Global Animal

South Pacific Islands Unite To Save The Sea

Joseph Turner — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:00:18 +0000

(OCEAN CONSERVATION) While protection for marine animals has been lacking, islands in the South Pacific are looking to form a coalition in order to protect and conserve marine life. Read on to learn about the efforts and the growing “Blue Economy.” — Global Animal

: Photo credit: Paul Nicklen/NG/Getty Images

The Guardian, Jonathan Watts

Small island states in the South Pacific are to link up their marine resources this year in an effort to sustainably manage one tenth of the world’s oceans and boost maritime conservation globally.

The Micronesian and Polynesian nations are implementing the network in conjunction with environmentalists to ease the impacts of over-fishing, pollution, acidification and climate change that are threatening their economic and social systems.

The project – which aims to cover an area bigger than the combined territories of the US and Canada – was outlined during a World Oceans summit in Singapore that brought together scientists, politicians, NGOs and representatives from the fishing and shipping industries.

It comes amid a raft of new moves to reduce the alarming deterioration of the world’s marine environment even as governments and businesses push ahead with ever more development of coastlines, industrial fishing and deep-sea mining.

To counter these threats, Kiribati is positioning itself as a pioneer of ocean sustainability and a model for the “Blue Economy”.

Having already created a vast nature reserve around the Pheonix Islands – which is now Unesco’s biggest natural heritage site – it signed up last September with 14 neighbouring island states to the Pacific Oceanscape Framework drawn up in conjunction with the US-based NGO, Conservation International.

In the coming years, the signatories aim to cooperatively manage their marine resources and design policies that improve ocean health, increase resources, share expertise, and factor ocean issues into decisions about economic and sustainable development.

Kiribati is the first state to try to put this scheme into practice. As an incentive – and to compensate for the loss of fisheries affected by the program – it will receive $5m from an endowment fund set up by Conservation International and the Global Environment Facility of the World Bank.

It will be followed in August by Tokelau Island and Cook Island, which will add their combined sea area of 1.4m square kilometers – about three times the size of California – into the Pacific Oceanscape network.

The president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, said his nation had learned that individual marine parks are not sufficient. “We have to connect them together,” he told delegates at the summit. “Political commitment at the highest level, with support from financial community, is essential.”

Money remains a challenge. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be needed for the scheme to expand across all 15 states, which together account for about 40m square kilometres of ocean and a third of the world’s tuna stocks.

Enforcement is another problem. Kiribati has only one coastguard boat to police an area the size of California. To bolster its capacity, the US coastguard has sent ships on “training missions” with Kiribati representatives on board. They have reportedly intercepted two poaching ships, which were fined several million dollars.

This is a worldwide concern. Illegal and unreported fishing gobbles up $22bn of resources a year, almost 50% more than illegal logging, according to Malcolm Preston, global head of sustainability and climate change of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The search for solutions to this and other threats to the marine environment are belatedly picking up pace.

The World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, will call on Friday for a new International Partnership for Oceans. Next week, the Antarctic Ocean Alliance – comprising conservation NGOs such as WWF, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Greenpeace and groups from China and South Korea – will launch a campaign to link 19 areas around Antarctica into what would be the world’s biggest nature reserve by an order of magnitude. The development of the “blue economy” is also expected to feature prominently at the Rio+20 meeting in Brazil in June.

The former UK foreign secretary David Miliband said initiatives, such as that in South Pacific, showed that regional and international co-operation can promote economic growth and protect the marine environment.

“The fact that we’re a terrestrial species on a marine planet has led to a real neglect of our oceans,” Miliband said. “In an interdependent world, you need to share sovereignty.”

The extent to which Kiribati and its neighbours can influence the international debate remains to be seen. But Peter Seligmann of Conservation International, said these countries are playing a role that shows their true colours as “giant ocean states”.

“In my 36 years of experience in conservation, I’ve never been involved in anything at this scale,” said Seligmann. “They are not saying they won’t have growth. But they want to manage their resources in a way that sustains culture and resources…This is the beacon on the hill. That’s what’s required.”

More The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/23/south-pacific-small-island-marine-reserves

The Artist’s Uggie: Underdog Of The Oscars?

Alisa Manzelli — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:00:05 +0000

Alisa Manzelli, Global Animal

And the Oscar goes to…the animals! Move over, Brad Pitt. With films like The Artist, Hugo, and War Horse, this year’s Best Picture category is graced with scene-stealing performances from notable animal actors, big and small. Sadly, these hardworking, four-legged friends are typically left unrecognized by the Academy Awards for their meaningful contributions.

