Deer are again being hunted – killed and sometimes left wounded – in Ontario’s smallest provincial park, Short Hills. Again we stand in opposition to this cull. And that’s what this is. A cull. Ontario Parks wants to reduce the number of deer in Short Hills to 40 – 50 animals as stated publicly for the first time by the park biologist. 

Wildlife management agencies like Ontario Parks and Parks Canada claim that only humans can keep the natural world in balance. The natural world with its millennia of evolution wherein animal populations have adapted to their available habitats cannot be trusted, they seem to believe. Only they, the ‘managers’, complete with their biases that see wild animals as either resources to be exploited or as impediments to be removed, know what’s best. To achieve the artificial concept of ‘balance’ they will engage in the constant killing of wild animals. The yearly killing of white-tailed deer in Short Hills is just that kind of ministry-cull, taking place in a provincial park where wild animals and plants should be protected. And that is the basis for our opposition to this hunt.
 
For decades this small park provided refuge for wild animals from hunting in surrounding areas. Ontario sport hunters kill thousands of deer each year. It’s reported that in 2019 the Ministry sold 186,384 licenses (tags) to hunters. Sadly, there is no shortage of opportunities to kill deer. So why open up hunting in a provincial park, a small park also used by hikers and those just wanting to spend peaceful time in a natural area? Because the Ministry believes there are too many deer. They wrongly believe that deer populations do not exist in balance with available food sources. They wrongly believe that only they can determine the appropriate number of deer. How do we know that they are wrong?  Because when there are too many deer competing for too little food, the population shows signs of stress including weight loss and starvation. The deer killed in the hunt who were examined by park biologists over the past 9 years were considered healthy and in good body condition.

Ontario Parks staff knows that Animal Alliance and the dedicated people opposing the hunt will document its failures to protect the park ecosystem and the animals and plants who depend on it. Parks should be places free from violence, places of peace and refuge for wildlife as well as people, places where plants and animals can escape human exploitation.

Ontario Parks’ mandate is to protect significant natural and cultural resources in a system of parks and protected areas that is sustainable, and that provides opportunities for inspiration, enjoyment and education: now and for future generations.

In reality, Ontario Parks staff manages according to pre-existing ideas of what a park should look like and how many animals should be allowed to live there. The Ministry target in Short Hills to a total of just 40 to 50 deer, means that hundreds of animals are to be killed to reach that goal. Hence the cull.

So once again the controversy continues between those who want to participate in the kill and those who want the park and its inhabitants protected. No one but those of us who stand in opposition to the cull will speak for the animals.  No one else will expose the cruelty of hunting.  No one else will document those deer who were wounded and left to die.  No one else will expose the damage done by the trucks that are allowed to drive into the park and by the ATVs used to pick up dead deer.

We stand for the idea that there should be places of refuge, lands that are safe for animals and humans to share, where non-violence and peace prevail. We cannot stop all hunting but we can fight for the protection of provincial parks and the inhabitants that call the parks their home.

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Lori Rozsa – Yesterday 11:10 AMFollowReactComments|23

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wildlife-officials-move-to-feed-florida-s-starving-manatees/ar-AARzvTT?ocid=msedgntp

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A record manatee die-off in Florida this year has become so dire that federal officials are taking a once unthinkable step — feeding the wild marine mammals to help them survive the winter.© Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP/Getty ImagesWildlife officials move to feed Florida’s starving manatees

More than 1,000 manatees, about 15 percent of the state’s total population, have died this year. But even with a supplemental feeding program — delivering heads of lettuce and cabbage as the manatees gather in their traditional warm-water wintering spots — biologists predict that hundreds more of the iconic species are likely to perish.Women’s Wicked Good Sheepskin Shearling Lined Slippers, Squam Lake Brown 7 M(B) | L.L.BeanAdL.L.Bean

Manatees rely mainly on seagrass, beds of which have been smothered by pollutants along with outbreaks of toxic algae blooms intensified by climate change.

