Two Plead Guilty To Illegal Hunting With Dogs

Two men have pleaded guilty to illegal hunting at Bridgewater magistrates court. William Goffe and Gary Bradley both received fines of £300 and will have to pay £500 each towards legal costs. The case was brought to court by the League Against Cruel Sports.

Read more: IFAW

International Fund for Animal Welfare Report Reveals Impact of Global Warming on Arctic Marine Mammals

IFAW press release:

Yesterday the International Fund for Animal Welfare (www.ifaw.org) released On Thin Ice: The Precarious State of Arctic Marine Mammals in the United States Due to Global Warming, a comprehensive report commissioned to gauge the effects of unprecedented climate change on polar bears and other ice-dependent marine mammals within the United States.

“Signs of climate change are all around us,” said IFAW D.C. Office Director Jeff Flocken. “This is especially significant in the Artic, where ice habitat is integral to polar bears and melting sea-ice sets the stage for drastic population reductions. Ultimately, this will lead to the extinction of the species.”
 
In September 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a series of reports concluding that by 2050, we will have lost two-thirds of the world’s polar bears, and that many of the rest will be gone by 2100. On Thin Ice provides information to decision-makers, the general public, and other interested parties about the threats currently facing ice-dependent marine mammals and how their habitat is being negatively impacted by global climate change.
 
“Immediate actions are needed by individuals, by the Bush Administration, and by Congress to reverse the current trends that contribute to global warming,” said Flocken.  “The very existence of polar bears, walruses, and Arctic seals and whales are at stake.”  
 
 
About the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
Founded in 1969, IFAW works around the globe to protect animals and habitats promoting practical solutions for animals and people. To learn how you can help, please visit www.ifaw.org.

Australian Government To Rescue Sea Shepherd Conservationists

Jen Parker, welcomes the news that the Australian government are sending a ship to rescue her partner Giles Lane, and one other member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society from a Japanese whaling vessel.

The anti-whaling activists, Giles, from Sussex, and Australian Benjamin Potts, boarded the whaling ship to try and halt the hunt. The Japanese crew captured the pair and tied them to the ships railings.

Full story: Crawley Observer

Japan Pauses Whale Hunt During Standoff

Article from: Associated Press 

Protesters scored a victory in a high-seas campaign to disrupt Japan’s whale hunt in the Antarctic, forcing the fleet to a standstill Wednesday while officials scrambled to unload two activists who used a rubber boat to get on board a harpoon vessel.

Full story here

10 Years Left For The Orangutan

I’ve just received an email from BOS (Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK), they have sent me a link to this very moving video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxioapZ1nww.

British Birds Leaving Due To Climate Change

This Is Londonreport that British bird guides will soon be out of date due to the change in climate which is driving some birds away, and bringing in new visitors. According to the report we are losing birds like the osprey and snow bunting, newcomers include the hoopoe and short toed eagle.

The Horse Trust Inundated With Support

The Horse Trust has been inundated with support after it opened its doors to 14 horses, donkeys and ponies, rescued by the RSPCA. These were just some of a total of over 100 animals taken from Spindles Farm in Hyde Heath, Buckinghamshire, after the RSPCA discovered 32 rotting horse corpses last Friday.

For more information, and how to help: Bucks Free Press

Busy Beavers

Six beavers introduced to Cotswold Water Park in 2005, are thought to have bred successfully. Nobody has actual seen any of the kits yet, but expert say that a change in behaviour of the adults makes them certain they exist.

Read more: This Is Gloucestershire

3 New Species Of Salamander Discovered

An expedition has just discovered three new species of salamander in a largely unexplored forest in Costa Rica. Expedition leader, Dr Alex Monro, from the Natural History Museum, said:

‘Finding so many new species in one area is exciting…’

‘It shows we still have a lot to learn about the variety of wildlife in this region. We have four more expeditions planned this year – who knows what we could find when we go back?’

Read more: Wildlife Extra

Destruction Of Rainforest Is Badly Affecting Wildlife

Wildlife Extra report on the destruction of New Britain’s rainforest. Satellite images reveal that the rainforest is being logged more quickly there than in any other place in South-East Asia. If nothing is done some of New Britain’s species will be lost for ever.