Uggie on the red carpet at the 2012 Golden Globe Awards. Photo Credit: Joel Ryan/AP

Despite having won the hearts of millions for his performances in the 10-time Oscar nominated silent film The Artist as well as Water For Elephants, Uggie is not expected to appear at this Sunday’s 84th Annual Academy Awards. According to The Weinstein Company, distributors of The Artist, the Jack Russell terrier has not been asked to participate or appear at the Oscars.

Actor Jean Dujardin and Uggie share the same expression in a scene from The Artist. Photo Credit: The Weinstein Co.

Last month, Uggie took the stage with his co-stars at the Golden Globe Awards when The Artist won Best Musical or Comedy Feature. He also recently won the first-ever Golden Collar Award for Best Dog in a Theatrical Film. Not bad for a 10-year old pooch rescued from the pound.

The unofficial awards campaign dubbed “Consider Uggie” has garnered an impressive following on Facebook and Twitter in hopes of nominating Uggie for an Academy Award for Best Actor. This endeavor must compete with a strict set of rules specifically excluding animals from award nominations. These guidelines were implemented after the famous German Shephard, Rin Tin Tin, nearly won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1929.

However, it seems as though this pooch is ready for some R&R. Just a day after the Academy Award nominations were released, Uggie’s trainer, Omar Von Muller, announced Uggie’s retirement. Despite rumors in press reports, sources close to the ceremony claim Uggie has not been rehearsing for an Oscar skit with host Billy Crystal. We hope to see this lovable pooch light up the stage at least one last time!

Blackie performing as Maximilian in Hugo. Photo Credit: Paramount Picture

Though a crowd favorite, Uggie has faced some steep competition. Up for 11 Academy Award nominations, Martin Scorsese’s family film Hugo exhibits a strong performance from a four-year-old canine star named Blackie. The stoic Doberman plays the anti-hero, performing as the law-enforcing Maximilian. Initially snubbed by the Golden Collar Awards, Blackie was granted a late-breaking nomination for best dog in a theatrical film after director Scorsese himself intervened with a massive write-in campaign. Although Blackie ultimately did not win the Golden Collar, her breakout performance in Hugo could lead to a promising acting career.

Another film—up for six Academy Awards on Sunday—went to great lengths to avoid placing animals in danger: Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed War Horse. The plot revolves

Actor Jeremy Irvine and Finder in the film War Horse. Photo Credit: Touchstone Pictures

around a horse named Joey, chiefly played by a South African Bay named Finder, who also starred in the 2003 film Seabiscuit. However, the film used an additional 13 horses to play the role of Joey, while incorporating computer graphics as well as a life-size animatronic horse to ensure that animals were never placed in harm’s way.

Could one of these animal-dominated films win Best Picture? Tune in to the Academy Awards this Sunday, February 26th to find out!

Why Police Dogs Are Partners, Not Property (TAKE ACTION)

Candice Chandler — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:00:29 +0000

: Police officers aren’t only human. Photo Credit: Greg Rihl/Enterprise

Candice Chandler, Global Animal

Police officers, and the trained service dogs working alongside them, are a vital part of society. During their young lives, police dogs face danger and injury every day of duty.

Like human officers, these dogs are involved in risky situations including searching criminals, chasing prisoners, breaking up prison fights, and sniffing out bombs and drugs. Injury and retirement are a normal part of a K-9′s career, and the medical and living costs their guardians pay is expensive. Jay Meranchik of the National K-9 Working Dog is trying to not only provide funds for these canine officers, but educate the public on their importance and service.

: Donate to the National K-9 Working Dog organization now to help retired police dogs live out their lives in peace.

NK9WD is working to provide these animals with the retirement they deserve. Their mission also includes helping working service dogs with health benefits. These dogs are not ordinary, and their lives should be rewarded for the hazardous situations they encounter.

Meranchik is trying to achieve benefits for these dogs that cover veterinary services, pharmaceuticals, and food. Since service dogs are only allowed to be adopted by their human police partners or specific individuals, the financial responsibility of caring for an injured or retired K-9 can become stressful. NK9WD is trying to provide rightful compensation for animals who put their lives on the line to protect people.

Unfortunately, not all the officers working with these highly trained animals can adopt them upon retirement. When this happens and no responsible guardian can be located, the dog is euthanized. This needs to change, and NK9WD needs help accomplishing this.

