Camera Traps Capture 1 m Imges of Wildlife in the Tropics – Video!

Waldseemüller map is the first map to include the name “America” and the first to depict the Americas as separate from Asia. There is only one surviving copy of the map, which was purchased by the Library of Congress in 2001 for $10 million. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Camera traps capture 1m images of wildlife in the tropics – video

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2013/feb/13/camera-traps-capture-1m-wildlife-tropics-video

One million images of wildlife in 16 tropical forests around the world have been captured by the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network. Since it began its work in 2008 to monitor changes in wildlife, vegetation and climate, cameras in the the Americas, Africa and Asia have photographed more than 370 different species including elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, large cats, honey badgers, tapirs and tropical birds

APROPOS: zimbabwe´s export of baby elephants to zoos in China…

Devi (little princess), a 30-year-old Asian elephant raised in captivity at the San Diego Zoo exhibiting “rocking behavior” (animation), a rhythmic and repetitive swaying which is unreported in free ranging wild elephants. Thought to be symptomatic of stress disorders, and probably made worse by a barren environment, rocking behavior may be a precursor to aggressive behavior in captive elephants. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Your Letters Helped Save Zimbabwe Elephants From Chinese Zoos!

Last week we asked you to contact officials of Zimbabwe to stop the export of baby elephants to zoos in China. Give yourselves a pat on the back, because your letters worked! On January 21, the Washington Post reported that five baby elephants who were to be shipped to Chinese zoos have been returned to the wild. According to the report, “state parks and wildlife officials agreed on their release … and the capture of wild animals for zoos or similar habitats, irrespective of location, is expected to be stopped.”

This marks the second time your letters helped stop the transfer of Zimbabwe’s wildlife. In 2010, you convinced Zimbabwe to halt the sale of elephants, giraffes, zebras, and other wildlife to a zoo in North Korea.

While IDA is glad these five elephants will be spared from a life of misery in Chinese zoos, there are reports that at least two other baby elephants are still being held for export, and dozens more could be snatched from the wild to fulfill international “orders” for wild elephants. So it’s unknown whether Zimbabwe, and other countries in Africa, are sincere about ending the capture and export of wild animals for zoos. Stay tuned for updates.

In other news, the city of Topeka has agreed to pay a $45,000 civil penalty to settle a USDA complaint filed against the Topeka Zoo. The complaint included 51 charges including the deaths of numerous animals and failure to provide adequate veterinary care for Tembo and Sunda, the zoo’s two elephants.

To put baby-elephants from their mothers, from their families is such a cruel act! Elephants are very social animals – like us! I cannot understand how they can do this to take babies from their fountain: the family!

They destroy cords of hearts, love and they sew hate & sorror there!

Annamaria

Related articles

• Recent trade of elephants from Zimbabwe to China (spiritandanimal.wordpress.com)
• ZCTF in bid to block UNWTO over elephant trade (jessie04.wordpress.com)
• Zimbabwe: KEEP WILD ELEPHANTS OUT OF CHINESE ZOOS (spiritandanimal.wordpress.com)
• Zoo-bound elephant calves back in Zimbabwe’s wild (omaha.com)
• Zoo-bound elephant calves back in Zimbabwe’s wild (foxnews.com)
• Zoo-bound elephant calves back in Zimbabwe’s wild (dailystar.com.lb)
• China-bound elephant calves returned to Zimbabwe’s wildlife areas (ctvnews.ca)
• Baby elephants released (thezimbabwean.co.uk)
• Zoo-Bound Elephant Calves Back in Zimbabwe’s Wild (abcnews.go.com)
• ZCTF in bid to block UNWTO over elephant trade (spiritandanimal.wordpress.com)

German Zoo Sells Lions to African-Trophy-Hunting-Park

—– Original Message —–

To: niet-openbare ontvangers:

Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 1:56 PM

Subject: Zoo Sells Lions to African Trophy Hunting Park

 

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/zoo-sells-lions-to-african-trophy-hunting-park.html

