PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man has died after falling from a cliff in Westmoreland County.
The call came in around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday for crews to respond to a rescue in New Alexandria off McChesney Road. The Westmoreland County coroner said a hunter was checking his traps and fell down a steep embankment.
He was discovered by family members. The coroner identified the man as 63-year-old Paul Berger.
It is more than a year since avian flu began to devastate wild birds in large numbers, and conservationists are fearful of what 2023 will hold. The highly infectious variant of H5N1 has causedEurope’s worst bird flu seasonand has spread across the globe with little sign of slowing.
In the UK, there were reports of some great skua dying from the H5N1 variant in the summer of 2021 but the mass die-offs started in theautumn and winter. More than a third of Svalbard barnacle geese in the Solway…
GREEN RIVER — Two Texas men have lost their hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for 5 years in 48 states after they pleaded guilty to numerous charges related to illegally killing antelope in Wyoming, according to a press release from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Matthew Adams, 26, and Carl Denmon, 25, of Texas, have pleaded guilty to numerous wildlife crimes, resulting in over $31,000 in fines and restitution. Each man was sentenced to and served 30 days in jail, and 11 1/2 months of unsupervised probation. The men also lost their hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for five years. Because Wyoming is a member of the wildlife violator compact, the men are suspended from hunting, fishing and trapping in 48 states. Adams and Denmon also were made to surrender the firearms used in committing these crimes which…
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Fur Harvesters Association will be hosting the inaugural Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) Trapper Workshop Jan. 20-21 at Buffalo Ridge Refuge in Humphreys County.
Instructors at the camp are outdoor women who will teach the fundamentals of trapping, snaring, fur handling, and tanning animals. The two-day workshop is free, but registration is mandatory, and participation is limited. Registration may be madehere.
Check-in for each of the training camps will begin with registration on Friday from 5-7 p.m. Friday with classroom instruction from 7-9 p.m. Saturday’s session will begin with breakfast at 7 a.m. with instruction to begin at 8 a.m. Lunch also be provided at noon and instruction will resume from 1-5 p.m.
On-site primitive camping is available, and participants must provide their own camping gear, have appropriate clothing, and bring…
Coroner David West said Matthew Roach, 40, of Elgin, died.
West said Roach was a member of the hunting club.
The accident is under investigation by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office and the Kershaw County Coroner’s Office.
FILE – Confiscated shark fins are displayed during a news conference, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Doral, Fla. In 2022, the U.S. House and Senate passed identical versions of a proposed shark fin ban as part of a broader defense spending bill that President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law. Once he does, it will be illegal for Americans to buy, sell, transport or even possess foreign-caught fins — something ocean conservation activists have long sought. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. is poised to ban the lucrative trade in shark fins, a move conservationists hope will help protect millions of sharks that are butchered every year to satisfy demand in China and other parts of Asia.
The practice of shark finning, whereby sharks are caught for their fins and their carcasses then dumped back into the ocean, has been banned in U.S. waters for decades. But the U.S. remains a major hub for the brisk trade where the fins of as many as 73 million sharks are cut off around the world each year.
The House and Senate passed identical versions of the proposed ban as part of a broader defense spending bill that President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law. Once he does, it will be illegal for Americans to buy, sell, transport or even possess foreign-caught fins — something ocean conservation activists have long sought.
“Our ports are no longer open for business for shark fins,” said Gib Brogan, campaign director with the ocean conservation group Oceana. “That will take them out of the supply chain and we expect it to disrupt the global fin market.”
But some scientists who study shark fisheries aren’t so certain. They believe the legislation will have little impact on the trade in shark fins and will only serve to shut down a regulated American fishery for shark meat and other legal products.
U.S. shark fisheries, although small, are well managed, and removing the country from the fin trade could encourage more exploitation of sharks in parts of the world where it’s less sustainable, said Robert Hueter, senior scientist emeritus at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida.
“It’s putting the wrong people out of the fishery, creating opportunities for those that are doing it the wrong way to have more market share,” Hueter said. “People think this is going to solve the problems, and it’s not.”
While not all sharks are killed just for their fins, none of the other shark parts — such as its meat, jaws or skin — can compete with fins in terms of value. Depending on the type of shark, a single pound of fins can fetch hundreds of dollars, making it one of the priciest seafood products by weight.
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Kevin Wark, a shark fisherman based in New Jersey, said the new rules have the potential to put fishermen out of business.
“I understand there might be a lot of illegal fishing in the South China Sea and around the world, and there might be a couple incidents in the U.S., but there’s a lot of hardworking, honest guys here,” Wark said.
However, conservationists say the U.S. must act forcefully to encourage other countries to take similar steps, much in the way the U.S. ban on the ivory trade has been pivotal in protecting African elephants. The fin ban, first floated in 2017 by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, is similar to action already taken by Canada.
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Overfishing has led to a 71% decline in shark species since the 1970s. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, a Switzerland-based group that tracks wildlife populations, estimates that more than a third of the world’s 500-plus shark species are threatened with extinction.
