish municipalities on Thursday.
Europe as a whole is experiencing an unprecedented extensive outbreak of bird flu, according to the Swedish National Veterinary Institute.
The Wolf Forgiveness Bonus Program aims to reduce the number of wolves killed near livestock farms.
The group Howling for Wolves is offering farmers up to $750 for each cow killed by a wolf in Minnesota, in addition to state reimbursement payments, but only if the livestock owner doesn’t call-in federal trappers to kill the wolf.
HOPKINS, Minn. — Every year in Minnesota, upward of 150 wolves are trapped and killed under a federal program to reduce predation on livestock at northern Minnesota farms and ranches.
But the group Howling For Wolves is offering farmers extra cash if they choose not to call in the federal government to do the trapping.
The Wolf Forgiveness Bonus Program, announced Tuesday, would pay livestock owners $600 per calf and $750 per adult cow…
Residents of Reese Street in the Hunting Park Section of Philadelphia opened a fire hydrant during an intense heat wave on July 20, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Philadelphia health officials are confirming at least four deaths related to recent extreme heat. According to a Department of Public Health spokesperson, heat was the main factor in one person’s death and contributed to three others.
The four deaths are all listed as accidental in nature. Two of the victims suffered from heart disease, while another one died from drug intoxication with heat playing a factor. The department declined to release the ages of the deceased. Here are details as provided by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health:
A Japanese city has been forced to hire a special unit to hunt troops of aggressive monkeys that have been terrorizing residents for weeks — with the savage simians even sneaking into people’s homes and trying to snatch babies.
At least 58 people have been attacked by the primates — Japanese macaques — in Yamaguchi, a city about two hours west of Hiroshima, since July 8.
According to reports, the macaques aren’t interested in food, so traps haven’t worked. They have targeted…
UpdatedJul. 28, 20224:21PM ET/PublishedJul. 28, 20222:42PM ET
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Larry Rudolph, the multi-millionaire dentist who’s accused of murdering his wife Bianca on a 2016 hunting trip in Zambia and framing it as an accident to bank millions in insurance cash, testified in federal court Wednesday for the first time.
Rudolph vehemently denied accusations he killed his wife to receive a $4.8 million payout and finally be with his supposed lover, Lori Milliron, who faces an obstruction of justice charge herself.
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Defense attorneys claim the ordeal was a tragic accident, with Bianca mistakenly shooting herself around 5 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2016, as she frantically packed a loaded gun into its case to return…
Exposing the Big Game 