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‘… Starlings, house sparrows and other threatened garden birds have suffered a further decline in their numbers over the past year, new figures show.

The results from the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch (BGBW), based on half a million people counting birds in their gardens over a weekend in January, also showed an increase in the species that are not commonly seen in back gardens, such as fieldfares and jays, after a freezing start to the year drove them out of the countryside in search of food.

Numbers of starlings, a “red-listed” species of conservation concern which dropped to a record low in last year’s birdwatch, declined by a further 16% this year.

House sparrows – also endangered – fell by 17% on 2012 figures, while bullfinches and dunnock numbers also fell, by 20% and 13% respectively. While green finches have declined by nearly 21% since last year.

Martin Harper, the RSPB‘s conservation director, said: “We know from the many people who take part in Big Garden Birdwatch every year that garden birds are incredibly precious to us and connect us to nature every day … but several of our familiar and best-loved species have been declining at alarming rates over the 34 years that the RSPB has been running the birdwatch and this year’s results show a continuing decline.”

The starling, famous for its winter “murmurations” involving up to hundreds of thousands of birds, has seen a steady decline in numbers since the BGBW survey began in 1979. Losses have been linked to the loss of traditional, established farming pastures, where experts believe that intensively farmed land makes it more difficult for birds to find their favourite food – the cranefly larvae that live in undisturbed soil.

House sparrows have experienced a rapid recent decline, particularly in urban and suburban environments: greater London lost seven out of 10 sparrows between 1994 and 2001. The causes remain largely unknown, with everything from cats to air pollution being blamed.

“The decline of these two species is part of a long-term trend and nothing to do with the cold weather,” said RSPB spokeswoman Wendy Johnson. “Starlings have gone down 82% since we started the survey and house sparrows by 63%. Bullfinches and dunnocks haven’t declined overall in the same way as sparrows, starlings and songthrushes, however they are amber-listed species and we are concerned because they have suffered declines this year and over the last few years.”

However the freezing temperatures in January meant that some species of birds increased in gardens, with sightings of siskins, fieldfares and jays up by as much as 85%. The RSPB said cold, harsh conditions in the wider countryside was likely to have driven more of these birds into gardens in search for food. For example, more jays were seen in gardens searching for alternative food sources after a particularly bad crop of acorns last year …

The RSPB said the results showed that gardens – as well as wider UK habitat protection – were vital in supporting threatened wildlife …

Every year the RSPB asks members of the public to spend one hour during the last weekend of January counting garden birds as part of the world’s biggest wildlife survey. This year almost 590,000 people took part.

Tips to help birds survive cold weather

• Put out a variety of feed – seeds, fatballs and peanuts.

• Break ice, and leave out fresh water daily. Never add anything, especially salt, as it can kill birds.

• Clear snow from lawns to help ground-feeding species such as blackbirds.

• Create homes for birds with nestboxes, and preserve old trees that have holes …’

Read the item in full, view graphic and add your comment online at www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/28/rsbp-garden-birdwatch-survey

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‘… Whilst reports in the media about the enduring cold weather and snow have largely focused on the impacts on people, we are just beginning to hear about the consequences for farmed animals. As expected, the news is not good. Reports are coming in about thousands of sheep dying of exposure in the freezing conditions, including newborn lambs. Many more are having to be dug out of the snow. Other animals are facing starvation as they cannot get to the grass under the snow and farmers are unable to reach them with feed.

Whilst this may sound like an unfortunate consequence of extreme and unseasonal weather, farming practices are playing a large part in this on-going tragedy. Wild animals move to find shelter and food under such conditions, but farmed animals are prevented from doing so by fences, walls and gates. Over-stocking of fields also means that what little food may be available is having to be shared between too many animals. But the problems experienced by outdoor-reared farmed animals are not limited to winter. In the summer, too, animals experience over-heating, dehydration, sun-burn and heat blisters.

Many people are aware of the appalling welfare implications of factory farming operations, such as zero-grazing units and broiler sheds, but this current crisis shows that free-range farming also leads to appalling animal suffering. The only way to ensure that your food is truly cruelty free is to adopt a 100 percent plant-based diet. Click here to order a FREE guide to going vegan.

Read the item at www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_factory//2856//

Please support Animal Aid and all their campaigns.

