By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson

November 9, 2021 0 Comments

The U.S. imports over half of all leopard hunting trophies—like this one seen here—far more than any other country. The HSUS394SHARES

African leopards are magnificently powerful animals who can take down prey animals ten times their size. But despite their strength, leopards are no match for trophy hunters, who go to great lengths to lure the animals to their deaths and bring back their body parts as trophies.

Here’s how a typical leopard hunt goes: Trophy hunters hire a company, a “hunting outfitter,” to put bait, night after night, in the leopard’s territory and bring the hunter to kill the leopard only after the leopard has become acclimated to this food source. The hunter, guided by the outfitter, lurks in the dark night and waits for the hungry leopard to arrive. When the leopard comes to the bait, a bright spotlight blinds the leopard while the hunter takes his shot.

Hunters often miss their mark, wounding the leopard who limps off into the dark bush to hide. Often, the hunter is unwilling or unable to find and kill the animal, who is left to suffer from the wounds.

Who hunts leopards?

The drain of leopards from Africa to the U.S. is a disgrace. Today, Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States, in coalition with a conservation organization, sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect African leopards from the dire threat they face from U.S. trophy hunters.

Poorly regulated trophy hunting, which is the only kind of leopard trophy hunting there is, threatens the survival of the species. There are no reliable population estimates for African leopards, which means it’s impossible to ensure that hunting quotas do not harm leopard populations. Based on the information that is available (such as prey base depletion data), leopard experts say that leopards in sub-Saharan Africa have likely suffered a population decline of approximately 30% over the past 22 years.

Hunters—mostly American and European—go to Africa in droves to kill leopards and bring home their trophies. From 2014 to 2018, the bodies of at least 2,836 African leopards, about 567 per year, were exported as hunting trophies from the countries where they were killed. The U.S. imports over half of all leopard hunting trophies, far more than any other country: 1,488 over the five-year period, or 297 per year on average.

In addition to trophy hunting, the species is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, loss of prey, poaching for illegal trade and direct persecution as livestock predators.

Even though the species receives some protections under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the conservation status of the African leopard continues to decline. While leopards in Asia and northern Africa are listed as “endangered” under the Act, and receive the highest level of federal protections, leopards in 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are listed as “threatened.” In order to import a trophy of a species listed as “endangered,” the U.S. has an additional layer of oversight to determine if the import benefits the survival of the species. Hunting trophies of these threatened leopards, however, are exempt from this critical import consideration. That means that these sub-Saharan leopards are fair game for those cruel trophy hunts.

A short history of our long fight to save leopards

In July 2016, Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States, along with other conservation and animal protection organizations, petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend full endangered species protections to all leopards throughout their range. Enhancing protections in this way would provide much-needed increased federal oversight over leopard imports into the U.S.

The Service was legally required to make a decision on our petition to list all leopards as endangered by July 2017, and yet, four years later, it has still failed to do so, despite acknowledging that such a listing may be warranted. The Service also has failed to respond to our petition to stop exempting leopard trophies from critical import restrictions needed to curb this destructive practice. The lawsuit we filed today challenges the Service’s failure to take desperately needed action to protect the species from the U.S. trophy trade.

African leopards need these protections now more than ever. For the first time in several years, the government of South Africa announced that it intends to imminently open up trophy hunting of its delicate leopard population. As with so many other countries, the leopard hunting quota in South Africa would be divorced from any basis rooted in facts or science.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has an opportunity to ensure that U.S. trophy hunters won’t further contribute to the decline of the species in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent—it’s far past time that it do so.

