The next pandemic?: Bird flu spreads like wildfire across Asia

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Edited By: Gravitas desk WIONNew Delhi, India Published: Jan 14, 2021, 10.11 PM(IST)

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Compulsory flu vaccination for poultry has protected China for now but the virus has still killed wild swans in the country.

Bird flu cases are growing at an alarming rate in Asia. The continent’s poultry farmers are facing an unprecedented situation. Birds are being culled and people are staying away from poultry meat. 

It is the worst such outbreak in the region’s history. From Japan to India, the deadly virus is affecting birds across farms. Millions of chickens, ducks and turkeys have been culled. Poultry prices have dropped to an all-time low.

And Asia’s farmers are staring at an unprecedented crisis. While bird flu is common in Asia during this time mostly due to migratory patterns. New strains of the virus have become more lethal. This makes countries on the flight path especially vulnerable.

In India, at least 10 states have reported cases of bird flu. Over 850 cases of bird deaths have been reported in the national capital. In Rajasthan– over 4,000 birds died because of the flu. The Uttar Pradesh government has banned poultry from other states till January 24.

In Kerala, tens of thousands of birds were culled last week. Maharashtra has detected avian influenza in crows as well. Chicken prices in India fell almost a third last week. Wary customers have steered clear of meat.

Not just India, Japan too is dealing with its worst outbreak. A quarter of all prefectures are affected. More than 3 million birds have been culled so far. South Korea also dealt with an outbreak at a duck farm. With the virus strain being similar to the one in Japan.

Compulsory flu vaccination for poultry has protected China for now but the virus has still killed wild swans in the country.

Countries like Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have been spared for now. But continue to face risks due to the movement of goods. What makes the virus even more dangerous is its contagious nature. Infected birds have to be culled to contain the spread. But amid all this- the biggest question is can we consume poultry meat?

According to governments, there is nothing to be worried about. The World Health Organisation says it is safe. That you will be safe if you eat well-cooked meat. However, health experts are not convinced. They are concerned about a species jump. This is when a virus strain moves from one species to another. In this instance — it could be from birds to human beings.

It has happened once in 1997. While human to human transmission has not been detected yet it cannot be ruled out.

The last time, a virus jumped species tt led to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump strips protections for Northern Spotted Owl

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Published January 15, 2021

https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/conservation/trump-strips-protections-northern-spotted-owl/?fbclid=IwAR2ju82YWUvvaEcEq7FjiHGGvYPZn22lKnpuHiskGAWiOBwKaFODHiphvQA

Northern Spotted Owl
Northern Spotted Owl. Photo by Shane Jeffries/U.S. Forest Service

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Just last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said the Northern Spotted Owl needed to be reclassified from threatened to endangered, reflecting continued loss of the old-growth forests it needs to live — particularly on private and state lands — and the on-going spread of the invasive Barred Owl, which competes with the Spotted Owl.

The Trump administration declined to uplist the bird, and this week, it pounded another metaphorical nail in the owl’s coffin. On Wednesday, FWS published a final revised critical habitat designation for the Northern Spotted Owl that excludes nearly 3.5 million acres, mostly in Oregon, from federal protections. This is a massive increase from the 204,653 acres in Oregon the FWS proposed to exclude in August.

“Even in its final week, the Trump administration is continuing its cruel, reckless attacks on wildlife at a breakneck pace,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This revision guts protected habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl by more than a third. It’s Trump’s latest parting gift to the timber industry and another blow to a species that needs all the protections it can get to fully recover.”

Section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act requires the Service to balance the benefits and costs of designating areas as critical habitat and consider excluding areas if the costs are too high. The Service did not conduct a new economic analysis but rather relied on a 2012 analysis that found some incremental costs of designating in terms of lost timber harvest. The agency reversed its own previous conclusion that the benefits outweighed the costs.

This is consistent with a recent rule put out by the Trump administration that emphasized giving additional weight to economic costs raised by industries in making critical habitat designations and which the Center for Biological Diversity, along with partners, will challenge.

Based on this analysis, the new critical habitat revision excludes approximately 3,472,064 acres, cutting acres of protected critical habitat originally designated in 2012 by more than a third.