Also read ‘Cold spring kills thousands of newborn lambs’ (today, 26th March) at www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/26/cold-spring-kills-newborn-lambs

[Vegans say abandon the exploitation, abuse and slaughter of all animals, and abandon the production and consumption of all animal products.]

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‘… On March 23rd, hunt saboteurs from the Bristol and Bath groups were  at The Fox public house, Tangley, on the Wiltshire/Hampshire border north of Andover, the meet of the the Tedworth Foxhounds.

During the day’s hunting, the group’s vehicle was blocked by riders as the hunt ‘put-up’ a fox with the hounds close behind!  Hunt saboteurs on foot managed to intervene by slowing the hounds with voice and horn calls preventing the fox’s death and the breaking of the Hunting Act.

The huntsmen and whipper-ins were on the scene wearing the traditional red coats and, as one of them passed the group’s Land Rover, he used his riding crop to smash the windscreen, only inches from the driver’s face.

The driver later spoke to a police officer from the Hampshire Police who refused to take any statement of the incident or interview any suspects on the scene. This is being followed up with Hampshire constabulary.

Lee Moon, Press officer of the hunt Saboteurs Association stated:
“You would assume the Hampshire Police would be interested in any Criminal Damage reported, particularly with a group of people with a history of violence. It seems that when it comes to hunters Hampshire constabulary will turn a blind eye to illegal hunting and any other illegal actions taken to protect their activities. We would in interested in a comment from the Hampshire Chief inspector regarding his officers lack of action to this incident.”…’

Read the item and view image at www.huntsabs.org.uk/

Please support the Hunt Saboteurs Association and all their work.

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‘… Edna Molewa says proposal could be solution to poaching, which has recently led to record numbers being killed -

South Africa‘s environmental affairs minister has backed a radical proposal to legalise the international trade in rhino horn as a means of neutralising the black market and saving the threatened species.

Edna Molewa said she believes legalisation could be a solution to the scourge of rhino poaching, which saw a record 668 of the animals killed in South Africa last year, fuelled by demand for horn in south-east Asia. But her stand is likely to be met with fierce opposition from conservationists.

“We believe it is the right direction as one of the measures,” Molewa told South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper during a recent Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) meeting in Bangkok.

“The model that we have is based on pure law of supply and demand. Economics 101.

“Our rhinos are killed every day and the numbers are going up. The reality is that we have done all in our power and doing the same thing every day isn’t working. We do think that we need to address this issue of trade in a controlled manner so that we can at least begin to push down this pressure.”

South Africa is likely to support legalisation at the next Cites conference in Cape Town in 2016, the Mail & Guardian reported. Rhino horn sales have been banned for more than 30 years under Cites.

Poaching has escalated in recent years despite countless initiatives including armed patrols and aerial surveillance. At least 158 rhinos have been slaughtered already this year, most in the celebrated Kruger national park. At the current rate, deaths will outstrip births by 2016, described by conservationists as a tipping point …

But the move has long been opposed by groups such as Traffic and the WWF. There are fears that a legitimate supply of horn would send mixed messages to consumer markets that are little understood and lack regulation. It could potentially stimulate more demand in countries such as Vietnam, where horn is seen as a delicacy or of medicinal value by the expanding middle class.

Will Travers, chief executive of the Born Free Foundation, was quoted by the Mail & Guardian as saying: “So what are they saying by legalising the rhino horn trade? Here is a product that every sensible scientist says has no significant impact and they are going to sell it at huge cost to a public that is ill-informed …” …’

Read the item in full and add your comment online at www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/25/south-africa-rhino-horn-trade

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‘… The BUAV has launched an eye catching advert as part of our campaign to raise awareness about the Pre-Clinical Research Bill which, if adopted, could legalise animal experiments in Mauritius. The Bill is due to be presented to the Mauritius Parliament.

The advert appears today in editions of the L’Express and Le Defi newspapers, with a combined distribution of around 80,000. The colour advert highlights the likely impact the legislation will have for animals; in particular the country’s population of long-tailed macaque which is likely to be the main species used in research. The advert features a picture of a monkey inside a laboratory with the message: ‘If the Government has its way, this could be happening to monkeys here in Mauritius.’ View the advert here.

Primates are regularly used in fundamental research that may include studies in neurological, drug addiction, maternal deprivation and other diseases. Many of these experiments involve implanting electrodes, causing brain lesions or making the monkeys dependent on various drugs. This can result in substantial pain and suffering. Primates are also used in toxicity testing where they are forced to consume, inhale or be injected with poisonous chemicals that may cause vomiting, pain, convulsions, difficulty in normal physiologic processes such as breathing, and slow death.