How you can help

Leopards desperately need protection from American trophy hunters, so we are suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that leopards remain in the wild tomorrow and forever. You can help leopards and other victims of trophy hunting by signing this pledge.

https://assets.scrippsdigital.com/cms/videoIframe.html?&host=www.krtv.com&title=Dog%20gets%20caught%20in%20illegal%20trap%20near%20Giant%20Springs&kw=&autoplay=true&m3u8=https://content.uplynk.com/fec755bb04e3465082096a64f0c0175f.m3u8&mp4=https://x-default-stgec.uplynk.com/ausw/slices/fec/08eb16cf8af2400d815b1b31a3092ff6/fec755bb04e3465082096a64f0c0175f/fec755bb04e3465082096a64f0c0175f_e.mp4&purl=/news/great-falls-news/dog-gets-caught-in-illegal-trap-near-giant-springs&dtrack=1&story=1&contplay=*recent&mute=1&tags=Homepage%20Showcase%2CGreat%20Falls%20News&cust_params=temp%3D%26weather%3D&s=krtvDog gets caught in illegal trap near Giant Springs

By: Asher LyndePosted at 6:46 PM, Nov 08, 2021 and last updated 8:13 AM, Nov 09, 2021

GREAT FALLS — Hunting season has more people outdoors this time of year on public and private land. If you are out and about, there’s a chance you aren’t the only ones there and there may also be traps hidden to catch coyotes or other animals.

Leo, a 2-year-old blue heeler border collie mix, was walking with his owner Tony Bynum just north of the Missouri River several days ago when he went through something that has people asking questions about what to do with trapping.

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Bynum likes to walk his dogs along the north shore of the Missouri River and in Giant Springs State Park, but one recent walk just outside the park has left him concerned.

“My dogs and I occasionally walk over here on the north side of the Giant Springs State Park and we were just up along where the power lines are, and all of a sudden Leo started yelping. So I just ran back over there and I got right next to him and realized his paw was in a coyote trap. My first instinct of course was to get him out, but as I sort of knelt down to open the trap and let his foot out, he bit me on the hand and then on the arm pretty bad, and he was really scared,” Bynum recalled.

Leo is recovered now, but the situation has raised some eyebrows on trapping in the area and what you can and can’t do. The traps were found on private land where the owners do not allow trapping, making it illegal, but if you get permission, you can do it safely.

Dave Hagengruber from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks says to always ask private landowners for permission to be on their property. He also says he has not heard of anything like this happening in recent history and added most hunters and trappers are good about following regulations.https://ad6c7a3402296b0155d30d994b70fcb9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

“Me personally as a dog owner I keep close tabs on where my dog is and if I know there’s trapping going on I’m extra cautious with that. If it’s on private land, you ask permission from the landowner to gain access. I’ve asked that when I’ve gone out to hunt again, with my own dog, I’ve asked are there any traps out? Is anybody trapping? It’s good to be prepared,” Hagengruber said.

Bynum plans to continue to walk his dogs as usual and wants to give trappers the benefit of the doubt because the traps are made for coyotes and not pets, and he knows that no one wants to hurt someone else’s pet.

“Trappers do this. I mean they’re not trying to hurt people or their pets. I don’t think they’re malicious or anything. I’m not against trapping but I think we’re getting a little close to town and you know, I think it’s time to revisit some of this trapping activity that’s so close to town,” Bynum said.

FWP says trapping is not allowed in Giant Springs to ensure visitor and pet safety and that it is important to stay up to date on regulations on what you can and can’t do. They also require you to keep your pets leashed while within park boundaries. If you have questions about trapping or hunting regulations, you can contact an FWP regional office, or click here to visit the FWP website.

https://www.krtv.com/news/great-falls-news/dog-gets-caught-in-illegal-trap-near-giant-springs

Celebs, plant-based burgers and faddishness have shrouded the fact that a true “frugal gourmet” lifestyle is plant-based https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/your-money/forget-the-bougie-image-plant-based-eating-is-the-cheap-tasty-way-to-save-us-all/

Brian CooleyNov. 8, 2021 2:17 p.m. PTLISTEN- 04:15

This story is part of The Cost of Climate Change, CNET’s coverage of how the changing climate impacts a range of financial issues.

Let’s face it, a plant-based diet is often associated with showy elitists willing to spend money to make a point, which is odd since plant-based foods are the least expensive way to eat well.

The cost perception of a plant-based diet has certainly been muddled by pricey, headline-grabbing burgers made from plants. And animal meat is really cheap, absurdly, perversely so, thanks to a long history of industrial advances similar to those that have allowed cars, televisions and computers to proliferate. Combine those two in the average consumer’s mind and “plant-based diet” quickly seems like something best left to Beyonce or Bill Clinton.