“Excluding millions of acres of federal land will do little to help rural communities in Oregon, but it’ll be another nail in the coffin for the Spotted Owl,” said Greenwald. “Instead of trying to prop up a declining timber industry, we should be doing more to restore forests to save our climate and avoid the extinction crisis. There’s so much work to do in the woods, and much of it is a lot better for the environment than logging.”

Thanks to the Center for Biological Diversity for providing this news.

Trump guts Migratory Bird Treaty Act in ‘parting gift to the oil and gas industr

2020 Is Tied for the Hottest Year on Record, NASA Says

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People watch the Walbridge fire, part of the larger LNU Lightning Complex fire, from a vineyard in Healdsburg, California on August 20, 2020.
People watch the Walbridge Fire, part of the larger LNU Lightning Complex fires, from a vineyard in Healdsburg, California, on August 20, 2020.

BYSharon Zhang, TruthoutPUBLISHEDJanuary 15, 2021SHAREShare via FacebookShare via TwitterShare via Email

2020 Is Tied for the Hottest Year on Record, NASA Says

2020 tied with 2016 for the hottest year on record, signaling a dangerous trend in the ongoing climate crisis, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) announced on Thursday.

The year’s global temperature average very narrowly exceeded that of 2016, but not by a statistically significant amount,according to NASA. The average temperature was 1.02 degrees Celsius above the baseline mean and represents an alarming amount of warming,according to experts.

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Other organizations have also reported similar results for 2020’s average temperature.The

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Tell The Fish and Wildlife Service Not To Partner With The NRA

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Gray wolf

Trump’s outgoing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwith just signed an agreement to work with the NRA to recruit and train more Americans to shoot wild animals.

Tell the Service this agreement is unacceptable and must be broken immediately.

This partnership will allow more animals to be shot — paid for by the agency tasked with protecting wildlife while funneling taxpayer dollars to a far-right gun-industry mouthpiece.

Throughout its anti-wildlife term, the Trump administration has moved to expand trophy hunting. It created an illegal wildlife council rigged with trophy hunters and issued permits to import body parts of threatened leopards and lions.

The administration moved to increase hunting of bobcats, mountain lions and foxes in more national wildlife refuges across the country and now wants to arm and train more people to gun down animals.

With wolves across the lower 48 no longer federally protected, more states could hold wolf trophy hunts this year.

This last attack runs directly counter to the purpose of the Service. In no way should it use its position as wildlife’s protector to enlist more Americans to hunt and kill wildlife.

The agreement between the Department of Interior and the NRA should be torn up and cancelled immediately.

Tell the Service to end this partnership with the NRA right away.

Petition: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/oW6Lb8rt00GW7LQc0ohwtA2?fbclid=IwAR2x3VloaWS0RpYw9BzKaNyOAa28bv_rykKa9MJwZLtfcJeESIgNEctKXBs

Armed protests being planned at all 50 state capitols, FBI bulletin says / States Brace for Armed Protests in Wake of U.S. Capitol Attack

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States Brace for Armed Protests in Wake of U.S. Capitol Attack

Simon Romero, Kathleen Gray and Danielle Ivory  29 mins ago

States Brace for Armed Protests in Wake of U.S. Capitol Attack (msn.com)

‘You are violating my rights!’ Florida woman jailed — again — for refusing to…4 Things You Should Never Do Now, Warns Dr. FauciStates Brace for Armed Protests in Wake of U.S. Capitol Attack

Bracing for the potential of violent protests in the days leading up to the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, state officials are calling up National Guard troops, erecting imposing fencing and shutting down Capitol grounds in response to the F.B.I.’s warning that armed protesters could target the capital cities across the country.a group of people standing in front of a building: California Highway Patrol officers walk outside the California State Capitol Friday in Sacramento ahead of potential weekend protests.© Max Whittaker for The New York TimesCalifornia Highway Patrol officers walk outside the California State Capitol Friday in Sacramento ahead of potential weekend protests.

A…

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Teen Injured In Hunting Accident

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January 15, 2021| byKarla James

Lancaster County Sheriff’s deputies were called to an area at 176th and Havelock around 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 14th to investigate a hunting accident.