In addition to ethical objections to animal experimentation, there are also strong scientific arguments against the use animals in research. Because of biological differences between humans and other species, as well as the unnatural conditions in which the animals must live, the results of animal research cannot be safely and reliably extrapolated to humans.

For more information visit www.saveourmonkeys.mu …’

Read the item at www.buav.org/article/1224/buav-launches-advert-in-our-campaign-to-raise-awareness-about-the-proposed-animal-testing-legislation-in-mauritius

Please support the BUAVand all their campaigns.

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‘… The League attended the Scottish Wildlife Crime Conference, which was held in Tulliallan on Thursday 14th March.

One of the major items for debate at the conference and one that was trailed in the newspapers ahead of the day, related to the fact that incidents of birds of prey poisoning have greatly reduced over the last few years.28 raptors were killed by poison in 2010, and 16 in 2011, but this dropped to 3 in 2012 …

The “vicarious liability” clause, which was introduced by the Scottish Government in January 2012, is thought to be largely responsible for the decline in the number of raptor poisoning. Vicarious liability means that landowners cannot turn a blind eye to employees who persecute raptors on their lands. For example, a landowner whose gamekeeper poisoned an eagle to increase the estate’s grouse bag would find themselves in the dock.

The decline in incidents is very encouraging. The Scottish Government have done a great deal to record poisoning incidents and publish a map with the locations of poisoned birds plotted onto it. The “vicarious responsibility” statute puts Scotland ahead of the rest of the UK in ensuring that landowners take responsibility for the actions of their employees.

However, some delegates at the conference were concerned that, rather than a sign that raptor persecution was ending, the fall in poisoning incidents was simply a sign that birds of prey were being killed by other methods, including traps.

The Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse, attended the conference. He referenced the ongoing problem of raptor persecution in his speech, saying that “while it remains frustrating that a small number of people continue to illegally persecute birds of prey, this substantial decline is testament to the good work undertaken by the PAW Scotland partners to tackle the issue of raptor poisoning. There has been real progress but we will not be complacent. I am determined to stamp out these practices once and for all and will remain vigilant to any change in approach being taken by those who seek to persecute raptors.”

Here at the League, we are very encouraged by the fall in casualty numbers, but three dead birds of prey is still three too many. The Scottish Government need to carefully monitor the actions of those involved in the shooting industry, and act quickly to prosecute anyone who harms raptors – including those who kill eagles, buzzards and other birds to protect their “sport” …’

Read the item and add your comment online at www.league.org.uk/blogpost/778/Three-too-many

Please support the League Against Cruel Sports and all their campaigns.

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‘… Caviar, the glistening black beads that slip down millions of throats globally, is at the centre of a crime saga in the United States. More than 100 people in Missouri have been implicated in an international black market trade in American paddlefish eggs, which can easily masquerade as upmarket caviar.

“There was something going on, we just didn’t know how big it was,” says Randy Doman, one of the investigators with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Two years of undercover investigation by conservation officials in Missouri, the global “paddlefish capital”, exposed the international trade and confirmed a growing shift: as beluga sturgeon – the original bearers of coveted caviar – have become scarce, illicit traders are turning increasingly to the paddlefish. But it can’t afford the attention.

“We knew this was coming,” says Phaedra Doukakis, a sturgeon expert affiliated with the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. “As sturgeon stocks have been depleted around the world, we knew that paddlefish were next.”

The global black market in caviar is estimated to be many times larger than the legal one, fuelled by a love of lavish foods, and thriving despite global protections like wildlife trade convention Cites that try to shield roe-bearing fish. Together with historical overfishing, the trade almost crushed beluga sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, since the fish produces the largest and most expensive roe. Paddlefish, seen as comparatively abundant, are being used to fill the void.

The prehistoric-looking, river-dwelling fish predates dinosaurs, but the world’s only remaining populations exist in America, in the broad Mississippi River valley where 11 out of 22 states call it threatened. The Chinese variety, not seen in years, is close to extinction, if not already fished out. The species’ long, signature snouts are lined with sensors that detect plankton, allowing them to occupy a niche in the food chain. “It has evolved so little but it’s so effective. It’s like the perfect design of a fish,” says Brent Gordon, paddlefish researcher at the Oklahoma Department of Conservation …

Doukakis has done genetic sampling that shows paddlefish roe cropping up in the market labelled as more expensive caviar, since the ashy eggs bear a resemblance to the luxury sevruga variety …

Traders also take advantage of consumers that know less about the delicacy, and so will settle for the paddlefish roe’s distinctly muddy taste. “A lot of times [poachers] ship the US species out of the country and label it as Russian beluga, and then ship it back into the US, which jacks up the price,” explains Edward Grace, an investigator with US Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement.