Working K-9s provide citizens and communities with a sense of ease and protection. Their presence has not only enhanced police force strength, but it has proved that animals play an important role in society. Police dogs are heroes, and their lives after their careers should equal that of the human officer working by their side.

Check out the National K-9 Working Dog Inc. website: www.nationalk-9workingdog.org/index.html

Dog Trees Mountain Lion

Sonia Horon — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:00:51 +0000

(WILD ANIMAL) When a mountain lion wandered into a yard in Los Altos, California, he didn’t anticipate that a dog would be there waiting to chase him. The mountain lion was so afraid of Cody, a German Shepherd, that he ran up a tree and remained there for the next few hours. Fortunately for the mountain lion, the Department of Fish and Game handled the situation appropriately. Read on to find out how the what happened to this scaredy-cat. — Global Animal

Mountain lion hiding in a tree. Photo Credit: NBC News

Daily Mail

When Cody the German Shepherd spied a cat lurking in his garden, he chased it up a tree.

But this wasn’t just any old cat – it was an 110 lb mountain lion.

The timid feline remained perched up the tree in Los Altos, California for more than three hours after the chase.

Nearby resident John Sphar told NBC that as soon as he saw the lion, he called his neighbors to warn them to be on the look out.

But he didn’t have to worry. At 7.30 a.m. his 85 lb dog chased the beast into the tree. It stopped on a branch around 40 ft above the ground.

The Department of Fish and Game chose to leave the large feline alone, and it came down from the tree of its own accord just after 10 a.m.

Good boy: John Sphar and his dog Cody, who chased the lion into the tree. Photo credit: NBC

A state biologist had arrived to monitor the big cat, but said he was never a threat.

‘The dog didn’t know what he was chasing,’ Janice Mackey, from the Department of Fish and Game told the San Fransisco Chronicle.

Mackey added that mountain lions are ‘solitary, they prefer to be on their own’.

‘He was probably cruising around looking for breakfast and maybe he chased a rabbit into the yard,’ she added.

It is not the first time a mountain lion has been spotted in the neighbourhood.

Los Altos Hills Public Safety Officer Janet Shannon told the Town Crier that recent sightings and incidents have made people ‘a bit nervous’.

Earlier this month, it is believed a mountain lion killed two pet goats in the area.

Cody’s owner Mr Sphar told NBC a lion claimed one of his goats in December 2010.

‘People get worked up,’ Shannon said, adding that they were not in danger.

‘Mountain lions are doing exactly what they do – they’re not aggressive, they’re not coming after anybody.’

More Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104635/One-big-scaredy-cat-Mountain-lion-chased-tree-DOG.html

Tide May Be Turning For Dolphins In Taiji

Elisabeth Torres — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:00:51 +0000

Founder of "Save Japan Dolphins" and star of The Cove, Ric O'Barry.

Elisabeth Torres, Global Animal

(TAIJI DOLPHINS) The annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan, is ending early this year, according to Japanese reports. The killing season usually runs from September 1 to April 1, but sources claim this season is ending a few weeks early due to lack of demand for dolphin meat. Animal rights activists, however, point out that Taiji’s lucrative business of capturing and selling dolphins to sea parks and aquariums worldwide ran its full shameful course again this year.

The sharp drop in dolphin meat sales is partly attributed to the release of the documentary The Cove in Japan, which brought attention to the brutal slaughter and the high levels of mercury found in the dolphin meat given to the public, including school lunches. This marks the fifth year the number of dolphins killed in Taiji has declined since activist Ric O’Barry’s “Save Japan Dolphins” campaign launched.

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami wiped out several Japanese ports, putting a temporary stop to harpooning in those areas. Yet even without the extra dolphin meat, fisherman are having trouble selling their catch. Although it’s beginning to look like the tide is turning for the dolphins in Taiji, now is not the time to stop working on their behalf. The organization “Save Japan Dolphins” will continue fielding cove monitors, getting mercury facts to consumers, and working with the Japanese people. These killings cannot stop soon enough!