“They’re having a very hard time finding food,” said Patrick Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club. “The majority are quite malnourished.”

A subspecies of the West Indian manatee, Florida manatees were among the first animals to be listed as an endangered species by the federal government in 1967. Numbers had dipped to about 1,000 when Rose and other biologists began a public campaign to save the manatee.

Since then, the manatees have become Florida celebrities. The Florida legislature designated the manatee the state’s official marine mammal; it appears on nearly 50,000 specialty license plates; hundreds of miles of waterways have no-wake zones to slow down boats and guard against collisions with the animals; and manatee observation decks built around power plants attract thousands of tourists every winter. Nearly 40,000 manatees have been “adopted” through the Save the Manatee Club, which was founded in 1981 by singer Jimmy Buffet and then-Gov. Bob Graham (D), who went on to become a U.S. senator.How the U.S. government declared 23 species extinct, in a single day

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will target an area south of the Kennedy Space Center on the state’s central Atlantic coast: the Indian River Lagoon, where more than 500 manatees have died this year. The problem is especially acute in the northern Indian River Lagoon, where roughly 96 percent of 77,000 acres of seagrass have disappeared.© Mark Conlin/VW PICS/UIG/Getty ImagesA group of manatees rests near the warm water effluent of a power plant in Florida.

Manatees flock to the warm water discharged by power plants like the one at Indian River because they don’t survive in water colder than 68 degrees. Historically, they spend winters near springs in Florida where the water temperature doesn’t dip below 68 degrees.

Video: Swim With Manatees at This Florida Resort Every Winter (Travel + Leisure)PauseLoaded: 100.00%UnmuteLQCaptionsFullscreen

“The question is, how do we get them through this winter?” Rose said. “Because there’s no reasonable amount of food available for them within the vicinity of the power plant where they go this time of year to stay warm. So they have this miserable choice between staying warm and forgoing food, or go out and try to find it and essentially die of cold stress.”

While boat strikes have ranked as the main cause of death among Florida manatees, starvation has outpaced boating accidents this year.

The plan approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service would allow limited feeding in the Indian River Lagoon. Rose and others have been asking for permission to feed the animals since early in the year, when emaciated manatees began showing up around the state.

Fish and Wildlife Service officials declined to comment on the plan, which they will announce on Wednesday. At that point, they will outline several key details, including how food will be delivered to manatees without any human interaction. It remains illegal for members of the public to feed the marine mammals.

Manatees can weigh up to 1,200 pounds and measure as long as 14 feet. Rose said the animals need to eat about 10 percent of their body weight every day, and many have been trying to survive on algae.

They’ve also been seen trying to propel themselves so they can eat grass on land along canal banks.

“They’re grazing on any low mangrove leaves they can find, and if there’s a lawn somewhere near where they happen to be in a canal system, they’re trying to eat grass off the bank,” Rose said. “They are struggling.”

Beth Brady, a manatee researcher at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, said the feeding program could help save the lives of malnourished and emaciated manatees and guide future recovery efforts.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Brady said. “This is a man-made problem, and it’s not going to go away quickly. It will be nice to supplement them at least a little bit. This experiment is important to see how manatees are going to respond.”© Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesA manatee swims among sea grass in the Homosassa River in Homosassa, Fla.© Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesSea grass in the Homosassa River. Conservationists, including those from the Homosassa River Restoration Project, plant sea grass in the area to help restore the natural habitat for manatees and provide a feeding ground for the mammals, following a record year in manatee deaths in Florida.

After decades of recovery efforts, the number of manatees in Florida waters reached an estimated 6,620 in 2017, and federal scientists projected they would survive there for another 100 years. That same year, the Trump administration shifted the manatee from an endangered to a threatened species, over the objections of many biologists and environmentalists.

