BY 

KITTY BLOCK AND SARA AMUNDSON

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A different African elephant than the one recently killed by a trophy hunter in Tanzania. 

Alamy Stock Photo

News has come out that another bull elephant was shot and killed in Tanzania, reportedly by an American trophy hunter from Texas. This is the third bull, believed to likely be another “super tusker,” beloved by locals, gunned down near the Tanzanian-Kenyan border, part of the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem, within the past six months.

“Super tusker” elephants are mature male elephants who have at least one tusk weighing 100 pounds, and their genetic makeup is extremely rare: It’s estimated that there are as few as 50 “super tusker” elephants left in Africa. Following the hunt, the hunters allegedly burned what remained of the elephant’s body.

These hunts come at a time when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has itself proposed new regulations that would significantly restrict the import of elephant trophies, after having taken the position since 2014 that elephant hunting in Tanzania is not managed consistent with conservation principles.

In elephant societies, which are highly social and complex, every elephant plays a crucial role, and mature male elephants are essential for thriving elephant herds. Studies have found that as they age, male elephants dedicate more of their energy toward reproducing. Due to a well-defined hierarchy, it is only by age 35-40+ years that male elephants consistently reproduce, and by this time, 75% of bulls will have died making this age class already disproportionately small. The gunning down of older male elephants by trophy hunters reverberates through the whole elephant society.

Mature elephant bulls also act as role models for younger male elephants. When an elephant bull is killed, so is the individual animal’s vital social knowledge and experience, which can no longer be passed down to younger, inexperienced members of the society. Without older bulls, young bull elephants may become more aggressive and display delinquent behavior, including moving into risky environments, putting themselves and human beings in potential danger.

In an effort to prevent further harm to the elephants of this region, three leading nonprofit conservation organizations (ElephantVoices, Big Life Foundation and the Amboseli Trust for Elephants) released a statement appealing for “an end to elephant trophy hunting in the Enduimet Area of Tanzania.” We support them in this appeal, as their statement highlights the tremendous genetic, scientific and ecological importance of the cross-border Amboseli elephant population inhabiting both Kenya and Tanzania.

Classified as endangered on the IUCN Red Data List of Threatened Species, African Savannah elephants already have the odds stacked against them and are just a step or two away from extinction. Habitat loss and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade already loom over elephant families as existential threats. That the scourge of trophy hunting is still permitted at all could mean our children or grandchildren will inhabit a world where these animals no longer exist. How will we explain to them that, amid other threats, we allowed these animals to also be gunned down by wealthy trophy hunters for “fun”? 

As Audrey Delsink, elephant behavior expert and wildlife director for Humane Society International/Africa, said: “The intrinsic value that these bulls bring to elephant society through their genetics, as repositories of social knowledge and as keystones of the environment, is irreplaceable. The killing of these iconic animals isn’t just a biological travesty but a moral tragedy and a stain on humanity’s conscience.”

Sara Amundson is president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. 

Banning Trophy Hunting , Protecting Wildlife

“We’re not going to have fake meat. Like that doesn’t work,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

By Stacey Leasca 

Published on March 15, 2024

https://www.foodandwine.com/florida-lab-grown-meat-ban-legislation-8609560

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Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to keep lab-grown meat out of Florida. 

Over the last several months, Florida legislators have been quietly working to ban — and criminalize — the production and sale of cell-cultivated meat across the state, via the introduction of two bills, HB 1071 and SB 1084. On February 6, the state’s House of Representatives passed SB 1084, which now sits on DeSantis’ desk awaiting a signature. And if his previous comments are any indication, he will be pulling out his pen soon. 

“I know the Legislature is doing a bill to try to protect our meat,” DeSantis said in February while visiting the South Florida State College Hardee Campus, according to CBS. “You need meat, OK. And we’re going to have meat in Florida.” DeSantis added, “We’re not going to have fake meat. Like that doesn’t work.”

Cell-cultivated meat, to be clear, differs from traditional veggie burgers and meat alternatives like Impossible Burgers. As the Congressional Research Service (CRS) defines, 

What Longtime Vegetarians Think About the Plant-Based Meat Boom

Cell-cultivated meat “is developed in a lab, grown from a sample of animal cells that does not require the slaughter of animals.” In other words, it’s actually meat. The development of cell-cultivated meat, the CRS explained, happens in five steps: the biopsy of animal cells, cell banking, cell growth, harvesting, and food processing. It’s an industry that has heavy oversight in the U.S. by both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

As the CRS noted, there are about 150 companies around the world involved in the cell-cultivated meat industry, 43 of which are based in the U.S. Of those 43, just two companies, Good Meat and Upside Food, have FDA approval in the U.S. While it’s still a relatively small industry, it’s one with major financial backing. According to the CRS, some $3 billion has been invested in its growth via private capital, and an additional $5 million has been issued via the National Science Foundation in research grants, along with an additional $12 million in grants by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Even still, all this funding and research isn’t enough for some Florida lawmakers. 

“As of today, the unknowns are so great,”  House bill sponsor Danny Alvarez, a Republican representative from Hillsborough County, shared during a meeting of the House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee, CBS reported. “There are no long-term studies.” 

If the “unknowns” feel a little too simple for you, it’s probably because it is. 

25 Vegan Recipes to Put on Repeat

Florida state Rep. Tyler Sirois, the Republican who introduced a similar bill, HB 1071, told Politico that his major motivation is protecting the cattle industry. “Farming and cattle are incredibly important industries to Florida,” Sirois stated, adding, “So I think this is a very relevant discussion for our state to have.” He did make sure to slip in that he considers cell-cultivated meat an “affront to nature and creation.”