A German zoo, the Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen, has sold three lions to a South African park known for offering inexperienced hunters the opportunity to join professionals in a hunt. Under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), African lions are endangered but not threatened. As such, African Lions do not benefit from the strict protections on import and export of species threatened with extinction. But a potential exporter must still present a “non-detriment finding” and have a permit for the export. What will become of the lions in Africa? 316diggsdigg

According to reports in the German news daily Tagesspiegel, the owner of the Serengeti Park, Fabrizio Sepe, was assured after the German Ministry for the Protection of Nature contacted their partners in South Africa: the animals would be used only for photo-safaris and breeding programs, it was promised. But that has not calmed animal protection groups, who are advocating for stronger protection against zoo animals being sold for breeding if successive generations will be deliberately used to attract people to the sport of killing big cats.

Advocates of the practice of “canned hunting” argue that breeding lions to be killed serves to protect animals in the wild. After all, there are people out there still seeking to prove their prowess in the “pinnacle of African Dangerous Game hunting”, (quote from a hunter’s forum where the fear of up-listing lions reigns). But the fact is that this booming trade is becoming desperate for “new blood” as successive generations of captive-bred lions become increasingly inbred.

The lions from the German zoo boast thick, black manes — a prized trait in the stuffed souvenir which, as a CITES Appendix II listed species, can still be imported legally back home to support bragging rights. Bragging rights which might inspire the next bold hunter to make the long trip to the home of a fast-fading symbol of lost wilderness, where he too may test his luck.

It is this vicious cycle that puts animal activists in opposition to “canned hunting:” making a popular, even “safe,” sport out of lion hunting puts pressure on the animals left in the wild — either in the form of poaching trophies in the wild or because animals are taken from wild populations for breeding to support hunting farms. Experts estimate that only 23,000 lions remain in the wild on the African continent.

 

New Report Reveals Serious Disease Risk From keeping Wild Animals As Pets

                  27. Oktober 2011 09:46

A Eurogroup for Animals report released today illustrates the high risk of zoonoses from wild animals kept as pets. Zoonoses are diseases which are passed from animals to humans with sometimes fatal consequences. With an ever growing number of these animals imported, sold and kept in the EU the threat of disease increases and prevention policies are becoming urgent.  At a meeting of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Animal Welfare in Strasbourg, MEPs were asked to support measures to restrict the import of wild animals.

Raccoons, snakes, gerbils, and iguanas are popular new companion animals which are often kept within the house and handled by children. Owners are often unaware that with the new pet comes a great risk of illness. From life threatening viruses such as rabies and the plague to salmonella and tuberculosis, this report provides an overview of the main diseases and the animals that carry them.

“The new Animal Welfare Strategy being prepared by the European Commission and due to be adopted in December should include the protection of companion animals, including restrictions on the keeping of wild animals as pets. In addition the Animal Health law due next year should also include provisions to assess the risk posed by wild animals and place restrictions on imports,” said Staci McLennan, Policy Officer Policy – Wild Animals at Eurogroup for Animals.

The legal market for wild animals globally accounts for millions of birds, apes, and amphibians with the EU as the second largest importer of live reptiles in the world. In addition the illegal trade in wildlife is comparable with drug and arms trafficking. It is very difficult to dismantle illegal trade networks as with any organised crime and to be successful this needs coordinated law enforcement actions.

Justin Gosling of the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme also speaking at the event supported the call for an increased response to the threat of organised crime stating: “Enforcement agencies should adopt intelligence led enforcement methods to combat wildlife trafficking.”

The wild animal pet trade is not only a serious health risk for humans, it is also an ecological disaster, as most species are caught in the wild, and an animal welfare catastrophe, as millions of wild animals are forced into inappropriate role of a pet. With living conditions unsuitable for wild animals and animals suffering from inappropriate care and handling many are abandoned with very little chance of finding new owners.  Illegal trade needs to be prevented in order that animal no longer suffer and the risk of spreading disease is minimised.