FILE – A U.S. P-8A Poseidon reconaissance plane flies near Chinese structures and buildings on the man-made Fiery Cross Reef at the Spratlys group of islands in the South China Sea are seen on March 20, 2022. The U.S. 7th Fleet says a Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait dividing China from the self-governing island democracy and close U.S. partner on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, a day after the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs held their first talks since Nov. 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File) (Aaron Favila, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
TAIPEI – The U.S. 7th Fleet said a Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a day after U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions.
The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release.
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“By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” the release said.
The critical strait is 160 kilometers (100 mile) wide and divides China from the self-governing island democracy. Although it’s in international waters, China considers the passage of foreign military aircraft and ships through it a challenge to its sovereignty.
China claims the island of Taiwan, threatening to defend it by force if necessary despite U.S. military support for the island.
China scrambled fighter jets to “monitor the U.S. plane’s passage” and operated “in accordance of laws and regulations, naval Col. Li Xi, spokesperson for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a report on the command’s official Weibo social media site.
“Theater troops are on high alert at all times to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” Li said.
China routinely issues stern protests and activates defenses in response to the passage of ships and military planes through the straight, particularly those from the U.S.
China also regularly sends navy ships and warplanes into the strait and other areas around the island to wear down Taiwan’s defenses and seek to intimidate its 23 million people, who firmly back their de facto independence.
“By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations. The aircraft’s transit of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows,” the 7th Fleet statement said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, on Tuesday in the latest U.S. effort to improve communications with the Chinese military and reduce the chances of a clash in the region.
It was the first time Austin has talked to Dong and the first time he has spoken at length with any Chinese counterpart since November 2022. The call, which lasted a bit more than an hour, came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China this month for talks.
The activists from state across the U.S. appeared at the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to share their feelings about the video showing the wolf being tortured before it was killed.
One of the activists, Lorraine Finazzo, said on Wednesday that the video of the wolf had left her unable to sleep
Finazzo, who according to Cowboy State Daily had travelled from South Carolina for the meeting, told the commission: ‘Those pictures, I couldn’t sleep.’
Roberts, from Daniel, Wyoming, had captured an injured wolf after hitting it with his snowmobile and paraded it around a bar before he killed it.
Wolf is captured and allegedly abused in rural Wyoming
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Roberts, 42, captured an injured wolf after hitting it with his snowmobile and paraded it around a local bar before killing it. He’s pictured with the animal
Finazzo was allowed two minutes to address the commission along with dozens of others who spoke during the two-hour public comment session.
During her testimony, she said that her family had frequently visited Wyoming, but might not return to the state unless it changes it policies towards wolves.
She added: ‘ The incident [with the wolf] in Wyoming has given me nightmares.
‘Unless there are changes in these laws, we cannot continue to support Wyoming tourism. The laws much change, the world is watching.’
Wyoming native and hunter Jim Laybour told the outlet that the images of the wolf had also affected him.
He said: ‘I can’t get those pictures out of my head’, adding that he wouldn’t ‘give another dime’ to the state until they changed wildlife management laws.
During his testimony he told commissioners: ‘Wyoming hunters will forever be associated with the likes of the wolf torturer in Daniel, and I refuse to be associated with that.’
The outlet reported that many others criticized the practice of hunting animals with snowmobiles or other vehicles.
University of Wyoming professor Donal O’Toole told the meeting he was horrified to hear about the practice via a work colleague.
He said: ‘He told me about chasing coyotes with a snowmobile and running them over. I think we have a cultural problem.’
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Video released on Wednesday by Wyoming Game and Fish Department shows the clearly injured animal lying in the corner of the bar while patrons discuss its fate
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During the meeting with the commission on Wednesday, one audience member said the images of the wolf left her unable to sleep
Montana resident Dave Stalling, who represents Hunters and Anglers for Wildlife Management Reform, said there is a widespread ‘hated of wolves’ among hunters.
He told the meeting: ‘It’s an irrational hatred of wolves. They talk about ‘shoot, shovel and shut up.’
‘The way we manage wolves isn’t based on science. It’s based on fear, lies, misconception and hate.’
Others noted that the incident could ruin Wyoming’s reputation as a leader in wildlife management.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Brian Nesvik told those in attendance that he had ‘dozens and dozens’ of conversations about the incident.