“I think it raises important ethical concerns about the limitations and boundaries we should place on this type of science,” Sirois added. “I think you could see a very slippery slope here leading to things like cloning, which are very troubling to me.”

Mother Nature may disagree on the “affront” part, at least according to Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which operates Good Meat.

“Instead of all of that land and all of that water that’s used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, which owns Good Meat, shared with the Associated Press following its FDA approval. 

How a Vegan Doughnut Coverup Outraged the Internet

Florida, however, isn’t alone in its pursuit to block the production and sale of this type of meat. As Fast Company reported, Tennessee is considering a similar bill that would impose a $1 million fine for selling cultivated meat. Alabama also passed a bill to ban the sale and manufacturing of it, making it a Class C felony. This means that if you’re caught selling cell-cultivated meat there, you could wind up in prison for up to 10 years. And, as Food Dive reported, Texas also implemented legislation around how cultivated meat can be labeled and marketed. 

All this legislation won’t kill the industry; it will just move it offshore. According to Fast Company, both South Korea and Israel have favorable laws toward cultivated meat, while the Netherlands (where the first cell-cultivated meat was developed in 2013) has pledged $65 million to the industry. China even named cultivated meat as part of its five-year plan for national food security, giving other nations the proverbial first — and likely biggest — bite out of an industry that’s projected to own as much as 35% of the meat market by 2040. 

Whooping cranes are listed as endangered under the ESA

https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2024/03/14/whooping-crane-that-hatched-at-texas-zoo-found-shot-and-killed-in-louisiana

DALLAS, Texas – Authorities are investigating after a rare whooping crane, which hatched at the Dallas Zoo last year, was shot and killed in Louisiana.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the Dallas Zoo said the bird was found dead on Jan. 9 near Mamou, Louisiana. The zoo and other organizations are offering a reward of at least $12,5000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment.

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The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries are investigating the shooting.

The Dallas Zoo received the egg from the International Crane Foundation last year, after it was laid by whooping crane pair Anzac and Slash in Wisconsin. It was the first successful hatching of a whooping crane at the Dallas Zoo.

While in Texas, the chick was raised by foster parents Huckleberry and Juniper, according to the foundation.

It was released to the wild in November. It was less than two months old when it was killed.

“Wildlife conservation is at the heart of everything we do here at the Dallas Zoo. While we often celebrate great success stories, the work we so passionately undertake is often marked by challenges and setbacks beyond our control,” the zoo said in a statement.

Though their populations are slowly rebounding, whooping cranes are still listed as endangered in the U.S.

When they were first listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1967, only 50 of the birds existed. The USFWS says it is estimated that more than 500 whooping cranes currently exist in the wild.

“Whooping Cranes are the most endangered of the world’s crane species, and the Louisiana Whooping Crane population is currently estimated to be 81 individuals,” according to the International Crane Foundation. “The flock is designated as a non-essential, experimental population but is protected under state law, the Endangered Species Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.”

It is illegal to disturb or harass whooping cranes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact USFWS at 985-882-3756 or the LDWF Lake Charles Office at 337-491-2588.

• Kelly Tyko

https://www.axios.com/2024/03/12/egg-prices-2024-easter-cpi-inflation

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Average U.S. price for a dozen eggs

Monthly; January 2022 to February 2024

Line chart showing that the average price for a dozen eggs was $1.93 in January 2022, peaked at $4.82 in January 2023 and is $3.00 in February 2024.Jan.2022AprilJulyOct.Jan.2023AprilJulyOct.Jan.2024$0$1$2$3$4$5

🥚

Prices peaked at $4.82 in January 2023

Prices peaked at $4.82 in January 2023

$3.00Data: BLS; Chart: Axios Visuals

Egg prices are soaring again and increased 8.4% in February from January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released Tuesday.

Why it matters: Elevated prices ahead of Easter are giving consumers flashbacks to the sky-high prices of 2023, which peaked at $4.82 for a dozen in January.

• February 2024 prices dropped 17% from a year earlier, the CPI, a key inflation barometer, found.

Between the lines: Eggs were the top-ranked Google search on cost in 2023 in all 50 states and D.C., Google Trends analysis found.

Bird flu outbreak impact on egg prices

Driving the news: Supply issues related to the ongoing bird flu outbreak and weather-related demand have fueled the inflation of eggs, Brian Moscogiuri, a global trade strategist at Eggs Unlimited, told Axios.

• Moscogiuri said prices are starting to drop but it could take time before consumers see a difference at the store.

By the numbers: A dozen eggs cost an average price of $3 in February, federal data shows.

• In August 2023, a dozen eggs cost $2.04.
• A dozen cost $1.20 in June 2019, the lowest price in at least 10 years, data shows.

Context: Avian influenza cases began in early 2022 and have affected 82 million birds, according to the CDC.

• The outbreak affected around 20 million birds in November and December 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
• About 2 million birds were affected in January and February.

Easter egg prices 2024

Easter is the second hottest demand period of the year for eggs, Moscogiuri said, noting it only trails the busy winter holidays.

• “Typically as we go into Easter, you see a lot of promotional activity and ads for Easter,” Moscogiuri said. “We’re not seeing as much of that this year because of those price levels that we’re coming off of.”

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Zoom in: Some retailers may entice shoppers with lower prices on eggs to drive sales of other holiday products like pre-assembled Easter baskets, Matt Pavich, senior director of strategy and innovation at Revionics, told Axios.