The four performing bears have retired to Animals Asia’s Tam Dao sanctuary in Vietnam, where they are enjoying fresh foods, lush habitats, and enrichment toysBy Kelli BenderJune 16, 2021 03:38 PMhttps://579afaa23650d59239ab879f0b3763f9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlADVERTISEMENTFBTweetMore
CREDIT: ANIMALS ASIA
Vietnam’s Hanoi Central Circus took a big step towards ending the use of animals in circus performances.
According to a release from animal welfare organization Animals Asia, the circus chose to stop including wild bear performances in their shows and voluntarily handed over their four moon bears to Animals Asia so the nonprofit could move the now-retired performers to a sanctuary.
Hanoi Central Circus is one of 15 circuses in Vietnam to end animal performances over the past several years. Animals Asia sees these changes as a “crucial” move towards better global animal welfare and is campaigning for more circuses to follow suit.
The four moon bears handed over by the Hanoi Central Circus arrived at Animals Asia’s sanctuary in Tam Dao, Vietnam on June 15.
“For the first time in years, these four beautiful bears will have access to wide, open spaces and feel lush, fresh grass beneath their paws. They will be able to express natural behaviors like climbing, foraging for food, digging in the dirt, and playing with their new friends.” Heidi Quine, the bear and vet team director at Animals Asia’s Tam Dao sanctuary, said in a statement.
The new bear arrivals will also be reuniting with old friends. In 2019, Animals Asia successfully campaigned to release two female bears from the Hanoi Central Circus. The animals, which the nonprofit named Sugar and Spice “because of their lively character and the joy they brought to the sanctuary,” moved into the Tam Dao sanctuary that year.
Now, all six of the former Hanoi Central Circus performers are enjoying retirement together. At the sanctuary, the bears are treated to lush habitats, fresh food tailored to their diets, soothing pools, a variety of enrichment items, and life-long health care.
CREDIT: ANIMALS ASIA
Animals Asia’s Tam Dao sanctuary is currently home to 186 bears, but the organization hopes to add more. The charity has been campaigning for the end of animal performances in Vietnam’s circuses since 2014. Their work prompted “the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, the government body responsible for entertainment, to instruct circuses to stop using wild animals in their shows” in 2017, according to Animals Asia’s release.
CREDIT: ANIMALS ASIA
“Attitudes in Vietnam are changing,” Tuan Bendixsen, Animals Asia’s Vietnam director, shared. “Schools are starting to refuse to attend circuses that use wild animals, and over 32,000 Vietnamese people have signed our petition to end the use of wild animals in entertainment. This is a direct result of our tenacious yet collaborative approach to working with authorities and communities.”
A strong recognition of the inherent cruelty to animals in the fur trade
Israel’s ban, which will take effect in six months, came with a strong statement from the environmental protection minister: “The fur industry causes the deaths of hundreds of millions of animals worldwide and inflicts indescribable cruelty and suffering. Using the skin and fur of wildlife for the fashion industry is immoral and is certainly unnecessary. Animal fur coats cannot cover the brutal murder industry that makes them. Signing these regulations will make the Israeli fashion market more environmentally friendly and far kinder to animals.” The ban does allow for a few exemptions for “scientific research, education or instruction, and for religious purposes or tradition,” including fur hats traditionally worn by Orthodox Jewish men. Even so, the ban will prevent the suffering and deaths of countless animals.
Given what our fur farm investigations have revealed—animals repetitively pacing their small cages, suffering from open wounds, with deformed feet and infected eyes—it’s not surprising that banning fur has increasingly come into fashion.
Laying the groundwork for a fur-free future
Israel’s ban sets an important precedent. It lays the groundwork for other countries to follow suit with similar sales bans, furthering the case that fur has no place in today’s world.
We heard rumblings of a fur sales ban in Israel going back to 2010 shortly before West Hollywood became the first city in the world to ban fur sales. That ban led to similar legislation in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Berkeley before California became the first state to ban fur sales in 2019. Now, two towns in Massachusetts—Wellesley and Weston—have joined California by ending fur sales, and the state of Massachusetts introduced a similar bill in February.
The recognition of the gross mistreatment of animals in the fur trade started in the small city of West Hollywood and has now entered the world stage. It shows no signs of slowing down.