Higher profits promote illegal trade – and poachers have left their mark in their quest for roe. “They’re going out in the middle of the night,” says Gordon. “Every fish they get, male or female, they’re just cutting them open.”

Based on this rising trend, experts treat the sturgeon’s scenario as an omen. Over the last 20 years the fish have felt a 90% population decrease, turning them into a poster-species for the damage wrought by an elitist appetite. The International Union for Conservation of Nature now lists it as critically endangered, and Cites has recently made moves to halt the global trade, as it last did in 2006. But the fish are perhaps beyond repair. “There is no rebuilding plan for beluga, unfortunately,” Doukakis says.

If paddlefish become the filler for the depleted sturgeon, there’s little guarantee they won’t head the same way – a tragedy for a creature that’s been on this Earth longer than us, Gordon says. The Missouri investigation is ongoing, and details about the upcoming proceedings are scant. Yet Doman hopes the bust has strengthened oversight of the paddlefish, which exists under varying levels of protection across the country. Because of the heist, “there will much better communication amongst states,” he reckons.

Many states currently restock rivers with paddlefish bred in hatcheries, which some see as the species’ redemption: left to breed naturally, most populations dwindle in the face of water pollution, dams, and poaching. Gordon warns though that hatcheries can’t be the key, because they don’t harbour diversity the way a river population would. “If you can keep a natural population, you are way better off,” he asserts. But wild paddlefish require security, first, to thrive.

Caviar has long been associated with wastefulness and harm. Slowly, things are improving on that front, Doukakis points out. Roe are increasingly coming from reliably farmed sources, and there is better use of the whole fish, instead of the eggs alone.

But where there is an appetite for black gold, there will probably always be an illicit trade that hurts species like the paddlefish. At its heart, “the whole nature of the fishery is unsustainable,” Doukakis says. “You know, no one’s going to starve if there’s no caviar.” …’

Read the item in full, view images and add your comment online at www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/mar/22/appetite-caviar-paddlefish-sturgeon

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‘… Beekeepers, conservation and food campaigners accuse Environmental Protection Agency of failing to protect the insects -

Read the item in full and add your comment online at www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/22/us-government-sued-pesticides-bee-harm

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‘… As Cruelty Free International campaigns globally to persuade the rest of the world to follow Europe’s lead on ending animal cosmetics testing, our Director of Policy, Dr Nick Palmer, is in Korea for high level discussions on the issue in a 3-hour public hearing. The hearing is taking place in the National Assembly with representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Cosmetics Association and leading companies along with our partners, the Korean Animal Welfare Association. Dr Palmer will also be taking part in numerous interviews with the Korean media as public support on this issue increases.

We are delighted to have this opportunity to present our case at this high level meeting in Korea. We have been immensely encouraged by the interest in the implementation of the EU marketing ban from countries around the world. We have received enquiries about the impact from a number of countries, including Korea and Brazil. There is a global trend away from testing on animals and we believe the future lies in the disappearance of these cruel tests for cosmetics, and the European ban reflects that. Cruelty Free International is in discussion with governments, regulators and our partner organizations around the world and we expect to see other countries following Europe’s lead soon.

In 2012, the BUAV established Cruelty Free International, the first global organization dedicated to ending cosmetics animal testing worldwide. We estimate that over 80% of the world still allows animal testing for cosmetics and some countries, notably China, require imported products to be tested on animals before they reach the market. The impact of the EU ban for global companies makes change in other markets much more likely. Cruelty Free International is now building on success achieved in the EU to call on all Governments to end animal testing for cosmetics which will give a level playing field to all companies. In a global market it is important that all countries ban the practice to avoid animal testing simply being moved around the world to those countries with no effective laws.

For further information visit the Cruelty Free International website …’

Read the item at www.buav.org/article/1221/cruelty-free-international-in-korea-for-key-meeting-on-cosmetics-testing

Please support the BUAV and all their campaigns.

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