Nesvik added that he would have discussions with Governor Mark Gordon and the legislature about possible next steps.
Witnesses said Roberts dragged or carried the animal through the Green River Bar as patrons looked on. He was hit with a $250 fine on February 29 for his actions
He was not punished for the death of the year-old animal as it is legal in Wyoming to kill wolves.
Video released on Wednesday by Wyoming Game and Fish shows the clearly injured animal lying in the corner of the bar while patrons discuss its fate.
Animal rights groups are calling for the Sublette County Sheriff and county attorney to file felony animal cruelty charges against him.
Lori Wynn, the CEO of Guardians of Wolves, previously told DailyMail.com: ‘The gray wolf is a misunderstood creature.
‘Wolves are not mindless killers. They balance their own populations by conflicting with other packs,’ she said, adding that they also avoid humans whenever possible
‘The innocent wolf that Cody killed mattered,’ added Wynn. ‘She was vital to our environment.’
The group has produced a calling for Roberts to be punished more harshly. It has garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
Roberts’ social media accounts show how he is an avid hunter who frequently hunts wild animals alongside his kids.
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Others, however, conveyed the complete opposite, as the director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department told Cowboy State Daily Monday the agency isn’t being secretive about the torment and killing of the wolf
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon weighed in on the incident saying on social media, ‘Our office has received considerable communication about the actions of an individual involving a wolf that occurred earlier this winter in Sublette County.
‘I want to make my position in this absolutely clear. Cruelty to any wildlife is absolutely unacceptable. This is not the way anyone should treat any animal.
‘I am outraged by this incident, just like thousands of Wyoming ranchers, farmers, sportsmen and sportswoman, and other around the state,’ added Gordon.
‘I would be disappointed if anyone were to paint Wyoming with a broad brush and suggest the Wyoming citizens condone the reckless, thoughtless and heinous actions of one individual.’
In a statement from the commission, they said: ‘By way of this statement, the Commission denounces the actions that were revealed following the (Game and Fish) Department’s investigation of the incident.
‘The actions of the defendant do not represent the value Wyoming people and our Commission have for our incredible and priceless wildlife resources.
‘This incident perpetrated by one individual does not represent a failure in wildlife policy or management.
‘We wish to be clear: We support the investigation conducted by the Department.
‘We recognize and appreciate the work of the Department and the work of the Wardens involved.
‘We’re satisfied that every tool we have available was used, and used to the best of our ability. The Department has acted with transparency and in compliance with Wyoming law.’
A grizzly bear navigates snow near a fence. Photograph via Adams / NPS C.J. Adams
On Sunday, officials with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department were called to some private land near Ten Sleep in Washakie County to investigate a case of livestock predation. They determined that a grizzly bear had been roaming around a ranch in the area for a week, eventually predating on a cow and injuring it. The rancher whose property and livestock were impacted remains anonymous to the public.
This wouldn’t have been huge news in other parts of Wyoming, particularly in the western region where the 1,000-plus grizzlies dispersing from Yellowstone National Park run into conflict with livestock producers, hunters, and hikers all the time. But in Ten Sleep, nestled in the southwestern foothills of the Bighorn Mountains where grizzly bears haven’t lived for over a century, it came as a surprise.
Ten Sleep is on the eastern edge of the Bighorn Basin, on the opposite side of Cody, Lander, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Map via Google Maps.
The subadult male grizzly that attacked the cow had traveled some 80 miles east of the “Demographic Monitoring Area,” WGFD writes in a press release — what they define as “the area considered biologically and socially suitable for grizzly bears.”
The eastern edge of the Demographic Monitoring Area ends west of Cody and Lander, both of which are across the Bighorn Basin from Ten Sleep. Map via USFWS
After consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, WGFD officials euthanized the bear due to its predation on the cow and how frequently it was wandering near the ranch.
Where exactly this grizzly came from remains a mystery. High concentrations of grizzlies exist in and around Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming and Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. (The other four grizzly recovery zones are further west, in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.) But other instances of grizzlies dispersing across whole basins is not unheard of. In July 2023, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks was surprised to discover a grizzly had shown up in the Pryor Mountains south of Billings. A migration between the Pryors and the Beartooth Mountains to the west, which are part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, would cover 30 miles and cross at least three state highways. A grizzly traveling from the southern GYE to Ten Sleep would cover more than twice that distance.