Last month, the government of the United Kingdom announced a “call for evidence” for a potential ban on fur imports and sales. The proposal has strong support, with 72% of Brits in favor of ending fur sales and a further 93% against wearing animal fur. Momentum there has been building thanks to Humane Society International’s Fur Free Britain campaign, which asks U.K. leaders to ban the import and sale of animal fur. The U.K. banned fur farming on ethical grounds in 2003, so it makes sense to no longer want to import that cruelty from other countries. Citizens from around the world are encouraged to take part in the call for evidence, including those of us in fur-producing countries such as the U.S., Canada, Finland and Italy where fur-bearing animals suffer for fashion exported to and sold in the U.K. Once the selling stops, the suffering can stop, too.
Adding to this momentum, this month, Estonia became the latest country to end fur farming, joining over a dozen other countries, including the U.K., Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. France is currently debating a ban on mink fur farming, and the Irish government has made a commitment to bring forward legislation this year.
The absurdity of supporting the fur trade after COVID
The time to end the fur trade globally has never been so crucial. We’ve long known the inherent cruelty and environmental degradation that goes hand in hand with caging and killing millions of animals like foxes, raccoon dogs and mink, but now the pandemic has shined a new spotlight on the fur industry’s risk to public health. Israel’s fur sales ban and Estonia’s fur production ban come at a time when supporting the fur trade anywhere in the world seems especially dangerous for human beings and animals alike.
Since April 2020, outbreaks of COVID-19 have occurred on more than 420 mink fur farms in 12 countries—including 16 fur farms in four U.S. states. The virus can mutate as it spreads through fur farms, which could end up reducing the efficacy of vaccines, and evidence shows that mink can transmit the virus back to humans. As infections decline around the world, mink fur farms will still present potential reservoirs for the virus unless action is taken to shut them down.
This is why ahead of the recent G7 meeting in the U.K., we asked governments around the world to permanently end fur farming to prevent future pandemic outbreaks, and we plan to do the same at the G20 meeting later this year. G7 leaders appear to be listening, stating a commitment to adopt a “One Health” approach across all aspects of pandemic prevention and preparedness and recognizing the critical links between human health, animal health and the environment.
“I wanted to address a serious issue: ending the use of fur,” Stella McCartney said upon the launch of her latest collection. “This effort is key to my life’s mission of bringing a conscience to the fashion industry. I am proud to partner with Humane Society International and to help raise awareness of the incredible work they do.”
Many of fashion’s biggest names believe being associated with a product linked to so much animal suffering, environmental destruction and now the potential spread of COVID-19 is no longer worth it. Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Valentino and Saks Fifth Avenue have all gone fur-free this year joining Gucci, Chanel, Versace, Nordstrom, Prada, Macy’s and so many others. These companies are helping drive innovation for alternatives that are better for animals and the planet and are doing their part to ensure that fur never returns as an acceptable trend.
Israel’s ban helps give further fodder to this fight, showing that country-wide bans aren’t only possible—they are necessary. Right now, we have the very real chance to relegate the fur trade to the history books once and for all, and the Humane Society family of organizations are dedicated to making that happen.
Anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers gather at Indiana University’s Sample Gates to protest against mandatory COVID vaccinations that the university is requiring for students, staff and faculty during the upcoming fall semester on June 10, 2021.
In a new study, an international team led by Sebastian Stumpf from the University of Vienna describes a fossil skeleton of an ancient shark, which is assigned to a new, previously unknown genus and species.
This rare fossil find comes from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in England, a series of sedimentary rocks that was formed in a shallow, tropical-subtropical sea during the Upper Jurassic, about 150 million years ago. The fossil shark skeleton was found more than 20 years ago on the southern coast of England and is now held in the Etches Collection. Additional fossil shark specimens from it will be investigated in the years to come.
Over 50 million Americans in eightdifferent states were under heat warnings and watches on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service urged people to remainhydrated and tostayindoors.
Temperatures in many states are forecast to remain above the 90s over the weekend.
A 100-year record broken in Montana. The hottest temperature in a Utah city in 147 years. Dozens of daily records smashed throughout many states.
