Bear-baying in S.C.

July 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2010:

COLUMBIA, S.C.–Bear-baying, legal in
the U.S. only in South Carolina, exploded into
national visibility on August 23, 2010 through
the near-simultaneous publication of an exposé by
Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard and the
release of undercover video by the Humane Society
of the U.S.
Descended from medieval bear-baiting,
bear-baying consists of releasing hounds to rush
a caged or tethered bear. The dogs, who are
purportedly being trained to hunt bears, are
called off when the bear rises on hind legs,
which would permit a hunter to shoot the bear.

Save the Rhino accepts Safari Club funding

June 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2010:

LONDON–“Save the Rhino, the British
charity set up to protect one of the world’s most
endangered animals, is endorsing shooting them
for fun and is directly profiting from trophy
hunts of other species,” revealed Daniel Foggo
of the London Sunday Times on May 30, 2010.
Foggo said he had learned from Save the
Rhino fundraising manager Lucy Boddam-Whetham
that, as Foggo summarized, “The charity formed
its view on trophy hunting after being approached
by Safari Club International with offers of money
in 2006. Since then the Safari Club has donated
sums of between £6,000 and £10,000 a year.

New threat to Kenya hunt ban

May 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2010:
NAIROBI–A draft Wildlife Bill proposed to the Kenyan
parliament but not yet raised for debate would split the Kenya
Wildlife Service into three separate agencies–and ease the way for
reintroducing sport hunting to Kenya, after a 33-year hiatus,
charges African Network for Animal Welfare founder Josphat Ngonyo.
Kenyan wildlife policy formation would be done under the
Ministry for Wildlife, rather than within KWS under ministerial
authority. A new Kenya Wildlife Regulatory Authority would be
created to supervise wildlife management on private land. The
present Kenya Wildlife Service would contract to focus on managing
the 61 Kenyan national parks and wildlife reserves, conducting law
enforcement, and doing wildlife research.

Gyrocopter pilot acquitted of killing huntsman

April 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2010:

BIRMINGHAM, U.K.–A Birmingham Crown Court jury on March 17,
2010 acquitted anti-fox hunting gyrocopter pilot Bryan Griffiths of
alleged manslaughter by gross negligence in connection with the March
9, 2009 death of Warwickshire Hunt owl keeper Trevor Morse at Long
Marston airfield. Morse, 48, was killed when the gyrocopter
propeller vertically cleaved his head.
The Hunting Act of 2004 banned hunting with dogs, but with
many exemptions, including a provision allowing the use of dogs to
flush out prey for falconers. Traditional fox hunts have continued
since then by carrying raptors, including owls, who would not
normally hunt by daylight.

Wolves kill teacher in Alaska, boosting anti-wolf policy

April 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2010:
CHIGNIK LAKE, Alaska– Wolves on March 8, 2010 killed and
partially ate special education teacher Candace Berner, 32, a 4’11”
weightlifter and boxer who was on a solo training run in preparation
to compete in a marathon.
Originally from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, Berner had
been in Alaska for only six months. Her cause of death was
documented by 150 feet of tracks and blood showing her struggle with
the wolves. Alaska Department of Fish & Game staff shot the two
wolves believed to have attacked Berner.

U.S. backs deal to let Japan legally kill whales in the Southern Oceans

April 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2010:

WASHINGTON D.C.–Japan is likely to be authorized to engage
in commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and
coastal waters, and Norway and Iceland are likely to be allowed to
continue commercial whaling, now with International Whaling
Commission approval, at the 2010 IWC meeting in Agadir, Morocco,
to be held June 21-25.
Japan has engaged in “research” whaling at commercial levels
throughout the global whaling moratorium declared by the IWC in 1982,
and has killed whales within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary ever
since the sanctuary was designated in 1994. The IWC has not
previously addressed Japanese coastal whaling, which mostly kills
species smaller than those regulated by the IWC. Norway has killed
minke whales in coastal waters since 1993. Iceland has wobbled
between authorizing and prohibiting whaling.

CITES protects elephants but not sharks & polar bears

April 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2010:

DOHA, Qatar–Leading a last-minute rally to keep ivory
billiard balls out of fashion, the Kenyan delegation ran the table
on behalf of African elephants at the 15th triennial meeting of the
signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species, held in Doha, Qatar from March 13 to March 25, 2010.
Formed by the United Nations in 1973, CITES in 1989 banned
international traffic in elephant ivory, but CITES triennial
meetings have several times authorized exemptions allowing Botswana,
Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe to sell stockpiled ivory from
legally culled elephants, confiscated from smugglers, and collected
from elephants who died of natural causes. The exemptions–and
rumors that exemptions may be granted–have repeatedly been followed
by resurgent poaching throughout the wild elephant range in Africa
and Asia, as illegal traffickers respond to the opportunity to
market poached ivory under forged legal cover.

Sultan bans hunting in Johor Baru, Malaysia

April 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2010:

JOHOR BARU, Malaysia– Johor state ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni
Almarhum Sultan Iskandar on March 5, 2010 ordered a halt to hunting
and called for gun licensing to be tightened.
Sultan Ibrahim said that alleged nuisance wildlife, such as
boars or crows, should be reported to the Johor Wildlife Department,
which might still use lethal measures in specific situations.
Personally involved in breeding endangered species and
rehabilitating injured wildlife, Sultan Ibrahim reportedly has as
many as 18 tigers, several panthers, and 400 deer on his property.

Hunters still boss after changes at Sierra Club, Audubon

March 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2010:

SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK–January 2010 leadership changes at
both the Sierra Club and the National Audubon Society appear to leave
both organizations squarely in the hunter/conservationist camp.
Michael Brune, 38, heading the Rainforest Action Network
since 2003, succeeded Carl Pope as executive director of the Sierra
Club, but Pope remained the senior figure in the organization, as
executive board chair.
Holding undergraduate degrees in economics and finance,
Brune previously worked for Greenpeace and the Coastal Rainforest
Coalition, now called ForestEthics.

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