But grizzlies are also capable of covering 20 to 40 miles in a day, FWP writes. That means they could make it to the Bighorns from the southern GYE in less than three days if motivated. Seeing as how the Bighorns offer very little in the way of good grizzly habitat, WGFD director Brian Nesvik says there shouldn’t be concerns about a population establishing there.
“Wyoming’s grizzly bear population is managed and monitored where suitable habitat exists as designated by the USFWS and informed by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team,” Nesvik says in the press release. “The Bighorn Mountain Range is not suitable habitat and the department is not interested in allowing grizzly bears to occupy this area. Their expansion into unsuitable habitat leads to increased conflict potential between bears and humans, which impedes the success of grizzly bear conservation.”
Grizzly bears in Wyoming are a federally protected species and are listed as “threatened.” The 2021 population count for the GYE, a large majority of which is in Wyoming, was 1,069 bears.
This week, we released footage from the most recent undercover investigation of five fur farms, this time in northern China, the source of most of the world’s fur. What we see is what we’ve come to expect with fur farm investigations: foxes, raccoon dogs and mink pacing their cages frantically, a repetitive behavior associated with mental decline, and filthy, feces-encrusted cages packed so close together that the risk of zoonotic disease spread was nearly palpable.
Investigators visited five fur farms in December 2023 in the regions of Hebei and Liaoning. Each farm kept between 2,000 and 4,000 fur-bearing animals in small cages so cramped and crammed together that in some cases the mink or raccoon dogs could touch one another through the wire walls, meaning that diseases can spread very easily. The animals were kept in close proximity to poultry, yet, despite the many hundreds of COVID-19 and avian influenza cases confirmed on fur farms globally since 2020, the fur farmers told the investigators that they don’t routinely sterilize the premises because of the expense.
Once we add animal suffering and public health risks to the immense environmental impacts of fur farming, the whole industry seems nothing less than the height of absurdity. Mink, fox and raccoon dog fur farming and production greatly exceed the environmental impacts of producing other materials used in fashion, according to a study by carbon footprint experts at Foodsteps, commissioned by Humane Society International and reviewed by sustainability expert Dr Isaac Emery.
Fur farm in Dandong in southeastern Liaoning province, China.
A substantial component of fur’s carbon footprint is the vast quantity of animal products fed to animals on fur farms. On several farms, investigators saw large quantities of frozen fish, chicken meat, eggs and milk powder that are ground up into paste to feed to animals. In addition to contributing to fur farming’s carbon footprint, feeding raw chicken meat to animals on fur farms has been identified by EU experts as a biosecurity risk. As Alastair MacMillan, a veterinary microbiologist who viewed the investigative footage observed, “Cases of avian influenza have already been documented on European fur farms and such close proximity between species significantly heightens the risk of avian-to-mammal transmission. The high stocking density of raccoon dogs could also facilitate virus adaptation to mammalian hosts and the selection of virus strains capable of transmitting between mammals.”
As MacMillan also noted, “The sale of raccoon dog carcasses and cooked meat for human consumption also raises concerns about the potential for zoonotic disease transmission.” At one local restaurant, operators confirmed that they cook 42 raccoon dogs a day to sell to local customers.
Fur pelt acquirer in China, 2023.
There is some good news. In 2023 China produced 10 million fox, mink and raccoon dog fur pelts. Even though 10 million animals killed for fashion is a staggering number, this was a sharp decrease from the 22 million pelts produced in 2022, and an 88% drop from a decade ago, consistent with an overall decrease in global fur production. A large number of small- and medium-sized fur farms previously active in the area have closed due to poor sales.
Last week, I responded to claims that fur is making a worldwide comeback with a letter in the Washington Post. In it I wrote, “An industry founded on death is itself dying out.”
It really should, and for that to occur, we need action across the globe, as HSI’s China policy expert Peter Li said after seeing the footage. “Although this investigation took place in China, the animal suffering inherent in the fur trade can also be seen on fur farms across Europe and North America. China exports fur to countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and across Europe, making those nations complicit in this cruelty. The end of this cruel, environmentally damaging and dangerous industry cannot come soon enough.”
In the face of the incredible suffering, danger to public health and the waste of animal life seen on these fur farms, we are calling, once again, for a global end to the fur trade. Please join us and sign our U.S. pledge or our global pledge to stop deadly fur.
Exposing the Big Game 