And the heat wave in the West isn’t letting up.
More than 50 million Americans in eightstates were under heat warnings and watches Tuesday as the National Weather Service urged people to remainhydrated and stayindoors.
Dozens of daily records were smashedMonday and Tuesday stretching from California’s central and inland valleys to as far north as Montana and Wyoming.
Salt Lake City also set another heat record for the second day in a row, experiencing its hottest day of the year…
Zoos and aquariums are just two types of place where members of nonhuman species face lifelong incarceration for the ‘entertainment’ of our species. Many with vested interests are quick to claim that the ‘entertainment’ aspect is only part of the story; that the main reason for imprisoning other species has something to do with ‘education’ or about ‘conservation’, and there’s no doubt that both these words frequently allow a free pass from criticism or even critical thinking for these widespread and lucrative businesses.
Zoos , ‘wild life parks’, and sea world equivalents crop up frequently on social media and one doesn’t have far to look to discover that the folk myths about ‘education’ and ‘conservation’ are alive and well, and have been since long before the days of TV and film.
We may arguably live in at a time when the use of other animals is increasingly frowned upon as…
A new report indicates that poachers may have killed at least 100 more wolves since they lost endangered species protections than previously believed. Alamy Stock Photo
A whopping 2,380 wolf hunting permits—twice as many as are typically issued for hunts in the state—were made available for a quota of 119 wolves in what was supposed to be a week-long season. Less than three days later, more than 200 wolves had been killed, entire wolf families were decimated, and the hunting season had to be shut down early, having gone nearly 100 wolves over the quota.
Each wolf lost in this killing spree had represented hope for wolf conservation in America—and that hope was shattered. Little if any input was sought from Wisconsinites, tribal nations or the scientific community. We led a strong campaign to try to stop the February wolf hunt, sending a letter to the Wisconsin governor, state lawmakers and Department of Natural Resources officials, emphasizing that the hunt would have disastrous consequences for the wolves; unfortunately a court decision forced the hunt to continue. We still believe that the wrongs of this hunt deserve closer inspection, which is why we’ve just published “A call to end wolf trophy hunting in Wisconsin,” in an effort to prevent a repetition of this reckless hunt in November 2021.
One of the deadliest hunts in local memory
We now know that Wisconsin’s February hunt was the second deadliest wolf hunt in Wisconsin’s recorded history, with 218 wolves recorded dead. The best available science indicates that poachers may have killed at least an additional 100 more since wolves were delisted. We also know that nearly half the wolves killed were females. Because it was breeding season, many of them may have been pregnant. More than 85% of the wolves killed were hunted down by packs of dogs—an extremely cruel practice that no other Midwestern state allows for wolf hunting. Hunt participants also used unfair killing equipment such as night vision devices, snowmobiles, traps and snares.
Our report emphasizes that even more wolves died than the state calculated—largely because it failed to account for the tremendous numbers likely killed by poachers. Because of time constraints, hunters could self-report, or report to a local game warden (and not a biologist), the wolves they killed. The state did not require hunters to turn in the dead wolves for analysis, which would have allowed the state to verify the age of the wolf and whether a female was pregnant at the time of her death, among other information. Only 22 of the 218 were voluntarily turned in, and only because the tribal nations had requested to conduct their own research. As a result, the state failed to account for what was likely a substantial loss to the breeding population and for the for the offspring of pregnant wolves who were killed.
We believe that Wisconsin has lost about one-third of its wolf population since they were delisted from federal Endangered Species Act protections in November 2020. These wolves are largely counted using their tracks in snow, which will make it impossible to count the wolf population before the next proposed wolf trophy hunt in November. If that hunt occurs, the future survival of this population of wolves will be in jeopardy.
We conducted a poll of Wisconsin residents, cutting across demographics and including farmers, hunters, all party affiliations, genders and jurisdictions, and found that 68% of respondents think that the November wolf hunt is a bad idea. Some 62% opposed the trophy hunting and trapping of wolves. The majority of respondents believed the February 2021 hunt was “mismanaged” and “reckless” and that the methods to hunt wolves in Wisconsin are cruel and unfair, and 68% stated they are convinced that wolves are sentient, evolved, familial beings who drive ecological processes while keeping their prey herds healthier. And most respondents—even most Wisconsin farmers—did not feel that wolves pose a serious threat to livestock.