A recent survey of 1,072 Americans found that a plant-based diet was about $23 a week less expensive than one with meat (and that scales with household size) even though most of us assume the opposite. Much of that misperception might be due to the blurring of plant-based food vs. plant-based processed food.https://www.myfinance.com/r/d902abc3-0a4e-42ef-8e09-c0a605028c92?utm_campaign=ad3b331869f71b12bed5529c0972c00bbe48044d&utm_medium=embed&selector=%23myfinance-top&csid=f304f729-01d4-4913-9754-02ec9733b1a0&caid=c4c889b0-ffda-4fb3-b0de-c3a6fcf80ae1&ciid=94088d75-8100-4dab-9b9b-b71b638cf1b9&tenant=wk_1jbobeCiGVIPZaBX3yXqhexRwuy&srckey=src_1jbobeEHGTZmBD9QsSnBOaHCzpy&cxsid=4a38fccf-75ea-4f7f-ab8c-92216adec254&placement=945992e478&imre=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY25ldC5jb20vcGVyc29uYWwtZmluYW5jZS95b3VyLW1vbmV5L2ZvcmdldC10aGUtYm91Z2llLWltYWdlLXBsYW50LWJhc2VkLWVhdGluZy1pcy10aGUtY2hlYXAtdGFzdHktd2F5LXRvLXNhdmUtdXMtYWxsLw%3D%3D&_mfuuid_=da4fee74-a995-470e-a352-d30949a82c67&width=618&subId=prod%7Ca2020250-0373-4082-b984-523a1916ef50%7Cyour-money%7Cnull%7Cdesktop

Whole foods

Highly processed plant-based food like new alternative meats and cheeses, while very impressive, are often more expensive compared to animal products. That’s where the savvy diner will discern between processed and whole foods. There’s nothing radical here: The standard food pyramid has long been composed primarily of minimally-processed vegetables, fruits and grains, long before Beyond Sausage and Impossible Burgers existed.

The standard food pyramid has always been primarily plant-based and economically so.Wikimedia

Whole food plant-based eating doesn’t get any more basic (or cheap) than variations of rice and beans, a long-enjoyed combination that even Consumer Reports says “is one of the healthiest dishes you can eat … combined they make complete protein, supplying all the essential amino acids found in dairy, meat, poultry, and fish.” From a meatless San Francisco mission style burrito to a vegan version of Brazilian Feijoada or Jamaican rice and peas, rice and beans does not require compromising your dining.

There are so many tempting pasta and vegetable combinations that you can fill a kitchen shelf with cookbooks devoted to them. And I would hazard a guess that, in most American homes, such pasta dishes have an easier road to acceptance at the dinner table since they print “Italian” more than “plant-based.”

All manner of nutritious potatoes, bean stews, grilled tofu and seitan round out an arsenal of ingredients with as much variety as a conventional diet — but at lower cost and waste. Plant-based cookbooks are no longer aimed at hippies establishing communes, with top-tier titles like Ottolenghi’s gorgeous Plenty, Linda McCartney’s prescient cookbooks and collections on Bon Appetit leading a long list that yields beautiful dishes, not plates of bland green stuff. 

The hurdle of the “minimally viable meal”

I have a hack theory called the “minimally viable meal,” which recognizes that most people feel meat anchors the center of a plate in any proper meal while confirming a subconscious sense of financial well-being — not just dietary satiation. The age-old saying “putting meat on the table” confers more about household income than diet, though. Having meat on the table is what persuaded the Joad family’s patriarch in The Grapes of Wrath to stay in an exploitative work arrangement rather than join fellow migrant workers striking for a livable wage: “Tonight we had meat, not much, but we had it. You think Pa’s gonna give up his meat on account of some other fellas?”

Meat therefore ends up defining the parameters of dining, often leaving plant-based diets as underdogs in a clear-eyed analysis of nutrition vs. tradition. How can the cost and nutritional merits of plant-based eating be considered if the gut reaction is to rule them out? This is the kind of long game plant-based diets have to play.