At an international wildlife conference in Panama last month, governments from around the world extended trade restrictions to more than 90 shark species that are increasingly being hunted not only for their fins, but also their meat, some of which ends up in pet food.
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This story was corrected to reflect that the fins of as many as 73 million sharks are cut off each year, not that 73 million fins are cut off.
Two dogs and a magpie have formed an unlikely friendship with deep bonds. Peggy, a Staffordshire bull terrier, her pup Ruby, and Molly the (male) magpie flock together at their home in Queensland, Australia. They enjoy naps, outdoor adventures, and singing (barking) in each other’s presence. They don’t have to be doing much to have a good time—the mark of a true friendship.
Peggy and Molly met two years ago when Juliette Wells and her partner Reece found the baby bird abandoned at a dog park near their home. It was during magpie breeding season, and the couple saw the tiny creature wandering the park. They were concerned about it and waited there for hours to see if the bird’s parents would come back to help it. Much to Juliette and Reece’s dismay, they never did.
With Molly alone in the park, the couple knew they had to act. They took the magpie back to their home and contacted friends in a wildlife rescue. Unfortunately, none of the rescues had the capacity to take in the bird, so Juilette and Reece decided to care for Molly with guidance from their animal rescue friends. The humans’ loving care helped Molly thrive, and she didn’t want to leave their nest. Juilette and Rece are so glad she decided to stay.
Peggy was, understandably, unsure of how to handle the new baby bird in the house. But after a few days, she became curious and the two formed a friendship. As Molly grew, Juliette began sharing their bond on social media where the unusual and sweet relationship continues to gain a lot of attention.
“I love to describe them as ‘acceptance, love, and unity’ despite their differences,” Juliette tells My Modern Met. “We call it our modern-day Pooh and Piglet story.” Ruby was added to the mix later on, and she and Molly became instant friends.
The living situation is not without its challenges. Peggy is protective of Ruby, and Molly can be aggressive when it’s the magpie mating season. To ensure that things remain calm and safe for everyone, Juliette and Reece make sure that the animals have the space to be themselves. For Molly, in particular, this means having access to the outdoors with other wild birds.
Follow the trio on Instagram to see what they’re up to next. You can even purchase a calendar and be reminded of their friendship month after month.
Two dogs and a magpie have formed an unlikely friendship with deep bonds.
Peggy, a Staffordshire bull terrier, her pup Ruby, and Molly the (male) magpie flock together at their home in Queensland, Australia.
They enjoy naps, outdoor adventures, and singing (barking) in each other’s presence.
They don’t have to be doing much to have a good time—the mark of a true friendship.
Juliette Wells and her partner Reece found Molly in a park near their home and took in the then-baby bird.
Now, the animals’ popular Instagram account shares a peek into their lives.
“So Far We Have Survived Nuclear Armageddon By Luck” Paul Craig Roberts
“The long lucky streak can’t go on forever. President Reagan understood this and focused on ending the Cold War. This achievement has been overturned by the evil neocons operating through the last three US presidents.” click here for additional P.C.R. sourced article Ticking Closer to Nuclear Midnight.
“In a nuclear war, immense nuclear firestorms in burning cities would create millions of tons of thick, black, radioactive smoke. This smoke would rise above cloud level and quickly surround and engulf the entire Earth. The smoke would form a stratospheric smoke layer that would block sunlight from reaching the surface of Earth for a period of about ten years. Heated smoke in the stratosphere would cause massive destruction of the protective ozone layer. Huge amounts of harmful Ultraviolet light would penetrate the smoke and reach the surface of…
PANJIM: The State government has order probe into the incident wherein a leopard was killed after getting trapped in a wired snare near Kopordem village.
A carcass of full-grown leopard was found near Kopordem village on Friday early morning. Forest officials informed that the male leopard died after getting caught in the trap.
Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane has ordered an investigation into the incident and has assured to take harsh measures.
In a tweet, Rane informed that directions are issued to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) to conduct an investigation to track down those responsible for laying wire snare traps for wild animals.
“We will take harsh measures against those involved. Such action will not be tolerated,” Rane said.
The Minister said that the protection of wildlife is an important aspect of the forest department and under the Wildlife Protection Act, the government is committed…
Temperatures were expected to moderate across the Northeast and Midwest Tuesday after days of frigid weather from “the blizzard of the century” left at least 62 dead nationwide and caused Christmastravel chaos. Around half of those deaths were in Erie County, New York, where Buffalo is located.
Blizzard conditions persisted in parts of the Northeast — the stubborn remnants of a sprawl of extreme weather that gripped the country over several days, causing widespread power outages, travel delays and deaths in nine states, according to official figures.
In New York state, authorities described ferocious conditions, particularly in Buffalo, with hours-long whiteouts, bodies being discovered in vehicles and under snow banks, and emergency personnel going “car to car” searching for survivors.
The perfect storm of fierce snow squalls, howling wind and sub-zero temperatures forced the cancelation of more…