“That signaled to people that the manatee was on the path to recovery, and that it doesn’t need all the help that it once did,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group. “That was done in spite of significant opposition from the conservation community that predicted this type of catastrophe. We had waterways that were in crisis as result of water pollution. So the down-listing in 2017 was premature. And here we are, four years later, and we lost 20 percent of the Atlantic population in just one season.”

The popularity of manatees may help push policymakers to act, Lopez said, but they must move soon.

“You look at a manatee, and it’s like you’re looking at a golden retriever; it looks familiar, it feels safe. They really are just gentle giants,” Lopez said. “But when they’re starving, and you can see their bones, you shouldn’t be able to see their bones. They’re supposed to be chubby, not emaciated.”

By RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press – MondayFollowReactComments|74

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/endangered-whale-gives-birth-while-entangled-in-fishing-rope/ar-AARwRA9?ocid=msedgntp

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Scientists spotted an endangered right whale dragging a length of fishing rope caught in its mouth as it swam with a newborn calf off the Georgia coast, a rare confirmation of a birth by an entangled whale that experts determined they can’t safely attempt to help.© Provided by Associated PressThis Dec. 2, 2021, photo provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources shows an endangered North Atlantic right whale entangled in fishing rope being sighted with a newborn calf in waters near Cumberland Island, Ga. (Georgia Department of Natural Resources/NOAA Permit #20556 via AP)

The baby whale appeared healthy and uninjured when an aerial survey team spotted it Thursday alongside its ensnared mother near Cumberland Island, Georgia, said Clay George, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.Men’s Bean Boots By L.L.Bean, Rubber Moc Tan/Brown 7(EE) | L.L.BeanAdL.L.Bean

It was the second newborn right whale confirmed in the Atlantic waters of the Southeastern U.S. during the species’ calving season that typically runs from December through March.

North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered, with scientists estimating that fewer than 350 survive. Adult females migrate to warmer waters off Georgia and Florida each winter to give birth. George said he’s only aware of one other confirmed report, from January 2011, of an entangled right whale being seen with a newborn — and that one ultimately managed to free itself.

The female whale spotted last week, identified by the unique markings on its head, has been dragging fishing rope at least since March. That’s when it was first reported entangled in Cape Cod Bay, off the coast of Massachusetts. Wildlife experts managed to shorten the rope before the whale headed south, but weren’t able to free it.

Video: Male seahorse gives birth at U.S. zoo (Reuters)ReplayCurrent Time 0:42/Duration 0:42Loaded: 100.00%Unmute0SDCaptionsFullscreenNicole Kidman’s Strapless Tulle Ballgown Was Super Low Cut

“We haven’t seen a chronically entangled whale come down here from up north and have a calf,” George said, adding: “It’s amazing. But on the other hand, it could ultimately be a death sentence for her.”

That’s because the mother whale may struggle both to nurse her calf and still have the energy needed to keep dragging the fishing line while also trying to recover from potential injuries to its mouth, George said. Female right whales typically gorge themselves in the waters where they feed and mate off New England and Canada before heading south to give birth. They won’t eat again until they return — a round trip that can take three months or longer.

Trained responders in a boat approached the mother whale and calf on Thursday. After consulting with other experts, George said, the response team concluded any attempt to remove or further shorten the fishing rope would pose too great a risk to both the whales and the boat crew.

Spotters who scan the waters daily for whales and their babies during the calving season plan to keep an eye out for the pair.

“My concern is she’s still got two pieces of rope, about 20 feet, coming out from the left side of her mouth,” George said. “If those two pieces of rope ended up getting knotted around each other and there’s a loop, you could imagine that calf could end up becoming entangled.”

Scientists and advocates with the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium said in October they suspect the marine mammals lost nearly 10% of their population last year, with their overall number falling to an estimated 336.

Right whales were decimated during the commercial whaling era, when they were hunted for their oil. Now scientists say entanglement with fishing gear and collisions with ships are killing right whales faster than they can reproduce.