How to shop

If you’re ready to clear your mental deck and economically migrate to a plant-based diet, here are the best tips:

• Rice, beans, grains and pasta are cheap, crave-able and never go bad. (Get over the old idea that carbs make you fat: They don’t.)
• Buy vegetables and fruit in season, not off-season oddities that have the cost of shipping from another hemisphere built in.
• Watch the “alt meats”. I hate to say this, because I really like them, but if saving money is your main focus, plant-based burgers and sausages aren’t quite there yet. Enjoy occasionally.
• Cook for two: Two meals, not two people. Making double of any dish and storing half for later in the week is cheaper than making just a bit more than you need and either throwing out the remainder or letting it go bad in the fridge as it waits for a time when it’s enough to do something with.
• Don’t conflate “plant-based” with “organic.” This happens all the time, but they’re different concepts. Unless you specifically want organic food, buy conventional and save money.
• Spend on key seasonings: Buy good oil, quality salt and fresh herbs. These go a long way toward elevating any dish and are worth the money.

If you love extravagant meals there’s a growing list of fine restaurants that can accommodate, as well as my elegant plant-based Scrambled Eggs James Bond. But if you can live better for less, why wouldn’t you?

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/09/world/cop26-pledges-climate-change-analysis/index.html

Updated 10:28 AM ET, Tue November 9, 2021Young protestors demonstrated in Glasgow, Scotland, on Friday to demand climate action from world leaders at the COP26 summit.

(CNN)The world is on track for 2.4 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels, if not more, according to a new analysis — despite countries’ new and updated climate pledges, including those made at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland.The watchdog Climate Action Tracker (CAT) warned on Tuesday that global greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 will still be roughly twice as high as what’s necessary to limit warming to 1.5 degrees — a threshold scientists have said the planet should stay under to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis.The net-zero goals of 40 countries account for 85% of global emissions cuts, but the group found only 6% of those emissions were backed up by concrete plans.

Reality check: Here’s what the COP26 deals actually mean for our future climate“It’s all very well for leaders to claim they have a net zero target, but if they have no plans as to how to get there, and their 2030 targets are as low as so many of them are, then frankly, these net zero targets are just lip service to real climate action,” said Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, in a statement. “Glasgow has a serious credibility gap.”https://1697c276f5bbe9d143707fa8aedd3370.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Delegates from around the world are gathering at COP26 to attempt to limit the climate crisis. While there were several breakthroughs in the first week of negotiations, experts warned the deals may not meet the urgency of the moment — specifically, that they won’t bring the world closer to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.

“There’s a lot of big statements, which don’t have the details underneath: exactly when, how much, who’s going to do what,” said Helen Mountford, vice president for climate and economics with the World Resources Institute.Enter your email to sign up for the Wonder Theory newsletter.close dialog

Want to stay updated on the latest space and science news?We’ve got you.Sign Me UpBy subscribing you agree to ourprivacy policy.More than 130 countries that represent more than 85% of the planet’s forests pledged last week to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030, in what was seen as the first big deal of the COP26 summit. When destroyed, forests can emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The agreement included some of the world largest carbon stocks locked away in tropical forests.

5 takeaways from Day 8 of COP26: Obama swipes at Trump, big fossil fuel producers block progressIn another breakthrough, more than 25 countries have so far signed on to an agreement to stop financing fossil fuel projects abroad. But critics say it doesn’t go far enough and should include financing for fossil fuel projects at home, not just internationally.Christine Shearer, the program director for coal at Global Energy Monitor, called the deal “a game changer,” but stressed that fossil fuel projects must be stopped within these countries’ own borders, too.

Under current policies — not proposals, but rather what countries are actually doing — CAT projects global temperatures to climb to 2.7 degrees.If all net-zero pledges are fully implemented, CAT reported the most optimistic scenario would be warming of 1.8 degrees, which would require bold and rapid action by 2030. Still, countries’ climate targets for 2030 remain inadequate, according to the analysis.