Deputies learned that an 18 year old man was hunting with a 41 year old man. The 41 year old was putting a high powered deer rifle away in the vehicle when it went off. The bullet went through the seat and struck the 18 year old in the leg. The teen was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. He is now listed as stable but further treatment is needed. Officials say there is a possibility he could lose part of the leg.

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Biden’s German Shepherd To Be Celebrated With ‘Indoguration’ Hosted By Animal Shelter

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January 13, 202110:12 AM ET

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President-elect Joe Biden at the Delaware Human Society on Nov. 17, 2018, the day he officially adopted his dog, Major.Stephanie Gomez Carter/Delaware Humane Association

President-elect Joe Biden is set to restore a bipartisan norm upon moving into the White House: presidential dogs. The Bidens have two German shepherds, Champ and Major.

Major, in particular, has a “wags to riches” tail.

He’ll soon be the first dog to go from a shelter to the White House. That shelter, the Delaware Humane Association, plans to “indogurate” Major on Sunday in a virtual ceremony. (People and pets alike are invited to attend.)

In early 2018, the shelter received a litter of six German shepherd puppies, including the future first dog. The puppies were in a medical crisis.

“They were very sick,” said Patrick Carroll, executive director of the Delaware Humane Association. “They had gotten into a toxic substance. We’re not sure what.

“The dogs were lethargic, vomiting and hospitalized for a few days,” Carroll says.

President-elect Joe Biden began fostering Major, top, shortly after the dog arrived at the Delaware Humane Association in March 2018.Stephanie Gomez Carter/Delaware Humane Association

The pups bounced back. They recovered with fluids and medication. The shelter posted to Facebook in March 2018 in search of foster homes. According to Carroll, Ashley Biden sent the post to her father, knowing he was looking for a companion for the aging Champ.

Joe Biden showed up.

“He just dropped in on Easter Sunday of all days,” Carroll said, “and wanted to meet the puppies.”

Soon, Major was in foster with the Bidens. Within months, the news broke that he had found his forever (fur-ever?) home. Biden returned to the shelter with a grown Major to officially adopt him in November 2018.Article continues after sponsor message

It hasn’t been all good news for Major and Biden.

Biden fractured his foot in November 2020 while playing with the young dog. And recently, CBS Sunday Morning reported Major and Champ will have to share space with a cat.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1332512786732244993&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2021%2F01%2F13%2F956096928%2Fbidens-german-shepherd-to-be-celebrated-with-indoguration-hosted-by-animal-shelt&siteScreenName=NPR&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Sunday’s “indoguration,” co-hosted by Pumpkin Pet Insurance, touts Jill Martin of NBC’s Today show along with “notable rescue dogs and their parents.” Proceeds support the Delaware Humane Association.

“This is a monumental moment for shelter dogs,” said Cory Topel, the shelter’s marketing manager.

Yuki, President Lyndon Johnson’s dog, is held out the window of the car driven by LBJ as the first family starts a ride around the Texas ranch in Stonewall, Texas, in September 1967.AP

Though Major is digging up new ground as the first shelter pup in the White House, he follows in the pawprints of Yuki, another rescue to reside with the first family.

“He is the friendliest, and the smartest, and the most constant in his attentions of all the dogs that I’ve known,” said Yuki’s owner (and President) Lyndon B. Johnson.

Johnson was fond of singing with the white terrier mix. His daughter picked up Yuki at a gas station in Johnson City, Texas, according to the Presidential Pet Museum.

President Trump is the first president in more than a century not to have a dog. William McKinley had only cats and birds, including a parrot named Washington Post.

LIVE UPDATES: 2020 ELECTION RESULTS

Major And Champ Are Major Champs In This Election: Dogs Return To The White House

Biden even targeted dog lovers with a campaign message shortly before Election Day.

“Let’s put dogs back in the White House!” he tweeted.

Carroll, executive director of the Delaware shelter, says Major’s story does more than encourage pet adoption.

“This is shining a light on all of the resources animal shelters bring to a community,” he said. “If you need pet food because you’re struggling, or you need low cost vaccinations to keep your pet healthy, all the things people need, they should see their shelter as a resource.”