This is why we are calling upon Wisconsin officials to stop the proposed November wolf hunt and adopt a hunting quota of zero wolves. And we’re urging the federal government to relist Wisconsin’s wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The fight to reinstate wolf protections
The struggle to save gray wolves spans decades. Nearly eradicated from their native U.S. habitats at the beginning of the 20th century, gray wolves are still absent from about 70% of currently suitable habitat in the lower 48 states. Yet in recent years legislators and wildlife agencies have systematically continued to roll back wolf protections. The carnage of the Wisconsin hunt showed what can happen when wolves are stripped of those protections.
But there are stories that bring hope to the fight for wolves. For the first time in 80 years, wolf pups were born in Colorado. The pups’ parents had immigrated into Colorado themselves, and unlike other immigrants before them, were not shot or poisoned before having the opportunity to breed. In 2020, Colorado residents showed support for wolves in their state by passing a ballot measure mandating the restoration of wolves on public lands in the western region of the state by 2023. The best way to protect the future of this wolf family would be to relist gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act.
David Knowles·Senior EditorMon, June 14, 2021, 12:11 PM·4 min read
A week of triple-digit temperatures made worse by climate change is forecast across much of the American West this week, with records poised to fall in several towns, cities and states across the drought-plagued region.
Scorching summer heat waves, which climate scientists warn will become become more commonplace in the coming decades, result in increased health risks. A study released in May found that more than one-third of the world’s heat deaths are now directly attributable to global warming.
On Monday, 43 million people found themselves under heat alertsin the U.S.
It’s not just the United States that is baking. Temperatures topped a record 125 degrees in the Middle East last week, with five countries seeing temperatures exceed 122 degrees. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noted that the average land and ocean surface temperature across the world was 1.76 degrees above average in 2020 and that the Northern Hemisphere saw its warmest year ever, with temperature exceeding the 20th century average by 2.3 degrees.
“The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 2005, and 7 of the 10 have occurred just since 2014,” NOAA says on its website.
Infographic courtesy of NOAA
Climate scientists have long warned that, thanks to the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere, the number of record-high temperatures being recorded had begun outpacing record lows.
“In a stable climate, the ratio of new record highs to new record lows is approximately even. However, in our warming climate, record highs have begun to outpace record lows, with the imbalance growing for the past three decades,” the nonprofit group Climate Nexus says on its website. “This trend is one of the clearest signals of climate change that we experience directly.”
Analyzing data provided by the United States Geological Survey and NOAA, the homeowners’ website Porch Group published a forecast predicting that, because of climate change, by the year 2080 many counties in the U.S. can expect to see temperatures above 90 degrees over 60 percent of the year.
Webb County, Texas, tops the list with an estimated 218 days above 90 degrees by 2080. Yuma County, Ariz., can expect 217 days per year above 90 degrees, while St. Lucie County, Fla., will break that temperature mark 193 days each year.
With wildfires already springing up months ahead of the traditional fire season in California, the rising temperatures will continue to dry out vegetation and further deplete reservoirs that are already experiencing record low levels.
“With high temperatures, we’re going to get more evaporation and less water to use later on. We’re obviously not going to get much rain anytime soon,” Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, Calif., told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m not sure how much worse it makes it. It’s already pretty bad.”
State Assemblyman Robert Smullen speaks in favor of a local law allowing 12 and 13-year-olds to hunt deer in Fulton County during the Board of Supervisors meeting Monday at the County Office Building in Johnstown. (The Leader-Herald/Michael Anich)
JOHNSTOWN — The Fulton County Board of Supervisors on Monday unanimously adopted a local law authorizing 12 and 13-year-old licensed hunters to hunt deer during hunting season, under supervision of a licensed adult hunter.
The temporary law is effective immediately upon filing and publication in accordance with Section 27 of the state’s Municipal Home Rule Law.
The state is allowing counties to decide whether they want 12 and 13-year-olds sanctioned as deer hunters within their borders.
Hunting for this younger population would allow hunting deer with a firearm — to include rifles, shotguns and muzzle-loaded firearms, or crossbows.