No Justice In Japan For Dolphin Guardian (TAKE ACTION)

O’Barry Delivers Petition To Stop Japanese Dolphin Slaughter Despite Violent Threats

Why The Taiji Slaughter Is About More Than Dolphins

Cat And Rat Share A Meal

Tazi Phillips — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:00:41 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMDBu-_mRks

(ANIMAL VIDEO) Someone doesn’t want to share! These two unlikely pals calmly share some milk, although someone seems to be hogging the bowl. — Global Animal

UPDATE: Atlantic City Ends Horse Diving

Candice Chandler — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:02 +0000

(HORSE DIVING) NEW JERSEY — Atlantic City’s Steel Pier horse-diving spectacle is officially at an end. After Steel Pier announced that they were attempting to revive the show that forces horses to dive 40 feet into a pool, public outcry from animal advocates forced its cancellation. Read more on how Facebook protests from animal lovers helped to end this outdated act. — Global Animal

: The stunt of horse diving started in the 1920s. Photo Credit: Library of Congress

Animal Legal Defense Fund, Jon Melia

Atlantic City’s Steel Pier recently came under heavy fire for plans to revive its famous diving horse show. The show, which ran from the 1920s through the 1970s, involved forcing a horse to jump off a 40 foot platform into a pool of water below. Predictably, diving like this is dangerous and traumatic for the horses, for whom high diving is anything but a natural behavior. Humans force animals to suffer in the name of entertainment all the time, but the thought of reviving this absurd and unnecessary practice still surprised me. Steel Pier operators even went so far as to claim on their Facebook wall that they had “conducted significant research into past practices,” and had determined “there was no animal cruelty or abuse that occurred in the past.” How horse diving itself did not register as cruelty and abuse in these people’s minds is beyond me.

But then an inspiring thing happened. Thousands of people stood up to condemn Steel Pier’s plans to bring back the terrible spectacle. Flooded in negative publicity, the developers announced that they no longer intended to include horse diving in their new plans. In an attempt to save face, Steel Pier claimed that it had merely decided to “create new memories for visitors instead of recreating old ones.” What really happened is clear: thanks to relatively new attitudes about the treatment of animals, Steel Pier’s pointlessly cruel horse diving act was shut down before it could even get started.

I sometimes get discouraged when I look around and see all the ways that animals are made to suffer for human amusement. The country is full of disreputable zoos, where animals spend their days pacing the walls of their tiny cages. Circuses with no regard for the physical or psychological health of their animals flourish. Wild animals are still held captive by the thriving canned hunting industry, waiting to be shot by “hunters” who get a thrill from killing the helpless. But when I see tens of thousands of people stand up and say no to reviving an old, abandoned form of animal cruelty, I feel hope. It reminds me that we can in fact eliminate specific forms of animal cruelty and keep them from coming back. The condition of animals in this country moves forward at an excruciatingly slow pace, but it’s important to remember that it is moving forward. In a few more decades, I wonder what other current forms of animal cruelty will have turned into sad memories of past mistakes.

Just so long as we can keep cat breading. Cat breading’s okay.

More Animal Legal Defense Fund: aldf.org/article.php?id=1979

PETA Stands Up For Kate Middleton’s Fur Coat

Tazi Phillips — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:00:28 +0000

(CELEBRITY NEWS) Kate Middleton was recently photographed wearing a fur lined coat, faux fur that is. After the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) praised the Duchess’ animal-related fashion sense, PETA responded by sending a letter asking the IFTF to retract the claim that the fur was real. Who knew a coat could cause so much controversy? Read more on how PETA is responding to the case of the royal fur coat. — Global Animal

Photo credit: ecorazzi

Ecorazzi, Allyson Koerner

The royal Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton is making headlines for stepping out wearing a coat with fake fur lining, but one group missed the memo on the “faux” part.

Recently, Middleton, 30, was photographed wearing a fur-lined jacket, and the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) praised the Duchess by describing her piece of clothing as “a classy fur-lined coat.”

Well, PETA did not take kindly to these remarks, because, after all, the fur is fake. The animal activism organization sent a letter to the IFTF expressing their distaste.

“Her Royal Highness was not wearing fur. The coat was not lined with fur.

We therefore insist that you remove the photo from your social media page and issue an immediate public retraction of your claim.

“To state that the Duchess is wearing fur is not only false but offensive…to portray the new Duchess wearing something so blatantly cruel and contrary to her country’s values is insulting,” the letter concluded.

IFTF is known for posting pictures of celebs wearing fur-related items, and praising them for their fashion sense. Here’s a link to the possible coat that’s causing such a stir.

This isn’t the first time PETA and Middleton have come in contact. In December, the Duchess opted out of a hunt with her husband Prince William and his brother Prince Harry, after receiving a letter from PETA asking her to please not participate.

PETA has also threatened to take legal action against IFTF, but have received no response back.

More ecorazzi: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2012/02/23/peta-stands-up-for-kate-middletons-fake-fur-coat/