Animals are among losers of “War on Terror”

July 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2009:
BARSTOW, JACKSONVILLE– Wars are lost by losing lives and
land. Thus whales, burros, pigs, and desert tortoises far from
any battlefield are among the losers of the War on Terror,
informally declared in 2001 by then-U.S. President George W. Bush.
The Barack Obama administration in March 2009 abandoned use
of the phrase “War on Terror” to describe what are now called
“overseas contingency operations,” and are no longer rhetorically
linked, in recognition that U.S. troops are fighting different foes
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But changing terminology has not changed the issues. Even
before “War on Terror” was used to drum up support for the U.S.
invasion of Iraq, it was used to quell opposition to military
training exercises that harm animals and habitat. Military projects
harmful to animals that began or expanded in the name of the “War on
Terror” are still underway, often bigger than ever.

BOOKS: Watching Giants

June 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2009:

Watching Giants: The Secret Lives of Whales by Elin Kelsey
U. of Calif. Press (2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704), 2008.
216 pages, paperback, illustrated. $17.95.

“Whales inspire me to contemplate connections,” says Elin
Kelsey, author and faculty member at Royal Roads University in
Canada. “They inspire me to act more generously. They inspire me to
experience life in whale scale.” Kelsey’s book Watching Giants takes
us into the fascinating world of all 32 species of the mammoth yet
graceful creatures.

Verdict pending in trial of two Sea Shepherd crew

June 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2009:
SYDNEY, Nova Scotia– Provincial court judge Jean Whalen on
April 30, 2009 said she would rule on June 30 as to whether Sea
Shepherd Conservation Society crew members Alex Cornelissen of Sweden
and Peter Hammarstedt of the Netherlands sailed closer to sealers
three times in 2008 than is allowed without an observer permit.
Cornelissen and Hammarstedt, captain and first mate of the
impounded Sea Shepherd vessel Farley Mowat, were tried in absentia.
Deported from Canada after the Farley Mowat was seized, they were
barred from re-entering, according to the Sea Shepherds. The
prosecution claimed that defendants in trials are allowed to return
to Canada to face charges in court proceedings.

European Union bans seal products

June 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2009:
RAMKIN INLET, Nunavut; BRUSSELS–The European Union on May
5, 2009 banned the import of seal pelts and other sealing
byproducts. Canadian governor general Michaelle Jean on May 27,
2009 responded by taking a bite from the heart of a freshly killed
seal.
“Hundreds of Inuit had gathered for a community feast in
Rankin Inlet in Nunavut, the first stop on Jean’s trip to nine
remote northern communities as Canada’s head of state and
representative of Queen Elizabeth II,” recounted Agence
France-Presse. “Jean reportedly knelt above the carcass of a freshly
slaughtered seal and used a traditional ulu blade to slice meat off
the skin. She then asked one of her hosts: ‘Could I try the
heart?”’ Jean swallowed one piece, according to Canadian Press,
pleasing her Inuit audience, the Atlantic Canadian sealing industry,
and the Canadian fur trade.

European seal pelt import ban will hit fur trade already in decline

May 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:
STRASBOURG–The European Parliament is likely to approve a
ban on the import of seal pelts at a May 5, 2009 plenary session,
but is expected to allow Canada and Norway to continue exporting seal
pelts through the European Union member nations to reach markets in
China and Russia.
The ban will also exempt seal products made “for cultural,
educational or ceremonial purposes” by the Inuit people of northern
Canada.
Information leaked to ANIMAL PEOPLE at deadline indicates
that the draft ban approved on March 2, 2009 by the European
Parliament’s internal market and consumer protection committee was
amended before presentation to the plenary session to mitigate
concerns that Canada and Norway will appeal the legislation to the
World Trade Organization.

Scientists confirm– Hurt crabs feel pain

May 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2009:

BELFAST–Hermit crabs feel pain when
injured and change their behavior to avoid the
source of pain, reported Robert Elwood of the
School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s
University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on
March 27, 2009.
“With vertebrates we are asked to err on
the side of caution and I believe this is the
approach to take with crustaceans,” concluded
Elwood.
“Ripping the legs off live crabs and
crowding lobsters into seafood market tanks are
just two of the many practices that may warrant
reassessment,” warned Jennifer Viegas of the
Discovery Channel.

Is diplomacy making gains against Japanese whaling?

April 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2009:
ROME–Some International Whaling Commission insiders believe
the IWC is close to brokering a deal that would allow the Japanese
government to end so-called “research whaling” without losing
political credibility.
Others believe Japanese actions against whaling opponents
show that the Japanese government believes it has the upper hand and
can force the IWC to reopen commercial whaling, after a 23-year
suspension.
After initially refusing to honor the 1986 commercial whaling
moratorium, Japan in 1988 accepted the moratorium but began killing
whales in the name of “scientific research,” continuing to sell
whale meat. The 2009 self-allocated Japanese “research” quota
includes 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales.

Russia halts seal hunt

April 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2009:
MOSCOW, OTTAWA–Russian minister of natural resources Yury
Trutnyev on March 11, 2009 told the world that Russia has halted
hunting seals under one year old on the frozen White Sea.
“This bloody hunting is from now on banned in our country,
as in most developed countries,” Trutnyev told media.
Trutnyev described the ban as “an important measure to
preserve Russian biodiversity.” The recent White Sea quota of about
35,000 seals per year was about a tenth the size of recent Atlantic
Canadian sealing quotas, but amounted to a third of the White Sea
seal population. The White Sea seal herd has reportedly declined by
95% since it was first surveyed in 1928. However, the first herd
estimate, produced in the early years of the Communist era to assess
the potential for economic expolitation, may have been grossly
exaggerated.

Confusion over Icelandic posture on whaling

March 1, 2009 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2009:

REYKJAVIK, Iceland–Leaving office on January 27, 2009
after the collapse of the coalition government in which he was
fisheries minister, Einar Gudfinnsson as his last official act in
office authorized Icelandic whalers to kill up to 150 fin whales and
150 minke whales per year.
Fin whales are internationally recognized as an endangered
species. Icelandic whalers had killed seven since 2006.
Gudfinnasson’s action was seen as a gesture of defiance
toward the European Union, which “would be likely to demand an end
to whaling as a condition of membership,” said BBC News environment
correspondent Richard Black. Much of the Icelandic fishing industry
opposes joining the EU, in resistance to the EU’s Common Fisheries
Policy.

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