Florida Manatee Is Found With ‘Trump’ Written on Its Back

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https://www.ecowatch.com/florida-manatee-trump-2649911314.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4 

Olivia RosaneJan. 12, 2021 01:00PM ESTPOLITICS

Florida Manatee Is Found With ‘Trump’ Written on Its Back

A manatee is seen in Three Sisters Springs on Crystal River in Citrus County, Florida. Keith Ramos / USFWS

A manatee found in a Florida river on Sunday had the word “Trump” written in algae on its back.

The incident, first reported by the Citrus County Chronicle on Monday, prompted a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) investigation and outrage from conservationists and animal lovers. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) is even offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

“Manatees aren’t billboards, and people shouldn’t be messing with these sensitive and imperiled animals for any reason,” CBD Florida Director Jaclyn Lopez said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. “However this political graffiti was put on this manatee, it’s a crime to interfere with these creatures, which are protected under multiple federal laws.”Report Advertisementhttps://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1348755040798871553&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecowatch.com%2Fflorida-manatee-trump-2649911314.html%3Frebelltitem%3D3%23rebelltitem3%3Frebelltitem%3D3&partner=rebelmouse&siteScreenName=EcoWatch&siteUserId=78361556&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, which was classified as an endangered species in 1973, according to The Washington Post, although their status has since been lowered to threatened. Currently, manatees are protected federally under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and on the state level under the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978, The New York Times reported. Harassing a manatee carries a federal penalty of up to $50,000 and a year in jail, and a state penalty of up to $500 and 60 days in jail.

The affected manatee was first discovered in the Homosassa River in Citrus County by Hailey Warrington, a family boat charter operator, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported. Warrington said she saw the manatee while on a boat tour and took photos and a video to report the incident.

“This is just disturbing. One hundred percent disturbing,” Warrington told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “It’s something we don’t see very often. When we do see it, it hurts our heart.”

The USFWS said that the letters appear to have been etched in algae and that the animal was not seriously harmed. Warrington claimed that while the etching reached the skin, it did not appear to leave a wound. The animal seemed healthy, but stressed.Report Advertisement

Elizabeth Fleming, senior Florida representative for the Defenders of Wildlife, told The Washington Post that the perpetrator either had to restrain the manatee to write the message, or the manatee was so used to humans that it allowed the action.

There are more than 6,300 West Indian manatees living in Florida, according to the USFWS. While that number has increased significantly in the last 25 years, the animals still face threats from habitat loss and boat collisions. About 100 manatees die every year from boat strikes, according to The Washington Post, accounting for 20 percent of total manatee deaths.

For Elizabeth Neville, Defenders of Wildlife senior Gulf Coast representative, the harassment of this particular manatee is a striking example of politics impacting wildlife.

“The content of this manatee’s mutilation, however, highlights a broader and darker truth: that wildlife, despite having no ability to vote or otherwise participate in our political systems, exist and suffer profoundly at the mercy of human politics,” she said in a statement.

“Based on the choice of the word carved in the manatee’s flesh, one can only assume that this act of mutilation was politically motivated. But, this is far from the only scar borne by manatees due to politicians’ destructive choices. Other scars include policies that favor unsustainable development and polluting industries, hamper communities’ abilities to address plastic trash in our waters and impede progress on fighting climate change.”

Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 888-404-3922, the Citrus County Chronicle shared.

Peter Meijer, Republican who voted for impeachment, says he’s buying body armor due to threats

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/14/impeachment-vote-causes-republican-peter-meijer-buy-body-armor/4158935001/

WASHINGTON – Rep. Peter Meijer, one of10 Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald TrumpWednesday, said he and some of his colleagues are buying body armor and altering their daily routines due to fear of violence.

“It’s sad that we have to get to that point, but you know our expectation is that someone may try to kill us,” Meijer, R-Mich., said Thursday in an interview on MSNBC.

Meijer said the body armor is a reimbursable purchase.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen next. We weren’t expecting for the Capitol to get overrun for the first time in 200 years,” he said. “And so in this unprecedented environment with an unprecedented degree of fear of divisiveness and hatred, we have to account for every scenario.”

Live updates:Biden nixes train trip for inauguration over security concerns

In this Oct. 14, 2020 file photo, Michigan's 3rd District Congressional Republican candidate Peter Meijer speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Trump was impeached by the…

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